As I expected it would be, Jeff Tweedy's solo show at the Olympia Theatre (in Montreal) was brilliant, full to the brim of music, poetry, humour and (an under-appreciated aspect of Tweedy's art) innovative guitar-playing. Some personal highlights: "Theologians" during the first encore; "One Wing", which might be my favourite Wilco song; "Kamera", a standout on an album filled with them, their 2002 masterpiece, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I can't remember if it was said before or after his playing "Country Disappeared", but he mentioned that a video of the song had been shot in the same theatre during Wilco's last Montreal visit, in February of 2010, so I looked it up and enjoyed it very much - so here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkK4fjUlmVs. Go see this group, or Tweedy solo, if you possibly can, and listen to their records, too. They are a band that can hold the field with any other that could be named. Don't miss out.

Off to see Jeff Tweedy tonight, which should be highly entertaining. I've seen Wilco a few times now and they always surpass expectations. They're a bit like Don Mattingly, the great Yankee first baseman, in that regard (When Yogi Berra was asked if Mattingly had surpassed expectations with a particularly great season, he said, "I'd say he's done more than that"). Baseball and humour are themes that both Wilco and Tweedy have frequently explored. Wilco's summer tours have often used minor league ball parks for venues, for example - I saw them in August of 2009 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York - and Jeff Tweedy is a very funny person. He could have been a stand-up comic, probably, but I'm glad he devoted himself to music. Here's a clip that I hadn't seen before, which shows his sense of humour and his musicianship, a cover of Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate": (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRuU_IkGUyo&feature=related). And go see Tweedy (and/or Wilco) in person if you can.

I'm really glad to find out that Radiohead's new album is to be released (via digital download) this Saturday, because it gives me something positive to write about. You see, I was going to write about what a farce the Grammys are, and always have been (fun fact: Milli Vanilli won a Grammy before Bob Dylan did!), but now I don't have to. But before I leave the subject entirely, let me posit the following: the Grammys are about money, not music. They have about as much relevance, for someone serious about music, as does American Idol, which is to say, none.

OK, back to The King of Limbs (that's the title), because it's such a cool thing to have a great band at the height of their powers that can generate tremendous excitement with a forthcoming release. I was pretty young during the Beatles years, but I do remember how it seemed like their every move was an event. And then there were the many rock acts during the seventies who made me anticipate their new stuff. The Clash, Bowie, Queen, Neil Young, to name a few. Now, there are two: the chaps from Oxford mentioned above, and Wilco, who will be releasing their next album later this year. So, in celebration, here are "The Tourist" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAXRKPGKXWs) and "War on War" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-b37qFXvZw)

One of the coolest tributes to another artist that I've ever seen was done by Wilco when they backed up Neil Young at Montreal's Bell Centre in December of 2008. And as opposed to simply covering one of his songs, which would have been fine but a much more obvious way of doing it, they chose from their own repertoire the songs that seemed to be the most clearly influenced by the great songwriter. Among them were some of the best songs from what I consider to be their greatest album, Sky Blue Sky (2007), including "Hate it Here" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkIgSMOJeOs) and "You Are My Face" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0O89XxpLOg). Give them a listen and I think you'll hear what I mean right away. Then, if you haven't already, listen to the whole album.

(I should also mention that the next time I saw them, in February of this year, they did a rousing medley of "Mr. Soul" and "Broken Arrow", which can also be heard on YouTube. I won't link it though, because I've yet to find one that sounds very good. Please let me know if you do.)

Steely Dan's Walter Becker is best known for his compositional skills. He has worked in tandem with Donald Fagen for over forty years in what would have to be considered one of the very greatest of songwriting teams. And just as Fagen has released sparkling solo albums (three, actually), so has Becker (with two). The first of the two albums has not received as much attention as it deserved, in my opinion, so I'll be writing about it today.

11 Tracks of Whack (1994), co-produced with Fagen, is one of my favourite records. The opening track (of twelve, despite the title), "Down in the Bottom", sets the mood and the subject matter for the rest of the record: the attempted suburban escape of drug addicts and others bearing emotional scars from earlier, faster lives. It features a powerful vocal performance by Becker, who is hugely under-rated as a vocalist. The strength of his singing comes from his deep musical experience rather than his timbre, so it requires thoughtful listening to fully appreciate - he's a bit like Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in that respect, in fact - and this song is a good place to do it: the melody is beautifully contoured and he lays it out perfectly. Becker's guitar skills are on display here as well, and they're prodigious; he's equally at home in jazz and blues, and he crosses from one to the other freely, often in the same line. The album is filled with great playing, singing, grooves, melodies and lyrics. You should hear it. Here's an interesting track ("Medical Science") that's available only on the Japanese release: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAhh2IKdd5I

Another artist that straddles the line between music and poetry is Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. He is probably the most important American songwriter of the last decade or so, because along with his brilliant band, he has explored the boundaries of both words and music in terms of creating imagery, telling stories, putting arguments forward, exploring emotion, etc. - in other words, all the things that are accomplished by poetry of the highest level. Here is an excerpt from "One Wing", from their most recent recording, Wilco (2009):

We may as well be made of stone
We can't be flown
One wing will never fly
Neither yours nor mine
I fear we can only wave goodbye

See what I mean? If you're interested in Wilco, and I think you should be, I would recommend the DVD concert documentary, Wilco Live: Ashes of American Flags (2009) where Tweedy discusses his impressionistic songwriting. I would also suggest listening to all of their albums in order from first to last to hear their astonishing growth (and some of the greatest rock music of this generation).