Shakespeare In The Alley

Super Furry Animals

Hmm. If that's what the confirmation says, then I guess they couldn't charge you the real price when it's fixed. Also, the product page there only says it's one disc. So there appears to be quite a mixup there. I'm a bit leery of ordering it, though. But it seems like a sweet box set...

Hmm. That's obviously a great price. But I don't know that I trust ordering it. I've read of cases like this before, and once the store realizes the error, they won't honor the mistaken price. However, I'm not sure how that'd work online via card. Did anyone actually order this one, and confirm that they charged $12, not $60?

The fact that both bands got bigger as they got more experimental probably has a lot to do with it. Not a particularly common occurrence. Frustrating as it may be, I don't see how it can be a bad thing for either band. I believe I've read Jeff give props to Radiohead (obviously by covering Fake Plastic Trees). I haven't read anything, but I assume someone in Radiohead likes Wilco. They've both got praise poured over them from every possible direction, so I'd consider a comparison to be an honor. That being said, people that continually reference each Wilco move as "their *insert Radioh

Oh yes, true. I neglected to add the "to me" to that sentence. 'Tis all an opinion, of course.

Wow... As I said, I love both albums. But In Rainbows, to me, is a much better album than WTA. The only reason I compare them mentally is that they each feature the band at their most relaxed. Compare Thom's lyrics on IR to his lyrics on Kid A, and there's a huge difference. Same with Jeff. Beyond that, the comparison pretty much ends to me, because there's really no point furthering it. While I love W(TA) very much, I'm not going to argue that it's all the things you said it is. It's a great collection of songs that don't push boundaries, but show a band comfortable being who they a

Yea, there's a fair amount of sarcasm, but I don't think it's heartbreaking, per se. It's right in line with his previous two (kinda three. TOOM is a rather heartbreaking album) albums. There's a ton of looking back, but it doesn't often come across as depressing. Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy how Dylan can weave his killer sense of humor, and appreciation of sarcasm into songs that do look back at past experiences. In other words, the nostalgic songs on TTL don't come near matching the intensity of stuff like Idiot Wind. To get back on topic, and answer OP's question, listen to th

Well...being a lyric fan, I always listen closely to the vocals, to figure the lyrics out. So if the vocals are unappealing, it's pretty much game over. Jeff Mangum's vocals drive me crazy. To me, it sounds like he's trying too hard to not sound good. It's just...shit, in my opinion. Which is a shame, because most of the NMH songs I've heard have good/great arrangements. And I agree with Alan. I strongly dislike Springsteen, so the watered down knock-offs that THS release are just worthless to me.

Whoaaa. I love Together Through Life. It's a great record with a bunch of great songs. But it's not really a "heartbreaking" album. And certainly not as emotional as BOTT.

This is true, but for me personally, I can't get past an annoying vocal style. I like the music of Neutral Milk Hotel, but I cannot stand Jeff Mangum's voice, so I can't listen to any NMH records. I love interesting/unique voices. But if I don't like a band's vocal style, there's a very small chance of me liking their music overall.

Yes...I am aware that they are indeed a band. My point was that, as far as we've been told so far, it's not a "new band" as in "we're gonna write some music together." It's just a live concert backing band. A damn good one, but not (yet) a studio band. However, I wouldn't at all mind a legit album with these guys.

So...I see you're trying to use big words to cover the fact that you don't really have a cohesive point to make. I'd advise not doing that. I honestly have no clue what the hell you're saying, or even which album you're trying to indicate a preference for.

If it's anything like Beck's other Record Club albums, it won't be "released." They'll put a song a week up on his website, and that's it. Should be interesting to hear, though.

Not to nitpick, but he didn't really "start a band," per se. He put a couple guys together to back him for a few solo shows. They played his solo album, the songs from his solo 12", and Thom played a few new, probably Radiohead songs solo acoustic. However, the few videos I've seen have been incredible. Certainly not Radiohead, but a very tight sounding, dance-y sound. Considering the top-notch musicians involved, I'm not surprised.

Oh, I love Tender. Gorgeously heartbreaking song. But No Distance Left To Run, is a more emotional song. The slight quiver in Damon's voice throughout the song is just powerful. I think he said in interviews that recording that song is when he really realized that it had ended. So to me, it's a ridiculously great break-up song for the stage where you accept it, but still don't like it. "I won't kill myself trying to stay in your life" and "when you're coming down, think of me" are some of Damon's best lyrics.

What did Jeff say about Gretchen Wilson?

So...you can't imagine someone with taste not liking THS, but you can see how people wouldn't like the lead singer? Contradiction much?

Again with the "Blonde on Blonde is flawed!" argument, I see? That aside, the point is that very few Dylan fans would rank New Morning above the classic 60's albums, of which I view BonB as the absolute pinnacle. However, it's easily one of the better albums in Dylan's oeuvre.

Yes, it is. But I don't think anyone who's heard the full Wilco catalogue will argue that WTA is the pinnacle. That doesn't mean people don't like it. I think it's a great record, but I couldn't argue that it's better than YHF, or AGIB, or whatever prior Wilco album you like best. I think the majority of people would agree. It seems people either enjoy the record for what it is, or dislike it for what it is. People proclaiming it as Wilco's best are the smallest group. Because, honestly, it isn't. Personally, if I were to compare WTA to any other album, and I know this has beens aid

Hmm, this makes a lot of sense. IR and WTA are both minor albums in their band's catalogue. But I think it's a shame to call IR a minor album, since I'd put it right up there with OKC as a damn classic album front to back. WTA, while certainly not bad, does not at all stack up to Wilco's past classics. So I guess AWWTM is a better comparison. I guess my comparison is that, on WTA and IR, both bands just sound comfortable not breaking new ground, you know? AWWTM doesn't have that element. But, again, IR is a significantly better "minor album," and one that I sometimes think may j

I can see comparing WTA to In Rainbows much more than to AWWTM. However, In Rainbows is by far the superior record. I mean no offense to Wilco, but In Rainbows still blows me away every time.

No one has mentioned Blur's album 13. What the hell? No Distance Left To Run is such an emotional vocal performance. It's incredible how wounded and fragile Damon sounds in that song. Wonderful stuff.

I give Letterman props for handling this like he did. He wasn't trying to get jokes when he revealed all this. It was a combination of the audience having no clue what to do/think, and Dave being one of those guys that's just funny. Regardless, it's a shitty situation. But Dave seems like a good guy, who knows when he's gone too far, and such. Being able to reveal this on national TV means he's definitely a bigger man than I.

It was probably already said, but I'll echo it. Use iMovie HD, not whatever comes on Macs these days. HD is such an easier program to use.