jff
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Everything posted by jff
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I have similar feelings about Ode to Joy. I didn't come close to giving it as many chances as you, but I listened to it plenty, saw them on the tour (their choice to open with two aggressively morose songs lends credence to your observation that it felt like an intellectual exercise), kept trying for quite a while after, watched Glenn explain all his beats (I'm a drummer, so normally this kind of thing will hook me), tried to convince myself that I was starting to dig certain things about it. But I just couldn't get there with it, and eventually gave up.
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This is a good way to put it. I recall some years back Tweedy had a bee in his bonnet about people's reaction to the production on YHF and AGIB, and he was insistent that his songs could be played by him alone with an acoustic guitar. And he proved it by going on solo tours and doing exactly that. But I think that statement has painted him into a corner. I'm not particularly interested in hearing what one guy from a six piece band can do on his own. I want to hear what six incredible artists can do when they work together to create pieces of music that none of them could perf
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This seems to be merch table price at a lot of bands that operate on this level. I saw Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives last week, and their vinyl was $35. I'm sure I could have found it for $20-ish in a record shop or online. If I was still an active buyer of vinyl, I wouldn't have paid that price. I mostly only buy vinyl now at gigs, and I figure the premium helps them way more than buying it from Amazon or a record store would. But yeah, vinyl process have gotten ridiculous.
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I made a similar suggestion on a different Wilco forum and was roasted pretty thoroughly for it. A lot of Wilco fans, especially on that forum, don't understand that there's a huge difference between "instrumental music" and "shredding." The minute you suggest the band is being underutilized, folks say "you just want to hear Nels shred." Which is dumb.
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True, going back to Schmilco, probably. To my ears, Tweedy's singing used to include a much wider range of passionate emotions, from goofy humor to deep despair, with many stops in between. That's what I want from music. Now he sounds like he's being dragged along by the song, sometimes against his will. That can be a great approach on some songs, but not on all songs. I'm not trying to convince anyone. That's just how it comes across to me.
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I'll just come out and say it: Tweedy's singing doesn't connect with me anymore. I don't know if it's the way he's recorded or mixed, or the way he sings. But whatever it is, I'm no longer a fan. It's not his fault. He can obviously do what he wants. Maybe I've had my fill. Don't take it personally Tweedy. I've had my fill of John Coltrane, too, so you're in good company. Aside from Livid, which Tweedy doesn't sing on, I'm not hearing them put anything new on the table with this release. I do think Wilco is an incredible ensemble of musicians, easily one of the
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I was a huge Allmans fan in the late '80s/early '90s. Still am, but that's when I was going to see them in concert. At that time I was also into punk/alternative/whatever, and went to see Mike Watt, where I discovered Nels. Had I not been a fan of the Allman's I don't know if I would have connected so strongly with Nels' playing . There's always been things Nels plays that are obviously inspired by certain guitarists from the past, and Dickie is one of the big ones.
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Girls5eva has been very enjoyable.
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We were on the waiting list to be on that cruise. Glad we didn't make the cut. But hell, put a bunch of country songwriters on a boat loaded down with so much alcohol that it barely floats and what do you think is gonna happen? RIP Mojo.
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Maybe he was just trying to get in on some of that priceless Elle King publicity. Look for her to be added to the SBS lineup for 2024.
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I'm not concerned with Tweedy's opinion on any given song, but the idea that people have a natural inclination to reject things they can't do is so ignorant and obviously false that it blows my mind. Especially coming from Tweedy, who I have always found to be really eloquent and insightful. Does Tweedy reject Nels Cline's guitar solos because he cant play guitar the way Nels can? Of course he doesn't, nor should he. But if he believes what he said in this interview, then yes, he should reject Nels's solos.
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Same here. This isn't a cult. None of us are required to love everything Wilco does, or pretend to love everything they do. It'd be inhuman if we all did that. I'm confident everyone who has ever been in Wilco would agree with that. Having said that, I think the new album is pretty good, even if it doesn't scratch my itches in a way Wilco music did for a long time.
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True, and I like some of it.
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Not really. I don't care if the song rocks or not. Some of my favorite Wilco moments are things like the first half of Muzzle of Bees, the unusual note choices Nels makes at the end of each verse on Bull Black Nova, or pretty much everything about Ashes. I'm the one who's always complaining because the quiet parts are the most interesting part of their concerts, yet that's when people really start running their mouths. But sure, I like the rockers, too. In a rock ensemble, I want the instruments to be recognizable as the instruments they are the majority of the time (I welcome
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I enjoyed that article and agree with many of its points. But, then there's this lazy old chestnut: It’s beyond reductive to say they’re not being utilized properly because of a lack of traditional guitar shredding. This comment itself is reductive and arguably dishonest, because nobody is asking for more "shredding." Like finger tapping or chicken pickin', shredding is a specific, definable style of guitar playing. One that typically is not utilized in Wilco at all, except as the grand finale of a guitar solo in concert. It's always been a vanishingly small percentage of
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Those numbers are interesting. Considering how difficult and time consuming it is to press a record these days* (see: the massive Cruel Country delay), I doubt any "name" band would do a run of 1000 only to blink and immediately need a full pressing. I'd be curious to know what their typical sales are on vinyl in the first year of a new release. *Wilco may have figured out how to beat this problem by...if I'm remembering correctly....partially bankrolling a Chicago pressing plant, which surely lets them jump to the front of the line when they need to press vinyl.
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I've only listened once so far. First impressions are that the highlights are Sunlight Ends, Cousin, and Pittsburgh. 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. I think that's a reasonable criticism, and this song is an example of that. I did enjoy the outro, but this one might end up in the Midco file. I'm looking forward to reassessing that sometime down the line. Overall, to my ear, there's more meat on the bone here than on their recent releases, a
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No, that was from an LA based publication. More a promo piece for their show than an album review.
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I said I wasn't going to read any more reviews. I guess that was a lie. This was a promising review.
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Here you go: Led by alternative rock legend Jeff Tweedy, Wilco has maintained a steady rhythm for almost 30 years. Not many bands have stood the test of time, let alone released 12, soon to be 13, albums. Wilco’s 13th studio album, “Cousin,” is set to debut on Friday, Sept. 29, through dBpm Records. It comes on the heels of the release of its lead single, “Evicted.” In conjunction with the album’s release, the band is on a U.S. tour, including multiple shows at the Theatre at Ace Hotel from Wednesday, Oct. 4, to Friday, Oct. 6; and Wednesday, Oct. 11, and Thursday, Oct.
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Oof, terrible. I'm not reading any more reviews.
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"There is a sense of musicians seeking sounds rather than musical dexterity or brilliance. Hushed and reverent in many ways but there is a power within the restraint. Repeated plays reveal nuances and moods that swirl around Jeff Tweedy’s careful often wracked vocals. There is celebration after the journey, but it feels hesitant, with an eye in the rear-view mirror. Wilco have made another compelling album, not as immediately accessible as Cruel Country or indeed Sky Blue Sky, but it is one that rewards repeated listening flowering into something both moving and essential. These tracks will os
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I'm scared to death that Biden's going to have a heart attack or stroke before the election. If that happens, Trump wins even if he's in jail.
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I hadn't thought about that, but...Maybe? The timing of this comment is interesting to me in a tangential way. Hearing Bowie recently is what gave me the realization that Tweedy's voice is often mixed too high for my liking, as I mentioned in a previous comment. There aren't many singers whose voice should be more prominent in the mix than Bowie's was, and Tweedy is definitely not one of them, so I'm happy to hear his voice dialed back a bit and everyone else dialed up a lot.
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Very cool track. Most satisfying thing they've done in two or three albums. One thing I like about this is that Tweedy's vocal track isn't mixed way higher than everything else. Thankfully we're back to a place where the instrumentation is not relegated to a subservient role to Tweedy's vocal, like it is on a lot of their recent work. (Not all, obviously.) Prominent instrumentation is a hallmark of their best music, and I'll admit it: I don't like Wilco when Tweedy's voice is too forward in the mix. I like ensemble music far more than singer & backing band music, and ensemble music wha
