Cool bands/artists you have discovered recently......

rudager,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have filed those away and placed on my wish list.

BTW - what do you think is the next best Wilco album after "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"? Do you think it is "Summerteeth" or something else?

 

Summer Teeth is pretty great, and I can see how a lot of people would really enjoy it and prefer it to YHF. If you haven't heard any Wilco other than YHF, be warned that their previous work is very different, particularly in atmosphere. Summer Teeth is simply a collection of well-arranged pop/rock/folk songs, and nothing more. The first half is very good, but the record drags on a bit for me, both because of the simple melodies and the flat, samey production. YHF, in contrast, has its a unique sound and better songwriting.

Being There is looser than Summer Teeth, and covers more ground musically. Rather than a collection of orchestrated midtempo pop songs, BT ranges from gritty rock to alt country to even a little r & b. It probably has the same percentage of goodness as ST, but I'm going to say now--having just listened through most of each--that I prefer BT by a bit (and I always thought I'd pick ST) because of its diversity and...more banjos!

I haven't heard the collaboration with Billy Bragg called Mermaid Avenue, which is a collection of covers of previously unreleased Woodie Guthrie songs. It's supposedly excellent.

That said, YHF blows everything else away. I don't know where it came from, but I wish the next one could compare. (It doesn't.)

 

Bad news on the Wilco Front:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=769&e=1&u=/nm/20040406/music_nm/music_wilco_dc

Wilco's Tweedy Enters Rehab

By Jonathan Cohen

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy is entering rehab to address an addiction to painkillers, a spokesperson told Billboard.com.


"The treatment follows a well-documented history of Tweedy's battle with migraine headaches," according to a statement released by the Chicago group.


The release of Wilco's new Nonesuch album, "A Ghost Is Born," has been moved from June 8 to June 22 "to accommodate recovery."


There is no word yet as to whether the band will be able to honor its upcoming tour plans, which include a May 1 appearance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in southern California and a June 11 performance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn.


Tweedy's struggles with migraines were on display in the Wilco documentary "I am Trying To Break Your Heart." In a key scene that illustrated his irreparable rift with since-departed band member Jay Bennett, Tweedy becomes sick to his stomach from a migraine while mixing the song "Heavy Metal Drummer" for the 2002 album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."


In Greg Kot's upcoming Wilco book "Learning How To Die," Bennett says the footage of Tweedy becoming ill is out sequence; Tweedy insists it is not.

 

Woo-hoo, my hometown got a plug!!

Seriously, this sucks and especially to those who were coming to Bonnaroo to see Wilco. Here's to hoping that Jeff can get better and overcome his demons. The guy is so talented.

 

something new to check out

only heard a few tracks so far but the debut solo release from Nikola Sarcevic (lead singer from Millencolin) sounds sensational

very different to Millencolin.... if you like the Wilco type of stuff it is in that ball park

try here for a sample mp3

http://www.millencolin.com/news/nikola_sarcevic_-_nobody_without_you.mp3

 

Nope. Far as I know they've never played a live set together anywhere. This was just David playing solo, after hours, for about ten of us. He played about seven or eight songs though and when he was done his wife played for another hour or so.

 

Phantom Planet's new CD is pretty good. They don't sound anything like their first album, and seem to come off kinda like The Strokes.

I know there are a lot of Strokes fans out there, so you should go out and check them out.