delmarkurt Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 (edited) So Edited August 8, 2006 by delmarkurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scalzunfield Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I think the new songs are excellent musically. I love the space that's left for Nels to work in them. But I agree, on the other hand, that the lyrics are sub-par. However, I really don't care. I think we've yet to hear all the songs anyways, so I'm not concerned. I'll still buy the album the day it comes out and listen to it for weeks I'm sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wheelco Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I rarely listen to lyrics very intently Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parisisstale Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I don't think there can be much debate that new lyrics aren't as complex. I guess the debate will center on whether you care or not. I, for one, am loving simple and straightforward. ('cept Let's Fight...oh yeah and Onandonandonandon, if that one even counts). Every song doesn't need to be riddle wrapped inside a puzzle, with the subsequent 14 page threads on here trying to dissect the meaning. I doubt very highly that Jeff all of a sudden can't write a complex lyric anymore. He just apparently doesn't feel like it at this time. Of course, what do I know? Really, not much. But I do know that What Light makes me really really happy every time I play it . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
delmarkurt Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 (edited) I agree. I like the music. For example, the music for 'Impossible Germany' and 'What Light' is excellent. There just REALLY seems to be a huge drop off in the quality of the lyrics. I've always been blown away by the quality of Tweedy's lyrics in the past. The new tunes just left me wondering what is going on?? Edited August 8, 2006 by delmarkurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
delmarkurt Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 (edited) I doubt very highly that Jeff all of a sudden can't write a complex lyric anymore. He just apparently doesn't feel like it at this time. But I do know that What Light makes me really really happy every time I play it . As a songwritter, why would Tweedy all of a sudden decide he wants to start writting bad song lyrics? I agree, 'What Light' is the best of the batch that we have heard so far. Edited August 8, 2006 by delmarkurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
huggle Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 But I do know that What Light makes me really really happy every time I play it . I don't think I could trust Tweedy anymore than I do. I agree the lyrics are certainly different, but I refuse to underestimate Tweedy. I think he knows exactly what he's doing. He knows how to write a song that leaves us struggling for its meaning, he's been there, and we've seen it and loved it. But now he is just streching his other songwriting muscles, trying something new and maybe more tangible. And I completely agree that everytime I listen to What Light, I can't seem to stop smiling. So if his songs can achieve that feeling even by writing straightforward lyrics, then just add that to Tweedy's ever-growing list of talents. -annie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
misslaura Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 It's possible that now that Jeff has never felt happier and is less tortured his lyrics are suffering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 "Don't let anyone change your bag." Yeah. Yeah....... Maybe the next-next album will be great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ponch1028 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I can't wait for the next album. Personally, I think Jeff took the inward tortured lyrics as far as they could go for three straight albums - it's time to approach his lyrics from a different angle. Summerteeth - YHF - & then AGIB. That's quite a run. It makes me think of how John Wesley Harding was such a departure from Bringing It All Back Home - Highway 61 Revisited - & Blonde on Blonde. I find Jeff's lyrics to still be top notch, just not as cryptic. Much more straightforward and perhaps literal. To me, that's just as difficult - making straightforward and literal lyrics interesting and compelling, because often you are taking away some of the mystery or openendedness of the lyrics. This may be unrelated, but as a husband and parent, I also sense in myself moving away from some of the moodier music that I once pledge my tastes toward. I like the idea of being able to sing a Wilco album to my two daughters without editing or thinking I'm going to bum them out. I want Jeff to sing about being happy and I want us to all be able to sing about his happiness and our own. And judging from his track record, I doubt he'll stay in this mood for very long. Plus, I can't to see how the entire album holds together as a cohesive piece of art versus individual songs we've only heard in a concert setting. I want to hear what Nels does in a studio with Wilco. I hope What Light, Walken, Impossible Germany, & the Good Part make the next album. I don't yet know what to think of Let's Fight & On and On and On. However, if AGIB is any indicator, the best is yet to come. I remember when I first heard Theologians at Jeff's acoustic show, I wasn't too impressed ... ditto with Company In My Back. Both made radical leaps when they showed up in finished form on the album. When Wilco played Muzzle of Bees in the spring of '04, I also thought it had promised but certainly was far from being excellent. The album version is leaps and bounds better in my opinion. This may be heresy here, but I thought the early version of Hummingbird was musically stagnant and uninteresting. The transformation the music took in the studio completely blew me away. Hell Is Chrome is probably tied with Theologians as my favorite cut from that album, and I don't think they played it once before the album was released (correct me if I'm wrong). So there are still plenty of aces up their sleeves. And of course, I didn't recognize Spiders (Kidsmoke) from all the concert versions I had gotten accustomed to and would have never predicted the metamorphis it experienced. So I'm licking my fingers to see what genius transformation occurs between now and when the album comes out. I'm also silently making predictions of what might not make it on the proper album that was played live beforehand (aka, Kicking Television, Words, Panthers). So maybe some of what some of us consider weaker efforts may not make it on the album (maybe Wilco tires of it before it ever lays down a proper studio track). I can't imagine Dylan without John Wesley Harding or Nashville Skyline. If that's the direction Wilco is taking ... I'll follow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 So Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parisisstale Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 As a songwritter, why would Tweedy all of a sudden decide he wants to start writting bad song lyrics? I agree, 'What Light' is the best of the batch that we have heard so far. Where did I say "bad"? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 It's possible that now that Jeff has never felt happier and is less tortured his lyrics are suffering. I love this post,almost as much as mine. Wilco sucks cause Jeff is happy Go get em tiger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedy's Gurl Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I love this post,almost as much as mine.Wilco sucks cause Jeff is happy Go get em tiger for serious...he should take a cue from ryan adams and just be pissed at everyone and everything (including the egg police) all the time. a few feuds wouldn't hurt wilco's reputation either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 for serious...he should take a cue from ryan adams and just be pissed at everyone and everything (including the egg police) all the time. a few feuds wouldn't hurt wilco's reputation either.Very funny TG........................................ Egg Police=oh no...................I hope your the only one on this Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedy's Gurl Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Very funny TG........................................Egg Police=oh no...................I hope your the only one on this oh man...those fuckin' egg police...they've got a run on this country....except in chicago, ironically enough. i guess the mayor paid them off so that he could get eggs whenever he wanted. but anyway.....what were we talking about? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darkstar Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I don't think any of the new songs have bad lyrics, they are just more sparse than what they have been doing the past couple of years. They aren't as layered or as mysterious as the older songs are, but thats fine. To me they work well.Consider "Impossible Germany", very sparse lyrics but the few lines in that song convey more than 15 pages ever could. I like that, it gets right to the point. Jeff's not where he was years ago and his songwriting is reflecting that. Good for him. As much as I like the "tortured" lyrics of albums past I'm sure I'm going to like the new songs just as much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 So wait up here people lets not get carried away. Number one who said that all of Tweedy's interesting/classic lyrics are tortured? I dont buy it; THeologians, Muzzle of Bees, meditative, inspiring possibly a little melancholy but I dont think their greatness comes out of torture. Reservations, Radio Cures, read these lyrics, they look at problems (most great writing does) but I think that some 'tortured artist' approach only creates trite lyrics and I dare say JT would agree. Secondly I dont think anyone in their right mind would suggest that Tweedy's lyrical process is what it is right now just cause he's 'happy' and 'happy' people write simple songs. Thats also absurd. The thread started (seemed to start) as a comment on an obvious change in lyrical approach, which we have discussed a bit before. The real question: Are the simpler lyrics to the new songs communicating more, or less? What's been a more enjoyable listen? So far I would say, I am missing the more poetic and layered lyrics, but I am already torn. A song like Walken seems totally enjoyable and the lyrics mean nothing to me at all, but impossible germany has lines that make me stop and wonder what hes getting at and why he's using those lines to get there that adds another level of enjoyment to the song. Sorry....havent posted for a while and I have been thinking about this alot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Okay, the Good Part is a five-year-old song. We should really post a sticky... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BobsRevenge Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Musically I love the new songs, but the lyrics are definitely less interesting. I haven't tried dissecting Impossible Germany in earnest yet, but I love the that orgasmic riff. One thing I have a feeling I'll miss more than anything is Tweedy's solos from AGIB, which rank among my favorite ever. I noticed that Cline is actually helping out with them on some live sets which I find a little annoying. What Light is a freaking amazing song musically and I like the lyrics a lot too. Uplifting in a way that Wilco pretty much never is. I'm really loving these new songs (all of them), but not in the same way I loved YHF or AGIB. I hope that Tweedy is saving his best lyrics for the album (I became obsessed with Wilco in 2004, so this is the first album that I'm following the development of, so I'm not aware of how his other albums developed as far as lyrics from the songs he road tested). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skip Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 In discussing songwriting, somebody famous once suggested "write about what you know." So you're having the time of your life, I would guess that you might what sing about that or those feelings might be in there somewhere. If not, I'd call that "masturbation". Face it folks, the dark days are gone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
explodo Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Face it folks, the dark days are gone.Temporarily. Once Tweedles finds out that I've been cheating on him with his brother, things will get good again. Summerteeth II will follow in the fall of '07, accompanied by a bonus DVD of our appearance on Maury and the video for "Stardog Done Me Wrong". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 i love the new stuff.. one thing people havent mentioned is that his voice is better than ever, which suits the up-beat stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
farva Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 i love the new stuff.. one thing people havent mentioned is that his voice is better than ever, which suits the up-beat stuff He definitely seems to be loving the upper registers more. I really enjoyed hearing the new songs at the fest this weekend, I've been hoping to hear some new Wilco for a while. Walken I had heard, but the rest of those were breand new to these ears and I really, really enjoyed one in particular, not sure which one it was. I really don't like the phrase "impossible Germany" at that point in the song for some reason ... it's such a minor quibble but for some reason I hear that and wince. Briefly, but I still wince. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skip Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 i love the new stuff.. one thing people havent mentioned is that his voice is better than ever, which suits the up-beat stuff I agree on both points. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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