choo-choo-charlie

ba-zing!

There was a time when side projects were frowned up - or even "banned" - during those early formative years. Bennett, Stirratt and Coomer had the Courtesy Move project, and Bennett started doing some production work until TM told him to stop "wh*ring around the Wilco sound." There was some resentment from the rest of the band, particularly because Jeff was dipping his toes in other waters with Golden Smog that whole time. It's in the Kot book. I'm glad the Wilco corporation has a different stance on that now.

I think there's some validity to this as well. I imagine the covers set at Solid Sound was invigorating for them -- gave them something new to tinker with -- and move on from the old warhorses. A week or two ago when I was wondering if/what kind of activity we'd see from Wilco this year, excluding a few live performances and the murmurings of a Solid Sound DVD, I went poking around in the Roadcase section of the Wilco store. Thought maybe I'd pick up the recordings of the Tweedy solo shows I saw in KC and Denver, or maybe snag a Wilco show I hadn't heard yet. But after looking through the o

Personally, I'm excited by the news. As the Wilco lineup and sound has evolved, at the core of it all has been Jeff's terrific songs. So I have to wonder what songs weren't "fit" for Wilco, so to speak, and necessitated a new approach. Is it going to be a pop record? Are they going to jam? Will it be mostly acoustic? More Jeff lead guitar work? Or are we going to hear a wide range of sounds or something we haven't heard from Jeff before? Who knows. To me, it's exciting to think about the possibilities. I thought The Whole Love was a great album - the best since AGIB - while its two predecess

I can relate to so much of this, particularly changing the tunes if my wife is going to be in the car. I was just reloading the iPod last night and my wife pops in and says, "gosh, you're obsessed," to which I replied, "there are some songs on here for you, too." Speaking of live Roger Waters -- I should load the "Live in Chile" set from 3-14-07 I have on there. Great stuff, pulling from early Floyd, Wish You Were Here and The Wall and closing out with Dark Side in its entirety.

I've become somewhat burn out on the entire concept of listening to an album straight through. I do most of my listening in the car during my daily commutes and decided to change up how I listen to music to keep things fresh. So I switched from rotating CDs (read: full albums, not mixes) through the six-disc changer and dusted off my little old 4GB iPod Nano. I just turn on the shuffle function and let it play from there, then I'll reload the device with different tunes each time I finish a full run-through of all the songs. In the last run, I probably skipped about 90% of the Wilco songs I ha

Here's another good one, especially for a guitarist. http://www.popmatters.com/review/111349-samba-toure-songhai-blues-homage-to-ali-farka-toure/

It's always the most simple riffs that end up having the biggest impact.

The Google is your friend. First result: http://www.eachnotesecure.com/new-wilco-lets-fight-tweedy-loves-indie-record-stores-etc/. And according to Wilco's website, it was played three times in 2006 -- 7/13, 7/16 and 8/6. All of these shows are available at the lovely, wonderful website known as www.sooutoftune.org.

Nels' new album is terrific.

I would check out Corey Harris' album Mississippi to Mali. While he's primarily known as a bluesman (and most of his albums fall under the blues genre), this one incorporates a lot of African instrumentation and rhythms. I've got a few others to recommend...if only my iTunes was working and I could bring them up...

Terrific video. Refreshing to see something new from the Wilco camp.

Agreed. I could do without the whole synth interlude. That thing just drags. Richard Wright must have been so bored recording that.

I'll take Animals or Meddle over The Wall.

Know what did it for me? These guys:

Zep II and IV are tough to make it through, though on occasion I still love hearing "The Battle of Evermore" or "Four Sticks." Conversely, I can still listen to I and III.

I enjoyed this. Wilco "pays the bills" so Nels can tackle his passion projects. Thanks for sharing.

Apparently they just put out a new track. Sounds like they're chum again. http://www.americansongwriter.com/2014/05/paul-simon-edie-brickell-kiss-make-like-get-know/

Tunes from just about every era of The Beatles. As far as the psychedelic era, A Day in the Life and Strawberry Fields Forever have been mentioned...how about Tomorrow Never Knows? Early Beatles -- I Feel Fine (first recorded use of feedback).

I said CALL ME AL!

Still crazy after all these years, apparently. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/paul-simon-arrested-disorderly-conduct-charge/story?id=23498319

Toad the Wet Sprocket, "Walk on the Ocean"

Thanks! And good memory! We did -- my daughter was born Dec. 28, 2012. Kiddo No. 2 is coming July 10. They'll be 18 months apart.

Did Hendrix play harmonica?