auctioneer69

I have a confession. I went to see DMB once at the Gorge (amazing Washington outdoor venue which abuts the mighty Columbia River) and they were fantastic. A friend bought a great seat and a kindly fan sitting next to me shared doobage all night. Because Dave Matthews had strained his voce they only played 10 + minute songs. I didn't care: the music, the vibes, the setting, the crowd and the bud made for a wonderful night. (That said the comparison between Wilco and DMB is fallacious.)

Ditto: "Pop" when done well is as good as it gets. It's just a shame for some people that Jeff couldn't stay perpetually miserable and give us a whole shit-load more of angst-ridden non pop songs. Not.

My first way all the way through. These are the songs of a happy man and the performances of a happy band. I like it a lot. Funnily enough, I just got "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison and I can see the sense of the comparison between the two another reviewer made. There are subtle, killer harmonies all over the album. Dare I say it but I think if such a thing still exists this album has a lot of what used to be called crossover appeal. "Wilco (The Song)", "You Never Know", "You and I", "Sonny Feeling" and "Everlasting Everything" would fit on the local (Seattle 103.7 The Mountain) A

Can I make a comment that hopefully some other people will agree with. Those people who insist on ranking Wilco albums are annoying nerds. Why do people consistently feel they need to do this like they are collating baseball statistics or something? I can totally understand an obvious desire to compare to the last album. But this constant making of lists really does a disservice to the music. Wouldn't it better to try and just enjoy each album as a unique piece of art amongst a collection of other pieces.

Yes. To be clear, I liked the movie but in general am not a big fan of concert movies which I rarely watch more than once. The audio download of the movie is stellar. I have been listening to it all week and I.M.H.O. it's even better than Kicking Televison. The sound quality is exquisite as are the versions of the songs.

Lots of Bono's usual self-aggrandizing nonsense too. Me thinks that the musical is just another money grab of for Bono and the Edge. If you have all these great songs why not just release a U2 album around them? Because you can make a lot more money using them for a musical based on one of the most successful comics / movie trilogies in history. How much money is enough for Bono? Clearly, $90 albums, $50 fanclub memberships and partnering with rip-off monopolies like Live Nation isn't enough.

Great album. But this is perhaps the second worst track. If played live it will be an excellent excuse to get a drink, smoke or slash.

Yes, the album really does bear repeated listening (although "Boots" is an awful Frankenstein of a song and "Moment of Surrender" is plain boring) and I really like a lot of the songs too. "Magnificent", the alternative version of "NLOTH", "Breathe", "Fez", and "Unknown Caller" are all very welcome additions to their catalog and it's obvious they still really care about what they release. I'd bet I speak for many when I say that while we still love U2 the music we are sick of U2 the corporation. The roll-out of "New Line On The Horizon" would make Proctor & Gamble or a seasoned politic

As someone whose been critical of U2, I have to give them great kudos to doing this pricing structure especially in this economic client. (I still loathe Live Nation - $11 beers at the Sasquatch festival last year - greedy wankers). With tickets that cheap I will definitely have to try and see them for only the second time. (The first time was the opening date of the "War" tour in Dundee, Scotland as a callow teenager after begging his big brother to take him to the show. And what a show it was...) I have warmed to the album after watching them on Letterman shows this week. There's h

Anyone remember that Supergrass song "In It For The Money". Don't know why: it just popped into my head for some reason:)

Fair enough. Makes shaking hands gesture. I think it says a lot that so many people still care an awful lot about u2. Hey and, at least, Bono has ditched the hairplugs.

Oops, you'll have to forgive the schoolboy spelling error on moolah. My better half was nagging me to get off the mac to help her move a couch:) That said, I stick by main assertion: the art of U2 has completely taken a backseat to the business of U2. "NLOTH" is an improvement on "HTDAAB". I think there is a song or two on it that will probably stand the test of time. "HTDATB" was plain awful. And what drives me nuts as I think it does a lot of people is the incessant and shameless over-promotion. It seems that someone in the U2 business machine has realised that like many blockbuster m

Agreed. But this is undeniable in the last ten years. Hype, up, way up. Bono's lyrics and voice -down, way down. Songs - far more formulaic than they have done in the past oftentimes. Despite their best attempts - they have become a contemporary version of the Rolling Stones. The albums are somewhat superfluous and it's all about the touring revenues. U2, love or hate em, were once an extraordinary band because of the combination of art and business. Now it's all business. Look at the incredibly overloaded promotion for this album. What other band could play a new song at the Grammies or

Just listened to the album on myspace. First thoughts: weak. Too many familiar U2 elements without anything being that bold or interesting. This album had a long gestation and it shows. It sounds like they tinkered for a long time looking to come up with something that enough "U2" elements to fill the stadiums this summer and enough innovative elements to satisfy those people who thought the last two albums were too trad. And last but not least Bono's voice continues it's sad downward trajectory. The one mistake they have kept making for the last 10 + years it stoking the pre-album hype to

Agreed that is Bono's MO but he crossed the line into something close to self-parody a long time ago. A little restraint would really serve him and his audience well.

By far their most interesting first single since "Discotheque" off "Pop". A pretty basic song but with nice sonic touches and the chorus doesn't even sound like U2. Bodes well for the album. Did anyone else cringe seeing Bono at the DC Celebration yesterday? "Pride" is an incredible song whose poignancy speaks for itself especially yesterday. But "Mr World Leader Pretend" couldn't resist those awful ad-libs before and during the song. And seriously, his voice has really deteriorated over time.

Been listening to the re-issue for about a week. While "Murmur" isn't my favourite REM album it might the most interesting one to listen to it. All the sound affects (like the slowed down pool balls on "We Walk") and the arrangements of songs like "Perfect Circle" and "Pilgrimage" are really cool. The live album is really fun sounding like an enhanced soundboard recording. I think they should have picked the Boston show from the same period which gave us stellar versions of "Ages of You", "1,000,000" and "We Walk" for the IRS double-comp from two years ago but it's still a great statement of

Brilliant. Love it. Are Wilco the best band ever or what? I can't think of another band who takes such good care of their fans.

Well if you don't like windfall taxes how can you vote for a ticket with Palin? Part of the reason that she could afford to give every Alaskan $1200 next week is that when she came to power she pushed through a new regime of taxes on oil companies there that raised the state's take on oil revenues to an exorbitant level for every dollar that the price of oil exceeds pre-set amounts. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...laskatax07.html The real reason I can't vote for Republicans is that as someone who is fiscally conservative but socially liberal I refuse to vote for a party which

Agreed. Also loved the coverage after the speech on NPR. I was very moved listening to the responses of people in the crowd who had followed Dr King to DC 45 years and were overjoyed to see and hear the nomination of a person of color for President of the USA. Tonight was a night to focus on that amazing achievement. Forget cynicism this was a truly historical moment whose emotional impact will be felt across the country and the world. A night to be proud to be an American regardless of your political views.

Does anyone else this the production slightly sucks on this album? Too much compression and I don't hear all the layers of the instruments that well. But some really good songs and I have a feeling my opinion will change after I hear a lot of the songs live in November.

The most boring band ever? The Rolling Stones for the under 40's? The first two albums and b-sides from 1994 and 1995 were great and then Noel Gallagher became the laziest effin songwriter ever. This is turgid and predictable and no-one would listen it twice if this was a new band.

Is it to much to ask for a presidential candidate who would: - introduce legislation limiting all nationally elected politicians to no more than 2 terms in office or 8 years in office whichever was longer; - would introduce legislation to amend the constitution so that all national elections were publicly funded and had proper spending limits; - who would never sign a bill laden with earmarks? - who would limit severely the influence and number of lobbyists in Washington? Until you do those sorts of things the body politic is not going to change regardless of who is in power. Once