unposed_question

I think there's lots of agreement that many of the Wilco songs we love dearly are just a whole lot better when performed live. Think of Spiders or ALTWYS.

So I guess my question to the board is this: are there any songs that don't "work" as well for you when played live so you prefer listening to the original recorded version?

For me, it's Jesus, etc. The album version has so many layers and is so intricate, it always comes across as a little flat when played live. When thumbing through my iPod, I generally go to the record version first.

wind will bloooowww and the sun will shine

Holy crap. Did you know this same line appears in the Beatles song Nothin' Shakin'? I googled the lyrics

cuz I couldn't think of the song. I wonder if that was intentional on Jeff's part.

When I need a Wilco pickmeup, I turn to "I'm Always in Love" or "A Magazine Called Sunset." By the end

of the first song, I'm always 'ooh ooh" ing along with the band. With Magazine, I find myself smiling about

Jeff's ability to connect Sunset magazine to an impossible longing for me. :-)

There's a standing area on the floor, then benches behind that, then the lawn.

That's right. They only had chair seating on the floor at the REM show because it

was reserved seating. For the Wilco show, it was just an open area.

how is the berkely greek theatre general admission? I thought there was only seats no floor...

are the seats first come? that would be stressful

There is chair and bench seating and then a hillside. So it is basically first come. Which is why I HATE

GA shows. REM performed a reserved show there in '04 so I'm not sure why Wilco has chosen not to

follow suit.

Unfortunately, the only mid-sized venue with reserved seating in the Bay Area are places like the Paramount in Oakland

and the SJ Performing Arts Center. Guess they didn't like those place or couldn't make it there.

I think in general it is meant as a hopeful song, but these lyrics (other than the beginning of Via Chicago and the middle of Sunken Treasure) from Jesus, etc. are the most depressing I can think of in the Wilco ouevre:

tall buildings shake

voices escape

singing sad, sad songs

That's the thanks we get for living in high cost of living places like the Left Coast. :-)

Does anyone remember how much tix were for the last Greek show in Berkeley? Was it $39.50 last time?

For a GA show, that's alot.

Ashes of American Flags is pretty depressing to me.

I second How to Fight Loneliness and ALTWYS

It's interesting that some have mentioned "Reservations". I find that song to be

one of the best love songs ever written.

Wilco's History on the Billboard Charts

Interesting that they have a YHF Tour lineup photo on that page.

Anyone have info on total album sales through this week?

I was told last week that they will be playing at Shoreline Amphitheatre in September.

That is severely depressing news. I doubt they would do the Concord Pavilion in addition.

Walnut Creek, eh? I'm in San Ramon. Maybe we can petition for a Tri-Valley show instead. Although I really don't care for the Concord Pavilion.

Small world. My fiance works in San Ramon. I've seen Wilco at the Greek in Berkeley and the Paramount in Oakland.

I would probably prefer the latter this time around. Have not been able to score tix to their Fillmore shows.

I've not been to the CP but I would be shocked if Wilco plays there. The Lesher Center maybe? After party at my place. :-)

Aw crap. That is the week of my bachelor party, so if they do some Bay Area shows before or after, I am

screw-ed. I wonder how much they charge to perform at weddings? :-) That would be awesome. For me.

I've only read one of the books, like I said. I guess I'm surprised that there hasn't been

a UT or Wilco book given the broad spectrum of books out there already in the series. I'm guessing

they don't sell alot of copies so whoever wrote it would have to do it out of love for the subject matter

and not be concerned with how many copies they sold.

I would nominate A.M., Summerteeth or YHF myself.

Maybe this has been given consideration by numerous threads before, but has anyone heard whether or not one of the Wilco albums (YHF, e.g.) has been or is now being considered for the 33 1/3 series? I bought the one on REM's Murmur, and it seems that Wilco would be a great candidate. I would offer my services but I'm sure someone more qualified could be found.

Thanks to Sue for posting that weblog. I have been wondering if the debate would be noted somewhere else. I am frankly surprised it has not appeared on the NY Times or Rolling Stone. It would seem to be a good story.

I can't imagine Wilco is completely surprised by the comments that have appeared on a public forum. It's basically a free for all, and alot of people, myself included, have been defending them.

I had that same feeling, too, like they went out of their way to highlight a single instrument

at various times in the song. There's a spot where John's bass does this short bluseky kind of riff and I'm

always wanting the riff to continue longer.

I just wanted to point out that separate SBS reviews mentioning this song have referred to the Wings-like feel of the song and the Lennon-style lyrics. Not bad for Jeff to combine both of them.

Thanks for finding and posting. I feel sorry for people who don't like this album. I think it must be similar to the early Wilco fans who couldn't stomach YHF or AGIB. This is an awesome quote from Jeff:

JT: There's probably not any kind of music that means more to me than gospel and soul. If I could be any type of singer in the world, it would be like an Otis Redding. I heard somebody say that soul music is being proud of where you're from and what you've accomplished, and letting that show. Losing some self-consciousness and ego to join something larger. I like that idea a lot, just letting it all hang out, and on this album we did our best at that.

Not a problem.

 

Yeah, I think it is just a slipup. As Dan-O said, if you replace the song titles, you get:

It pretty much makes sense, although I think she did mean to apply the "quietly reflective" tag to "Either Way." "At Least That's What You Said" does indeed erupt halfway through the song into "primal guitar-rock chaos," in stark contrast to the opener for Sky Blue Sky. It's a fair comparison.

I think you and Dan-O are exactly right: a couple of different thoughts/sentences got mangled together and she and her editor just missed it. It wasn't a full article, just a blurb in their cd review section of the Sunday paper.

I assumed it was a nod to the lyrics to "Theologians," and let it pass...

It was indeed. Thanks for not putting the smackdown on me for that nod.

After reading it again, clearly she meant to say "ALTWYS" instead of Either Way. Then the sentence makes sense.

According to Hits Daily Double, they dropped to #16 with ~31,500.

Thanks for the info Trout. I went to the billboard website and they still had just the first week's information.

I am curious about the reasoning behind sending them to Europe right after the CD is released. The only

buzz they are generating here in the US it seems right now is the VW commercial, which is decidedly mixed.

It would appear that generating US sales of the CD was not a high priority for them at the moment.

According to the SF Chronicle's review of SBS, "Either Way" opened "A Ghost is Born." Niiiiiiice!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...001&sc=1000

WILCO

Wilco's sixth album starts out with a bittersweet Americana ballad. But unlike the quietly reflective "Either Way," which opened the band's previous album, "A Ghost Is Born," it doesn't erupt midway into primal guitar-rock chaos but sets the tone for Wilco's most understated, accessible Americana album yet. Perhaps after two stunning collaborations with experimental noise-rocker Jim O'Rourke, the band members decided to take a side turn and landed on a country road. But if the title suggests that this predominantly mellow album is Wilco's "Nashville Skyline," it's not as respectfully traditional as the jagged guitar and Beatles piano on "Hate It Here" attest. A fine record, though less likely than "Ghost" to make the critics' polls. -- Sylvie Simmons

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I do have a realization to share....

 

Jeff does sound a bit like Don Henley in Hate it Hear.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

That was the song playing on the CD player when my significant other made the Eagles/Henley remark.

Awfully bold of you to proclaim, in your first post, that your blog has an "intersting" view on something.

Interesting? No. It would be have to be original to be considered interesting. This person isn't saying anything different than alot of people who find the album too mellow for them.

SBS is great. It is great in relation to the rest of the Wilco catalog, and it is great in relation to the rest of the music being written and performed today.