5hake1t0ff

I'm stuck wondering what you cook in such a diminutive oven, but I'll recover.

Wow, what a great read. I connected with a whole lot of what that author was trying to express about being a fan of the band. Also had a number of revealing, extended quotes from Jeff about the band’s creative process.

Something I’ve been thinking about lately, which this article helped to reinforce, is how the last few Wilco records kinda keep returning to two distinct, but oddly related, themes: 1) feeling like we’re all living through an increasingly dystopian version of the America we thought we knew; and 2) taking personal responsibility for our own mental health and the role it has in our most intimate relationships.

4 hours ago, jff said:

 

 

it's not wrong for a rock music fan, or even a Wilco lifer, to feel like sometimes the meal Wilco makes for us just doesn't taste very good. 

 

 

Totally not wrong! I agree with you there. And since I appreciate our back-and-forths...

I interpreted the writer's point a little differently than you. He's saying it's reductive to look for one style of Wilco and, having not received it, decide that amounts to everyone besides Jeff being "underutilized." I've seen a dozen different versions of the "underutilized" critique, and I do find it quite tiresome. Ever since Wilco became a sextet, it's probably invited this critique, which I don't even think is what you're saying exactly. I think you're just saying you prefer the guitar-led rockers to other styles of Wilco music; and in another part of that article, I felt the writer did a good job acknowledging that Wilco has different sets of fans who came on board during different eras who understandably want different things from the band. I'm pretty sure every band that has been around for 10+ studio albums has this dynamic. You can have those differences of opinion without the need to denigrate members of the band as "underutilized" would be my argument.

And I fully own my own Wilco Standom. So maybe guilty as charged there. For a select few bands/artists who've captured my heart over time, I just personally enjoy the "fan" journey of trying my best to appreciate something in every twist and turn of their output for as long as they can sustain my interest.

How Wilco Became the Most Misunderstood Band on Earth - InsideHook

Honestly the best thing I've read on Wilco in a long, long while.

On 9/30/2023 at 10:09 AM, lost highway said:

Jeff should be forbidden from using the words "cry" and "die" in lyrics every again.

You’re not wrong, Walter ….

Ten Dead has really captured me. It sounds like if you added 15 years of 21st century American history to the mood of the Sky Blue Sky sessions. I'm okay with it not being played live. I agree with Jeff's point about it being meant for one-on-one song-listener encounters. I'm still a relative newcomer to Molina's catalogue. I loving most of it. Looking forward to checking out "Song for Willie" per Marijn's comment.

21 minutes ago, jff said:

Soldier Child was the low point for me.  One review said there are some songs only true believer Wilco fans will be able to tell apart from some older songs.

 

 

For me, Evicted is the low point, as it sounds too much like his pop-y solo songs but for a few Cate Le Bon-infused sonic flourishes. And I get how Soldier Child can sound of-a-kind with Across the World and White Wooden Cross, but I don't really mind it because I find it to be the most interesting, both melodically and interesting, of the three.

These are but quibbles for me, and I'm still stuck into listening to this album all the way through, at least for now.

One early thought I have after two listens is this is the first album the sextet has managed to both play a wide range of styles and maintain the overall feel of it being one studio session, one artistic album. That has always been my issue with TWL, which is full of great songs and variety, but felt to me like a compilation of different studio sessions and lacked a certain cohesion.

Also, after reading a couple of reviews that were kind of 'meh' on the lyrics/sentiment of this album, I was super surprised to find myself very emotionally taken by several of these songs. There's a maturity to Jeff's writing these days that's unmatched.

Melodically, this album actually reminds me more of A Ghost is Born / More Like The Moon EP era than anything more recent.

I get the sense that a number of reviewers approach each new Wilco album with very high expectations, like they expect to stumble on the next classic Wilco album. That says a lot about how successful Wilco has been keeping people's attention all these years. I think Wilco approaches it differently. I would guess the mindset of Tweedy and (wil)Co. is not to create what is considered their next masterpiece, rather to create the stuff that keeps themselves interested as artists/musicians. Anyway, I'm hearing lots of tidbits in these reviews that make me think I'll enjoy this next one plenty.

To be more specific, I'm talking mid-to-late-70s Bowie. Station to Station thru the Berlin Trilogy. And more the style/instrumentation than the vocals mix.

But to the vocals mix comments, I immediately noticed the same thing with the latest track. It caught me a little off guard, but on repeated listens, I do also enjoy the effect it has of highlighting the ensemble, as jff already pointed out.

Anyone else getting big Bowie vibes from what we’re hearing so far?

A lot great ones already mentioned, but here's a more recent one that I love:
 

A country song, like a trout
Dying sky and water
Rainbow flickering out

Well, that review was ... damn man! I don't know how to contain my hype for this album. Pray for me.

In an effort to reinforce the topic of this thread, I wonder if Cousin might be able to thread the needle of our diverse aural preferences. Experimental sonic flourishes + pristine production + coherent idea/sound. I mean, you can’t please everyone, but I’m hopeful this new one will pump some air into the barely smoldering fire that is the Wilco fan community of recent years.

I’m always fascinated about the difference between people who like a band’s music and fans who feel like it’s an actual relationship. I’ve had the experience of the latter with only a handful of bands over my approximately three decades of attentive music listening. (I’m one elder millennial who makes as much time for music these days as I ever did. Some life, but it’s mine.) Anyway, Wilco has done the best of sustaining the relationship, which started right about two decades ago for me. Bands like U2 and Pearl Jam, on the other hand, I still feel strong attachment to, still get my hopes up with each new album, but also have gotten used to feeling routinely let down by, since nothing by either band has sustained my interest this millennium. With the exception of the two what I call compilation albums (W(TA) and TWL), I personally have really enjoyed Wilco’s clear artistic intent and meticulous approach with each passing album this late in their career.

Isn't there some vocal effect going on with the background vocals on The Universe?

Edit: Specifically the "Everything is listening for what it means" part

On 8/3/2023 at 1:15 PM, calvino said:

 

Yeah - I saw that and was happy. 

 

Yesterday, I happen to check out John Grant's - A Boy from Michigan  cd from my library. Not at all familiar with him until  I watched an old video of him performing  "GMF" with Sinéad O'Connor, last week. After seeing that I decided check some of his stuff.

 

While reading the liner notes for A Boy from Michigan, I noticed that Cate Le Bon produced it and Euan Hinshelwood plays saxophone on a few of tunes, too. (Hinshelwood is the one credited on Cousins)

 

I got around to listening to this following your tip. Interesting album, to say the least. Loved the juxtaposition of the deep and warm synth washes with the saxophone. Can’t wait to hear how those sounds mix with Wilco’s sonic range.

The "Not saying anything" demo was gorgeous. Haven't listened to it in months, but I remember loving it.

Amazing how hyped I still get, after all these years. Don't know if that says more about what a great band Wilco is, or me being an obsessive type.

Is that Cate singing the “heartache … always fades” echoes during the bridge?

It’s funny how the new tune sounds like Tweedy + Wilco + a sprinkling of Cate Le Bon. I’m here for it, and I’m sure, based on the promo verbiage, we’re in for some fun sonic twists and turns across Cousin.

3 minutes ago, DiamondClaw said:

I caught the new song on XRT and thought it was very good! It was in the "breezy pop" Wilco style, with a distinctly Tweedy melody. Maybe in the vein of "Taste the Ceiling" or the less-twangy songs from Cruel Country like "Tired of Taking it Out on You" or "Hearts Hard to Find," but with a touch more production.

I must say, this is not the description I was hoping for of the first single off the supposed "art pop" record, but I will strive to retain my tabula rasa and trust my dudes.

On 5/25/2023 at 10:23 AM, TCP said:

Let's start a betting pool on when the first single will be dropped. 

I'm going with first or second week in November, piggybacking on Jeff's book release pub.

43 minutes ago, lost highway said:

 

That's a fresh take. I'll have to think on that next time I get Dead curious and give another peek at their massive discography.

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).

On 11/24/2022 at 3:14 PM, Doug C said:

I do not like The Grateful Dead. I love some of their songs when covered by other artists.

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.