Autumnteeth

I was sitting at home yesterday, Labor Day, and the doorbell rang.  I was angry at first, my dog is old, and he still feels inclined to bark, even at 14. The mood changed when I saw it was my vinyl copy of Schmilco.  I had purposely avoided the leaks, and was half hoping some were bogus, so I knew nothing of the album save for the three tracks the band had released.  I truly love this album.  It may be because I am 50, and out of nowhere over the past couple of years I have started to look back on occasion, rather than the full steam forward mode I had been in my entire life.  Not nostalgic, but more melancholy.  Then this arrives, and the melancholy comes close to trauma.  

Normal American Kids sums up a substantial part of my high school years.  Happiness tore me up, I don't think I ever really looked back on how I treated my mom, until she was gone anyway, and for the sake of my sanity I filed it away. Happiness ended being a mind/soul excavating nightmare producer.  Very well written, and the music is beautiful.  I had an uncle who ran a bar and Quarters put my fear of day drinkers into a two and a half minute song.  I really like this album, probably because it is the last thing I expected after Star Wars.  I don't mind at all not knowing what is coming next, thinking I may have an idea of what it could be, then being totally surprised.  

I have a lot more to listen to, but I absolutely will wear this copy out by mid September. 

_{You might find some of the info here helpful:}

 

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Thanks, what a great post. I am tryin to rebuild my collection and this was a perfect welcome back guide.

I fell in love with her after listening to the Ricky Gervais Show on XFM from London. It is sad I had to get turned on to her by online radio from London but Stephen Merchant was a fan and I heard Cigarettes and Red Vines, bought the album, and the rest is history,

1) Lambchop: 75% - My favourite band but, strangely, I struggle with their first two albums. They have just got better and better in my opinion. 'Nixon' and 'Damaged' are timeless. Really looking forward to the new record in early 2012.

 

2) Wilco: 90% - 'The Whole Love' boosts the percentage, which was dropping following SBS and WTA. I still enjoy both those albums but they can't touch the first five and the most recent.

 

3) Sparklehorse: 92% - Four albums from late, great, Mark Linkous. All great. 'Vivadixie' and 'Good Morning Spider' still sounds amazing. A great artist whose death still affects me to this day.

 

4) Tom Waits: 98% - The main man. Has never put out a bad album in over forty years. When he was starting to sound a bit tired he re-invented himself with 'Swordfishtrombone'. His new record maintains his ridiculously high standard. 'Rain Dogs' is pure genius.

 

5) Micah P Hinson: 90% - Young Micah has put out five records now I have have thoroughly enjoyed them all. The covers album was a bit patchy.

 

6) Neil Young: 70% - 'On the Beach', 'Tonights the Night', 'Rust Never Sleeps', 'Ragged Glory', 'Time Fades Away'. Neil is a god. He has no quality control switch though. Unlike Tom Waits his output seems less thought out. I respect Neil for the way he follows his muse but I feel some of his albums in the eighties and the last decade shouldn't have seen the light of day. So many albums that his percentage is going to suffer.

 

7) Genesis: 80% - My first music love. When I was a kid it was the eighties pop Genesis that fascinated me. I then worked back to find some staggering progressive rock such as 'Foxtrot', 'Selling England' and' The Lamb'. As per my avatar, 'Duke' is one of my favourite records; a perfect mix of prog and tight eighties pop-rock. I sometimes wish people would give them the respect they deserve. In the UK at least they still are derided in the music press when they should be hailed and wonderful British group.

 

8) Mercury Rev: 70% - Going against the grain I feel Mercury Rev have improved with age. I don't fawn over the earlier records like some and really enjoyed their most recent release, the criminally overlooked 'Snowflake Midnight'. 'Deserter's Songs' is a total classic.

 

9) Van Morrison: 65% - I love Van Morrison. Astral Week and Veedon Fleece are both in my top ten, the later could be my all time favourite record. He hasn't put out any real stinkers but some of his later albums are like van-by-numbers.

 

10) Grandaddy: 60% - Last on the list a great band that are sadly no more. Jason Lytle's solo work is also great and 'The Sophtware Slump' is one of the key records of the last decade. Not too won over by their earlier material, or their last proper record.

Exactly what I was worried about. I knew Ieft out a band. Good call on Mercury Rev

I agree with you about Bon Iver....they (or 'he' is more accurate) just aren't in the league with Wilco, The Black Keys, etc. While I can listen to, and appreciate the greatness in most of Bon Iver's work, I clearly don't find it as ear-pleasing as Mr. Tweedy and the others at the top of their game right now.

Sorry, I sound like I am sixty and bitching about some clown named Pink Floyd or Jethro Tull. I do like the Black Keys though. I like the year end lists, they turn me on to bands I missed, or albums I heard one track from that I didn't like then it turns out I was wrong. Bon Iver goes in the Mumford and Sons pile for me. Judge not, however, lest Wilco be judged.

if you listen to the song while looking at the little dancey smiley it might help (it synchs up with the song)... that's the only song from the whole love that i didn't get to see live! one day....

At first I thought of Capital City as kind of a throw away (let he/she who has not sinned....). No I love the song. Heard it Lyric Opera show and it is a great tension breaker, for lack of a better word. Wilco songs tend to have personal lyrics, and while they likely have a firm meaning for Jeff I like taking them and applying them to myself in one way or another. Capital City has me torn between being the voice of someone who moved to the city and misses his girlfriend or someone who moves, has started a new life, doesn't want her to see his new life, so he will come back home and visit.

Way too in depth for here, and sorry I am boring people, but since it is easy to skip a post no ould be the time if you haven't yet. I went to the University of Chicago and majored in Finance with what they call a strong minor in English lit. Because A UC professor, Norman MacLean, wrote A River Runs Through It, his work was emphasized in the department. Anyway, Capital City reminds me of Norman's wife's brother. HE was a supposed big shot in LA, but always came home because he led his family to believe LA was too sophisticated.

Going back to my thing about my interpretations, I have this complete love of the song because in my twisted world I made it like a Norman's brother in law thing, where the singer is a failure in the big city, trying to big himself up as it were, and has to keep his past life at arms length. Sorry I wasted memory space here but this has been bugging me since I fell in love with the song. I am sick, I know, but Wilco loves me. They said so.

Thanks. Can't wait for February 4.

Great review. It seems like as time goes on the album gains more traction. I still don'tget Bon Iver though. I can listen to a song now and then, but Bon Iver in their totality just doesn't make it for me. Music is a to each its own thing, and am glad they are held in hig hesteem, it seems they work hard at what they do and that more than anything makes me want to like them, I just don't.

i j

Heard a rumor today, totally unsubstantiated, and from a guy who said the album title was Get Well Soon Everybody and it was a double album, that a show at Wrigley Field is in the works. I can think of a dozen reasons why not, starting with they didn't sell the second night at UIC in 2009, but would definitely like to see this if it happened. Again, though, while this guy has been right in the past, he also had us go to asouth side bar straight out of the one Otter, Boone, and their dates from the college where the girl died in a kiln fire went to. We were to see the Rolling Stones after show. We sat there, feelin the hate while knocking down High Life's., because it was a place Buddy Guy hung at and would bring the Stones to. Needless to say no Stones, and while beers were 4.00 for regulars ours were 6,.50 because, as the bartender said, we were "typical assholes." Yes we were, but would love to see Wilco at the friendly confines nonetheless.

I discovered Wilco from a track on a compilation CD that came with a magazine. I can't remember now if the magazine was CMJ or Uncut, but it was around the time Summerteeth came out. I think the track was I Can't Stand It. I can't swear that was the track, it was so long ago now, but I bought Summerteeth immediately and have been hooked ever since.

I always wondered if those worked. I end up thinkin to myself try this out.... and never do. That is great though. I am curious if you bought other stuff off promos like this? I am not a marketer or someone who will profit from it, just someone who is curious how this works.

Muy Bueno.

 

I may have to get a separate iPod for all of the Wilco live shows I carry around

Between the great work Owl and Bear have put forth, and the roadcase of late, I am up to 600 gigs of Wilco live. I just bought space on the Amazon cloud and Wilco will be up there, so folks within my general area are not only entering a sea of foot odor if my shoes are off, but a cloud of Wilco as well. Hoping no one with EMF sensitivities goes on a shooting binge because they are accidentally bathed in Bull Black Nova bits and bytes. Hopefully happy songs like Whole Love surround the outside of the cloud. I know so little about this stuff that I can't believe I am capable of using it. Appreciate the efforts of the people on this board. Thanks again.

What a great idea. The concept was one of those I can't believe I didn't think of this moments, like when in the movie Kingpin I was introduced to the The Jefferson's On Ice. It is a great album, sort of obscure outside of Wilco circles, covered by bands that are obsucre outside of Wisconsin music scene circles. Couldn't find She's a Jar, the one I really wanted to hear, but made a donation anyway. I have a pursuit now, some Wisco, hopefully some dogs, cats, and whatever else the Humane Society helps have a little more money, and my daughters and I feel good because we did something nice. Thanks for the post.

A couple of guys I shared a hose with in college were from Belleville and knew Jay Farrar. We followed Uncle Tupelo around, Jay was not the most likeable of fellows, and when AM came out I opted or Wilco, although I did think Trace was pretty good too. Can't believe how good the band became. Same enthusiasm they had n the old days, but they are ahell of a lot better now. At the same time we were hanging at early Tupelo shows a friend of a friend was close with the singer in Night Ranger. Glad I took the path of long term fulfilment over the instant gratification of become a Ranger Rover, or whatever the hell you would call it.

Sarah, I feel your pain, although I have not directly experienced what you have. The fact is, even if Jeff was a total tool, and the band didn't give their fans anything but the music, they would still be a great band...I firmly believe they are the best touring band in America today.

 

The fact that you have had some personal interaction with them, and so have many others, should make your "uber-fan" status understandable at the very least. But honestly, if you're talking to someone who thinks that being played on the radio - in today's shitty market - is the defining sign of quality, well, quite frankly, you're talking to a fucking idiot. I know it's a tough lesson to learn, but the world is chock full of those, and you're better off avoiding them when possible...if you can't avoid them, at least don't take their opinions to heart. They probably think Two And A Half Men is the best show ever, too.

 

Have a great holiday.

 

EDIT: I just have to add, this whole "uber-fan" thing makes us sound like we have no objectivity, and kiss the band's asses even when they deliver something that's sub-par. Well, most of us don't do that. We know they're great, objectively speaking. One thing that showed me that was when I took my buddy Don to his first Wilco show. Don is like LouieB, a guy who has been around and seen a zillion concerts - everybody from The Stones to Miles Davis to Jefferson Airplane. He has seen most of the great acts out there. He still goes to New Orleans Jazz Fest every year, so he's a pretty jaded concert goer, to say the least. And during his first Wilco show, this guy turned to me several times after songs and just said, Wow. Wow. So there you go.

The Edit hits home. The funniest thing I read in a year end wrap up of best albums, songs, and performances was a snide remark about the Whole Love. The commenter liked the album, but then mentioned that the Jeff Tweedy weather report was proof that if JEff walked on stage, took a dump, and walked off, not only fans but critics would hail the load he dropped as majestic and art in its purest form. If the review stopped there itwould have been funny, but he went on to give a critics description as follows:

It was brown, tan, maybe ecru, with perfect marbeling and ridges that spoke to the viewer on many levels. The heat it emitted was body temparature at first, but as it cooled it congealed in a way that led the viewer to the conclusion that this was no typical turd, it was a monumental statement to the consumption of corn on many levels, The layered by product left a lasting nasal impression that brought to mind anal discharges of a youth long gone, a lifeline to a world now uninhabited but in the past consumed, loved, and betrayed by unanticipated materialism from more innocent times, Yes, the band played, And the stool stewed, a dark contrast to the white porcelain that was granted the favor of holding, harvesting, even containing, the waste product of a genius. This is the colon impressed remnants of an era bygone, lost in a sea of liquid elimination that takes not the time to form into a log but instead free flows like an unfinished opus. This meatstick is one to be remembered, if not for itself but for its presence in the modern world, where loaf pinching is a lost cause, where Brown Town is merely a memory, where odiforeous is simply an elegant word no one remembers but many covet. Indeed, it is the loaf of life.

You guys are lame. I'd make fun of you too.

Yeah, and we would make fun of you. It is not personal.

Tried the 20 percent off thing, entered the code three times, and had to send two emails begging kung fu nation to cancel the AM vinyl, summerteeth vinyl, and wilco whole love box set whole love. 20% off ended up being 19 dollars and no way I was going to forego the discount.

good analogy.

I always thought taking one quote out of context is more evangelical than the actual act of liking the band but I could be wrong. I find that the Tebowites tend to take the one phrase from the psalm, reading, etc. and run with it as opposed to dealing with the entire context. But good analogy anyway, maybe.

Wilco - 90%

Radiohead- 90%

Flaming Lips-85%

Beatles-80%

Pink Floyd-75%

Bowie-75%

Minutemen-70%

Neutral Milk Hotel-65%

Grateful Dead-60%

Peter Tosh-60%

This is harder than it looks. Artists with relatively small catalogues that throw in one clinker are bounced. I had to make the Roling Stones 11th or 12th, even though they have 5 or 6 albums that are better than every Peter Tosh album. The Dead have so many what the hell moments that they fall to 9th, while Floyd, if you were able to eliminate outliers like the Division Bell, could be at the top. Fun thinking about though, and is the case in every one of these posts I will wake up realiing I missed a couple.

Couldn't agree with you more, Sarah C. It isn't Wilco that is the problem, it is the workplace, and this type of harrasment is pathetic. First, I kind of like the idea Wilco isn't played on the radio much. The quality stations get it, and do play Wilco. I think I would have to relisten to the Wilco catalogue if I heard Art of Almost right after the extended Dance Mix version of I've Got a Feelin and right before the Bieber Fever segment. (This did happen, by the way, but when i was in Owen Sound Ontario a month ago where the mix that kicks plays the most eclectic mix I have ever heard. Since that is the norm, no harm no foul). Over time I have gone from loving Wilco's music to cherishing the fact that a band like this exists and I was born into the right era to experience the movement. So few bands care about their fans. Those that do certainly don't go so far as to get involved in day to day ticket sales to ensure their fans get top priority. I like a lot of different types of music and different bands. There is only one band that I have the utmost respect for and feel that I owe a debt to. Any other show I go to I feel at best I may have gotten close to my money worth. I walked away from the Wilco shows this week thinking I owed them money each night. Wear your Wilco lie a badge of honor.

Some bizzare video from DPRK this week. People truly believed his shite. A tour guide was asked what he thought of the Dear Leader's vision for North Korea and he got angry and said a mere mortal could not comprehend the wisdom of such a great man. It is amazing what knolwedge and information can do to bolster a society. It is truly stunning what a lack of knowledge and information can do to people.

M*A*S*H didn't actually show the armistice signing in its last episode, but I'm pretty sure the war ended.

The war is still on in Korea. Just nobody fighting.

Will be a sad BCS series, but was happy to see St. Xavier (Chicago area) win the NCAA NSIS or whatever championship.

Hitting the office donut stash and seeing the last donut without finger marks from frosting thieves.

Even more than Thanksgiving time, the Holiday season seems to be when everybody pulls out all the stops with favorite recipes. Whether it is specific holiday treats, or simply cozy winter dishes, what wonderful flavors are floating through your household?

 

I haven't begun any Christmas baking yet...waiting for the kids to be finished with this last week of school, since they like to help. Then we'll make molasses crinkle cookies and maple-walnut fudge and other favorites. For now, we're enjoying warm, fragrant meals like the fabulous chicken & sausage & peppers & onions I made the other night, and turkey tetrazzini linguini (which is as good to eat as it is fun to say).

 

So, what's cookin', good lookin'?

I have to find a recipe for these things my mom made called toffee bars. When she passed away in 1993 I searched everywhere and couldn't find them. Basically, I remember melted dark chocolate on top of a bottom crisp, top somewhat chewy, toffee flavored crust. I have had similar, which are ok, but really miss the original.

Last year I had a delicacy that I can firmly state is hell on earth. My nephew is an intelligence officer in the Air Force, was stationed in the Phillipines, and met a great girl. She had this thing called Balut flown in from home. Basically, it is a fertilized (this means living Chicken, which I somehow didn't put together in time to save myself the trauma_ bird or chicken egg. You crack it, eat it, and there are f$%%ng bones you hear crunch when you eat. I want toffee bars,

I guess I am the wrong person to ask about Christmas. The Walmut Room may still be something special to do. I would think it be more interesting than Perry's Deli, which I don't remember being that special when I used to work downtown. But then the Yelpsters think it is pretty cool. I would check out Manny's on the near south side instead for more local character, but be prepared to spend some dough. Or if you are in Hyde Park already to see stuff at the MSI, go to Valois which is just a cafeteria, but has good cheap food, good sandwhiches, and is a Hyde Park staple. The Christmas market in Daley Plaza is kind of cool. If you are downtown check out the Modern Wing of the Art Institute and the rest of course. My pass is still up for borrowing.

 

LouieB

Great call on Manny's. One of those places you forget to appreciate until you read an article that they close. And the Christkindlemarket at Daley is a great place to walk around. You can hit the beer haus, walk around and grab a great bratwurst, then go back to beer haus after 6 or so to hear drunk SA's discussing cases that are confidential.