Whitty

How many others of you are out there are intentionally skipping out on the now readily available "Sky Blue Sky?" I guess I'm either ridiculous or an old traditionalist. To me there's still something very exciting about physically going out the day a favorite new album comes out and taking it home to really sit down with it, on a stereo, and not via an mp3 or online stream. It just seems impersonal to me. I'm sure record labels wished there were more folks like me out there, but I know I'm in the minority here. so, who else out there in VC world is with me?

Totally with you.

I know Wilco made the stream available, which changes the context a bit, but I've never understood people clamoring to hear leaked, and often unfinished recordings. It's a long gestation to birth a beautiful, perfectly formed little bundle of rock. Fetuses are weird looking. Let that baby grow!

"the k.c. royals will be 2007 central division champs"

- some dude

the quest for .500 coming soon.

 

it could happen...

 

seriously.

 

quit laughing...

2003 was a weird thing for KC- I don't like their chances anytime soon, though. That division is loaded.

George Brett and Willie Wilson were awesome.

So far my favorite O's player of the '00s is......ummm....uhhhh.....Luis Matos?

It ain't that bad...

Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis are a couple of recent homegrown successes. I think Mora has a better year, and Gibbons too. The bullpen couldn't possibly stink up the Yard any worse than last season. I'm very excited about the trio of Bedard, Cabrera, and Loewen...

Tough times over the last decade in Charm City, for sure, but I see light from the bottom of this chasm.

Rawkin':

Preparing for rawkin':

Self-portrait in living room mirror:

Big Jooos fan myself.

My band's producer does sound for 'em and helped produce Tanglewood Numbers, too.

I'm glad David's found a good place and has the confidence to play some live gigs. He was a really appreciative, genuine cat when I got the chance to meet him.

"People" is the song I'm digging at the moment.

Dear Wilco,

 

Thank you for giving us free music. Thank you for broadcasting from the 930 club last week. Thank you for having the world premier of Sunken Treasure online. Thank you for including amazing shows in the Roadcase on your website. Thank you for including free mp3s with the Sunken Treasure DVD. Thank you for supporting JHamm and The DVD Project (you do support JHamm, right?) Thank you for not giving up even though you were dubbed an Alt-Country band by lousy critics. Thank you for printing great posters for all of your concerts. Thank you for being on the cutting edge of online music sharing. Thank you for letting tapers live free. Thank you for punching disrespectful fans in the face (or choking them, or just throwing them off stage - whatever you do, you do it well). Thank you for A.M., Being There, Mermaid Ave I & II, Summerteeth, YHF & AGiB. Oh, and Kicking Television. Thank you for thanking us for nothing at all. Thank you for always playing a show somewhere nearby.

 

Thank you,

 

NN

I like it.

My grandfather's name was Ben! Welcome.

So was mine. Thank ye.

I once knew a guy named Ben who would "dance" like a gorilla when he got angry.

I occasionally knuckle-walk and eat leaves, but gorilla-like dancing is not in my repertoire.

I have no relatives named Ben but I loved "Gentle Ben" as a kid! Welcome

That bear mauled Lassie. True story.

My maternal greatgrandfather was Ben. He was a tailor.

I lack sartorial skills.

I play no musical instruments.

You should learn. Just beware of joining a band. It's like having three more significant others to deal with.

I've never been fishing (true).

Standing in knee-deep water on a summer Sunday morning with just the pulse of the reel keeping time and no one else in sight is as close to church as I get.

Yanks v. Orioles at Camden Yards in July is on my agenda.

I've spent enough time in the Shenandoah Valley to make it worthy of mention.

'Tis a fine enough place. Pretty to look at, a little lacking in culture at times, but the suburbs are creeping in. "Some good points, some bad points" as Mr. Byrne might say.

I'm not Ben nor is anyone I know, but I have been around your parts so many times it's almost as if we have lived parallel lives

Well in that case, how about chipping in some gas money every now and then?

In third grade I beat up a kid named Ben.

 

If that was you, sorry. Hope you've learned to take a punch since then.

Wasn't me. I fight dirty. I'm half-Cockney.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone!

Is it sad that I think 80-82 would be a nice year for my O's?

If Bedard can harness that nastiness he had mid-season last year and Daniel Cabrera focuses and finds the strike zone, we might make a little noise.

Viva Aubrey Huff!!

Certainly the most intriguing band of the last few years, IMO.

Return to Cookie Mountain was my favorite disc of '06. I'll plagiarize myself from my "Best of 2006" blog:

Stunning. Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is probably the last album to truly merit such a description. TV On The Radio are a fine heir to that kind of praise though, after Return to Cookie Mountain offers us an overwhelming sonic vista to absorb. It achieves that elusive balance of forward-thinking, curiosity-piquing experimentalism and instantly likable and memorable song forms. It's rare to hear compositions that are so tough to categorize- Punk Gospel? Glamadelic Soul? The sound is much more dynamic than the droning, My Bloody Valentine guitar-wash dominated style of Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, and the melodies get to bubble to the top this time around. Dave Sitek's production, and ear for craftsmanship are to be commended. There are hooks everywhere- the fractured horns, subterranean bass, and falsetto chant of the opener "I Was a Lover", the elegantly spacious piano riff that crowns the chorus of "Province", the ferocious momentum of the vocals in "Wolf Like Me". The textures are dazzling. The rhythms are just too damn good. The vocals make the erudite and menacingly obscure lyrics sound positively earnest. This is music that advances the possibilities of rock. You'll be richer for hearing it.

Best lyrical couplet of 2006:

"I don't want to desecrate / My only day to sleep in late"

Cheeky.

After a little lurking, this place seems to have a similar vibe to the forum I help moderate. So many web forums are like reading the poetry scribbled in the margins of a 14-year old's English notebook.

I do kinda feel like I'm cheating on my girlfriend by posting here, though.

Now where are your debates about religion and abortion- I'd like to sling around some personal attacks and baseless opinions! I'm also going to start five new threads about Sky Blue Sky, and just say "Who's excited about it?" in the message.

Just sayin' hello to the Wilco kids.

I'm Ben.

I'm from the scenic Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

I know things.

I have a band.

I play bass.

I fish for bass.

I root for the Baltimore Orioles for some reason.

I'm a mod on another fine message board.

Music is my savior.

Cheers!