pnêyu

I'm still waiting for the 7-night stand here.

Considering their booking agency is headquartered across the Golden Gate Bridge, I find it highly likely that they'll be back. Typically, the West Coast hosts the band around late summer/fall.

EDIT: I just reread your post and realized you were talking about west Hollywood, as opposed to Westside. That changes everything. Anyway, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, Hancock Park, mid-Wilshire, Century City, downtown, and Koreatown might be worth a shot. You might even be able to live in San Fernando Valley. You should probably stay away from Santa Monica or Venice Beach, as attractive as they seem. But the same caveats apply: it's all dependent on how much you're willing to spend and how much of a commute you can stand.

You might want to start perusing craigslist to see what LA may have in store for you:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/hhh/

(I'd limit my search to Central LA if you want anything near Hollywood. SF Valley might work out too, but you'd want to stay close: say, Burbank, Studio City, most likely.)

Disclaimer: I haven't actually lived in LA, but I've spent many hours contemplating the possibilities.

Wow, what a loss. His show here last October for the jazz fest was a treat for a number of reasons. Now I realize exactly how monumental the night was.

I just watched his performance on Conan (yay TiVo!), and I thought that was Kraig Johnson accompanying him. Nice to see Kraig's face!

I hate Popscene, but there's no way I'm missing that show.

"Don't be such a dick!"

The show here was fun but oddly well mannered, aside from a lot of references to our president. I love the album, though, much more than I thought I would.

I've been dreading this day.

I saw him at a book signing in Berkeley in the early '90s, around the time of the first Gulf War. He was a little less than spry back then, but that didn't stop him from railing against the invasion. Of course, now we're back in Iraq, and Kurt is gone. It doesn't seem fair.

Well, that kicked ass.

Seriously, bands usually sound so bad on Letterman, but that was awesome (too bad my stupid TiVo always cuts off the end of the show--grr!).

You should hear their version of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (not that I have it).

Between this and the Irving Plaza silliness, it's not a good week for venues in NYC.

Dimeadozen now has a recording of Nels & Glenn's February show in SF.

Warner is being way too modest. The recording sounds great. I had forgotten how funny Jeff was that night and how fun the crowd was. Thanks for this wonderful reminder!

Brought to you by New Balance:

Oh my god, if my Midwestern friends have schooled me correctly, it appears that Wilco is playing the Quad Cities. Laura, Daniel! We demand representation!

add steve lillywhite to that list. the man is a genius. really pushes artists to work hard and produce excellence.

Amen to that!

John Leckie

Chris Thomas

Stephen Street

Johnny Marr

Freaking Clear Channel--it's bad enough that they already control the means of distribution across the country. Do they have to shove the hegemony down our throats even more so than they already do???

Fuzzy and Mighty Joe Moon are superb albums. After those i think the bass player left and something went awry. Copperopolis was decent but i really didn't like Jubilee at all - after that i sort of lost interest.

 

Always meant to check back on his solo stuff but somehow never did. If anyone can recommend a particular album of his solo stuff that'd be appreciated ;-).

God, I hope Greg reads this thread because he's a more ardent Grant Lee Phillips supporter than I am. I pretty much agree with your assessment of GLB's albums, though I find bright spots on each release, and Grant secured a place in my pantheon of musicians a long time ago. However, I don't think any of Grant's solo work has approached the band's output. I haven't heard the new one, but here's my very quick summary of each:

Ladies' Love Oracle: very spare, acoustic, lo-fi

Mobilize: a lot of production, more of a mainstream feel, but probably my favorite of his solo records, just 'cos I like to hear him belt it out

Virginia Creeper: more of a balance in production; rootsier too

I drove around sunny L.A. yesterday, listening to the "new" one--funny how our northern neighbors can make music so appropriate for smog, gelato, and palm trees. If I didn't have to keep both hands on the wheel, I would've clapped along to the beat.

p.s. Judy, Jon did "Only Love Will Break Your Heart" on Friday night!1!!

What information do you have about them playing Glenn's piece in San Francisco in October?

From an interview in SFGate.com last month:

Kotche has spent the past five or six months listening to classical music because he's been working on a commission for San Francisco's Kronos Quartet, which will premiere this fall

I believe it'll be part of the SF Jazz Fest.

They're bringing this composition to San Francisco in October, as well.

Elvis Costello, of course (or is that too obvious?):

He's a fine figure of a man and handsome too

With his eyes upon the secret places he'd like to undo

Still he knows who knows who and where and how

And I hope you're happy now

And my favorite lyricist, Aimee Mann:

You look like a perfect fit

For a girl in need of a tourniquet

Sorkin Will Script Flaming Lips Musical

The ''West Wing''/''Studio 60'' creator will write the script of a musical based on the psych-rockers' ''Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots''

By Michael Endelman

The Great White Way will never be the same: In an exclusive interview, Wayne Coyne, lead singer of the Flaming Lips, told EW.com that the psych-rock band will team up with acclaimed TV writer and show creator Aaron Sorkin to turn the group's 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots into a Broadway musical.

Sorkin's reps confirmed on Tuesday (March 20) that the West Wing creator has officially signed on to write the musical's script. ''Maybe that means they'll need to build a stage with lots of hallways on it,'' joked Coyne of Sorkin's fondness for walking-and-talking characters. ''It will be a giant tube that's always moving!''

Sorkin is just one of many marquee collaborators attached to the project: Tony Award-winning director/producer Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys, The Who's Tommy) will be overseeing the show. In fact, the unexpected collaboration grew out of McAnuff's fondness for the Lips' acclaimed Yoshimi album. ''When Des heard the record, he heard a lot about death and loss and the triumph of your own optimism... he had an emotional attachment to it,'' Coyne says. The San Diego-based theater producer pursued the idea and convinced the band that the album would make a compelling musical

That first one, especially.

Happy birthday, Drew. I hope Luke baked you a yummy batch of chocolate chip cookies. See you next time I'm in Sopranoland, my friend!