kidsmoke

I have gotten turned on to so much great music through the members of VC over the years!

I have some listening to do! It's great to see all the female talent busting out.

I see Plains on Oct. 28th, and the setting couldn't be cooler...Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace! I love it up there in the high desert among the joshua trees and under a skyful of stars!

I'm not asking what old band, new to you, you've discovered...Pavement, The Cure...

Not that that isn't great!! It is!

But, have you fallen for any brand-new bands? Musicians who have just recently thrown their lots together, and are valiantly trying to make a go of it? Sometimes there's SO much talent packed in! These are the bands I can't help but support!

Right now the one I'm pulling for is Plains,

a blend of the talents of Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee and the songstress Jess Williamson. The 2 songs released so far from their debut have been humming in my veins since I heard them..."Problem With It" and "Abilene"...both very strong songs for gorgeous voices. Highly recommended!

Ok, now tell me what you've got? Who is new and deserves attention, on your radar?

Let's do right by our musicians out there!❤️

Good luck! I'll keep an eye out for you. Which do you still need?

On 9/2/2022 at 6:05 PM, chuckrh said:

I was going to see Placebo next week but had got less enthusiastic about it after I heard a tape from earlier in the tour. They're not doing a lot of the songs I like anymore. Tried to sell the tickets, no takers. Then I got an email today saying the tour was postponed. I'm taking the refund & parlaying that into a ticket for Nine Inch Nails in Portland on Wednesday. Way more into that. Got a nice hotel with pool & hot tub for way reasonable money 3 miles from the venue. The only bad thing is the drive (2.5 hours each way) is going to hurt me bad. I'll deal with that as it looks like things are going to be worse in that department soon. Except for a hospital stay this will be the first time out of the house since before COVID. About time! NIN are 1 of my all time faves so I'm pretty excited.

Chuck, allow yourself lots of extra time for the drive, and pull off and rest if you need to. And have a blast! Music heals.

Hi all, how are we holding up out there in this climate changed world? I'm in southern California where it's Day 6 of some miserably toasty weather. Today was 108 F. Thank God for a/c but the need is so great that there's risk of the power grid failing. 

Even worse are the massive fires popping up with regularity. I pity the firefighters dealing with these in their heavy gear, risking heat exhaustion. It's ugly all around.

We water our garden plants early so they'll have a chance, but it's pretty hopeless. They are just baking out there. My red beans are nearly cooked when I pick them! We've taken to trying to shade what we can. All our cheap umbrellas are out in the garden. Here's one of my poor tomatoes.

How are the rest of you, and where are you located?

Damn cancer anyway. Rest in peace, Wes. Your art lives on.

7 hours ago, Boss_Tweedy said:

 

I'm seeing them for the first time in New Orleans next month. Based on what I've read about previous performances I'm excited about it.

You'll have a great time. They are terrific live!

2 hours ago, last cigarettes said:

Wrapped up Beach Road Weekend tonight on the rail for a great festival set from Wilco. Spiders was a happy surprise for a closer, especially AFTER I Got You. 

 

Other standouts from the weekend for me were Beck, Lettuce, Jason Isbell, Emmylou Harris, Billy Strings, Shovels & Rope, Khruangbin, Bully. 

Sounds like a sweet, sweet time! On the rail, yet! ❤️

Happy day, dear Jeff!

Jon, I'm so happy to see this story come to its perfect happy ending! When you first told me about talking with Dale about Wilco, and about how A Ghost is Born is his favorite album, I absolutely loved the idea of getting him his very own signed copy! How like you, to have immediately thought of doing that for him...a way to give back, for all the inspiration he'd given you.

I didn't know if it was doable, but I do know that Wilco and their staff are as generous as any band out there. Nothing ventured; nothing gained, right? I'm so glad I asked, and so grateful that Wilco themselves obviously loved the idea of giving back to Dale, their fan.  Small wonder that we all love these good, talented, loving men.

Your photos are dazzling! Have you even managed to stop massively smiling yet? Please post a few from the ballpark as well! You and Dale seem to have hit it off like longtime friends! What a story you have to tell!

One more question...how'd he react when he first saw what you'd brought? Saw the autographs, and his name up in the corner, by Jeff. Was he completely surprised? 

... and I'm RIGHT back inside that fuzzy cocoon of yhf that made us feel understood! That warm space that blurted out, it's this you're feeling right? And they were exactly right. And yhf understood.

Omg get this bonus CD if you can. It will give you ALL the feels. What an intense and astonishing album YHF really was.

These are wonderful versions of the songs and made me realize how much I love just every version of these songs. All the versions that have emerged. But these are particularly fine versions that deserve to be celebrated. These versions make me love the band like originally. Get this cd if you can. 

Haven't read the interview yet but the cd alone is worth the price of ordering the September issue of Uncut.❤️

https://www.stereophile.com/content/recording-august-2022-cruel-country

An insightful review!

https://magazines.nmenetworks.com/store/products,issue-304-september-2022_459.htm

Plus in in-magazine special cd! 😃

That was exactly the balm my soul needed. I've spent the past two days re-arranging closets and furniture, and was losing my steam to finish the job, but I put on the Tweedys and sailed through the rest of my work happily. I'm still glowing. I love this family. 

6 hours ago, calvino said:

Guessing there are some Highland Parkers on the board - hopefully they are all safe.

At least they have the shooter in custody. So fucking sad.

I hope all of you can have a happy 4th, and enjoy making memories with family and friends.

I am having a bit of trouble with this one. My dad jumped on Corregidor in WWII to retake our American base from the Japanese. Lots of parachuting men died in their parachute harnesses, shot as they descended. Others crashed into shrapnel and died on landing. Dad made it.

I'm just saying, Dad didn't jump out of that plane so his 5 daughters could have partial rights.

This is a strange day for the country. But I love my country, deeply.

10 hours ago, uncool2pillow said:

Just unimaginable. We've lived with Roe for 50 years. Will it be 50 more before abortion rights are GUARANTEED? What this nation seriously needs is a privacy amendment to the Constitution. Overhaul the way big tech runs, protect our medical privacy, our sexual privacy.

Yes!

How mesmerizing was her testimony today? What a brave and collected young woman! These hearings may have found their John (Joan) Dean. 

Now let's hear from the documentarian filmmaker.

I hope the men are as disgusted and depressed as the women. Men, we need you...this hardly affects only women! So many lives will be f*cked with, and hurt. Male and female and children. It's going to be bad. Sad. Painful.

Please, guys, stand up however you can. And thank you. We'll have your back when it's your turn on the chopping block. ❤️

I am as angry as I was the night trump (supposedly; I still have my doubts) won in 2016. Today I feel bleak, overwhelmed, and almost hopeless. I was in high school when Roe became law, and have lived my entire adult life with protections I couldn't imagine ever being taken from me.

I don't know how we reverse this calamitous, dishonest decision. But reverse it we must, and that fight begins, again, with today. Speak your mind. Do whatever you can personally do to support your fellow citizens who have had their right to bodily autonomy summarily stripped away.

I'm in California. If anyone wants to do some sightseeing here, let me know!

For all you do for all your children...thank you! Don't think we don't notice all the little acts of love and sacrifice you do to keep us happy and well!

Today, just relax and enjoy all the love you're surrounded by, whether you are a father to your own children, or a beloved father figure or loving pet parent. Thank you for being there, dads! 

Answering myself here, 😆 these pop out:

"Ashes of American Flags"

From Family Ghost: "Digging holes and filling them in /I feel so American"

"I love my country/ stupid and cruel" from Cruel Country

"I am an American aquarium drinker..."

"Normal American kids"

I know I've just scratched the surface of his identification with being American. I find it fascinating, and brave, the way he embraces and confronts what it means to be a modern American.

With the first public airing of the January 6th committee fresh in my mind, I found myself musing about Jeff's lyrical references to his citizenship over the years. He is very much a product of his country (as are we all) and it's fascinating to me to see the range of emotions that has stirred in him over the years. Think of his lyrics containing the word "American", or his references to "my country".

What is the earliest example you can think of? Which of these lyrics resonates most deeply with you?

This is a good time for all Americans to consider what it means to us to be an American. I can't help having the word pop out at me right now. 😕

11 minutes ago, chuckrh said:

I went to 2 shows last week (Mike Campbell & Bob Dylan, Mike was awesome & Dylan was middling Bob. I've seen him play better & seen him play worse). Woke up feeling really sick this morning. Took a home COVID test & sure enough, I've got it. Shocked I've lasted this long without getting it. Called my doc & she phoned in a prescription for Paxlovid to my pharmacy which I picked up no contact. Luckily I had stocked up on groceries as I was supposed to have a round of chemo on Tuesday. This blows my schedule all to hell but I feel like crap.

Oh damn, Chuck! I'm so sorry. I'm amazed that I managed to go to ssf & didn't catch it. It's such a gamble going anywhere at all. The good news is the latest strain seems less virulent. My daughter caught it while I was away at ssf & had 2 bad days of being feverish and feeling awful, but she is already feeling mostly normal again, and has just had a negative test & plans to start back to work tomorrow.

I hope your case is similarly mild and short! 😘

Besides the obvious (Wilco and Jeff) whose sets left you humming tunes later, even days and days later? Who surprised you and left you wanting to dig deeper?

For me, one of the standouts was early Saturday, as I was still groggily coming awake. Yes, I know I should be wide awake by 1 p.m. but that's how it goes when you stay up past 4 a.m. yapping and laughing with housemates you haven't seen in 3 whole years!

Anyway, I thought Cut Worms did a fantastic set in Courtyard C, following Liam's terrific set. It was a great one-two punch to get the day going! I'll be listening to more of them. 

Who stands out in your memory? Were they a surprise, or someone you'd looked forward to?