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The Turtles Battle of the Bands

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2022/06/16/jeff-tweedy-on-wilcos-cruel-country/?fbclid=IwAR359bhUOpvv5EhfTWFQR0oJMIaorzKkJElWTTVoXCWb_OqLoiOmdIoub5Y I read this article yesterday, and it gave me an angle on the record I hadn't considered. I don't know exactly when the CC songs were recorded or written, but we know the band was preparing for the YHF shows shortly before the CC album release. They've had YHF on their plate for a long time. So in the context of everything that goes into putting the YHF shows together, I can see how the band feels Cruel Country is a departure or is som

All good points. Those themes are well worth examining in an artistic context, but perhaps they hit too close to home to be enjoyable.

That's true. There are earnest and not earnest lyrics on all the albums. Somehow I'm picking up on it more with Ode/Cruel than on previous records. It could be that the earnestness of late is more in vein of the "I'm sad because everything in this country/world is irreparably fucked up and rapidly getting worse." I suppose I just don't want to be reminded of that when I listen to music.

As a follow up to my earlier post in which I pledged to dig into Many Worlds... now that I've done that, my thought are somewhat mixed. The Somewhere Over the Rainbow musical quote near the beginning (at :22) is distracting to me and sets me up to not like this song. Then there's a vocal harmony straight out of latter era Neil Young and Crazy Horse (at 2:43) that works well and I can't help but like. I don't really like the lyrics. There's an on-the-nose earnestness in a lot of Tweedy's lyrics over the last two albums that I don't care for very much, particularly when partnered

None of what you've said comes across as argumentative. I like reading opinions that differ from mine. If my posts are coming across as negative, or like I'm trying to persuade others not to like the album, that's not my intent at all. I guess I'm really just thinking aloud, trying to take the album apart in ways that will either lead me to enjoying it more, or will help me understand why it hasn't connected with me. Maybe for me, a better approach to this record is taking it one song at a time rather than as a compete album. That worked for Mystery Binds, and I will make time

I was listening to shuffle yesterday and Mystery Binds came on. That was quite enjoyable. I stand by my overall critique, but I suspect if the album had been sequenced differently, and maybe was a few songs shorter, it would have been more likely to click with me. Still could click at some point if I play around with the song order. I've never done that with any album, but this one starts out so weak (I feel that "I Am My Mother" is an exceptionally dull album opener, for example) that it might be necessary.

Arranged, I suppose, though it probably has something to do with the mixes as well. The songs used to be arranged in such a way that significant portions of a song would be set aside for the instrumental track to develop and build, or go near silent, or take off in a surprising new direction. For example, Muzzle of Bees, You Are My Face, Hell is Chrome. IMO, one of the more creative things Wilco does is finds unexpected places and ways for the instruments to do the talking (and I don't mean guitar solos). I feel that if this is still something they do, they've gotten too subtle with it an

I've never listened to a Jeff Tweedy solo album, so I don't know exactly what the comparison means. But I think people might be making that comparison because Jeff's singing is SO at the forefront all the way through this record. There are sonic flourishes, etc. from the band, but for the most part, they don't bubble their way to the surface and take the lead like they have throughout most of Wilco's discography. You have to listen intently, multiple times, with headphones, before they reveal themselves. One could say that's a reward for active listening. But I suspect many would prefer

Talk to me I don't want to hear poetry Say it plan Like how you really speak I can't say what my favorite lyrics are on this one, but this lyric strikes me as interesting, and as sort of a manifesto for Tweedy's current approach. It encapsulates what is missing, and what I most want to hear from the band. To me, the parts of a song where an instrument other than the voice is telling the story, saying things you can't say with words, is where the poetry in music is most evident. Tweedy seems to be acknowledging that, for now, he's going to tell us stories in

This bold portion is something the FB page has made me think about. On one hand, there are the people raving about it, feeling their opinion is more valid than those who don't care for it. On the other, some people aren't into it for a variety of stated and unstated reasons. It's equally new to all of us, so I don't know why the fans would think their opinion is the correct one and the naysayers will come around to it in time. Isn't it equally possible the naysayers are correct and the fans will come around to THAT opinion in time? Neither camp has a rightful claim at this early point to a

Yes, this is an unpleasant and societally damaging phenomenon. I'm sure I've been guilty of falling into that trap at times.

Hoo boy, that FB group is a doozy. There seems to be some PTSD response going on there over the fact that there isn't 100% agreement that CC is a masterpiece. Lots of words being put in the mouths of the people who aren't won over by the record. There's constantly someone starting a new post lambasting the underwhelmed, refusing to let it go, and then acting as if it's the underwhelmed who won't shut up about it. Basically calling people ignorant and other insults....trespassers, meathead rockers, "You think Wilco is unworthy of you", "You think Wilco OWES you something." I have not seen

The ability to form feelings from a written description of something you haven’t directly experienced is an admirable trait. It’s why humans are able to enjoy fiction books. There’s nothing wrong with reading a review and expecting, based on what that review says, that you won’t like the thing being reviewed. That’s precisely what a review is for.

Unfortunately, this is my impression based on media reviews and the few people who have been brave enough on the fan pages to speak in less than raving terms. All the descriptions indicate it will be, to my taste, another pretty bland record. That’ll make three in a row. I very much want to be proven wrong and will give it an honest chance to win me over.

Are some of you saying there are no longer hit songs? If so, what was Old Town Road? Wilco is very unlikely to approach that.

Let’s hope it never happens. It’d make the concert experience awful, and probably hurt Wilco in the long run. It’s very difficult for a band to go from huge success back to the stable, moderate success Wilco enjoys.

Guitar music is not permanently over any more than vinyl records were permanently over in the late ‘90s. For Wilco to have a big hit, it’d probably need to be a song that’s used prominently a massively huge move.

Check your emails. Supposedly SS ticket holders were just given access to the new album.

That seems to be the prevailing opinion. I can’t pinpoint what it is about Tired… that isn’t doing it for me. It’s a well made piece of music, and there’s nothing bad about it. It’s just missing an intangible something that I’ve gotten from most of Wilco’s music in the past. Falling Apart…not the greatest song ever, but it’s pretty good and it came with an element of surprise, which is one of the definable things that I’ve (almost) always enjoyed about the band’s records.

It’d be interesting to know, and I hope the liner notes will include these details. Baritone as an instrument is probably more associated with Nels than Pat. But baritone as part of the musical vocabulary of country music is a lot closer to Pat’s musical roots than Nels’. Could go either way.

That’s a good way to reword what I mean by “new Wilco.” Jeff with backing band, rather than an ensemble where everyone’s contribution rises to a higher level than just support for the lead vocal. I feel like every Wilco album has songs that make the list of all time great Wilco songs. But nothing on Schmilco or Ode rises to that level for me, no matter how many listens I give them. I hope the new record breaks that pattern.

Not crazy about this new one. Might be incredible in context of the album, but on its own it strikes me as a pretty generic “new Wilco” song. As a teaser track, it doesn’t have me rushing to the cash register. I did like Faliing Apart quite a bit. Haven’t heard the other songs yet, but I’d be happier if Falling Apart, and not this song, is more representative of the new album.

I’m in the camp that hopes it is not largely a country record. I love this type of country. This is a straight-up throw back to Buck Owens and others and is not “alt” in any sense. But 21 songs is a lot of space to devote to one type of sound. I’d love for this one to be all over the map. Already we have one song with some real tempo to it, unlike any of the molasses on Ode (not counting Everyone Hides.) Regarding instrumentation, on first impression, I’m pretty sure it’s Nels on the baritone (low pitched) guitar. Nels is a huge Danelectro/Jerry Jones enthusiast, an

Sucked might be an unfair description, but thanks you for the hard evidence supporting my opinion. 😂