Joffrey Velvet

Priceless.


(The Socialist free song referenced in the interview is --hooray!!-- a great version of that stunning duet of "I Shall Be Released" they were performing back in August in Oregon with the Fleet Foxes -- I've only listened to the crappy YouTube-ripped version about twelve dozen times)

Wilco and Fleet Foxes live in Spokane :: "I Shall Be Released" (Dylan cover)

Knowing how excited the Fleet Foxes were to be touring with Wilco, I smile to watch them stand all crowded around one microphone in this video, shuffling their weight back and forth in what seems like "still flabbergasted" anticipation. Taken 8/21/08 at the Opera House in Spokane, this Dylan cover is just lovely, especially when Tweedy breaks into hearty and unabashed falsetto around the 2 minute mark.

I Shall Be Released (live in Spokane) - Wilco & Fleet Foxes

And hey, remember what my absolute favorite favorite cover of this song is? Yeah.

[thanks once again, Cusa!]

New from Wilco :: "One Wing" and "Sunny Feeling" (live in Indianapolis)

It's good times for new music. Wilco has recently been playing a few new songs at their shows these last two weeks. Here are recordings of two of them from Indianapolis on August 4th. Thanks to Cusa for digging these up at my behest, since I've been too busy with work to be a proper scout of anything lately.

One Wing (live 8/4/08) - Wilco

Sunny Feeling (live 8/4/08) - Wilco

One Wing (called a "WIP" at Lollapalooza by Jeff - a work in progress) is bittersweet, and heartbreakingly lovely, but builds into those jaw-dropping crescendos that they do so well. The opening minutes have that moody and wistful Fleetwood Mac-ish guitar riff. Sunny Feeling is feisty and evokes what the title describes (even though that feeling is taken away, sadly, by the chorus).

My friends who've caught Wilco in action lately say they look "dang good in those Nudie-meets-Sgt Pepper outfits..." Well yes, they always do. High class! I have a Tweedy & Co date next weekend at the Outside Lands Festival in golden SF. I will hope for these tunes to make an appearance, and any other new ones they care to bestow. Sounds like Nels is still as busy melting faces as ever.

[brooklynvegan photo credit, from Lolla]

Wilco plays someone else's songs, Part II

Hey do you like Wilco? Of course you do. And most everyone likes covers (especially me). This is part two of a jawdropping treasure trove of lovingly-assembled covers that Wilco has performed in concert over the years.

In this batch, you get covers of everyone from Neutral Milk Hotel (!!) to Herman's Hermits, an even better version of that lovely lovely "Be Not So Fearful" song that I posted a while back, and you also get to hear Tweedy's improvisational singsong verse about Grateful Dead fans ("You're scaring me very much now / I always suspected that a lot of this crowd smoked a lot of pot, and dropped a lot of acid back in the hippy days / Oh, it's so so sad that you're Wilco fans.")


WILCO: SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS [via]
DISC 2
Give Back the Key to My Heart (11/22/99): Doug Sahm
Kingsport Town (1/4/00): Bob Dylan
Lookin' for a Love (1/4/00): Neil Young
King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1 (1/9/00): Neutral Milk Hotel
Rock Salt and Nails (5/14/00): Bob Dylan
Organ Blues (5/14/00): T. Rex
Reflections in a Crystal Wind (9/12/00): Richard & Mimi Farina
I'm Into Something Good (9/13/00): Herman's Hermits
Colon song (11/16/00)
Stairway to Heaven (12/20/00): Led Zeppelin - (Golden Smog)
Ripple (2/25/01): Grateful Dead
I Wish I Was Your Mother (9/15/01): Mott The Hoople
No Depression (11/18/01): The Carter Family
It's Alright to Cry (2/17/02): Rosie Grier
Three Is a Magic Number (2/17/02): Schoolhouse Rock
Yellow Submarine (2/17/02): The Beatles
We Will Rock You (2/17/02): Queen
Be Not So Fearful (4/6/02): Bill Fay
TV Eye (5/26/02): The Stooges
Henry & the H-Bombs (6/10/02): Mott The Hoople

ZIP: SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS (DISC TWO)


[photo from Louisville Slugger Field, credit Richie Wireman]

Wilco plays someone else's songs

Hey do you like Wilco? Of course you do. And most everyone likes covers (especially me). This is a jawdropping treasure trove of lovingly-assembled covers that Wilco has performed in concert over the years.

In this batch, you get covers of everyone from Bob Dylan to the Replacements to The Stooges. Oh, and a sweet hip-hop version of She's A Jar, bitch.

WILCO: SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS [via]
DISC ONE
Listen to Her Heart (9/10/95): Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Peace, Love and Understanding (4/17/96): Nick Lowe - (Golden Smog)
Love & Mercy (4/17/96): Brian Wilson - (Golden Smog)
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (1/11/97): Jane Taylor
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (2/15/97): Carole King
Color Me Impressed (5/10/97): The Replacements
I Wanna Be Sedated (5/10/97): The Ramones
Drown (5/23/97): Son Volt
True Love Will Find You in the End (9/4/97): Daniel Johnston
Ever Fallen in Love (10/30/97): The Buzzcocks
Sunday Bloody Sunday (11/4/97): U2
Sugar Baby (11/7/97): Doc Boggs
Tear Stained Eye (11/7/97): Son Volt
If It Makes You Happy (11/7/97): Sheryl Crow
Won't Get Fooled Again (11/7/97): The Who
Ingrid Bergman (3/26/98 ): Woody Guthrie/Billy Bragg
John Wesley Harding (3/26/98): Bob Dylan
100 Years from Now (6/12/98): Gram Parsons
James Alley Blues (8/30/98): Richard "Rabbit" Brown
A Fool Such As I (10/19/98): Elvis Presley
I'm Only Sleeping (11/12/98): The Beatles
Yesterday (11/15/98): The Beatles
Rainbow Connection (12/30/98): Kermit The Frog
She's a Jar, hip-hop version (6/15/99): Wilco
Oklahoma USA (10/20/99): The Kinks
Thirteen (10/20/99): Big Star
Dreaming (10/21/99): Blondie
Any Major Dude (11/5/99): Steely Dan
Cock in My Pocket (11/5/99): The Stooges

ZIP: SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS (DISC ONE)


Stay tuned for Part 2!

[image from St. Louis, credit Charles Harris]

I wish I was a tightrope walker with legs made out of gold

When I saw Bob Schneider last November in Denver there was one simple, naked song that felt like a heavy weight settling in on my chest as he performed it. Maybe it was just something in the air that night but I remember that it knocked me back on my heels; it's rumored that hot tears may have inexplicably pricked into my eyes about two thirds of the way through this, but no one has any proof of seeing that happen so it's hard to say, really.

I finally found an mp3 of that song a few months ago after much searching. There's a lyric in it about candyteeth, and so that line popped into my head last night while driving home from having my face melted (again) by Wilco, listening to my Summerteeth CD. This is how my brain works.

Anyways. Last night I turned off Tweedy and Co. and sang this quietly to myself instead. It's got signature Schneider phrasing, but reaches deep to be a song of longing, defeat, and maybe a glimmer of hope for some future contentment.

Blow Me Back To You (live) - Bob Schneider
(new version posted Saturday)

I wish I was a baby bear sleeping in the brown
winter grass in April, while the sun was going down
and I wish my shoes were empty
and I was still in bed
with you there beside me
with your dreams inside your head

Oh I wish the world would do what I want it to
and I wish the wind would blow me, blow me back to you

I wish your mom was ugly and your dad was ugly too
cuz then they couldn't of had a girl to be as beautiful as you
and I wish I was a tightrope walker
with legs made out of gold
I'd hold you in my golden legs
and never let you go

Oh I wish the world would do what I want it to
and I wish the wind would blow me, blow me back to you

Well I wish I could see Jesus shining in the sky
so that he could finally let me know
that everything would be just fine
I wish I knew that God's love
was all I'd ever need
I'd cut my candyteeth for fun
and let the good times bleed

Oh I wish the world would do what I want it to
oh I wish the world would do what I want it to
and I wish the world would blow me, blow me back to you


[img: American painter Everett Shinn, "Tightrope Walker" (1924)]

Monday Music Roundup

I'm back from my aforementioned 20-hour dash through Wyoming, Nebraska, and back into Colorado. It was a spur of the moment thing, leaving me at the ranch/hostel place on the remote Wyoming border with nary a toothbrush at 10pm on a Sunday night. It was exhilarating to get out and see a part of the country I've never seen, simply because I wanted to see where the freeway took me on a full tank of gas. While on the jaunt, I listened mostly to my two Fuel For The Open Road mixes, and the twangy overtones fit perfectly on the county highways and prairies.

Here's what else I might have listened to if I hadn't left my iPod on the charger at home.

Future Rock
The Muslims
I'd seen a flurry of short posts about The Muslims in the blog world a few weeks ago, but they truly won me over when I read this great quote from the band that Bruce cited over on Some Velvet Blog: "We don't know what the fuck we're doing. And that's why it sounds like The Velvet Underground. Because it has chords and my guitar is trebly. We like the E chord. It's simple. None of us listen to math-rock. We tried it, but it didn't work out that well. We're not bad, we're just not really good." And AMEN, ain't that humbling. This song is young and dirty and fast -- what more could you want? The Muslims play Denver's Larimer Lounge on May 2, with lots of other shows coming up as well.

Silver Lining
Rilo Kiley
This song is in no way new music, but it has risen to the tip-top of my playlists in recent weeks. I somehow glossed unfairly over Rilo Kiley's 2007 release Under The Blacklight after reading a few lukewarm reviews, and never realized the genius of this track until recently. Lame! I know. Well, it finally hit me, all handclaps and disco beats, and I was instantly won over by the stark confessionals from Jenny Lewis and sentiments I can appreciate. If perchance you also missed it like I did, for the love of Pete, take a listen and try not to love it, all the way down to those mellifluous closing gospel chorus notes. My song of the month (a perfect video too).


Sun Giant
Fleet Foxes
As I crested hill after hill of winter-bleached prairie grassland early this morning as the rising sun splintered across it, I listened to a bit of My Morning Jacket. One of the things I enjoy the most about their music is the way it feels golden and expansive, all sundrenched reverb and eerie harmonies. It's easy to see why that same vibe would draw me effortlessly into this opening album track from Seattle's Fleet Foxes. As you delve into the rest of their songs you do hear a bit more of the classic rock influences, but gorgeous vocal tracks like this sound like a perfectly-crafted hymn ("Our Prayer" by the Beach Boys, anyone?). Their Sun Giant EP is out now on Sub Pop/Bella.

Tick of Time
The Kooks
I'm liking where the Kooks are going on their second album Konk, out tomorrow on Astralwerks. They've tuned down a bit of the herky-jerky swagger of their first album an lapsed a bit more into the acoustic harmony vibe, and they sound terrific. Konk was recorded at Ray Davies' studio of the same name, and was produced by Tony Hoffer who has worked with The Thrills, Beck and Supergrass. This is the last track on the album and they sound like they're having fun.


Glad It's Over
Wilco
I'm confused about this "musical companion album" to the excellent TV series Heroes, which is a show that messed with my brain. When watched in large doses, Heroes gave me the kind of vivid dreams I haven't had since Alias when I dreamt that Rambaldi was trying to send me encrypted messages through run-of-the-mill neighborhood night noises. In any case, I don't remember hearing Wilco on Heroes. Nor Bob Dylan, MMJ, or even Nada Surf. But look! Here's a brand new Wilco track from that collection, catchy as all get out. The selections on this soundtrack are "inspired by the characters" in the show, and are pretty bulletproof in terms of the quality tunes & artists here.

Baby we only got today, and then the moment's gone forever

The Burn To Shine DVD series artfully combines two of my favorite things: cool old buildings and terrific bands, with a series of performances captured within the doomed walls of homes slated for destruction. The cameras roll for the band alone, and by the time we see the footage, the building no longer exists.

This series is a project of Fugazi dummer Brendan Canty and filmmaker Christoph Green (the pair also directed the Wilco Sunken Treasure DVD). Musicians representing the regional scene are selected by local "curators," including Ben Gibbard in the Seattle film and Chris Funk of the Decemberists in Portland. The musicians set up shop in the condemned building, each performing one song, one take, on one day. Then the local fire department will receive the property and it will be destroyed by fire for training exercises.

What makes these films exceptional is the weighty sense of a fleeting, ephemeral moment that will never happen again. I've thought about this, but never been able to articulate the concept as finely and viscerally as the combination present in this series does.

So often I'll see an exceptional performance in a venue, and the next time I'm there I might think of what took place on that very stage. But the moment is gone and will never happen exactly the same way again. This series crystallizes that into footage and teases it out to the forefront -- the way that musical creations dissipate, and how they are fleeting by their inherent nature.

Baby, we only got today, and then the moment's gone forever.

WILCO: Muzzle of Bees
(Burn to Shine Chicago, 2002)

Muzzle of Bees (Burn to Shine version) - Wilco


SLEATER-KINNEY: Modern Girl
(Burn to Shine Portland, 2003)

Modern Girl (Burn to Shine version) - Sleater-Kinney


EDDIE VEDDER: Can't Keep
(Burn to Shine Seattle, 2005) - I love this house's architecture

Can't Keep (Burn to Shine version) - Eddie Vedder


Read the excellent full listing of who has played for this series, and if this concept interests you, you must listen to the podcast interview with Brendan Canty about the series. Canty talks about how the concept got started during a period when Fugazi was undergoing a time of flux and dissolution, and how he wanted to capture that feeling somehow through this old building that fell into his lap. It's a fascinating and brilliant concept, and a series deserving of further development.

Vol 1: Washington DC (2001)
Vol 2: Chicago (2002)
Vol 3: Portland (2003)
Vol 4: Louisville (not yet released)
Vol 5: Seattle (2005)


Burn to Shine 4-DVD complete set

I'm comin' home, via Chicago: Wilco's 5 Night Stand

Wilco just might be the most vibrant live band playing right now. Earlier this week they completed a five-show residency at hometown Chicago's Riviera Theater during which they played every song in their released catalog. My friend cwb sent me this review of the night he attended, and it encapsulated their aesthetic so perfectly that I have to reprint it here:

"[Tweedy] was warm and pithy, sincere and ironic, all at the same time, charming and engaging throughout. I've never heard better vocals from him, and he just seemed in a great place the whole night. His own twinkling and shimmering pop universe of sound, with the more than occasional crashing waves of drums and power chords, or troubling lyric, reminding us we weren't just innocent kids good vibe-ing in Brian Wilson's sandbox, beautiful and stoned.

. . . Tweedy's lyrics and vocals generally strike me as that little voice in my own head, or the invisible tweedy on my shoulder, whispering the secrets, mysteries, doubts, questions, and truths of the universe and local wal-mart.

That's about the best I can say it."


Yes. Exactly.


WILCO AT THE RIVIERA
featuring Andrew Bird on violin
February 20, 2008 -- Night 5
[check the great concert photography here]

SET ONE
Sunken Treasure
One By One
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
You Are My Face
Side With The Seeds
Pot Kettle Black
War On War
Pieholden Suite (w/ Andrew Bird & horns)
Muzzle of Bees (w/ Andrew Bird)
It's Just That Simple
Nothingsevergonnastandinmyway (Again)
I Thought I Held You
What Light (w/ horns)
When You Wake Up Feeling Old
Summerteeth
Jesus, Etc. (w/ Andrew Bird)
Walken (w/ horns)
Hummingbird

SET TWO
Via Chicago
Blood Of The Lamb (w/ Andrew Bird & horns)
Can't Stand It (w/ Andrew Bird & horns)
Boxful of Letters
Heavy Metal Drummer
Hate It Here (w/ Andrew Bird & horns)
The Thanks I Get (w/ Andrew Bird & horns)
Just A Kid
Red Eyed & Blue (w/ Andrew Bird)
I Got You (w/ Andrew Bird)
Casino Queen
I'm A Wheel
Less Than You Think (w/ Andrew Bird)

ENCORE
I'm The Man Who Loves You (w/ horns)
Dreamer in my Dreams

WILCO NIGHT 5 ZIPPED

[top photo credit Chris Sweda/Sun-Times]

I am trying to break your heart

I finally watched the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart tonight, and quick thought:

So the scene at the beginning where they are drawing a face on Jeff Tweedy's pudgy belly, using his big round bellybutton as the mouth, and making it talk and jiggle and wiggle as he bumbles it around in his hands for the camera? Yeah that kind of sums up and simultaneously nullifies all the hard work that went into 150 years of complex social science research about the biological differences between men and women. Women can do lots of things with our fat; making it talk in a documentary is not one of them.

Exclusive! Eddie Vedder & The Million Dollar Bashers, "All Along The Watchtower"

The new Dylan biopic I'm Not There takes the interesting, surrealistic angle of illustrating Bob at different stages of his life through the rubric of six distinctively different actors (including a black man and a woman): Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, and Christian Bale. I am very curious to see how this works itself out in the film - at least it's a fresh angle (I mean, how many Dylan movies can you make?).

In addition to this creative lens used in the film to examine the man himself, the soundtrack is a double disc jamboree of some pretty cool Dylan covers, including disc 1, track 1 with Eddie Vedder & The Million Dollar Bashers covering "All Along The Watchtower." Fuel/Friends is pleased as punch to get an exclusive stream for you guys to take your first listen of this!

EDDIE VEDDER & THE MILLION DOLLAR BASHERS
"All Along The Watchtower"

Stream FLASH
Stream QUICKTIME
Stream WINDOWS MEDIA



And who are said Million Dollar Bashers? It's Wilco's god-like guitarist Nels Cline, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley (from Sonic Youth), bass player Tony Garnier, keyboardist John Medeski (from Martin, Medeski and Wood), and guitarist Smokey Hormel (onetime Beck guitarist, Smokey & Miho). I never thought I'd hear musicians from those bands all jam together. The guitar solo (assumedly from Nels?) is pretty blazing, and Vedder's got the seething caged scream goin' on.

Historical tie-in from last summer: there was an absolutely scorching live version of this song that full-band Pearl Jam did in San Francisco (when Sonic Youth opened), climaxing in a very rock n roll moment of Mike McCready giving his guitar the Townshend treatment and then surfing on it across the stage. PJ has played Watchtower 4 times live before, but that was my favorite. If you'd like to hear that one as well, the link over on that old post still surprisingly works.

You can also stream four other full songs from the biopic over on the soundtrack's MySpace (the ones by Sufjan Stevens, Cat Power, Jeff Tweedy, and Jim James with Calexico). Among others, I'm also looking forward to hearing Mason Jennings' two contributions, The Black Keys cover of Wicked Messenger, and The Hold Steady enticing me to climb out my window. The soundtrack is out October 30, and the film opens Thanksgiving weekend.

NEW CONTEST:
Would you like to win one of two copies I have to giveaway of this lovely double disc? Of course you would. Leave me a comment to enter, make sure I have a way to contact you (might wanna spell out that email addy), and if you feel so inclined, please let's talk about your favorite Dylan cover. So I can wrap this up before I head to NYC, this contest ends Wednesday at midnight.


I'M NOT THERE (FULL SOUNDTRACK LISTING)
Disc 1
1. Eddie Vedder & the Million Dollar Bashers: "All Along the Watchtower"
2. Sonic Youth: "I'm Not There"
3. Jim James and Calexico: "Goin' to Acapulco"
4. Richie Havens: "Tombstone Blues"
5. Stephen Malkmus & the Million Dollar Bashers: "Ballad of a Thin Man"
6. Cat Power: "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again"
7. John Doe: "Pressing On"
8. Yo La Tengo: "Fourth Time Around"
9. Iron and Wine and Calexico: "Dark Eyes"
10. Karen O and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Highway 61 Revisited"
11. Roger McGuinn and Calexico: "One More Cup of Coffee"
12. Mason Jennings: "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"
13. Los Lobos: "Billy"
14. Jeff Tweedy: "Simple Twist of Fate"
15. Mark Lanegan: "The Man in the Long Black Coat"
16. Willie Nelson and Calexico: "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)"

Disc 2
1. Mira Billotte: "As I Went Out One Morning"
2. Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo: "Can't Leave Her Behind"
3. Sufjan Stevens: "Ring Them Bells"
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico: "Just Like a Woman"
5. Jack Johnson: "Mama You've Been on My Mind"
6. Yo La Tengo: "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
7. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
8. The Hold Steady: "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window"
9. Ramblin' Jack Elliott: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"
10. The Black Keys: "Wicked Messenger"
11. Tom Verlaine and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Cold Irons Bound"
12. Mason Jennings: "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
13. Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Maggie's Farm"
14. Marcus Carl Franklin: "When the Ship Comes In"
15. Bob Forrest: "Moonshiner"
16. John Doe: "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine"
17. Antony and the Johnsons: "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
18. Bob Dylan: "I'm Not There"

[Vedder photo credit Kerensa Wight, header image credit Playlist]

Wilco @ The Fillmore in Denver: A fireworks display raining down on me

"Jeff Tweedy is some sort of crazy genius," I found myself thinking as I watched my first Wilco show from front and center, pressed up against the barricade on Saturday night at The Fillmore. I had prepared myself for a really good show, but I was completely blown away by this band. There was the warm and rich display of the alt-country sound I'd expected, but also raw, real, fantastic rock blended with intelligent melodies and retro pop sensibilities. I've listened to them casually before last night, and holy cow now I understand what I've been missing out on. Their catalog is so much better than I had ever imagined, even just the two hour glimpse we got last night. I stand 100% converted.

They opened with a blue and gorgeous "You Are My Face," and then launched right into this, which literally left me standing there with my mouth agape in wordless pleasure by the time it was over:

WILCO: I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART
(watch out for the unavoidable loud fuzzy spots in the audio)

[direct link]

I took several videos from my prime real estate location (Nels' relentless pogoing in a snippet of "Shot in The Arm" and the engagingly playful sound of "Hummingbird") and drank in the set that ran a full two hours.

Tweedy has an ineffable charisma, and makes something inside of me wince with recognition when he chisels out his best icy aching lyrics. I wasn't expecting the power and range of his voice. He was letting it fly, with a soulful edge that to be completely honest brought to mind something like Black Crowes on a couple of occasions, which surprised me. I love this man.

I resolutely held my place on the railing so I had a clear view between the monitors of drummer Glenn Kotche, who is insanely good on drums -- inventive and exacting, possessing a true joy in his playing. He was absolutely drenched in sweat by the third song (maybe also because it was twelve million degrees in the venue).

Nels Cline is face-meltingly amazing on the guitar -- that man needs to be added to my pantheon of best guitar players. He plays with a class and a dignity of some middle-aged British duke (he had jaunty red pants on) but then absolutely shreds it. Check this video of him and Tweedy doing the dueling guitars on "I'm The Man Who Loves You." The band was a full six people strong, lush and potent and shattering. It was a sheer delight to behold.

For me the most visceral song of the night was "Via Chicago" -- it kicked me in the gut. It starts out with the casually sung lyrics, "I dreamed about killing you again last night, and it felt alright to me." What a way to catch your attention, with those stabbing lyrics that aren't afraid to speak out loud your deepest and ugliest thoughts. But the melody is fairly typical, a rustic and warm ballad-type. I'd like it well enough the way you think it's going to go.

But about hafway through the live performance, the back end of it completely falls out, things fall apart. The drums go all dischordant, the backing melody splinters off, I had bright lights shining directly in my eyes -- except Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt kept on with the regular melody, the regular harmonies as if nothing was happening. I thought something went wrong, I was confused - did the post-show music sound system come on or something?

Then the overpowering craziness stopped and the song continued. I realized it was intentional, and it truthfully made a weird hot burning come to my chest just because of the power of a song to do that to me. It's brilliant -- Tweedy works out (what I understand as) his feelings about "coming home" through these bursts within the song of crazy, deceptive, controlled anarchy. It was so unexpected, and therein lay the power and the genius.

Some artists do stuff like that all the time to shock you - or their world is so chaotic that it is a part of every song, that experimentalism, that avant garde chaos. But precisely since I would never have expected to have that happen, the performance of the song becomes a wonderful two-faced illustration of deception and conflicting feelings through singing one thing and half the band playing a complete other. He stands there, being the troubadour, oblivious in his deception.

* * * * * *

I told several friends today about the show with the hushed and breathless wonder usually reserved for religious pilgrimages or transcendental journeys. Everyone kind of shrugged and was like, "Yeah, Wilco's cool." I pressed them, "Yes, but have you ever seen them live?" None of them had, which explains why they could be so casual about it. If any of them had seen Wilco like I saw them last night, they'd be radiantly glowing too. The people standing on either side of me on the barricade were from Iowa and California, respectively, and had followed Tweedy like he was their prophet. I was kind of chuckling at them at the beginning of my night ("wilco has crazy fans!" I texted a friend). But by the time the band ripped out a thirteen minute version of Spiders (Kidsmoke), I was ready to pack up and follow them too.


Full setlist, Wilco in Denver 9/1/07
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Pot Kettle Black
Handshake Drugs
A Shot in the Arm
Radio Cure
War on War
Side With The Seeds
Shake It Off
Too Far Apart
Jesus, etc.
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
On and On and On
----------------------------------
Impossible Germany
How To Fight Loneliness
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
----------------------------------
Via Chicago
Hate It Here
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm Always in Love
Outtamind (Outtasite)

Remaining Wilco tour dates here
All my photos from last night here

Jeff Tweedy swings by your living room

Okay, I've cast my lot and I am in for Wilco tomorrow night at the Fillmore up in Denver. I have been hearing phenomenal show reviews from folks up and down the West Coast who have caught the Wilco revue in recent weeks, some saying it's one of the best shows they've ever seen, so I am really excited. I was going to pose as a security guard to get in (I'm not lying, friend works there) but thankfully that idea is past. Although I was totally already practicing my cross-arm stance, daring people to mess with me.

So in honor of my first time seeing Wilco, I've got a tasty little acoustic set that I've been sitting on for a few months, waiting for the right occasion. Most times if you heard that a rock star charged $17,500 to play in someone's living room, you'd think either a) desperate or b) money-hungry. Right? No, not Tweedy. He's auctioned himself off for the last three years for the Second City (in Chicago) Letters to Santa Benefit. This raises money for Christmas presents for kids, and in 2006 net over $50,000 through three dedicated groups of fans each coughing up the $17,500 to be the winning bid.

By that logic, each tune that he performed on this fan-directed setlist was worth $472.97. Given the nature of who was requesting the songs (uberfans, willing to pay up dearly), you know the setlist is going to be packed with gems. There's precisely the intimate, acoustic, chatty, spontaneous vibe here that you would expect from some guy who shows up in your living room to play you a personal concert.


JEFF TWEEDY, LIVING ROOM CONCERT
Letters to Santa Benefit, 4/8/2006
Someday Some Morning Sometime
Not For The Season
All The Same To Me
Summer Teeth
Blue Eyed Soul
A Magazine Called Sunset
I'm Beginning To See The Light
Hey Chicken
No More Poetry
You Were Wrong
If That's Alright
Lost Love
Henry & The H Bombs
The Ruling Class
Fatal Wound
I Must Be High
Kamera
Is That The Thanks I Get
Walked Where He Walked
James Alley Blues
Hotel Arizona
Please Tell My Brother
Walken
New Madrid
Walk On
Red-Eyed and Blue
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
We've Been Had
The Long Cut
Radio King
Forget The Flowers
I'm Always In Love
Candyfloss
Say You Miss Me
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
I'm The Man Who Loves You
I Can't Keep From Talking

ZIP UP TWEEDY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM

[photo from the 1/14/06 Living Room show]

A potpourri of bonus tunes from Wilco

I was reading Weiss' entertaining piece on how to avoid hippies at Bonnaroo when they start forest dancing (yeah . . . good luck with that, Weiss) and saw Wilco on his list of top 10 bands he plans to check out later this month in the Tennessee wilderness. I did not realize all the fantastic bands coming through the 'Roo, including Wilco -- which reminded me of this post that I've had knocking around in my head for awhile now.

I am just fairly recently getting into Wilco -- and I honestly don't know why it took me so long. I think Sky Blue Sky is understated, subtle, and solidly enjoyable, one of the strongest releases of 2007 thus far. So much of Wilco's music has an intangibly rich and bittersweet quality to it that invites you to delve deeper. That's rare for me to find to this degree.

For your enjoyment, here are some Wilco b-sides and demos from this album and before. Lots of gems here (to add to the fine tunes on the More Like The Moon EP which I re-upped). All run fairly melancholy except for "Student Loan Stereo" which has a bit of an agitated/defiant edge to it -- kind of the way I feel each month when I pay down my student loans. It must be universal sentiment.

One True Vine
(Sky Blue Sky b-side)

Let's Fight
(unreleased, Sky Blue Sky sessions I think)

Venus Stopped The Train (demo)
(Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions demo)

Student Loan Stereo
(Can't Stand It single, CD1)

Tried & True
(Can't Stand It single, CD1)

ELT (King Size demo version)
(Shot In The Arm single, CD1)

True Love Will Find You In The End (Daniel Johnston cover)
(Shot In The Arm single, CD2)

She's A Jar (Austin demo)
(Shot In The Arm single, CD2)

Sunken Treasure (solo acoustic)
(Can't Stand It single, CD2)

I'm Always In Love (solo acoustic)
(Can't Stand It single, CD2)

Blasting Fonda
(Outtasight Outta Mind b-side)

I Am Not Willing
(Box Full Of Letters single)

XYZ: I forgot to ZIP IT UP!


So . . . I am adding I Am Trying To Break Your Heart to my Netflix.

[thx and thx for some of the tunes]

Wilco: More Like The Moon EP

Wilco has a nice little EP available for free download (with cover art) called More Like The Moon (or Australia EP, or Bridge EP) on the WilcoWorld site.

Thanks to a special correspondent, I was pointed in this direction yesterday and have been particularly enjoying the "Magazine Called Sunset" tune ever since (and that quiet folksy one about Dylan), although the whole EP is first-rate.

This was originally released a bonus disc to the Australian version of 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. According to the ever-helpful Wiki: The EP was comprised of six songs that were recorded but not released during the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions. On the one-year anniversary of the release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco made the EP available through their website. Hurrah! Check out this fine little collection:

Camera
Handshake Drugs
Woodgrain
Magazine Called Sunset (borderline kitschy with that tropical lounge feel, but hot dang, it works!)
Bob Dylan's 49th Beard
More Like The Moon


ZIP: MORE LIKE THE MOON EP

Also, news out of Nashville last night; Jeff Tweedy announced that the title of the new Wilco album will be Sky-Blue Sky (not to be confused with Ryan Adams' song Blue Sky Blues), and will be out May 15.

Monday Music Roundup

A crystalline and lovely dream last night involving me slow-waltzing with Ryan Adams in a high school gym with paper streamers all about (yeah, have no idea where that one came from but I ain't complainin') reminded me of an interesting effort I read about called The Dream Project.

It involves people calling in and leaving scratchy, half-coherent messages on a dedicated voicemail line (often right after waking), and then a cadre of artists works to visually represent those dreams as part of a larger project. The only catch is that they ask for dreams with "a strong narrative flow and clear landmarks so that others may follow the trail." So that summarily eliminates me, unfortunately. My midnight brain is too random to make most of my sojourns followable by anyone else except me.

And actually, this project also reminds me of one of my favorite Dilbert comic strips.


. . . Here are five songs on my playlists this week that you may enjoy.

Deep Water
Ryan Auffenberg
This new demo song from San Francisco's Ryan Auffenberg ("One To Watch") is first in the lineup this week because it reminds me of a soundtrack to a dream, from the opening lyrics about some moments staying with you, to the soporific feel of the chorus, "deep water grows cold the further down you swim." Perfect. Ryan's put this new song up on his MySpace page, he's got a few tour dates this month on the West coast and was recently picked up for a little featurette on San Francisco's KFOG. I still recommend checking out all of his work, and think we'll be hearing good things from him in the future.


Is That The Thanks I Get
(live on Conan)
Wilco
Ahhh, Wilco. You Tweedy fans are a passionate bunch, and trying so hard to convert me. I am only not a hardcore fan yet because of benign neglect. Reader Chuck recently sent me a 10-song "Wilco Starter Kit" to try, once again, to transform me into a rabid fan, and so far he has been fairly successful. I recently came across this new song, a fantastic soulful Memphis piano romp performed several months ago on Conan. This (and other new songs) are potential inclusions on the upcoming Wilco album (May 2007, Nonesuch Records), and I like what I hear so far.


I Will Wander
The Features
Tennessee's The Features are guys that I love to root for; you may recall a mention a few months back on this blog about how they were dropped from their label for refusing to cover a Beatles song for a credit card commercial? Well, the same sound that drew me to madly adore their 2004 track "Blow It Out" is still alive and kicking on their recent Contrast EP. I am digging the marching cadence of this song -- the feel reminds me of a sort of Modest-Mouse-meets-Devo.


Children of December
The SLIP
Been listening to The SLIP's Eisenhower CD (on Bar/None Records) for a few months now and always meant to write something but somehow it kept getting passed over -- but no longer. This is simply a fantastic song from the opening vibrating notes. I think the first thing I read about Boston's The SLIP came from a quote I read from Jim James of My Morning Jacket who raved about them, saying, "'Children of December' is the song that hit me hardest - the way the guitar and the melody interlace, it's incredible...It could even appeal to some kid who really likes punk rock. It's really challenging.” Their Eisenhower album sounds fresh to these ears, and was co-produced by the band and Matthew Ellard (Elliott Smith, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Morphine).


After The War
Sleep Station
Here's a random tune that popped into my inbox after my recent Cotton Mather post. Reader Barry from NYC writes, "I suspect you're a big power pop fan who loves those pronounced Beatles influences with jangly guitars, close harmonies, all the good stuff. Seeing that's the case, I thought I would attach a song by a band you may not know called Sleep Station. I love this song, and the album it comes from, After the War (their strongest record), generally sounds like a cross between the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Good stuff." I agree and think I am going to get this CD for further listening (an $8 bargain!). I find this particular tune to be a pleasant modern-day update on "Golden Slumbers." Thanks, Barry!


Oh, and if perchance you are looking for some good books for 2007, Scatter O' Light is doing a great series on music-related reading, and yours truly just scribbled together a few suggestions off the top of my head for her part 3 (part 1 on U2-related tomes is here and part 2 on best rock bios is here). Happy reading!

Happy birthday John Lennon

John Lennon would have been 66 today (had he not been shot by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman in 1980). He was only 40 when he died, and I've sometimes wondered what other wonderful music he had still within him.

I figure the occasion of his entrance into this world (with a bang - he was born during a German aid raid over Liverpool the night of October 9-10, 1940) is a fine reason to post some covers off the Working Class Hero: A Tribute To John Lennon album (1995, Hollywood Records). It's an eclectic little snapshot of the musical environment of the mid-90s, with some spiffy covers & interesting interpretations.

Also speaking of covers, Coverville has a John Lennon covers podcast for free download as well.

Instant Karma! - Toad The Wet Sprocket

Nobody Told Me - The Flaming Lips

I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier - Mad Season
(featuring Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees)

Power To The People - The Minus 5
(Scott McCaughey with members of R.E.M., The Posies, and Wilco & The Decemberists - in various incarnations)

Also, you may be interested in reading my post on the 25th anniversary of his death last year, which has an active download link to a demo version of my favorite Lennon solo song -- one of the most gorgeous recordings you will ever hear: earnest and yearning and raw and perfect.

Monday Music Roundup

Hey there tiger, happy Monday. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you.

So you think you know your rock history? Or do you just want to see how little you actually know? Newsweek has a wicked hard Rock 'n' Roll Quiz. It's probably the worst that this nerd has ever done on a test (52% score), but it is extremely entertaining if you like the minutiae of musical history. Fun sound clips throughout, too, so turn down those speakers at work before you start the quiz -- I mean, before you start working on that, uh, important spreadsheet, boss.

And as usual, here are 5 songs that have kept me company this past week:

"Your Touch"
The Black Keys
The boys of The Black Keys have parted with the Fat Possum label (but not before leaving them with a nice 'lil EP of Junior Kimbrough covers) and joined Nonesuch Records, thrashing through their unique Hendrixesque garage-blues sound for a new disc, Magic Potion, due out in September. It's heavy and wonderful, with a casual, loose, calling-out-key-changes-across-the-garage feel to it. They just finished a short tour opening for Radiohead -- I guess their job was to exhaust the Radiohead fans before Thom Yorke and crew come and sing them into relaxed & hazy happy-land. The Black Keys also have more tour dates coming up, those are some I would check out.


"Cemetery Row"
The Minus 5
There is a jangly, shimmery, indie-bluegrass-rock sound to this track, with more than a passing resemblance to the wavering honesty of The Shins or Band of Horses. The Minus 5 is helmed by songwriter Scott McCaughey (The Young Fresh Fellows), who is joined here by friends such as Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies), among others. From the self-titled 2006 disc (so-called "The Gun Album") on Yep Roc Records.


"05-22-02"
Golden Smog
A friend and I spent some time re-dissecting the Clerks soundtrack last year, and one of the best efforts on that disc is by Golden Smog (a cover of Bad Company's "Shooting Star"). I don't recall us knowing then who, exactly, was in Golden Smog but now I know that it is a mixed blend of Gary Louris & Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks), Kraig Johnson (Run Westy Run), Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco, again!). This offering is a warm mid-tempo song from their upcoming album Another Fine Day (out on Lost Highway Records, July 18th).


"Supermassive Black Hole"
Muse
I just had not had the time to listen to Muse (even though they were running an ad over there, stage right). Then my cousin Alan posted an uber-enthusiastic status update on Facebook (I know, why doth the Facebook have such power over me?) wherein he raved about Muse. He recommended I check out several of their tracks while he tries in vain to contain his excitement before their concert in San Francisco tomorrow night. I completely love this song - a heavy arse-shakin' blend of interesting sonic electronica and superfun stadium rock (a la the falsetto swagger of Eagles of Death Metal). From Black Holes and Revelations, released last week.


"A Lifetime in Heat"
Guggenheim Grotto
A very persistent reader kept sending me little blurbs about this band. I finally got a chance to listen to them - and I am glad she was so tireless! (Takes a while sometimes with me). Guggenheim Grotto is an Irish trio reminiscent of a blend of the intelligent composition of Badly Drawn Boy with the loveliness of Damien Rice or the backyard-hammock drifting of Iron & Wine. Their 2005 album Waltzing Alone is available on eMusic, and their Lifetime In Heat EP is downloadable in full from their website. Nic Harcourt from KCRW called this "one of the most beautiful records of the year," and my peeps over at NPR's World Cafe/WXPN have been spinning them as one of their "Artists of the Week."

Enjoy.