merkattack

Sky Blue Sky - Getting out alive and happy to still be here, rays of optimism whilst making an effort to fix up the mess.  

I've always been struck by this title being a palindrome, and I wonder sometimes if it's meant to be a hidden clue of some kind. To me, if you take the tracks in reverse order there's a sort of sequence of the dissolving of a relationship: the relationship starts strong ("On and On and On", "What Light", "Walken"), then begins to come apart ("Leave Me (Like You Found Me)", "Hate It Here"), a little pushback ("Please Be Patient With Me", "Side With the Seeds"), the start of some acceptance ("Shake It Off"), returning home ("Sky Blue Sky"), realizing the importance of communication in any relationship ("Impossible Germany", "You Are My Face"), and finally some acceptance to allow for moving forward ("Either Way"). I love this album so much more these days than I did when it first came out.

Point of trivia: I watched the most recent episode of the NBC run of Friday Night Lights tonight on the DVR, and was pleased to hear "Runaway" heavily featured in the closing scene. It reminded me, too, that the show also used "Start a War" earlier in the season (in the same episode that featured Son Volt's "When the Wheels Don't Move").

These two songs have also been used in Parenthood, and my wife mentioned another series using music from The National, too. It usually fits very nicely.

Saw Jeff and his wife at Ikea in Schaumburg one night last summer. Would've said hello but I was taking our boy to the bathroom to change a full diaper. I hope Jeff appreciates that I passed on that photo-op. :-)

Thanks for doing this! I was going to sit down and try to figure it out myself, but just haven't had the time. I'll give this a shot.

No love around here for the French Press? It's pretty much the only way I brew my drink these days.

 

I like Box Full of Records....

I was just going to add this to the list - I was surprised no one else had mentioned it!

To your 1st point - I know I do.

I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this! I've been thinking about why, and I like the rougher edges of ACD and how it captures some of the essence of Americana that for some reason I had anticipated being a more pronounced theme in W(ta). Also, W(ta) is sometimes a bit too polished, like the guys are almost TOO good at what they do.

just kidding of course. it needed some time to settle in for it to be a more real joke. dont take anything i say seriously ever.

I had just wanted to be sure because spouting blasphemy is always dangerous. ;-)

I think I might like ACD better than W(ta). Does this make me a bad person?

2010 cannot come soon enough.

I completely agree. I'm reading Oblivion for the first time right now and I can't help but feel sad that after The Pale King we don't have more to look forward to. But it sounds like maybe TPK will be a nice, definitive full stop to this body of work and leave us sated.

I found this: http://www.livenation.dk/event/4783/DKT-Live-Vision-presents-Wilco-tickets

 

Thought about going to this one, but I think I'll have to settle for the Helsinki show in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for finding this - the wilcoworld link now works correctly too. (And yikes this ticket price seems steep! The venue must cost quite a bit or something.)

Anyone here try to purchase tickets for the Copenhagen show? The link on the website isn't working, and I can't find anywhere to email someone who might be able to fix the link. Alternatively, does anyone know where those tickets are being sold?

B

I am still gutted that the closest the "European" tour gets to me in Scotland is one date in London (now sold out) and one festival appearance up the @rse end of nowhere in Wales. Two dates per 50 million people seems a low average. Having cancelled the Newcastle show I was going to two years ago on the Sky Blue Sky tour, I will need to hope they come back over next year and venture out across the north of the UK....

It would also be nice if they had a few more non-festival dates in the end-of-summer European tour. It's hard to justify two €100+ tickets to see only one band, even if it IS Wilco.

Good, good! I was starting to worry that the list was finalized, but maybe there's still hope for a stop in Denmark in mid-August!

I stopped listening to new Sonic Youth albums after 1000 Leaves. I think I'll remedy that.

Exactly my experience, too. Something about that record just didn't click, and sadly I lost faith in them after that. It seems I should have given them another chance, though.

The band is playing their ever first show in Finland. August 17th at the Helsinki Festival http://www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi/en/huvila . Expect a full headline show, not a typical festival set. Been waiting for this for years

Glad to hear that they're fulfilling your wish! My wife and I are living in Copenhagen right now, and are pulling for a local non-festival show during the week between Oslo & Germany (or any time, really). C'mon Wilco, you may as well add another Scandinavian country to the list!

I mean good lord, what a resume:

 

U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, boxer, profesional helicopter pilot, Rhodes Scholar, and amazing songwriter. He's a bad man.

I remember when I read some of his story for the first time, that I thought someone had vandalized the Wikipedia page - that seems like too much for one lifetime!

Good stuff all over. Thanks for posting these.

Bloodshot Records

Thanks for posting this. I hadn't checked out Wayne Hancock before, but am really digging A-Town.

I know you put in the hours to keep me in sunglasses, I know.

Anyone still willing to share via PM?

Nickle Creek has done a couple, pretty positive Poor Places was one.

Monday night Chris Thile's new band Punch Brothers played at Ravinia, and Poor Places was part of that set. He concluded the song by saying, "Now there's a band!"

shabba rich, that's exactly my interpretation. Great summary.

Question for folks... the title "You Are My Face"...

usually somewhere within a song you hear the title, but not on YAMF, it's not mentioned.

Where do you think the title comes from?

I can add this: I think the title refers to one not being able to define oneself without others - that it is community that makes us who we are. The lines "Now everybody

Another dirty soul added to the PM breadline. Thanks much in advance.

Edit: no longer needed. Thanks!