Magnetized

Wilco (The Song) from the Orpheum Theatre Show in Boston, 4/6/2010Who Am I Telling You? J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton, The Road to EscondidoTrouble Man, Marvin Gaye, Command PerformancesShe's a Mover, Big Star, Big Star LiveShiver Me Timbers, Tom Waits, The Early Years, Vol. 2Nicotine & Gravy, Beck, Midnight VulturesLittle Red Corvette, Prince, 1999The Girls in My Life, Part 1, Randy Newman, Guilty: 30 Years of Randy NewmanI'm Back, Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LPOh No, Not My Baby, Maxine Brown, Girl Group Sounds Lost & FoundHoly fuck, I think I'm schizophrenic! This is for real--the exa

You mean like this? Just got these in the mail a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I won't be cruising to North Adams in this car, since I'll be flying in from Virginia, but I have gotten a few comments from locals. This was a big change for me and a sign of commitment to the band, since my previous plates were DD WAH DD. (Which I really liked!)

Hey Barb, feel free to bring that friend of yours in the picture. I mean, if he wants to come along. . . .

Just saw John Hiatt at the Norva in Norfolk a couple of months ago. It was a good show--well attended, receptive audience--but I have to say it felt a little uninspired to me. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I sort of echo what Pop Todd said about the difference between a great craftsman and a great artist. I've long been an admirer of Hiatt's music and have all his albums, but he's never really moved me the way, say, John Prine does. Of course, in a one week span I saw Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, John Hiatt and Phish, so maybe my brain was just too overloaded at that point!

OK, it's now officially just 2 weeks away, so it's time to get crackin' ! The festival schedule indicates that activities start at 8:00 on Friday, so I thought meeting at 6:30 for drinks (dinner optional) would be a good idea. Many thanks to VCer Park (who lives in North Adams), who suggested The Hub, I called this morning and spoke with the owner Kate. There is a back room that can be reserved, and at the moment there are no other confirmed reservations. Since I didn't know how many of us there would be, I reserved for a party of 8 or 9; If it turns out that we have more signups, I will

Innnteresting. These are listed as boys socks. So Jeff either has small feet or they come in mens sizes as well. Regardless, I kinda want a pair of these now. But I'm supposed to STOP SHOPPING! What's a boyfoot sized girl to do?

Jeff's brother in law, Danny Miller, is a good writer/blogger and has just posted an entry about Mavis and Jeff. I found this while clicking around on Huffington Post. It includes a link to a great Staples Singers clip from the 1973 Grammys. http://www.huffingto...w_b_662935.html

Yes! What a sweet connection there seems to be between those two. I love the way he looks at her and listens. And not just the two of them--on Spencer's blog he has a few entries where he just can't say enough wonderful things about Mavis. I believe he says he's her honorary grandson! The whole thing is just very heartwarming and I can't wait to see this played out on stage.

That Phil Selway is one modest guy!

Aww, don't feel bad. No one doesn't have morning breath--at least not in my experience. And that's what I thought the line meant, too, though I was kinda glossing over the bad breath part. It's just an evocative, intimate line, and it's always stuck with me on that basis. Now, if he ever decides to address the "begs me not to hit her" part, I will gladly give up the You're So Vain mystery.

OK, it's killing me. I've always thought that was just the sexiest line EVER and I have got to know--what did he say?? Pretty please, someone?? And thank you, ditty, for that incredible picture. Love it!

All riiiight! You sound like you know what you're doin'! The only modification, it seems to me, would be that for this festival we'd want to stay on the grounds of Mass MoCA for the meetup. So far as I know, none of us knows the town of North Adams and we don't know when it will be safe to leave the actual grounds without running the risk of missing something cool. But what about trying to get together at around 7:00 Friday night (the schedule says stuff starts at 8:00)? I'll throw together something in a separate thread, as roadhse ma suggests, but please everyone, FEEL FREE to modify. I am n

Here's a link to a good review of Mavis Staples this past weekend in the Poconos: http://blogs.mcall.c...ardly-blue.html It's a longish article about the festival, but in pertinent part it reviews Mavis's set: Like The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Staples is showing some age. Now 71, she actually sat out 15 minutes of her 80-minute show as she let Holmstrom and bassist Jeff Turmes (on slide guitar) carry the midsection of her set — not a bad thing; both were great. Mavis Staples But while her physicality seemed limited, her talent didn’t. She leaned heavily on her new album, “You Are No

Since I started this poll, I thought I'd mention that I'm coming from Norfolk, Virginia. I'll be rooming with someone I met on this board who lives in Ohio (she's already responded to the poll) and we'll be staying at the Willows Motel in Williamstown. We're flying in to Boston early Friday morning, renting a car for the weekend and returning to Boston early Monday morning. In case it's not already wildly apparent, I am WAY excited about this--less than 3 weeks away! We're up to 38 responses now, which probably translates to 60-70 actual people. Anybody got any bright ideas about how VCers

Oh, it is my dream to get to attend one of these shows. How wonderful for all of you who were able to go! I know we won't get to actually hear this show, but I'm hoping someone posts--or links to--some pictures of the event soon. Then we can just use our collective imaginations to put together songs and images and dream of having the opportunity to be there in person one day. Thanks for the memories shared so far--looking forward to reading more about this. . ..

This is very funny! Thanks for posting it.

Google alerts gone wild?

Oh, this is really sad news. He was one of the last of the breed. I loved his voice--I mean no disrespect when I say it had a slight Elmer Fudd quality. I always respected what he had to say. He was a feisty, independent thinker to the end. I can't find any video of him reading the enemies list, but here's an excerpt from a remembrance by Scott Simon: "For all the history that he reported, Dan Schorr will always be remembered for the moment he stood before live television cameras in 1974 with a breaking bulletin about a list of enemies compiled by the White House.

That's way better than my bludgeoning style. Perhaps I should take a hint, zen master! (And i don't mean that sarcastically.) It would be entirely more productive in the long run. But since there's nothing else particularly mellow about me, I suspect this will be yet another in a long line of unattainable goals and I will continue trying to impose my worldview on my long-suffering friends and family. BTW, I'm going to see Inception tonight. If I have any flashes of insight I will share on here.

Ha! this made me laugh, because it sounds like exactly the same frustration I feel when I make recommendations to friends and family. It's like you don't get no respect from the people closest to you. Inevitably they come around, but usually only after someone else has validated what I said in the first place. Sometimes I feel like the Holly Hunter character in Broadcast News, when some exec says to her, sarcastically, "It must be great to think you're always the smartest person in the room" and she says, "No, it's horrible!"

What, you haven't heard about The Great Fusion? Oh wait, I've said too much. . . . Well, until it's officially announced, I went ahead and gave Canada its own category--I just added Asia to Australia and New Zealand. (No, you don't want me as your Trivial Pursuit teammate in Geography.)

Lots of good stuff in this interview with Radiohead's drummer, who has recently collaborated with Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone on a new solo album, Familial. You can read the whole article here: http://www.americans...-philip-selway/ Pretty cool that he has such respect for Wilco. Here are some excerpts for those who don't want to read the whole article: You worked with Wilco’s Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone on the album. What was that experience like? Fantastic. As musicians, they’ve got oodles of experience and character, just very distinctive voices. We just really clicked as music

Actually, I love this. I'm a sucker for a beach picture with a sand drawing!

UPDATE and REVISION: We're up to 18 responses now, but is that really all? I know, some votes may actually represent 2 people, but still. . .where is everyone? Aren't there many more VCers than this going to be joining us in the Berkshires? It would be great if people would not only vote but also add a comment, for two reasons: You can tell us a little something about you, where you're staying maybe or express a wish to connect with others, and It'll keep this poll bumped up to the top and thus more visible to people who only visit VC occasionally. It's just about 3 weeks from now.

Yes, I can't play it either. It was playing fine a day or so ago--in fact was on a continuous loop, and I liked it so much I kept listening to it over and over. Hopefully it's just a temporary problem, because he really sings it beautifully and it was a really great earworm!