Nonlinear Nonfiction

Got a link to the chart? I don't understand Billboard's website.

A few days ago I posted a long recommendation that people just turn the volume up on SBS in order to hear every nuance on the album. Sorry if this offended you. I don't think anyone should take a reviewer's opinion too seriously, no matter who the reviewer is. But reviews do make for interesting discussion sometimes. I only recently discovered metacritic.com (I'm sure many of you have been using the tool for a long time) which tracks almost all the blog/mainstreem reviewers for albums and consolodates it into a rating. Pretty cool.

Let's all just not forget that this a great place to discuss Wilco and share opinions, so don't put anyone down for it.

I sometimes wonder if most people who download music for their PC just have a shit audio system hooked up to their rig...

Another brilliant hypothesis. There are some kind of spectral analysis softwares out there that can give you a fancy chart showing the difference between the web-ripped versions and the real thing. I'm not familiar with them but if someone would perform such a test I would be very curious to see the results.

Yeah but people can definitely discover Wilco and any great band for the first time, anytime...and truly appreciate it (that's what makes them great). They just have to live with the grief that they missed out on the really really good times. I mean, I'm 22 years old and think that I have a decent appreciation of Bob Dylan...but I'll never truly know what it was like to yell 'Judas.'

I agree that the CD sounds better than the streamed and/or ripped versions that have been floating around for the past several weeks. That's why, after one full listen to the stream from the web site (I just couldn't help myself), I didn't spend any more time with the record until it came out yesterday. I like it a lot better now that I can hear everything.

 

But I would hope that most "professional" critics were reviewing an advance copy of the real album, and not just the streamed version. (I'm sure some took the short cut, but they shouldn't have.) Some just plain didn't like it, for whatever reason.

I agree.

Aside from the better audio quality on the release, I guess I'm just frustrated that people seem to assume that this album is meant to be played quietly or something, as if the guys recorded it with that in mind. I don't think they did. I think they want people to blast the f'n shit out of it, pardon my french, just like every other album they've released. Anyone who says this album is too "soft" or "old-man-ish" should maybe take a look in the mirror (or a closer look at their volume nob!). Just because Either Way is acoustic and, uh, brighter? doesn't mean it can't be loud! I'd also like to explore the claim that this album is Wilco's 'lightest' record. I for one am refreshed that Wilco has let go of the "weight" of all the distorted frequencies and heavy silence from YHF and AGiB to "just sing some motherfucking songs" as Tweedy says on the Shake It Off DVD. I don't think that makes the actual music any softer, per say. It's not like there's actually any heavy metal in Heavy Metal Drummer. Wilco has always sung sweet melodies!

Hi everyone. How are you on this fine Wednesday?

I do not intend here to make an argument for the merits of Sky Blue Sky as Wilco's best or worst album. This is not meant to be a review. I've been developing this hypothesis, if you wish to call it that, about the unique circumstance by which most critics encountered the most recent work from Mr. Tweedy, Mr. Cline, Mr. Stirratt, Mr. Jorgensen, Mr. Kotche and Mr. Sanson. This is also something to keep in mind when you sit down with Sky Blue Sky now that official copies are available.

What other album can you think of that was released worldwide via a listening party hosted by streaming audio on the band's website? Wilco did just that and within hours the entire album was available for anyone who wanted to download it. 'Pirates' (a harsh word for someone who takes something given to them for free) ripped the album from the stream and separated it into tracks. Even Jeff Tweedy didn't mind. While the album spread, an overwhelming majority of listeners went on failing to understand that what they were hearing was not actually the album the band recorded together in their loft. Instead, it was a cheap immitation. Let me illustrate this for you:

Imagine you made a mosaic out of tiles.

Now you want to send this mosaic to a friend but the mosaic is too large and would be too expensive to ship. So, you recreate the mosaic with fewer tiles.

Finally, your friend gets the mosaic but in transit some of the tiles broke so he had to reassemble it using only the pieces that were still in tact:

The mosaic is meant to illustrate the journey SBS took to get to most listeners via the original Wilco webcast. First, the album had to be "compressed" before streaming and then when anyone "ripped" the album into mp3 files, it broke down the album even further. Frequencies and sounds were litterally lost during this process. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork Media had been listening to this kind of web-rip version when he wrote, "drummer Glenn Kotche is given no room to stretch beyond routine time-keeping, and Cline is used for his capacity to rip and wail rather than his ear for texture and atmosphere." Link to Pitchfork review.

Please don't misinterpret this post as I am aware there are many shortcomings which critics have recognized about this album that I agree with. But to say that the album lacks texture? I might have agreed until I opened up my Nonesuch stamped copy and played the album LOUD. It was like coming home after being away for a long time and although all the rooms were in the same place there was new furniture, some walls had been repainted and a big screen TV was waiting for me in the basement.

When I downloaded a web-ripped SBS, I was much like Mitchum in that I begged the question, "Where the hell is Glenn?!" I think I heard Kotche's subtle but intricate rhythms on Either Way for the first time when my pre-ordered disc arrived. There are countless other examples of moments like this; fragments that were missing until the album came out. I got a taste of this when a friend let me listen to his promotional copy a few weeks ago in his car. Now I have them for my own. I would write them out but this has gotten long and the beauty of this forum is that I know you all will help make this list.

Finally, I just want to urge you to go into a quiet room with a nice stereo or put on a pair of headphones and listen to an official copy of Sky Blue Sky with the volume turned up as loud as your ears can handle. Now what do you think? Is the album as plain as Mitchum and others have made it out to be? I don't think so.

-NN

Took this photo of a friend in 2002...just had to share it here.

I just got my confirmation. Very excited. To be honest though, in anticipation of the record I've made about three or four orders from Wilcoworld since the pre-order started and just saw that I ordered the "red arrow tee?" What is that? hah...seriously though.

11. WHAT LIGHT

0.19 God damn it, it's not - those boys HAVE left the good stuff for the home run! This is gorgeous, like a lost Dylan song from the mid-60s, with a lyric to suit: "If you feel like singing a song/And you want other people to sing along/Just sing what you feel, don't let anyone say it's wrong." YES, it's passive-aggressive rehab nonsense talking again but hell, it WORKS.

2.01 Plus pedal steel, a lovely chorus, and a tune that winds to its end with finesse.

Has she ever heard a Dylan tune before? Of all Tweedy lyrics, What Light is about as far from Dylan as I think one can get.

Still no link, the schedule on The View's website hasn't been updated for next week. I want proof before I start to face my emotions about this one. And if it's not true, I'm going to be pretty mad that The View is in my internet browser history for no good reason. Although, I kind of like the idea of them playing "Hate It Here."

I don't believe it until I see a link.

This raises some serious issues for me. My girlfriend watches The View and I beg her to stop and read a newspaper instead or even better, watch The Price Is Right.

Why are they allowed to upload a 18 min. video and I'm not? Youtube sucks.

It gets my vote, at least for now.

Although this solidifies the band as true "Dad-rockers," I'll be there with a bigass smile on my face.

My father once paid $3.00 for a one dollar bill on ebay . It had a picture of a pug glued over Washington's face.

Could someone please tape the karaoke and post it here soon after?!

Haha, that's terrible...I couldn't even read the article.

It's been like that for at least a few months now. Sorry to be the party pooper. Glad you all finally noticed though!

Whats the audio quality like on this?

Well, there are two things going on here: 1) Tucker is upset about his co-worker; and 2) Tucker is threatening to stop listening to Wilco.

I prefer to comment on the latter dilemma:

I can only relate to this because there was a year way back when Bob Dylan made me stop listening to Wilco - Yes, that is right, Bob Zimmerman himself. Because of him, I actually put Wilco on pause for a while. At the time, my college roommate was relentlessly trying to turn me on to Bob Dylan in a whole new light - had me listening to bootlegs and watching all the necessary footage/documentaries for a whole year, reading lyrics and his autobiography, etc. The whole thing completely transformed me. While he was pushing Dylan 24 hours a day, I was busy pushing back with Tweedy. He had barely listened to Wilco before. We would stay up late laughing at each other over claims like "Tweedy is so much better than Dylan" or vice-versa. Oddly enough, after a few months I was the one claiming Dylan was greater and he was backing Tweedy in these arguments. Well, as I look back at the whole thing, I think I was refueling his Dylan appreciation (which was beginning to get pretty faded and worn over the years) while he was reigniting mine for Wilco. I no longer waste my time debating who is no. 1 anymore. Nothing will ever compare to those days listening to Wilco with Alex but we have since moved on. We're not even in the same state anymore. We're both very excited for SBS and we still talk about Wilco often. But, the fact of the matter is, we might never get to listen to Wilco together again like that. We'll meet up for a show sometime, I'm sure, as we did for the Thanksgiving show in Madison, WI last fall. Now, Tucker, listen here: You have a lot of Wilco yet to listen to. Download live shows. Download the demos. Rent or buy the documentaries. Read Learning How To Die. Listen to Uncle Tupelo, Goldensmog and Loose Fur. Pick up the Chelsae Walls soundtrack. Go to a show and beg your wife to go with (offer to take her to a musical or something in return - I recommend Spam-A-Lot or Wicked). Keep listening and move on. I promise the music will still be good. After all, even you said your co-worker didn't really even like Wilco all that much.

If you simply can't bring yourself to listen to Wilco anymore - or if you simply need a break. Start the healing process by watching Don't Look Back and reading Chronicles Vol. 1. Start listening to Bringing It All Back Home and work your way backwards and forwards from there.

Go. Do it. Feeling sorry for yourself is only going to make things worse - you might start watching MTV reality shows or something.

Saturday, August 21, 1999

Midway Stadium, St. Paul, MN

The first time I saw Wilco in concert was their Summerteeth tour. They opened for REM at the minor league ballpark where the St. Paul Saints play. I had just turned 15 that month and my dad took us early to get close to the stage where I felt like Jeff Tweedy, Jay Bennett, John Stirratt and Leroy Bach turned my world upside down. I actually still remember this physical high I got when I heard The Lonely 1 for the first time. Today that isn't even in my top ten songs but at the time for some reason it seemed to yank the grass right out from under me. Wilco rocked, then REM came out and the rain began to fall. My brother and I dried off in a dugout and discussed Wilco - far, far away from the headliners. For us, Wilco just simply stole the show. August 21, 1999 was the beginning of my heavy addiction to Wilco.

It would seem one can listen to SBS in its entirety while waiting for the show to begin...just connect to the webcast.

Maybe soon they'll let us hear the sound check!

http://wilcobase.com/

 

Don't know if you've seen wilcobase, but I could spend forever running the stats.

 

Rob:

Haha, I'm so glad I have avoided becomming addicted to the stats feature on there.

TORIEIIIIIIIIIADIEIEIIEI HUNTTERERRREREREKLRKRRRR GRANDDD SLAMMMAUYYYYAAAMMMMMMM!!!!

Thanky