Beltmann

I always appreciate your personal, thoughtful take. I can't disagree with your thoughts about the setlist--halfway through the show, I mentioned to the fan next to me that it felt like a greatest hits record. Still, I was entirely in the mood for a greatest hits show, and the young fan next to me, who had previously never seen Wilco live, had the time of his life. Gobsmacked, he was. He was deeply familiar with Summerteeth forward, but he left saying that he had to buy Being There straight away. And it was great seeing you again, Paul. I'm glad I spotted you near the merch table! One

I'd like to chime in regarding the sequence of patrons staring into the camera. For me, that section was the most compelling portion of the movie; by asking us to look, really look at those multitude of faces, it conveys something about the egalitarian spirit of Solid Sound, including the close relationship with the community and including how those faces, whether famous or not, are all of a piece. The sequence is long and stylized, yes, but that's what sets it apart from typical fly-on-the-wall footage. It was a poetic touch in a document that, whatever its pleasures, needed more such touc

Courtney Barnett opening for Belle & Sebastian in Milwaukee. (Every once in a while the opener is more appealing than the headliner, and this is one of those times.)

Wish Vimeo worked with Chromecast. But I just downloaded the file, put it on a flash drive, and played it through my Blu-ray player. Super easy, and it looked great on my large TV.

Eels Novocaine for the Soul Things the Grandchildren Should Know Prizefighter Love of the Loveless Mistakes of My Youth

Love that you included "Anna Lee." That one is as good as any of their older greats!

The song on repeat was "One Sunday Morning." Saunders: "I had that album and I was chain-listening to it for the whole period I was finishing that story. Whenever I listened to it, it put me into the mindset of the story right away. It’s a great song, but they’re also just a great band."

Anyone else hear a lot of Mark Oliver Everett (Eels) in Courtney Barnett? While listening to Barnett's "Debbie Downer" today, I couldn't help but think of Eels' "Friendly Ghost." Obviously the vocals are very different, but there seems to be some common ground musically and lyrically. "Debbie Downer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgWDPEEuHx4 "Friendly Ghost" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0WE963XV-k

I'm more of a Dead Alive guy, but Bad Taste is certainly something!

I'll go with my usual choice and defense: "We're Just Friends." It doesn't get a lot of respect, but it's one of my favorite Wilco songs. I like to think of it as a soft and wounded miniature--simple yet beautiful, with something real, honest, and touching about it, all while sounding like an exposed raw nerve. The ache in Jeff's scratchy, tremulous vocals is palpable.

Oh, I remember that thread! (If I remember correctly, I had plenty to say, but I'm a little leery to go back and re-read.) Even better were the endless forum debates about whether Wilco had "sold out" by giving a bunch of songs to the VW ad campaign. Things always seem red-hot in the moment, but given a little time and perspective, seem less egregious.

I feel for the jilted ticket-holders--and there's something callous about telling them to just suck it up; it's pretty easy to view it that way when it's not happening to you--but I'm unconvinced that some of the alternatives proposed in this thread, such as donating proceeds or speechifying from the stage, would have made any news or impact at all. It's unfortunate that innocent fans are caught in the crossfire, but at the same time, that's why the decision matters: Wilco was willing to face negative blowback in order to take a stand. One cancelled rock concert is not going to break this le

I jumped on board with The Double EP, and picked up the new one this week. Love it. I'm a bit surprised at how much attention it's receiving, but I'm happy for Ms. Barnett!

Thanks for sharing, Crow, and I hope it proved cathartic. I read every word and I'll keep you in my thoughts. To use the parlance of the VC of old: ) ) ) ) ) V I B E S ( ( ( ( (

Gaslight Anthem tonight in Milwaukee.

I remember seeing Slacker when it first came out, and it struck me as an important work. From the start, Linklater has always been interested in time, both in terms of structure and subject. Boyhood is perhaps the most extreme example, but even something like Dazed and Confused is more about time than about parties. For me, the Before trilogy is his greatest meditation on time, and I'm partial to the middle film. What's astonishing about Before Sunset is how the weight of years--on their lives, on their emotions, on their faces--deepens the context of Jesse and Celine's original conversati

Whiplash is not realistic at all, but that's a strength, I think. It's a movie about how two characters feel within a particular and rare bubble, and the movie's visual style and rhythm helps express that psychological space. Somehow I managed to see nearly every single nominee this year. Sheer luck, I guess. Once I see the animated and live action shorts later this week, I'll have seen every nomination except Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night, several of the foreign language nods, two of the feature documentaries, one of the animated features, and one of the original songs. Most o

Same here. I wonder whether its exclusion has something to do with the old Conet Project copyright issue.

As a history lesson, Last Days in Vietnam is filled with rich human details and astonishing footage classically edited into an informative, compelling story. I can see why it was nominated for the Oscar. (Although I wouldn't let him watch the first half, which concerns combat and some atrocities, my six-year-old son was mesmerized by the second half, which chronicles the attempt to rescue as many South Vietnamese as possible during the Saigon evacuation.)

I've been working my way through movies made by BBS Productions, which means revisiting many familiar works like Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces. This one, though, was new to me. Drive, He Said (1971) is a strong work that describes the unforeseen consequences of the counterculture, and it's much different in style than the other two movies later directed by Jack Nicholson. Up next: The Last Picture Show, which I haven't seen for 20 years.

Love everything about this. Jealous!

Thanks for sharing, BT. One of the great things about this place is that we do care about each other, and that means we do want to read about such things if someone feels the need to share. Nine years ago my brother was killed in a car crash days before Thanksgiving, and VC's outpouring of support--both emotional and financial--was overwhelming. My family has never forgotten it. (In fact, it came up again last night when we had family over for New Year's, and spent a few minutes watching several songs from the recent Tweedy Austin City Limits.) Mr. Heartbreak is right, of course, in point

Agreed! It's not getting a lot of attention in the U.S., though. Shame.