Thursday, July 01, 2004

Driving the View

So the Suitcase is a major work in progress and not too pretty right now, but I figure that while I work on that I could go ahead and boost the content a tad more.

Quick tour---to the above and right you see the "Ears" section. These albums listed are the last few that I have bought, hence likely the albums I am currently digging. I tend to buy a couple or few new discs per paycheck so I will be cycling that list as time passes. In fact, just today I got a new disc in the mail and it's reminding me of something I've wanted to say that I haven't had much of a response from my No Depression brethren.....

I've seen Jay Farrar live twice now (once with Son Volt in '97 and then again with Canyon last October, I was never so lucky to see Uncle Tupelo). When I saw him in '97, he seemed extremely bored. His music was brilliant, but it looked like he'd rather sleep then play. Then when I saw him in October, it was like a total opposite. He seemed relaxed and actually opened his eyes, smiled, and said a few things. Granted it wasn't like some of those early drunken Wilco shows, but it was a stark contrast to the earlier show. I was excited when I saw that he was releasing a live album a couple of weeks ago. Sure enough, the album is great. In fact, I was at several of the shows included on the disc. Now let me say, I am not a big fan of Jay's solo material. He seems to be bored, confused, or pretentious (but not in a Wilco way). However, there is a nice atmosphere on this live album that has been missing for the last couple of years. Jay seems to actually give a crap.

If you don't believe me, or have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest checking out Jay's "Live EP" that was released the same day as the live album. The EP is solo Jay, while the album features Canyon. You may have to go out of your way to find it in stores due to the limited release, but you can purchase it here. It's pretty commitment free because it's cheap and I ordered it Tuesday night and just got it today. That's service! Definitely check it out.
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