jethro

If the guys in the band check in here, I must say I'm honored, although somewhat disappointed in my perceptions of the rock star lifestyle.

If it makes you feel any better they snort a bunch of coke off a groupie's tits right afterwards.

This is the first Wilco record I've liked since AGIB, but it would have been a better album if they'd left out Open Mind (which has the stink of SBS all over it.)

thought they did a pretty excellent job. horns were awesome on hate it here. walken was probably a good choice given the setting.

Huh, my account still works.

I had low expectations going in but thought they did really well with Hate It Here. Jeff sounded good and involved, sometimes he sounds bored. The band was solid, but what sold it was the horns. Too bad they weren't on the record. I've never liked Walken and while it's a better song live than on the record it'd have to be performed with naked cheerleaders to hold my attention. I realize Wilco isn't the band that I fell in love with anymore and that's why I don't come around much anymore but I wish they would have played something from an earlier record. Actually if I had a Wilco + SNL related wish it'd be that they'd had a chance to do the show when they had a better record to promote. Them tearing it up circa Being There would have been amazing. Oh well.

You'd think the amount of fun it looks like they have playing a song like I Got You would cause them to want to write more songs like that so they could play them live and have fun. Oh well. Hopefully this does get archived cuz I gotta go. This thread would have gone 20 pages easily back when I posted here more often, is there some other Wilco related site now or has the traffic dropped off that much?

Jeff looks a lot like Ray LaMontagne right now.

Except Jeff's got more of a tramp thing going.

Shot In The Arm to Impossible Germany is probably like the quaaludes just started kicking in.

Yay, more old songs, webcast redeemed.

Jim James can't seem to make his voice sound bad no matter what he does.

He does a pretty good job there, of making his voice sound bad anyway.

Kind of disappointed with Jeff's song, a straight cover isn't usually all that interesting, I want to hear the artist put their own stamp on a song - for better or worse. For a cover it's good but compare this one to the Jandek cover, that's more like what I would have liked to see. Not stylistically or anything, just with Jeff being creative about the cover.

Cat Power's was good. Hate Sufjan so I'm sure I'd hate this one too.

It's interesting how this song seems to be so polarizing (I happen to fall into the "worst song since My Darling" group). It kills all the momentum on the album and would no doubt have the same effect live. That's at least my theory for its absence at all the shows so far.

Let's face it, much of SBS falls into the killing all momentum category live, which is why it's interspersed with liberal doses of earlier Wilco. I haven't listened to SBS in a while but it goes down easier in a live setting with more upbeat songs thrown in to keep you awake.

I don't begrudge anyone the right to skip LMLYFM as I made Either Way, Shake It Off and On & On & On go bye-bye on my copy, but I like it. It would have benefitted, the whole record really, from being recorded more like Is That The Thanks rather than the ultra-smooth production they used, but whatever.

Wilco better bring their A game with Dr. Dog opening.

Oh man. If I was Wilco and saw one of my supposed fans say that then I'd probably think about hanging things up. I could see it if this was some young rockers, but Dr. Dog? Really? Wow.

"...the paradox is that while Sky Blue Sky is the smoothest sounding Wilco album, it also takes the longest to absorb and understand. Songs that float by like pillowy stars ultimately reveal themselves to be just as dense and combustible as

edit: the short hair. particuarly, I thought shaggy, bearded, green jacket Tweedy passed for a man who just entered his 30's, not his 40's.

You're not talking about Jeff's old hobo uncle I hope...

I don't know about the other picture, but I think Jeff has looked pretty good this tour, he's dressed in a more age and occupation appropriate way (rocking out in a sportscoat just never works) and if you've followed the band much you know he's looked a lot worse. That was actually one of the first things I noticed about the Bonnaroo stream was how much better he looked: younger, healthier, happier... and then of course the band tore shit up too.

As great of an album as Summerteeth is, it's still one of the last ones I reach for when I listen to Wilco. It's too bloated, inconsistent, and suffers from the worst leadoff track on any Wilco album. Those are all relative terms to other Wilco albums, of course.

SBS says hello.

SBS making Summerteeth irrelevant is laughable. Haha

I agree that it's poorly tracked, as much as I like the song there's no reason to have two versions of Shot In The Arm on the record, and Candyfloss should have been a (great!) b-side. Remember though that this was before the internets really took off and while the record industry was trying to make CDs a value added proposition by tacking on as many extra tracks as possible. What'd be cool is in the gap between records if they re-recorded Summerteeth with the new arrangements they've been doing and the new lineup. And then go back and do YHF because they've been tearing that shit up live too.

I love both of these songs too. I love the last time Jeff sings I'm always in looooveee and his voice hits that high note. Live versions of this song always dissapoint me because I've never heard him really nail that last note.

The new version is the best thing ever, the mp3 that someone posted a while back is what got me back on the Wilco bandwagon after so much SBS disappointment navel gazery. I'm OK with not liking the new songs so much now if they play killer versions of the old ones like they did on that Bonnaroo stream.

I downloaded and saved it, then played it, but it quit (twice) just before Jesus, etc. (when Jeff is talking to the guy with crutches)...... got the same message about codec.....

Yeah, the file is kind of janked up but VLC just kept doing its thing for me so I saw all of it.

It was good to see Mike looking more laid back, the whole band seemed like they had a really good time. Nels seems like he's a lot more comfortable adding to the older songs and some of these versions are the best the band has ever done, due in no small part to Nels being a monster.

thanks

Yeah, this is pretty great. The new songs are still kinda iffy for me but I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (playing right now) is so awesome it makes it worth the download no matter what else shows up. I know people love the new one but man...

Also: Mike in a t-shirt and shades, what the hell? haha.

This has got to be the most earnest retarded group of fans in the whole world. ITS A ROCK PROGGY, FOLKY, SORTA EASY LISTENING... PUT IT THIS WAY, IF ROCK WAS METAPHORICALLY A CROCODILE, THEN THIS WOULD BE BUNNIES, BUT SOMETIMES BUNNIES WITH A BIT OF AN ATTITUDE GROUP. That's it. The amount of thought and energy you people put into Wilco is amazing.

Yep.

Glenn has the album cover on his kick drum.

that looks really cool

I was going to take a copy of that crowd shot and put text on that said "funeral or concert?" but that's too much work so just imagine I did that instead.

Cool to see new photos though.

Just wanted to bump this so more people get a chance to hear this amazing cut of I'm Always In Love.

Best version ever, seriously. Nels ftw.

But, but, the VW press release says that this is Wilco's first-ever licensing deal or something like that.

You're doing it wrong, it's more like: Bu-bu-bu... the VW press release...

I don't really care about this one way or the other but there's no getting around 5 or 6 songs being a different thing than one song. Even so I don't really have any emotional attachment to the SBS songs so I don't care much how they're used. If it was for a song like Via Chicago, Poor Places, Lonely 1, etc. then I'd be kind of disappointed and would hope at least that the commercial got a Pink Moon style treatment as opposed to the superficial 20 seconds of background music that the current ads feature.

My advice to Wilco would be to stop worrying about it, judging by the limited amount of attention I've paid to this "controversy" here 99.9% of the fans either don't care or would support the band no matter what.

Ok well here's Either Way. It's really quiet, so turn that up! It gets louder eventually lol. The taper I guess decided to leave this song as one file so you get War On War live as well, lucky you. War On War is sounding particularily awesome these days, Nels' guitar playing really makes it a whole new song. Enjoy!

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/v0wu0e

I'm not a big fan of Either Way so I grabbed this for War on War, kind of disappointing...

The version of Always In Love you uploaded is flat out amazing though, probably the best I've heard. If only Wilco still wrote songs like that.

Plus, Hate it Here probably filled its niche

That makes no sense at all.

I wish the record sounded as good as some of these live performances do. As long as I'm wishing I'd like to see them return to the old version of What Light with the fade out vocals at the end, probably ain't gonna happen. Oh well.

With as much sweat as Glenn works up you'd think they'd have a huge drum sound but it's almost always wee and small. Free the beast that is Glenn.

I was at the show and I have to say this is the best version I've heard of Pot Kettle Black.

I think I prefer the feedback howly version I have from back in '02.

The problem with PKB before (and still, from hearing this version) is Jeff just doesn't sing it very well. Musically it's great, vocally I don't think even Paula would have too many kind words. Chorus aside, it just doesn't seem like he's all that into singing it. Maybe it's the tempo he's not comfortable with. Anyway I hope they get better at it, it's a great song to add to the shows.

Do adults actually still talk about bands "selling out"? Especially bands that have spent their entire careers in the mainstream music business...

Selling a song for a decent company to use in a commercial isn't that big of a deal anymore, selling five songs is a little wtf.

I'm finding it hard to work up any real emotion about it either way though, it's not like these songs make any real impact for me. If it was Poor Places or Misunderstood or other songs I really liked then maybe I could scrape up some more indignation.

I just wish I could get mp3 versions of the dvd songs. I love the live raw sound on the DVD

That's what I don't get, the album versions are so lifeless beautiful in comparison. Oh well.

I'm not sure about alternate tracklists, I don't really listen to it that much anymore to be honest, I've already nuked Either Way, Shake It Off and On & On & On from the mix. I guess I'd work LNGCA and Thanks I Get in there somewhere. There are enough sleepy beautiful songs on the record without adding another one a.k.a. One True Vine.

I think they decided to save the best songs for the B-sides!

Yes.

Maybe they thought it wasn't boring beautiful enough and didn't want to scare off the new grandma contingent from Reader's Digest. Oh well. I guess I just don't understands the Wilco no more.

The Wall Street Journal talks to Jeff about his five favourite records from the 1970s.

Wings? Really? Wings?! Out of all the records in the 70's that didn't suck that's top 5 for Jeff?

Don't get me wrong, I don't like Wings much but I don't begrudge other people the right to like them but where's fucking Neil Young on that list? Buzzcocks? Ramones? I mean, 5 records for the decade and one of your choices is f*cking (censored for the Reader's Digest folks, they'll be fun at concerts, sure) Wings?!