that are mellower/poppier/less abrasive/less rocking? Especially any bands with country or Americana influences? I'm starting to think this is just a set of taste buds you don't have, perhaps. Do you spend much listening time with Gram Parsons, The Beatles, Tom Petty, Springsteen, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Bros., Fleetwood Mac?

I generally tend toward harsher music myself, but growing up in America (and specifically in the Midwest), listening to some pop and rock radio as well as my parents' folk and soft rock records, I do have a taste for that style when it's done well. I think Tweedy writes really good songs influenced by most of the people I just named, and experiments just enough to push it well away from overly polished Eagles territory. But at the same time, some days I would much rather listen to Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, or Darkthrone and Suffocation.