BolivarBaLues

it is worse to have your turntable set up with a low tracking weight than with a slightly heavy one.

 

Maybe it is because it is a new record that has never been played before, and you have the tracking set on the lighter side?

 

Bump it up a bit and see if that helps.

 

 

To tie this further in with wilco, here is tweedy's advice on what to do with a skipping record http://spencertweedy.com/1863/im-an-air-conditioned-gypsy.html

I'll be damned Rockinrob, problem solved! My cartridge manufacturer suggests a tracking weight of .75 to 1.5, but I had to bump it up to about 2.75 to get it to behave. Midway through "Box Full of Letters" and I haven't had a single skip (would have had probably 10-12 before). I guess what threw me off is that the rest of my Wilco LPs are new and A.M. is the only one that was problematic. Oh well, I must be high. Thanks, mate!

Not to act like I'm confident either way about this, but my history with new vinyl skipping has ultimately always turned out to be the turntable and not the vinyl. I do have a ton of new vinyl that by appearance comes out of the package a little warped and wobbles as it plays, but my good old 1970 Zenith will play it through every time. However I just got a copy of Black Crowes Southern Harmony and when I tried to play it on my portable Crosley Record Player it skipped about 4 to 5 times on each song, plays through on the Zenith.

I guess this is a possibility. I've had my Technics SL-1700 for 10 years now and have never had problems like this. I do have a new cartridge but thus far A.M. is the only record that behaves this way, including all my other Wilco LPs and some old standbys that have worked fine for years.

Has anyone else had problems with the vinyl LP of A.M.? I ordered my first copy from Amazon and it skipped so badly that it was unlistenable. I sent it back and the replacement copy skipped in all the same places. I'm talking like 4-5 skips per track. I finally got in touch with Nonesuch and they're sending another copy, but given the issues with the Summerteeth LP , I'm wondering if this is just a bad pressing? I have all the other Wilco records on vinyl (except for The Album) and they play fine on my turntable (with the exception of "I Can't Stand It" on Summerteeth). I'm using a brand new cartridge and tracking weight and anti-skate are set according the cartridge specs. I've Googled this but thus far have not found anyone else with this problem. Anyone?

No problem.

 

Hopefully other people that have problems can refer to this thread. But what really needs to happen is Wilco (whoever takes care of these kinds of things for the band) needs to change the way the bonus content is accessed. It needs to be able to work with the latest and greatest Quicktime or a completely different method.

I concur. Reverting to a previous version of QT also involves reverting to a previous version of iTunes, and with over 270 GB of music on the line, I ain't about to screw with something that ain't broke. Plus, who knows what else I've got installed that will be rendered useless with a legacy version of QT. So my only other option is to do without, and for someone who has bought every Wilco release since 1994 and attended concerts, bought merch, 180-gram LPs and the like, that ain't an option either. So if you are having similar problems, I urge you to do as I have and contact Wilco tech support (email addy in info section of website) and ask them to come up with a better method for accessing bonus materials on a Mac. Maybe if they get enough email they'll do something about it.

The other day I decided to pop my copy of Sky Blue Sky into my Mac to see if there was any new bonus material available, only to discover that I could no longer access the bonus area. I get the message telling me that I need to enable Flash in Quicktime, but the problem stems from the latest Quicktime version 7.4.1, which has disabled the "enable Flash" option in System Preferences, apparently for "security reasons."

Has anyone figured out a workaround or experienced the same problem?

I wouldn't personally do something like go out of my way to find the loft, but if I happened to be passing by I might snap a photo. I've done likewise at locations like Electric Lady Studios and The Dakota entrance where Lennon was shot, along with "the crossroads" in Clarksdale, MS, "thumbing a ride" for a cheesy photo op. It's always awkward to approach celebrities, as it has been on the occasions that I've met the likes of Tweedy or Paul Westerberg. I understand people's desire to keep the location a guarded secret, especially the Chicago folks that feel like they're privy to some super-secret information, but ultimately there are no real "rules"; we all reserve the right to make asses of ourselves, and when you reach a certain level of fame, it's to be expected. Just don't shoot anyone.

I understand the curiosity and to document that you were somewhere important to all of us who love the band. But I hope you would agree that that info needs to stay private because their are odd people in this world whose intentions may not be so benign and anyone who would divulge that info and then something bad happens would never forgive themselves. I have some friends here in Okc who line not far from Wayne coyne of the flaming lips. I know where he lives but respect his privacy and realize that giving that info out or encroaching on his space is not cool. I mean no disrespect, just my unsolicited opinion. Feel free to disregard.

If someone were to encroach upon Coyne's privacy, it would be nobody's fault but his own. All you have to do is zoom into the piece of fan mail that he's opening in the "Fearless Freaks" film and do a Mapquest. Seems like they would have edited that bit out.

Also, whether or not one wishes to divulge this information is their choice, but the fact of the matter is that no one owns the public space outside of their apartment, house or Loft and can not prevent another person, regardless of intention, from going there. The media laws that dictate what's legal to photograph, for example, dictate that anything that you can see with the naked eye from a vantage point that exists in a public place (i.e. a sidewalk outside of the Loft, for example) is fair game. Like someone said about Abbey Road, it's just healthy fan curiosity. It's not like Wilco is conducting the Manhattan Project II inside or anything, and if they were that concerned about it, they would have been more careful in choosing what they revealed in IATTBYH.

A friend of mine is trying to talk me into attending. I said I'm too old. He said, are you crazy, 44 is the new 19.

 

I'm with you; I'm 37 and I feel the same way, though I would have loved something like this in my early 20s. I went for half a day last year as a performer, and though it was interesting to see the spectical of something so large and marvel at the logistical nightmare that must exist in putting such a festival together, there was no way that I could imagine staying three or four days. We were in a little "artist's compound" camp area that included performers, press and vendors, and even though it was a partially shaded area within short walking distance of the main "Centeroo," and had easy access to port-o-johns and shower facilities, it all seemed like more than my non-camping ass could tolerate. Some of the regular ticket holders were located as far as 5 miles from the main area and did not have convenient access to the toilets and no shower facilities. I arrived around noon (on Sunday, the last day of the festival), caught a shuttle to the site and watched a few acts (Son Volt was boring; Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks were awesome) and then we did our short set at the Napster tent and I split while some hippy band was playing the event's final set on the main stage. No sir, not for me!

I wish I could see Wilco and the Police, though! What sucks is the artists have to sign an agreement not to play within so many square miles of Bonarroo within a certain window of time before and after the event, and as a result Wilco is not stopping in Knoxville (1 1/2 hr. drive) on the initial leg of their tour, though it swings through the southeast.

Good pickups + good tube amp = great tone. I'm a firm believer in handwound pickups; I have Harmonic Designs in my Tele and Jason Lollars in my Epi Sheraton. They're a little pricey, but well worth the return in tone. I fairly recently pulled the humbucker in my Les Paul and replaced it with a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat (a P-90 single coil replica). Suddenly, this $80 pickup has made the Paul my number #1 guitar. As good as the $150 Lollars sound, there's something special about the sound of that Duncan in that particular guitar. Tone heaven!

I give my tubes a bit of a boost with a modified Ibanez Tube Screamer, since it's not always practical to turn up loud enough to get enough power tube breakup. I crank the level up all the way and only dial the overdrive to about 9 o'clock, so the pedal provides mostly level boost and just a tad bit of overdrive; it really helps the tubes do their job. I also use a Boss EQ-7 set flat, with the level cranked a bit, as a solo boost, since rarely can you count on the soundman to know when you're soloing and give your guitar a boost in the mains. Especially if you're using more than one guitar in a band, these guys (or some equivalent device) really helps keep the leads boosted where they need to be. It also does a great job serving in the same capacity as the Tube Screamer, as a level boost for a tube amp. Aside from a volume pedal I ocassionally employ, and of course the omnipresent Boss TU-2 tuner pedal, that's about all I really need. Maybe a wah from time to time would be nice, if I were to add anything to my set up, but I try not to get caught up in all this pedal madness.

she's a jar

Indeed. Brain fart, sorry.

You guys have most of this down, but I've got just a few minor refinements and addtions. First, the piano intro:

Since this is the piano part adapted for guitar, it's a little trick to pull of the first little hammer-on; you have to strike the b flat note (g string 3rd fret) first, and hammer-on to the b natural at the same time you pick the g note (d string, 5th fret).

For the verse, the chords are G (two measures), C (2 measures), G (4 measures), C (2 measures), C minor (2 measures), Bb (2 measures), A (1 measure), Ab (1 measure).

The pre-chorus above is essentially correct. The chorus (I guess that's what you call it; it's the "honey, I think you're just right" bit) is in a half-time feel - F (one measure), C/E (1 measure) and Ebmaj7 (hold for two measures). Here's how I voice these:

F C/E Ebmaj7

|------------------------

|--10-----5-----8------

|--10-----5-----7------

|--10-----5-----8------

|--8------7-----6------

|-----------------------

The fills during the verse (2nd time you go to G (4 measures)) are on lap steel, but you can pull off an approximation on guitar.

First verse fill:

Second verse fill:

I didn't tab out the third verse fill; now that you know the gist of it, you can either improvise or figure it out on your own.

The 2nd stop-time break tabbed out above is partially correct; the bit where you go up high is completely off. It's a bit tricky; there's two guitars going at once; one plays a more simplified version (similar to the one tabbed out at the top of this thread), and the other a trickier version with lots of hammer-ons an pull-offs. They happen so quickly that you really don't notice unless you listen closely; the 2nd guitar sort of masks the actual part, too.

Execute those hammer-on and pull-offs quickly and smoothly and this bit will be a real gas.

And finally, the coda:

There's some octave lines that follow the descending chord progression (F, E, Eb, D), and sundry other improvisational riff-raff going on here.

The final chord that holds at the end is an Eflat/G (or you might call it a Gaug), like this:

|---------------

|--4------------

|--3------------

|--1------------

|- x------------

|--3------------

This should be enough, along with the previous posts, to pull this one off convincingly.

I'm pretty sure it's not a Cdim chord it has to be an Adim.

Any note in a true diminished chord (not half-diminished, which I refer to as a minor-7 flat 5) serves as the root note. For example, a Cdim has these notes: c, gb, a, eb; Gbdim is gb, c, eb, a, Adim is a, eb, gb, c, etc. A fun trick when using a dimished chord in a song is to slide it up three frets, like this:

This trick always works (as long as you're in the correct key) when a dim chord is called for because all you're doing is moving to different voicings of the same chord. I think a "Via Chicago" uses this trick (or at least I use it when I play it) on the "tracks of a train's arm" bit, except I just slide up once.

Wow congrats on that one, thanks!

Sure, no problem. I use a program called "Transcribe" that's indispensable when it comes to nailing those fast runs accurately; it will slow down a selection to half or quarter speed (but at the same pitch), so you can pick them apart note by note.

Here's the solo from the album version; enjoy!

Hey guys,

does anybody know where I can watch or, even better, download a version of this video. The one on YouTube is DAMN slow and I so WANT this video. It's the best Muzzle Of Bees Version ever. Can anybody help me?

I download videos from YouTube, Google Video and similar sites using a script that works in conjunction with a Firefox extension called "GreaseMonkey." The downloaded files are Flash video files, so you have to view it with a program such as VLC, or better yet encode it as MPEG-4 using a program called iSquint (for Mac; don't know about PeeCee equivalents).

Which of these items does not belong in the set?

This one.

Kotche's a wonderful drummer. Very tasty, and not in the least bit flashy. The man is IN the pocket; not a tick ahead or behind, but right on the beat. His talent is not immediately noticeable to those who don't know what to listen for, for those that have to hear some flashy approximation of Neil Peart to be impressed. I wonder if he's ever played jazz? I'd love to hear him and Nels in a jazz trio with a double-bassist; I'll bet he's got the chops to pull it off.

I agree the Nels vs. Jay thing is tired and pointless. If you need to read some interesting Nels info, here are three recommendations:

 

1. go to AllAboutJazz.com and search the interviews. They've done a few lengthy interviews with Nels, at least one of which deals with Nels joining Wilco, and his mixed feelings about devoting so much time to Wilco and not as much time to his own projects.

 

2. go to Mike Watt's website (hootpage.com) and read Nels' tour diaries from two of the tours he did with Watt. ***

 

3. go to Nels' own website (nelscline.com) and read everything he's written there.

 

All of this stuff is very interesting reading if you're a Nels fan.

EDIT:

 

***I realized Watt's page has a lot of info and it might be tough to find Nels' diaries, so here are the direct links (these diaries are interesting for a lot of reasons, but one thing that is especially interesting is you can sense that he is falling in love with Carla Bozulich):

 

http://hootpage.com/hoot_nelsclamblow1.html

 

http://hootpage.com/hoot_nelsshinebox1.html

 

happy reading, and thanks for the tip on Eleni Mandell. I did not know about that one, and am not familiar with her, so I'll check it out.

Nice reccomendations. Nels' website is a real interesting read, though it's not been updated as much lately, presumably due to the time he's been spending touring/recording and such with Wilco lately.

The interesting thing about Nels to me that some Wilco fans might not realize is how he's managed maintain his unique style and free-jazz sensibility and at the same time fit in with what Wilco is doing. On paper, it sounds like a complete mismatch; I initially wondered how someone who is all about improvisation would find fulfillment in a much more scripted role. I'm a big jazz fan, so naturally I'm also a big fan of Nels' solo work, particularly the stuff prior to joining Wilco.

For those not familiar, go to his website and check out some of the MP3s he has available for download (there's quite a bit there). Listen to some of his more avant-garde offerings, like "Jupiter," which is from his album Interstellar Space Revisited, Nels' take on John Coltrane's free jazz classic Interestellar Space. Coltrane's record is just Trane with drummer Rasihed Ali, and here Nels assumes the role of Coltrane with drummer Greg Bendian. It's quite challenging, even for someone like myself who listens to a lot of jazz, but it clearly illustrates the huge difference between Nels' typical avant-garde jazz offerings and Wilco. It also illustrates Nels' versatility; he effectively assumes the role of a rock guitar player in Wilco and only gives us a taste here and there of his jazz background. But if you've ever read Nels' bio or an interview where he talks about his influences, Wilco makes much more sense than one would think; Nels grew up very much a fan of rock and roll, though he eventually found his true love in jazz.

Interstellar Space Revisited is a fairly extreme example of Nels' solo style, so check out some of the MP3 samples from his most recent Nels Cline Singers album, The Giant Pin. It's a more accurate summary of Nels' various influences; heavy on the jazz, though not forsaking his love for blues and rock and roll. Unfortunately his MP3 section hasn't been updated in a while, but I would very much reccomend getting your hands on his tribute to Andrew Hill, New Monastery. Like I said, I listen to a lot of jazz and keep up with modern jazz quite a bit, and I felt New Monastery was one of the best, if not the best, jazz records to come out last year. Nels does a masterful job of taking Hill's compositions and giving them a fresh perspective, one that reflects Clines own unique voice and vision while at the same time paying tribute to Hill's wonderful compositions. It may not be for everyone, particularly if you're not a jazz fan, and it may not be the most accessible jazz out there, though I think the average Wilco fan has an open mind and shouldn't have a hard time grasping the music. And while you're at it, check out the amazing work of Andrew Hill, particularly his 60s Blue Note albums, which you should be able to find quite easily. Hill is one of my top four or five favorite jazz artists, so the notion of Nels paying tribute to his music on record really got me excited when I heard about it, and after much anticipation hearing the record was every bit as exciting as I imagined. Unfortunately, Hill was scheduled to record a live record for Blue Note at Birdland later this month, but word is that it's been cancelled due to ill health; Hill has terminal lung cancer. Let's wish him the best.

Sky Blue Sky would sound glorious on an A.M. car radio in a 1974 El Camino. I don't know if the version I have has been mastered or not, but it sounds 30 years old right off the bat.

This album for me was far from a "grower;" I immediately fell in love with it. AGIB, now that was a grower for me, but after about 6-7 listens, I think this will turn out to be perhaps the finest record they've made to date, albeit one that will probably not receive its proper appreciation for some years to come. The whole group, in fact, I feel will be one that is more appreciated years after they're gone than they are during their existence; The Band comes to mind.

I've not read through all these posts, but somewhere earlier in the thread some folks were talking about this album perhaps not appealing to younger kids as much as say YHF. I couldn't agree more; in fact, one of my first impressions was that this record's going to lose some fans, like virtually every record before has. There's always those that like the sound of a particular album and want the next record to sound like the one before it, and ulitmately end up dissapointed because that's not how Wilco works. I've been a fan since A.M. and I've loved every record, though there have been periods of adjustment and even brief dissapointment (Summerteeth comes to mind) because my expectations weren't met. It was Summerteeth, in fact, that taught me never to expect the same record twice and to just keep my mind and ears open and enjoy the ride.

But back to the age thing. I'm about the same age as Tweedy, and I think for me that's been key in my enjoyment of Wilco over the years. It's seemed that my taste has grown in step with the band, and his music has always been befitting for a person of my age. He's someone who expresses his own personal growth through his music, which is the way it should be, I think. Look at some commercial rock group like Aerosmith, trying to forever preserve 1975, both in sound and image. And for men in their mid to late 50s, I'm embarrased for them when they take the stage shirtless, wearing leather pants and blasting "Train Kept A Rollin'" for the ten thousandth time. I have a hard time listening to the music I listened to when I was 19, even for nostalgiac purposes, and I couldn't even imagine trying to keep cranking that sort of stuff out professionally. SBS is very much a grown-up record, which is great, I think. Look, I don't even hardly listen to rock music any more. I've always tried to keep growing musically and let my heart lead my ears, so with me that place right now is in jazz, which I listen to 99.9 percent of the time. But as far as current rock groups, there is always one exception: Wilco. Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to say that jazz is "better" or "more mature" than rock or anything, nor am I trying to attach any sort of superlative to it in comparison with rock. I'm just saying that is where I am, musically, at the time, in order to underscore how I view Wilco, which is head and shoulders above the rest.

This record represents the band at this particular point in their career, and musically the current lineup is the most talented they've ever had (sorry J.B. fans, but there's really no comparison talent-wise between he and N.C.). They've created a record that reflects their current state, collectively more so than ever before. I've read some comments on the web that say this is practically a "Jeff Tweedy solo record." I could not disagree more; in fact, I have to wonder what those people are hearing. They have changed their approach to songwriting on this record in order to accomodate the band's collective input, as opposed to in the past where Tweedy presented a nearly-completed song to the band for them to learn. This has to be the band's most collaborative effort to date, and it shows. And as far as needing another "rocker," I have to disagree. I think the mix is just right; this is meant to be a melancholy affair (Todd Rundgren anyone?), and there is just enough dynamic contrast within a few songs to satisfy any need I have for "rock." This is never going to appeal to those who need gimmicks to be entertained, or those who aren't willing to put forth an effort in actively listening to the music. It's a dense, multi-layered affair that I feel will reveal more and more each time to those that are willing to put forth the effort. Moby Dick never made sense the first time, or even the fourth, fifth or tenth time through, and if you're trying to figure it out by reading the Cliff Notes, you can forget it. I'm not saying that it's as challenging as a Mellville allegory, but my point is that this album is something that the listener will have to actively engage in order to receive the maximum enjoyment. Tweedy is very much a believer in the classic communications model, in where there final step involves the listener decoding the message; he's said it time and time again in interviews, and this album is no exception. It's out there for the taking, so do yourselves a favor and give it the attention it deserves; it will be a very rewarding experience. For those who say it's "boring," "adult contemporary," "Muzak," or whatever, that's fine; it's certainly your opinion. But my bet is that somewhere down the road, it may be months, or it could be years, that same person will grow to love this record.

i just like the overall sound & feel of the record a bit more than L&T. there were a few songs on L&T i got bored with after 3 listens. i've listened to modern times about 10 times now & still love it. who knows what will happen after one year. i will say that working man's blues is amazing.

Yeah, that song stood out to me as one of my favorites. I also liked "Nettie Moore" and "Ain't Talkin'." Those songs to me really sounded like Dylan moving forward, while the rest sounded like spinning his wheels.

Cool your jets, Maverick. Regardless of your intentions, it certainly does come off like a spam email, what with almost thirty links and all. Looks interesting, though, so I'll probably give it a look...

I guess I need to learn to be more jaded, huh? Or perhaps the drugs were just kicking in really good at the time...

As far as the links go, halfway through writing my post I realized that I could easily transform it into a piece for my LiveJournal page, so I decided to put the effort into providing links and all. But I assure everyone that there's no money being made here, and that my intentions are merely to promote the local scene and possibly stir up some interest in this music, much of which is made by friends of mine. We've got a fairly supportive thing going on here amongst musicians, and unlike towns like Nashville, people make music for the love of making music and try to help promote one another. Nashville's where you go when you're still disillusioned (or naive) enough to think that living there's going to make you rich, and Knoxville's where they eventually come when they're over the game and just want to make music.

Nobody who prefers this record to L&T and/or TOOM will feel that way in six months. Bet on it. The songs just aren't there. There are four tunes that give the best of L&T a run for their money, but the abundant blues re-writes, asides from their obvious toe-tapping quality, just sit there, saying nothing.

Thank you. It's nice to finally hear a reasoned opinion. I checked amazon.com yesterday and was amazed to see seven reviews already. I can't take any review at this point too seriously, since it's only been out for a day now. I'm perplexed by all of these people that want to declare it "top five," or "top" whatever. It's just too early to properly evaluate this recording. I mean, how many times could someone have heard it thus far, even if they've been sitting on a leaked copy for a few weeks? I'm saying let's not get ahead of ourselves here and hand out any awards just yet. I got my copy yesterday, and based on the one time that I've heard it, I'm not even ready to put it in the company of the two that preceded it. Lyrically, it seems quite good, but he's not doing anything musically that he hasn't done before, or that someone else hasn't already done. The first tune, "Thunder On The Mountain," for example, is merely a Chuck Berry reworking done Highway 61-style, and though the lyrics aren't too bad, at nearly 6 minutes it's about twice as long as it needs to be. One downside to self-producing is not having anyone around to tell you "hey Bob, let's cut that last verse out," and if your own sense of self-editing doesn't catch it, the result is what you have here with the first tune.

But the major caveat to anything I or anyone else has said about this record thus far is that it's just far too early to tell. I could put together a list of great records that didn't do much for me on the first few listens, that took sometimes months to properly appreciate, as well as a list of records that on first listen I thought were world-beaters, but wound up gathering dust. So what purpose would a one-day-old review serve in any of these cases? I'm going to sit on this thing for a while before making any bold proclamations; I'll leave that to the deadline-burdened pundits. But my first impressions is that this could easily have been assembled from Love and Theft left-overs.

Cool, I'm glad you guys enjoy it. I thought it was really interesting stuff. I really enjoy all the field recordings of rural music, not just in the U.S., but all over, like the stuff Alan Lomax used to record. Anyway, didn't mean to get snappy, I just get tore up when I'm trying to do something out a sense of altruism and someone has the nerve to question my motives or suggest a hidden agenda.