Beltmann

Thanks, Sandy! Loved it. What a great addition to what's already been a great Wilco week! That's one of my favorite things ever posted here. Both my wife and I were rolling. (She was concerned, too, when we didn't see Paul at our last Wilco show.) Paul, next time time I'm getting your autograph.

I very much hear "IATTBYH" in the drums of "Quarters"--the note sequence, sure, but also because it sounds like they are being played across the room in a closet. Love it.

Yikes. Sorry to hear that. In my small town, the party was better attended than expected--there were four of us. Originally I had a work meeting in direct conflict, but the presenter ended up canceling at the last minute so the meeting was cut short. (At that point I literally ran to my car.) I was still about 15 minutes late to the listening party, but the store manager offered to play the album a second time just for me. Very cool. Afterwards he told me to take all of the remaining stash, so I have quite a few stickers and posters. They must have been selling the vinyl well all day, becaus

Yep. I submitted the original write-up, and then the editor sent an enthusiastic email about the song, so I replied with the tidbit about Solid Sound. I didn't expect that to be added to the post, but I guess it's nice!

The Atlantic has a regular feature called "The Most Transformative Cover Songs," which offers short write-ups of covers that don't stick close to the original. Today's selection is "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," by JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound.

Unfortunately, I expect the same here. I was ecstatic yet astonished to learn that a party had been scheduled for my small Wisconsin city with rich farm history. (It's a nice place to live, but if I want arts and culture, I need to drive 45 minutes to Milwaukee.) When I mentioned the party to a knowledgeable local music fan, he had no idea it was happening--which worried me, since he works at the same music store. Worse, I learned today that my work schedule is going to directly conflict with the listening party (damn you, late meetings), so the party's attendance just got cut in half.

Just chiming in to say that I loved reading that post. Thank you!

I wish I could say the same--I want to listen now!--but I can wait. I'll enjoy the listening party (and my pre-ordered CD) more if I resist, resist, resist...

While reading that yesterday (courtesy of the Shot FB page), I became increasingly convinced that the author was only vaguely aware of Wilco. Terrible.

There are a lot of kids who have no idea what "B&P" might mean, and never will.

I wish my daughter (12) wanted to see a Wilco show. Not her thing. But last weekend we did catch her favorite band, the Beach Boys. When I reminded her that it was the Mike Love version of the Beach Boys, she said, "Well, I think Bruce Johnston will be here, too. He joined when Brian didn't want to go on tour." I just looked at her and said, "How do you even know that?" I'll take it.

I had to click "Start New Live Stream" on the menu tab, and then press "play" inside the on-air box (where it says "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"). After a brief radio ID, the stream started and has been flawless ever since. Were you able to get it going, Donna?

Ha! I talked quite a bit with the fan next to me (even older than my early '40s), and one brief topic was how Wilco shows used to be college-aged kids and now they are filled with, well, former college kids like us. On a related note: I'm not sure I've ever seen so many children at a Wilco show--a consequence, no doubt, of an aging fan base and a family-friendly start time of 6 p.m.

You would lose that bet, Paul. The two new songs were, indeed, separated by "Jesus, etc." Jeff introduced the three-song section by saying that they would play two new songs and a ballad, which might be a good time for a bathroom break for those who don't care for ballads.

They were "If I Ever Was a Child" and "Locator." (I think I saw Rob at one point--we were at the fence outside the Gold Circle--but didn't see you... grrr.) There was almost zero banter from Jeff, which I chalked up to the local curfew (the fan next to me said it was 10 p.m.) and the impending weather. The last few songs were punctuated by lovely lightning, and the flushing downpour literally started within seconds of Stacy and I reaching our vehicle. Whew.

I was able to see Hell or High Water tonight, and it's probably my favorite American movie of the year so far. I very much liked director David Mackenzie's previous films (especially Starred Up), but to my eyes this is his first masterpiece. The movie also supports my belief that, despite being criminally under-seen, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) has had an outsized influence on American cinema.

Every summer I read at least one Shakespeare play that I've never read before. This morning I finished Henry VIII.

Tonight I'm watching Marguerite, a French movie from last year that was inspired by the life of Florence Foster Jenkins. I'm curious about how it will stack up against the new Meryl Streep movie, which was a serviceable crowdpleaser (the complicated relationship at its center was more interesting than the music subject matter). So far it is covering similar terrain but with a darker, less screwball touch. I'm very eager to see that. It arrives in Milwaukee on Friday, so I hope to see it soon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AMSHs2adWk The Criterion Blu of Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day (1991) looks so good, so velvety, that I'm tempted to turn off the sound and simply luxuriate in the colors, the light, the composition. Nearly every shot functions as an isolated work of beauty--and yet the movie's greatest marvel is how Yang arranges those pieces into an even more compelling narrative whole. It concerns a teenager who gets caught up in the gangs of '60s Taiwan. That makes it sound like a crime movie, but it's really a detailed, far-reaching, novelistic portrait of a partic

My wife and I will be there. Our first Wilco show since Red Rocks last summer (although there was a Jeff solo show in between).

Mr. Trump is speaking tonight in my small Wisconsin town, in one of the nation's reddest counties. I won't be there, but I can feel my blood pressure rising already.

Well, that's disappointing and shockingly wrong. While I love the album as much as the next guy, there's just no way that YHF can be listed first. Frankly, it's impossible. Your list suggests a serious lack of familiarity with the history of Wilco studio albums. Let's agree to agree that the following is correct: AM BT ST YHF AGIB SBS WTA TWL SW WS (if it arrives on time)

That'll happen when two listeners are objectively correct. Still, I've given my list more thought. While there's no doubt that AM tops the list, I really had to think about the overall order, making sure it was accurate and that I hadn't overlooked anything. This will probably change in the future, but today I'm going to submit the following: AM BT ST YHF AGIB SBS WTA TWL SW

Based on what I know about it so far, I expect Schmilco will appear last on my list once it is released. Perhaps there will be a surprise with its release that will change my view, but for now I'm going with the following, with a spot for Schmilco reserved at the bottom: AM BT ST YHF AGIB SBS WTA TWL SW

Love it!