rwilson580

It's firmly entrenched in the upper tier for me. YHF, AGiB and BT are tough to nudge aside, There's no serious competition for fourth for me. I know most people find ST equally unassailable. I think TWL is a better album.

Rating art really is a classless activity.

I think Open Mind is a terrific, beautiful song. Some really gorgeous hooks in this one...and great hooks are definitely a crucial component of the Wilco arsenal. There is no shame in being the 12th best song on this album.

I can't imagine wishing Capitol City off this album. It's just a terrific change of pace. (I know, for the non-fans, that's a change from quality to meh.) Some of the songs on this album have similar siblings...RRL is kind of like Black Moon...we've got the up-tempo numbers like Born Along, Dawned on Me, Standing O, maybe I Might. There are no other Capitol Cities, which is definitely a good thing if you're not a fan. If you think it's excellent, like I do, it's one of the things that nudges this album towards greatness. It's just another kind of song that they do on this album very, very well.

I kind of get what you mean about Born Alone, BO (do you live in CNY by the way?). I am always ready to chip away at the legend of Summerteeth, and it's entirely because I think there's way too much jammed into some of these songs. Great songs undermined by a little over-production. I can see where Born Alone might be guilty of that...but it works completely for me, anyway. Forums like this sure would be boring if our ears all worked exactly the same, huh?

For me, some songs have gotten better with time (Whole Love, Damned on Me, I Might), while others have diminished after repeated listens (Black Moon, Red Lung, Open Mind). All-in-all, I think I still stand by my initial review: I LIKE the record, I don't LOVE it. One Sunday Morning is still an instant classic.

Interesting. Your first two "diminished" tunes are probably my biggest growers. RRL rose fairly quickly, and I considered it my favorite for a while. Black Moon was very gradual...I was surprised on my last listen to realize THIS might be my favorite now. Along with most of the rest of the album.

Damned on Me...ah, yes. How I miss Wilco's satanic period.

I pulled out "The Whole Love" (yeah, that sounds gross) again this week. It's not my favorite Wilco...that would have to be YHF, very closely followed by AGIB. I would have to say though that, top to bottom, TWL may be their most consistent album for me. Every other album I have some very clear favorites, and maybe one or two that are clearly least favorite. This one though...as I'm rolling through it, each track is a great, distinctive song. And as I'm listening to it, could well be my favorite. If you put a gun to my head, I'd probably tell you that I like Open Mind the least...but I still think it's a terrific Jeff Tweedy ballad. If you put a gun to my head and asked for the one I liked the MOST, I'd probably be dead. I couldn't tell you. There's about 10 or 11 co-favorites. That's pretty good...12 songs that I'll glad to listen to, and when they're done...start right over and listen again.

As a long time Sonic Youth fan, I've always found Lee's songs a nice change of pace on the predominantly Thurston/Kim albums. I think I may have to spring for this album before the Cooperstown show, too.

Have we heard any comments from Nels about Ranaldo opening for the band this summer? I would assume we'd see him joining Ranaldo on stage for some of the songs from his last album. Has anyone seen any chatter about that? Will we be getting a double dose of Nels at these shows?

Sorry if this has already been discussed somewhere...I'm not finding it....

The first thing I thought of when I read these two sentences was "Is there gas in the car? Yes, there's gas in car."

I, too, have gone through long spells of listening to virtually no Wilco...unless they pop up on my iTunes at work.

Then again, I plan on going to see them again in May, so I'm sure I will be hooked all over again at that point.

My favorite song, my favorite lines of all time. My favorite band since 1976...except perhaps for the 2007-2010 period, when I thought they'd been surpassed for a while, by a band who shall remain nameless, on the advice of my sponsor. (Yes, of course, you have to use the term "band" loosely when you're referring to SD.)

My name is Ray. And I'm a Wilco fan.

There's so much great music in the world. I actually felt kind of remiss during the three or four years where I completely abandoned myself to this band. I felt like I was coming off a bender the day I went back outside, squinted into the sun, and began my post-Wilco existence. Well, not really...just beyond that period of excessive devotion. (I still avoid listening to YHF in its entirety, to avoid a heavy duty relapse.) They remain the only band that I do THIS thing for...go a web site during my lunch hour to listen to other fans talk about them. It's a journey, not a destination. On the plus side, I've stopped trying to hook my friends and family...baby steps, people.

Since I crawled back out, I've made lots of great musical discoveries. Spoon. MMJ. The Strokes. Steve Earle. I've rekindled that thing with Tom Waits. I feel a Steely Dan binge is just around the corner.

Going on a long drive tomorrow. Maybe I'll put on The Whole Love. Maybe some Being There. Maybe not. My call. I'm in charge.

With the last March Show on 3/11 and nothing till Hangout (5/18-5/20), I think there is time in there for a nice small tour around the south and or east coast.....come in boys, Florida (FLA) loves you guys.

 

EDIT IT IS HAPPENING JUST LIKE I DREAMED IT UP

Umm...could you more specifically ask for an East coast leg now? Thank you.

Wow...that Christ for President outro...I guess I'll have to pay more attention when you guys talk about the good old days....

Terrific version of "My Darling." Perhaps an odd song to single out, but I've never been a fan of the original studio version. Which is annoying, because I've been working hard trying to find a song to dance to with my daughter at her wedding next year. Sad that my favorite band has a song that would be perfect for this...but is the rare Wilco song that does not work for me. This version gives me hope...maybe a live version of the song is the way to go.

If anyone knows of any particularly exquisite versions of this song, I'd love to hear about them.

To the OP...thanks for sharing.

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I'm not sure, but I think a spike in sales is pretty much guaranteed for all winners. Plus, Grammy wins are almost always mentioned in career overviews. And it's probably more cool than uncool to have a Grammy award sitting in your house. So, not literally nothing, really.

I did use the word "literally" advisedly. But you're right; there probably are some ancillary advantages. I was referring specifically to the significance, the honor, the prestige, the career validation. We need look no further than Wilco's last album to review how meaningful these things are. Wilco (the Album) was nominated, absurdly in that Americana category. With artists like Dylan, Levon Helm, Willie Nelson. Seriously, do you think they even listened to (TA)?

I agree with the arguement on how do you give awards for arts (Music, TV, Movies) but I still would love them to get the recognition they deserve.

It's true that the practice in general is suspect. The Grammies earn special disdain, though, for how consistently divorced they've been from reality. As an artist I guess it's cool to get rewards, but nominations or wins of these things mean literally nothing.

Misunderstood's 'Nothing' does not count. That is an extended orgasm.

I'd say it's more of a multiple orgasm.

They (the awards) really are a horrible joke. I still wouldn't mind if they got nominated for something though. At least I've have people coming up and saying, "Hey I saw that band you're always talking about on the Grammy list." I like being the local Wilco rep.

I thought we had done this before (of course, it was before The Whole Love):

Jeesh, that wasn't very long ago. And I have no recollection of it at all. I must have been on Wilco hiatus for a while last spring. Sorry, Yaz Rock...did not mean to ignore your earlier thread.

Definitely have multiple games going here. I guess that's what happens when the OP is so freaking inarticulate.

Waits and Wilco. Two of the basic musical food groups.

It can be so frustrating trying to hook someone up with new music. They're doing you a favor just checking it out, and then giving you a grudging "It's ok" when you finally sink low enough to ask them how the experiment went. In 40 years of annoying my friends I've had, oh, zero success. But THIS band. I've created at least three huge fans, and three lesser ones, without half trying. Recently I've even gotten my daughter to try out a sampler...and she asked me to make a second! Wilco has restored my faith in my ability to brain wash my friends.

SBS contains a few songs with some straightforward lyrics. So what? Tweedy's proven he can do great word play...seriously, as good as anybody. He's proven he can populate a song with great images. I'm convinced...he's not starting over with me with every song he writes. If he wants to do a song like "Either Way", where his words are straight ahead, and his meaning quite clear...it's ok. It may not be my favorite song, but it doesn't tell me a damned thing about his capabilities. It tells me what songs he felt like writing at that point in time. That's it.

So many of the songs on SBS are exquisitely constructed. Freaking Swiss watches. Some of the most sophisticated moments in Wilco's catalogue are found on this album. And organically so. When people claim that this album is simple, or uninspired, I just know they are listening to a different album than I am.

All this talk about the best album opener and closer over the last couple weeks has made me think about the next logical step. The ultimate Wilco album, songs 1-n. Best opener…best second song…best third, etc. It’s a sad endeavor for people with way too much Wilco time and energy on their hands. I know there are a few of you out there. Here’s my personal list:

1. IATTBYH (Runner-ups: ALTWYS, Misunderstood)
   
2. She’s a Jar (Runner-ups: Far Far Away, You Are My Face)
   
3. Impossible Germany (Runner-ups: Spiders, Shot in the Arm)
   
4. Muzzle of Bees (Runner-ups: Outtasite (Outta Mind) , Bull Black Nova)
   
5. Jesus, Etc. (Runner-ups: Side With the Seeds, Hummingbird)
   
6. Ashes of American Flags (Runner-ups: Handshake Drugs, Born Alone)
   
7. Pieholden Suite (Runner-ups: Wishful Thinking, Country Disappeared)
   
8. Company in My Back (Runner-ups: ITMWLY, What’s the World Got in Store)
   
9. Via Chicago (Runner-ups: Pot Kettle Black, Hotel Arizona)
   
10. Poor Places (Runner-ups: Theologians, Rising Red Lung)
    
11. Sunken Treasure (Runner-ups: Dash 7, Whole Love)
    
12. One Sunday Morning (Runner-ups: On and On and On, When You Wake Up Feeling Old)
    

Why do I finally feel like I've hit rock bottom?

I was a huge Springsteen fan back in the day, but never felt The River was among his better efforts. For me there aren't a lot of songs that actually made the cut there that can stand with the Wilco extras that have been mentioned. I know a lot of people cherish the album though.

I do agree that Bruce had a ton of songs then. The songs from Tracks are as strong as the ones that made the cut for the album.

I have been more successful at turning people onto Wilco than any other band in my life. No other band else is close, really. And several of those new fans had a special early connection to SBS. I've found it to a be a pretty good gateway to the band for a lot of people. Not that Wilco is a real hard band to appreciate.

I'll throw in my .02 and say "Starless", from KC's Red album. Disturbing and powerful.

This is correct.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9IQnDRYIYU

Mule Variations - skip the first 2 songs and you're ready for another addiction

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.