Beltmann

As always, huge thanks for these details, Paul.

The list of bands that I regularly blind buy is very long. The sense of discovery is different and deeper when it carries the weight of purchase, and by extension, investment. But the question is which bands will always be on that list. That's tougher, and those candidates are usually bands that are not just "great," but have some other personal connotation for me. (In fact, some of them aren't among the best bands in the world, but there are personal reasons for my forever interest. The Gaslight Anthem comes to mind--a good band, not a great band, but there's a profound link between me, the

Move along, folks. Nothing to see here. All the action is down the street.

We had two threads going about Lemmy's death, so I merged them.

Thank you for sharing this heartwarming news.

I absolutely loved it and was (slightly) disappointed for the same reason: It fully transported me back to my childhood, because it felt like a remake of Episode IV, but it also felt a bit like a retread, because it felt like a remake of Episode IV, with parts taken from the other movies, too. Loved the old cantina scene? Here's a variation! Loved the old scene with Kenobi being cut down in front of helpless onlookers? Here's a variation! Loved when Vader used the Force Choke? Here's a variation! Loved when Luke used the Force to grab his lightsaber from the ice? Here's a variation! Loved th

#2 on Robin Hilton's list for NPR: "Star Wars — and the Tweedy record from last year — show frontman Jeff Tweedy has entered a period of profound creativity, writing some of the best songs of his life."

#7 on American Songwriter's list: "The apex of the record is its stunning final track 'Magnetized,' which see’s the band channeling Abbey Road-era Beatles into robust pop perfection that rivals 'Reservations,' for best album closer."

#9 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the year's best albums: "Frontman Jeff Tweedy has finally found his inner Han Solo."

The GOP's rejection of refugees is rooted in a shared virtue: Like all Americans of any political persuasion, they sincerely want to keep America safe. The irony is that it doesn't take into consideration the tried-and-true methods of keeping America safe. First, there is a careful vetting process already in place that has been working for more than a decade. (To listen to the cable news blowhards, you'd think that the president's plan is to simply open the doors to an unregulated stampede.) Embracing refugees keeps America safe for several reasons. Research shows that moving refugees far aw

I'm not crazy about the last two albums, but the older stuff remains in heavy rotation around the house. My wife and I have seen them 7-8 times over the years, and the live show continues to be pretty great. They were obviously having a blast last night and did a few things they've never done before. (There used to be quite a few Guster fans around here.)

Guster at the Pabst in Milwaukee.

Self-serving silence is what motivates the fallen Catholics who intersect at a seaside monastery in The Club, Pablo Larrain’s severe indictment of the Church in Chile. The residents are mostly disgraced priests sent to the coast by the Church in order to save face, but their comfortable, unholy existence is threatened when a young investigator, Father Garcia, starts asking questions. With its washed-out, colorless cinematography, the movie starts grim and only grows bleaker, culminating in an astonishing sequence of violence and retribution. Larrain flirts with sacrilege—one potent image has F

Over the last 10 days I have seen 31 movies at the Milwaukee Film Festival. (Five days still to go!) So far the two best films I've seen are documentaries: The Look of Silence and Cartel Land. Both are nuanced sociopolitical portraits that excoriate entire nations for their moral corruption, and both contain startling, how-did-they-get-that footage.

Welcome! This is a great place.

Here it is.

Yeah, we talked for a few minutes before another customer entered the checkout. What was funny is that I then drove to a video store and the clerk there also mentioned the shirt--but I've talked Wilco with that guy numerous times before, so that wasn't surprising.

Several days ago I was in OfficeMax and the clerk noticed my T-shirt, saying, "Wilco! Cool, man." Thing is, the T-shirt was the "Kaysettes Starring Butchers Blind" one, which only a serious fan would immediately grasp as a Wilco shirt.

As a Brewers fan, I've had the good fortune of watching Mike Fiers for several seasons. Despite the ups and downs of his average pitching career, he's one of the easiest guys to root for. Plus, he often managed to perform above expectations given his skill set. I loved watching him pitch last night; I was thrilled for him.

Yesterday my 7-year-old kept trying to get our Amazon Echo to play music from Star Wars, the movie. Each of his voice requests ended with the Echo playing "EKG," much to my boy's chagrin. I was in the office, cracking up.

I have a good friend who was born in Iran and lives in Tehran. She says that most Iranians are disgusted by the hard-liners in the government and are generally hospitable to Western ideals. Last year she said something interesting to me--she said that it's interesting how most Iranian citizens don't believe their government's propaganda about America, while so many Americans accept the propaganda they hear about Iran. I don't mean to minimize the threat from hard-liners in Iran, but I think it is wise to always clarify the distinction between the Iranian government and the Iranian people.

The '67 version is very good, but the new one is solid, too.

Fitting, yes, but oh, that's gonna take some getting used to.

It was spit-take worthy when Entertainment Weekly placed "Taste the Ceiling" on their list of "Hot Midsummer Jams," alongside Taylor Swift, A$AP Rocky, Miguel, Vince Staples, and Carly Rae Jepson. Strange company.

"Star Wars" was the featured review in this week's print version of EW, which was surprising. Besides the "A-," they also stamped the album as the "Rock Record of the Summer."