realrival

This is kind of ridiculous, I think I'm going to stop posting all my Starbucks' hearings but I heard How to Fight Loneliness and Sky Blue Sky today.

Thank you!

I took the train last year. The closest Amtrak station is Albany-Rensselaer, about 40 miles west of MassMOCA. You can take a cab across the river and rent a car in town. There's supposed to be a car rental agency at the Amtrak station, but they have limited hours and seemed deserted last year.

 

Correction: The Pittsfield Amtrak station is closer to North Adams, but it's a 7 hour trip from NYC to Pittsfield via Amtrak. NYC to Albany is only about 2 1/2.

Hey everyone!!!

Are any New York City Wilco fans going to this? Is there an easy way to get there train-wise? The directions off their website seem too complicated.

Thanks!

I'm the man who loves you at The Magician (bar) tonight.

According to Wilco's recent Facebook comment, the album will be out in the fall!

Belated: The album won an NAACP Image award. Yay!

Either Way at yet another Starbucks. New York City is too Starbucksy.

Dash 7 at Ash Wednesday Mass.

Wait a minute. Seriously? You have to explain!!!

How to Fight Loneliness at Starbucks today

Wishful Thinking on Criminal Minds (rerun)!

What's funny is that the writer is doing exactly what the Park Slopers are doing- associating a type of music with a race and associating that race with a type of behavior and attitude.

Indie music and Hip Hop don't hate each other. People hate people. The petition doesn't have to do with music, it has to do with racism. I think the writer could have delved A LOT deeper into the racism/gentrification aspect of it all. The music is just a scapegoated stand-in for what really should have been said.

Shot in the Arm at Pret A Manger.

Also, am I the only one that thinks 'You and I' isn't corny and sugary-sweet? I get a kick out of some of the comments on youtube about boys learning the chords to try it out on a girl they like. The lyrics "I don't want to know, I don't need to know everything about you and you don't need to know that much about me" wouldn't win me over. It works great as a duet though. I think that it's those lyrics that keep it from being so sweet.

 

 

He's gotten healthy, has a wife and family he loves and has a killer band. Life is good. He is writing us postcards from his life. It was once life on the edge. Now it's postcards from home. His evolution is somewhat akin to what Springsteen experienced in the middle stages of his career sans the mega-hits.

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I love that Jeff Tweedy is so wonderfully outspoken and open about his mental health issues and I think the YHF and AGIB feel like Tweedy's being open and honest with us about his troubles; but maybe not, there's a wall there. It just feels like it's true whereas Wilco(the album) doesn't feel vulnerable in that same way. But you don't have to be depressed to be edgy. When I was at my worst with depression, it was hard to get out of bed. I couldn't work on my novel to save my life, so the fact that Jeff Tweedy could create any music during that time in his life is amazing to me. I don't think Jeff Tweedy'z happiness will get in the way of his edge.

I think Wilco(the Album) is just a fun album and I think the edge is in the concept of the album, or at least what I would interpret to be the concept of the album. Wilco pretending to be Wilco but then doing some things totally atypical of what we've seen Wilco do. I don't know if I'm really explaining that right or if it really qualifies as edge but I think Wilco(the Album) was a risk.

I like that Tweedy tried something new. As a writer, I can appreciate that. Even if Tweedy writing in the 3rd person pov didn't work for a lot of us, I think it's cool that he pushed himself to try. As long as Tweedy keeps pushing himself; as long as the band as a whole keeps exploring, there will always be edge no matter how blissfully happy they all are.

I like Wilco(the album) a lot but I'd be lying if I didn't think to myself once or twice: I'm glad Jeff Tweedy seems to be happy; I just wish he didn't sound so happy! I love his melancholy voice more than his singer-in-a-band-voice.

You know I've been listening to Wilco on shuffle and Wilco(the song) came on followed by Radio Cure and it occurred to me that the Wilco that sings "Do you dabble in depression?" and promises to love me if I do isn't the Wilco I'd turned to if dabbling in depression. Radio Cure Wilco is where I would go, which kind of makes the whole Wilco(the song) Wilco(the album) Wilco(the band) thing more funny to me.

I think a case could be made for Wilco(the album) being the most daring album yet because Wilco always seemed to be most comfortable when they were uncomfortable, if that makes sense. I also think that this album feels a lot less Tweedy to me. Before I'd say something like "Wilco, well Jeff Tweedy, is cool" or Jeff Tweedy is awesome and the other guys are okay too. The good thing about that is they really do feel like a band on this album. The songs are fun and smart for the most part. I like most of them, they're great rock songs. But I can see what some people are saying about not being able to connect emotionally to the album. I think another reason why this album could be called the most daring is because the narrative content of the lyrics is different. I never get the sense that Tweedy's trying to work something out for himself in his head like I did when he sang IATTBYH or Company in my Back or whatever. He doesn't seem emotionally connected to the material at all, with maybe the possible exception of Country Disappeared. He's playing roles. It's as if he's saying, 'hey they're just songs' and I think that really works for the Wilco(the album, song, band) theme. I think it's funny and fun. And it doesn't stop the songs from being good songs. In this album more than the others he seems focused on singing rather than emoting. I think the writing is just as strong as the other albums (rhyming hill with mill aside); it's just that Tweedy isn't spilling his guts to us, or maybe it's more correct to say it doesn't sound like he's spilling his guts to us (since we can't really be sure his mind was filled with silvery stuff or that he assassinated down avenues).

I know I got into Wilco because I had a lot of stuff going on in my life, and was anxiety-ridden/major depressive and it definitely helped to feel like someone else was going through the same thing (Radio Cure was my favorite song for months and I was like, 'Oh Jeff Tweedy, you're the only one who understands!') But I have to remember Jeff Tweedy is under no obligation to make me feel better by being similarly miserable. And if Wilco wants to put out a sunny, fun record (someone on here called it a summer album, which is a great description) then I can deal with that, and really like it and hope that the next one will be different. Not because the album is bad, but because different is what I expect from Wilco and what I love about them.

Mods: If there is already a thread for W(TA), which I assume there is, please move this post there. I couldn't find it.

Hey everyone,

I might be the odd girl out on this one but I actually think Wilco(The Album)is pretty good. I don't love it, well, I love "Country Disappeared" and "You and I" (and I know that's particularly unpopular to like, but God help me I love it) but overall I think it's good. I love Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born and I really like Summerteeth, but really, I'd put W(TA) next. For me I keep hoping for the next Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but that's really not fair to the band. If I just take W(TA) for what it is (a where we've been, where we are album) I enjoy it. Tweedy said it was like cleansing their palette and to me that's just what it sounds like. And it also suggests that the next album will be different.

The lyrics are strong (with the exception of I'll fight- rhyming hill with mill was a particular low point- though truthfully I like that song too). I do get a little tired of Nels' solos and I really wish Tweedy would use his low voice more (Pot Kettle Black, Kamera etc) but it still sounds good and it doesn't suggest to me comfortability, I don't think that Wilco has found their sound and that's what they're going to keep doing (if I felt that way maybe I'd be a little less appreciative of W(TA). They are all too curious about music to let this be their sound; they also know how quickly that can go stale for the fans and the bands, themselves.

I like the majority of the songs on W(TA); I don't love them all, but I like them.

I'm just wondering why no one seems to like W(TA) that much or if they do there's always backlash for saying so. What is it about W(TA) that's so disappointing?

Instead of "to feed the hungry weekend news crew anchormen" I thought it was "to feed the hungry, we can use news anchormen"!

I heard Wilco(the song) today in one NYC's many, many Starbucks. For a second I thought I had left my iPod on!

Oh you're welcome!!! I just read Anti-'s homepage though and their release date is January 1, 2012. I think they probably just slapped that date on there as a marker until they have an actual date and late Summer is probably more correct. I hope!

Hey everybody!

Thought I'd post this link:

New album is due out late summer!

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/wilco_record_label_dbpm_records_easthampton_eastworks.html

Hope the link works!

Ms. Realrival