Sky Blue Sky - The Grower Thread

[BigWheeledWagon]

You might be right. I dunno. All I can say is that I'm 32, and music has never meant more to me than it does right now.

 

I'm not saying that music means any less to me now; it's just that as a kid, music seemed nearly magical, and bands seemed almost mythological (hell, when I was 13, I'm pretty sure I envisioned Zeppelin as some sort of band of Norse marauders). I approached it all with an innocence that's just not there anymore. I don't love music any less, but it doesn't seem so, I don't know, life-and-death important. Of course, when you're a teenager, everything is life-and-death important. Now, bands don't seem like epic heroes -- they seem like regular guys who happen to have really cool jobs and travel a lot. Some of the younger bands just seem like the neighbor's kids jamming out in the garage; they may be really good, but they don't seem exactly awe-inspiring. I guess as I've gotten older, my appreciation for music has shifted toward a personal relationship with that music at the expense of that sense of wonder I once had. I guess it's an okay trade-off. Still, it's hard not to "miss the innocence I've known, playing Kiss covers beautiful and stoned."

[creativetype]

No one cares. Go to viachicago and hang out with the Honda drivers and the Starbucks pussies and the rest of the uptight f*cks that like their music "clean and efficient" like some shitty apartment filled with Ikea crap.

 

We're a TWO HONDA family ... and one is a freakin' minivan! I also loves me some Starbucks ...

 

[uncle wilco]

I'm not saying that music means any less to me now; it's just that as a kid, music seemed nearly magical, and bands seemed almost mythological (hell, when I was 13, I'm pretty sure I envisioned Zeppelin as some sort of band of Norse marauders). I approached it all with an innocence that's just not there anymore. I don't love music any less, but it doesn't seem so, I don't know, life-and-death important. Of course, when you're a teenager, everything is life-and-death important. Now, bands don't seem like epic heroes -- they seem like regular guys who happen to have really cool jobs and travel a lot. Some of the younger bands just seem like the neighbor's kids jamming out in the garage; they may be really good, but they don't seem exactly awe-inspiring. I guess as I've gotten older, my appreciation for music has shifted toward a personal relationship with that music at the expense of that sense of wonder I once had. I guess it's an okay trade-off. Still, it's hard not to "miss the innocence I've known, playing Kiss covers beautiful and stoned."

i couldn't have said that better myself. at this point in my life, the mystique is gone. there is still the music, but the larger than life stuff that used to surround a band no longer exists for me. and i kind of miss that. i'm now drawn more to artists my age that i can relate to (jeff, jason falkner, glen phillips, etc.) and see the younger generation as a large collection of garage bands who all just blend together. once the current dinosaurs retire for good (who, mccartney, u2, etc.) i don't see much future in a band selling out a stadium. where is the new pink floyd with a floating pig, iconic album covers and epic songs? it certainly isn't fall out boy or my chemical romance.

 

i think that is why i can be so disillusioned when wilco, who i have followed so closely since the tupelo days follows up being there, summerteeth and yhf (one of the best 3 album runs a band has ever had) with agib and sbs. it's almost like they are slowly trying to abandon me. they've been such a constant in my life, i can't help but take it personal. i'm hanging in there, but dammit...change for the sake of change isn't always a good thing. i know a true artist has to follow his muse and i respect that, but i've been hanging on for so long i don't want to let go.

[danelectro]

I googled Ikea, I'd gladly trade my south western styled shit for some of that.

 

Anyone know what band I should like if I buy my clothes at JC Penny? Well not if I do.

[WilcoFan]

Ok. So I'm an idiot. No news there. But I drank some beers last night and listened to this album. I love it now. My first impression of this album was sloppy. In a sense it is, mostly Tweedy's vocal phrasing. But it is all coming together for me. Also this album is beginning to feel like an album. It also seems less sloppy. I love the references to the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Tweedy's own 70's sound he has cultivated over the years.

 

This was the first Wilco album that I wasn't immediately blown away by. But it is definitely getting better with each listen. I can even get into "Hate It Here" which I was totally grossed out by the first time I heard the mundane lyrics.

 

Sorry Wilco forever doubting you. Thanks!

[uncle wilco]

Anyone know what band I should like if I buy my clothes at JC Penny? Well not if I do.

jc penney is the lower-middle end of retail, just above walmart and target and neck and neck with kohls.

 

in comparison i'd say you'd probably want to be checking out some of the good charlotte discography. they are semi "current" but also in the "that's so last year" category. kind of like the clothing at penney's.

 

btw: i've been known to shop there myself.

 

 

[uncle wilco]

Ok. So I'm an idiot. No news there. But I drank some beers last night and listened to this album. I love it now. My first impression of this album was sloppy. In a sense it is, mostly Tweedy's vocal phrasing. But it is all coming together for me. Also this album is beginning to feel like an album. It also seems less sloppy. I love the references to the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Tweedy's own 70's sound he has cultivated over the years.

 

This was the first Wilco album that I wasn't immediately blown away by. But it is definitely getting better with each listen. I can even get into "Hate It Here" which I was totally grossed out by the first time I heard the mundane lyrics.

 

Sorry Wilco forever doubting you. Thanks!

 

i hope i can say the same thing after about a week of listens.

[quarter23cd]

Probably until I was old enough to buy clothes for myself, I didn't realize they sold clothes anywhere but JCPenney's (and sometimes Sears, but even back then I knew that wasn't cool).

 

Anyway, I dunno that we need to turn this into a dad-rock confessional booth or anything, but what the hell, I'll toss in my two cents. I'll agree that while I'm still open to new and challenging sounds, its true that music occupies a much less mythic place for me anymore. I don't really get absorbed by music the way I once did, although maybe that's healthier. Who knows? But music, for better or for worse, has settled into being more of a hobby--a thing to be pursued when time allows, rather than a primary driving force in my life. "Rock stars" have taken on far less mythic proportions in my mind. I still appreciate great art and I love being challenged, but I think I lost the belief that rock n roll is somehow "important" beyond being an enjoyable hobby. I don't like the way that came out--maybe I don't mean it quite that way, but "life and death" it is not. Sure its easy to miss those innocent days when rock n roll still felt rebellious or still carried the sense that aligning yourself with a particular artist or genre really said something about yourself. In retrospect, that idea seems pretty naive.

 

Wilco has been a constant for me over the last decade+, though. Overall, my tastes and interests have shifted all over the map, and Wilco has emerged as kind of a default "favorite band" for me as they have amazingly remained in fairly constant rotation through it all. And constant change has been Wilco's MO through all of that, so "staying with them" I suppose is sometimes easier than others. Strange to think that the album that seems to be "losing" a lot of people is that one that is far more straight-up than anything they've done in a while. And maybe that's it. Looking back on it, I hear elements of all of Wilco's musical phases on this album, which is only natural. There is a lot less willful-obscurity, both lyrically and musically, than the last couple albums. The words aren't as cryptic and the music follows a more well-trodden path than we've become accustomed to, without feeling the need to deconstruct everything. And I think that maybe after spending too much time on a message board where people are debating whether or not Tweedy is a poetic genius, its awkward to swallow a song like "Walken". (which follows a great Wilco tradition of lyrically-dopey rockers) But so what? To me, all that has more to do with our own expectations and wanting to justify our tastes and opinions to other people than it has to do with appreciating the music. Or maybe not.

 

Increasingly, I find that music sounds best to me anymore when I'm not constantly trying to rate or categorize things and put it into neat little mental boxes. I'm not sure if I should blame my iPod for my compulsive need to assign a star-rating to every song I hear anymore, but I'm realizing that it is not a very healthy attitude to take to listening to music. At its best, I guess music has become a bit of a zen thing for me lately--if I sit and listen, without the incessant need to judge or categorize everything in sight, I still feel those moments of wonder and joy that made me love music in the first place. And that's the attitude I'm taking towards the new Wilco stuff, and I'm finding that I'm really enjoying the bulk of the music here. There are a few songs that don't click with me yet, but that's life and that's art. All in all, I'm really enjoying this and, maybe for the first time in a while, I'm really looking forward again to hearing this band play live and to hear how these new songs merge with the old in that context.

 

And, umm, I think it just took me like five paragraphs to come to the rather simple conclusion that "Yeah, the new album is pretty decent."

[cryptique]

I have mostly refrained from posting about Sky Blue Sky up to this point, because I wanted to give it some time and a few careful listens before I came to this forum and made an ass of myself. Also, I didn't want to be too contaminated by other people's opinions.

 

I'm listening to it right now for about the fifth time, and godDAMN, it's just working for me this time through, in a way that it didn't quite work for me on previous listens. It's absolutely gorgeous from start to finish, and I'm not sure the band has ever sounded tighter.

 

On Saturday night, Jeff said that this is his favorite record out of all of them, and I'm beginning to see why. I don't think he was just saying that because it's the new album and he now has to start promoting it -- I think he was completely sincere.

 

I guess I see why people are down on "Shake It Off," but I keep digging deeper into that song and it has a lot to offer ... it has actually become one of the highlights of the album for me.

 

Is this my favorite Wilco album? Hmmm. No, probably not -- I'm awfully fond of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Being There. But I think this may rank third for me behind those two, and given a bit more time, it may nip Being There at the wire ... we'll see.

 

It's definitely a grower.

[BigWheeledWagon]

i couldn't have said that better myself. at this point in my life, the mystique is gone. there is still the music, but the larger than life stuff that used to surround a band no longer exists for me. and i kind of miss that. i'm now drawn more to artists my age that i can relate to (jeff, jason falkner, glen phillips, etc.) and see the younger generation as a large collection of garage bands who all just blend together. once the current dinosaurs retire for good (who, mccartney, u2, etc.) i don't see much future in a band selling out a stadium. where is the new pink floyd with a floating pig, iconic album covers and epic songs? it certainly isn't fall out boy or my chemical romance.

 

i think that is why i can be so disillusioned when wilco, who i have followed so closely since the tupelo days follows up being there, summerteeth and yhf (one of the best 3 album runs a band has ever had) with agib and sbs. it's almost like they are slowly trying to abandon me. they've been such a constant in my life, i can't help but take it personal. i'm hanging in there, but dammit...change for the sake of change isn't always a good thing. i know a true artist has to follow his muse and i respect that, but i've been hanging on for so long i don't want to let go.

 

I think we're kind of on the sam wavelength here, but I still really enjoy the new album. Taking into account the subjective difference in the way I perceive music now compared to the way I once did, I can look at the new album in a different light. For instance, stepping back a realizing that "Being There," if released new today simply could not have the effect on me now that it did then, I can't fault the new record for not feeling as, um, life-changing (sorry to invoke the "Garden State" cliche there). With a little critical distance, I can see that it's not a change in Wilco but a change in me that accounts for the difference in my reception of these albums. I don't feel like I'm hanging on to Wilco out of any sense of duty or respect for their past achievements. "Sky Blue Sky" is a great achievement in and of itself, and it would be unreasonable of me to expect it to have the same impact on me that any album had on me when I was in college or high school. Back then, everything seemed more dramatic, and thus music spoke to me in a more dramatic fashion. Now that my life is relatively drama-free and I've settled down into a life of relative comfort and routine ("no alarms and no surprises"? -- yikes), it's hard for any music to seem so overwhelming.

 

Interestingly enough, I would imagine Jeff is likewise in a similar situation, and his songrwriting seems to convey that. Perhaps that's why I still relate to this new album and don't feel "abandoned." First, I feel it would be unfair to blame Wilco for my own subjective shift in the way I perceive music. Second, this new evolution of the band arguably speaks to me in a way that perhaps I could not have appreciated as a younger man. While "Being There"/"Summerteeth"-era Wilco was the perfect band for a younger me, perhaps this era of Wilco is the perfect band for the month away from being thirty, gainfully employed in a job I love, and happoly married me. As a songwriter myself (note I didn't say a good songwriter), I can say that it is harder to write about being content than it is to write about struggling with life. Jeff seems much happier with life now, and this album seems to reflect that while still being musically interesting and emotionally rich. I've got to respect that.

 

Anyway, I've really enjoyed this thread and the conversations that have resulted. It's interesting to think about how our own perceptions of music change over time and change the way we interact with the music we love. Jeff has often talked about how interested he is in the way listeners interact with his music and impart their own meanings to his songs; accordingly, it's only appropriate that we really delve into how our perceptions shift over time and change the way we impart meaning to music. It's nice to participate with a group of fans who can have this kind of conversation as opposed to just "Wilco rawks!"

[BigWheeledWagon]

i couldn't have said that better myself. at this point in my life, the mystique is gone. there is still the music, but the larger than life stuff that used to surround a band no longer exists for me. and i kind of miss that. i'm now drawn more to artists my age that i can relate to (jeff, jason falkner, glen phillips, etc.) and see the younger generation as a large collection of garage bands who all just blend together. once the current dinosaurs retire for good (who, mccartney, u2, etc.) i don't see much future in a band selling out a stadium. where is the new pink floyd with a floating pig, iconic album covers and epic songs? it certainly isn't fall out boy or my chemical romance.

 

i think that is why i can be so disillusioned when wilco, who i have followed so closely since the tupelo days follows up being there, summerteeth and yhf (one of the best 3 album runs a band has ever had) with agib and sbs. it's almost like they are slowly trying to abandon me. they've been such a constant in my life, i can't help but take it personal. i'm hanging in there, but dammit...change for the sake of change isn't always a good thing. i know a true artist has to follow his muse and i respect that, but i've been hanging on for so long i don't want to let go.

 

I think we're kind of on the sam wavelength here, but I still really enjoy the new album. Taking into account the subjective difference in the way I perceive music now compared to the way I once did, I can look at the new album in a different light. For instance, stepping back a realizing that "Being There," if released new today simply could not have the effect on me now that it did then, I can't fault the new record for not feeling as, um, life-changing (sorry to invoke the "Garden State" cliche there). With a little critical distance, I can see that it's not a change in Wilco but a change in me that accounts for the difference in my reception of these albums. I don't feel like I'm hanging on to Wilco out of any sense of duty or respect for their past achievements. "Sky Blue Sky" is a great achievement in and of itself, and it would be unreasonable of me to expect it to have the same impact on me that any album had on me when I was in college or high school. Back then, everything seemed more dramatic, and thus music spoke to me in a more dramatic fashion. Now that my life is relatively drama-free and I've settled down into a life of relative comfort and routine ("no alarms and no surprises"? -- yikes), it's hard for any music to seem so overwhelming.

 

Interestingly enough, I would imagine Jeff is likewise in a similar situation, and his songrwriting seems to convey that. Perhaps that's why I still relate to this new album and don't feel "abandoned." First, I feel it would be unfair to blame Wilco for my own subjective shift in the way I perceive music. Second, this new evolution of the band arguably speaks to me in a way that perhaps I could not have appreciated as a younger man. While "Being There"/"Summerteeth"-era Wilco was the perfect band for a younger me, perhaps this era of Wilco is the perfect band for the month away from being thirty, gainfully employed in a job I love, and happoly married me. As a songwriter myself (note I didn't say a good songwriter), I can say that it is harder to write about being content than it is to write about struggling with life. Jeff seems much happier with life now, and this album seems to reflect that while still being musically interesting and emotionally rich. I've got to respect that.

 

Anyway, I've really enjoyed this thread and the conversations that have resulted. It's interesting to think about how our own perceptions of music change over time and change the way we interact with the music we love. Jeff has often talked about how interested he is in the way listeners interact with his music and impart their own meanings to his songs; accordingly, it's only appropriate that we really delve into how our perceptions shift over time and change the way we impart meaning to music. It's nice to participate with a group of fans who can have this kind of conversation as opposed to just "Wilco rawks!"

[uncle wilco]

But I think this may rank third for me behind those two, and given a bit more time, it may nip Being There at the wire ... we'll see.

 

It's definitely a grower.

"That's a bold statement"

-vincent vega

 

BigWheeledWagon,

 

i'm not giving up and i don't feel a "sense of duty". it's just that i now look at music more in terms of how [or if] it speaks to me, not at just wanting to keep the bands discography up to date on my shelf at home. i used to be obsessive like that. i'm holding off on a verdict until when/if it finally "clicks". wilco has and always will be the band i go back to regardless of what other bands/music i'd been listening to. it's a similar situation to when radiohead followed the bends and ok computer w/kid a and amnesiac. that was a definate WTF moment for me. i started to question that band a lot more for the direction they took and it's affect on my radiohead habit. needless to say, i listen to a lot less post-ok computer radiohead. i'm still a fan, but they went down a few notches in my list of favorite bands. i'm giving it a rest for a few days and then i'm giving sbs another shot with fresh ears.

[cryptique]

i'm giving it a rest for a few days and then i'm giving sbs another shot with fresh ears.

That's what I did. I can't guarantee it'll work for you the same way it did for me, but I'll be interested to hear what happens.

[Gobias Industries]

I guess I'm derailing the thread because Sky Blue Sky didn't really need to grow on me, but it seems some deep deep talk is going on and I feel like I might need to voice some misgivings about my life in general. I hope...I'm not intruding?

 

If I instantly connected with SBS more than I did with YHF and AGIB, does that make me too old for my age? I'm not even 18, and even though I haven't encountered many of the topics Tweedy discusses (a relationship, as an example), I still relate to his stuff more than I do to others' work and even my own. It irks me because I love Tweedy and Wilco beyond reason, and I love songwriting and music and etc., but Tweedy is always in the back of my head and I can't appreciate my own works as much as I might ordinarily do because they are one, so closely aligned to Wilco (due to great influence), and two because they are 0.0001% as good as Wilco material. I feel like I can't write, I guess, maybe because the evolution of Tweedy as a songwriter and musician (as echoed in SBS) has usurped any chance for me to write anything I'm moderately happy with...

 

0% of my friends listen to Wilco, and you know what? They go out and party virtually every weekend. Me? I'm not that kind of guy - I like to sit at home and listen to Wilco. I do wonder if Wilco has made me too old to enjoy my second semester senior life as it is, or whether or not I'm just becoming more prepared for the life ahead than they are, a life considerably less exciting and less cluttered with short bursts of events/parties. Sometimes I get the feeling that I relate better to a band located at least 400 miles away (from Cbus to Chicago is around 400, right?) than the people and friends I see every day at school.

 

Maybe it's because contact (social, physical, etc.) wasn't quite touted as important in my family, and I'm trying to learn and Wilco is a sort of shield I get to hide behind. Wilco, I feel, has connected me to people (you people, as an example ), but at the same time it has disconnected me from others (the people I see every day). Maybe SBS is a new leaf for me, in that it doesn't disconnect me at all more than I already am, and that it helps build new friendships/relationships, given its musical context. Maybe it's that no one else listens to Wilco, and my AWATT status isolates me from them - and SBS will only aggravate that. Of course, I could be reading too much into this business - everyone else might feel as isolated from each other as I do, and that I, like everyone else, need something to happen, to feel like I'm not quite alone; Wilco has (now more so than ever) been my saving grace in a rather lonely world.

[quarter23cd]

Fear not, poortranslator, I think you'll be ok. To some extent, you just described me when I was your age, and I turned out ok.

 

To this day, still 0% of my friends listen to Wilco (including my wife and kids). Which is, in some ways, actually kind of cool cuz I still get to think of them kind of as "my" band that nobody knows about.(until I try to get tickets, and then its a rude awakening) It doesn't have to be alienating unless you use it as a refuge to avoid other kinds of contact...but that line of thought just leads me into a bunch of psychobabble that would probably all be incorrect, anyway.

 

I was just at a wedding last weekend where I re-connected with most of my old friends from college--the ones who would go out and party 100% of the time--and many of them still do! Back then sometimes I'd keep pace with their partying, and other times I'd just hang back and listen to Wilco (or some other band or whatever). You learn to have a balance, in time.

 

Anyway, suffice it to say, liking SBS in no way makes you prematurely old. And feeling a connection to something you've maybe never experienced yourself--well, that's a compliment both to the artist who created the work as well as to yourself for being open enough to feel what is being conveyed.

[JamesEric]

Well hello. I'm new here.

 

I listened to the new Wilco record with incredible enthusiasm. I have loved them since Being There and seen them at least a dozen times live. They are my favorite band.

 

Sky Blue Sky is a new Wilco record with a new refined, glossy sound that is akin to the last Loose Fur album. Not experimental; but straightforward. Which saddens me. I've listened it to about 8 times now. And with each listen, my disappointment grows larger in the realization that it's simply not my kind of record. And I LOVE this band with all my heart, and i know the reviews will be glowing and most folks will dig it. To me - It's very classic-rock which is not preferable for a guy who thinks their best song is "Reservations." Granted parts of Being There are rooted in classic-roots rock and roll, but that at least had a lot of energy ("Outtasite" specifically) and a bit more variation in sound and structure. I think of the messy-noise crescendo during "Misunderstood." There were punk elements to that record. Summerteeth was a Beatles-esque pop album with dark undertones and I listen to that at least a few times a month. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is when I declared them my favorite band and it still remains my favorite of theirs. It sounded like nothing I heard before. The emotion was raw. Nothing felt glossed over and the lyrics were fucking weird and beautiful.

 

SBS sounds like The Eagles, and that's not my scene. Even Tweedy's voice reminds me of Glenn Fry in spots. The Grateful Dead feel that the jam-solos seem to emulate is also not something I enjoy unless it adds to the emotional context the way that the closing of "At Least That's What You Said" did. I love Nels, but to me, the final minutes of most songs, sound self-indulgent on a YES prog-guitar level. "Spiders" and "Less Than You Think" didn't have to be 12 minutes long either, but those were interesting forays that sounded nothing like they had before! "Spiders" was a friggin dance track. I lit up like a Christmas tree when I first heard the version that was on AGIB. I have nothing against ostentatious guitar-playing. And I realize I'm comparing each record, which is unfair. They all should stand on their own. But the experimental sound of YHF is what I prefer. Each song is a masterpiece. Here, the mood is mellow, which is fine. However, I don't hear "Hummingbird" in terms of memorable melodies until the final three songs which is among some of their best work. But the worst song on here, "Shake It Off" should've been replaced by "The Thanks I Get," which is a sing-along radio song if there ever was one. With that said, I adore the last three songs, and would've preferred those to be the opening tracks. What can I say? I'm not a huge fan of "Impossible Germany." Even live, I felt as if it were a leftover Phish-stick.

 

I don't DISLIKE this album. It's a C+ record for me. But I find very little reason to go back to it as much as I have with the other previous efforts. I like an album where the style varies and the pace doesn't feel languid. I know they will breathe new life into these songs live, because that's what they do best, but this could be my least favorite album of theirs, and I know many will disagree. That's cool. I will always be a fan, and I will always BUY their records and go to shows. They're still amazing even if their latest doesn't do much for my ears, personally.

 

Favorite Wilco Records

1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2. Summerteeth

3. Being There

4. AM

5. A Ghost Is Born

6. Sky Blue Sky

[BigWheeledWagon]

"That's a bold statement"

-vincent vega

 

BigWheeledWagon,

 

i'm not giving up and i don't feel a "sense of duty". it's just that i now look at music more in terms of how [or if] it speaks to me, not at just wanting to keep the bands discography up to date on my shelf at home. i used to be obsessive like that. i'm holding off on a verdict until when/if it finally "clicks". wilco has and always will be the band i go back to regardless of what other bands/music i'd been listening to. it's a similar situation to when radiohead followed the bends and ok computer w/kid a and amnesiac. that was a definate WTF moment for me. i started to question that band a lot more for the direction they took and it's affect on my radiohead habit. needless to say, i listen to a lot less post-ok computer radiohead. i'm still a fan, but they went down a few notches in my list of favorite bands. i'm giving it a rest for a few days and then i'm giving sbs another shot with fresh ears.

 

You know, I had a similar Radiohead experience as well. "Kid A" worked for me, but for some reason "Amnesiac," which was really not all that different, triggered me to sort of disengage from Radiohead's post-"Kid A' work. I think you've hit on a pretty good analogy, too, because in a way, there's a real comparison to be made between "Hail to the Thief" and "Sky Blue Sky." Both find a band that has really experimented and evolved trying to reconcile their experimental sounds with what came before that (I guess the Beatles went through a similar thing with "Let it Be"). I remember Thom Yorke commenting at the time "Hail to the Thief" came out that it was intended as a sort of a combination of the electronic experimentation of "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" with the sort of operatic rock of "The Bends" and "OK Computer. Apparenly Jeff has compared "Sky Blue Sky" with "Being There." When I read Thom Yorke's comments before the album came out, I got pretty excited, but I was ultimately a little disappointed with the result. Though I still look forward to hearing whatever comes next for them, like you, I find that they've dropped a few places on the old list, and I just can't get excited in the way I did while anticipating the release of "Kid A." I've been much happier with "Sky Blue Sky," though. Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste -- "Sky Blue Sky" really contains a lot of elements for which I have a personal affinity (soul, late Beatles influences, an jazz-schooled lead guitar player -- "Abbey Road" is my favorite album of all time, I love Memphis soul obsessively, and I studied jazz guitar growing up). I hope that when you come back to the album with fresh ears it clicks for you. If not, I certainly see where you're coming from, even if I've had a different reaction.

[Azzurri]

i am probably in the minority, but i still think AGIB is Wilco's best album and will be hard to top. there are so many great moments on it - the guitar solo in ALTWYS, the crescendo in Muzzle of Bees, the breakdown in Spiders, etc...

 

but i am not at all dissapponited with SBS....it's currently right behind YHF for me and tied with ST... slowly inching up though. right now, it lacks those "wow" moments that i experience with AGIB, but i think it will age well. i love You are My Face - that stands up with anything in their catalogue, and Side with the Seeds is great too. my initial impression of Either Way was that it was ok, but now i think it's the perfect pop song. I don't really dislike any track...i could take or leave What Light. i prefer the abstract and poetic lyrics of AGIB, but i am warming up to the direct apprach of some of these songs.

 

so if we are ranking the albums, i would say:

 

1. AGIB

2. YHF

3. SBS/ST

4. Being There

5. AM

[JamesEric]

i am probably in the minority, but i still think AGIB is Wilco's best album and will be hard to top. there are so many great moments on it - the guitar solo in ALTWYS, the crescendo in Muzzle of Bees, the breakdown in Spiders, etc...

 

but i am not at all dissapponited with SBS....it's currently right behind YHF for me and tied with ST... slowly inching up though. right now, it lacks those "wow" moments that i experience with AGIB, but i think it will age well. i love You are My Face - that stands up with anything in their catalogue, and Side with the Seeds is great too. my initial impression of Either Way was that it was ok, but now i think it's the perfect pop song. I don't really dislike any track...i could take or leave What Light. i prefer the abstract and poetic lyrics of AGIB, but i am warming up to the direct apprach of some of these songs.

 

so if we are ranking the albums, i would say:

 

1. AGIB

2. YHF

3. SBS/ST

4. Being There

5. AM

 

I like the three songs you cited. But I definitely prefer more abstract lyrics. AGIB is great, indeed. I'm glad a lot of folks are warming up to SBS, and hopefully I will soon.

[jethro]

I like it more than I thought I would. I like some parts of it a lot. All the previously unheard songs are pretty great, but...

 

The record starts off awkwardly with Either Way. It's not really a bad song, certainly inoffensive, but it's a poor opener. The next three songs are all really strong, though Impossible Germany suffered a bit more than most in the translation from live -> studio (and it's not Nels solo that I don't like). In general most of the songs would have benefited from a little edge and grit, but Impossible Germany is like the poster child for that. I know there's a good song hiding in Shake It Off somewhere but the current version, no. What Light is probably the biggest disappointment for me because I really liked the live versions and this just doesn't do it for me. It's probably the ending which kind of weirdly lacks the subtlety of the older versions. I've already gone on record many times stating my dislike for On & On & On and it doesn't help that on a really warm, smooth record it's the discordant note to finish things off.

 

So a bit of a mixed bag as-is, probably not in my top 5 for the year and the year is young. It's not because it's "dad rock" or too mellow, three of the records I really like this year are all very mellow. I know, shocking. Outright deletion of Either Way and On & On & On might get it in the running, I'm going to listen to it a few times like that and see, so far so good. I want to give the official release of Shake It Off time to grow on me but will probably edit it down again. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm going to do that right now. I'm actually kind of excited about how this is going to work out on a real stereo with the oink rip.

[sunshine bends]

who cares .. great album love all the songs from AM to Sky Blue Sky.. rank'em all.. stop being so introspective everybody .. its great music no matter how you look at it .. come on.. jeezz (dont cry)

everybody hates a critic,.. I do.. let critics critic and let music lovers love.

 

this is the most diverse group ever to grace our ears thanks Jeff, John, Glen, Nels, Mike, Pat. for really keeping it that real.

[radiokills]

now watch, jeff will surprise everyone and make the wilco punk album next. or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

 

after listening to sky blue sky, i want the next wilco album to be punk.

 

and i agree with some people, sbs is a good album, but it lacks those "wow" moments that really strike me hard on other wilco albums, particularly Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which gives me those moments every single time i listen to it.

 

Heck....I'm still waiting for Wilco's "goth" record............

-Robert.

 

and summerteeth is relatively dark

[Gobias Industries]

Heck....I'm still waiting for Wilco's "goth" record............

-Robert.

 

"...playing Joy Division, beautiful and alone..."

 

That's a great moment in Wilco history.

[Guest Rufer]

While "Being There"/"Summerteeth"-era Wilco was the perfect band for a younger me, perhaps this era of Wilco is the perfect band for the month away from being thirty, gainfully employed in a job I love, and happoly married me. As a songwriter myself (note I didn't say a good songwriter), I can say that it is harder to write about being content than it is to write about struggling with life.

 

Not a lot to add here but, WOW, everything quoted above is true for me too. Right down to being a month away from 30 (april 5) and struggling as a songwriter since becoming contended.

 

Anyway, probably only crazy to me. Happy birthday in advance!

[lulu]

Hey all,

 

Long time listener, first time poster to this board. I've had a monogamous relationship with another board, and I decided to play the field

 

Anyhow, I've most of the reviews on this thread and appreciate and respect the efforts of all reviews of Sky Blue Sky.

 

I'm now at the ripe old age of 36 and Sky Blue Sky really represents right where I am in my life in a musical and spiritual sense.

 

Everything they done since A.M has been built in waves- building up to the crest and coming back down again to the water, but still above the deluge of other notes drowning in the sea.

 

It doesn't take a night of listening to "get it." You're either on the bus or not. Each song more than holds its own. Nels' approach to the melody is just unreal- he gives a texture so much more than I ever thought possible.

 

Jeff has got to happier than a pig in shite with this release. DREAMBAND!!