Shakespeare In The Alley

I don't think Mermaid Avenue songs should count. Jeff did give some of them some pretty incredible melodies/arrangements, but when you consider the brilliant arrangements he's given his own lyrics, it's no contest, really.

Alright, Jay really came across as a bit of an ass in this interview. Parts of it were interesting, but whenever the topic of Jeff/Tony/Wilco came up, it seemed like he threw all maturity out the window.

Last night's poster: http://wilco.kungfustore.com/products/781-goldenrod-poster-wil118

I enjoyed Conor's set quite a lot. I thought it was a good sound to open with. ITMWLY was the only song they played that I didn't write down. I'm not sure what happened there. The worst part of the evening was getting out of the parking lot. Especially with some of the douches also trying to get out. License plate "Joe V" from Texas, if you're here, I didn't appreciate you pretty much driving into several cars while trying to get out of the parking lot. You sir, are a prick. I was hoping, since this was their third DC area show in the past calender year, that they'd pull out some ra

Wilco the Song Shot In The Arm At Least That's What You Said Bull Black Nova You Are My Face I Am Trying To Break Your Heart One Wing How To Fight Loneliness Impossible Germany Deeper Down Jesus, Etc. Sonny Feeling Handshake Drugs Hate It Here Walken I'm The Man Who Loves You Hummingbird Misunderstood Spiders I'm A Wheel The 11:00 curfew cut this one short, as they seemed to scramble to get equipped to play Wheel. If anyone saw the setlist, what songs did they cut out? Jeff messed up a verse on Sonny Feeling, and blamed it on being distracted because he realized that he was singing about

Newspaper, message boards, online news sites, both music and otherwise. It's hard to avoid when I try to keep up with music news, which happens to be dominated by Michael Jackson.

I don't watch TV. Yet I still get more MJ news than anyone could ever want.

I've never heard his name mentioned in any other way, so I guess it is. Does the guy just wait by a TV, hoping for a story to come up that he can spin into something racist? To me, people like that are more racist than the people they try to call out as racist.

Yea, I can understand the tribute aspect of it, and obviously it is up to the family, I just have a problem with MJ being treated as this otherworldly figure, whose death stops time altogether. It's sad that he died, and that he had to deal with what his life became, but the way the media is treating this whole thing is almost reaching the point of hilarity. The idea of what was essentially a funeral being held in a basketball arena, with tickets being scalped, and a motorcade shutting down a debt-ridden city, it's just too much. And Al Sharpton saying that MJ brought hope to the world.

Yea, but this thing just seemed like a glorified concert, and the camera panning from Usher, or whoever, to the coffin just seemed strange to me.

Alright, good. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It just seemed meticulously put together, and having his daughter speak, to me, seemed like a blatant attempt at humanizing Michael. Especially with all the "is he the father" controversy. And Al Sharpton just pisses me off, so his involvement didn't help. All told, I just want this MJ shit to be done with. The media attention this has gotten is disturbing, if you ask me.

I don't know, I'm going to look like a cold-hearted ass right now, but the clips I saw from that memorial seemed so fake, almost scripted, in an attempt to maximize the emotional impact. It didn't feel like a real family mourning a lost son. It felt like a bunch of celebrities putting on sad faces for the cameras. Even Paris' little speech didn't seem honest to me. I would wager a large amount that that was not her idea. And the idea of all these people singing, while the dude's coffin is ten feet away is just very strange to me.

Looks like it was: Now 31 Brad Paisley Rob Thomas WIlco Not bad, really. Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/07/08/on-the-charts-michael-jackson-catalog-explodes-sales-top-800k/#more-10658

Wrong. The Bends is, and was, critically acclaimed (deservedly so), and sometimes viewed as better than OK Computer.

I think the shirt I bought at a show last year was $25, and the poster was $20. I'd imagine it'd be around there.

So, isn't the album officially called Wilco (The Album) and not Wilco?

I can understand wanting more complex music, perhaps as a result of personal turmoil, but how can you say you'd rather the band members be unhappy than to put on a show they enjoy doing? I mean, just from a humanitarian standpoint, that's fucked up.

This is an outstanding album, beginning to end. Although I often prefer the Grey Album version, the original is mighty impressive.

I get that the guy had a reputation for being a good person, but apparently the girl was his affair, so he clearly wasn't a saint. It's a tragic story, but it appears he died with a woman he was cheating on his wife with.

Agreed. He's clearly shook up about it, but at the same time, it doesn't negate all the bitter feelings that their relationship dissolved into. He's not acting apathetic, but he's not forgetting the legal/personal trouble.

I think Nels does more on WTA than SBS, honestly. SBS has some amazing guitar parts, but his playing on WTA is more subtle, and really beautiful when you finally notice it.

Washington Post Interview. Not horrible, but not amazing. Change is constant for Wilco. Guided by the songs and voice of Jeff Tweedy, 41, every one of the band's albums since 1996's "Being There" (with the arguable exception of 2007's "Sky Blue Sky") has explored new subjects, textures and song structures. And of its six members, only Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt have been present since the beginning. But the band has remained a popular touring act, with a sold-out show booked at Wolf Trap for this Wednesday. Wilco's seventh studio album, "Wilco (the Album)," was officially released las

Close, but way off: I tried to find the Prince picture from the very last scene of Purple Rain, but had no luck. You know the one, with the ejaculating guitar? Yup.

It's a pretty good list, but it isn't really "artists you identify with America" like it seems to be. It's really just a bunch of musicians from America, and the Band.