indy81

Can't agree with this. I think the last few episodes have been fantastic -- the best in a long time. The new storyline has given the show a much-needed shot in the arm. It allows for new dynamics between the same old characters. You can't have Jim and Pam torturing Dwight in every episode for five years. I like that Dwight is making Jim miserable for once, and Pam has been given much more to do. Creed is only funny in very small doses. Anytime they try to do anything more, it doesn't work. I think the writers have realized this and cut him back to one-liners. I'm glad the show is sh

Shouldn't we wait to see if the new album does indeed suck before we dig a grave for Wilco? I like what I've heard so far. While I think SBS is their weakest release so far, it is a very good album and certainly not a sign that they should pack it in. I can't see Wilco ever getting to the "Ebony and Ivory" or "Kokomo" stage, to quote an earlier post, even if they don't release albums as good as Summerteeth or YHF ever again. Jeff Tweedy will be making music until he's got one foot in the grave, and I imagine Wilco will be his outlet for quite some time. If things start to stagnate, he's

Wow. People are defending Obama here? Is it really a stretch to think that's not an appropriate joke for the President of the United States to make on national television? It's hard to believe that people might be offended when he directly equates a shitty sports performance with the Special Olympics? I like Barack but I think he gets a little too comfortable in these "informal" appearances.

Is there any connection between Jeff Tweedy and Neko Case at all? Neko herself says she felt completely removed from the whole alt-country scene in the '90s. They seem to come from a similar place in their musical style and ambitions, but do they even know each other?

Cool - I have this on VHS and it's a great collection. The Who have always been really good at putting out tons of video footage, on VHS and now DVD. I must have a dozen DVDs. I wish they would have added footage from 1996-2008 and brought it up to date, but I guess there's plenty of that stuff available already.

The backing track was recorded in one take.

Why do people get upset at the idea that Jay Bennett co-wrote a song that they like? Is it more romantic to imagine that Wilco's best material sprung fully-formed out of Jeff Tweedy's head?

Would someone mind PMing me with the Milwaukee password? I'm a Pabst e-member, but I haven't been getting the emails for some reason. I'd really appreciate it.

You could have made this argument more easily with the last couple of albums, where they were clearly re-entrenching after "Pop" -- trying to both reclaim their fan base and appeal to a younger crowd. But this new album is much trickier. There are a few obvious commercial concessions (and they tend to be the weaker tracks), but there is some relatively weird stuff on this album, and a lot of people who loved "All That You Can't..." and "Atomic Bomb" are not going to dig "No Line." You can hear Eno all over the place. The closest comparison is with "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Zooropa." A

Yikes! I like the Stripes, but that was godawful. And I'm not just picking on Meg - Jack was off key too. More and more I think they should've called it quits after Get Behind Me Satan.

I remember having a great time at the concert one year ago today. Unfortunately, I also remember contracting a pretty bad case of the flu at the aforementioned concert. The Riviera was a steamy, sweaty disease pit. But hey, I got to hear "I Must Be High" and "Hotel Arizona."

Pabst capacity is 1345 people. Still, I imagine tickets will go quickly. I wonder if it's GA or reserved seating.

13 songs? Lame. This was a great opportunity to showcase some of the back catalog and make up for the song selection on Kicking Television. They played so much great stuff in '08. And now it looks like we're going to get an hour of music and an hour of the band's musings on life on the road. Zzzz... On the plus side, the footage looks terrific.

If the new album is as good as AM, I'll be really happy.

I was always figured it was primarily the Chicago connection and nothing much to do with Barack's tastes.

Yeah, I'm probably reading too much into it, since Jay was allegedly not happy about the appearance.

"Long Cut" on Conan Farrar looks thrilled.

Depressing.

Bloom Co. is definitely an '80s time capsule (Reagan! Michael Jackson! Jimmy Swaggert!) but it's still hysterically funny decades later. The later strips (Outland et al.) were nowhere near as good, for whatever reason.

The will call tickets are currently at Obama HQ on Henry St., so if you don't have your ticket in hand yet and want to avoid a big line tomorrow morning, head over and pick yours up.

For people who haven't gotten a ticket yet: you need to be UW faculty, student, or staff. The Obama folks take your address and phone number. You pick up the ticket at Will Call - one ticket per ID. At least that's how they were doing it outside Obama HQ this morning.

I'm guessing it'll be a relatively short acoustic set -- like the Bridge School shows, except without Nels and Glenn. I'm in.

God, I hope this is true. I can't make it to a night show. Plus, you'd think Wilco would want to get the hell out of Madison before "Freakfest" descends upon the downtown area.

So people who like Radiohead can only experience feelings of self-pity and misery? Hmm, that's a bit much, don't you think? Folks seemed to be in a pretty good mood at the Radiohead concerts I've seen. Saying that Radiohead only does whiny, self-pitying songs is no better than those local newspaper blurbs that say "alt-country band Wilco."

The funny thing is that Berman assumes "the greatest band in the world" is supposed to inspire revolutionary political action, when this has absolutely never happened in the history of Western civilization. So it's sort of unfair to pick on Radiohead -- although I'm sure it's fun to tweak their ultra-sensitive fans. Radiohead will always have to deal with the contradictions between their anti-capitalist message and their own enormous multi-million dollar infrastructure. And his linking of stadium rock with right-wing politics is simplistic, although it's a nice radical one-liner to snarl a