Wilco's setlist last night at Merriweather Post Pavilion had something for fans of every Wilco. Prefer cowpokey Wilco, from immediately after the days of Uncle Tupelo? They played "Boxful of Letters" off of A.M. ("The record six of you bought," said frontman Jeff Tweedy.) The netherworldly sonics of the band's output from the last decade or [...]
It’s hard to know how long a record like Tassili lasts. It’s easy to get lost in, feel transported by, and forget when it all began. There’s no studio trickery to speak of, but the droning, repetitive grooves feel endless in the best way. Songs end when they feel like they should; yet how Tinariwen [...]
Every now and again, dad likes to feel like he's hip. Like he knows what's up. He remembers when he used to spin the latest, greatest 45s on his turntable in college, always assuming he'd remain on the cutting edge of rock & roll, and every so often he turns to his children to find [...]
Over at WaPo's Click Track yesterday, pop critic Chris Richards asked his readers to explain to him the allure of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, who played a solo show at the Lincoln Theatre last night with The Autumn Defense. I'm betting that had he attended last night's show, the experience of Tweedy's emotive voice singing songs stripped [...]
Yes, we've already chewed on Deerhunter a lot this week. Let the chewing continue!
Pre-Show
Ryan Little: As a relative newcomer to Deerhunter's spacey tuneage, I have to say Halcyon Digest is a welcome push toward more accessible songwriting. Cryptograms lost me in the ether for a bit, and this album feels more anchored. I'm interested to [...]
You know him today as the lead guitarist for Wilco. But in fact, Nels Cline (along with his twin brother Alex) has for over 30 years been a major force in improvised music. Much of his work is far too experimental to comfortably be pigeonholed into jazz or any other genre; that said, Cline has [...]
Good morning!
I really want to make fun of this sale of paintings by Jerry Garcia, set for April 24-25 at the Bethesda Marriott. But it's a benefit for Haiti. Also, Jerry Garcia is still dead.
The Corcoran ended its "Turner to Cezanne" exhibit a few weeks early, WaPo reports, for the same reason I can never get [...]
In which Steve Kolowich, a Wilco devotee, and Ted Scheinman, a recent convert, discuss last night's show at the Strathmore.
Steve: Ted, you're a concert-going man. NPR has called Wilco "the best live band in America"; I've been talking your ear off about their chops for months; and your girlfriend has been burning CDs like it's [...]
Before John Mayer was pissing people off with tone-deaf racial pronouncements, he was writing bullshit songs about complacent optimism. To wit, his "People Get Ready"-once-removed album cut of "Waiting on the World to Change," which appeared on the radio this morning. And I thought, not for the first time, "Yeah, not exactly what Curtis Mayfield [...]
There are some killer new arrivals over at Red Onion Records and Books. First off, there's the reissue on vinyl (!) of the Raincoats' classic debut album. The store has also got in new pressings from Folkways, the new Atlas Sound LP (pictured) as well as Cedric Brooks, Albert Ayler, Arthur Russell, Sun Ra, Wilco, [...]
