choo-choo-charlie

One of my buddies and his brother were traveling in NYC and caught Son Volt there. Said it was one of the worst shows he's ever seen -- Jay was totally disengaged, said five words the whole night, looked like he'd rather be anywhere than onstage playing music. Strange encounter: An hour or so before the show, my friend and his brother were grabbing a beer across the street from the venue and spotted Jay in the alley taking pictures of trash with his cell phone. They left the bar and went over to talk with him. According to my buddy, Jay seemed either A) completely high or like he'd just wok

Just snagged it on Amazon. I gave it several listens when it was streaming on NPR and really liked it. Definitely a different vibe from the first record.

This inspired me to go listen to some of the shows from the Being There tour. Lots of good soundboard recordings from 1996-1997 out there, many streaming from that lovely site http://www.sooutoftune.org.

Clearly you've never met Lotti.

James Alley Blues is still one of my favorite Wilco cover tunes. Loved those versions they played in their live sets 1997-1999. Just found a clip of And Your Bird Can Sing:

I'm sure Jay referring to Tweedy as "the bass player" in his memoirs doesn't help with their relationship.

Oh, I agree 100%. Just some wishful [unrealistic] thinking.

"I'm not jealous." Sure sounds like it.

Oh that's funny. I went through a phase, probably my freshman year of high school, where I listened to 40 oz. to Freedom on a daily basis. I also liked some of the self-titled record. I thought "Pawn Shop" had some simple-yet-tasty guitar playing.

Fun era of Wilco. Reckless and raw.

What a very John Lee Hooker photo.

Grab me a couple, would you please?

I've done that too. Argh.

Sorry, not you. Directed to the other person who was trying to squash your scoop.

So show us.

Nice. Haven't given Wide Swing Tremolo many spins. While there are better Beck records, I do enjoy that one quite a bit. I remember listening to it a few times a day one summer during an internship, so it always reminds me of that period.

Starting to enjoy this one more.

Me too. Another great record from Mavis and Tweedy. http://www.npr.org/2013/06/16/191304072/first-listen-mavis-staples-one-true-vine

After my first listen, my favorite tracks are "Holy Ghost," "Can You Get To That," "I Like the Things About Me" and the title track -- which, in my mind, is superior to Wilco's recording. That tune seems like it was meant for Mavis. Also dig "Far Celestial Shores."

A guest-artist affair on every track, including performances from Leroy Bach, Ken Coomer, Max Johnston, and Bob Egan.

My wife bought me a new smoker for my birthday/Father's Day. I'm a long-time griller but have yet to venture into the world of smoking -- so I plan to begin developing that skill. I also have an oversized antique wheel barrow that my brothers and I bought for my dad several years ago and converted into a rolling drink cart, complete with sheet metal liner and drainage plug. I "inherited" it after he passed three years ago. It badly needs to be sanded, repainted and refinished, and the wheels could use a little greasing. I'm not really a fixer-upper type of guy, but I think I can handle this

This can only mean that Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar, being largely inspired by The Replacements early in their careers, will finally bury the hatchet, call Mike Heidorn and get that Uncle Tupelo reunion going.