solace

hahaha... what?

LIES.

i'd agree a good mixture of looping vs. solo vs. full band in his live shows is ideal, and lately he's been finding a good mixture in my experience.

yep.

while Garden Ruin was definitely poppier and lacked much of the southewest flair, i felt the songwriting on that album was still pretty f'n great (All Systems Red might be my favorite Calexico song ever...). so far i like that this is more "back to their roots" so to speak, but songwriting wise i don't know if it's up there w/ Garden Ruin (and earlier ones obvs) for me, i've only listened 3-4x tho.

Blacklisted is still my favorite, but Fox Confessor is top notch too... probably my 2nd favorite at this point can't wait for her show w/ Giant Sand @ First Ave

yep! he joined up w/ the band for some of these fall shows (obviously not the solo ones)

yeah, i saw a couple (2-3?) Bowl of Fire shows, most opening for Mason Jennings. Andy is definitely great, as is Kevin O'Donnell i can understand the complaint, as like i've said, it's bothered me on a FEW occasions, but overall i realize it's his songs to play how he wants live, and i'd be missing out on too much great stuff if i let it bother me that much. i realize not everyone is able to get over it maybe, which is unfortunate i guess. he doesn't do it as much as he used to, that much i can assure you (that video is from '06) by the same token, artists who play/sing their songs no

*shrug* i've seen him a dozen+ times and only ever been disappointed once or twice i guess. but i do prefer him more w/ a full band, that's for sure. as for another band beyond Dosh & Jeremy, not currently, no, it's just them (and now Mike Lewis)

he sings a lot more smoothly now that he has a band again... i'd agree with you somewhat, in that when he plays solo, he sometimes changes the melody and verses of his songs a bit too much from the album cuts for my taste, but that's not been much of an issue since he joined up with Dosh and Jeremy imo.

considering his post BFF work has been just decent to average at best, i don't have high hopes for this new album, but i am curious to hear the songs w/ Regina Spektor

i'm not a big fan of harpsichord in general, but my issue with Cutters is moreso how fake and harsh the sound is, it's far too up in the mix on that song. it's actually not a real harpsichord either, it's a synth, which sounds even more thin and tinny live than on record. there's very few songs i love that use harpsichord as the main instrument (Bruce and the Beatles come to mind). it was a big reason why i never got into Tori Amos' 'Boys for Pele' record way back in the day too.

there's talk of this song being released on an EP this winter... i'll see if i can get any more details out of him tomorrow night

i don't, sounds gorgeous though. here's another nice little poppier/upbeat new song i filmed they debuted when i saw them at St. Olaf back in May (HORRIBLE crowd): also, his cover of Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand" and his cover of John Prine's "Sabu Visits The Twin Cities"

new song "Blood Bank" is quite awesome:

get out... *shoves you* how insane that his parents were ecstatic when he just MADE the issue back in like Jan or Feb (the one w/ the MJ white glove on the cover), wow... kinda blowing my mind more and more (and i'm sure his too). good for Justin though! crazy that in under a year he went from playing 3rd on a bill at the Uptown Bar last October to around 80-100 people, to selling out First Ave this Friday.

nope, there's not, just seemed like sort of a silly reason i guess, bigideas explained it well. but you're more than entitled to not like it

what's wrong with sounding childish at times? for a band that is all about fun especially

i don't know why, but some people can't get over the fact that a band uses the words "choo choo train" i've never had an issue with it myself

hah, see above, it's my friend Aaron's mine has a note on it too, but it's packed away (just moved to a new house)

that's probably my order too... sometimes AKM is my favorite though

i'm also a little bitter that S&D cancelled their Mpls show and didn't come back here on their subsequent tour this fall :/ i definitely don't dislike This Gift, it's just not in my top 25 per se. and those are 2 of the songs on SP i don't like as well. no! thanks for the reminder damn... that's on my list too somewhere

the Drive-By Truckers latest is up there for me as well, but have found myself not as interested in it lately

not huge on Stay Positive, sorry easily THS weakest record for me. it's good though, don't get me wrong. 3-4 fantastic songs, but also 2 or 3 shitty tracks for me too, which i can't say about past albums of theirs. and never been much of a Spiritualized fan honestly, i like some of their stuff, but a lot of it bores me. new one is decent however. and This Gift was a pretty big disappointment for me, as someone who absolutely ADORES Sons & Daughters. like Stay Positive, not a bad album per se, just not one of my favorites on the year.