Maggie

I agree. Unfortunately I don't know that I can believe the guy when he sings it these days.

Gotta love the image of Ed playing folk songs while his fans sit in their $80+ seats. I realize there are plenty of artists who do the same (and even charge more), but I never saw Eddie Vedder going that route. I hope we don't get any "Soon Forgets" or "Driftin's" on the new Pearl Jam album. With these ticket prices and the flood of new memorabilia (how many Ten themed t shirts are available now?) I find those songs hard to swallow.

I've read a few recent interviews with Neko and I find her fascinating. I've been a fan for a couple years but I didn't know much of anything about her until recently. Middle Cyclone is undeniably my favorite album of 2009 thus far. I've bought quite a few enjoyable albums this year, but no others have hit me like this one. I struggle to keep myself from listening to it every day of the week, and the last thing I want to do is burn out on it.

A Ghost Is Born is my favorite Wilco album and I think Sky Blue Sky is perfectly enjoyable, so the premise of this thread doesn't hold up for me. I thought of Ryan Adams when I started reading this thread. Cardinology may be the first album that made me angry due to the artist's declining quality of output.

I'm not exactly a huge Decemberists fan, but I really enjoyed The Hazards of Love on first listen today. I didn't sit and concentrate on the music or words, but it was certainly fun to listen to while using the computer. I figure this weekend I'll sit down by the turntable to read along with the lyrics and get the full experience.

I'm still debating whether or not to buy this thing. I've got a $5 gift certificate for Best Buy, so I'm thinking I might put that toward a copy of the cheap edition next time I'm nearby. I don't see myself listening to it more than a couple times, but I'm curious. I'm a very bad Pearl Jam fan.

I fell in love with this album on first listen. It immediately became one of my all-time favorites. I'm especially fond of "I've Been Riding with the Ghost." I've tried a sampling of Jason's other work but nothing has hit me quite like Magnolia Electric Co does. Off hand I'm thinking that "Ring the Bell" is a strong song, and I really like most everything on Fading Trails, though I seem to recall that that particular album isn't normally considered to be on of his best works. "The Dark Don't Hide It" is pretty great song as well.

I just pre-ordered my copy with the tote bag! I'm wondering what people in my small town would/will think when they see someone carrying a bag with the phrase "Ashes of American Flags" on the side.

It's depressing to see that music is disappearing all over the place. Over the last ten years or so I've rarely bought anything from Borders due to the high prices, but it was always nice to see some decent music on the shelves. I have fond memories of buying CD's from Borders in my early teens when I was really getting into music for the first time. That's where a lot of my Beatles CD's came from, and I remember my dad buying the two of us some Neil Young to "co-own" from that store. Years later I purchased Summerteeth at Borders.

Gillian is the best. Such a genuine musician. I love all the albums, but Revival is my favorite by far. If I was a musician that's the kind of album I would want to make. I can't tell you how many times "One More Dollar" has given me goosebumps. It was about this time last year that my desperation for a new album from these two started to set in. I can't take much more waiting!

I tend to keep my Wilco listening pretty well dispersed between albums, but lately I've been drawn to Summerteeth. I actually haven't listened to all the much Wilco in the last year - my iPod has grown a lot in the last year and it's hard keeping up with it all. Edit: I just looked at my last.fm page and I see that I've been listening to more Wilco than I realized! It's mostly been the live stuff though.

I had the time of my life last night. Sadly I don't make it to see bands very often, so this was actually the smallest show I've been to. I was right up in front of the stage by Jimbo having a great time all night long. Saw Jason up close a couple times before the show which was kinda cool. Deer Tick was great too. I found the vocals much more listenable in the live setting than I had when listening to their album, which was a plus. The lead singer was incredible to watch on the guitar - finger-picking and all.

At least that

I'm going to see them tomorrow night in Pittsburgh - very excited! It took me a good 4 or 5 listens, but the new album has really grown on.

Oh I knew you were just messing with me . . . I just didn't get the reference! Amazon.com is down to $7.99 on the preorder so I've officially purchased my copy. Now I'm debating whether I want to listen to the NPR stream or wait for the CD to arrive.

Well, now I feel like I've dug myself into a hole and I'm totally confused (and confusing). That said, I do not live in a shack in the mountains, but in a small town next to an over-developed, fully-commercialized dump full of chain stores, a little less than an hour from the nearest city where you might find a decent record store - just don't ask me where. But thanks again for the amazon info..

Great recording. This is the solo show I go back to time and time again. "So Much Wine" is just lovely.

Wow. Patterson is great, but I'd kill to see one of these shows. Just rubs in the fact that my only DBT show was an hour and a half set opening for the Hold Steady (a band I do not enjoy).

When I say I'll buy from an independent store I mean I'll order online from some place 300 miles from where I live. There's NOTHING around here.

Thanks. I'll probably do amazon and buy a couple other things to bump it up to $25 for the free shipping. They really know how to get me - I swear half my income goes to amazon.com. I'm still gonna hold off a few more days and see if a good deal comes up from an independent store just in case . . .

Has anyone found a good deal as far as pre-ordering online? I see that insound.com is offering a poster, but they're also charging $17+ dollars for the CD (and I don't really need a poster anyway). There are no record stores within a reasonable distance of my home and I'm tired of giving my money to Best Buy!

Yup, I love Son Volt. I haven't had the chance to see Jay perform in person yet, but I hope that changes with the upcoming album/tour. I don't care if he's a boring dude - I love the sound of his voice. The Best Buy version is kinda cool, but it sounds so empty to me without the horns (not that I'm totally in love with the horns either). What I really like are the live recordings I've heard where the horns are replaced with harmonica. Jay needs to make more use of the harmonica as far as I'm concerned!

I was a bit apprehensive with regard to Lucinda's contribution based on what I'd read here, but I'm thinking "Oh Lonesome Me" may turn out to be one of my favorite tracks. I don't see any problem with her vocals, but then again I've been listening to her quite a bit lately so maybe I'm just used to her at the moment. Very nice record that sounds perfect on vinyl. I'm not totally acclimated to it yet, but I've found all of my M. Ward purchases to be growers.

I don't know if this means anything, but the poster was loose, not folded into the LP or plastic wrap. And while mine was ordered directly from Merge it was not signed (still a little bummed about this).

Got mine today and it is indeed beautiful. However, my poster was not signed. Very much worth the $20.00 though. Edit: Did not get my Jason Isbell pre-order today. If I still had some downloads left on emusic this month I'd probably get the mp3's to hold me over, but not luck there either.