measure by measure, drop by drop

Any time I tell someone my age, the most common reaction is disbelief. I guess I've been known to stretch the truth, put people on, take the piss etc. from time to time, so it's also not uncommon that people with whom I am decently acquainted will actually card me. It's a fun little game that doesn't bother me at all, but it occurred to me recently that another way to play would be for the person to ask me what the last four rock and roll shows I saw were, as my answer to that would prove my age as well as any state-issued ID I might produce: the last four rock and roll shows I saw were The Psychedelic Furs, U2, Bauhaus, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Of those, U2 is the only act still selling newly-recorded work (I think Echo and the Bunnymen have a new album out, but no one seems to care). Even at the U2 show, though, I was there to hear greatest hits. It feels slightly shameful to admit that, but there it is. I'm not at all opposed to seeing new bands perform new music, and I certainly still spend money on new records, but to look at my showgoing pattern of late, it's only the nostalgia acts that actually get me out of the house. Try to tell me I'm 25. At the Bauhaus show, especially, the only people younger than me were the children dragged there by their parents.

In related news, Wilco has a new double-live, Kicking Television: Live in Chicago. The whole thing's pretty good, but I think their purpose in releasing the record lies in the first song, "Misunderstood", which seems to settle the question "Who's the best live band out there today?" for a while.