auctioneer69

Thanks for the pics. It looks positively idyllic - a fine place to camp and hike and then crack open a beer and smoke a doobie while listening to Wilco!

I am skeptical about this album until I hear it. It's always the same hype about how this is the best album ever or something truly different when in reality the last 2 albums were so-so and shite (as in "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"). I don't know if anyone would agree but it seems like Bono's voice has got weaker and weaker over time while his lyrics have become terrible in places. The fact is that while there has been always an interplay between big business and high art with U2 that after "Pop" the band are still clearly only in it for the money and as a reason for Bono to pretend he

I think if you check you'll see that the White Stripes cancelled shows intended for Alaska last year. Stoked for my Alaska friends. Used to live there and these are sure to be memorable shows. Kudos for the band in sucking up the airfares and going to a part of the country very few established band ever go to.

I went to Sasquatch over Memorial Day weekend. R.E.M. were the headliner on Friday night and one of the best acts all weekend. They came on late in driving rain and very windy conditions after perfect weather all day. The band ran with the bad weather and had a lot of fun especially a chipper and funny Michael Stipe. The set-list was a nice mix of old chestnuts, the new album and the staples like "Losing My Religion" and "Man In the Moon" you would expect. He might be 50 but Peter Buck still managed lots of kicks and jumps. Overall, it seemed like the new album has re-energized the band. This

Point taken. I'd agree that the Raconteurs are on a similar level to Jet. The equivalent of a good looking covers band with attitude.

Been a Jam fan since 1981 and have seen Weller three or four times live. His solo career started strongly and has been somewhat patchy since. It sounds like he is really trying to mix it up on the new record. I totally respect him. He has always followed his own muse and in his contrary nature I find him somewhat similar to Neil Young. My personal faves are : "Paul Weller", "Wild Wood" and "Illumination". I thought the latter album was criminally underrated. The acoustic album "Days Of Speed" is great too. I saw him at the Albert Hall on the "Wild Wood" tour in 1993. One of my top ten gig

Agreed - "London Calling" was the only good Clash album but it's in my top ten of all time White Stripes aren't that good and the Raconteurs are Lenny Kravitz for hipsters Spoon's and Arcade Fire's last albums were both mediocre Michael Stipe is a pretty fantastic lyricist Pink Floyd are the worst band ever. The best thing they did was give people something to rebel against The Ramones should have imploded about the same time as the Pistols Thom Yorke is a whiner of the highest order but "In Rainbows" is Radiohead's best album If you know what to look for there are lots of great

That's funny. Good line:) And funnily enough I used a reference to "Pyscho" too which is a fairly apt description of the actress in question.

I can't believe how seriously the Raconteurs are taken. Bought the first album after rave reviews and the hearing the first single and was sorely disappointed. It's like the musical equivalent of that Gus Van Sant remake of "Pyscho". It just seems like a note-by-note recreation of late sixties heavy rock. If it was put out under another imitator's name like Lenny Kravitz most people would run a mile. Fair enough if it was put out as a true side project instead of being hyped to fuck.

Bought the album and had sold it within two weeks. A couple of good songs but really fluffy for the rest. Overhyped I feel.

Oops. Not a Freudian slip. Janine Turner was in my dreams.

Why is he a headliner? Commerically he is big and he stretches the demographic for these festivals. On a practical note, if you are attending a three day festival this is the perfect opportunity to leave early one night and catch some Z's.... Nice guy, very environmentally conscious and better background music than anything else.

Second chance to be a bore today. "Northern Exposure" was filmed in Rosslyn, Washington a mere 90 minute drive from my current home of Seattle. And yes the female doctor was beyond hot.

I am sorry: I should have made clear that I now live in Seattle. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

I lived there for nine years so allow me to bore you. For those of you thinking of going this will be one of Wilco's most unique shows. If I wasn't on vacation in Spain I would be there. How dare they do this before clearing it with me? I literally have old Moose's Tooth posters on the wall next to the desk I am writing on. Firstly, the location. Moose's Tooth is brewpub and first class pizzeria: http://www.moosestooth.net/ They redid the building and parking lot in the last couple of years but's I can't imagine the capacity will be beyond 1000 - 1200. Moose's Tooth serve great beer a

Incredible photos mate. You need to send these to the band. The one of Glenn taking a bow would like brilliant on the Wilco website

So cool they are playing Alaska. I used to live there and know some Wilco fans living there now who have never seen them live. Is their a cooler band than Wilco doing the rounds these days?

I've always just missed him. I am one of those fans who think he is somewhere between Genius and Fraud. I love "The Information" or at least the fist eleven songs.

Year of birth and one of my favourite REM songs. Just saw an email saying that they don't plan to sell individual day tkts which is unprecedented for a fest as far as I know and frankly complete wank. Why should I be forced to pay for day/days I don't plan attending especially when they might feature the talentless, boring and completely indefensible Jack Johnson. I live in Seattle so am crossing my fingers that Wilco will be eco-friendly and play some West Coast dates around this show. It's completely unlikely but imagine Wilco supporting Radiohead for all of their August dates? Let's als

Imagine how cool it would be if Beck, Wilco and Radiohead played the same day and stage especially Friday. Go to San Fran, do the festival for a day and either stay in the city or do a road trip.

Great song. Very, very catchy - the way the best pop music should be.

"Up" wpuld have been brilliant if they had trimmed 2 songs (classic case of no band member wanting amy of their songs cut), "Reveal" was ok and had some good/decent songs but "Around The Sun" was not only the worst album of their career by a country mile but as big a pile of steaming keik as I have ever heard released by a major talent. And not because it was experimental and missed the mark. It was an album full of poor/mediocre songs with clunky lyrics made by a band who were bored and going through the motions completely. Seemingly, Peter Buck's contribution to the album was to fill up Mil

I think you have to put "Accelerate" in context. It's their fourteenth record and REM have (with the exception of one album - "Around The Sun") a very rich musical history. Bill Berry left over 11 years ago. Not only was he a great drummer but an important songwriter for the band. We aren't going to get another "Life's Rich Pageant", "Automatic For The People" or "Murmur". But I think what you have is an album that stands well on it's own legs and three to four songs that would fit comfortably in the top tier of their catalogue without being close to their best. Not too shabby for a band tha

New album sounds like it has some great songs and is a long overdue return to form. "Around The Sun" was an insult to long-time fans like me - a band who were taking the piss. Heard the NPR broadcast from SXSW. Good show if ragged in parts. Nice to hear "Second Guessing" and "Auctioneer" and the new songs were good also. I thought that stuff like "Walk Unafraid" and "The Great Beyond" sounded fresher as five piece songs. The one real pisser was Michael Stipe's little speeches about politics. There was a time, before the exponential growth of his ego, when Michael Stipe let the songs speak f