Beltmann

Yeah. I generally respond most to Wilco's more sonically adventurous side, but I also love the side rooted in American folk. Which might explain why I love the original live incarnations of "Spiders" as much as I love the AGIB studio version. I'm glad to have both. Has anyone else observed that, unlike any previous Wilco album, SBS sounds an awful lot like a Jeff Tweedy solo record? In my head, this is always what a solo effort might have sounded like.

I don't know where I'd rank SBS in relation to previous Wilco, but like you I'm pleasantly relieved by the the album--it sounds much better than I had been anticipating. You've been consistent in your dislike for "What Light," and I can't fault you for reading the lyrics as cheesy. But I've always detected a minor degree of irony in it, an interpretation confirmed when I saw the tune performed live and a sly, playful grin burst across Jeff's face as he sang "don't let anyone change your bag." It was as if he knew the line was corny, but he was gonna try to have fun with it anyway--and I th

I hope a pic surfaces. Glad everyone had such a great time!

Glad to see ya around these parts, Calexico.

I love you to infinity and beyond.

I agree. But it works the other way, too--when something is less than stellar or mediocre or relatively disappointing, suddenly it's described as a steaming pile of crap. The irony is how extreme reactions that rely on hyperbole to sound convincing actually end up sacrificing accuracy, and by extension, credibility. Truth is, almost everything falls somewhere in the midrange. Very few albums are masterpieces. But very few are execrable, too.

I can't believe I forgot to record this.

What did you make of the musical score? Philip Glass is a polarizing composer, but in general I like his stuff, and here I thought it was essential to establishing the strangely menacing tone of the movie. It was like hearing a noir soundtrack accidentally put into a kitchen-sink drama--I dug it.

I was definitely in the skeptical-until-proven-wrong crowd, but these three tracks make me feel a little better. No surprises, I think, with "Walken" or "Either Way," but they both sound very good here. And I'm loving everything about "You Are My Face." What strange, ethereal harmonies at the start and end.

This is the most I've ever enjoyed "Walken."

This made it easy. Thanks! Listening to "Either Way" right now.

I don't know why, but I've been listening to When Your Heartstrings Break a lot over the last month. Picked up today: Phonograph - s/t Sounds terrific. Is it just me, or does the first track sound an awful lot like "I'm the Man Who Loves You"?

Yeah, it occurred to me that it will be released days after I finish grad school. Not a bad way to celebrate.

I just don't get that mentality. Why would anyone care about when anyone else chooses to listen?

I've been listening to this a lot over the last few weeks. Did you know he's best pals with Jay Bennett?

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse

Lost and Gone Forever.

I had the good fortune of once seeing Brian belt out a hilariously sincere version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

The general critical consensus is that it's at least okay: Metacritic shows a respectable 68. Seems to me that calling it "execrable" is the skewed opinion. (Not to say it's a wrong opinion by any means; like you, I'm disappointed in the album. For me, though, a more accurate reading is somewhere near mediocre.)

True enough!

I can't think of anyone who truly has a "hard time" dealing with this. In fact, I can't think of many people who claim to adore every last song or note that Wilco has recorded. I can think of a lot of people who like Wilco enough that they sometimes enjoy engaging in discussions about aspects of the music that other people like and dislike, and sometimes enjoy defending what they personally like.

Your response reminds me of my high school music teacher, who used to mark all my quizzes wrong because I hadn't arrived at the one correct answer that she was looking for. I was always wrong, wrong, terribly wrong. Actually, come to think of it, that was my math teacher.