Mr. Heartbreak

Good, I'm glad that there's no bad news for us Wilco obsessives. Four YouTube videos? You might have me beat!

Here is a very detailed (and harsh) review from someone on Amazon who is much more familiar with the material than I am. Of course, I can't speak to its accuracy, but it is interesting. Long, but maybe worth it if you are debating.

Most of it is pretty subpar, soundwise and materialwise, but some of it is okay. When I want to listen to Jimi, I usually put on one of the first three records or a live show.

I was going to offer to send you some, but then I remembered that you're not big on mp3 versions of ill-gotten unreleased material.

I really hope this does not mean he is less interested in writing or performing. That would be bad for all of us Wilco/Tweedy fans.

I think most of us posting on this thread have at least a version or three of these songs (though perhaps with some different titles). I can listen to sound clips all I want on Amazon, but would like to know what people really think. So, those of you who have bought it: thoughts? Comments? The more, the merrier.

Some great points here: "When you die, your debts and assets need to be assumed and resolved. There is no “day of reckoning”, no final piper-paying date for the sovereign government. "With one brief exception, the federal government has been in debt every year since 1776. "Every significant reduction of the outstanding debt has been followed by a depression, and every depression has been preceded by significant debt reduction. "The federal government is the issuer of our currency. Its IOUs are always accepted in payment. I can foresee a time when China might forgive a big chunk of

There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt Da da da da da da da...

I wonder how much of this material has been shared online. Maybe I already have it all!

Honore de Balzac Dickens William Styron John Fowles

The Republican platform itself is far to the right of most people who are actually registered as Republicans. Granting unborn fetuses the rights of life, liberty and property?? Hell, just look at who was in that primary: Bachmann, Perry, Newt, et al. No wonder so many called it a "clown car." Louie is correct in that the far right of the party seems to be driving the bus. Check out the numbers on how soundly the party was trounced in the 2012 election: Asians (not exactly known as the most down-trodden welfare-recipient type Americans): voted 76 percent for Obama versus 23 percent for Romn

Holy shit, LouieB is living inside my head! I should be a much bigger jazz expert as a result, but somehow I am not.

Okay.

Here is an instructive chart on unemployment since 1948: http://www.multpl.com/unemployment At it's worst, it was 10.8%...under Reagan, the saint of the right. Hilarious, no? Jan 1, 1982 - 8.60% Jan 1, 1983 - 10.40% Jan 1, 1984 - 8.00% Damn, how did that dude ever get reelected? I know, I know...Americans don't even remember how things were last month, much less 30 years ago, but still. Honestly, from a political point of view, I don't see much difference between "morning in America" and "hope and change." Negative campaigning usually works, but sometimes sounding positive does too.

So what is the next level up after "obsessive?" Apparently, we are it. Ha!

Actually, my post about unemployment was not directed to you specifically, nor did I call you out in any way. However, your response (within about 30 minutes of my post) was the immediate buzzkill type of response I expect from Fox "News." So should we view this news as bad? I happen to think that the economy adding over 250,000 jobs per month is pretty good...a damn sight better than in, say, late 2008, when the economy was hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of jobs per month. I suspect that we disagree on just about everything besides liking Wilco (I am also guessing that you made it on

You're telling us?

I think I would actually be more interested in this than in the new one. Kind of assuming that some of it rocks.

But aren't those people who dropped out of the labor force supposed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps? Shouldn't they be considered whiny crybabies for giving up, instead of just taking whatever they can get? I'm just trying to get my head around the whole Ayn Rand/Darwin approach to social justice.

Hmm, looks like unemployment is going down more. Will Obama continue to get "all of the blame and none of the credit" for the economic recovery? Will the feds be accused of cooking the books again? Time will tell... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/business/economy/us-added-236000-jobs-in-february.html?_r=0

Damn, I had no idea that Mr. Rogers skit was Bill Murray with Christopher Guest. I figured it was some black dude. One of the funniest bits of all time. "Aw, no, man, it's too early for me. I gotta drive."

I'm not a big Allmans fan, but even I want to hear more about this Zak Wylde show.

Never caught The Other Ones, but the version of The Dead I saw in 2003 was great. The guitar player, Jimmy Herring, really ripped.

I was listening to the stream of the album today, and I'm sorry to say this was my reaction to the whole thing. Not to rain on anyone's parade, but it is pretty boring after a while. Not the rockfest that Visconti had me anticipating. Don't get me wrong, it's okay. Just not that interesting, IMHO. Maybe it's, as some like to say, a "grower."

Bruce Cockburn in Clearwater, FL!