moxiebean

Relax. They do have Solid Sound scheduled for next year, right? I would hope for a new album and/or live material to appear around that time. And a tour.

Minutemen

James Brown

Big show (I've only been to a handful that were decent so I'll go with the best of the lot):

U2 at the Spectrum, Unforgettable Fire tour, Spring 1985

Small shows:

Pixies at City Gardens, Doolittle tour, Fall 1989 (and two nights later at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA.)

Big Audio Dynamite at the Bayou, 1987(?)

Living Colour/Soul Asylum, Chestnut Cabaret, 1988

 

 

Noooo! Those are all good! Especially the awkwardness of the line from The Lonely 1. Remember, that's from the perspective of an overinvolved fan (yes, I'm looking in the mirror) who would say something geeky like that.

 

And the other two, well, I have no problem with them. They don't strike me as particularly brilliant but not clunkers either.

 

Interesting that what falls flat on one person's ear isn't necessarily the same for everyone.

 

*Can we all agree that "turn your frown upside down" maybe wasn't Jeff's finest moment?

Oh, I get the perspective of The Lonely 1 - it's just that line is jarringly awkward, especially when coupled with "when critics pan I write in your defense," which is so beautifully phrased. But I guess that's the point of the song.

*YES!

A few clunkers from the Wilco canon:

When you perform it's so intense. (The Lonely 1)

His vocal chords are made of gold / He just looks a little too old (Late Greats)

The drunks were ricocheting (Sky Blue Sky)

After Merry Clayton's voice cracks singing "Rape, murder" in Gimme Shelter you can hear what I assume is Mick saying "Yeah!".  Love that.

Related, the background "yeah" during the opening riff of Can't You Hear Me Knocking.

The "yes we're going to a party party" part of Birthday

From personal experience slinging dogs......you either got it or you dont.

My vinyl copy of this sounds like it was dubbed from a tape recorder at the bottom of a well - I didn't "get" Sister Lovers until I picked up the remastered CD 25 years later.

Chose: Flying

Assigned: Freezing Time

I'd be able to fly myself from Savannah to western Massachusetts for the next Solid Sound festival, not having to worry about the cost of airfare or traffic on I-95. Once there I could freeze time, swoop down on the stage, and finally get a good look at Nels' pedal board and see what powers the winking macramé owl (AAA batteries? Solar power? Pat's windmills? Positive vibes?)

I'll go with flying because it would give me a valid reason to wear a cape.

I believe that for sure.

There are a tremendous number of VU songs I love, but the album White Light/White Heat mostly sucks. When was the last time anyone honestly sat through The Gift and actually enjoyed it?

WL/WH is by far my favorite VU album. The Gift is pretty damn great if you turn the left speaker volume all the way down.

Dash Chicken

They're my favorite band that's still actively recording & touring, with Radiohead a close second. They'd probably be somewhere in the bottom half of my top ten all-time favorite bands list, along with The Clash (at #1), REM, Husker Du, Stones, Beatles, Steely Dan, etc. 

"A New World Record" takes a spin on the turntable periodically, of course. Funny, cuz I was just her age when Telephone Line rocked my world with its creepy, yet poignant sound. And what Top 40 loving 10-year old could resist Don't Bring Me Down?! Not me!

Me, too. I fell in love w/ ELO when I was 14 & first heard Mr Blue Sky on the radio. After 35 years and musical detours into punk/hardcore/indie/alt country/etc I still dust off my ELO vinyl from time to time.

I'm approaching 50 in a couple of months and while I have yet to buy the expensive car or guitar, I find myself doing the math & doubling my age and realizing I probably won't be alive at 98. And I'm okay with that.

Whether at home, visiting family or staying in a hotel, always on the right.

You're joking, right?  The greatest of all time?  I'm not saying he's terrible, but nobody could convincingly argue that he's the greatest of all time, or even close.   Hell, just about the entire lineup of any of his own Crossroads Festivals is stacked with better guitarists.

I totally agree - never been a fan of neutered blues licks.

Would you care to offer an example?

Side six of Sandinista!

It just seems silly, the whole concept.  Thing about it. 

I agree. Even the name Hall of Fame is dated, probably to the same time as the League of Nations. Both sound like something you'd read in a comic book.

Captain Beefheart

and his progeny, Tom Waits

It's like they're averse to the pretension of typical headliner showmanship, so they kill it with folksiness.  Guitars are casually tuned between every song, without a tech running back and forth in the dark keeping them stocked.  I think something is gained with this exchange.  You feel like you're in the room with Neko, the person, as much as the performer.  It's almost like hanging out with them at rehearsal.  Neko and Kelly are hilarious ( "Thanks Neko, you got the Bobby McFerrin song out of my head."  "Kelly, we agreed not to speak of Obbybay, IcFerrinMay").

I noticed the same thing when I saw her a few years ago. That kind of folksiness and pausing between songs might work great if you're playing a small club but not so much when you're in front of a couple thousand people in a theater. She could learn a few things from a band like Wilco about pacing and momentum when performing in front of a larger audience. She could start by hiring a guitar tech.