Jayson

Not a fan of the Cline?

Apparently he wasn't! He still made great choices. But my top 2 (top 3? who played On and On and On?) weren't Cline. I'm a bigger fan of Jeff's lead work. I wish I knew how much of the old stuff was him.

EDIT: Also, every single one of you needs to go back and listen to Shouldn't Be Ashamed.

Number one is your favorite. Have a ball. Don't skip live stuff!

10. Side With The Seeds ~ (SBS)

9. You Are My Face ~ (SBS)

8. You And I (ending)~ (W:TA)

7. Hell Is Chrome ~ (KT)

6. Spiders (Kidsmoke) ~ (KT)

5. Ashes of American Flags ~(Ashes)

4. Impossible Germany ~(Ashes)

3. On and On and On ~ (SBS)

2. Shouldn't Be Ashamed ~ (A.M.)

1. At Least That's What You Said ~(AGIB)

while i really love Being There, kingpin was not one of the tracks that really stood out to me. Then i started to appreciate the song more after seeing live on Ashes. and THEN i saw a youtube the mid/late 90s... I cannot have my kingpin any other way.

 

This is my journey with Kingpin EXACTLY.

Dang is this hard for me, I'll redo mine.

1. Sky Blue Sky- Deeply personal record for me, and my favorite album of all time.

2. Being There

3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot + A Ghost Is Born (I practically view them as two sides of the same record, even though so much happened in between them. I could never put one over the other)

4. A.M.

5. Summerteeth

6. Wilco (the album)

My current Gear

Guitars

05 Fender MIM Standard Telecaster in Classic White

09 Gibson USA Raw Power SG in Satin Olive Green

08 Takamine EG440 Electric/Acoustic

01 Squier Affinity Strat in Black (This is my Frankenstein- when I get the cash, I am going to strip the finish, pop in new pickups, and basically trick it out to be an effects machine, since the wood is practically nothing. I'm looking forward to it!)

07 Epiphone Les Paul Bass in Trans Black

Der Amplitude

Fender Super Champ with JJs and an Eminence Ragin Cajun speaker (a must buy for anyone who owns that amp)

Peavey Max 158 Bass Combo (crappy SS, but toneful,that I use for keys as well)

Der FX

Digitech Hardwire Series Tuner, Valve Distortion, Stereo Chorus, Delay/Looper

.... I am a fan of these pedals. I will likely not stop until I have them all, save the metal distortion which I have no use for.

Der Miss Kuhlayneeus

Alesis Micron VA Synth (My secret weapon, run into my delay's second input)

Yamaha Audiogram 6 recording interface

MXL Condensers

Sennheiser E835 (My live vocal)

AND NOW PICTURES.

That is all!

I apologize for the huge pictures and the dirty laptop screen.

I think that the criticism of Sky Blue Sky's "Skynrdesque" musical sections is a complete overlook of the beauty of simple melody and clean playing, which frankly, Wilco does better than anyone else.

I don't mean to sound haughty, but the instrumentation and organization of Sky Blue Sky makes me, as a musician, say "Wow, that's awesome. I can ONLY hope to do this someday". Have elements of it been heard before? Of course, but the pure emoting this Wilco lineup puts into their execution, combined with spot ON production makes it so completely new, sonically. I understand that a lot of you don't share this opinion, but I just wanted to point out that for what I assume is a good amount of people, the instrumentation of Sky Blue Sky is nothing less than a decade-defining accomplishment, not a hackneyed attempt at jamming.

I would greatly miss Impossible Germany if it were never played live again.

So would we all, so agreed.

I've come to love the album. Leave Me will forever remain a pock on the face of humanity, but the rest of the record is really quite great.

I love Wilco so much, because some songs are so divided with regards to fan opinion, and I think it's a sign of genius...this is probably my second favorite song on this album. I know to each their own applies, but, can you tell me why you dislike it so much? I adore it.

Impossible Germany is great. The rest not so much.

I so disagree. SBS is amazing.

I haven't fallen in love with W(TA) yet, but I'm confident I will. If I don't like it in a year or two anymore than I do now, I'll declare something, but until then, I love Wilco (The Song), One Wing, You and I, and I'll Fight. And that's just fine for now.

This is going to be very very very hard, since I too am an album guy. I think it's all one theme, one sonic expression. But if I have to nitpick, here it is.

I Must Be High/That's Not The Issue

Kingpin/What's The World Got In Store

Pieholden Suite (Jesus Christ, that middle section)/My Darling

Kamera/Ashes Of American Flags(only studio, though... I adore it live)

At Least That's What You Said/ Muzzle of Bees (By far the hardest one to pick)

On and On and On/Shake It Off

You and I/Solitaire

That sucked, haha. Pretty accurate for me though.

I love seeing the same songs on some folks favorites, and some people's least favorites...and at about equal percentages, even! Proves how amazing Wilco really is. Something different for everyone.

At Least That's What You Said- Studio, I love the solo EXACTLY as composed on the album. The live version for some reason doesn't resonate with me as much...but golly do I still love it.

Hell Is Chrome- Live. Jeff just nails the emotion, and the keyboardists are on fire with minimalism.

Spiders (Kidsmoke)- Live, noooo question.

Muzzle of Bees- Studio. So beautiful

Hummingbird- Live- it has such a peppiness! Jeff's obviously in such an ethereal place with this one...dancing or no.

Handshake Drugs- Live, specifically the Ashes audio. Nels Cline nails this with precisely the kind of playing that makes him so great.

Wishful Thinking- Live, again, the Ashes version. Best soundcheck ever? I think so.

Company in my Back- Studio, the intro is just perfect. I can't imagine Company any other way than the studio track.

I'm A Wheel- Studio, for the production.

Theologians- My favorite Wilco song, and I prefer it live...such a beautiful energy and passion, and Nels once again rips.

Less Than You Think- Haha, Studio

The Late Greats- STUDIO. I disagree with the general verdict here. I think the studio version really brings this chord progression alive, thanks in large part, I think, to Mr. O'Rourke.

Bad day. Theatre was incredibly bad, I'm the only one doing my job correctly, and overall, I'm just sick of people knocking me when I'm the one who has his crap together. To top it off, I now have to learn to accept that I'm an arrogant person. I've always thought that arrogant meant that I held myself above other people- and I don't, everyone's equal. But in my attempts to be a voice of reason and get everyone in line, I have discovered that whether I'm meaning to or not, when people call me arrogant, they're right. And that really depresses me, on a deep level.

But Sky Blue Sky can do something for me that no other Wilco record can. Something about it lifts me up and tells me that I'm going to make it. It sucks to realize that you ARE what you dislike in a person. It sucks to be in that mindframe, that you yourself have become something that you hate...but I think I'm going to make it, and it has a lot to do with the fact that as I type this, I'm on the tail end of "On and On and On", and this is my second playthrough of SBS today.

Thank you, Jeff and gang. My troubles are petty, but my self-doubt is so huge. Thank you for making this record. It means so much to me.

well, I finally took the plunge, and got a macbook for Garageband (as well as other things). And I got a harsh lesson this weekend in latency and audio interface-less recording. I read so much about both, but finally experienced them. And apparently, the new macbooks dont have an Audio Input. WTF?!?!? It took me about an hr just to figure out how to configure the Audio Out to an Audio In. Had to be changed on both the laptop, AND in garageband.

 

Am I correct in assuming that a solid interface solves my problems? Ie, no latency, and louder guitar? And it preserves my audio output so that I can use headphones?

 

My local shop recommended Fast Track by M Audio. Everything I read online has positive and negative things to say about virtually every interface. Some people swear by Firewire, others USB. Argh!

 

Should I start with iMic? Seems like the cheapest option. Then again, I don't want to waste money on cheaper options that don't work.

 

thanks everyone.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-Audiogram-6-Computer-Recording-System?sku=703328

This piece of gear is the end to all your problems, I promise. I know it's more expensive than the M-Audio, but it's going to be more than worth it in the long run. Firewire is a "No latency" legend, but you're not going to have a problem with USB- especially with this thing. Latency is more a hardware to software stumbling block than anything at the end of the day, but it almost universally falls on the hardware to fix effectively. Long story short, good hardware solves latency for you...and the Audiogram 6 is good hardware. The one knob compressor should be standard on every interface... I find it hard to use other interfaces because they don't have it. It solves THAT many problems.

I can't recommend it enough, dude. This and garage band will, I promise, be recording heaven for you. Research around of course, but seriously consider the Audiogram.

It's still in print. Although it was filmed, there was no DVD release. It is available as 2 CD live album only.

I know what the package consists of, I just can't find it.

I don't like the DVD, I'm not deaf, and I don't want Wilco to go back to the way they "used to be." A lot of people at VC feel this way, and a lot of people at VC really like Ashes. Both camps can still totally love Wilco. Despite my feelings about the DVD, I'm always more than grateful to help people access the bonus content. (Black Witcher is clearly a troll and should be disregarded.) Just wanted to point out that good people who love Wilco can still dislike Ashes.

Deftly put, and respected!

Why though? I love my Ashes audio and film, though to be fair, I've never heard and cannot for the life of me even find Kicking Television. Is it that much better?

Just confirming here...if my budget only allows one mic, it best be an SM57?

I know it's perfect for my guitars, but what about vocals?

pat seems far more natural. nels is a genius but i just get the feeling he has really had to work at it whereas pat always seems more in control

 

ao i pat owns nels and pat v jeff is a fair fight, does that mean you think jeff nels?

Firstly, it's all situational. I'm sure on another night of this dual, Nels could have won easy. It all depends on who gets lucky, since everyone in this band is so ridiculously talented.

That said, I also think Nels Cline is a brilliant guitarist and a very sexysmexy rock and roll dude...but I just personally happen to like Tweedy's playing more. Nothing Nels has ever done or will do is likely to top the lead work on AGIB in this Wilco fan's heart, ESPECIALLY At Least That's What You Said. I'm not even a fan of feedback, but dammit, that's how you play a guitar.

I will help you.

Take your Ashes of American Flags DVD to your nearest record store and tell them

that you would like store credit.

Then get something that's worth a shit.

If you think that DVD isn't one of the best things Wilco's done, you're completely deaf. I can't stand whiny fans who want musicians to go back to the way they "used to be" or criticize the way they execute something. The artist is the artist- I think Mach 6 is Wilco supreme, and I think Ashes is hands down the best showing they've made. This is my opinion. Everyone is entitled to them...but you're just insulting the artist. So, you know...shut up.

Sansone is the clear winner here. Nels is such a great guitarist, but his weakness has always been noodling under pressure, haha. Pats totally in control, doesn't even look like he's trying, and completely owns Nels because of it.

But we could have sort of figured that. Now, Tweedy vs. Sansone? THAT'S a fair fight

Theologians

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

I'm A Wheel

At Least That's What You Said

So, over the past month I have lost weight- not easy for me, since I have a turtle slow metabolism. I am not at all horrendously overweight, but I need to work off the pudge...and a little something I like to call the Wilco diet has really, really helped.

You only need to follow three simple rules- following these (a hodgepodge of Wilco and accepted dietary information) has led to a loss of quite a bit of weight- over 8 pounds this month. It's pretty ridiculous.

Right, right, stop yapping...what are the rules?

1. Eat single ingredient foods (Jeff would call this "The Beauty of Simplicity") When we consume casseroles, pizzas, pastas, and other things of the like, we're putting ingredients together that need other things to sustain themselves. This leads to an adding of more and more things until we arrive at the fatty, carby smorgasbord that us Americans call food. By eating foods with only one ingredient in moderation with portion control(and portion control IS key- judge for yourself), you can not only have decent food (breads, chicken breasts, lean steaks, veggies), but you get a pure eating experience that isn't killing you. Keep it filling, reasonably portioned, and well selected, and this is the only food change you need to move.

2. THE KINGPIN MEAL. This is a meal- once a week, where for morale purposes, the single ingredient rule is disregarded- it helps keep you motivated. However, if you miss a part of the workout plan below, well, I mean it's your diet, but I personally don't allow myself the meal. It's a self administered reward, and as long as your portion doesn't go out of whack, it's going to be ok to have.

3. This is the best part, folks- a brand new motivation for working out. I find it best on a treadmill because the adjustable speed is awesomely tweakable. Simple- you walk/jog along to Wilco albums- not a new concept, I'm sure, in the Ipod age. But if you stick to it- going the full album length 2 or 3 times a week (3 is really solid fat burning, but 2 is better for busy people like me), it's a comprehensive workout.

The twist here is to purposefully adjust speed as you go so that your feet match up with the tempo of the song. This is AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE on Wilco (The Album), Yankee Hotel (The best workout actually), and Sky Blue Sky. Ghost and Summerteeth are less desirable due to pacing- the other albums give you solid warm up and cool down times, and are great lengths for a varied, effective workout. It works, and most of all, you'll look forward to working out- your mind is off it, and you get to participate in Wilco just by walking along at tempo. It's very fun, and doesn't lose it's appeal.

That's it! I'd love to hear if this works for anyone, or if you guys think it's a good idea. It's worked for me, and it's just great fun to think of workouts as a Wilco event.

Please discuss changes you'd make- variations on food choice and such- and share other ideas with your fellow fitness-minded Tweedafarians.