Magnetized

Hear, hear! But damn, it was too close for comfort. It was also one of the nastiest races i ever remember. Absolutely obscene to think of how much money was spent in campaign ads. I really think there's a crying need for campaign finance reform. When you think of all the money that's spent in political campaigns that could be going toward something productive, it just makes me want to puke.

Hilarious! John's pretty nimble--I think we should challenge him to match that guy's moves. And we know Jeff can throw the mic in the air and (sometimes) catch it, although I haven't seen that move from him in a while. So funny--thanks for sharing!

Oh, I would love to see that tour! I've seen both of them individually, but this is supposed to be an acoustic show with lots of collaborations. And of course they are both funny as hell. I hope you'll share your thoughts about the show later.

"Holy deities" are not holy deities. I'd rather worship musicians.

Pearl Jam in Charlottesville tonight, thanks to the estimable Jimtweedy1977.

I have a last minute opportunity to see Pearl Jam in Charlottesville on Tuesday. I'll try to snap a picture of Mike playing the Tweedy SG and will post here.

Very cool! I love the way that guitar looks too. It's such a beautiful shade of blue.

Her TV shows have been crap, not surprisingly, and the new one, Drop Dead Diva, is even worse. I'm talking about her standup act. To me, she's not up there with Louis C.K. and maybe a notch below Sarah Silverman, and she does have some annoying affectations, like holding a pose too long at the end of a punchline, but if anyone's interested check out one of her comedy specials: I'm the One That I Want or The Notorious C.H.O. She plays around with gender and racial stereotypes and does some multimedia stuff involving singing and dancing. And her tattoos are gorgeous!

Just did a google search and came up with this photo. I can't figure out when it was taken--maybe during the Americanarama tour somewhere. Note the Wilco hoodie. Also, I ran across an article from August here where she talks about, among other things, her Wilco fandom.

This is an oldie but a goodie. . . Did you hear about the woman who was such a fan of country music that she has a tattoo of Merle Haggard done in a very delicate spot, high on her right thigh, and a tattoo of Waylon Jennings high on the other thigh. Worried that the two tattoos weren't recognizable, she slips off her undies, lifts her skirt to a guy in a bar, and says, "Can you tell who that is?" So the guy puts on his glasses, looks real close, and says, "I don't know who those other two guys are, but the one in the middle is Willie Nelson!"

Oh God, Margaret Cho can be hysterical in concert. I saw her live show a few years ago and it was absolutely filthy but so funny. I would love to have watched Glenn's and John's reactions to her comedy. Now that would have been something!

The 4th would suck for me too. I always have to work on big holiday weekends. But I would just have to announce my intentions way in advance and find someone to cover for me--nothing's gonna keep me away from Solid Sound. As to the hotels increasing their prices, I think they're about as high as they ever get during SS. I wouldn't think the innkeepers would be crazy about this idea, though. One less blockbuster weekend for them.

It was such a nice enthusiastic review that I couldn't stand to see that glaring error, so I commented with a correction. The guy thanked me and fixed it, so if you follow the link now you'll see Dead Flowers.

Oh, interesting! Did they make any reference to it being a one-off, or did they just do it and not say anything? Did you spot any special glances between Jeff and Glenn leading up to it?

Has anybody heard any rumors about an archive of the stream from last night? It killed me not to be able to tune in.

He also didn't do it at any of the Americanarama shows. So I think it's gone for good except for Solid Sound, or maybe some other special event that would warrant them making a big deal exception.

Neutral Milk Hotel at the National in Richmond. Very excited!!

I read this yesterday and it pissed me off. I usually find his blog interesting but it seemed like a cheap "dad rock" reference that was beneath him. And in context he was essentially making a negative comparison to Miley Cyrus. Really??

I don't cook anywhere near as much as I used to, but the other day I got a hankering for those delicious cheddar cheese wafers and finally made a big batch tonight. Holy cow--even better than I remember, but so bad for you. Luckily, the batter freezes really well. I just have to remember to forget that they're hanging out in the freezer, just waiting to be cooked up.

Todd's ringtone for Lydia was the old Groucho Marx tune, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady." It was hysterical! The only false note was that dumb Todd would never have known who Groucho Marx was! Actually, the song was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. Here are the full lyrics: Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia? Lydia The Tattooed Lady. She has eyes that folks adore so, and a torso even more so. Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia. Oh Lydia The Queen of Tattoo. On her back is The Battle of Waterloo. Beside it, The Wreck of the Hesperus too. And proudly above waves the red

Pretty perfect ending. I don't think it could have possibly been more satisfying. I didn't want to see Jesse die, and I wanted Walt to prevail as best he could. Perverse, I know, but he went out on his own terms, saving Jesse, letting him get his revenge on Todd, and--I guess--preserving the money for his family. I'm so glad they didn't do something that might have been justified but would have felt so dispiriting, like having Skylar turn on him or refuse to let him see Holly.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/rancho-electro

They don't seem to be smiling and their teeth aren't shining meaninglessly.

I wonder when that picture was taken. I don't think the Mythbusters guys were at Solid Sound, were they? And I don't think John Hodgman was at the Rally to Restore Sanity. Any ideas, anyone?

I don't know that I'm going to find time to post a full review about Sigur Ros, but it was all kinds of amazing!! It's weird to have that much emotion conveyed simply through the sound of Jonsi's voice and the music that you actually don't miss having intelligible lyrics. It felt like they were taking us on a journey from spacy sounds to driving, rhythmic songs that felt as propulsive as some Wilco songs, back to ethereal beauty. There were moments that I practically felt like I was levitating! And it was just a beautiful show to watch--there were (I think) 11 people onstage and the lighting a