Emusic.com now has a couple Old 97's albums. Okay, Dr. T, it's time to earn your money: Early Tracks or Wreck Your Life? Or both?

Corwood, glad you like my tagline. HH's column usually bugs the crap outta me ("Then why do you always read it?" Shut up, Mom!), but this one was good. Reminds me of my favorite line from Full Metal Jacket: "You had best un-fuck yourself!" For those of you who don't read the excellent blog by our blue friend from the red state, here's Corwood on Deadwood.

ETA: Make sure to poke around the blog. You don't want to miss the pics of Lil' Jandek or the 50 books feature. And Mrs. Corwood's entry was worth reading even if I'm still freaked out by it a couple days later.

Thanks, J.B.! I like Wreck Your Life, personally, but recognize that the good doctor's advice on the Old 97s carries (and should carry) more weight than my own.

And, yeah, HH's column usually annoys me, too, but anyone trying to approximate the poetry of Deadwood deserves a few kudos.

OMG! WRECK YOUR LIFE! I just so happen to have been listening to that all day.

Um, or maybe both. I actually don't have early tracks yet. but Wreck your life is AWESOME!

but Wreck your life is AWESOME!

Maybe, but AWESOME! should be reserved for truly AWESOME! stuff, like walking around Palo Alto with MC. If you haven't visited her and she hasn't taken you on the big dish trail hike then quit wastin' time & buy yer ticket right now, missy!

Not-really-final-but-good-enough-to-start-with-Unconventional-Love-Song-list:

1. DavidS
2. DXMachina
3. Jon B
4. Corwood Industries
5. Steph L
6. Lyra Jane
7. erinaceous
8. sue
9. tina f.
10. lisah
11. joe boucher
12. Gandalfe

I moved myself to the end . . . . because I want to see what the rest of y'all do with it. Please remember my "suggested" subject line.

"## - Band Name - Song Name - Album Name - Your Name."

Go ahead and get started!

Oops, I'm up first. Ponder, ponder, ponder...

And Mrs. Corwood's entry was worth reading even if I'm still freaked out by it a couple days later.

You big baby. I can't wait until you go parental.

FWIW, Corwood, Emmett also arrived with cord around neck, and had to be revivified. Apgar from 3 to 8 in one minute. And that was in a hospital, but no c-section.

Thanks for the sassy links. Loved the Stones Krispies.

Sad about Percy Heath. Is the holy grail of jazz some lost transcript of that Dizzy Gillespie big band during the recording ban? (Heath was in that, right?)

You big baby. I can't wait until you go parental.

Yep, & it's closer than you think. (Which is not an announcement. I'm getting married: that is an announcement.) My sister had difficult pregnancies & deliveries with both her kids. "Difficult" being a magnificent example of the understatement at which I excel. Apparently I came close to becoming an only child. Tough delivery stories still freak me out. I'm not squeamish about me, but when my loved ones are hurting I'm a wreck.

Is the holy grail of jazz some lost transcript of that Dizzy Gillespie big band during the recording ban? (Heath was in that, right?)

Diz had a few bands, but I think John Lewis was his musical director at some point. Kenny Clarke was definitely his drummer. It's bedtime so I won't Google it (lest that obsessive streak kick in), but my guess would be Ray Brown on bass ("Pyramid" is his composition), not Percy. Lewis, Klook, Ray & Milt J was the original MJQ lineup. Of course, Lewis trained Heath to be the bassist he wanted for his band, but that was a long process; Percy might have played w/ the Gillespie band. The holy grail would be a good recording of the Minton's band: Bird, Monk, Diz, Kenny Clarke, and Jimmy Blanton and Charlie Christian before their much much too early deaths.

I'm getting married: that is an announcement.

Congratulations! Having had the pleasure of meeting the future Ms. Joe, I fully approve. Excellent good news. I am chuffed.

The holy grail would be a good recording of the Minton's band:

We'll just have to make do with Massey Hall, I suppose.

Speaking of Ray Brown, have you ever heard the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross song where Jon Hendricks does impressions of famous jazz bass players? I know he does Ray and Mingus, and I can't remember the third. Also, I love the part in "Dearie's Blues" where Blossom sings, "Ray Brown says I was built for speed."

Early contenders for the Unusual Love mix:

She Loves You - Peter Sellers (a comic recitation of the Beatles' song. Which may sound boring, but ya know - he's Peter Fuckin' Sellers! He's a gottdammed genius. It's brilliant) A bit on the short side.

Don't Sugar Me - from the Songs of Pogo collection. Sort of a cartoon torch song. Sassy.

Sherilyn Flynn - Screamin' Jay Hawkins' ode to that saddle-shoed vamp from Twin Peaks.

You Are My Sister - Antony & the Johnsons. Otherworldly caberet.

Fire of Love - Jody Reynolds. Ultra rockabilly torch song, inspiring everybody from the MC5 to the Gun Club to (I think) David Lynch.

Ode to Love - Jody Reynolds w/ Bobby Gentry. Cool and moody.

Her Love Rubbed Off - Carl Perkins. Lewd.

Wreck Your Life, hands down. You might pick up Early Tracks (a Bloodshot compilation done after the boys were with Elektra) after you become a raving completist -- their cover of "Let The Train Blow The Whistle" is a favorite of mine, "Ray Charles" comes as close as anything to capturing the frenetic quality of their live show, and "Cryin' Drunk" still sometimes shows up at live shows. But you must have Wreck Your Life.

This is an album that starts with "Victoria," a song so catchy that you will need to have it surgically removed from your head, and immediately goes on to a modern murder ballad so good Waylon Jennings recorded it. It includes a self-pity song, a kiss-off song, and a song featuring Jon Langford shouting "asshole!" Not to mention the song about having sex with your much younger girlfriend in the car her dad gave her, which I once heard Rhett Miller tell a charming story about realizing too late he was singing in front of said girlfriend and her parents. I have the poster for this album up in my kitchen, along with the autographed Sally Timms poster and the WWII era British "Eat Bread!" sign. Enough said.