Listen to this Wilco Offshoot -- Pronto! (Heard)

Listening to a Wilco side projectsusually requires a bit of patience. Whether its Nels Cline shredding, or Glenn Kotche going off on the skins, or even the progressive rock of Loose Fur, the players are expanding their field and experimenting. And it's good music. I love both Loose Fur albums. But it takes some patience.

So what a treat to hear the fresh blast of 70s pop-rock on Pronto's debut All Is Golden. Pronto includes Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and his former Lizard Music bandmate Eric Paparazzi.

Between the lead-off track Listen Lover and the closer I Think So there is little filler. This is one consistent, and accessible album, from the tender folk of Had & Have to the fuzzed-out Monster.

Pronto is at its best channeling The Band in I Don't Know Where All My Good Friends Have Gone and What Do You Know About You? When I'm on the Rocks sounds suspiciously like I Must Be High from Wilco's first album (a song penned long before Jorgensen joined the band).

You can hear the title track and I Don't Know Where All My Good Friends Have Gone on the right-hand side in Currently Playing.

Playlist 10 -- You Shall Know Our Vasectomy!

The time spent in airports and hotels this past week allowed me to catch up a little on my reading. But before this week's Playlist, a little reminder: Don't be shy. Click the comment button. Let me know: What are you listening to? What are you reading?

Oxford American's 9th annual music issue.
As if attempting to complete your meal with supersize fries, several magazines provide readers with bonus CDs and/or DVDs to complement their content. I particularly enjoy two specific "literary" magazines that do this with their "music issues" -- The Believer and Oxford American. What makes Oxford's music issue stand out is that it doesn't just toss together a CD of indie rock or confessional songwriter types and call it a music issue. The issue carries the same well-written pieces this quarterly Southern magazine is known for. It delivers some of the artists you have heard about (Dwight Yoakam, Percy Mayfield and Thelonius Monk) along with a collection of long-lost nuggets from those artists who you may recall, but can't tell why. Or, quite frankly, you've never heard of. This wonderful mix tape isn't stuck in one genre or one era. Teddy Grace's jazzy blues of "Hey Lawdy Papa" from 1939 sits between Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks and that extremely nasty Betty Davis. But you don't just get the songs. You get the story behind the songs, and the artists -- the sad, addiction-riddled life of the powerful folk singer Karen Dalton as well as the rise and demise of the Parchment Prison Band. Great stories that fill these otherwise unknown songs with life and passion. And there are other great articles, ranging from a tale of Dylan's recording of Blonde on Blonde to this piece on the "blog band of the moment" culture of indie rock.

Upcoming music releases to look forward to ...
So who is the blog band of the moment? It appears to be Vampire Weekend, who are all over the blogs and, now the mainstream like the St. Paul Pioneer Press list of 5 bands to watch. (Note, you have to register for free to read the Pioneer Press article)
I guess if they're in the newspapers, they're so over now. Truth is, Vampire Weekend's blend of African- and classical-influenced pop is very catchy and comes with the Distractions' seal of approval (based on their Mansard Roof EP). In the blog buzz, the comparison they most often get is to Graceland-era Paul Simon. Definitely check out their self-titled album when it drops on January 29.

I'm also looking forward to the soon-to-be-released heavy riffs of Black Mountain and the heartful, Cat Power sound-alike Thao Nguyen. You can hear some of Thao's music here.

And a final interesting music-related read before we move on ... Can you really trust a list of 120 essential pop albums when Beyonce and Ghostface Killa are on the first page? Maybe. There are some otherwise interesting choices in the Telegraph's list.


You Shall Know Our Velocity! By David Eggers.
I'm making my way through the David Eggers' catalog backwards and hope to eventually get to his one book that everyone has already read -- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Though I haven't read all his books, I'm a huge Eggers fan. His McSweeney's publishes some terrific books and magazines and a kick-ass Web site. YSKOV is a modern tale that has a classic feel to it. The characters are trying to give away $32,000 in a week while traveling around the world. Sounds easy, but not for our characters, particularly Will who can't get rid of the pain, voices and little librarians in his head. It's a book that moves at a fast pace, as the boys jaunt from to places like Senegal and Estonia, but also stands still. The book opens with ....
Everything within takes place after Jack dies and before my mom and I drowned in a burning ferry in the cool tannin-tinted Guaviare River in East Central Colombia with forty-two locals we hadn't yet met.

Makes No "Diferentia" to Me
Or Pour the Coffee, Pass the Eggs, Let's Read About My Vasectomy
Since Distractions has a smaller circulation (I'm just guessing here) than the Palm Beach Post's 200,000+ (on Sundays), I think it's safe to share. I'm married to a writer, an incredibly gifted writer. But living with a writer means that your life, warts and all, is sometimes shared in print. Our attempts to kill bugs, clean the house, raise two boys, etc. have been great fodder for wonderful articles by my wife. But when she asked me: Can I write about your vasectomy. I said sure, but where's the humor in this horrific event? I asked just one thing. Leave my name out. So my wife did that, referring to me throughout the article as "Hubby," which would've been great if the editor didn't decide to "out" me in a PHOTO and caption on the article, which ran on the front page of the newspaper's Sunday Accent section! At least the online version leaves out the photo.

Scrimshaw and Acme Pale Ale
Both of these beers from the North Shore Brewing Company are light-tasting, refreshing beers that I highly recommended. Scrimshaw, a Pilsner, in particular, has a very subtle, yet rewarding, taste. Good stuff!

And, finally, some songs I've been digging this past week.
-- Walk Where He Walked, Golden Smog, Down by the old Mainstream. Super song, underrated super group.
-- Suite for 20 G, James Taylor, Sweet Baby James. It has folky guitar, soulful horns, call-outs to the various instruments, basically summing up 70s soft rock in one song (and it's on the quintessential soft rock album).
-- Psychotic Reaction (live), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Playback. Drummer Stan Lynch takes over vocals on this Yardbirds-sounding tune .
-- Anti-Love Song, Betty Davis, Betty Davis (and the Oxford American music issue CD). Miles' former wife put out two classic funky rocking albums in the 70s, then disappeared to Pittsburgh. I hate to repeat my adjectives, but this stuff is Nasty -- capital N.

Playlist 6 -- Top Songs of 2007

A merry and peaceful holiday to all you Distractors out there!

I've had a wonderful holiday so far, visiting the world's greatest father (as well as the rest of my family). They were my main distractions this past week, so this week's Playlist will be a short one. As promised, it's the Distractions 20 Best Songs of the Year List. Also, please note our newest feature -- the weekly Wikipedia link.

In case you missed it, last week's Playlist included Distractions 10 Best Albums of the Year List.

And over the next week, we'll be back with another installment of I Don't Get It as well as the next Playlist, which will include the Distractions first annual book selections.

Distractions 20 Best Songs of 2007 ...

20. Ian Hunter -- When the World Was Round
19. White Stripes -- Icky Thump
18. Ryan Adams -- The Sun Also Sets
17. The New Pornographers -- My Rights Versus Yours
16. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings -- 100 Days, 100 Nights
15. Okkervil River -- Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
14. Birdie Busch -- Go Go Gadget Heart
13. Arcade Fire -- My Body is a Cage
12. Son Volt -- The Picture
11. Rilo Kiley -- Silver Lining
10. The Teeth -- Ball of a Dead Rat
9. Blitzen Trappen -- Murder Babe
8. Wilco -- You Are My Face
7. Arcade Fire -- Keep the Car Running
6. Bright Eyes -- Four Winds
5. Ryan Adams -- Two
4. Jens Lekman -- Your Arms Around Me
3. Feist -- 1, 2, 3, 4
2. Spoon -- The Underdog
1. Dr. Dog -- Alaska

Agree? Disagree? Did I miss something? Let me know what you think.

Playlist 3 -- 30 Rock, Marah, Lambchop ...

Week number three. Thank you all who took the time to drop a comment. Let me know what you guys are reading, listening to, playing or watching this week.

Here's what's been on my Playlist.

30 Rock. A great old friend asked in one of the comments how I have time for all these distractions. One reason is that, unlike most Americans, I don't watch much TV. (My wife may disagree, but it's true). I have only a couple regular TV shows I watch. And other than to catch up with news or sports, the TV is in the hands of our youngest. And I have to give a shout out this week to one of those few shows I watch -- 30 Rock. It's clever and laugh-out-loud funny, thanks to Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and the incredible Alec Baldwin. And it just keeps getting better. While most shows were on reruns last week, 30 Rock came through with a classic -- Cougars.

A.J. Jacobs. The Year of Living Biblically. See last week's Playlist.

Marah. This Philly band is a great rock story. They release an album locally that generates some buzz, including the interest of a well-known country rock star (Steve Earle) starting his own label. They release a great album, then get in a tiff with said country rock star. Just as they're near their apex, they head into the studio. They think they have some great songs and they get their hero (Bruce Springsteen) to record with them. The album is a disaster -- commercially and artistically. Their fans revolt. They break up. Despite half the key members moving out of the country, they stay in touch and eventually get back together. With the steady support of a couple well-known authors (Stephen King and Nick Hornby), they continue to build their reputation as a great rock band that kicks you know what live. Their story would make a great VH1 Behind the Music if only anybody knew who they were.

I, of course, dig their references to Philly streets -- South and Christian. And two Philly legends -- the late Hy Lit and Harry Kalas -- appeared on their early CDs. You can find some of their music on www.emusic.com. Check out the albums 20,000 Streets Under the Sky and Kids in Philly.

Lambchop. Nixon. This group (no relation to Shari Lewis) and its album (no reference, as far as I can tell, to our creepiest president) was also part of my soundtrack this week. They're supposedly a country band, but it's not what anyone would think of as country. It sounds like something you'd hear parents in the 70s listening to on an AM station. Yes, there's a country feel, but it's mostly soulful and mellow. Favorite tracks: Up With People, Nashville Parents, The Butcher Boy.

Seahawks 28, Eagles 24. Well, now we all know how to put an end to a quarterback controversy. Start A.J. Feeley. Feeley threw four picks, including the heartbreaker after Brian Westbrook singlehandedly brought us to the brink of victory with an amazing punt return. Well to the Seahawks and their fans, good luck and please beat the Cowboys and Giants if you meet them in the playoffs.

As for the Eagles, I know it may be time to start looking forward. But I'm not ready to give up on Donovan just yet. The injury bug scares me. But if he's healthy, I still think he's our best chance.

Am I stupid for sticking with #5? Let me know. And at least I'm not as stupid as New Jersey columnist Nick Fierro, who says the Eagles should think about trading Brian Westbrook. Mr. Fierro, you are now a finalist for next week's "I Don't Get It."

Madden '07 for the Wii. While on football, I have a quick update from our first Playlist. I've developed a passing game. The season has started. My son and I have taken over the NFC East, replacing the Redskins and the Eagles. He's the Philadelphia Liberty, led by quarterback Donovan McNabb. I'm the Northeast Philly Pretzels, led by QB Brett Favre. (Yes, we're hopeless). Four weeks into the season, the Pretzels are 4-0 and the Liberty are 3-1. The teams have yet to meet head up, but it looks like they're both the class of the NFC.
Here are the scores:
Week 1
Liberty 12, Vikings 7
Pretzels 28, Texans 7

Week 2
Pretzels 15, Giants 8
Cowboys 7, Liberty 0

Week 3
Liberty 21, Texans 15
Pretzels 21, 49ers 13

Week 4
Liberty 21, Jags 14
Pretzels 20, Packers 7