junkiesmile

Yeah. I was thinking of taking the best songs off of Brothers and the best songs off of El Camino and making one hell of a powerful cd until I realized that El Camino really doesn't need any help. Beginning to end it pretty much f'ing rocks.

Any fans here? I really like this new album. The louder the better. I like that they're playing to their poppier side. Fun catchy choruses and driving rhythms. Anyone else listening to it?

 

Funny how this taste thing works. Mule Variations is about the only post-Kathy Brennan Waits album that I don't really love. "Big in Japan" would be one of my few essential songs on there, and you're suggesting skipping that one. Your advice wouldn't have worked for me, but maybe it'll do the trick for others. Whatever brings them into the Waits fold is a good thing.

Yes the first two songs on Mule Variations are among my favorites.

Another hole in my music appreciation. After Tom started being a combination of Captain Beefheart and Howlin' Wolf, I just don't get it.

 

If somebody wants to take the time to tell me what I should listen for, I would give it a shot.

I don't know man it's kind of you either get it or you don't. Listen for the old rundown porch. Listen for the smoky pool hall. Listen for the gin joint at 3 In the morning. Listen for the beat up rusty old truck. Listen for the funhouse mirrors and the bearded lady. Listen for the dark puddles reflecting the street lights in some shadowy back alleyway.

Why is no one talking about this new album. I for one think it's pretty good but very reminiscent of other songs on other albums by Tom. I feel lucky to have it nonetheless.

BT, ST, YHF, AGIB

AM, SBS, WTA, TWL

TWL last? Really?

There is something to the psychology of the Illiad here. It has to do with the captain's foresight into the temptation of the sirens. He knew that no one could resist, so he made a preventative measure of having his crew tie him up. It's the part of us that understands ourselves, and makes safeguards against our weaknesses. I think perhaps a degree of this kind of control is necessary for preserving love (?).

Good post. I thought about ol Odysseus the first time I heard that lyric.

So

ST

BT

YHF

TWL

AGIB

Am

SBS

WTF

 

 

Part of Summerteeth's appeal (for me) was the really game changing radical departure of the sound. While they had shown they were heading someplace different, this thing really blew the lid off.

I had BT and listened to it quite a bit but I didn't really get into Wilco until ST came out. The whole album still blows me away. Not a weak song IMHO. Not that I think there's a weak song on BT it's just that ST really got my attention.

Maybe he's referring to the version of "The Lonely 1" that appears on the film soundtrack? Have a listen.

 

http://allmusic.com/album/chelsea-walls-r584524

I have that soundtrack. To me the song is so good even those guys can't totally F it up. To be fair though, I haven't seen the movie.

I have no idea what could possibly be wrong with The Lonely 1 or In A Future Age for that matter. Please enlighten me.

The backing vocals are gorgeous, you can really hear the layers in headphones. And to me it also seems like Jeff's vocals have been done more "fully" or expansively, with a bit more echo, rather than the usual intimate, he's-singing-directly-into-your-ear style used on previous records. It's nice.

 

Also love the way he sings "Born Alone" dropping down low on "flattered by fate" etc

I mentioned that low part on Born Alone in the one line thread. Love the way he sings that.

 

 

That's cool. Drivel is a strong word though for someone who hasn't actively listened to a band and their work. "You can't hear it on the radio".

True. Guess I just feel a little responsible for bringing up the White Album in the first place. But hey, how bout that Being There album? Great stuff.

I'm ashamed to say I've had TWL on vinyl since before the release date and I just now got around to listening to OSM through headphones. Amazing. Just beautiful. Amazing.

 

 

By that logic, I just need to only by greatest hits and Singles collections by every band and skip the other 80 percent of any artist's catalogs and I can claim to be an expert on every band. To be fair, that doesn't make me qualified to critique a band's work.

It could quite possibly qualify you to form an opinion on whether you like a bands sound or not. I believe that's all he was trying to say. Just saying.

 

 

I just don't know what to say about this. You are right that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That being said....since you haven't ever listened to a Beatles album...and there is no way you were alive when they were releasing singles...perhaps your opinion might not be informed. No offense....but I would argue one can't have an opinion if they readily admit they haven't listened to what they claim to have an opinion about. Opinions are formed when one experiences something, and then decides they do/don't like it. The merits of how the Beatles changed the recording industry aside...How can I say I don't like ice cream, and then say I haven't tried it? I know that you don't want to hear about this anymore...but don't make uninformed opinions and then take shots at folks who have informed opinions. How about this..."I have listened to a couple of Beatles songs and I did not care for the music".

To be fair a person could probably get away with never listening to a complete Beatles album and still know most of their singles by heart. They're played everywhere all the time. They're such a huge part of pop culture in general that you can't really get away with never hearing them.

 

 

The Whole Love is as good as any of these.

Agreed. There's been a Wilco revival around the house because of TWL. It's why I'm re-buying the entire catalog on vinyl.

Just bought BT and AGIB on vinyl today. Can't wait to slap on the headphones tonight. TWL vinyl inspired me to go ahead and fill in my Wilco LP collection. Does anyone know if ST is out of print?

I love Bukowski. Not as much as my twenty year old son who has a portrait of Bukowski tattooed on his leg with the caption "dirty old man" underneath. That's real love because that guy wasn't pretty.

Took the time this morning to read all the lyrics. Very cynical and humorously bleak. Just how I like my Tweedy.

I appreciate it.

I really like it.

 

The highlight for me is

"And I told you... and you agreed...

...somedays I despise... everyone I see"

Yeah I like the fact that there's a little loathing and self loathing in the lyrics.

Just thought I'd start a discussion about this song. I listened to it about four times on my way home from work today. It's really grown on me. There are parts of the verses that remind me of the verses on Whiter Shade of Pale. It has a great country feel and the chaotic break down near the end is cool. Anyway, just thought it should have a thread.

That's true, but I think Whole Love has styles we haven't heard in Wilco albums before and in sharper contrast. There have always been shifts, but I can't remember anything like Art of Almost, I Might, Capitol City even more so. Jeff's singing on Standing O, Whole Love, and Born Alone is distinctly different from songs you might compare the music to. Wilco has a dozen songs with string arrangements, but Black Moon also achieves a distinctive sound.

 

What I still don't get, given the band's reverence of the LP, is that they constantly edge over album length. Six or seven minutes is poor excuse to spread the album over two LPs, in my mind. 2 to 4 tracks a side gets tiresome. I love the Whole Love, but I would have also loved two records this year that made beefier LPs.

 I love the new album and I think part of the reason is that there are elements in each of  these songs that remind me of past Wilco efforts while still sounding fresh. I really don't think they're doing anything new. They're just doing what they normally do very well. I could chart out a list like Art of Almost = Spiders+ALTWYS+BBN but that would be painful. My original point was that the eclecticism has been there on every album. I don't understand why it's being discussed as if it's something new.

What I don't understand is how this album is different from any other Wilco album. I think of BT, ST, YHF, AGIB, hell even the last two. They all have rockers and moody folk pieces and country ballads and experimental songs. I thought that was the point all along. That blending of different styles is what made me a fan way back when BT was released.