lost highway

I was holding out my judgement until I had digested it more. I have concluded that In Rainbows is fantastic. Far superior to Hail to the Thief. The sequence has started to make sense (especially the first two tracks, well placed) and I think it has achieved the difficult status of being more accesible while not losing any artistic daring (listen to the time signatures and harmonic progressions....wow!).

Only a Northern Song The Long and Winding Road Obla Di Obla Da Doctor Robert Lovely Rita

Yeah I think forever McCartney will be mythologized as the gifted populist and Lennon the eccentric. I've argued that sometime around Revolver the Lennon/McCartney writing team stopped being quite so involved and you can trace each song to its point of origin. Its interesting to see their peaks and valleys from there out. I have recently become fascinated with the idea that 'A Day In the Life' is the last true 50/50 collaboration. It often feels like the most substantial moment in an overhyped album that happened between two superior ones. You might poo on that idea and you wouldn't be

The tricky thing for me is that Ram and All Things Must Pass are better than any single Lennon album, but he had a much higher hit to miss ratio. McCartney S/T is little but scraps (with one or two beautiful moments i.e. 'Junk') while Plastic Ono Band is awesome. And lets face it, no matter how much you like Wings it is way dorkier than anything Lennon or Harrison would ever do.

One day I admitted to myself that this was not true. I thought I would be struck dead the instant I thought it..... But seriously, its funny how it feels like changing favorite Beatles albums or learning to appreciate your least favorite Beatle feels like a huge personal change. I used to thing Paul was nothing but a tool and that George was always a genius oppressed by egos. Turns out Paul had some streaks that beat the devil out of John's low points and George used to be a mediocre songwriter. He was however, oppressed by egos and later became an amazing songwriter.

When has Radiohead been all about rock and roll? Thats like saying Wilco isn't enough of an alt-country band. You know what album totally doesn't rock A Love Supreme, there's no fucking rockin guitar....yuck. Same thing with Muleskinner Blues, and Black Star. What the fuck is going on with music these days, nothing sounds like Abbey Road and I can't figure out why.

I'm glad somebody likes it. I guess I am always glued to Clouds Taste Metallic and Soft Bulletin. Yoshimi seemed fun but gets old quick and Mystics seemed like they were at the end of their rope. Honestly you're the first person I've encountered who enjoyed it........at least someone does.

The All Music Guide to Rock could tell you that. Not a risk in that list. I am reminded of the scene in Hi-Fidelity when Cusack names Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit in his top five side one track one list. Jack Black says "God, that isn't obvious. Do you even like music? WHy don't you just pick side one track one of Beethoven's fifth symphony"

I think that is an overexaggerated but ultimately fair criticism. There is inarguably, a density to In Rainbows that might not yield a memorable song until we've spent more time with it; or if your right, it is a lot of genius playing and arranging that has a sum lesser than its parts. Which is essentially an artistic failure. This sounds like a conversation about James Joyce.

In all due respect sir, Mystics was a flaming pile of garbage.......In Rainbows is at the very least fascinating, further listening will reveal if it is great. At this point my greatest criticism is that it is so full of ideas that the track list could be easily shuffled and attain the same results. It might be too much an amorphous glob of musical genius to have the arc that makes OK Computer or Kid A classics.

It seems really common that bands with long careers tour in support of a new album and play very little of their second to last album. Of course because they just spent a year promoting the last one and have played the songs a ton. In two years someone will be commenting on how the band is playing very little SBS stuff and mostly things from their new album and AGIB/YHF.

Explain the Godirch sound........I know it sounds good but beyond that I can't peg it. What did he do besides a million radiohead albums and one beck album?

Your enthusiasm makes up for your writing. Great fan, terrible critic. Only thing that seems silly to me is insisting the band broke up, or that Jay Bennett 'took the reigns'....oh yeah and if YHF is britpop then Blur is post hardcore.

It's around a half hour long. Half a dozen songs, some good cinematography of Chicago and some good interviews. It would have been better if they had been able to capture the recording of the album instead of just pre-tour rehearsal, which they had intended to do but were delayed for some reason. It could have been like IATTBYH, except with no drama........a love fest of musical proportions.

See this is what I'm talking about! If the U.S. doesn't get up, and get to work, Australia is going to take it all. What's worse the Canadian dollar has surpassed ours. For shame stars and stripes, for shame.

I'm telling you theyre gonna do a DVD. I bet.

I think the story goes, Mike was backstage or hidden at the mixing desk cueing YHF sample for them, and at some point they decided he should be onstage as he was performing the tunes as well. 204 keys later he has an impenetrable fort of music technology and skill on the Wilco stage. And what a loose cannon, you can tell he's one of rocks most torrid personalities.

More love to the frog. No one would happen to have the recent live Cars Cant Escape? Eh? Eh?

I think someone said they played it in Chicago when they had the request forum up on Wilcoworld.

Does anyone have an mp3 of their recent performance of this tune. I'm a little curious how it sounds in the live scenario. Cheers.

We have to resign ourselves to assuming the one or two tracks we have never, and probably will never hear were omitted due to their relative mediocrity. I would still love to hear them, though. Some day some psycho is going to steal Jeff Tweedy's I-Pod and post a ridiculously uneven collection of instrumentals, improvisations and studio outtakes that were not intended for public consumption. Or maybe twenty years from now they will be tossed into a massive boxset that we will all be compelled to buy.

Brendan Canty (Fugazi, Burn to Shine DVD series) is shooting some of their live shows this spring. That has DVD written all over it.

There is 'Let's Fight' and probably one or two others that they never played live. Possibly hidden away forever.......

They're great. I getta see them at a 150 capacity venue in a few weeks.

The show was possibly my favorite yet. The only moment I started to roll my eyes was when ITMWLY started for the upteenth show, but they have toyed with it a little and it was totally amazing. Drunk guy next to me was hollering to his friend that they would play 'I Got You' I almost bet him ten bucks they wouldn't. Good thing I didn't. Anyone who thinks Nels is all wank should have seen him pogoing like a teenager while strumming an open chord on Shot in the Arm. Beautiful show.