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jff

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Posts posted by jff

  1. 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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  2. 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.

  3. 10 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

    Interesting thoughts - thanks. I like reading about how people receive their music, and in an environment where they are not jumped on for expressing personal opinions one way or another.

     

    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.

  4. 1 hour ago, 5hake1t0ff said:

     

    I think you're just saying you prefer the guitar-led rockers to other styles of Wilco music

     

    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 some dicking around with sounds and effects, but my ear tells me that in Wilco, Nels overdoes it).  I also want to hear active interaction between the musicians.  Sonic beds for Tweedy to do his thing over is not active interaction (this doesn't have anything to do with recording as a live band vs. recording one track at a time.)   Effects are fun and are great for enhancing or damaging the sound of things in various ways. But when the effects take the sound over entirely and remove every remnant of the sound an instrument would naturally make, as is common with modern era Wilco, I check out. 

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  5. 21 hours ago, 5hake1t0ff said:

    How Wilco Became the Most Misunderstood Band on Earth - InsideHook

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

     

    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 what Wilco does.  (If you want to hear Nels shred, listen to Contemplating the Engine Room...there's a lot of shredding on there, and aside from Art of Almost and a very small portion of the guitar solos on a very small number of other songs, there's nothing like that on any Wilco studio album.)  It doesn't just mean "guitar solos" or the occasional "hot lick" as this writer seems to think, and it's not at all what the people he's referring to are calling for. 

     

    Rather, some segment of the fanbase love the experimentation, but would like to hear a little or a lot more of the touchstones of rock and roll music incorporated into it.  This combination is a hallmark, perhaps THE singular hallmark, of Wilco's best work (and many other artist's best work) in the studio and on stage, and when they don't bother with it, 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. 

     

    I still like Wilco a lot, but every single person I've ever known has disappointed me at some point in our relationship.   I don't see any reason why that would be any different with music groups.  And I don't see why it's wrong to have certain criteria that determine whether or not you like a record.  Frankly, I think having criteria makes for educated analysis and is a lot better than simply loving everything you're served, which is really just Standom.

     

     

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  6. 13 hours ago, Brian F. said:

    It seems plausible to me that they would have ordered a batch of 1,000 LPs to satisfy preorders.

     

    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.   

     

    EDIT:  https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/record-plant-smashed-plastic-is-keeping-it-local/

     

    Smashed Plastic pressing plant.  Tweedy/Wilco bought them a pressing machine.  Surely this gives them leeway to press as much or as little as they want, any time they want (within reason), making the 1000 run for preorders plausible.  But I'm still skeptical.  Seems if they were going to do this, there would be something different about the preorder version (and maybe there is and I just don't know about it....different color wax? something different about the cover art/inserts/etc.?)

     

    According to the article, Wilco typically presses 30,000 records.

      

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  7. 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, and they sound more like WILCO than Jeff Tweedy and wilco.  Both of those things are huge improvements, imo.

     

     

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  8. 49 minutes ago, jackpunch said:

     

    I wonder if that's the article from this month's Uncut magazine. It's more of an interview/press release than any sort of review of the album.

     

    No, that was from an LA based publication.  More a promo piece for their show than an album review.

  9. 29 minutes ago, Albert Tatlock said:

     

    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. 12, at the Bellwether. At both venues, Wilco will be joined by My Brightest Diamond, the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova.

     

    Produced by Welsh musician and producer Cate Le Bon, “Cousin” marks the first time an outside collaborator has taken the production reins since the band’s sixth studio album, “Sky Blue Sky.” Le Bon steers the album into a sonically alien landscape compared to Wilco’s usual stripped-back, folk-influenced sound, incorporating elements such as saxophones, inexpensive Japanese guitars and a cinematic, New Wave-style drum machine. The result is darker and more experimental than Wilco’s previous work yet still retains the earnest quality of Tweedy’s lyrics and voice.

     
    “I’m cousin to the world,” Tweedy explained regarding the album’s title in a press release. “I don’t feel like I’m a blood relation, but maybe I’m a cousin by marriage.” 

    The record — related but not tethered to the present moment — echoes this sentiment and pushes the band’s musical boundaries, resulting in an emotional perspective from the outside looking in. The result is an album that tackles the pain of trying to find connection to others and failing, while reveling in a hopeful truth: we are closer in relation than we remember. “It’s this feeling of being in it and out of it at the same time,” Tweedy explained. 

     

    Wilco and Le Bon, long-time admirers of each other’s work, initially crossed paths at the band’s Solid Sound Festival in 2019. The connection was immediate, inspiring Tweedy to invite Le Bon to the band’s famed Chicago studio, The Loft, in 2022 to work on the album. Le Bon challenged the band to oppose habit and enter the unknown while maintaining the fearlessness that has defined Wilco as a band for the last three decades. 

     

    “The amazing thing about Wilco is they can be anything,” Le Bon said in a statement. “They’re so mercurial, and there’s this thread of authenticity that flows through everything they do, whatever the genre, whatever the feel of the record. There aren’t many bands who are able to, this deep into a successful career, successfully change things up.”

     

    “Cate is very suspicious of sentiment,” Tweedy said, “but she’s not suspicious of human connection.” Connection is the cornerstone of the album, explored in vignettes throughout the 10-track record. In “Evicted,” the album’s first single, a narrator grapples with their responsibility for a love lost, accentuated by Marc Bolan-inspired guitars. 

     

    “I guess I was trying to write from the point of view of someone struggling to make an argument for themself in the face of overwhelming evidence that they deserve to be locked out of someone’s heart,” Tweedy commented. “Self-inflicted wounds still hurt, and in my experience, they’re almost impossible to fully recover from.”

     

    The project began long before Le Bon stepped into the picture. During the pandemic, for almost 50 days, Tweedy sent out demos of songs or ideas. His five bandmates would add touches and overdubs to the tracks, passing them along until the demos transformed into fully fleshed-out compositions. 

     

    Despite this, the band “didn’t want to make a pandemic record,” Glenn Kotche, Wilco’s drummer, explained. The real work began when the group started working on the tracks in the studio. Some songs began to coalesce as more straightforward folk songs, which “didn’t need a lot of fussing with,” Kotche said. These tracks would become the band’s 2022 album, “Cruel Country.” After “Cruel Country’s” release, the band reconvened in December 2022 to tackle the more nebulous tracks along with Le Bon. 

     

    Kotche splits the album into three camps, with the experimental, edgier songs alongside the pop-oriented, more psychedelic, folksy tracks unified by Le Bon’s sonic vision and Tweedy’s unmistakable timbre. “Infinite Surprise” — the album’s opener — “Sunlight Ends” and “Levee” remain a few of Kotche’s favorite songs on the album. 

     

    Wilco was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of the alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after the band dissolved following singer Jay Farrar’s departure. During its first decade, the band’s lineup changed frequently, with only Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt as a constant. Since 2004, the lineup has remained unchanged, consisting of Tweedy, Stirratt, Kotche, guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone and keyboard player Mikael Jorgensen. 

    The six bandmates, spread throughout the continental United States, are all involved in their own solo and side projects. 

     

    “When we step away from the band, we come back with fresh enthusiasm and new ideas and skills, which get incorporated into the band, so the band just keeps evolving,” Kotche explained. “(The band) hasn’t gotten stagnant yet.” Even after 13 albums, Kotche said he still feels like the band is just “scratching the surface” of its musical potential. 

     

    Experimentation has defined the band from its inception. What began as an alternative country group has since shifted to incorporate more experimental aspects, including alternative rock and pop elements, touching many eras and genres. 

     

    “We like being challenged,” Kotche said. “What excites us maybe the most is not only music that has some resonance to it, but also something that is surprising to us or something that we haven’t heard before on other records.”

     

    Kotche likens Wilco’s musical process to a sprouting seed. The core of an album begins with Tweedy’s songs, often rooted in a certain folk sensibility, which are then dressed up in various ways. “We explore and experiment to see which versions resonate or excite us the most,” Kotche explained.

     

    The setlist in LA will vary from night to night, incorporating tracks from the new album and songs from the rest of the band’s extensive repertoire, providing fans with a multi-genre buffet, from folk to rock to pop and everything in between. Coming to LA is always “fun; we know so many people there,” Kotche said. “It’s a lot of busy days, with friends coming to the shows.”

     

    Seeing Wilco live is wildly different than listening to an album at home. “The songs take on a new life during live performances,” Kotche explained. “Seeing different songs from different records all in the same space gives the audience a better idea of what the band is all about than listening to any one record.”

     

     

     

     

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  10. "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 osmose into the consciousness over time with some of them potentially becoming favourites within a very strong canon. But some raw emotion would have stirred some spice into the already flavoursome pot."

     

    Wilco reviews are interesting things.  This reads like a review of Ode to Joy.   Kinda weird, because this album, from the little I've heard so far, seems like it's not going to be like that one.  Thankfully, IMO.

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  11. 34 minutes ago, 5hake1t0ff said:

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

     

    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.   

  12. 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 what this is.

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  13. 1 hour ago, DiamondClaw said:

    Only 10 tracks total on the album — maybe they're trying to not reveal too much and maximize the wow factor?

     

    Also, if I recall, a lot of the track lengths are on the long side, so there may not be very much to choose from for singles.

  14. Sam Evian is one of my favorite current artists.  I think his output so far is as good as anyone else currently in the business.  Somehow, nobody I know has heard of him, which is a good thing in a way, selfishly.  The more important it is to me to see a band, the less I want my friends around talking in my ear during the show.

     

    He played a good mix of songs from his newly completed, but not yet released album, and songs from his three previous records.  Plus a note perfect cover of Still Crazy After All These Years.  I felt generally that they brought some extra heat to their performances compared to the album versions, which was interesting to hear.

     

    His backing band will appeal to Wilco/Tweedy fans.  Spencer Tweedy on drums, long-time Tweedy Family associate Liam Kazar on guitar/vocals/keyboard, Hannah Cohen on vocals, and Brian Betencourt on bass (this is how I discovered Sam...I was trying to find out what happened to the members of the defunct band Hospitality which I was a big fan of, and Brian was the bass player in that group.)   

     

    This may be sacrilege around here, but I was a little bummed when I heard Sam would have Spencer and Liam with him on this tour, as I was really hoping to see his regular backing group which includes Adam Brisbin (guitar) and Austin Vaughn (drums).  But, Spencer and Liam were both fantastic.  Not that I had any doubt, I was just hoping to see the other guys since they played on some of my favorite stuff from Evian's discography.  

     

    This was one of the most enjoyable shows I've been to in a long time, and it's artists like Sam these days who are giving me the type of satisfaction I used to (and maybe/hopefully will again someday soon) derive from Wilco.

     

    The opener was the singer from Seafoam Walls.  I don't know his name, and I don't generally enjoy solo acts, but there was something weird and wonderful in his songs, so I bought the album.  Haven't had a chance to listen yet, but it seemed really promising based on how he put the songs across as a solo performer.

     

    Highly recommended.

     

    (If Spencer had been milling around after the show, I was going to tell him that I met him in 1997 at Lounge Axe and he played my drums as a toddler, but he must have spent all his off-stage time backstage.)

     

     

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  15. I kind of see it like eating at the same restaurant over a long period of time, but in the last few years they've been removing more and more of the things from the menu that I most enjoy.  For a while now I've still been returning to the restaurant, albeit not as frequently or as enthusiastically.  But now they've announced a revamp of the menu, so hopefully some of the things that I found so stimulating about the restaurant in the first place will return.

     

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