spongebob

"Don’t you just hate when musicians put their artistic aspirations above the expectations of their fans?"

​I stopped reading after this sentence. It might of been irony, but this guy is such a bad writer I couldn't figure it out. Me read good yo......

Starting off with "She's a Jar" would have been a much bolder statement. I don't mind "Can't Stand It," but I think for a poppy, catchy single, "I'm Always in Love," "Nothingsevergonnastandinmyway (again)" or the title track are far superior options.

I always thought Summerteeth should open with Candyfloss.  I don't know, but I always assumed it was included because the band had originally intended to open the album with it until Reprise stepped in.  I think it would make a great opener. Slow fade in, and then an explosion of melody.  Just my opinion and hunch....probably wrong.

This is the best Wilco.

Phish. I used to love them...I just don't put them in the player anymore. Not a knock on the band. They just didn't age well with me.

What's wrong with "One Headlight"? Or early Counting Crows, for that matter?

Nothing at all. I was trying to think of some bands that had big Radio hits circa 94-96. There has been a lot of talk in the press of Wilco and Reprise searching for that elusive "hit" song. It wasn't a dis, I was just mentioning some names of bands that had hits at that time. Like the grunge scene in late "90 and into ninety one with Nirvana, there were many bands "encouraged" to make a certain sound to have a hit and make money. It is a indictment of the industry. Not any band or musician who just wants to be successful.

Honestly, I've never understood this view. I hear a band that's having a lot more fun than Uncle Tupelo. I hear a band that doesn't take itself so seriously. I hear a looseness and a swagger that was absent in Uncle Tupelo, yet there was also a pop sensibility that wouldn't have flown in the UT world. In fact, I hear a lot of songs that Jay Farrar probably would've had no interest in playing.

 

Is A.M. mostly labeled as twangy, "alt-country" in the same vein as UT? Perhaps, but I don't hear it that way.

I understand not hearing it that way. I also agree that A.M. would never have happened under Farrar's watch. It is too pop.... too much REM (post 92) with a country feel. I don't feel fun though, except on the two tunes I listed. I hear pressure. That is okay, I hear a band trying harder than on any other album, but they are trying for a 90's top twenty hit. I hear a band sounding like what they are told they are supposed to be. I hear a band looking for a "One Head Light", visa The Wildflowers, The Counting Crows, or Sheryl Crow...... That is my point. The journey and not the destination is most important, to BE THERE. I hear Uncle Tupelo without Farrar's heavy hand. Free, but in a zone that is giving it away for free.... I like it, but it isn't earnest. The band found earnest on Being There. That is what makes Being There such a great album. Hints the title....

"The Ruling Class"-Loose Fur Not many songs have Jesus smoking crack and shooting smack. The religious right has pretty thin skin, and I don't remember any huge uproar other than a fan walking out of a show in NC. The "bible belt" at that.....

For me, AM is the a transition album. The band changing from Uncle Tupelo and becoming Wilco. The process wasn't complete until Being There. The only "Uncle Wilco" album. I like it, but I look at it "for the most part", as a Wilco plays the songs of Uncle Tupelo. Exceptions being Dash 7 and Too Far Apart. Just my opinion.....

i gotta go with Dylan's Time Out of Mind. I considered Neil Young's Harvest Moon and Graceland (Paul Simon), but as stated above, Dylan went through a rough patch and I all but gave up hope. Then..... Wow. It blew me away.

In one very odd sense, it is probably a good thing that Leroy left the band.

Three conspicuously balding guys in a band is probably a little more than overkill.

Losing Leroy was not a good thing. He had a versatility that is unlike Pat. I like Pat, and the band sounds great. I just enjoyed that Leroy had a swing (and space) in his playing that I really liked. I also found him to be incredibly unselfish as a musician. Also, without Cline, it put the focus on Jeff's guitar (as mentioned above). I saw them after they added Mike ( Asheville 2003), and I enjoyed it immensely. My favorite show of all the times I have seen them play going back to 95.

Yes - I like that rawness. Stripping everything down with a slight feeling that "anything could happen/it could fall apart at any minute".

 

Leroy was great in Wilco.

 

I agree 100%. There was more risk, and a freedom that I don't hear in the live shows as much anymore. They sound so tight and polished now (caught night one at the Ryman). They sound great!!! It has the sound of a band of studio musicians. Not that there is anything wrong with that......

1. Miles Davis- A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1971) Everyone always points to Bitches Brew as his best fusion jazz, but I find this record to be one of his best. Far better than Bitches Brew...

2. J.J. Cale- Troubadour (1976) This album is amazing, and I don't think is gets the appreciation it deserves.

3. Built To Spill - Perfect from Now On (1997) The media seems to always focus on Keep It Like a Secret as the bands best record, but I disagree. I think this is one of the best, and most overlooked albums of the nineties.

should....you're

Well played sir. I bust a gut laughing at myself when I read your responce. I take it all back, and I tip my hat. bleedorange, you rock!

I still like Cars Can't Escape...but I have a new found resepect for your wit.

No. The previous poster said "I would like a definition of inferior," so I thought I would provide one.

I guess you missed my point. I was being sarcastic. I thought your opinion was inferior. Or as you put it, "of lower degree or rank".

Sometimes one sould let a rhetorical question be. Opinion is opinion until one becomes a jackass.

(See I did it again. I took a soft stand on opinion, and you kicked it up a notch. . But since your going to be a smartass, I'll play along. ).

All those pretty faces are for you.

Cars Can't Escape is one of my favorite tunes. I would like a definition of inferior.....I'll take the YHF outtakes over WTA as a hole. Pun intended...... One Wing is a good tune though. That is about all I go back to from that album these days. Sorry....just my opinion.

No one here even gets it! He is obviously pointing at the Muddy Waters sign and is too stupid to know that Muddy Waters was a fucking bad ass AND that the music heard overhead is not The Wilco but in fact it is The Radiohead. Get it.......?

The cartoon says "painting". The sign you are refering to is the name of the coffe house. Coffe looks like muddy water...I can make that leap. I'll stick with previous interpretations and continue to get an unfunny cartoon. Maybe because I like the Tao, peace, love, understanding, and Wilco. It's all opinion anyhow....

Yeah...There were three guys on stage with a giant penis rapping their butts off. It was right after Licence to Ill came out. I enjoyed the ninties shows better.

Speling and writeing? Realie? Are we gona half a dabate about tat?

how is it stalkerish? it's not like we're following jeff and co around chicago to analyze their hair product purchases.

It is to me, but I'm just one person. I don't sit around and wonder about how people's hair has changed but my own hair. I'll say it again, analyze whatever you like. It's cool. Just sharing my opinion, and I don't think there is a right or wrong on this one.

i dont think talking about hair really qualifies as invading privacy.

 

weird, yeah, but not invading privacy.

 

 

 

Sorry. I agree. It's weird, creepy, and stalkerish. But if it gets you through the night then who am I to judge? I compare shows, songs, and albums. Maybe I need to think outside of the box....

I need an answer about this now!!! I can't listen to a band unless I know how they grow hair. Also, I heard that Bruce Springsteen wore briefs in the 80's but switched to boxers around the time The Rising.....

Sorry, but is nothing sacred. Does it really matter? Let's give people a little privacy. My opinion...could be wrong.

The difference between Anodyne and AM is slight, if you take out Jay's vocal of course.

I could not disagree more. Not picking on A.M., but Anodyne is a knock down dragout battle (musically and personality....Jay and Jeff both growing as songwritters). It is the sound of a band, and two people, relizing this is kick ass but it can't last. Thus, the ironic title of the album. I see it all now in retrospect in the lyrics. A.M. is a great collection of songs by a group of guys who are becoming a band.

Sorry to rant....but the word "slight" threw me off. They have simmilar musical influences, but only one is a truly great record. Being There is where Wilco hit great status for me.

I've thought about starting with a single lyric as inspiration. Getting a theme or tone and running with it..."I'm down on my hands and knees everytime a doorbell rings"..

I don't think I could use a whole song. Too much of the narrative is already told in the lyrics. I'm sure there are exceptions....

nice post sponge. however, i have rocked out to a katy perry song before

I was just poking fun at my daughter with the Katy comment. Continue rocking!

saw bill frisell at village vanguard a few years back. waited in line on sat night and were the last 2 to get in. a few minutes later they let some other couple in and squezzed them in behind us in the back back corner. elvis costello and diana krall

Wow. Elvis and Diana....very cool. Michael Stipe once accedently hit me in the back of the head at a 1997 Pavement show at the 40 Watt. Closest I've come to running into other artists at shows. To his credit, he was kind and bought me a beer.

The nineties took me from 13 to 23, so it covered a ridiculous amount of discovery. I started with top 40 and ended with John Zorn and Bill Frissel. It was a sprint agianst the mainstream fueled by working in a tiny music store where I could open and listen to anything. It was a dream. Now everyone grows up like that with itunes; only since it takes much less effort, people seem to not search as hard. I stopped searching so hard. I spent the last decade returning to center and being cool with all music. I don't need to be the hipest guy in the room anymore (I never really was). Every song has a perfect moment to play it....except Katy Perry songs.

It seems that Jay Farrar sliped one past me. I haven't seen this in a post (analogman will let me know if this is redundant), but did anyone notice the quiet release/re-release of Terroir Blues? It has new mixes, and the Space Junk and alternate versions have been removed from what appeared on the 2003 release. Has anyone listened to it? Is it a must have, or just for folks who missed out the first time round? It came out on Jan. 13th....I wouldn't have noticed but a friend called and asked if I was going to pick it up. Just wondering.....