5hake1t0ff

Well, since it might save you time, let me add I was mostly blown away by the songwriting of a very specific period: American Beauty (1970), Workingman's Dead (1970), and Garcia's solo self-titled (1972).

I've never been close to a deadhead, but the Day of the Dead tribute album that came out a few years ago and included Wilco's live performance of St Stephen is full of excellence and got me listening to a whole lot of GD over the past year. I have come to think Garcia is underrated as a songwriter and overrated as a live musician/cultural icon.

Yep, same for me.

Right. I was just hoping I could add the show to my itunes library, but there's apparently no way to buy and download. Unlike the front of house and roadcase, I guess those NOLA shows are only streamable?

I recently subscribed and streamed the Oct 4 (night #1 in Nola), and I have to say that, for me personally, it is one of my favorite Wilco live recordings I've ever heard. Does anybody know where I can access a download of this show?

Love this topic. Part of the question is what counts as "excellent." Jeff has a quote in the YHF 20th Anniv. book about making a record being about the sense of "discovery." Of my favorite bands, the only acts that still do seem to be able convey that they are 'discovering' after 20+ years are (or was): Yo La Tengo, Low (RIP Mimi), Radiohead, and maybe Spoon (though I'm less emotionally attached to them for whatever reason). Another question is whether the 20 year mark for this lineup of Wilco (which is coming up!) isn't a better point of comparison. Part of the challenge is keepi

Just a shot in the dark, but my guess is this is mostly related to the YHF rollout. Jeff mentioned on the Kreative Kontrol podcast that they had been "in line" for years for all the vinyl needed for it. So I get the sense they're sensitive to the shortage and its effect on other bands trying to release around the same time. In other words, my guess is they will only release and promote the vinyl version of CC after YHF reissue has hit the shelves.

Jeff’s music has helped me more than anything connect to music deeply rooted in the American experience, from bluegrass, to folk, to country, to soul. And I’m not from the Midwest, but I love the quintessentially Midwestern scenes he paints from New Madrid, to Casino Queen, to Via Chicago, to The Plains (and many more besides). Some of my favorite lines that best capture that range of emotions and contradictions that come with being American: “red eyed and blue” “Spinning out webs of deductions and melodies, on a private beach in Michigan” ”bre

Disc One ends with The Universe and is 39 minutes. Disc Two is 38 minutes. Great post, by the way. Love thinking about our listening experiences as being physical in nature. Speaking of, I wonder if the pandemic led to some shift in creativity towards the form factor of the double album. My four favorite albums released this year are all double albums (Wilco, Big Thief, Beach House, and Kendrick Lamar).

I wholeheartedly agree TWL would be even better as a double album. Just adding Speak Into The Rose gets you halfway there, lol. In general, like jff, I definitely prefer albums to be less than 45 minutes and have a consistent mood. That said, I still find that CC has plenty of variety to keep me interested all the way through. I'll throw another idea out there: OTJ works better as a six track EP: (Tracks 1-4, 8, and 11). (Edit to add: "Love is Everywhere" belongs on CC!)

I don't know. I'm having trouble thinking of a band using comedy as a guiding concept for an album. There are the comedic bands like Tenacious D and, more recently, Mouse Rat (which included some Tweedy contributions). There are great songwriters who regularly deploy their sense of humor, like Bob Dylan and David Berman. But none of those examples quite fit the bill, do they.

I think Jeff got the memo about how Wilco Schmilco was received. (Not that it wasn't actually, in some ways, a very serious album. Just didn't land that way.) People expect serious Wilco. But I love your idea of a humor-based album; plus, it would allow Jeff to bring in Nic Offerman and George Saunders as collaborators.

Wilco’s always been about creating stark contrasts. I would be surprised if there next record sounded anything like CC. I’m glad Jeff thinks they can follow up a record meant to provide comfort and solace with one that will sound “alien.” I agree CC isn’t “a step forward” as much as it’s just, imo, really fucking good. I also agree there’s a bit of a conflict, or choice, between experimentation and wanting to do live takes. SBS and CC are not what I would call experimental, boundary pushing Wilco records. They’re great because of how they revert to an older mode of recording live f

this is true to how I feel a lot of the time too, but I think the overall point of the album is akin to a relationship with a difficult parent. It forces the choice: you can either have a relationship with the thing/person you love or not. You can’t change where you’re from, and you can’t change anyone but yourself. I think the album is saying we think we want to stay in this relationship with our country because we love it, while also knowing we may never change it to our liking.

Yeah, my impressions of Many Worlds are similar. To be clear, my comment about it being analogous to ALTWYS is because I think the instrumental coda comprises the full expression of the lyric "I know I'm not the only one ...Alive/looking at the sky..." And I agree totally with the comparisons and observations you made about the instrumental coda's type of sound. The first part of the song is without question my least favorite bit of songwriting on the album. It's just shy of unlistenable for me. I like the slightly static-y production of the piano. Otherwise, ick. So in