"And I'll lay right down in my favorite place And now I wanna be your dog Now I wanna be your dog Now I wanna be your dog..." -Iggy Pop - "I Wanna Be Your Dog" Like most good lefties I was elated last November when the Democrats handed the Republican congress a little spanking ...

For most, today is nothing more than a holiday, but like most holidays, we rarely actually consider the origins or meanings. Its unfortunate, but most people take the labor movement and the sacrifices made for granted. Labor day in most of the world is celebrated on May 1, or May Day, as it is commonly known. The actual origin of the celebration is based on the eight hour work movement. Various other countries have their own origins, but all honor the economic and social progresses made by labor movements worldwide. Today, at least in the [...]

Six miners in Utah remain trapped as workers scramble against time to free them. It was reported early this morning that an earthquake had struck Utah . Scientists have since declared that the collapse was so powerful that it was mistaken for an earthquake. Last year, 47 miners lost their lives in the line of duty. That is an increase of more than 210% from the 22 killed in 2005. [...]

I've been neglecting you all the last few days, but here is my mea culpa: My covers post I've been planning for some time which will span two days. There's an art to creating a great cover version of a song. At the same time, there are different ways of accomplishing the same task. Some choose to stay pretty true to the original (See Mindy Smith's version of Jolene featuring Dolly Parton singing backup - not included below). There are two ways of view this approach; the artist [...]
... and one month later, I finally get broadband hooked up at the new house! Hi there. Stereolab are one of those bands that I seem to have a lot of records by, even though I don't love them (see also: Super Furry Animals). Unpacking the CDs after moving in led me to play a couple of the releases I do have. And even though their earlier material ( Switched On for example) is quite dated (does anyhody else remember Bleach ?), and despite the fact [...]

If the best of songs leave marks on us, then "Black Eye" by Uncle Tupelo leaves an especially potent bruise. When Jeff Tweedy admits at the outset, "He had a black eye he was proud of, " I can't help but remember the scar still dividing my right eyebrow. I got it in the third grade after colliding into my best friend, my glasses smashing up against the top of my eyesocket. The aftermath of the accident was many things at once: my first big injury, lasting proof that I wasn't invincible, a gushing gash to scare the girls with, [...]
The new Wilco b-side I posted up a couple days ago got me all excited about Wilco again; the past 48 hours have seen me searching through all my favorite old tracks from Tweedy & Co. I definitely have some favorite Jeff Tweedy moments, and I've been thinking about where "One True Vine" might fit in. Ok, it might not be quite that good - Tweedy has blessed us with some seriously astounding moments - but it's still pretty wonderful. Anyhow, here are some of my favorite Tweedy moments... I'll [...]
Howdy, cowpokes. Belly on up to the bar, and we'll serve you up some fine cocktails. It's Day 3 of The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs List. As we move on up the list, you'll start to notice a pattern of sorts. Or, more accurately, you'll see certain genres asserting their dominance over the world of drinking songs. I'm not entirely surprised, but it could lend the list a
whoa! sorry about that. i got a major case of the lazies yesterday, or if i were in college or worked at a brokerage firm i would have called it the tieoneon flu. sadly, i didnt get to see warm in the wake on saturday evening. i was able to catch a pretty cool band outta chapel hill, nc called twilighter and a fairly decent band called the eyes. twilighter take a page right outta yankee hotel foxtrot era wilco and throw in a lot of son volt along the way. i would definitely [...]
if you are in atlanta, you will be able to find me at the warm in the wake show tonight at the star bar this fine evening. so, if you see me say hey or whatever and if you dont know what i look like, i will be a white sox hat of some variety. i wrote about em a few months ago if you want to check em out. speaking of the sox. i would have given just about anything to be at comiskey this week when buehrle pitched his no-no. [...]
Please pardon this post if you're looking for the usual Big Rock Candy Mountain flippancy or songs about sin and salvation. A dear friend of mine has just died, and this post is for him. His name was Jeremy. He had a heart attack at the age of 34, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters. I hadn't spoken to him in a couple of years,but he never let me disappear from his life, or the
Out of the heart of the midwest, in Bloomington, Illinois comes Backyard Tire Fire . Not only does the name of the band suggest the sound you may hear, but it's midwest roots also lean towards their DNA, which is excellent alt-country. The debut album from the three piece, Vagabonds and Hooligans is really right up my alley. I can see the Wilco comparisons, but I tend to think they are more in the Uncle Tupelo mold. Especially when after the great title cut, the band changes lead vocals on track three, "Green Eyed [...]

Photography by Subtle Alchemy The leaks of Son Volt's The Search & Wilco's Sky Blue Sky had me strolling down my musical memory lane. Back to a days before the schism, when Son Volt and Wilco were just thoughts in Farrar and Tweedy's minds on the bad days (though I'm sure there were a few). Back then, we had No Depression, an album, a new "genre", a crappy magazine, and an amazingly & surprisingly influential [...]

Many tunes have come a-knocking at the good Reverends door over the years seeking a friendly ear to entertain. And, like the good Christian I am, the door has been thrown open wide and they've walked right in. For some, the stay has been mercifully brief – I'm sure there is a place for thrash metal but, sadly, it's not in my parlour. Other tunes have stayed for years, but have hidden themselves so deeply in the nooks and crannies of the old parsonage that I rarely see them. But, if a song has just the merest hint of a [...]

As a big Wilco fan, I got kinda excited when the band decided to start a podcast in awhile back. But with about 3 months since episode 1 aired I was beginning to think it may not return. Well, it does in fact come back, with a very relaxed sounding John Stirrat at the DJ controls playing some of his favorite and rare and sometimes rare tunes. Also included is a very rare Uncle Tupelo track, "When You Find Trouble", which John says may be the last song UT recorded together. The tracklist [...]
one of my main character flaws is that i tend to obsess over shit. typically, its over stuff that is so ridiculous its almost embarrasing - you'll see here in a second what i mean. over the past couple of days it has come to light that i have a deep rooted hatred for star jones . she's like a gruesome traffic accident that i cant keep my eyes off. she has absolutely no relevance in my life, and most likely anyone with any damn sense or self respect, but i'll be damned if i [...]

Strange Form of Life Bonnie "Prince" Billy The Letting Go Drag City : 2006 [ Listen ] [ Buy ] The Eraser Thom Yorke The Eraser XL Recordings : 2006 [ Listen ] [ Buy ] New Madrid Uncle Tupelo Anodyne Rhino/WEA : 2003 [ Listen ] [ Buy ] Who Knows Marion Black [ Listen ] [...]
not much good came out of 1993 and my brief time spent at western illinois university located in the shit hole known as macomb - all apologies if you happen to reside there. lets just say mistakes were made, nothing very serious but attending college with a high school sweetheart is not a grand idea. people kept warning me not too but the thought of having all the uninterrupted sex i could muster was all i could think of, thus clouding my judgement. one morning i happened to be listening, not by choice, to the otherwise [...]

I haven't posted a full show in a few days, so here it goes. Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down (beg. cut)-Uncle Tupelo. True to Live-Uncle Tupelo. No Depression-Uncle Tupelo. Watch me Fall-Uncle Tupelo. Shakey Ground-Uncle Tupelo. Atomic [...]