jbray
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Posts posted by jbray
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As mentioned elsewhere, Courtney Barnett could be a good match, though she may be a bigger act than is usual for SS.
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.
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However, although Star Wars was a great piece of work, I miss the days where I could close my eyes and get lost in their world. Now it is just noise. The lyrics are so scatterbrained that I can't make sense of them. Granted, some of their older stuff, a la SummerTeeth was the same. It is hard to explain. Emotion? Maybe that's it. I used to hear the pain that Jeff was going through and I could empathize, but not I just hear random words with chaotic music. I do miss melody. And where has Nels run off to?
I am all about melody and still find JT as one of its greatest purveyors. I get your point with some of the obvious word play / Come Together style lyrics on some songs, but Where Do I Begin has plenty of emotion when I listen to it, for example.
Both Locator and If I Ever Was a Child have more of a focus than the more dadaist Random Name Generator or More.
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 "Pickled Ginger" are part of an overarching lyrical theme.
Anyways, I also agree with lost highway in that the two new songs seem to be more lyrically focused. I mean my enjoyment of "If I Ever Was a Child" is way more tied to what Jeff is singing than the bed of music it lies in. I'm looking forward to Schmilco because Jeff has expressed that he is speaking to something.
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Here's a potential Wilco reference, maybe...
So, earlier this week, the wife and I are on a roadtrip, we made a giant playlist and she put on Joel Plaskett's Through & Through & Through, which I'd never heard before. As a big Wilco fan a few lyrics perked my interest:
Ok, common saying, probably not a Wilco reference. BUT WAIT!
The blue eyed soul line is what got my interest, but again, maybe doesn't mean anything. But the "You won't hear our songs on the radio" sounds a lot like The Late Greats "You can't hear 'em on the radio", and the next two lines suggest that reference as well, as "Every note we sing can't be solid gold, every boy can't be Romeo" is similar to "...would have to be Romeo, his vocal chords are made of gold". Later on Joel repeats the blue eyed soul line and there's some guitar bits that sound similar to the Wilco song.
Thoughts? Is Joel a Wilco fan or am I just finding coincidences?
Either way it's a great song, here's the music video if you want to listen to it.
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.
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There's only one correct answer and it starts with the one missing from your list.
AM
BT
ST
YHF
AGIB
SBS
W(TA)
TWL
SW
Schmilco
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oops! I was too busy counting the letters that I forgot to add in the one with two at the bottom.
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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
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But seriously, what constitutes a "good" album title? I mean, is there a criteria we are looking for?
Personally I've always thought self-titled albums were a little lame, but W(TA) was a clever play on that. Beyond that, I'm not sure how to go about judging an album title. Unless it was something like "Excel Spreadsheets 4 Lyfe." Not sure I'd buy that album.
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 great album name.
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camping is cheap, right?
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.
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Would you mind explaining what this means?
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 album?" And to me that was: Communication with a band and the fans (Wilco the song - Lonely 1 with a musical dose of Misunderstood/Monday), noises and a non-traditional drum beat Deeper Down - Radio Cure now with all the Nels Cline guitar noodles), spousal abuse/killing (Bull Black Nova - Via Chicago on top of Spiders/Kidsmoke), You and I, the not as good Jesus, Etc with a wasted opportunity in Feist, the traveling wilburys play Late Greats (You Never Know), a cut from Mermaid Avenue (I'll Fight), pop Summerteeth retread buried in Being There (Sonny Feeling), and On & On & On lite.
I left out One Wing, Country Disappeared and Solitaire because those songs both felt like a band moving forward from Sky Blue Sky, strings attached, but different. I really am only disappointed with Deeper Down and I'll Fight. I really was/am thrown off that the same Nels Cline guitar tone from Sky is slathered rather a lot on this record and left a bad taste in my mouth about how it's inclusion had taken the uniqueness away in a band I loved to celebrate for the differences in their records more than the similarities. I'm sure there are plenty of you who hear different references, none at all, or have a completely different opinion but that was what I was specifically referencing and it's only a single person's objective opinion.
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That's like asking us to rewrite their lyrics. It's not our business to do that (except for when we used to turn their lyrics into courtroom humor as a joke when Jay Bennett sued the band).
I prefer album titles that have some relevance to the band and what they are up to at the time an album is created and/or released. Or a name that is connected in some way to the songs on the album. Maybe in time Schmilco will prove to meet that criteria, but Star Wars doesn't and neither does Wilco (The Album). A name like that implies you're getting a distillation of what Wilco is all about. A definitive statement. That is definitely not what we got with that album.
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.
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That is what it's called. Look at the album cover. There are no ellipses.
True facts. No defense your honor, except I have no idea where my mind got the ellipses from.
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George Harrison's estate (was it penned by Dhani?) on RNC's use of "Here Comes the Sun" to introduce Ivanka:
"The unauthorized use of 'Here Comes the Sun' at the RNC is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate," the estate tweeted Thursday night after the Abbey Road track was broadcast. Instead, the estate offered the use of a more fitting All Things Must Pass song: "If it had been 'Beware of Darkness,' then we MAY have approved it! #TrumpYourself."
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/george-harrison-estate-blasts-trumps-song-use-at-rnc-w430423
I hope that was Dhani -
From what I can remember, the original Hollywood bowl LP sounded just like how George Martin described - like a jet engine of screaming girls with the Beatles in the background.
I have it. That is what it sounds like. Worthy of one spin, and that's about it.
Well then it looks like I'll just have to find the original to compare with the new release, thanks for the info!
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None of those are stupid, and Yesterday...and Today is about as suitable a title for a compilation album that includes "Yesterday" as there could possibly be. What would be a better title for that?
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 comfortable with it once you come to terms with it. Both are excellent examples of bizarre title choices that in hindsight make sense and that was more my point and I failed to complete that circuit. Yesterday... and Today should have been simply called Yesterday and Today plain and simple because the ellipses are there to push a new product for Capitol in a bad way. In a perfect world, that record wouldn't exist and the British discography would be all there was (Although I like the album of Magical Mystery Tour - it's a contradiction).
While it is ultimately completely unimportant and unrelated to the quality and enjoyment of the music itself, I do have to admit a slight preference for album titles (and art) that have something to do with the collection of songs they represent. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost is Born, Sky Blue Sky, even The Whole Love all seem to capture those particular albums to me in some thematic way. Wilco the Album, Star Wars, Schmilco, yeah they're lazy or cutesy or whatever, but the main thing is they're not evocative to me in any way. (Though to reiterate, in the end it is the music that matters.)
Wilco (The Album) had a theme and that was retreading the "Wilco" sound which it did to a fault. The name works in my opinion, the cover art is whatever.
I think the name Wilco Schmilco is a much smarter album title then you guys are giving it credit for.
Even One Wing and BBN seem like lesser versions of Impossible Germany and Spiders.
I would agree with Schmilco as a good album title from what Jeff has said about the topics at hand. If he's looking to poke fun at the Wilco spotlight it is pretty perfect. I also love the album art both separately and in the context of the record.
On the second note, you and I will have to agree to differ. I wouldn't compare IG to One WIng at all nor would I put IG ahead of One Wing in such a comparison. I can understand the latter comparison, although I do see that the lyrics of Spiders have little to no impact on the song and its structure while BBN relies heavily on its lyrical themes to influence its sound. Call it granny smith apples to macintosh apples.
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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.
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Also the content. Star Wars is a clunker and Schmilco, which I have a difficult time even typing, is not off to a good start.
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 Mystery Tour, and, on the American side, Yesterday... And Today. We judge those records by the music therein and now see them as different degrees of indispensable because the music made the title become iconic or not. In many ways, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost is Born could have been seen like that had they been different records.
I loved Star Wars. W(TA) is the only clunker in their catalog, IMO. But if you're disappointed with the material, not just the album names, I can understand that.
I would agree with this to a degree, W(TA) is the weakest for sure. I still think One Wing is one of the best they ever made.
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This was a suspicion of mine as well. Since the prospect of Wilco reverting back into a quartet is awfully remote, this has been in the back of my mind for a while.
Jeff does the solo thing with Spencer.
John and Pat continue on with the Autumn Defence.
Glenn does everything.
Nels does whatever he likes.
Mikael does something else.
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 love their live show, but I feel like seeing them every other year at solid-sound only (I'm in the Boston area) would be a fine trade off if they played all three days.
OT: "We Aren't the World (Safety Girl)" I'm hoping is going to be more in the vein of "I'm A Wheel" or "Pickled Ginger". But it could also be more of a plaintive, thought provoking-type song as well.
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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
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I'll be that guy:
Wilco (The Album)
Star Wars
Schmilco
Wilco is falling into a pattern of lazy album titles. I prefer bands come up with their own shit. I can't fault them on the quality of the music, however, and that's the main thing that matters. But still, it's all part of the package, and I prefer none of it be lazy.
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 perfectly saddled with songs like "At Least That's What You Said" and "Muzzle of Bees". Being There wouldn't be half as great without songs like "Why Would You Wanna Live?", "Kingpin" or a song lyrically about cleaning recording equipment as a broke band sung with all the heartbreak in the world (Red-Eyed and Blue). Is Schmilco the best album name? No. Does it sound like a Wilco album name? Absolutely.
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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...
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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.
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Assuming that it's 100% finished (if not we'll really have to hold our horses) we have to assume that they have some reason for delaying its release. As much as I'm dying to crack open another new Wilco record, I'm thinking they're going to hold onto it until they complete these tours in order to give Star Wars its due. That might mean we're waiting until this winter. But then again, who knows?
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
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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.
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jbray - I thought the same thing other than that they are linking the show so heavily to Star Wars. Even in the article you quote: The band...is performing in support of its 2015 album "Star Wars."
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.
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This seems like a pretty interesting announcement given this knowledge. I would put my money around August simply because of this show.
Schmilco!
in Just A Fan
Posted
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.