choo-choo-charlie

They're only about four weeks old. Mutts -- probably some puggle, maybe some chihuahua in there. And some lab. Their mother was hit and killed by a car last weekend, so these two and their five brothers and sisters all needed to find homes. My wife and I have been talking about getting puppies for quite some time and recently the discussion just came back up, so the timing just seemed to be fate...

I definitely hear Abbey Road.

They've got their sights set on becoming editorial interns for Pitchfork, so they're flexing their snark muscles.

I will say that Kid A is simply magnificent in headphones.

I wrote this post last year on one of those days where a record just clicks for you. "In Defense of A.M." Sometimes, you hear the right record at the right time. For me, yesterday, it was Wilco’s vastly underrated 1995 debut, A.M. Blending country shuffles, classic rock moves and a barrage of tough guitar licks courtesy of sit-in lead guitarist Brian Henneman, the album’s tracks – sunny, radio-friendly and mostly condensed into pop lengths – represent what’s essentially another Uncle Tupelo album, minus Jay Farrar, towards whom many of the lyrics seem to be directed. From the i

Nice work. For my Radiohead tastes, I'd go OK >> Bends >> Kid A as my top 3 for them.

That Rickenbacker truly is a thing of beauty.

I enjoy Capitol City. The harmonies on the group chorus are nice. I also like the way it fades out with the bells. Regardless of what the critics say, it's not a waltz and it's not ragtime. I hear a blend of music hall and pop, and like others have said -- I think it has a fun Beatle-esque bounce to it.

Dare I say that one of my favorite two-track sequences is "Blue Eyed Soul" into "Too Far Apart?" I love the way the former ends, with just a little bit of guitar feedback, and then the drums for "Too Far Apart" kick in, and it almost sounds like an extension of its predecessor...very close drum pattern. It's awesome.

Just started the stream.

I've said it before and I'll say it again (and you A.M. vinyl owners know) -- the liner notes on the A.M. reissue LP, written by Brian Henneman, are great, and articulate just about everything I love about A.M.

Grabbed the recording -- kudos to the taper!

I've never heard it the way described in the initial post. On record and live, Jeff and Pat are playing harmonized leads -- not octaves -- while Nels solos. That would be Handshake Drugs.

I absolutely love A.M. Never skip any tracks. It's just in the unfortunate position of the first record, released quickly after another band's split, and it was followed by an amazing run of albums.

So you're just going to disregard the new one from the list completely?

I'll listen to the whole thing about every third or fourth time. If I've got the AGIB vinyl on and I'm in the middle of a game of Scrabble, sometimes I find it helpful in concentrating! Oh - and McGuffin: the picture was merely a suggestion that someone around here seems to have a chip on their shoulder, that's all. Didn't say it was you.

...and still feel the need to weigh in on, even if they haven't listened in years or don't care for them anymore. If you've got the time, go through all seven pages of comments. It's amazing. 1-2-3 / 1-2-3 / 1-2-3 / 1-2-3

The Atlantic *** Wilco gets everything backwards. Rock bands are supposed to start small, releasing music on obscure, independent labels, and working their way up to a major record company contract. Wilco, though, began their career on a major label subsidiary in 1994, divorced it to release 2001's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, signed to another subsidiary, and, four studio albums and one Grammy later, decided to start their own indie imprint, dBpm Records. Their first release on that label, The Whole Love, is out today. See? Backwards. The band's also flipped the stereotype about rockers

I've been engaged in quite a conversation over at the complain-y No Depression review. Best comment to arise yet: "To be fair, I gave the album another listen, but I still can't hear anything in it that I like. It has no roots in anything earthy, no antecedents that I feel compelled to trace. Musically, it even seems vaguely incestuous--the sound of art having sex with itself, and taking itself way too seriously. Just not my cup of tea."

http://viachicago.org/topic/46327-tweedy-interview-at-salon/

DON'T YOU KNOW THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYST-UHM?!?!?!?!!?

"layered sonic experimentation" of YHF BOR-ING! Come up with another descriptor, please people. Otherwise, not bad. I mean, I don't expect all music critics or writers to be full-on experts of every style or be highly accomplished musicians themselves, but at least identify something so basic correctly.