A Very Unusual Day

The big news is Michael Jackson is dead at 50 years old.

Farah Fawcett, another gigantic star of my early years, died, too.

All the media outlets are abuzz with special programming, rightfully so, and definitely for Jackson. Jackson is being compared to Elvis and The Beatles.

RIP.

PS: I found this video

A definite all-time favorite song, and a sublime performance.

R.E.M.'s "Sitting Still," from their first LP "Murmur," is an all=time favorite song. This is an early performance of the song.

Some thirty years before, The Byrds performed "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better."

The Replacements, one of the best bands of the 1980's, will be reissuing four new records, "Sorry Ma, I Forgot To Take Out The Trash," "Stink," "Hootenanny," and "Let It Be." These reissues will be remastered, and will include never released material and b-side tracks, according to Billboard.com.

I think The Replacements were the best of the 80's rock bunch because their shows were quite insane. Between 1985-1988, I saw the Replacements live about 10 times, and each time was the penultimate rock experience.

First the guitars. They were loud and bombastic, exactly what's needed for a 20-something year old guy, getting his first taste of independence from home, and feeling the energy associated with like-minded rock and roll fans, pogoing up-and-down in a pit of like-minded Replacements fans.

Then the songs. Paul Westerberg knows how to write a song that appeals to the young, Midwestern guy, who feels that Poison and Guns and Roses were not the answers to the question: Who's Going to Save Rock and Roll?

I'll be one of those guys looking to pickup those newly released reissues when they appear on April 22nd.

Wilco at SDSU Open Air Theater

The Wilco Rock And Roll Juggernaut rolled into San Diego last night and made it be known--in no uncertain terms--they still ROCK.

The Chicago-based band blasted, boomed, swooned, swooped, two-stepped, and delicately dabbled for over two hours last night, leaving a close-to-sold-out house with two encores and excessive smiles on the faces of faithful.

Wilco, with Jeff Tweedy as its captain, have traveled quite a distance, sonically and personnel wise. The departed Jay Bennett, who was introduced to the rest of the world in the documentary movie "I'm Trying To Break Your Heart," can be forsaken. His musical stamps on Wilco are not entirely forgotten, because the new players can duplicate anything (and improve on what) Bennett contributed. The current players in the band are so talented, gifted, and creative, that the absence of Bennett is comparable to Stu Sutcliffe's termination from The Beatles.

From the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, Wilco formed with key members of the former, naming themselves from their response to former Tupelo, Jay Farrar, requesting the band not use the former name. ("Will Comply" = Wilco)

The first record ("A.M."), made almost a decade ago, sounds, and is, a universe apart from the latest release "Sky Blue Sky." For one, the latest record and band members are liberally sprinkled with two very important ingredients: inspiration and talent, two items which seem to be in short supply for most other bands. Wilco had inspiration for "A.M.," but now it's jacked-up on steroids.

The guitar playing of virtuoso Nels Cline and keyboarding of Pat Sansone add an ethereal dimension the band didn't have when they first arrived onto the scene. The creative musicianship by Cline himself is worth the twenty some dollars you'll expect to pay for a Wilco ticket.

The live translation of the new record is lush, dynamic, and at times combustible. Experiencing Wilco's live show now is like no other rock and roll experience. They may be the best rock band on the planet.