shabba rich

https://rocknuts.net/2015/05/19/top-10-wilco-songs/

Thanks for filling me in on that. There isn't much on W(ta) that shows "the greatness of this songwriter and this band", in my opinion. If you want to like shitty albums because you think it's cool, you just go right ahead.

Every album has its strong points and weak points. I will agree that WTA has more weak spots than YHF. But someone who can't see that One Wing and Bull Black Nova are great tracks is someone who can't see what made Wilco great in the first place, IMO.

There are a couple of other tracks on WTA that I love but are not so objectively clear-cut "great" songs. Personally I will be happy if the new album has 4 or 5 tracks that I love even if the rest of it is dreck. Isn't it too much to ask that every song be great?

I'm pumped for the new album.

 

I really hope it is better than the last couple...

Jeff said in his Strombo interview posted elsewhere that he's come to terms with the fact that new albums will never be as well received by fans as the older material is. He said that new material can't compete with the emotional investment and attachment that time affords the older stuff. So it's a given that many here will bitch and moan about the new album, while others, who are secure in the understanding of the greatness of this songwriter and this band, will sing the praises of the new material despite not having had the time to develop a deep emotional attachment to it. And on and on and on it goes.

Word is a second show will be added on October 15.

I have to think this will happen. I thought the ad for this concert on the front page of the Globe and Mail's entertainment section yesterday was a clue that they're shooting for something bigger. But I couldn't take the chance. Had a meeting downtown this morning and wasn't near my computer. Ran to the Roy Thompson box office by 9:50. By 10:10 when I reached the wicket there were only obstructed view balcony seats left but I took em anyway.

I think this album is a masterpiece. I think overall it has the best songwriting and the best musicianship of any Wilco album. I think each of the first six songs on this album belong alongside the all-time greats of the Wilco canon, the Jesus etc's and 's.

Admittedly the second half is not as great as the first. I would not call Sonny Feeling or Country Disappeared "great" tracks, but they both have redeeming qualities. Enough to not take away from the overall greatness of the album. EE is a fantastic closer, but I agree with those who think it should go on longer.

I think YHF is a masterpiece too. But to me, it's an album that has an overall sense of sadness to it. Even the happy songs leave a taste of melancholy. WTA has such a positive vibe, even the song about an axe murder makes me feel good.

years ago, he even fronts his own band.

Well the last two times I've seen Wilco, Mike had no mic in front of him and performed no backing vocals.

How about Mike on the background vocals!

Yeah, what's up with this? When did he start singing?

I wonder on which episode of Grey's Anatomy will they use You and I ?

This is so true. Everybody knows only lonely girls enjoy sweet love songs. Why can't every song be a noisy dissonant rocker? This album is just too fucking eclectic. Why cant the songs on this album sound the same as each other? If I wanted variety on an album I would have bought a various artists compilation. And another thing, You Never Know is a direct rip off of My Sweet Lord. I mean a complete note-for-note copy, I cannot tell the difference and i know a lot about music.

by John Mulvey, www.uncut.co.uk

 

Keep listening, and the details come into focus

I keep telling my friends this is the only way to really enjoy Wilco records. Great review.

So no one thinks i am being ironic, it is really kind of nice that people are being honest about their feelings.

 

As I reflect on this movie (which I have often recently) there are parts of it that are just downright embarrassing when it comes down to it. Okay so the follow through on some of the threads is just plain bad film making, that I can live with, particularly the lengthy discussion of the Walmartization of America. But the segment on how great each band member is, in particular the John has job security segment, is probably the low point of the movie. Good bands are always good because each member brings something to it and one would hope that the band leader respects and trusts each band member for what they bring. Being that literal about the chemistry of Wilco ultimately is shallow and unenlightening; and nothing about Wilco is uninteresting. But somehow spending that length of time on mutual admiration, rather than showing how incredibly talented each member is by demonstrating it (which frankly they do with Glenn), is just a waste of time. We could have been watching a couple more numbers or seeing how the band works through arrangements, Jeff writes songs, etc. Instead we get an embarrasing circle jerk for a band that doesn't need to convince anyone how great they are. Considering Wilco is one of the great american bands at the moment, with incredible chemistry and cast of interesting and talented members, stopping the movie to have band members say how great their bandmates are, is a waste. Either the directors made a bad decision by not cutting that footage or they really weren't sure what makes Wilco truly an interesting band.

 

LouieB

I've seen the movie a couple of times now and I'm even more confused by this line of criticism. To me, the interview segments were very brief, welcome little breathers in between songs -- I barely noticed them. I mean, I listened and paid attention, but they were there and then gone, quickly, then onto the next number. "Spending that length of time on mutual admiration" -- what was it, 45 seconds, a minute? Put a timer on it, it didn't seem excessive to me at all. Also, most of the spoken word is presented via voice-over, often over shots of behind-the-scene stuff. I don't think you ever actually see a band member talk about another. For me, the voice-over technique mitigates against word fatigue and circle jerkism, because there were such interesting things to see. But I guess that's just me.

Rich

I was under the impression that it was a live concert film. At least that's how it was advertised on the Wilco website. It even reads "Wilco live" on the cover of the DVD so I wasn't expecting an Oscar caliber documentary on the Walmartization of America or an in depth story on the disappearance of small town life or even much insight into a rock band's creative process. I was expecting to see live concert footage and this film delivers that in spades. I am grateful to Wilco for allowing this film to be made. It captures a great american band in it's prime.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but yeah, I'm having trouble understanding the argument that they should have focused on one or more "narrative themes". Spending the whole 90 minutes talking about one issue would be inescapably pretentious, and quite likely repetitive and deathly boring. How much more can the lads say about the disappearance of small town life other than they're concerned about it? Would people rather have them cite Dept. of Commerce statistics?

Clearly this band has a lot of things to say, and there's nothing wrong with that. Gimme that delicious concert footage for my dinner, and for dessert I'll take a pastry tray of any little nuggets these guys see fit to share. Sounds like a feast.

Jeff clearly wasn't at the top of his game. At one point he told us this was the longest he's gone in two days without vomiting. I thought the sound was iffy -- Nels was too quiet and there were some strange clicks and pops marring the sound. But it was great to see the lads again, and here's hoping they play the Ampitheatre when they're touring their new album next summer.

Neil was neillerific as always, and his encore of "A Day In The Life" was something I'll never forget as long as I live. But I concluded that, given the choice of a Neil Young concert or a Wilco concert, not an easy choice, I would have to go with Wilco.

I know the conventional wisdom is that Wilco, or any band for that matter, is best seen at some small, intimate venue. And I agree, to an extent. But i am awfully excited to see Wilco at the Air Canada Centre next week, because I think they will sound better in a big arena than many other bands.

This thought occurred to me last year when I saw them at 2,000-seat Massey Hall. It was during Spiders, I think, when it felt like the sound would blow the roof off the place. I just think that Wilco's live sound is so deep and rich and textured -- and, at times, so big -- that they will end up sounding great in the big arenas. I think they will fill those places with their sound.

As a sidebar, how many times have they played the big arenas up to now? I know about the MSG New Years thing, how did that go for them, how did they sound?

unless, of course, that is a new song they adapted for the occasion and will rework for the new album.

This is a definite possibility. Some of the lyrics may sound like they were knocked off in the dressing room before the show, but the musical structure, chord changes and melody sound to me like something that's been worked on and crafted. It's too good to throw out.

hehe, if you watch John's face during that part, he actually is singing along and whatnot, you can catch him wince when Bennett kind of falters.

hehe watch it again, johnny winces when he himself screws up

Yeah, Jay's voice is just terrible. Just listen to him sing "My Darling" on the IATTBYH documentary... he's got a voice like shards of glass, and not in a good way.

Wow, watch him near the end of the film harmonizing in a hotel room to Someday Soon....he is note perfect. Although I will concede that the reason the backing vocals on Summerteeth are arguably Wilco's best may not be so much Bennett's voice as it is the layered production.

I love Nels, and I think the current lineup is without question the strongest Wilco lineup ever. Still, Jay brought a breezy pop sensibility that was a bit of a counterbalance to Jeff's intensity. Not much breezy pop on AGIB or SBS. I'd love to hear them do something light and fluffy like the song "summerteeth" or "nothingsevergonnastand" again.

Also, Jay was a very strong singer, and I think the band's backup vocals are weaker without him. No offence to Pat, but his vocals are just not up to Jay's level.

Wow, is this band so obscure that NBC can't even spell their name correctly on the sked?

http://www.nbc.com/Schedule/

Talk about incompetence, and lack of respect.

Interesting that AGIB won the Grammy in 04 for Alternative album, while SBS is nominated in the Rock category. I guess it's some kind of recognition by the academy that SBS is...what? More mainstream? Less "edgy"? Does Alternative turn into Rock when it grows up? It's all very ironic given that AGIB "rocks" way harder than SBS.

I was also surprised to find that many of the guitar solos I initially disliked (some of which I still do dislike) on SBS were Jeff's work, and not Nels' (e.g. the electric work on Please Be Patient With Me).

wow, what's not to like about those sweet little licks on PBPWM?

I wish men were more like women.

I think "Tomorrow Never Knows" is the most important song of the 20th century. It changed the world. From it everything else floweth.

You should thank Mr. Zimmerman for turning them on to marijuana.

That is all.

I agree it opened things up for them, at exactly the right time, although listening to Anthologies 2 and 3 makes it clear that by the White Album these guys were pretty much stoned 24/7, and although it led to the creation of some classic masterpieces, I think the over-indulgences also fed the Let it Be fiascoes and the increasingly introspective focus which ultimately dissolved the group dynamic. I'm not saying they shoulda laid off the weed, but I can't help but wonder what might have been had they been a little more moderate in its use.

I love this song. A beautiful, deceptive, and original chord progression. Nels' guitar sounds like chimes to me, Pat's swirling mellotron gives it that other-worldly feel, but most of all I love Johnny's swooping, soaring bassline, it is amazing.

shabba rich, that's exactly my interpretation. Great summary.

I can add this: I think the title refers to one not being able to define oneself without others - that it is community that makes us who we are. The lines "Now everybody