jbray

I would be fine if they moved away from the hootenanny encore if only because they are rather static. Maybe I'm jaded because of Solid Sound as well as the notion that each tour will have less and less of each album, but I've seen the hootenany three times now (SS and Boston two nights) and I would be perfectly content if I didn't hear another acoustic show (outside of an evening with scenario) for a good while. There are just too many songs I want to hear full body again or even for the first time.

I'd say Courtney is only so much bigger on the scene than Mac DeMarco, like she made it to SNL, I guess. But I would put money on her and the band because of the combo interview with Jeff as well as Jeff and Spencer's appearance in the "Elevator Operator" video.

I consider Random Name Generator to be part of a wonderful line of Wilco word play songs like "Pot Kettle Black" (which is my favorite on YHF), " I'm a Wheel", "Kingpin", and to some degree the most successful of them all, "You Are My Face" because the word play is interwoven into a more focused song. But I do think that those used to be more nestled in with songs that felt more urgent. I will parrot Albert Tatlock in pointing to "Where do I Begin" as being a really powerful song. Personally I would also say that everything from "Taste the Ceiling" to "Magnetized" with the exception of maybe "

I can see the connection, but I could also see it being a coincidence. I have an out and about that's kind of cheating. I run a bookstore next a coffee shop where I've gotten to know the management by being a regular. Because they know I like Wilco, they put on "If I Ever Was a Child" in my honor.

Oops! I was too busy counting the letters that I forgot to add in the one with two at the bottom.

Without reference to punctuation or spacing, I humbly present my listing: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco (The Album) A Ghost is Born The Whole Love Summerteeth Being There Sky Blue Sky Schmilco Star Wars

I think a good album title is one that really ties in with the music. I couldn't think of a single album where I loved the title but didn't really like the music; It's all relative. Some of my favorites would be Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron and Wine, Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan, Sea Change by Beck and Hail to the Thief by Radiohead. You could go on and on about it, but having a title that serves to give context to the music or unifies the album in more than just name is the bare bones of a good title. That's why, judging from what Jeff has said about this album, Schmilco could be a g

Shhhhhhh you'll blow our cover! No but really, been camping at every Solid Sound so you should consider that as an alternative to not going at all.

Sure. This will be off topic though. To be clear, I do like W(tA) and this will make it seem like I hate it but I am roughly overstating for effect. This album has successes and having lyrical themes or musical similarities in no way makes a song bad, just sterile when applied liberally. This is entirely objective, but it seemed that for the first time Jeff and co. paused and reflected on what had worked in the past and tried to incorporate that into the record instead of branching off into some kind of new territory or style of writing/producing. It was like, "What does it mean to be a Wilco

I get where you're coming from on a self-titled album, but that seems to be a half truth. The White Album is an amazing album, but it's not The Beatles' definitive statement. There are three Led Zeppelins, more Weezers, Fleetwood Mac is no Rumors, The Clash is a great debut but isn't London Calling. There are plenty of examples that favor your view as well, but it is not the rule. It could be that a self-titled album lends itself more to the idea that the artist or band isn't quite sure how to sum up the album and that is either a good thing or a bad.

True facts. No defense your honor, except I have no idea where my mind got the ellipses from.

I hope that was Dhani

Well then it looks like I'll just have to find the original to compare with the new release, thanks for the info!

You're right, stupid was poor choice of a word. But my point was that the title was deemed appropriate for what the music represented. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", I would argue, is not the most smooth or stylish album title. I would argue that the title has become respected and iconic due to how the music on the album united itself under it to varying degrees as well as the impact the album had on people's opinions of pop music and the Beatles themselves. I feel the same way about Magical Mystery Tour where the music is evocative of what the title suggests and you become more comf

Shots fired I am also woefully ignorant of nearly all of the bands on the Le Guess Who? line-up. Still, I'd call 2013 the best line-up so far for SS and would much rather see that again than this.

You might just not like the current direction, that happens if it's outside your taste. I will say, and I said this in the Schmilco thread, Wilco has a track record of goofy album names pre-dating Star Wars. A reference to one of their influences with Schmilco is no different to me than Summerteeth (a joke punchline), Being There (a movie title), Star Wars (A movie title), or something plain-jane like A.M. I really don't think a title matters nearly as much as the music. Led Zeppelin didn't title their first four, The Beatles have a handful of stupid album names like Sgt Pepper, Magical Myster

I was actually thinking about this the other day in reference to the quote from Ashes of American Flags where Jeff says that Wilco could survive another lineup change, just not John leaving. I wondered if Jeff still believed that or if this is the final version of Wilco to him (not implying that is a bad thing). Obviously we are not in the studio with them, but Star Wars did seem like less of a cohesive effort, especially in light of the Song Exploder. Part of me hopes they semi-retire and just make a bunch of records almost like the Beatles post-touring. I mean, it would be a shame because I

Awesome! It'll be good to sift through the Hollywood Bowl concerts. What I really want, more than just the one recording of "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" off of Anthology 2, is to hear a Beatles concert mic'd from the audience to hear what that was like and contrast it with these recordings. There has to be something like this for the Hollywood Bowl concerts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKaA6zqAZLE

I don't know what band you've been listening to but this is a band that named an album after the punchline of a joke (Summerteeth), two after films (Being There and Star Wars, which has already been stated), and had a self-titled album with a camel's birthday party on it. I've also never been under the impression that A.M. was a good title or had great album art. Maybe you missed the underlying humor in Wilco's music and consider them only to be super-serious, but I have to say, you would be missing out on something that is essential to the band. Songs like "I'm A Wheel" or "Theologians" are p

I'd say that by the way it fades out that this is more of a piece of a larger package than a stand alone song. I could always be wrong though...

Side With the Seeds always reminds me of summer. An unpopular one would be Sonny Feeling but that could be because they used in in those Solid Sound videos back in the beginning and I associate SS with summer the most.

In the Interview with Courtney Barnett, Jeff stated that he was in no hurry to release it because of that fact that Star Wars was so fresh. Maybe this fall or Winter

I've always W(tA) suffering from going in no real new direction. Many of the sounds of this record had been heard by better counterparts on earlier albums. It does have some of the best songs in the catalogue ("One Wing", "Bull Black Nova") but it also has some of the worst ("I'll Fight", "Sonny Feeling"). I am also in agreement that it is the weakest offering as a whole. That being said, I still get excited to hear these songs live especially because they got cut from the setlists for a few years. Still holding out for "Country Disappeared" though, what a gem that song is.

Sure, but it's still strange seeming as they started the front-to-back at Pitchfork in Chicago. I could see it if they were ending the tour there, but they are headed back to Europe after. It feels like that show, or after the London show are the windows. Plus, nobody but jambase has even caught on to the new album so it makes sense that the press still sees it as a "Star Wars" thing. I guess we'll see.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-wilco-to-play-millennium-park-in-august-20160222-story.html This seems like a pretty interesting announcement given this knowledge. I would put my money around August simply because of this show.