mpolak21

Monday morning quarterbacking: WTA is a better album in my humble opinion, if Dark Neon was put in between My Country and Solitaire, it picks the momentum of the second side up a little bit and Solitaire would sound even more majestic coming out of something raucous like Dark Neon-- they perfected this sequencing strategy on Yankee, but Spiders into Muzzle on Ghost is probably the best example of what I mean. --Mike

If Wilco's management follows this place, something like this might happen to me: Sonny's Death. --Mike

For future releases all B-sides will be given to mpolak21 in advance, PM him on Via Chicago for links and details, but please do not clutter up threads asking for PM's. Thanks, Wilco Management.

For me it's Bennett. If Bennett was the McCartney to Tweedy's Lennon, A Ghost is Born would be Tweedy's Plastic Ono Band-- the one fantastic album he was able to make without his wingman (I like Imagine too, but it's disqualified for How Do You Sleep?). And since then Wilco albums have kind of felt like mid-70's Lennon solo albums to me-- not that they sound alike-- they aren't bad albums, but they aren't exactly Sgt. Pepper or Summerteeth (in Wilco's case). O'Rourke was pretty important too, but I don't think it's really the production that's the issue with either Sky Blue Sky or WTA. If a

Yes! This was my first thought when I saw this thread, and I am happy someone else went the smartass route. --Mike

Here's my best stab at the lyrics... Impossible Germany Unlikely Japan Wherever we go Wherever we land I can't say what this means to me I don't begin to understand I know you're not listening Impossible Germany, Unlikely Japan Hand over quarters monotone (?) The peach colored payphone connected to you I can't say what this means to me I don't begin to understand I know you're not listening Impossible Germany, Unlikely Japan I don't know why she talks so tough A roller skate would suggest her enough (?) I can't say what this means to me I don't begin to understand I know you're no

If you ever can't get through to me via PM, you can also e-mail me through my profile. --Mike

Joss Ackland and jimtweedy, it sounded like you guys were in so I added you to our running list, if I misunderstood feel free to make fun of me for not being able to read. 1. Lowden11 2. DAngerer09 (CD prefered) 3. Hardwood Floor (come on, let's sendspace ... i don't have time to pack up a CD and go to the post office!!) 4. twigboyjoe - CD preferred....I like presents 5. m_thomp (sendspace it) 6. HungryHippo (CD/ sendspace) 7. cgoodwin22 (CD preferred) 8. Joss Ackland 9. jimtweedy1977 10. mpolak21 (Sendspace is easier, but I wouldn't mind swapping actual discs). --Mike

I guess I can't direct people to my posts in a thread that doesn't exist anymore... Sorry for my general bitchiness on this matter, but you see it's really hard when I state very clearly "the easiest way to get Dark Neon and Unlikely Japan is to send me a direct PM and I'll hit you up with links" and then to see people complaining that they aren't getting PMs. It's a lot easier for me to track who I have given what to through the PM system. Everyone whose sent me a message has gotten the links in return, as soon as I have signed on. So you want it PM me. You want to associate yourself with thi

Foxtrot was a bit of a perfect storm, bettering that album would have involved not firing Jay Bennett, but forcing him to cede final mixing decisions to Jim O'Rourke, essentially an impossibility. Still the Muzzle of Bees to Company in My Back run on A Ghost is Born comes awfully close to topping Foxtrot. I haven't really turned on any songs on WTA yet. You and I and Everlasting are the two weakest songs on it in my opinion, but I don't hate either of those. I hit my "okay I don't want to listen this song again" point with What Light faster than any other Wilco song, I have made it through

You haven't read hard enough. Go find my posts in the Dark Neon thread, follow those instructions and you will have a link waiting for you. --Mike

Their Perfect Record: YHF Their Perfect "Live" Record: KT Their Records That Come Extremely Close To Perfection: ST, AGIB Their Really Good Records: BT, their half of MA1 and MAII, and The Wilco Book Bonus CD. Their "Bill Clinton" (good, but not quite what we expect from a great president or album)-- WTA Their Album with That Awesome "Pick Up The Change" song on it-- AM Their Album No One Wants To Hear Me Talk About Anymore-- SBS. --Mike

Mike Powell writes for pitchfork also. --Mike

Here's my problem. Mike Powell was assigned to review Wilco (The Album) where in his review of Wilco (The Album) did he ever actually review Wilco (The Album)? I read him making fun of white people (that's okay with me), complaining about Sky Blue Sky (I'll allow it), bitching about YHF and taking potshots at Jeff (eh, whatever) and then making that stupid fucking Wilson analogy. Buried in this nonesense is about three or four sentences that actually bother to talk about the actual album and I never got a real sense of what is point was, other than that he doesn't like Wilco. --Mike

My Being There/Summerteeth theory has more to do with overall perception/reception both on VC and critically rather than individual opinions. I understand there are people that like those two records more than anything the band has put out. But generally YHF is considered to be the band's pinnacle (it did win the greatest album of all time poll on VC last year), and I think that almost anything that came after it might be seen as a slight disappointment by some. So perhaps I should rephrase my question: do you think people would be more appreciative of Sky Blue Sky and Wilco The Album if they

I wonder if Being There and Summerteeth were recorded and released after YHF, if they would have had similar criticisms leveled at them. Would Summerteeth's review focus on how the keyboard parts are too busy and would ELT be called Dad Rock? Would someone say aside from Misunderstood and Sunken Treasure, everything else on Being There runs together as either a bar-band rocker or a folksy country song? (They'd be wrong, but I think you get my point). Now I think both of those records are better than either SBS or WTA, but I think Foxtrot raised a lot of our bars to a point where Wilco may neve

Oh but they do, Speed Racer, oh but they do. Remember the great "Ken Coomer looks more like a High School Janitor Than a Rock Drummer" thread/bloodbath in 99, the second Tweedy saw that it was just a matter of time. --Mike

Sign me up. Should we do an exchange, or could we just have people make mix CD's and upload them, so everyone can get a chance to hear everything? --Mike

PopTodd has been plugging Joe Pisapia's Daydream on here for awhile, and I was finally able to secure a copy. I was vaguely familiar with Joe through his contributions to Guster over the years, Keep It Together was a huge album for me my senior year in high school, and kind of expected it to sound like them. While I hear traces of Guster, it feels closer to The Band, Nick Drake, Songs for Beginners era-Graham Nash and even traces of the late great Elliott Smith. The second cut Empty is a real gem, and River Song is great. Pisapia's voice is instantly accessible, and I can get behind anyone wh

. I can stop feeling guilty for staying registered in WVa, and not voting in this one. --Mike

An attempt at the ridiculous... WTA is perhaps the Bill Clinton to SBS's Bush Sr., it is ultimately an improvement, but not quite the full scale change people probably wanted, and not quite up to par with the really great presidents or albums past Geogre Washington (which would be Being There), Abraham Lincoln (Summerteeth), FDR (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) or JFK (A Ghost is Born). Furthering this analogy the first Loose Fur album would be RFK, it should have been a president or a Wilco album, but sadly isn't, and Trace could only be Richard Nixon. --Mike

TMT gives it a two and a half out of five: Tiny Mix Tapes Review --Mike

I think I would like the album that this person wishes Wilco was making instead of Wilco The Album. --Mike

Unnecessary snide comment: Is Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee and Ghost a suitable answer? Actual answer: WTA, Sky Blue Sky is a little better than I usually give it credit for, but I still have never fully grown into it. My expectations were probably too low for WTA, as they were too high for SBS, and so WTA really blew me away after the leak because it was so much better than I expected. However since that couple week long honeymoon, it's held up less and less for me. The first four songs are pretty dynamite, and Solitaire is my favorite song on the record, still working on staying engaged

The album isn't better than A Ghost is Born and shouldn't have gotten a higher rating, but Pitchfork was way off on it's review of AGIB, so I guess 7.3 is about right. --Mike