Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

I was driving this morning and thinking about how much I love Jeff Tweedy.  I wondered, seriously, if my life would be the same without him.  No kidding. And I started thinking about how subjective music can be.  How deeply you can offend someone with your tastes or insult their own.  And how humorless people can be about it.  Music, painting and decorating so much of our lives, is fraught with opinions, memories and feelings that only we can understand.  Maybe it's time I got some off my chest........ Jeff Tweedy was maybe singing about getting over addiction.  All I know is Sky Blue Sky got me through my divorce and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and The Whole Love made me feel real again.  I feel like I owe him something for that. I really do. Joe Strummer makes me want to revolt from ever working again and also a little sad that I know deep down that I can't.  It's almost like I know that Joe would be disappointed in me, ...

Since I'm probably the biggest and one of the few Wilco fans I know, I shocked even myself when I was on the fence about reading this memoir. As a kid, I could tell you the names of all the guys in every band I loved and probably even where they were from and their birthdays. But as an adult, I've often tried to distance myself from knowing too much about the artists whose work I really enjoy.  And I have been let down a time or two learning things about folks who I thought were pretty awesome.  I guess I shouldn't be so judgmental, but hey......you either like somebody or you don't. All I can say is after finishing this book in less than 2 days right at the busy Christmas season, I would have kicked myself if I missed out on it and then learned later what I missed out on.  Make sense?  Not really? Good. Then I'm writing this like a Jeff Tweedy book. First off, I have to put this out there.....Jeff writes like a real person.  He writes like he is talking...

Digging the new Jeff Tweedy record, Warm.  Review coming soon. 

All the reviewers are comparing it to Sky Blue Sky and calling it "pastoral" and talking about a return to roots.  I can't say I disagree.  Given that Sky Blue Sky is my fave Wilco album, this new one does take me back to the sound of Wilco I love.  Current fave track is "If I Ever Was a Child" but check back next week.....that could easily change.  I also really love "Someone to Lose" because it reminds me a lot of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.  But for as much as I love Wilco I will still sometimes have a moment of realizing just how much.  This came to me a few days ago as I sat stuck in my morning commute.  There I was, one of many, sitting in my simple little Toyota listening to Jeff ponder about the complexities of youth and isolation.  And I suddenly realized, yeah.....that's it.....we're all average.  Back then in detention and even now in this traffic jam.  There's nothing that exceptional about any of us, despite what all that s...

 So.  We had a pretty prolific snowstorm here in North Carolina in late January.  I cooked, I read, napped, journaled and watched a lot of streaming services! This fascinating documentary, set in Providence, Rhode Island, is a timely and sophisticated look at modern consumerism, gentrification, gorilla art, underground music and city politics.   I only watched about 20 minutes of this before I pulled the plug because it that amount of time, it seemed to me, that this film would do whatever it takes to shock, titillate and pretty much gross the viewer the hell out. I'm no prude, but I didn't see it getting any better.  Even with its stellar cast. It kinda reminded me of the shitty overhyped Hollywood from a few years back. It could have been a great series.  The cast and the subject matter almost guaranteed it.  But like Babylon it was trying so hard to shock that it failed to be engaging.  I bailed on this one after just one episode I think. ...

I have been waiting all summer, or really, all my life to see the show line-up I'm headed for this weekend in Atlanta.  It's the Americanarama tour and it features My Morning Jacket, Wilco and the legendary Bob Dylan. For folks who aren't into or aren't familiar with the type of music these bands excel at creating, it's something that's really hard to explain but also really easy to love.  It's folk, it's rock, it's country, it's alternative.  It's all of us, and it's only some of us.  It's not what you hear on pop radio.  But it is something you have running through your veins because it's, well, America, mainly because it has one man at its core: Woody Guthrie. That's why I'm wearing this t-shirt, conceived by me and inked and printed by my artistic husband to the show: This photo is probably the most iconic and well-known image of the great singer, songwriter, activist and folklore legend that was Woody Guthrie....

  This fresh and well-researched take on the representation of high schoolers in movies had me watching clips of "Rebel Without a Cause" and thinking about how much I still love Regina King and Morris Chestnut.  This book respects the actors, the writers, and the genre all the while continually noting the cultural changes to the lives of teenagers and the reasons why Andy Hardy and Katniss Everdeen could never hang. And speaking of wild teenagers, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.  Should this girl be punished? For sure.  For murder?  Definitely not.  This doc reminded me of my time on jury duty when we were instructed that we didn't have to "like" the defendants.....we simply had to weigh the facts fairly.  I wish these kids would learn that their social media bragging will never do them any favors later, but hell......would they ever listen? Goat is funny and cute and has a great message for kids.  It also has completely over-the...

My husband and I realized last night that we usually go and see ONE MOVIE per year in an acutal theatre and it's almost always in the summertime.  So seeing this one on Labor Day barely made the cut! If there is a way for me to stop loving my 90's crush Ethan Hawke , then you JUST TELL ME HOW!  This film was so meta for me in so many ways.....the long lost loves of the 90's, the grown-up Troy Dyer references , and the fact that Ethan even sounds likes Jeff Tweedy when he sings......coincidence?  That fact that he sounds like the singer of one of his favorite bands that is also my favorite band?   I DON'T THINK SO!!!! Seriously, even with some heavy themes, the adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel  (another book pick here ) is light and funny and just the way to cap off the summer.  Especially with the adorable Rose Byrne.  I also really need to find Blaze on a screen somewhere, so I can just fan girl a little bit more with my Eth...

My Perfect Wilco Setlist  (because I'm not at all obsessive about this band I have been trying to see for about 8 years now that always somehow gets messed up through absolutely no fault of my own by like geography or some other stupid shit) Dawned On Me Impossible Germany Red Eyed and Blue Born Alone She's a Jar Hesitating Beauty What Light California Stars Summerteeth Sky Blue Sky Jesus, Etc. I Might Let's Not Get Carried Away Sunloathe Heavy Metal Drummer Pot Kettle Black The Thanks I Get