Jesusetc84

When my ex dumped me while I was in England

I sent her the lyrics to "You're a Big Girl Now" in an e-mail.

"I hope you can hear me singing through these tears."

I was going to record it, but my 4 track was kind of 3,000 miles away.

I only have Astral Weeks and Moondance - both bought used with someones initials written on the cd. I wouldn't mine hearing those re-done.

you should really check out some of his other stuff too; St. Dominic's Preview and Veedon Fleece are almost just as good as those two. There's tons of Van worth listening to.

And if you save yourself

You will make him happy

He'll keep you in a jar

And you'll think you're happy

He'll give you breather holes

And you'll think you're happy

He'll cover you with grass

And you'll think you're happy

Now

You're in a laundry room

You're in a laundry room

You're in a laundry room

Conclusion came to you

And if you cut yourself

You will make him happy

He'll keep you in a jar

And you'll think you're happy

He'll give you breather holes

And you will seem happy

He'll cover you with grass

And you'll think you're happy

Now

You're in a laundry room

You're in a laundry room

You're in a laundry room

Conclusion came to you

And if you fool yourself

You will make him happy

He'll keep you in a jar

And you'll think you're happy

He'll give you breather holes

And you will seem happy

You'll wallow in your shit

And you'll think you're happy

Oddly enough, I don't have the problem many do with relating to SBS, but I still don't like the album. I don't like the production, the vocals, or most of the music. I even relate personally to the whole narrative of Please Be Patient With Me, but as a song, I don't think it's even in Jeff's top 50. I also don't believe that age difference has much to do with anything, either, as I'm actually about three years older than Jeff, and also married. Suburban angst can be done beautifully ("Please beware the quiet front yard") or it can be done in a way that's pretty mundane, even cheesy ("What am I gonna do when I run out of shirts to fold?").

yeah...maybe it has less to do with the age difference and more to do with the attitude difference; I was only 18 when I bough Summer Teeth...definitely not married...but I still related to the relationship strain stuff. Maybe this album is just too accepting for me?

Not to get into an angst fest here, but Jeff is on the other side of a lot of his problems, where as I'm still wrestling with a lot of mine...so it's kind of like the connection is gone... I think a lot of our favorite music has to do with someone championing our feelings, articulating what we can't say, even if they don't intend to. Sky Blue Sky doesn't articulate anything that resonates with me.

Musically, I love a lot of the melodies...but I just find the arrangements kind of meh whatever. They're neither fun nor interesting. SBS sounds like it needed a little more time in the oven and it would be a masterpiece.

whats with the AGIB put downs??

 

Hummngbird? Hell is Chrome? ALTWYS? Handshake Drugs? Company in my Back? Wishful Thinking? Muzzle of Bees? The Late Greats??

 

yeah that album is a total failure!

 

I still consider "The Late Greats" a throw away.

But "Wishful Thinking" is so godly, it adds like...a half star rating for AGIB to me.

Whoa, are these OUT OF PRINT?! I've also never been able to find them on sale new, and I've always wondered why. These records are so essential that it never once crossed my mind that they might be unavailable from the distributor. Wow.

Yes... I know. It's a fucking crime that people can't go out and discover the joys of St. Dominic's Preview or Veedon Fleece...Especially in recent years, as both albums reputations have grown tremendously with critics (both recieved 5 stars in the last RS album guide, and have gotten a little more attention in critical essays etc.)

The only ones prior to this that were in print were:

The Bang Masters

Astral Weeks

Moondance

His Band & the Street Choir

Greatest Hits

and like his last 5 or so releases. I guess they got enough people bitching about the availibility of Tupelo Honey, St. Dominic's Preview, It's Too Late to Stop Now, Veedon Fleece, and tons of other albums to finally reissue them.

I'm satiated. Van was among my holy trinity for artists who needed complete remasters; Beatles and Zeppelin, I'm waiting on you!

Back in the old folky days

the air was magic when we played

the riverboat was rocking in the rain

midnight was the time for the raid

Oh isabella

proud Isabella

they tore you down

and plowed you under

you're only real

with your makeup on

how could I see you

and stay too long?

all along the Navajo trail

burnouts stub their toes on garbage pales

watresses are cryin' in the rain

will their boyfriends pass this way again?

Oh mother goose

she's on the skids

she ain't happy

neither are the kids

she needs someone

that she can scream at

and I'm such a heel

for making her feel so bad

I guess I'll call it sickness gone

It's hard to say the meaning of this song

an ambulance can only go so fast

it's easy to get buried in the past

when you try to make a good thing last

I saw today

at the entertainment section

there's room at the top

for private detection

to mom and dad

this just doesn't matter

cause it's either that

or pay off the kidnappers

So all you critics stand alone

you're no better than me

for what you've shown

with your stomach pumps

and your hook and ladder dreams

we could get together scenes

Well I'm down in T.O.

keepin' jive alive

and out on the corner

it's half passed five

but the subways are empty

and so are the Cafes

except for the farmer's market

and I still can hear him say

"You're all just pissin' in the wind.

You don't know it but you are."

and there ain't nothin' like the friend

who can tell you you're just pissin' in the wind

I never knew a man

could tell so many lies

he had a different story

for every set of eyes

how can he remember

who he's talking to?

Cause I know it ain't me

and I hope it isn't you

well son of a bitch, lets hope they're not the same crappy warner bros cds that can get somehow scratched on top of the cd even though you take extra special care of your cds and then it f-ing skips in the middle of cypress avenue and then you get another copy but then your copy of 'into the music' starts skipping on troubadours cause of the same god damn thing, and then hey what do you know, astral weeks starts skipping again so we gotta buy another copy of that too, son of a bitch. let's hope they're not like that again. i've had bad experiences.

 

ps, i dare them to try and slip some bonus tracks on the end of astral weeks and/or veedon fleece. put em on a bonus disk like a real record company so i don't have to race for the stop button in order to preserve my album listening experience.

 

pps, haven't they already remastered a lot of those, including 'it's too late to stop now'? i swear i remember stickers saying that on most of his 70's/80's cd's when i bought them in the late 90's.

 

ppps, i apologize. looking forward to a cd of astral weeks that sounds as good as the original vinyl.

Glad to see another Veedon Fleece lover...what a beautiful record...One I've never bought due to the availability factor...I spent 40 bucks on Saint Dominic's Preview and decided "Fuck it, I'll wait for reissues for Veedon Fleece".

One thing that should definitely make the Astral Weeks bonus disc is the complete "Slim Slow Slider"; the version on the cd is just the tip of the iceberg...it goes into a freeform jam for like 15 minutes...you can hear the jam as the song starts to fade out.

and about his last tour, i wonder why he didn't play anything off prairie wind? at least The Painter would have been fun.

 

craig

Mr. Young probably thought someone might get enjoyment out of it, and being a difficult artist, he shitcanned the idea...and decided to not play anything from it.

Yeah, I know what you mean. A Ghost is Born was also a "breakup" album for me as well, as was Summerteeth-- people say the way to listen to Dark Side of the Moon is stoned out of your mind, well a great way to listen to Summerteeth is driving around in the backwoods of West Virginia after you'd just been dumped for the second time by your ex. When you add in the fact, that we were driving from a house party in the middle of nowhere where a really shitty jamband was playing (the bass player of this band was the guy I was being left for). She was silent the entire way back, and I was over her by end of the When You Wake Up Feeling Old, good times, good times.

 

--Mike

Summer Teeth was my travelling album; I went through this period early in College where I felt really lost, like I didn't have a home, living in New Orleans for College, having my family in FL, and my girlfriend in Omaha...I remember sitting in a terminal in Chicago and listening to "Via Chicago" (cheesy I know...it just happened...didn't hit me till the song played.)

But there are so many great moments in that album like that ("When I hold the cold in my jet lagged palm", "Searching for a home", "Can you be where you want to be?", "High above the sea of cars")...it really is an album for when you feel lost I guess....I was listening to that album like crazy then...so I guess it was no surprise when my girlfriend and I got stuck in a middle of a tornado pulled over on the side of the road and Tweedy was singing "Can you be where you want to be?"

Maybe part of my dislike of SBS is due to it being like...this sounds corny, but you connect to an artist. And during College, every single Wilco record lined up with some big experience for me...and you feel a kinship with an artist after that 4 or so of their albums lineup with certain periods of your life, and suddenly they make an album that is some place you don't think you'll reach; an acceptance of things. Maybe my dislike of the sentiment behind SBS at least, has to do with my spot in life for the first time, not lining up with Wilco's music at all. For the first time, the 17 year age difference between Tweedy and me has made it hard for me to relate to him...maybe when I'm married, in my 30s etc, I'll get it...my much older siblings love the record...but for now...lyrics about folding shirts and waiting for your wife to come home don't do anything for me.

That being said, there are still just musical elements I don't like...but I think if the sentiment behind the album was different, I could forgive some musical moments I'm not as fond of.

Most likely the response he was going for.

It's one thing to go against the grain; it's another thing to make it extremely hard for fans of yours to hear your releases.

Fuck you Neil Young

Blu-Ray and DVD. What in the hell...

Kalle, I'm so happy you were able to find some solace in the record. While nowhere near on the level of what you went through, a friend of mine was killed in a car accident a couple of weeks after Ghost is Born came out. I was 18, jaded and confused as all hell, and Ghost is Born got me through one of the toughest times of my life. Even the drone made sense. As you said it was the right record at the right time, and it's probably my favorite record because of it. I don't know if it's necessarily better than YHF, Summerteeth or Being There, but it probably means more to me than any other Wilco album.

 

--Mike

I remember being in England; my ex had broken up with me over the weekend, and I had this terrible feeling something was wrong at home (turns out my Uncle had died the same day)...I used to walk around London just listening to "Less Than You Think"; It can be a really theraputic song.

When I met Jeff I thanked him for that song; it was there for me during a rough time.

It's funny you say that, because I really think the album is unnecessarily busy. One thing I love about AGIB is its use of silence to enhance the overall work. YHF is super-busy, yes, but it actually comes out well as a sonic landscape. The parts of SBS where people have 'a lot of ideas,' it sounds like way too many cooks in the kitchen (YHF and ST probably work because it's the Jay and Jeff Show).

 

In any event, the parts that work for me on SBS shine because the musicians aren't trying to overplay each other. The parts that don't work are instances where they're overplaying.

 

 

 

A peeve of mine on the boards. I figure if I start correcting people, I'll be annoying enough that I'll finally be identified correctly, if only as "That damned woman..."

God...you aren't the chick from that commercial are you? I just jokingly busted on the user "Michael Bolton". I hope he's not really Michael Bolton.

I've never been wild about fake encores at all. I saw the White Stripes at Bonnaroo this past summer, and about 55 minutes into their set, they just said "goodnight!" and walked off stage. The crowd was pretty bewildered and wasn't exactly calling for an encore, but then the stripes came back out 2 minutes later to play for 30-40 more minutes. On the flip side, when Guster played with the Boston Pops a while back (2003? 2004?) the applause was so enthusiastic after they finished, that despite not having any more music prepared with the pops, they needed to play another song. They then launched into the 2nd half of their song Come Downstairs and Say Hello, which was by far the high-point of the set.

 

As someone in a band however, there are some definite problems with unplanned encores. I've been on stage when it's pretty clear that an unplanned encore is necessary, and in that case, it's usually pretty sloppy. It ruins the flow of the show, and at times gives you a less spectacular ending than what's hoped for. You end up having to pull out covers or older tunes which don't sound nearly as good and rehearsed as the rest of the material. So naturally, despite being extremely cliche and lame, I can absolutely understand bands planning their encores

I agree...

even if you sang that terrible cover of "When a Man Loves a Woman"

Six people this talented also have the capacity to listen to each other and exercise restraint, not over power each other. The fact that it is so restrained and cohesive is, to me, evidence of the record's strength.

 

 

 

Not a guy.

 

 

 

The simple fact that you can't get into it as much as you thought you would is telling of the album's challenge. Would it have been more 'challenging' if you were able to eat it up on the first listen? Everyone who says they don't like it/it's not challenging seem to be making contradictory statements.

Restraint and "lack of ideas" can be confused sometimes.

Sorry to confuse your gender...I was too lazy to look.

I can't get into it because it doesn't stimulate me; intellectually, emotionally or otherwise. I'll be the first one to admit, the only Wilco record I've ever loved out of the box was Summer Teeth (I was in the middle of a Beach Boys/ Beatles phase...it was perfect timing). Being There was a little too country for me (it was the first country based album I'd EVER owned), A Ghost is Born was kind of sprawling and off-kilter, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was just too monolithic for me to wrap my head around the first listen.

Sky Blue Sky is different. To me, there's not much too the album. It's a very face value album. Jeff lyrics used to mean so many different things to me; now they mean one obvious thing. The jamming isn't to my liking, save "Impossible Germany". Melodically this isn't a terrible album, but I mean...it's Jeff Tweedy...of course the melodies are going to be at the very worst "good". The record doesn't energize me, move me, challenge me or sooth me...it just bores me to death save for 3 or 4 songs.

I know this sounds high and mighty from someone with no special talents, except for perhaps my ability to eat an obscene amount of Mac & Cheese in one sitting, but that's how I feel; about 8 of the songs on this record are in the bottom 4th of Wilco's catalogue.

Yeah not just because it's a great record but it came at the right time for me. My mom passed away three days after Sky Blue Sky came out, it was the record I needed to get through it and Jeff can relate to that as well seeing as he had the same thing happen while making it. It was the perfect record for me.

It's sort of weird talking about it on the internet but nevertheless... I am not bored with Wilco as long as they don't keep repeating themselves. But the thing is, a good song is a good song. And IMO Tweedy keeps on writing them.

Whenever you tell that story it makes me sad...I hope I don't make you feel weird saying that...

My condolences.

Great artists hate Florida.

These albums will always sound fresh to me: (in no particular order)

 

-Big Star-#1 Record/Radio City

I've been on a "Way Out West" kick lately.

Laid- James

I've been meaning to check this one out for a while....I need to write down all of the albums I need to check out somewhere.

Nirvana - Nevermind

All right...that makes....3 people on this board that don't hate Nirvana...glad to have you aboard

Wild - my friend's been IMing me tracks from this all day. Amazing stuff.

I can't wait to have Van's albums blasting crystal clear in all their glory out of my speakers :-)

So today I found myself browsing FYE with a few extra bucks, and what do I see? Van Morrison has begun a reissue campaign, remastering all 29 of his albums (at least a good 10 or so of which are essentials.) I of course freaked out, as I'd just been bitching about the shoddy mastering on Van's CD releases to my friend.

So I pick up It's Too Late To Stop Now (Van's 1974 Live record) and it knocks me on my ass. It's punchy, clear, and dynamic, without sounding too tampered with. The sound isn't overly hollow (see the Rolling Stones Between the Buttons reissue for that kind of hollow sound that overuse of noise reduction can leave you with.) I also saw Tupelo Honey there.

All the albums have one or two extra bonus tracks; far from Pavement style, 36 bonus track reissues, but that's far from the main objective of these releases; the reissues are for those of us who've been suffering with those unmastered versions of Astral Weeks, St. Dominic's Preview, or Veedon Fleece. It's going to be nice to have Van albums that sound as well mastered as my Dylan reissues.

All of the albums should be out by the end of the year from what I've read; so I guess rejoice and discuss Van!

so, it feels like that to you, right? What about the fact that each member has said the opposite with regards to participation in the process? Are they lying?

 

FYI, SBS isn't my favorite Wilco album either, just looking for clarification.

*Shrug* You'd think a record with 6 people this talented running on all gears would be a lot stronger than Sky Blue Sky.

I just think the record sounds completely below this band's potential. I can't believe this is the best they could come up with. This is the best live version of Wilco imo, by far. I'd just expect the studio records to match.

And for the guy who made the "Wilco's never been expiremental" comment...I should've used the word "Adventurous". sorry.

Remember back in the day Jeff said he was spinning Fela Kuti records? Where's that exotic elements we expected? I thought we were going to get challenging, noisey, polyrhythmic rock. And we got Sky Blue Sky.

I'm banking that the next album will be great though; Wilco likes to ditch previous sounds, and nothing would make me happier.

a heck, maybe they just need to do another record with bennett.

They've been consistently sliding since Bennett left; I love AGIB, but to me, it's no Summer Teeth or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

I personally don't think Wilco's current lineup challenges Jeff; Wilco to me feels a lot less like a group and a lot more like a sextet with a distinct band director. Sometimes you need a guy who will stepup and say "Let's try this another way." Friction is great for art; look at Lennon and McCartney; they made some of the best albums of all time when they hated each other.

I can't imagine Nels Cline, with his extensive background in expiremental music, thinking the weather channel solo on "Either Way" was the best way to go, or Glen happily pounding out rudementary beats when he's possibly the possibly the greatest drummer in popular music today. John's basslines are as solid as ever, but there's only so much even a great bassplayer like John can do with dreck like "Shake it Off".

People say this is a very band friendly record, that it's obviously the work of 6 guys, not the work of one; I disagree completely. To me it feels like Jeff Tweedy with backing band...Ban me, hate me, shoot me in the foot, do whatever you want...but that's how I feel....I don't need to give reasons, because those of you who agree with me will just nod, and those of you who disagree will just call me an idiot.

*Shrug* maybe this incarnation of Wilco is just a better live band than it is a studio band.

"Sign on the Cross" by Bob Dylan & The Band (unissued song from the Basement Tapes)

Now, I try, oh for so awf'ly long

And I just try to be.

And now, oh it's a gold mine

But it's so fine.

Yes, but I know in my head

That we're all so misled,

And it's that ol' sign on the cross

That worries me.

Now, when I was just a bawlin' child,

I saw what I wanted to be,

And it's all for the sake

Of that picture I should see.

But I was lost on the land

As I heard that front door slam,

And that old sign on the cross

Still worries me.

Well, it's that old sign on the cross,

Well, it's that old key to the kingdom,

Well, it's that old sign on the cross

Like you used to be.

But, when I hold my head so high

As I see my ol' friends go by,

And it's still that sign on the cross

That worries me.

Well, it seems to be the sign on the cross. Ev'ry day,

ev'ry night, see the sign on the cross just layin' up

on top of the hill. Yes, we thought it might have

disappeared long ago, but I'm here to tell you, friends,

that I'm afraid it's lyin' there still. Yes, just a

little time is all you need, you might say, but I don't

know 'bout that any more, because the bird is here and

you might want to enter it, but, of course, the door might

be closed. But I just would like to tell you one time,

if I don't see you again, that the thing is, that the sign

on the cross is the thing you might need the most.

Yes, the sign on the cross

Is just a sign on the cross.

Well, there is some on every chisel

And there is some in the championship, too.

Oh, when your, when your days are numbered

And your nights are long,

You might think you're weak

But I mean to say you're strong.

Yes you are, if that sign on the cross,

If it begins to worry you.

Well, that's all right because sing a song

And all your troubles will pass right on through.

Oversold.

repeat

after

me

FRENCH

TOAST

IS

BORN