lost highway

So who thinks this will actually be a largely country record? In some ways this single is a more faithful channeling of the Bakersfield sound than anything from the "alt country" days of AM.

Also, I'm playing the game of what is everyone who isn't the rhythm section doing?

Nels- kaleidiscopic phaser country lead kicking ass all over the place

Jeff- foundational acoustic strumming

Pat- spanky, plucky telecaster part

Mikael- ???? Not a lot of organ, or piano on there. I might be picking up on some subtle keyboards.

Also, I'm guessing John and Glenn are doing what they often do: making me thing they're being super minimalist and understated to just serve the song, but on the 10th listen I'll realize there is more than meets the eye in their parts.

1 hour ago, Lukestar said:

Yes, it seems we'll have to wait for the sun to carry it over tomorrow. Here's a little sample...

 

https://mora.jp/package/43000008/190296133374/?fmid=newRelease_all_0001

 

Whoa. Not what I expected! Full on Sun Records slap echo on the vocals. Can't wait to hear the whole thing.

If I had to gauge from the unfinished stuff he's shared on his newsletter (which could be misleading), I'm expecting something multi-layered and vibrant like some of the stuff on The Whole Love. Kind of the yin to  Ode to Joy's yang. A little less stark. But who knows.

They've been talking about doing a double album for years. I'm excited this one was made with a lot of the team all together for major portions of it.

4 hours ago, davidtobin100 said:

 

I have my fingers crossed we’ll see SBS get the deluxe treatment next year. It’s still my favourite album all these years later. 

Yes, and before that AGiB. They've shared a lot but I still suspect there are more oddities from that process lurking in the archives at The Loft.

Annnnnd the black vinyl deluxe edition is already sold out!!

I had some thoughts, but this is a better place to share- the Facebook gets to be a shit show too easily.

I really think people being surprised or disappointed is fair. Any longtime Wilco fan might be surprised by a set under 90 minutes. It doesn't match the last couple decades of performances.

That said, the intense vitriol is weird to me. I'd also add that any longtime Wilco fan would know that there's no way the band would choose to play less to short anyone. It's not like they don't like playing very much, or are saving something by playing fewer songs. I think we're getting to some hints about the reasoning, and hopefully that will be 100% clear. I don't think I'll agree with it, and can see people wishing that it was more transparent before they bought tickets, but they're not doing it that way just to be dicks.

9 hours ago, chuckrh said:

The concert on youtube was amazing. Carl Broemel is rapidly moving up the favorit guitarist list.

Yeah, he seems like a pretty great combination of having his own identity, having huge chops, but being thrilled to serve the song whether it's really basic, or more technical. Great taste, great tone, seems a great dude. He comes from the 90's midwest emo scene so that makes him a brother in my little tribe.

So it came a few days ago and I've spun it a half dozen times. Definitely a good seven inch. Felt pleasant if not a little slight, but there's more there then I appreciated at first.

More than anything these songs feel like the missing link between Schmilco and Ode to Joy, which explains why they might not have made the cut. They have the band on small instruments play some weird, heartfelt folk ditty element I associate with Schmilco, but with the self-imposed "there is no drum set" percussion approach of OTJ. In both cases the effect of the percussion approach is not as striking or fascinating as the Ode songs. More like, "This is a nice little tune..... hmmm some unusual drums in that kit perhaps", which is not how I hear Ode.

This new one is interesting. Whether all of it clicks with me (some of it does), or not (some of it doesn't). Whatever path they took to inspiration is their own and I'm glad they took their journey.

They've made their first actual 'jam band' record in terms of process. The others have been pretty carefully crafted, this one has some real 'dudes riffing in the room' strategy. This yields some mixed results in my eyes, especially clear in the back-to-back tracks "Devil Is in the Details" and "Lucky to be Alive".

"Devil" has a sense to me that it could go anywhere and any minute of music is not particularly important to the compositional whole. They're just jamming.

"Lucky" however has an arc that would be hard to imagine scripting with just one person sitting alone in a room. The moves are satisfying and feel like they emerge from the chemistry between the players.

Also, I can do without more velvety 70's funk, but I know those guys (and many of the fans) have fun with that side of things.

4 hours ago, Beltmann said:

 

I read every word of every dispatch, Paul. And I'm sure I'm far from alone! Thank you for everything you do for the world of Wilco!

Same. I don't chime in much because I don't have anything to add, but there's something comforting in these recaps, beyond the vicarious concert-going element. Like I wake up in the morning and drink my coffee and go, well it's a high of 56 degrees today, the Packers won, and ooh, Wilco played Wishful Thinking last night. Paul had to watch Jeff wrangle a couple of drunken hecklers, and then they played a mega rock encore.

This world must be a decent place if we know these things are happening.

Surprisingly rock with attitude sound on this new single. They seem to meander from solidly good to amazing, so I'm always down for more.

Pretty solid, which is not surprising. Stripped down Beatles performances is pretty well within Wilco's wheelhouse.

I thought the overall energy of "Dig a Pony" was fantastic. A faithful rendition, but still could feel Jeff and the gang in the Loft vibes.

"Don't Let Me Down" I liked a little less. Like a B instead of an A. I think I'm so attached to Lennon's ragged performance that Jeff's lighter touch seemed to take some of the urgency out of it. The lap steel was a nice touch.

They advertised the Half Life seven inch with limited availability to order, so I jumped. $14 with shipping. Only Wilco could get that out of me for 2 songs.

23 hours ago, Madcap said:

My Half Life/I Can't showed up today and both songs are just awesome.  Their next album could be OTJ part II and I would love it.

I'm down. The facebook group would shit a brick, which would make me enjoy it even more, I'm embarrassed to admit.

I really love how they walked back some flavor-of-the-month, ultra hipster fashion bands that they were all hyperbolic about at the time. Like downgrading someone's eight point something rating to a five point something rating.

Rock criticism is not science.

5 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Slightly disappointed to find out that there's an editor involved with the writings. Maybe to be expected but would have liked to think they were 'straight from the horse's mouth'. JT doesn't use an editor for his songwriting so why not let us see the real raw work there too? 

Huh, weird. Where'd you catch that?

^ Makes total sense and sounds awesome.

I might be a cheapskate, but I imagine waiting for a few more gems, joining for a month and grabbing as many tunes as possible and then sitting out again for a bit. I'm down to pay the dude for his awesome stuff, but I don't spend $60 a year on downloads. That's a chunk of my vinyl budget, and I hope to buy some new Wilco vinyl in early 2022 with some luck.

Any of you subscribers care to share your enjoyment of the paywall songs, and possibly convince me to spend $6.00?

2 hours ago, jff said:

 

In fairness, Jeff did say that Grohl has been nice to him every time they’ve met.

 

I think I've shared on here in the Someone Else's Song section- I met Grohl randomly at a cheesy Los Angeles club. I approached him and we proceeded to talk enthusiastically about rock music for a solid 5 minutes. No one else was around, he could have totally snubbed me, but he seemed legitimately psyched to hang out and talk.

Nice dude.

I can appreciate people feel some media fatigue from him though.

Looks like he might be posting some unreleased Wilco tomorrow behind the paywall. Or at least a fleshed out solo song.

It was cool to see Nels throwing peppermint candies at his jazzmaster for no clear reason. I liked that.

54 minutes ago, arjaykay said:

I have the 45.  "Half Life" is a full band version.  Three guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, three part vocals on the chorus.  Glenn's drums up front in the mix.

"I Can't" is also a full band version.  Two or three guitars, bass, drums, more prominent keyboards, two or three part harmony vocals.  Glenn's drums up front in the mix.

 

Both songs sound as if they could have been from the "Ode To Joy" sessions.  Same type of feel to the songs as the songs on "Ode To Joy".

Thanks. This is about a million times more than anyone has said yet, anywhere, on the internet. I've read all of it.

I'm pretty sure what people are seeing isn't "sold out for the night", it's that everything they brought on tour was sold out a few dates in. Maybe the whole pressing if it was limited enough.

2 hours ago, nalafej said:

 

Agree.

 

I mean, a track with Glenn, Spencer and Andy Shauf (today's release) deserves compensation.

 

I'm so delighted to see that Andy and Jeff collaborated on this.

Aw, shit it's got Glenn on there? Now I'm trying to think of all the dumber things I've spent $60 on in my life.

16 hours ago, Magnetized said:

It seems more than a bit churlish to whine about this. Nobody’s holding a gun to your head to force you to pay for something you don’t value.

My take on every exclusive, collectors thing Wilco/Tweedy does is whatever you're down with, do it. I'm not into buying work of art, unprecedented packaging for hundreds of dollars, like the special edition Ode to Joy, but how could anyone be pissed at an artist for making a thing and selling it? 

I've enjoyed it quite a bit, but as I'm hitting the paywall I'm not going to make the jump to a payed subscription.

It's one of those 'new things' the kids are doing, that I'm too stubborn to change for. I'll preorder the next Wilco LP on vinyl though!