Beltmann

I've been slowly working my way through Criterion's massive Ingmar Bergman box set. Most of the titles have been repeat viewings, but the early work “Port of Call” (1948) was new to me and rather surprising since Bergman chose to operate in an unusual register. The story, which concerns a young woman hesitant to tell her new beau about her checkered past, might be too melodramatic for, say, Rossellini, but the visual style, quotidian details, and focus on class and culture were clearly inspired by the traits and philosophy of neorealism. I also took another look at “Cries and Whispers” (1972).

You need to start pulling your weight around here, pal.

When I was 17, I set out to do the same. (This was 1991 and the VHS era.) Thankfully, the local video store had a Friday special that let you rent five catalog movies for five bucks for five days! I launched similar quests for Best Foreign Language Oscar winners, Most Controversial Movies Ever, etc. It was a great way to be introduced to some of the great artists of cinema history.

Agreed. At the start, the comments were fun, but they have become increasingly less so. While it's still nice to see familiar names, I've pretty much tuned out the comments (and limited my own).

I was thrilled to finally hear "Quarters" Thursday. It's one of my favorite Jeff tunes, and I had requested it every night for weeks (but not last night!).

I've asked for "Quarters" every night for several weeks now. Long shot, I know, but it seems like the Tweedy couch might be the perfect setting for that song. And it's among my favorite Jeff songs--it reminds me of my grandfather, who died about a week before my wedding in 1994.

Susie just asked u2roolz for permission to use the recaps as part of her YouTube channel!

Love those shirts. I wore them on back-to-back days. I ended the second video by saying, "And yes, I do actually have TWO of these shirts, one orange and one yellow."

I posted this over at the Shot in the Arm FB page and thought I'd share it here, too. On the first day of distance teaching, I promised my students that I would wear a different Wilco shirt for each video lesson.

I was there, too! That's still one of my favorite concert-going memories, seeing two of my favorite bands at the time back-to-back. (I was almost 30, but felt giddy as a 15-year-old.) As for the news about Adam, I'm still reeling. (Just last week I was watching an old FoW DVD, a concert film called "No Better Place: Live in Chicago.")

I thought your joke was very funny! Laughed out loud.

Day 4 is going right now. All four days have been gems. Lots of music, lots of banter, lots of hanging out.

Thanks for that jambase link, nalafej and theashtraysays! That's going to prove very useful.

The suspense is killin' me!

Love ya, man. It was a beautiful story and I'm glad you shared!

Agreed! I eagerly anticipate her posts every single day.

I'm a huge Criterion fan. Over the weekend I watched several early short films by the Safdie brothers ("Uncut Gems") on the streaming service.

I have it, too. I have enjoyed other Wilco books much more.

My first movie of 2020 was a re-watch of "Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood." Looks even better a second time through.

Welcome! This is a great place. My favorite song, too, might be "IATTBYH."

That's fantastic!

I'm in the same spot. Lyrically, "Citizens" is right up my alley, but sonically the song doesn't grab me. "White Wooden Cross" and "One and a Half Stars," on the other hand, are album highlights for me.

Hi bleedorange! Great to see you back in these parts!

Meg, I checked your account and made an adjustment. You should now be able to post under your original username of "MegPepper." Please let me or another admin know if that's not the case. Sorry about the technical hiccup!