rwilson580

I noticed that too! Especially today, with the Keith Harring type guy painted next to "Wilco". And who does Jeff" refer to??

Ha! I guess that could be our Jeff too. Although I think that is also Just A Kid's (the artist's) first name. At least it's in the Jumble credits each day. Maybe Just a Kid will pop in to enlighten us. Your public awaits...

Wilco shoutouts in the Jumble for two consecutive days. Sunday and Monday, so the streak lives. Tune in tomorrow. Jumble man rulz.

Deeper Down I love; definitely one of (TA) highlights for me. It's got a suite feel to me...I could understand it if some found it pretentious, but suggesting there's not much going on there?...that confuses me a little.

3rd person? Hey, Tweedy's written a million intimate, first person songs. 3rd person seems a little different, which is cool for me. Sports metaphors? Can't recall a ton of those in Wilco songs...that's ok too. If Jeff wrote the same song over and over I'd probably keep liking it, but I sure don't mind if he stretches out a little bit too.

"The Song"? Eh. It's a real nice pop song, but the chorus pushes it a little bit into the silly category. If I'm introducing someone to the band I make sure this song is nowhere in the area. Not too cool. Along with (TA) title, the camel, Feist it made the entire album seem a little light weight for me.

Did I seriously see someway equate (The Song) with ALTWYS? No offense, but I'm not sure there are two more divergent songs in the catalogue.

Pretentious or not, I think any negative attitude toward this song can be traced back to the time YHF was released, was (nearly) universally praised by critics and Wilco fans, which led to a shitload of hype surrounding the band and the album. Then, what represented the band/album on radio: Heavy Metal Drummer

Well, I only discovered the band a few years ago, so my response to HMD has nothing to do with the reception that YHF received. But it was still pretty negative for a while. With sufficient listens I've made peace with the song, and now, duh, nothing else would make sense at that point in the album. Throughout my early listenings, though, I found the song jarring. I'm experiencing YHF for the first time and, as I'm rolling through -- wow! Greatest song ever...greatest song ever...wow, another greatest song ever! And then the first notes of HMD arise and it's "What is THIS doing on here?" A nice easy listening pop tune in the middle of this greatness? It's an excellent pop song and, like I say, I've grown to appreciate it for what it is. Nothing particularly special.

Slightly off-topic, OK way off-topic: in "Blasting Fonda" the lines "in days of olden, silence is golden" sound so familiar. Can't put my finger on it. A little help?

I've been in many a men's room stall where there was a quaint little rhyme that began "in days of old, when knights were bold...". And then goes rapidly downhill. I hope that's not your association. Or doesn't become one now....

I'd have a hard time calling most of AGIB pop. To me, pop is almost synonymous with "radio friendly", which a lot of Wilco tunes, but not all, are.

 

Wilco is above radio, and they kick television.

Well, pop has at least a couple of definitions. And by the original one, the one where the term is short for "popular music", I think it's safe to say that most of what we rock fans listen to is pop. Of course within the rock genre the term "pop music" has its own, somewhat pejorative meaning. I would hope anyone who classified AGIB as pop would be referencing the first definition.

Obvious, but...what you once were isn't what you want to be anymore...

Obvious, but...i have no idea how this happened...

Adding to the Far Far Away fever...kiss and ride on the CTA...

The break in ALTWYS...and Jeff's guitar solo behind it

When Jeff's voice breaks immediately after the "Either Way" solo

On and On and On....this world of words and meanings makes you feel

outside....

The Ummm? in I'm a Wheel...and, yeah, that screech

Those people are more important than you guys are.

The original 2007 telecast of this was my gateway into the band. Before that "Wilco" was just a name I ran into periodically in music contexts, with no clue that they might be worth investigating. The most fortuitous channel surfing I ever did was when I flipped past ACL for an instant...and then immediately flipped back. Who ARE these guys? The rest is history...

Only my third show, so I guess my impressions are suspect...but I thought Jeff was in a very dark mood for the first seven, eight songs. He came out that way, so I'm not sure how much it can be blamed on the crowd. Maybe when you've done thousands of shows you can instantly spot the signs of a long evening. Or maybe they're doing killer shows night after night and sometimes it takes awhile to get going. There were portions of the show where I was embarrassed for some of the people around me. Way too much chatter. I uttered one "shut up" myself when a drunk forced his way past us during what otherwise would have been the highlight of the show for me -- my first live experience of "She's a Jar." He wrecked that moment, but otherwise I was able to get past most of the noise. Hopefully the band could as well. Although hearing that they dropped a few songs from their planned set makes me wonder.

Hey, couple from Harrisburg! If you're out there! I'm the old bald guy from Syracuse. Yes, "She's a Jar" should have been my high point -- even though I was on the wrong side of the "Summerteeth -- A Ghost is Born" debate. Give a holler if you're out there!

That's what she said...

 

I'm tinking of getting in line at like 4? Early? Late?

I hope you're not terribly late...because we'll just be pulling out of Syracuse at 4:00. Damn my concert pals and their dedication to things non-Wilco. Hopefully the ballroom is as intimate as they say. (That's definitely what she said.)

So many of Wilco's songs are utterly beautiful that I can understand how some fans would only tolerate the other stuff. It's definitely a crucial part of the package for me, though. I'm not sure what psychological yearning dissonance and distortion feed, but more and more I'm finding that I crave these little warts in the music I listen to. This is especially true with Summerteeth, an album that is just a little bit too pop friendly for me. Wilco would be one of my favorite bands without the noise, but they wouldn't be at the very top.

That said, I have to agree with those who slightly prefer the album version of Via Chicago. The dissonance in the studio version coincides with the lyrical climax...which gets lost a little bit live. You can't even hear Jeff's vocals sometimes. Still, it's a concert highlight, even if my brain has to insert the words in the appropriate spot.

Every time I listen to this album, I marvel at how organic it all seems. The first half, in particular -- every note is just exactly what it ought to be. Like there was no creative process involved...just taking dictation from some higher power. It's a marvelously structured album, IMO. Not a lot of other albums seem that effortlessly great to me. Rust Never Sleeps, for one. It's got to take a hell of a lot of work to make music SEEM this easy, or this inevitable.

I don't think I have it anymore, so I can't take a picture of it, but Wilco made a THIRD appearance in the Jumble just a few weeks ago. It was another school scene with a kid in the background wearing a t-shirt that said Wilco on it. I thought to myself how cool is that.

 

Wilco will teach you baby.

I saw that. The most brazen shoutout yet. Just a Kid is my hero.

Jumble.com would have it out there. I can't get it from work, unfortunately. Yeah, I know...don't even get me started on their priorities.

I couldn't get even one single ticket to come into my queue on this onsale day - not even a nosebleed seat! >>

I thought I might get some feedback on that. Yeah, I know people had problems this time, but it wasn't an issue for the shows we targeted. I'm worried it will be a problem the next time they pass through. That's why I'm sending positive psychic energy out to all the non-fans out there. You guys rule!

I didn't include the Beatles on my list because they transcend everything for me

Yeah, I automatically exclude the Beatles from this kind of list, too. I don't know what to do with the Beatles. Saying that the Beatles are a favorite is like saying I enjoy breathing.

I do believe that Bob Dylan is the only reasonable alternative you can make to the Beatles as "greatest rock artist ever." But I don't have the same issues comparing Dylan to others. He's more of an acquired taste, and his cultural influence isn't as ridiculously pervasive as the Beatles' was. To steal from that old Robin Williams line (that he probably stole from someone else), the Beatles are in my DNA. Bob Dylan isn't.

Yeah, I have no problem with the world in general dismissing my bands. That way I can continue to get tickets for any Wilco show I want, and at a fraction of the price of some other artists. My bands are a big part of my identity, and my identity feels lame when a bunch of new people start showing up to join the party. Whatever those kids are listening to is just fine with me.

Steely Dan has been my favorite band since about 1975, and nobody ever threatened that status until three years ago. When I discovered Wilco. Now I'm torn when people ask me what my favorite band is. There's no doubt that Wilco is my current obsession, but have they nudged the king off the mountaintop? I don't know. I do believe that if the situation was reversed...if Wilco had been my favorite, and I'd only recently discovered all that incredible SD music...that this question would be a no-brainer. The Dan would be the new king. So I guess Wilco still has a little ways to go in my affections.

The only other artists who would even be in this conversation for me are Tom Waits and King Crimson. Nice to see all the Waits love here!

Wilco is definitely my all-time favorite live band. Perhaps next month's Scranton show will give them another little nudge up the ladder...

Hmm. I've only seen the band a couple times, and sitting wasn't an option at either show. Not if you wanted to see anything. There were seats, but nobody used them. I figured this was just the norm for these guys. But I don't think anyone else has made that point, so perhaps I'm wrong. My next show's in Scranton, no seats, so problem solved there. I just wonder what I'll do with my freaking jacket...

All that said, I agree with the "go with the flow" sentiment. If you've been to a hundred Wilco shows where people have stood...and at 101, it goes the other way...be cool. Nobody wants to sit behind the one guy in the theater who refuses to sit down. You're wrecking a great night for all those people behind you. And their carping is going to ruin it for you.

So, does she follow the same policy with boyfriends? Only loves the unlovable?

Every time I listen to KT, I'm bummed that they didn't go ahead with the video release. The songs just sound so great...how much better if we could see the performers? It may not be the single concert experience some of you crave, but I'd much prefer a live KT video to "Ashes...". More playing and fewer small town homages would have suited me fine.

I listened to (TA) again over the last day or so. I'd just completed my last working day of the year, which might have colored my perceptions a little bit. But this was a way more successful experiment than my last one. I was more appreciative this time out of the straightforward pleasures of this album. Certainly it's not as "out there" as some of their earlier 2000's stuff, perhaps not as multi-layered. But my guess is that Jeff Tweedy doesn't believe that every song has to be a head-scratcher...complexity is fine, new experiences are cool...but these things are subordinate to the primary reason that most of us listen to music. And in the right frame of mind this time, I enjoyed being reminded of those basic building blocks of popular song. Strong melody, interesting vocals, intelligent lyrics, inspired playing, sophisticated arrangements. I think most of us would agree that those elements, as with every Wilco album, are present in (TA) in spades. It's still not my favorite, may never hit that level...but I'll look forward to listening to it next time out.

Good luck looking for a consensus on this stuff, Andrew. It would be kind of sad if we did all agree, right? Anyway, your opinion is as valid as anybody else's, and that's clear to me with the choices you've made here. I love all Wilco's albums, but YHF and AGiB are 1/2 for me, also. Pieholden Suite is a terrific song, and probably one of the more distinctive ones in their arsenal. Welcome to this elite fraternity!

BTW -- I've never been a big DMB fan, but I'm confused by how trendy it's become to put the guy down. He's made a lot of excellent music over the years...there's a whole lot of less interesting music out there. Definitely no need to apologize for that fandom in my book.....

I wonder what all these AGIB misses are that some of you refer to. I sure can't find them.