TheMaker

D-MINUS. You fail at music history and are to be held back a year.

Or "douchebag." (Come on. I kid because I love.) As somebody who thoroughly loathed the early live versions of On and On and On, but genuinely loves the studio take, I have to say that I think the song is shortchanged unless it's regarded as a finished whole. I'm not anybody's idea of a spiritual guy, but there's this great proverb in the Gita that I can never quite remember, the gist of which is that nothing can ever change the fact that we were here - that our lives, regardless of what happens next, happened. There's something beautifully reassuring about that sentiment to me, the idea t

Yeah, they're analogous to a Pearl Jam or a Radiohead here. Pretty huge. My opinion of them is a lot like my opinion of those two bands, for what it's worth. A solid rock band, better live than on disc, but not quite my cup of tea. If you're up for a show, I say go for it. You could do a lot better, but you could also do a lot worse.

Word up. It's a real daisies-and-sunshine mess, IMO.

He's clearly pronouncing it strangely ("Uh hwad it... here!"). Dunno why, but it's tons of fun!

As funny as this is, I've gotta say, what impresses me most about it is how faithfully the dude managed to recreate Dylan's '66 "Thin, Wild Mercury" sound. This is actually really spectacular musicianship, and you can tell the dude who put the site together is a massive Blonde on Blonde fan.

It's about how distance has no way of making love understandable.

Danko, Helm and Bromberg! I'm just here to register my envy for posterity.

Why in the world would this make it a candidate for inclusion on a new album? They also brought back an even more drastically rearranged Kingpin after an extended period of not playing it, but I haven't seen anybody surprised by its omission from SBS.

Man, you're all wrong! A.M. BT MA ST MA2 YHF AGIB KT SBS

It's just an interesting interpretation of reality. Keeping in mind that I love both The Band and Little Feat, my only explanation for Bob's take on things is that he's going out of his way to avoid any and all discussions about The Band whilst simultaneously rooting out every story he can find about Little Feat.

Shake It Off sounds like nothing to me so much as the revamped live Kingpin. Anybody else getting that vibe? It sags a bit, though, and feels like a plane trying to take off while its docking clamps are still locked. This wasn't one of my favourites live, but they've gussied it up a bit for the album, at least.

UHH. Wow. UHHHHH. Okay. I get it. It's Bizarro Day, where everything is opposites!

Sometimes he even plays pianee! Although not as often as Leroy did.

Well, that's just like your opinion, man. [/Lebowski] Funeral is pretty singular work, so forgive me for saying that I absolutely fail to understand how you could possibly like Rebellion (Lies) even a teeny-tiny bit without liking the rest of the (almost unanimously) acclaimed record. Since you've already got a foot in the door, I'd suggest listening to it again. It's pretty immediate stuff, but it's been cited as a grower by more than one person, certainly. Wilco's my favourite band, but I think it's far better than any single effort of theirs. I could say the same about Neon Bible, too. Th

And he spelled classic wrong. It doesn't look anything like t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e.

Yeah, I totally feel that. To me, it almost sounds like an unexpected amalgam of BAITUSA, Being There and AGIB.

Of all the new-timers out there (i.e., artists that came along after the '80s), there are only a few bands that are still together who I'd rank alongside the boys. MMJ, Arcade Fire, Spoon, and maybe a few more. Yeeeeah. No offense, but you clearly don't know what the fuck you're talking about. TAF makes albums. More so than Wilco, certainly. In fact, they're probably the quintessential Album Band of the decade. I'm okay with you not liking them for personal or aesthetic reasons, but I think you're going to a have a hard time finding supporters based on this weird rationale.

Numerical ranking whatevers aside, I thought Deusner's review was really great. I don't agree with his criticisms of the lyrics, but I thought he really captured the spirit of the album in words. Measured and agreeable, I'd say.

The three heavies for me are Impossible Germany, I Hate It Here and amazingly, On and On and On, which I thought was terrible in its earliest live incarnation. The guys really worked it over something fierce in the studio. The next tier for me is made up of Side with the Seeds, You Are My Face, the title cut and Please Be Patient. The other songs I like-don't-love or don't quite like at all.

Re: Leave Me (Like You Found Me) "Everybody's taaaaaaaaalkin' at me..." Every time I hear this song, I want Jeff to start aping Nilsson's honking vocal solo. I like the song okay, but it's awfully slight compared to much of the record, and it's not as fun as the other straightforward numbers. Pretty, though.

Not a fan of this kid, but that video was all right. Elliott Smith much, though?

I'm with you.

I'm really not hearing the first line as "The tired stoplight." If you listen to the very end of it, there's an unmistakable "k" sound. "Ties top black?" That doesn't make sense, I don't think, but it's what I'm hearing.

Understated, unified, surprising.