Whitty

Whatever your prejudices are regarding "jambands" and such, I would recommend you find the studio version of the Phish song "Billy Breathes" and let your ears listen to one of the finest guitar solos ever committed to tape.

It's funny- I didn't put the Wilco guys on here, probably because I don't really think "guitar" right away when I think about Wilco's music. It's a lot more layered than that. They've got some of my favorite recent guitar lines- that warped solo of about 10 notes on "Hell is Chrome", the main riff to "Spiders", the bridge riff in "Theologians"... but Wilco is so democratic, I don't really think of Jeff and Nels as guitar gods or anything like that. Same goes with Super Furry Animals and Talking Heads- tons of guitar work that I adore, but filled out so well by the other constituent parts tha

David Gilmour Bill Frisell Jerry Garcia Mick Ronson Doug Martsch Robbie Robertson Stephen Malkmus Dean Ween Trey Anastasio Django Reinhardt J Mascis Neil Young Dan Auerbach George Harrison Jimmy Page John Scofield Leo Nocentelli Kurt Cobain Willie Nelson Jack White

Or maybe I just blew your goddamn mind!!!

I kind of wish the Airwolf theme song would play everywhere I went.

Where's Wayne Coyne?

Air Bowie, David The Clash Dylan, Bob Explosions In The Sky The Flaming Lips Grateful Dead Harrison, George Iggy & The Stooges James Brown (Yes, I'm cheating from my earlier use of last names. Deal with it) The Kinks Led Zeppelin Miles Davis (More cheating!) Nirvana Outkast Pavement Queens of the Stone Age The Rolling Stones Super Furry Animals Talking Heads Uncle Tupelo The Velvet Underground Wilco X (I don't know if people are leaving this blank, or really like the band X. In my case, I'm leaving it blank.) Young, Neil Zappa, Frank B, D, and S were near impossible to narrow down. I ha

He lives just about a 20 minute drive from me. And he still ties a fresh onion to his belt every day. Sorry about that. Couldn't resist.

I think Spoon has been America's most consistent rock band of the last several years. Gimme Fiction is probably still tops on my list. It's haunting, minimalist, whiskey-voiced punk-soul. I could listen to the bass line from "My Mathematical Mind", the chord progressions from "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine", the falsetto accents in "I Summon You", and countless other little details from that disc all day. I also don't think anyone has ever transformed A major and C major into a song as effortlessly cool and cocky as "I Turn My Camera On".

Boards of Canada

Malkmus never fails to make rock guitar interesting. He pulls some serious Thelonious Monk on RET- guitar riffs mimicking vocal melodies before gradually fracturing and swerving off the asphalt into interesting jaunts through sonic backroads. The fuzz and feedback are like ranch dressing on your french fries. Fatness upon fatness. SM likes writing about oddball characters that sound like they could live in a cult comic book, but then he'll crank out "We Can't Help You", which has some of the most honest, anti-rock god lyrics he's ever penned. The Jicks are a damn fine band. I thought Face Th

I just wanted to brag about our cool flyer... I'm a whore.

I think it's always worth considering that people consume music differently than the other popular arts: film, literature, and visual art. The other mediums are far more static by nature- they hit your senses in a discrete dose. Music gets more chances to work its way into your consciousness. It's portable and flexible in ways other arts are not. You can toss on Wilco in the car, at a party, at work, while reading, while housecleaning.... People don't bring Pynchon to a party and read excerpts. You don't skip ahead to track 3 of a Matisse painting, because it's the "dance number". Poetry i

Yep. Hopefully she won't drive, vote, show her hair, use contraceptives, or speak unless spoken to, either! On a related note, Jesus is kind of a dick when he's on the court:

I wrote this about a year or so ago, but I think the message still resonates (for the Republican candidates, at least)... **** Y'know, I've been thinking about what this country needs during these unsettled times. We need vision, resolve, and true leadership to spur democracy ever onward and to meet new challenges presented by a complex world. We need Some Rich White Guy to step forward and say, "Yes America, I am the alpha male figurehead who will best provide the illusion of a solitary crusader looking out for your best interests amongst a legion of potential enemies!" Who better than

It doesn't quite ring with the poetic effervescence of "I want your heart, I want to eat your children", but overall not a bad effort on Ali's part.

Saw this earlier this morning. Most excellent. Wish I could've seen the Keys with Dinosaur Jr. this year...

I'm a fan of Carrie cake myself.

My friends and I like to set up a projector a few times every summer for an outdoor movie night. The Point was one of the selections this year. That soundtrack is a lot of fun. "Me and my arrow..."

Pretty well smacked the computer around that time- 325 to 265. If you don't land at least one 50 point bonus, though, it's rough going. This is fun.

It beat me by five points the second go-round. I'm using complete asshole-Scrabble-player words like QI, too. But that thing just instantly spits out Moonman words at me. What the fuck is ZA? I've seen that one twice now.

Sweet. I beat that sumbitch 339-326. The tide turned when I played "ACTIONS" with the S completing "JOINTS" for a cool 78 points. That digital bastard was laying down shit like QAID, ANILE, TANKAS, and WIRRA, too. I countered with ADZE (I knew the anthropology minor would pay dividends!), CLADES (for a triple word score), and the always tricky BEY/JOEY combo. You can shove your qaid right up your wirra, computer. You are no match for me.

Garam Masala makes a nice rub for grilled meats, too! It's good on popcorn and sprinkled on fresh sliced apples and pineapple. Garam Masala + plain yogurt + pita chips = appetizer goodness Considering I'm in a smallish city in rural Virginia, we are blessed with an excellent Northern Indian restaurant, as well as a convenient carry-out joint less than two miles from my place.