Mr. Heartbreak

Another giant I forgot: Joni Mitchell. Harry's House/Centerpiece Heatwaves on the runway As the wheels set down He takes his baggage off the carousel He takes a taxi into town Yellow schools of taxi fishes Jonah in a ticking whale Caught up at the lights in the fishnet windows Of Bloomingdale's Watching those high fashion girls Skinny black models with raven curls And beauty parlor blondes with credit card eyes Looking for the chic and the fancy to buy He opens up his suitcase In the continental suite And people thirty stories down Look like colored currents in the street A helicopter la

You're right. Maybe I should have said "self-titled major label debut." How about some props for Brian Eno for Here Come the Warm Jets?

Depends on whether you're looking for SBD only shows, which limits the field quite a bit. I have some great ones I attended (8/31/99, 11/3/02) and some great ones I didn't attend (11/15/99, 11/28/01). Shoot me a PM and maybe we can trade for some Dead.

You beat me to it, my friend! I'd add Warren Zevon to the list. Many consider his self-titled debut to be his best album. Oh, also a little band called The Pink Floyd. Piper At The Gates of Dawn is still a desert island pick for me.

Not me. I'm with you 100% on that one. And I agree with you on SBS too.

Yeah! And a few more from Phil: "the wild geese are dancing in the ripples of the morn/my wanderlust is born" "now the only way to touch her is the gun beside your head/your time has fled" "soldiers have their sorrow, the wretched have their rage/pray for the aged, it's the dawn of another age" "In the room dark and dim/Touch of skin/He asks her of her name/She answers with no shame/And not a sense of sin" And another favorite, Bruce Cockburn: "Sundogs flare on windshield glass/Sudden swoop skyward iron horse overpass/Pass a man walking like the man in the moon/Walking like his head's full

I prefer the warmth of the sound of the new SBS material coming through my tinny computer speakers to the sound of AGIB on my fine home stereo equipment. I'm really looking forward to getting the final CD version.

I saw them cover it at the House Of Blues in Orlando on 2/15/05, and it rocked. Great show, with a killer Via Chicago, too. Unfortunately, the venue did not allow tapers, and no copy of the show has ever surfaced.

Others, however, see it this way: I'm one of those others.

I'll confess I never heard of her...but here's that youtube video they were talking about: Karen Dalton - It Hurts Me Too

My pleasure. Phil's song has been timely again for the past 4 years, unfortunately.

He's been on Prairie Home Companion a few times, always a highlight. From what I've heard, I like him.

I just saw ...And Justice for All for the first time, and that's a pretty good one, too. He was nominated for an Oscar for it.

"Just when I thought I was out ... they pull me back in."

A few that come to mind: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Second That Emotion Temptations - The Way You Do the Things You Do Mothers of Invention - How Could I Be Such a Fool? The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight Chuck Berry - Carol Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven Fontella Bass - Rescue Me Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Heat Wave Supremes - Reflections Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby Sam Cooke - Wonderful World Sam Cooke - Twistin' The Night Away

Dear Microsoft: Good luck supplanting the iPod with this product. Now, will you please fix all the security bugs in Windows Vista so I can buy a new computer? Thanks, Mr. H.

"This video has been removed due to terms of use violation." Wow, Bob Weir must have been on here yesterday.

Who is the gaucho, amigo? Why is he standing In your spangled leather poncho And your elevator shoes? Bodacious cowboys Such as your friend Will never be welcome here High in the Custerdome.

I created an AGIB disc like that for myself because I disliked the studio release so much, but have never considered it for the other albums.

I don't even know what that means.

I love Phil as a bass player, but I honestly wish he wouldn't try to sing anymore. I saw The Dead in July 2003, and Phil sang "Mountains of the Moon." It was the longest 11 minutes of my life. His original studio version of "Box of Rain" is a great moment in rock history, though.

Yeah, I even bought "Everything Must Go."

Boy, would Mickey be pissed if he read this!

I'm a huge fan. Fagen and Becker always got the best sessions players around for their studio albums, which is why they are still way, way better than most of the albums out there from that time period (and better than pretty much any rock or pop being produced today ... and yes, I will stand by that statement indefinitely). You've got unreal musical chops, a dark, somewhat quirky worldview, some rather cryptic lyrics ... They're definitely in my top 20 favorite artists of all time, possibly top 10. Essential albums: Gaucho (it's not usually rated as highly as others, but I love it) A