Beltmann

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.

I know what you mean. Often an artist is so rooted in a specific culture--which is why, say, Faye Wong hasn't crossed over to the West--that people outside that culture have difficulty appreciating what makes them special. Your argument, I think, is that Lucinda Williams translates well because she has a universal appeal that doesn't require specific cultural knowledge, as your interest in her proves. On the flipside, though, this cultural dynamic may be precisely why you haven't really responded to Bob Dylan. His art, in my opinion at least, is so deeply rooted in the American character t

It's at least a different kind of power. Sometimes poetry is musical, and sometimes music is poetic, but nevertheless, music is not the same thing as poetry. Lyrics, since they exist as part of a complex dynamic that includes an essential interaction with sonic qualities, have an entirely different context than a poem--which is why, at least sometimes, judging lyrics according to conventional literary notions of poetry isn't just unfair, it's missing the point. Words that might seem trite when isolated on a page often accumulate meaning when accompanied by a specific musical dynamic or deli

I have no idea how it's done, but I know what you're talking about: That flutter is just about my favorite thing about "Hell Is Chrome."

I minimize my disappointment in West by putting it on the shelf and instead pressing play on the new Patty Griffin.

Pop Levi - The Return To Form Black Majick Party

Boston.

Seriously? The Terence Davies movie? I love that movie--although more for the rhythms and images than for the casting.

David Vandervelde - Moonstation House Band The style comparisons to David Bowie seem warranted; I especially like "Jacket."

Picture?

Maybe she's planning to pitch V for Vendetta II?

I edited for clarification. Wish I had more time to elaborate on this, but I just don't. Life's been hectic, especially the last six months, which accounts for my infrequent posting around here. I miss our regular chats.

I agree with the original article, and with what you just said. But I wasn't responding to the article... I was responding to UW's comments about criticism in general.

Live Action Short Film nominees in order of preference: The Saviour / Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn Binta & the Great Idea / Javier Fesser & Luis Manso / Spain West Bank Story / Ari Sandel / USA Helmer & Son / Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson / Denmark Eranos Pocos / Borja Cobeaga / Spain Animated Short Film nominees in order of preference: The Little Matchgirl / Roger Allers and Don Hahn / USA The Danish Poet / Torill Kove / Norway No Time For Nuts / Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmier / USA Lifted / Gary Rydstrom / USA Maestro / Geza M. Toth / Hungary Overall, the animated r

I waited for my question to sink in. Why, exactly, do Americans avoid foreign movies? Near the front of the class, a thoughtful high school junior squinted, pressed her lips together, and finally raised her hand. "I really believe that if the story was worth telling, it would have been made here first." Did she mean that the United States has a monopoly on creativity? Or did she mean that stories about non-Americans, made by non-Americans, simply don't matter? One of the central functions of criticism, I think, is to root out such insular thinking, identify its causes, and ambush it at

It took me a few spins to come around, but I agree. I especially love the cascading piano in "Big City."