Autumn Souvenir

the 59 sound - bruce springsteen & gaslight anthem( glasto ) by runawaydream

I haven't posted an Album of the Week in a month or so, but here's my latest favorite.

Every city has its venues that for better or worse are prompt when it comes to set times. The Greek Theatre in Berkeley is one of those. Show time on my ticket stub read 730pm. Given my interest in the opener, Okkervil River, I arrived at the gates around 720pm. As I made my way to the side stage, Okkervil were a few seconds into their first song. I checked my watch: 727pm. That is not prompt, it's bs. Maybe the venue thinks no one's there to see the opener, but I was. As I turned the corner into the beautiful Greek Theatre, nearly all seats were already spoken for. I drifted around the lawn and eventually found some friends about midway between the stage and the back of the venue. Perfect. Okkervil's set was quick but solid. The crowd seemed fairly ambivalent, which is somewhat surprising given the similarities between the bands. And then came Wilco. The arguments from Wilco purists down to the recent converts is often about as tiresome as it gets. Yes, they've changed

I wasn't even going to add music to my iPhone. I mean, I already have my 16gb Nano and 60gb Classic (which I found after more than two months on the lam) and one of the two is always on me. But c'mon, who am I kidding. Instead of going with my top played tracks in my iTunes library (did that for the Nano), I have opted to pick one entire album from my top 50 listened-to artists on last.fm. As far as which album to select, I went with the least obvious. Or most obvious. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town Wilco - A Ghost is Born Josh Ritter - Golden Age of Radio Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Beware Josh Rouse - The Smooth Sounds of Josh Rouse Richard Buckner - Richard Buckner Okkervil River - The Stage Names Neil Young - Comes a Time M. Ward - Duet for Guitars #2 Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left Damien Jurado - Ghost of David Eels - Daisies of the Galaxy Tim Easton - Porcupine Centro-matic - Love You Just the Same Uncle Tu

I find Bill Maher maddening nowadays, but his closing segment on Friday was pretty much what I've been thinking for the past few weeks. Feel free to skip the first 2 mins.

I'd like to lean into the wind, tell myself I'm free

How I forgot to include this tune in my Top 50 Tunes Ever compilation is unforgiveable. I saw Ian Hunter and Alejandro Escovedo duet on this at SXSW '05 and recall having, ya know, one of those moments. The above pic was taken at that exact moment. Here's Mott's version, as well as Alejandro's take:

Eels : Hombre Lobo Rolling Stones : Let It Bleed Wilco : Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Bruce Springsteen : The River ...and on through the night....

This is sounding like a pleasant little surprise. His work outside of the 97's has been pretty erratic. 2002's The Instigator is fantastic and holds up incredibly well over time. It may be one of the best pure pop records of the decade. 2006's The Believer is really terrible. And now comes his self-titled release, which landed in people's iTunes libraries on Tuesday. Only 1.5 listens in, this sounds much closer to 2002 than 2006. Rhett's at his best when he doesn't push too hard, and Rhett Miller sounds pretty subdued.

I guess this show is widely considered one of the best Bennett-era shows, which obviously means: One of the best Wilco shows. I actually took the above picture from the audience that night. I do recall it being one hell of a show. Setlist follows, download at the bottom: Wilco @ Toad's Place, New Haven, CT September 16, 2000 Airline to Heaven Feed of Man Christ for President Remember the Mountain Bed California Stars Hesitating Beauty Secret of the Sea Red-Eyed and Blue Monday Someone Else's Song How To Fight Loneliness Hotel Arizona I'm Always In Love She's a Jar A Shot in the Arm Misunderstood I'm the Man Who Loves You Forget the Flowers New Madrid Passenger Side Casino Queen Hoodoo Voodoo Outta Mind (Outta Site) Wilco - Toad's Place

Below is one in a five part series. Nice interviews w Johnny Marr, Jeff Tweedy in OP shorts, some Finns and members of Radiohead.

Joyce's updates are so classic that they need to be shared with a larger audience (i.e./e.g., the 4-7 people that read my blog). June 8, 2009 My dearest friend: Have you forgotten us? We’ve not forgotten you. Forget that last post. All lies. Here’s the real story, warts, lowered expectations and all. IT FEELS SO GOOD WHEN I STOP Joe’s book, It Feels So Good When I Stop will be released by Riverhead (an honest-to-God publisher) on August 6. It is very good, despite the unfair characterization of my people, and despite the fact that pretty much every other word is a curse. In fact, you should note that the book is not appropriate for children, people over 65 or Joe’s sister Judy. It should not be given as a bar or bat mitzvah or confirmation gift (unless you’re being confirmed by the United States Senate as opposed to the parish priest), or left under anyone’s pillow as if it’s from the Easter bunny. I’m not kidding about this. It is FILTHY, and obviously comes from the mind of a

Is a goner. Just a simple oversight or is this a sign that The Drams are finished?

I really thought this year was prime for a repeat of say 1998 or so. In other words, many fantastic releases. I guess the roster of artists was there, but thus far, the goods haven't been delivered. The Tim Easton record is not very good. Oldham's latest is a bit above mediocre. The Earle tribute to Townes is kinda eh. The Springsteen record blows. The Son Volt record, though nice at first, had zero staying power. Although I'm still absorbing, the Wilco record's a bit of a disappointment. I listened to the M. Ward record about five times before putting it next to McGuinn's Back From Rio . Didn't Gary Louris and Mark Olson make a record? Clearly that one didn't resonate. I tried to like the Grizzly Bear and Animal Collection, but they're collectively snooze city. I mean, at least Whitney Houston's got a new one on the way Sept 1. We're still a few weeks away from the All-Star Break, but since so many records suck, I'm gonna go ahead and post

Jay, Edward, Paul, Scott and I all got together for our first rehearsal in Jay’s Arlington Heights basement on Sunday, June 23, 2002. Some of us were just meeting for the first time, and others of us had long running friendships. The syrupy Chicago summer afternoons had well arrived, and we only had a couple of days to get ready for the first trek in support of “The Palace at 4am”. The room was a sweatbox, a mesmirizing musical laboratory of guitars, keyboards, amplifiers and curiosities. Tools, master tapes, coffee cans full of god knows what. In all, I quickly found we were surrounded by artifacts of constant pursuit, souvenirs and useful belongings from Jay’s long running and undamageable relationship with music. Felt like I could have hidden away in there behind, between, inside of something, and it might’ve been hours before anyone found me. The musician/fan factor split me down the middle viciously. It felt sensible and familiar, but in some ways I was just flat out geeke

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but they ripped off Ritter: Baby Thats Not All - Josh Ritter

I had no idea. It's no secret that the Silver Jews' "Random Rules" is one of my favorite songs ever recorded. When I recently compiled my Top 50 Songs for a few friends, "Random Rules" was one of the first tunes that I dropped into the folder. "In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection...."

Black Postcards by Dean Wareham, Memoir, 2008 : 7.4 Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, Fiction, 1992 : 9.2