Yes, I’ve had this for a month, but now I have my physical copy. I’m still a sucker for physical media, because I wants all the bitses.

• Blind Faith’s eponymous album.
  
• Lenny Kravitz’s It Is Time for a Love Revolution.
  
• Matthew Perryman Jones’s Swallow the Sea, which I’ve been waiting for since … oh, about a half-hour after I first spun Throwing Punches in the Dark.
  
• 20 Jul 1995 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1995-07-20: Dancing in the District, Nashville, TN, USA
  
• 20 Apr 2004 [Minneapolis, MN, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward, Jim James, and Conor Oberst. 2004-04-20: Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA (disc 1) and 2004-04-20: Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA (disc 2).
  
• 18 Nov 2006 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2006-11-18: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2006-11-18: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 1 Aug 2008 [Sugar Land, TX, USA] concert bootleg of Andy Gullahorn. 2008-08-01: Andrews Home, Sugar Land, TX, USA (disc 1) and 2008-08-01: Andrews Home, Sugar Land, TX, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week was very good to my ears:

• Nirvana’s Nevermind. Is there an album with a better opening than Nevermind? I mean, it’s a Led Zeppelin-esque tour de force to kick things off. Just fantastic. Four-and-a-half stars.
  
• The Cardigans’ Life. Still definitely in a pop vein, but it’s got a lot more groove behind Nina’s voice musically. Three stars.
  
• Over the Rhine’s Live From Nowhere, Volume Three. Worth the wait, as usual. Four-and-a-half stars. People, this is how you do it: put out a live album every year. Put a couple covers on it. Sell to your hardcore fans directly, and you’ll keep them happy.
  
• 16 Jul 2006 [Florence, MA, USA] concert bootleg of The Autumn Defense. I own Birds, Beasts, and Flowers, their half-and-half EP with Hem [because of the latter], but this is the first time I’ve given them a serious listen. I thought BBF was uninspiring for bringing people to Hem, and I think the same can be said for The Autumn Defense—I’ll be checking more out now. Three stars.
  
• 17 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Nothing special. Three stars.
  
• 23 Jun 2008 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. A solid recording. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 22 Jul 2008 [San Diego, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Feist. A fantastic recording. Four stars.
  

• My Brightest Diamond’s A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.
  
• Sigur Rós’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.
  
• 21 Apr 2002 [Toronto, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2002-04-21: Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
  
• 14 Nov 2003 [Los Angeles, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. 2003-11-14: Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  
• 22 Apr 2005 [St. Paul, MN, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward. [Thanks to emdot for the use of her photo for this cover art.] 2005-04-22: Turf Club, St. Paul, MN, USA.
  
• 5 Nov 2005 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-11-05: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-11-05: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 4 May 2008 [Birmingham, AL, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken. 2008-05-04: Workplay Theatre, Birmingham, AL, USA and 2008-05-04: Workplay Theatre, Birmingham, AL, USA.
  

Last week was abbreviated in an effort to catch up:

• Sloan’s Parallel Play. Three stars: almost three-and-a-half, but not quite. Fun power-pop, though.
  
• Eric Peters’s Bookmark. Two-and-a-half stars: it works as a tide-me-over album, which is what it was intended to be, best as I can tell. A worthy grab for EP fans and completionists.
  

Yeah, so uh … no new music last week. I’m in Delivery Mode, which means excess mental energy doesn’t get expended unless necessary. The only new studio release is something I actually don’t have my hands on yet, but will probably get this afternoon as I head to the office to work [told you it was busy]:

• Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs.
  
• 7 May 1999 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. I’m sneaking two in here to try to work off the backlog. 1999-05-07: Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 1) and 1999-05-07: Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 2).
  
• 3 Nov 2004 [Portland, OR, USA] concert bootleg of The Delgados. 2004-11-03: Music Millenium, Portland, OR, USA.
• 4 Nov 2005 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-11-04: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-11-04: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 28 Sep 2006 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward. 2006-09-28: KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
• 3 May 2008 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken. By my own hand! 2008-05-03: 3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, TN, USA and 2008-05-03: 3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, TN, USA.
  
• 5 May 2008 [Missoula, MT, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-05-05: Harry Adams Center, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA (disc 1) and 2008-05-05: Harry Adams Center, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA (disc 2).

Two weeks ago turned out pretty well:

• Deb Talan’s Sincerely. A solid, four-star effort. The rendition of “How Will He Find Me” is the strongest track.
  
• City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love. Another four-star release for me; “The Death of Me” and “Body in a Box” are both good little numbers.
  
• 4 Sep 1967 [West Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Cream. Two-and-a-half stars, which is what I’d expect for a four-decade-old recording.
  
• 27 Aug 2005 [Cincinnati, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Four stars; “The World Can Wait” and “Firefly” just sparkle. Fun between-song banter, too. It’s OtR with a hometown crowd—hard to beat that.
• 4 Feb 2006 [Malmö, Sweden] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. It starts a little slow, but they really fly in the second half of the concert. The renditions of “Crooked Teeth” and “What Sarah Said” are the best to my ears.
• 26 Mar 2008 [Melbourne, Australia] concert bootleg of Wilco. Three stars. I was terribly bored.
• 9 Apr 2008 [Louisville, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. Two stars. Just not a good recording.

• Deb Talan’s Sincerely, a live album that’s only available these days as a digital download.
  
• City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love, which I was introduced to by Adam.
  
• 4 Sep 1967 [West Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Cream. 1967-09-04: Whiskey A Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 1) and 1967-09-04: Whiskey A Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 2).
  
• 27 Aug 2005 [Cincinnati, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-27: Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-27: Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 2).
• 4 Feb 2006 [Malmö, Sweden] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. 2006-02-04: Kulturbolaget, Malmö, SWE.
• 26 Mar 2008 [Melbourne, Australia] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-03-26: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (disc 1) and 2008-03-26: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (disc 2).
• 9 Apr 2008 [Louisville, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. 2008-04-09: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-09: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY, USA (disc 2).

Last week:

• The Weepies’ Hideaway. This one did not grab me the way that Say I Am You did, but I’ve also not given it car/road trip time. I will be correcting that this weekend. Three-and-a-half stars, and I expect that’ll rise.
  
• Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). This was a bit of an impulse buy, although it was well-regarded in last month’s Paste. Very much worth my money. Four stars.
  
• 18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. It’s hard to believe that this was recorded onto tape, at least for me. It sounds quite good! Three-and-a-half stars.
• 26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Oh my holy heck. This is a fine, fine, fine recording. If you like Ohio and Drunkard’s Prayer, GRAB IT. Four-and-a-half stars.
• 15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. Sadly, during Matt’s solo stuff, the recording is very distant sounding, which is surprising for Church Audio cardioids; must’ve been a hard room to record. I give it three stars.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. I’m happy with how this one came out; I’m giving it four stars only because the songs off of The Ringing Bell really deserve to have a band behind them. I understand why that didn’t happen on this tour, but man … if Derek had been able to have Todd, Garett, Jeff, Josh, and Andrew backing him on these songs … that would have been awesome. Anyhow, some folks would probably like more of the SBD in this mix, but I’m a fan of how a recording actually sounds in a room. For those people, I’ve seeded the SBD and AUD recordings in their uncut forms on IndieRiver; they can do with it what they like.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. The longer I think about this, the more I think about re-mastering it. It just could be better. That said, it’s decent. Three-and-a-half stars, mainly because of Andy O’s two killer guitar solos. That kid really can shred.
  

Surprisingly, I was able to hold out on listening to The Weepies’ new record until this week, despite having it Tuesday. Discipline, or something.

• The Weepies’ Hideaway.
  
• Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). You can blame this one on me watching lots of Gilmore Girls episodes.
  
• 18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 1) and 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 2).
• 26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 2).
• 15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA and 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. Really happy with the ability to do SBD-AUD matrixes now. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. This one took a lot of work, because my feeds got slightly out of sync from time to time during the set, so I continually had to monitor for sync issues. Worth doing, though. I’ve got some ideas of how I’ll do that better next time. Could’ve spent more time mastering it, too. Ah well. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week was good in the studio spots, meh otherwise:

• Deb Talan’s Something Burning. Unlike with her husband, I liked her sophomore release much better. This is good, but the melody is better on the next record. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• Deb Talan’s A Bird Flies Out. Lots and lots of fun here. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 11 Jan 1997 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Jeff Tweedy. Pretty standard Tweedy solo fare of that era; nothing special. Two-and-a-half stars. The fun bit for me is the cover of “Thirteen”, which I’m used to hearing Elliott Smith do.
  
• 7 Jul 1999 [Stuttgart, Germany] concert bootleg of Wilco. Very meh. Two stars.
  
• 12 Aug 2002 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. Sounds thin and reedy. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 25 Jun 2005 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Good mics, well-implemented. Feels sluggish, but that’s because the performance is slow and muted. Sometimes when OtR goes this way, it’s really cool, like listening to jazz with a good glass of $alcohol [I'd say wine, but I don't drink wine], and sometimes, it’s like this, just a tad too mellow. Three-and-a-half stars.
• 17 Apr 2006 [Toronto, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. Sadly, an audience rig not up to the task. Two stars.

The new label releases this week are things I’d always meant to get but just hadn’t … probably because I needed some downtime to get them.

• Wilco’s Kicking Television.
  
• Son Volt’s Straightaways.
  
• 15 May 1997 [Portland, OR, USA] concert bootleg of Elliott Smith. 1997-05-15: EJ's, Portland, OR, USA
• Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot engineering demos. [I figured I'd forego a true bootleg this week since I had a Wilco live record to digest.] Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Engineer Demos
• 5 Jun 2006 [Charlotte, NC, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. This is the second recording I ever made. 2006-06-05: The Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC, USA
  
• 29 Sep 2006 [Knoxville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of the Square Pegs in the Round. 2006-09-29: 7:00 p.m. show, New City Cafe, Knoxville, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2006-09-29: 7:00 p.m. show, New City Cafe, Knoxville, TN, USA (disc 2).
• 7 Jul 2007 [Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Andrew Bird. 2007-07-07: Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA, USA.
  

Last week:

• She and Him’s Volume One. I love it. There are spots where it wears on me a bit from sameness, but I’ll talk that more in the inaugural IJSMCast, I believe. Four stars.
  
• My Brightest Diamond’s Tear It Down. None of this was bad, but none of them were outstanding. Three stars.
  
• 6 May 1997 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Elliott Smith. I sit and listen to the interviews here, and I just want to give Elliott a hug. He sounds so down. But the recording is very good. Four stars.
• 1 Dec 2001 [Lynchburg, VA, USA] concert bootleg of Andrew Peterson. It’s solid but unspectacular. Three stars.
• 3 Jun 2006 [Atlanta, GA, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. This is my very first bootleg recording, and … it shows. Two stars. :cringe: But the solo on “When I Go” sounds pretty good.
  
• 17 Jan 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. After having a great Son Volt recording previously, this returned back to the “meh” realm. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 20 Feb 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. A fantastic end to a fine, fine residency. Four-and-a-half stars.
  

This week sees a couple long-awaited studio releases for me: one that just hit the streets, and another that I just never got around to getting:

• She and Him’s Volume One. I love M. Ward, so you had to figure that I’d get his collaboration with Zooey Deschanel.
  
• My Brightest Diamond’s Tear It Down. I love Shara Worden’s voice, and I loved Bring Me the Workhorse. So, why not get an album of remixes of that album? Fun times.
  
• 6 May 1997 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Elliott Smith. 1997-05-06: Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, CA, USA
• 1 Dec 2001 [Lynchburg, VA, USA] concert bootleg of Andrew Peterson. 2001-12-01: West Lynchburg Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA, USA and 2001-12-01: West Lynchburg Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA, USA.
• 3 Jun 2006 [Atlanta, GA, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2006-06-03: The Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA, USA (disc 1) and 2006-06-03: The Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA, USA (disc 2).
  
• 17 Jan 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. 2008-01-17: House of Blues, Chicago, IL, USA.
  
• 20 Feb 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Last night of the residency at the Riv. 2008-02-20: Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 1) and 2008-02-20: Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week:

• Alli Rogers’s You and the Evening Sky. Is it legal to say that you don’t like Don Chaffer’s production? [I kiddingly ask, but only because I have friends who are both fans and fellow musicians with the male half of Waterdeep, and well ... they all might string me up.] But I hear the production on “Carry a Light” and am … sorta turned off. But I guess I’m wrapped up in this visage of Alli as this guitar-bearing songstress … which she is, but that doesn’t stand up to being very interesting for 13 tracks on a CD, even for the best singer/songwriters. But it gets better from there; I really like what he does with the rest of the record. “At Sea” and “The Things We Can and Cannot Keep” are, for me, the highlights. Four stars.
  
• 30 Mar 1996 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Elliott Smith. Admittedly, I’m blessed with the awesomeness that is the present era of concert bootlegging, but even for the era and technology, this is a pretty meh show. Two stars.
• 18 Sep 2004 [North Olmsted, OH, USA] concert bootleg of The Weepies. Highly, highly recommended! Sounds fantastic, even for being a soundboard. [I typically find SBDs to be flat and lifeless.] Four-and-a-half stars.
  
• 4 May 2007 [Portland, OR, USA] concert bootleg of Andrew Bird. Oh my, this recording’s terrible. This is only recommended for completionists. Two stars, barely.
  
• 8 Jun 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Noisy, indistinct, and overly bassy. One of these years, I’m gonna record them in that room and it’ll sound fantastic. Maybe I won’t have a terrible cough, either. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 5 Oct 2007 [London, England] concert bootleg of Son Volt. What the heck? A Son Volt bootleg that doesn’t suck? No matter what you think of the Uncle Tupelo breakup, Jeff clearly got the support of the killer tapers. But this recording sparkles, and it’s done with binaurals, which impresses me even more. Four stars.
• 19 Feb 2008 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Nels Cline’s solo during “Impossible Germany” never fails to make me smile. Another solid recording from the Riv residency. Four stars.