Sunday, April 05, 2026
is your heart still fightin'/to get our of your mind?
Maria Taylor - Story's End
is your heart still fightin'/to get our of your mind?
On Tuesday, I was at the Biltmore for the first time in ages to see Skullcrusher.
They (or maybe "she" is better, cause despite the touring band--openers h. pruz--Helen Ballentine is Skullcrusher) simultaneously sound nothing like their name and also sound exactly like their name.
Ballentine's music is sparse, quiet, and sonically serene. But on another axis, she also writes the heaviest fucking songs imaginable.
"March" is perhaps the best example of that dichotomy and the plunking piano dirge was soft and beautiful sounding live, while the weight of "what do I live for? Who do I live for? I don't know anymore" hit like a Mack truck.
Last night, I made it down to the Commodore for Jeff Tweedy
I haven't seen Tweedy solo for so long, it took til about three songs in that I realized he just plays his own tunes from his solo releases now, which makes sense, since that description covers so many songs now. Also, "solo" is a it inaccurate and the band probably should've tipped me off that it wasn't going to be a fluid mishmash of songs he'd written between Wilco and other projects and oddball covers (although there were a couple of those in the encore).
But while it wasn't what I expected, it's always a treat to see one of earth's greatest living songwriters do his thing.
His backing band features his two sons, Sammy and the very prolific Spencer (who Tweedy half joked about us "seeing with someone back here soon") and three other young'ns. And the non-musical highlight of the night was Jeff beaming with pride when he introduced all of them and talked about the music they do outside of touring with him.
Dad rock at its finest.
Album of the week
Turns out I really missed 00s Saddle Creek records, because this one sounds like it was plucked directly from that era and I haven't been able to turn it off.
Song of the week
Greg Mendez - Gentle Love
Turns out I also really missed Figure 8 era Elliott Smith.
Classic of the week
Laura Stevenson - Jesus, Etc (Wilco cover)
Seemed like an appropriate week to post this.
There's no topping the original of this for me. But Stevenson might be my favourite singer and the chorus of Laura's swelling up behind the lead vocal on the "our love" part might be my single favourite moment on any version of one of my favourite songs of all time.
More heat
1000 Rabbits - Rubik's Cube
Weird Nightmare - Where I Belong
now playing: Priests - Jesus' Son
