The best life never leaves your lungs

I was pretty excited to listen to A Ghost is Born by Wilco. I'm a big Wilco fan and I have been for a very long time. When I was a senior in high school I lived in Michigan but I was heading off to college in Missouri. A few weeks before I left for school, Rolling Stone listed the ten most popular albums at Slackers Records in Columbia, Missouri. Perched at number one was A.M. by Wilco, a band I'd never heard of. So in an effort to get to know my new town, I went out and bought A.M. I've never looked back.

Maybe when I get to A.M. on Declan, I'll tell you about the time I accidentally walked in on Jeff Tweedy in the men's room. Oh, the memories.

Anyway, in order to like A Ghost is Born, you must like feedback. I mean really like it. My first reaction to this album (and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) was pure disgust. I really had to spend some time with it before I started to like it. Now, it's probably my second favorite Wilco album so I guess all that time paid off.

That said, I don't think I'll ever like "Less Than You Think." The little song part at the beginning is sweet and haunting, but the seven minutes of feedback at the end is more than anybody should be asked to suffer through. What do they think this is? 1968?

I am worried that Wilco is at risk of going completely off the deep end. There's a fine line between pushing the envelope and being unlistenable (Radiohead has been on both sides over the years) and for now Wilco is on the right side of it. I hope they stay there.