Real Rival

A friend sent me this:

 

I don't know. I don't think it's a slam against Wilco at all. For me the key word is "ridiculous." I think the humor, what little of it there actually is, comes from the idea that the idea of Peace and Love would be offensive to anyone. Seriously, this guy finds Peace and Love offensive? Really? And by the same token, he finds Wilco offensive? Really?

I think the target of the joke is the guy complaining. Capitalists who think money is more important than Peace and Love. Wilco is probably used because of the whole YHF thing, and the fact that Tweedy's been a very vocal supporter of people downloading music for free. I bet the cartoonist is probably a big Wilco fan actually.

The Wilcos are lovely do-gooder artists who probably do piss a lot of capitalists off (and they're probably glad to do it! Or that may just be me projecting, I'm glad they do it!).

It's a good song. Really pretty melody and bittersweet lyrics.

 

Non-Muppet version:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzEaGCoHnHg

Okay, this version, I like. Thank you for posting! His voice is so much better to me and the arrangement, the chorus isn't as dream-sequence-y (I doubt that makes any sense to anybody else but it's the only way to describe how I hear it!).. It's cooler, and his voice sounds more earnest and aching and not at all spongy! Maybe I'll just give up on the studio version. I mean, this version is great so maybe I can just satisfy myself by saying it's a good song but I don't like that Muppet version.

Maybe Muppets was a little harsh, sometimes he reminds me of the lead singer of Green Day in that song, but, yeah, sometimes Kermit.

Thanks again for posting! All you guys, thanks.

So, which one do you want feedback on? Poor Places or Reservations?

Reservations. Poor Places was just an example of how I changed my mind about a song.

^{I guess I'm thinking about Poor Places. I didn't like that song for awhile and then I really dug the live version on Kicking Television and that got me into the studio track. I heard things I never noticed before. I think when people listen to songs initially they latch on to the parts they love or the parts they hate and that overshadows any subsequent listenings. At least that's how I am. So it 's as if I want you to point my ears in the direction of things you like about the song. I might end up really not liking it but at least then I'll feel like I'm giving it a fair shake. Also, this is kind of uptight and a little ridiculous, but I want to like a whole album for once. I haven't done that since the 1990s and that was with The Beatles's Revolver :/}

Apologies if this topic has been addressed (did a search but couldn't find anything).

I need you to pitch 'Reservations' to me. It is the only song on YHF that I don't like. It's the chorus mostly that bothers me. And I don't normally think this about Jeff's voice, I love his voice, but in this song he sounds like a muppet. I picture Kermit singing it with Ralph on the keyboard.

I've read many comments saying that this song is great but I'm wondering what everyone sees/hears in this song that makes it great. I love the rest of the songs so I feel like I must be missing something about this song.

This is a little odd and maybe I'm misinterpretting Jeff's lyrics but I love the part in 'What's the World Got in Store' where he's iike: "You've been working hard and I know you're tired/You've been trying hard not to think I'm a liar" and then immediately goes into the "What's the World Got in Store for you now?" It just strikes me as so cold and good. He's like hey I've been lying to you, wonder what's going to happen to you now? In one breath he's saying he's a liar but in the next he shrugs off all culpability and gets coldly curious.

I also love how he pulls back from sweet at the last minute: in You and I, it sounds almost sweet until he gets to the "Oh I don't want to know everything about you part" but my favorite is in Open Mind where it's so sweet and lovely and then he sings "I would ask almost insist upon treating you kind and fair" "almost insist" on treating someone kind? So there's a part of him who might just be an ass to her.

Oh, thank you! This is so strange but for the last week or so I've had "I'll go, I'll go, I'll go" etc in my head and was trying to figure out what movie it was from: at first I was like The Graduate? and then later I thought, Maybe Ferris? Thanks so much for clearing that up for me!

I did a search before I started the thread; it didn't like anyone posted this but there is a Yoga Pop-ups album on itunes called "Yoga Tribute to Wilco" and it has very calm, pleasant instrumental versions of some of their songs (California Stars, You and I, I am Trying to Break Your Heart, Heavy Metal Drummer, Jesus etc, etc). It's supposed to be for yoga but If I have children, I'm starting them in the womb on this, little Wilco lullabyes. Very sweet and pleasant stuff!

Article on Premierguitar.com extolling Jeff Tweedy's guitar-playing.

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2011/Jul/Why_Jeff_Tweedy_is_the_Greatest.aspx

"Bloody, honest, warty, and human. I love it and I open my heart to the cry, the bond."

That's what art is all about; I'd die if someone ever blurbed my book with this!

In Born Alone, I love whatever Mikael (I think) does on the synth (I think-I have no idea about instruments) after Jeff sings "Subtract the silence of myself." It always makes me smile.

That's weird, I've had this song on my iPod for months now. You can get it off iTunes.

Unless he wildly misspoke, it would have definitely been in 2004, or 2005. I'm actually not completely sure it was Memphis either, it could have been some other place down south. He mentioned a few cities. We'd just seen them live for The Whole Love concert and he was ranking the concerts. Incidentally, he put this mystery concert at number one. (but The Whole Love concert at number 2). It struck me because I knew he went to the dual-diagnosis center in 2004. Even though I didn't believe him necessarily; it's not as if he said Jeff Tweedy bit a dove's head off on stage.

I just wondered if this rang a bell for anyone.

.

Hey, go easy on Real Rival.

 

There's a slight chance that Jeff did in fact say this, but was kidding around like he does at most shows. Not all of his banter has been recorded in words here on After The Show. Or in other words, I wouldn't place too much focus on Jeff being stoned but rather thinking OK I can picture him saying that he was and then speaking in a British accent.

Thanks for this post. I'm really new to messageboards in general and didn't expect my post to raise such ire.

Your post inspires 3 questions:

 

1 - Were you high as you posted this?

2 - Or was your "friend" the one ripped out of his mind at a Wilco show?

3 - Don't you think there would have been slightly more publicity if this ever happened?

Your post prompted one question:

Why are you asking me these questions?

I posted because I didn't believe my friend. I thought by that time Tweedy was completely clean and sober. And no I don't think there would be more publicity if he'd said that at all. Anyway not enough publicity for everyone to remember the story seven years later. He wouldn't be the first rocker to get on stage high, you know?

So my friend who is a diehard Wilco fan like me was talking about a Wilco show in Memphis (I think) in 2004 or 5 where Jeff Tweedy was apparently so stoned he said things like "I'm so high I don't know where the f-ck we are." And then he started talking in a british accent.

Does this sound familiar to anybody?

Regarding lyrics: Do you have any earthly idea how often you've used the word "sun"?

Starbucks, New York, in a two hour period: Capitol City, You Are My Face, Born Alone and Jeff Tweedy's version of Simple Twist of Fate

Then, that same day I went into Brooklyn and more Wilco ensued. I'm the Man Who Loves You at some bar.

Then today, I heard How to Fight Loneliness at Union Pool bar in Brooklyn.

Oh and last week Manhattan Chipotle: California Stars

Wilco have taken over Gotham City (or Starbucks).

The correct answer is 'Company In My Back'.

Yes! And how much awesome is it that a song with the words "puking" "shit" and "bug" can still be sexy?

And I think it's totally strip-to-able.

My other vote, and this may be weird of me, but I think Radio Cure is sexy. I might be alone on that one, though.

i just had to post this. So I gave my sister a couple Wilco songs to listen to, one of which was I'm Always in Love, which she really liked. So flashforward a couple months and we're on a road-trip and listing to my iPod. I'm Always in Love comes on and all the sudden she exclaims, "Oh, I'm Always in love!" She thought it was "Five hours of love." We got a big kick out of that considering the accompanying lyrics I'm bragging (five hours of love) and then later I'm worried (five hours of love)!

California Stars, Chipotle.

Walken, Kamera, Outtasite, etc Why the misspellings, Jeff? Is it some sort of clever marketing scheme like spelling crazy with a K? Is it a quiet rebellion against the banality of the English language?

How do you request songs for specific concerts? I thought they had some kind of form or is it just the fan inquiries email address? Or are they not taking requests via internet any more. Thanks!

There's solid sound stuff up on Youtube. If you go and search for Wilco and then click on the filter and explore button and sort by upload date. Pretty cool!

Actually there's all this solid sound stuff up on Youtube. If you go and search for Wilco and then click on the filter and explore button and sort by upload date. Pretty cool!

the track that jeff was playing solo, 'born to die alone', sounds soooooooo good with the full band. i never thought that that quiet acoustic number could become something so.... so wilco. it's great.

 

and i think there were 3 new ones.... i might, whole love, and born to die alone.

Born Alone is up on youtube. Live SolidSound. It is really great! - I realize as I'm typing that this might be already posted news.