jff

I think I listed my guitar stuff a while back, but since then I've aquired an Ampeg Reverberocket (reissue, 50 watt) and a Taylor 414 acoustic. I dumped my Epiphone Valve Junior head and my Peavey Classic 112E Cabinet (and some other stuff) as trades towards the Taylor. In the six days since I got the Taylor my playing has improved considerably...I've started learning Travis picking and have even relearned some of the material from my short stint taking classical guitar classes.

I'd regret that, too. I wasn't sure if maybe Nels was playing strats these days, or maybe used one from Jeff's extensive guitar collection for the recordings. Now that I think of it, I think Nels did play a strat in his '90s band Bloc. He described them as a "double strat attack" band and said their record was probably the most '80s sounding record recorded/released in the '90s. I found their cd on ebay or amazon, or something, for 2 or 3 bucks. It's a challenge to listen to it.

I forgot about those. I tried one when I was thinking about getting a Dot. I liked the Ibanez better than the Dot. The Ibanez has a bound neck, which I like, and it felt very solid and well made. It also had a nicer looking finish than the Dot. (I didn't get to plug it into an amp, so I can really only comment on how it felt and looked, and not the sound.) You can get an Ibanez Artcore new for $329, maybe less.

Since when does Nels play a strat?

REM are worse than all of them since they had a pact that they'd end the band if anyone quit.

The research has been done and the verdict is in: Putting Wilco on the cover will not attract advertisers, therefore they will not be on the cover. This is exactly the same reason they don't get played on commercial radio stations.

A semi-hollow guitar will probably be more versatile than a full hollowbody. If I were you I'd see if I could find a Gibson ES-335, but it might be tough to find one for under a grand. If not, try an Epiphone Dot ($300 +/-) or Sheraton ($400 +/-), using the extra money to upgrade the pickups (if you feel that is necessary).

I'd be more inclined to give that crown to Little Richard or Jerry Lee. Having said that, I'm going to pay extra attention to Manuel's piano playing next time I listen to the Band.

Regarding Little Feat being influenced by the Band... Was Lowell George playing with Zappa when Big Pink came out? I don't know the exact timeline. If so, it's possible Big Pink played a major role in George leaving Zappa and doing Little Feat. Totally untested hypothesis...Just thought I'd throw it out there.

Levon is far above average on the drums. He doesn't do a lot of meaningless show-boating like a lot of drummers, which is a sign of talent, maturity, and TRUE musicianship. You can't improve on the feel of those tunes. He's a lot like Jim Keltner in that way. Add his ability on the mandolin and his strong vocals (if, like me, you consider the voice a musical instrument), and there is no way you can convince me that he is merely "average" as an instrumentalist.

Epiphone makes an 00 for $350. I haven't looked closely at the curvature, and I know that's not the same as an 000, but it might be close enough to hold you over (condisering $2000-$4000 for most people means "just forget about it"). I tried out Martin's 000-X1 last week ($500-ish) and it was the worst guitar I've ever held in my hands. Maybe there are some good ones, but the one I tried was full of problems (sharp fret ends, strings resting on frets, cheap appearance).

Nel, Niles, Nel's What's next? Jef, Jife, Jef'f Come on, it's only four letters.

I knew someone would eventually buy one of those Jeff Beck guitars.

Summerteeth is my least favorite Wilco album.

I tried to get tickets for Atlanta, but the only tickets left were general admission standing room only seats. Lucinda is a sit-down concert if there ever was one, so I'm not going.

I hate to bash my hometown magazine, but I agree. I've been disappointed with Paste every time I've read it. I got "West" over the weekend. Listened to it once, thought it was good, but has some of her annoying rap in spots. I might be giving it more credit than it's due based on how much I like her backing musicians on this one.

You're right, "Modern Times" is mediocre at best. Same deal with Neil's "Living With War". As much as I agree with the lyrics, it just is not a good album.

Maybe not great, but no worse than anything from "Living With War" or most of Tom Petty's recent material. I heard one song on XM the other day and thought it sounded good. I don't know what song it was.

I finally heard Wilco's version of "Any Major Dude..." last night... ...while dining at Longhorn Steakhouse.

I've heard the term "butt rock" before, but I have no idea what that means. Care to clarify?

Why is that guy saluting her?

I'm looking forward to hearing Bill Frisell and Rob Burgers contributions.

I'm looking forward to it. I think they have tons of potential. So far this year I'm excited about: The new Kings of Leon Zappa: Imaginary Diseases (released last year, but wasn't available through normal retail sources until this year) It should be in my mailbox today. Tin Hat: Sad Machinery of Spring (possibly their best album to date) Nels Cline Singers: Draw Breath Lucinda Williams: West Wilco: Sky Blue Sky I wanted to be excited by the new Shins cd, but both songs I've heard sound really overproduced, like there's a thick layer of gloss on everything.

More color coordination.