Moonblade

What you all need to do is Shake it off. Shake it off. Shake it off. Shake it off. Shake it off.

I love this song. They lyrics are great, and the music fits them perfectly.

ok, so i live in Arizona & have always wondered what hotel the song refers to? (if any)

 

my best guess is probably Hotel Congress in Tucson, because they seem like the kind of place that might do that. ... plus i'm sure wilco went over very well in tucson.

I always picture Hotel Congress when I hear this song too... I used to live in Tucson. Strange this thread just came up, I just listened to Being There on my way to work yesterday and Hotel Arizona jumped out at me as an amazing song that I always overlook. I even replayed it when it was over, there was a time I used to skip it in disgust.

i'm coming to realize is it's not really a wilco record in the classic sense. it's the current album by the band called wilco, but it's different and not a continuation of their previous body of work.

Personally I see it in the opposite way.... I see SBS as being the essence of Wilco that has always been there, finally fully exposed. As much as I love the layers, sounds, bloops and bleeps of YHF, which is arguably my favourite Wilco album, it's the Tweedy "comfort songs" that get me the most... Far far away, Bob Dylan's Beard, Jesus Etc, Roses Bloom Again, most of Mermaid's Ave, etc... by comfort songs I mean the ones you can imaging Tweedy playing for you with his acoustic guitar in your living room. BT and MA1&2 had many. ST, which I like, didn't have much in terms of this style of songs... YHF did but many of them were masked and disguised, to great effect.... AGIB (love/hate album for me) didn't have any comfort songs for me... but SBS is the pure essence of these Tweedy comfort songs (sorry to keep using that phrase, but it's the only way I can think to try to describe the type of song I'm talking about), with the addition of amazing guitar which doesn't get in the way but elevates them. There is some experimental craziness scattered throughout the album, fast switching between styles (e.g. shake it off), but mostly, to me, it is just Tweedy singing the type of songs that I have always loved from him, and classic ones at that... the song SBS is a perfect example, it's pure Tweedy, would fit alongside with anyting on Mermaid Ave, but at the same time it's one of the best songs he's ever written imo.

Everyone is different when it comes to music, of course, but personally I find that a lot of the music that I like right away gets boring fast. The albums I don't like at first, and that I have to grow with, end up being my favourite. I think this is because songs I like right away sound like other music I've heard, and are comfortable, don't hurt my ears. Music which is new to me takes time for my ears to adapt, but once it does it stays with me forever. I haven't liked any of the Wilco albums yet on first listen, they all took time to nurse and digest, but all become something special over time. YHF was the first Wilco album I heard, and I didn't like it, but it eventually creeped up on me and became my favourite album, its subtleties really seeped into my pores. Same with AGIB, although not as much, and then the rest of the Wilco albums. For some reason with SBS, though, I loved right away on first listen. I didn't like the live tracks of the album I had heard, and was really worried about this album, but it is everything I wanted from a Wilco album and the genius is more than I ever could have expected. It's exhilarating and I've never felt this after a first listen. Maybe after what I said earlier I should be worried that I'll get bored quickly, but I don't think so... because it's grown every time I've listened to it so far which is pretty much continuously whenever I can find the time. Anyways I could go on for a long time about this album but should probably shut up now since this is my first post on this list and all... don't want to ramble on more than I already did.