TheMaker

I think that's exactly what we should expect at this point. In the real-time reaction thread, I mentioned that most bands have a ten-year window in which to forge their most memorable and creative efforts. TWL certainly plays like something from the back half of Wilco's catalogue (read: it's an enjoyable, lightweight record with a lot of elegant arrangements and smart writing, but nothing that's going to rewrite the book on rock music) but it's a damned sight better than their last disc. That's enough to make me happy.

Nnnnnno. Jesus. Had either of those acts done it in '69, it wouldn't be the most disposable Wilco song ever put to tape. Just spitballin' here.

On average, maybe. It's definitely their best closer in my book. I feel like I'm the only person who rates "Almost" as less than the best track on the record, so maybe it'll be controversial to some when I say it's nowhere NEAR as good an opener as IATTBYH, Misunderstood or ALTWYS. Damned good song, though, and it does certainly do the job as a first track.

Songs, ranked (cuz we're doin' this now): Love: 1. Rising Red Lung 2. One Sunday Morning 3. Art of Almost 4. Capitol City 5. Dawned On Me I think all of these are brilliant, and represent the band and Tweedy at their best. Great lyrics, extraordinary arrangements and enough complexity masquerading as simplicity to please even the stingiest rock fan. Like: 6. Black Moon 7. Sunloathe 8. Whole Love 9. I Might All really solid efforts. Don't like: 10. Born Alone 11. Standing O 12. Open Mind D-A-D-Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... snort.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz... yawnnnnn... zzzzzzzzzzz... Pr

Absolutely, yeah. Not just the instrumentation, which could well have resulted in a total wankfest, but the actual dynamics of the music itself. What makes "Rising Red Lung" the best track on the record isn't just the fact that Tweedy's given us a wonderful set of oblique lyrics a la YHF that don't feel tossed off and meaningless (see: the last two records), but that the melody is a shimmering triumph that makes the song a sort of musical sequel to "Chinese Apple", another of his finest musical moments. Glenn really outdoes himself on this track, and although his contributions are subtle, so d

I'm sort of blown away by the resistance by so many to Rising Red Lung. How are you guys NOT realizing that this is one of the band's best songs in years...?

Yeah, I don't think it's challenging either. As excellent as it is in places, a lot of it is built around the kind of complacent approach to songwriting and recording that's kept me from being a regular on this board since SBS came out. Would anybody really give a crap about songs like Standing O or Born Alone if Wilco hadn't signed their name to them? I know I don't, and I already like the band... I think what makes the record work so well at its best is that it's fussy, in a way that Wilco hasn't been fussy since the YHF/AGIB days. The arrangements of songs like the long closer and the bri

Okay, I'm positive that there was a "contact me for a rip" post in this thread, but now I can't find it... Bueller?

I haven't even paid any attention to it yet because John's bass is still hogging all of my attention. Best Wilco bass ever? Maybe.

Somebody has to, I guess! It's just hard for me to not skip it when I know that an acoustic song as strong as "Rising Red Lung" is waiting for me a few songs ahead in the tracklisting.

This is actually feeling stronger after a second listen. The highs aren't really overshadowing the middles and the lows are staggered around enough that they don't seem to drag the listening experience down. The only BAD songs here are "Open Mind" and "Standing O," which aren't awful so much as they are unfathomably plodding, predictable and dull. "Open Mind" especially feels like something Tweedy wrote on the can one day ("Okay, so I'll come up with some lyrics that literally anybody could have written and I'll play my favourite chords in the usual sequence...") and tossed onto the album beca

Nah, I'm on the same page as you, 100%. I think every great band suffers something of a decline after being together for a decade (The Stones are sort of the Rosetta Stone for me as far as this goes), and while many of them are still capable of producing really good music once they reach maturity, those glory days will always remain a thing of the past. There's nothing wrong with that!

So Sometimes Nothing Happens, I guess? Having listened to it once, it's a pretty solid entry in their catalogue, definitely. I unreservedly LOVE "Art of Almost," "Capitol City," "Rising Red Lung," "One Sunday Morning" and "Dawned On Me," although the rest sort of occupies the same forgettable space as most of the pokey W(TA) rockers. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing -- songs like "You Never Know" definitely grew on me over hte last two years, and I'm sure some of these will elicit some type of response from me if I keep listening to the record as a whole. I'm a bit disappointed that they

Onto the last few tracks now -- Rising Red Lung is definitely an album highlight. By far the best of the acoustic songs here, thanks to a beautiful melody, amazing lyrics ("as intimate as a kiss over the phone" is great) and some wonderful dynamics courtesy of Glenn and Nels. Maybe the best song here, actually.

If anybody has actually declared this their best album, they need to put the fucking Kool-Aid down RIGHT NOW. It's good, but I don't see how any longtime fan could consider it a return to form, let alone a feather in the band's cap. After one listen, I'd put it on par with SBS if I were feeling generous. Towards the bottom of the pile, but certainly better than the last record.