lost highway

Couple quick things:

 

1- Bbop I love these recaps especially when the boys are in some of my favorite places playing in unusual circumstances.

2- Castilian pronunciation- "thar-ah-go-tha" is spot on. It gets extra fun to my North/South American Spanish dialect ears to think of a Spaniard going to the "though de tharagothah" (the Zaragoza zoo if they even have one). In the efficient nationally preferred word for casual approval, I say "Vale".

3- provincial mockery of the Welsh or any other GB culture is always welcome, lads. You can pretty much make them up and an American will believe it, i.e. "Northern Irish always put mint jelly on their toast" etc.

36 minutes ago, jff said:

In my opinion, TWL might have been better if they had leaned harder into the variety pack concept and made it a double album.  And CC would be better if they had cut it down to a single.

 

I would actually be into both of these versions. I love TWL and it could continue it's kaleidoscopic approach for another 10 songs. 

 

I'd also add London Calling is another classic 'variety pack' double album (as is Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness by that other Chicago band). You might be on to something. 

2 minutes ago, jff said:

The Turtles Battle of the Bands

 

I'll check it out!

I watched some videos some generoso caballeros put up of this and it was fascinating. I don't imagine that it will make a lot of fans call for dropping one of the best living guitarists from the lineup, but it's kind of an exciting alternate for those of us who have been following this band for decades. They sound surprisingly fragile as a five piece which is captivating but less grand.

 

The "play it like the record" I'm the Man Who Loves You is well suited for 5 with Pat's strummy acoustic carrying the rhythm and Jeff's fuzz leads sounding needly without the usual wall of guitars.

5 hours ago, KevinG said:

 

 

Get well soon.  

 

I love that guy. What a gentleman.

^ This is the mood of Star Wars to me. "The Joke Explained" and "Random Name Generator" are kind of absurd and joyful.

^ I'm curious what are some successful examples of albums that are mostly comedic. Newman's satire comes to mind but it's often as upsetting as it is funny. I get the feeling Zappa goes there but I don't mess with his stuff.

On 6/17/2022 at 2:12 PM, 5hake1t0ff said:

To me, it’s albums like WTA and even TWL that fail to grab me *as albums* (plenty of good songs on each) because they didn’t have a clear approach or set a distinct mood. That’s what I appreciate about the last four albums: they are each so different and consistent within themselves as albums. I know what mood I can get from each of them.

 

This is astute. I love TWL but it's the variety pack model. Curious though, if you go back through you can hear the seeds of Star Wars in songs like I Might, and the approach of CC in One Sunday Morning and Black Moon.

The great

I’d slap the cuffs right on my wrists
I’d get so high I’d arrest myself 
For honeysuckle on a buckle
Broken teeth biting on my belt

 

^ Such a beautiful set of images for something so dark!

 

We stretched our necks to hear below the decks
But our fears were never real enough so we would just project

 

^ This captures the problem of xenophobia for me in a way that is vivid but not at all preachy.

 

The not so great

For someone who has frequently written lyrics that absolutely captivate me, Tweedy occasionally puts together something that I can't help but associate with middle school poetry. It's usually a trite or treacly rhyme that seems like it was kept only because it rhymes, even though it's pedestrian. This all comes with the same caveat that I always share with the negatives: I can't/shouldn't/wouldn't want anyone to stop enjoying something they love if these lines/songs click for them. It's mostly that I find the inconsistencies, or occasional stinkers a fascinating contrast to all of the profound material.

 

The worst offenders:

 

They’re sick and sad
I’m sorry I’m glad 

 

^ I didn't like when he rhymed sad with glad in "Everlasting Everything" either.

 

When certain people die
I can’t cry 
I wonder why

 

^ I didn't like it when he rhymed die with cry during "On and On and On" and here it is again.

 

And I always cry

when I look at the sky.

 

(barf)

 

 

1 hour ago, summerdai said:

No record stores in Wyoming?

There's a good one in Casper!

1 hour ago, SarahC said:

It’s finally happened and I can’t connect with this album. I’m listening it just doesn’t spark for me. I don’t know why. I feel sad about not loving it and also guilty for not feeling anything other than “meh” about it. Hmm. 

 

I think all of the long haul folks here have had one. It's okay not to love it all. They lost me once a few albums ago and as they tend to do the very next one was totally different.

Yeah, it's gotten gnarly. Something about Facebook tends to move things towards a base level argument which is a lot of feelings, but not a lot of thoughtful discourse. Now the posts about people griping about what other people keep saying are one step removed from the music. I'm trying to figure out some of my own guidelines for how fans can pick apart of piece of art without it descending into whatever went on there.

 

I don't need other people to like this record the way I like it, I can tell some people's appreciation dwarfs my own fanboy tendencies. I think where it gets off course goes along with the same guidelines for writing critically about anything. To add to the conversation one simply needs to form a thought about the work, and connect it with a specific example. I can see how people get irritated with the very broad "These guys haven't released a good album in 15 years" hot takes, or the opposite "They've only done magnificent work and if you don't know it's cause your ears are broken". It might feel like someone is informing you that something you've been enjoying is actually crap and they just wanted to show up to tell a stranger that message.

 

Once again, I've enjoyed reading the reactions on here ranging from glowing, to mixed, to overall disappointment. The Facebook comments don't all seem to come from the same place.

Okay. I've turned this thing over and upside down and it keeps revealing new treasures. To fully engage in critical listening I've found my short list of things that are less than in 21 songs full of excellence.

 

The Universe- doesn't click for me. The lyrics are pretty cool, but they feel a little sentimental in the delivery.

 

Many Worlds- I seem to be the only listener who is not taken by the ending jam. It doesn't bother me, but it feels just a little too on the mark of new jam band, or maybe what's not grabbed me about the more recent My Morning Jacket material. Maybe I just need to take some mushrooms when I see them at Red Rocks and do some wavy hand dances and it will all click. I can do the soaring jam of Bird Without a Tail over and over though, and I'm psyched so many people are psyched on Many Worlds, just hasn't grabbed me yet. I'm willing to give it a couple dozen more chances though.

 

Empty Condor- the instruments are so great. The vocals are very forgettable. It doesn't really matter in the arc of the album. It carries the vibe forward with some nice dark tension.

 

There. I can pick on Wilco. The rest is genius though, and I'll shake a finger at anyone who says otherwise!

 

 

I'm loving the analysis from my fellow VC'ers there's so many insights I connect with I'll try not to repeat them.

 

I think the opening run of a half dozen songs is so strong and well paced it almost feels like they'll accomplish the impossible task of running a mellow double album without a plateau of less essential material, but not quite. Tis the challenge of the form. I'm so taken by a lot of these songs that I'm not fully prepared to label the chaff.

 

I think the observation that this follows the Tweedy solo stylistic character is fair, but I'll be so bold as to suggest that if you're looking at the tender and intimate stuff from Warm(er), Love Is The King, Shmilco or even the soft points on SBS (essential title track not withstanding), the writing, arrangement and sonics of CC are superior.

 

Couple random notes:

Pat's French horn arrangement is brilliant. Glenn is hiding plenty of Easter egg/innovative/impressive drumming feats while gracefully appearing to merely do the no frills/great groove/serve the song approach. For example the clicks on top of the bass drum alternating with hi hat patterns on Tonight's the Day (Neil Young nod on that title?) that are inventive to begin with before he starts cleverly varying their phrasing as the song develops. 

 

I understand the inescapable allure of the 'edit a double album down to a single album' as a music fan, but I suspect my take might be 'edit a double album down to a shorter double album'. I need to give some of the late middle tunes in the tracklist more chances before I label any of them inferior.

^ To each their own etc etc al, but when it comes to enjoyment of music by an artist I'm invested in the criticism might only be as good as fiction. What's the quote: "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture"?

 

Anyhow I might have been more blustery than was necessary. I know fighting with strangers about music isn't what anyone is here for, so apologies if I made it turn in that direction. Obviously everyone can and will read and listen on their own terms to their heart's content.

1 hour ago, Boss_Tweedy said:

 

Hey, I'll be happy to be wrong. I thought it was OK to post critical and negative feelings/opinions here unlike the Facebook group. Guess I was wrong. 

 

Come on now, it's okay. I won't get mad at you. I just thought your bummer sounded potentially avoidable.

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Boss_Tweedy said:

 

Putting the pieces together from the reviews I've read, I can tell this is gonna be another disappointing offering for me. I had high hopes based on the first song released and the description of the album as a "country" album, but I fear this will be another one I probably won't think about in a few months (along with Star Wars, Schmilco, and Ode to Joy). That saddens me.

 

So you listened to some of the music and liked it. But reading about the music you haven't heard leads you to determine you won't like songs you haven't heard and that makes you feel sad.

 

Preemptive disappointment is very 21st century.

4 hours ago, Brian F. said:

 Wilco had a number one song ("You Never Know") on the Triple-A (Adult Album Alternative) chart,

 

And my inner misanthrope says, "See?! One of their worst songs charted the highest!". To all who enjoy that song, please ignore my negativity and keep having fun with it. 

^ It's really something to have a relationship with an artist that puts out such high quality material for so many years. Like, "Don't ask me about the new Wilco unless you have a couple minutes." I wish I could engage with more things at the same level, but on Friday I'm sure I'll be just as awash in my expectations and the arc of these guys' work.

I think to get anywhere close to comprehending the intersection of art and commerce that is a 'hit' song you have to look and see who is even vaguely stylistically adjacent who's had some kind of hit in the last 3 years. I don't know much about popular music, but I think the closest you get is Mumford and Sons which is still a few years ago and much more straightforward than anything this 6 piece would conjure.

Looks like I'll get my third Wilco Red Rocks outing. Psyched.

^ Yep. Best one yet.

 

I generally dislike when songs have the word 'song' in their title, and almost always dislike a song that says the name of the genre that it is in the title. Somehow the premise of the lyrics makes me like how those traits work here.

I had a new thought relistening to Falling Apart today in light of the "live studio takes" details in the press release.

 

I suspect the baritone guitar solo is Nels and the later phaser tele solo is Pat. I might be wrong, but if it is would that be the first proper guitar solo by Pat on a Wilco record?

33 minutes ago, chisoxjtrain said:

"Tired of Taking It Out On You" is gorgeous. Love the melody and chord progressions.

 

Yes. It does that magic thing of being totally a quintessential Wilco vibe, without sounding like any of their many other songs in particular. When the guitar lead and "oooohs" kick in..... yeah.

There's something uncharacteristically on the nose about hearing Jeff Tweedy singing the words "red, white, and blue". This could be a hint of an album that dispenses with exploring the American mythos through abstraction, like the band often has, and instead states ideas plainly.