Wilco (again)
Now that I've just gotten home from seeing Wilco for the fifteenth time, it seems preposterous that I even considered not going. As I debated whether or not to buy a ticket this week, I kept thinking of Lester Bangs, the famed rock critic, refusing to see the Stones in '65 because he thought they'd sold out. On the day of the show though, he found himself listening to "Get Off of My Cloud" and blubbering in sorrow. His girlfriend then dragged him to the ticket office, bought the tickets, and they saw one of the most amazing shows of his life. (Check out his essay "I Only Get My Rocks Off When I'm Dreaming.") I wouldn't say I was blubbering over "The Whole Love," but I had some reservations about paying a lot of money to see a band I've seen several times before. (Wilco ticket prices have gone up dramatically in the past few years; Live Nation doesn't help.) The new album is good, but I don't love it. I was beginning to t...