I might

Ooooooh sheeeeeeit

Mostly i've been listening to a whole lot of the Velvet Underground lately. Then what i did was listen to Beck's record club take on the entire TVU & Nico album. What happened next was that i dug pretty hard on what Beck accomplished with the likes of Wilco, Leslie Feist and Jamie Lidell, etc. which just so happened to be reimagining Skip Spence's opus Oar. I then decided to revisit Spence's original recording and was particularly captivated by the haunting vocals and instrumentation of "Weighted Down" on my way home from the Strange Brew. Upon arriving home i happened upon the video of the record club's version again...

Yes y'all. Yes.

Deeper down

Today, we laid to rest the tree in our front yard. r.i.p.

Golly i enjoy the wilco

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Exclusive - Wilco Song
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Jeff Tweedy and Co. perform 'Wilco the Song' exclusively for The Colbert Report

Land of the free and home of the voodoo cowboy

Wednesday turned out to be, not so much less productive per se... let's just call it a different kind of productive. There were lessons learned and unlearned. Let's run through a brief recap:

-breakdowns = breakthroughs
-revelations in song + voodoo cowboy (more to come)
-fatter lines
-papas fritas
-prayer circle
Whilst digitally groovin on pictured records in no particular order, the space cowboy himself revealed to me the musical inspiration for wilco's posthumous collaboration with mr. woody guthrie on the whimsical number, 'hoodoo voodoo.' This song holds a particularly special place in my recorded music timeline as it was included on one of the - if not THE - first mixtape which I crafted for my then-girlfriend-soon-to-be-wife. Why did this musical similarity just recently occur to me and what significant role does this revelation play in the upcoming presidential election? Stay tuned. We'll be back after this message...

So, you love downloading rare and hard to find music by your favorite artists, but hate the fact that sharing music of any kind is 100% illegal? Feel trapped by the tight grip johnny law has on yours and your friends' record collections? Do want change? REAL CHANGE? Well, if you pledge to vote for that change, regardless your political leanings, jeff tweedy and the boys from wilco promise you a free - yes, you hear correct - FREE mp3 download of a live performance of the bob dylan classic 'i shall be released' accompanied by fleet foxes! Just click on the VOTE button.

Need more? Thinking to yourself, that was a fine performance, but golly, now i'd really like to hear something from dylan himself? Well, look only slightly further! For a limited time only, mr. dylan is offering up a free mp3 download of a track featured on his forthcoming 8th installment of his bootleg series, tell tale signs. This six minute long outtake from the time out of mind sessions will surely have you and your kin begging for more.

You're welcome.

Today's agenda:
-anniversary blend
-flamingo, round two
-universidad burning
-free iced cream
-return to the office

I reek. Maybe let's see if we can't squeeze a shower in there somewhere.

Maimed by rock and roll

I'm pleased to say that I had the incredible joy of finding myself front row once again... center stage at that.. at another brilliant wilco show. 'Twas my first experience at the outdoor stage at White river state park. It was beautiful night of meeting with friends, making new ones, feeling the cool breeze of the river upon our face and swarms of gnats up our noses while Tweedy and company blazed through a full set and two encores of songs summoned deep from the Wilco catalog. Opened with Via Chicago, played half their last album, ripped through a killer version of I'm the Man Who Loves You, Casino Queen made an appearance, Hoodoo Voodoo! Are you kidding me? Nope. I'm not! Nels Cline and Pat Sansone faced off in a vicious duel of electric noodling.

...and do you remember the mountain bed?

p.s. Despite the title of this entry, "sunken treasure" was not played during the previously mentioned show.

The blue sky gets a little bluer

Several months back, my friend Andy invited me to join him and some friends to see Wilco at the Murat theatre in Indianapolis for the bands June 15th show. After much deliberation and a gentle nudge from my wife, I accepted my friend's invitation. This would be my third time hearing and seeing Jeff Tweedy and company live since attending Wilco's Rockfor Riley benefit show at the Murat back in the Fall of 2005 with my friend Chris. It need not be said that I was greatly anticipating this show, especially after enjoying the bands May 2007 release Sky Blue Sky on multiple listens. I was all prepared to set a course for downtown Indy after work where I was to meet up with Andy and some of his friends at McNiven's Pub for a couple of drinks before the the show. Then came the call at 8:30 the morning of the show.

Andy had been listening to 92.3 WTTS while driving to a meeting and called in with the answer to the "morning music mindbender" winning two front row tickets to the Wilco show and passes to their soundcheck that afternoon. I could go on about the details which comprised the rest of the day's events, but I'll just say that I had the great privilege of enjoying some great live music by one of the most incredible rock outfits on the planet. During the soundcheck about twenty five of us got to hear performances of "Ashes of American Flags," "Hell Is Chrome" and the live rarity "A Magazine Called Sunset." During the soundcheck, Jeff Tweedy addressed the crowd saying, "So you guys won some kind of contest?" I shouted, "My friend did!" Immediately, he fell to the ground while grabbing his sides and laughed hystericallyuntil he could finally bring himself back to his feet to continue with the soundcheck... at least that's how I remember it.

After the soundcheck, the guys in the band met us all out in the lobby to sign cds, pose for snapshots and say hi. They honestly couldn't have been more pleasant. I had couple cds on me which Jeff Tweedy, Glenn Kotche, Nels Cline and John Stirratt each signed. I was thinking about what a strange relationship exists between a band and their fans. Through art and media, the public have a small window into their lives and we come to rock shows to be a part of their art and somehow share in their experience. In some small way, we know who these people are and what their lives are like, but they don't really have the same opportunity to know all of these people who come out to their shows and buy their records. Even though we've never met, I'm shaking hands with Mr. Tweedy saying hello to him and calling him Jeff because I feel like I kinda know him after listening to all of his records and reading about his life in a book. It's strange. I know this isn't some kind of new revelation, but I've never really had the opportunity to consider this relational dynamic at this level before. I guess I'm really just making this point to say that the guys fromWilco seemed to address this odd relationship with as much respect and gratuity as anyone could. The whole experience was a rare treat which allowed me to feel a bit more connected during the concert that night to these guys who have wooed and inspired me with their music.

Thanks again Andy.

Wilco
Murat Theatre
Indianapolis, IN
June 15, 200

Setlist:
1. A Shot In the Arm
2. Side with the Seeds
3. You Are My Face
4. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
5. Kamera
6. Handshake Drugs
7. War on War
8. Impossible Germany
9. Sky Blue Sky
10. Jesus, Etc.
11. Hate It Here
12. Walken
13. Shake It Off
14. I'm the Man Who Loves You
15. Hummingbird

(Encore 1)
16. Sunken Treasure
17. Spiders (Kidsmoke)

(Encore 2)
18. Heavy Metal Drummer
19. Outtasite (Outta Mind)
20. California Stars

Tomorrow the blue sky

Wilco return with their sixth studio album, Sky Blue Sky.

What light

I've recently finished reading Wilco: Learning How to Die by music critic Greg Kot. It's the story of one of the greatest American bands of our time. The book was written with the cooperation of Wilco band member past and present. Kot traces the story back to its Belleville, Illinois roots where Jeff Tweedy began evolving into one of the great songwriters of his generation during his days alongside Jay Farrar in the band Uncle Tupelo. The book gives an intimate account of Wilco's rise from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo through the controversy surrounding the creation and release of the masterpiece album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and concluding at the imminent release of the band's fifth album, A Ghost is Born.

Needless to say, plenty of Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt (Jay Farrar's band) and Golden Smog has been spinning around the Rockey home recently. This week Son Volt released their new album, The Search. My friend Andy (whom lent me the Wilco book) wrote a stellar review of the album for iTunes and had this to say:

No need to search any further....Jay Farrar delivers again in his follow-up to “Okemah and The Melody of Riot.” The first track, "Slow Hearse" is a Neil Young-like ballad that serves as a nice prelude but is not indicative of the other tracks on the "record." The Search picks up speed with "The Picture" which introduces a horn section that rings of Van Morrison. "Methamphetamine" is buried deep in the album but it is definitely one of the album’s jewels and one of Jay Farrar's best songs to date. Lyrically, the album is less politically charged than Okemah. Musically, it’s a nice departure from some of the drone-rock sound of prior work. I anticipate these songs really coming to life when the band takes these songs on the road in the spring!

I had this to say about Andy's review:

The words flow from your digital pen like bionic honey cascading down a mountain of 1's and 0's...

Wilco releases their follow-up to A Ghost is Born on May 15th, but if you're feeling like turning out the lights and throwing on some headphones this Sunday, they'll be streaming the new album, Sky Blue Sky, in its entirety. Check here for times.