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Sky Blue Sky - The Grower Thread


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...Shake it Up will be considered "one of the better songs they play live" at the end of 2007.

Sorry, I just don't see it. LNGCA was a much better received "rocker" based on the reactions of the live shows when they played it, and it got left off the record. I imagine Shake It Off made the cut instead because of the lyrics but I zapped the whole first verse to try to make it not suck the life out of the record and the last part of the chorus bugs the shit out of me, how is that going to go over better live? Plus it sounds like he's saying "when I'm wankin' off, I like to shake it off", so, um, yeah. Also LNGCA made all the sensitive nancys cry because it was too bombastic, so that just makes me love it more. I know I'm in the minority, quiet, dull adult-contemporary sounding music is the new black on the Wilcoboard, but meh.

 

The SBS = Far, Far Away comment is interesting, they're both country shuffles but thematically much different. I like them both quite a bit, SBS is one of the songs that makes the record for me and I wasn't that big a fan of it before SBS The Record. I also like the not much talked about Leave Me Like You Found Me a lot. They're not as complex or dynamic in range as a song like Side With The Seeds but sometimes less is more.

 

Anyway props to all the people still posting in this thread.

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I listened to it twice. Once on the way to Springfield and once on the way back.

 

I had a funny thing happen though. As it was going into the 12th track (on and on and on) on my first listen, the intro of keyboards and drums seemed to go into this weird drone of sorts with snippets of keyboards and what sounded like handclapping. I thought " I didn't know this album had a drone like AGIB" and was kind of digging it for about 5 minutes when I realized that it wasn't a drone at all, the copy I had is defective and it was skipping over and over again. Pretty funny, I fast forwarded it a couple seconds and the song continued as a regular song.

 

I like this album in general. It does have a nice jazzy/soul kind of feel. I do know what people mean when they think it sounds more like an unmixed version, because I think the production is generally pretty simple. The standout for me - Impossible Germany....just plain great.

 

LouieB

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I had a funny thing happen though. As it was going into the 12th track (on and on and on) on my first listen, the intro of keyboards and drums seemed to go into this weird drone of sorts with snippets of keyboards and what sounded like handclapping. I thought " I didn't know this album had a drone like AGIB" and was kind of digging it for about 5 minutes when I realized that it wasn't a drone at all, the copy I had is defective and it was skipping over and over again. Pretty funny, I fast forwarded it a couple seconds and the song continued as a regular song.

That's awesome. :lol

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Now I have to keep this copy for posterity. I have not tried it in any other CD player than the portable one i have in the car.

 

I really like this album a bunch, but then I had no intention of not liking it.

 

LouieB

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As for live shows and such, I'm fine with what they've been doing for the past two albums, which is providing more subtle, atmospheric versions of their songs on the studio, making them a launchpad for some great live shows. At first, I was skeptical about "Impossible Germany" on the record, but after a lot of listens, it has this great intimate, mellow vibe that couldn't be captured live.

 

I couldn't agree more. The songs on the record have alot of texture and depth and listening to them on headphones is a world away from hearing them performed live. Some songs like ALTWYS or Spiders demand to be heard live to give it that personal immediate touch. Other songs, like Jesus, etc. by comparison, lose that intimacy when played live and come across flat compared to the album version. I am finding that with "Impossible Germany" it actually works both ways: some parts of the song demand to be heard live, and other parts are best heard through the headphones.

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i'm completely on board with this album now. I've been listening to it each of the last few nights and even my kids [ages 2,4,6 & 8] are liking it...or maybe they're just humoring me. my wife...she's a lost cause. if a song doesn't involve an artist who uses choreography and back-up dancers, she's not into it. i did catch my daughter dancing around to "hate it here" though. that's probably my favorite song at the moment. even though i don't expect this to be a commercial breakthrough for jeff and company, it's certainly a terrific artistic moment for wilco. and another "must have" for any wilco fan. i really hope they don't make us wait too far into the tour to finally play k.c., i really want to hear it all live.

 

two months from today we'll be able to enjoy this fine album in all it's glory. i can't wait to buy my "official" copy.

 

 

Can I please ask you, with that many kids when are you actually able to LISTEN to music in the house?? I only have 2 kids and hearing any music in the house is next to impossible. If I play any at all, it's background music under the "white noise"....

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Can I please ask you, with that many kids when are you actually able to LISTEN to music in the house?? I only have 2 kids and hearing any music in the house is next to impossible. If I play any at all, it's background music under the "white noise"....

:lol I hear ya. My kids are 4, 2, and T-minus 1 month and counting down. And I can attest that "my music" rarely gets played in the house (esp w/ the wife not being "on board" with many of my tastes), so under normal circumstances I typically play most of it in the car on the way to/from work (or on headphones while there).

 

Lately I've had more time for listening since we're in the process of moving partway across the country and I've spent a fair amount of time alone at the new place since I started the new job (and on planes/drives going back and forth), so I've binged on music a lot more lately than I have in years. In general, though, yeah, its hard to find much time.

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Can I please ask you, with that many kids when are you actually able to LISTEN to music in the house?? I only have 2 kids and hearing any music in the house is next to impossible. If I play any at all, it's background music under the "white noise"....

ha, ha...it can be tricky. my wife's not much for wilco. she's not anti-wilco or anything and she enjoys some of it from time to time, but she likes her top 40 and i'm competing with that as much as the kids...but i love her anyway. somehow i'm able to work it in with all that goes on. the majority of my listening time is reserved for my drive to and from work and in the evening. thankfully, my kids are into their own things too [gameboy, books and cartoon network, juggling chainsaws, etc.] so they aren't bouncing off the walls when they aren't playing outside throwing rocks at passing cars and beating up the neighbor's kids...[just kidding]. they're good kids, they really are.

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I don't know about pointing these out as great lyrics. Certainly not a highlight on SBS.

Yeah they are. :)

There are no weak lyrics on this album, no matter how lofty or plainspoken they are. Well, except maybe in "What Light" somewhere. :ermm

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Can we have a board-wise consensus on "What Light" being a liberating, joyful, beautiful masterpiece that's also cornier than Iowa and cheesier than Wisconsin, at the same time?

Seconded.

For all I know it will be my favorite song on the album at some point.

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-------

Can we have a board-wise consensus on "What Light" being a liberating, joyful, beautiful masterpiece that's also cornier than Iowa and cheesier than Wisconsin, at the same time?

-------

 

dont about the US geography, but where's the dotted line, i'll sign

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Froggie, come to the US. We need you at the so far fairly imaginary Ft. Wayne show. We will see to it that you get to sample the aforementioned corn and cheese, perhaps while hearing Wilco play "What Light". That would be the best of all possible worlds, wouldn't it?

 

Yes, obviously it would. :thumbup

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There's a lot of people saying that the new material is fairly mellow. But when they played "Walken" and "Impossible Germany" at the San Antonio show, it was very not mellow. People forget that they sound very big live. Although I was dissappointed at the lack of space in the album, it has a real cool post modern feel to it, just like AGIB.

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While it's unfortunate that I'm on the end of this, Sky Blue Sky is a damn good record to listen to in the midst of some lousy, but not devastating (that's where Summerteeth and Ghost come in) relationship stuff. I've had it on heavily all week.

 

--Mike

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Also LNGCA made all the sensitive nancys cry because it was too bombastic, so that just makes me love it more.

 

Why are you comparing the two songs? Seems to me you are more upset about a song that isn't on the album than really liking or disliking 'shake'. maybe i'm wrong

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What Light is one of my favorites. There are 6 songs I really can't wait to hear him belt out live.

 

Impossible Germany is already top 10 for me. album wise it's top notch. I keep going back to it, over and over. Mostly for Nels but still..

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I had initially planned on waiting to hear SBS until the actual release date. However, my sweetheart of a man brought it home for me on Friday night. It sat on the table, teasing me, until I decided to drop it on my ipod yesterday. I caved, waiting another month to hear it now seemed impossible with it staring me in the face. Wilco and company you should be proud, I certainly am. I am really digging the whole album and expected nothing less from you. You Are My Face and Hate It Here are the stand out tracks for me on this album...can't wait to hear them live someday.

 

:thumbup

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