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Sky Blue Sky - The Grower Thread


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Am i the only one who thinks impossible germany is probably the worst song on the album?

Probably.

 

That and the instrumental breakdown passage of "shake it off" are incredible lows

One of my favorite bits.

 

Also, I don't really care for "Walken." So I guess we're opposites on this one. :stunned

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I'm gonna admint that after probably 35 listens....Shake it Off, Patient With We, Leave Me Like You Found Me and On and On and On are getting the skip button repeatedly. On the flip side, the other songs are soooo good. As always, just my opinion.

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I can't get over the range in taste for this album. Everyone seems passionate about certain songs while showing distaste for others. The only song that seems to get universal praise is You Are My Face.

 

By the way, mark me down for loving Shake it Off.

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Its certainly changed in my perception from first listen...

 

I love the first three tracks but the title track is so boring in comparison with things they've done in the past. For the most part I don't think they've gotten any worse as song writers but I'm not blown away by the way they did the songs sometimes. The versions or What Light where he sings it in a higher key are much better than the one on the album for me.

 

On and On and On and On is fucking brilliant, way better than I ever imagined.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't be suprised if the next Wilco album is another reaction to this back in another direction altogether, cos I reckon they'll get tired of the sound of themselves in this mode quicker than they did with YHF and AGIB.

 

 

As for all the people saying "I'd be embarrassed to play this to my friends"... you have some weird way of liking music. "Maybe my friends won't think I'm cool listening to this non-atonal mid-tempo rock! But I bought Wire this month!" You either like it or you don't, doesn't matter what your friends think about you liking it mate.

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The reasons You are my face and Hate it here are proving themselves to be fan favorites thus far is most likely because those are the only parts that show some real flourishes of interest on the album. The rest is just so monotonous... for me, it's so mellow as to be aggravating... I just keep itching for them to mix it up a bit and throw in some crunch, and besides from those aformentions sections, theres not much relief to be had. I find it frustrating.

 

To me it seems like so much of this album is an experiment in how little noise 6 guys can make... Though it provides some interesting results, considering the talent of each member, it seems to me to be mostly just wasteful.

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The reasons You are my face and Hate it here are proving themselves to be fan favorites thus far is most likely because those are the only parts that show some real flourishes of interest on the album. The rest is just so monotonous... for me, it's so mellow as to be aggravating... I just keep itching for them to mix it up a bit and throw in some crunch, and besides from those aformentions sections, theres not much relief to be had. I find it frustrating.

 

To me it seems like so much of this album is an experiment in how little noise 6 guys can make... Though it provides some interesting results, considering the talent of each member, it seems to me to be mostly just wasteful.

 

it very much is a mellow album alright. i can see how some would think too mellow, but i mean, it seems obvious to me that that was what they were going for.

 

all in all, i prefer AGIB, but I prefer that to many many albums.

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SBS has all the elements of a grower album. It doesn't hit you right away, and for all the people that dislike it keep giving it another chance it's really worth it. Wilco keeps on reinventing themselves with each album and in another 3 or 4 years we'll hear a different Wilco. People always compare Wilco's records against eachother because aside from the obvious member changes they were going for something completely different on each album so I think it's sort of unfair. Wilco is one of the few bands right now that are going to remembered in musical history IMO and SBS is just another part of that.

 

As for my opinion I really love this album and now that I've pretty much tabbed out the whole album :D (check out the tab forum if you're incline) I love it even more. I've listened to it countless times now and really it gets better with every listen.

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I think SBS is an album of summer festival rock songs. When I listen to it, I feel like I'm at a Wilco show on a hot night smelling the beer, festival food and pot smoke wafting by. It may be that I got used to these songs listening to the live versions and (my first time hearing some of the songs (Impossible Germany, Walken, What Light) was at festivals.) I can't really articulate it but these songs float by the same way. They grab you and carry you through the night air. It is so cold today, but this album is August.

 

wow,

 

so im new to this forum, and i wrote what i thought was a slightly insightful post about this album and our judgements placed on it, but i guess when the server went down (for maintinance, i assume) last night it dissappeared...

 

anyways, after hearing this band for so long, listening to its evolution, seeing live shows, downloading shows, and bieng fairly on top of this band my thought was that its hard to judge. Especially having heard some of these songs live and pre-studio. It makes the transition to the studio album easy.

 

To me this record makes sense, easily falls in line with what i might expect from these guys. Or maybe im just a fan. ;)

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The reasons You are my face and Hate it here are proving themselves to be fan favorites thus far is most likely because those are the only parts that show some real flourishes of interest on the album. The rest is just so monotonous... for me, it's so mellow as to be aggravating... I just keep itching for them to mix it up a bit and throw in some crunch, and besides from those aformentions sections, theres not much relief to be had. I find it frustrating.

 

To me it seems like so much of this album is an experiment in how little noise 6 guys can make... Though it provides some interesting results, considering the talent of each member, it seems to me to be mostly just wasteful.

 

Wilco is not a noise band, and simplicity in music is definitely not a bad thing. Not that the songs are even that simple if you really listen to everything that is going on in them.

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Am i the only one who thinks impossible germany is probably the worst song on the album?

Actually, no. I probably won't agree with you much farther than that, since I love the album for the most part, but IG is one of the weaker moments, imo.

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the more i listen, i can't help but like this album.

 

even the ones i thought were "weak" live (on&on&on, either way) are really gaining on me now.

 

what light is still probably my least favorite moment on the album...still good though.

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this album really is superb. when i first got it, even after about 10-15 listens i wasn't quite sure what to think about it. i took a break from it for a few days, then came back to it. now i've listened to it a few more times, i can't stop. there are so many subtle, beautifully crafted songs on this album. there really is no weak point. don't let it fool you it sounds "simple" on the first few listens. more so than any wilco album to date, this is one that really needs some time to sink in.

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this album really is superb. when i first got it, even after about 10-15 listens i wasn't quite sure what to think about it. i took a break from it for a few days, then came back to it. now i've listened to it a few more times, i can't stop. there are so many subtle, beautifully crafted songs on this album. there really is no weak point. don't let it fool you it sounds "simple" on the first few listens. more so than any wilco album to date, this is one that really needs some time to sink in.

 

I agree. There's a lot of elegant, truthful depth to this.

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I would like to thank you all for the kind words.

 

But also remember that some people may not like me now and may never like me, and that's ok too.

I remember when you were just an itty bitty Being There.

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I would like to thank you all for the kind words.

 

But also remember that some people may not like me now and may never like me, and that's ok too.

 

 

Your welcome.

 

The album is just a few notches below "perfect" in my opinion. I consider A Ghost is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot "perfect" albums.

 

What I really like about this album is the closeness of Tweedy's voice. I know some might note his limitations in singing, but personally, I like his intimate feel. I can go listen to many other band's with soaring voices and not feel the personality the way I can with Wilco.

 

Also, being a huge fan and knowing the band's history also enables me to enjoy more of the catalog. They have such a sprawling past, and I just think it helps to know the motivations of the band (particularly Jeff) to fully enjoy the music. The first five songs are all perfect. I couldn't even begin to start ranking an order. On and On and On is probably their best closing song. There is something epic about it and when those violins start sweeping, I get carried away and lost in the excitment of the music.

 

I am just thankful I have another great Wilco album to listen to till the day I die.

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Several people have said that they really aren't digging Tweedy's higher vocal range that tends to be used more in this album, and that's cool, but I'd definitely have to disagree. I think one reason why I've never really gotten into Uncle Tupelo is that the vocals of both Jay and Jeff don't pull me in. They're very low and gruff, and I just really don't enjoy them.

 

With the early Wilco albums Jeff continues to stick to the lower register quite a bit. I still really enjoy the early wilco records, but now that Jeff's range seems to have really expanded, I can't get enough of his voice. It conveys so much more emotion in the last couple of wilco records, as well as the more recent live shows. I think that SBS is the culmination of this, and that's why I think that this album contains some of the best vocals done by Jeff...ever. :yes

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I, for one agree with you.....halfway. AGIB and SBS are starting to look like companion albums to me. Their similarities being their very organic, live analog recording sound. And the level of expressiveness in the playing. Thematically and mood wise AGIB seems like its looking down a long dark tunnel, there is definitely some light but its pretty dark stuff, Sky Blue Sky seems to step out (excuse the pun). They're two different moods that compliment each other extremely well.

 

 

I totally agre. To my mind if you hold up 'muzzle of bees' and "side w/ seeds" the point is crystalized...

 

"half of it's you half of it's me" has turned into "I'll side with you if you side with me". What was abstract is now physical. The contentedness that AGIB longed for has finally been realized in this record. Dissonance has given way to sweetness.

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I totally agre. To my mind if you hold up 'muzzle of bees' and "side w/ seeds" the point is crystalized...

 

"half of it's you half of it's me" has turned into "I'll side with you if you side with me". What was abstract is now physical. The contentedness that AGIB longed for has finally been realized in this record. Dissonance has given way to sweetness.

 

 

 

That's way deep, but I think I agree with that.

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"Am i the only one who thinks impossible germany is probably the worst song on the album? A decent solo from nels, but the outro is the cheesiest hogwash I could imagine them releasing... the guitar tones and hooks remind me more of music played as background on the weather channel than of the inventive and energetic band I know and love."

 

Allow me to quote myself:

 

"....P.S.- Impossible Germany...I can't help but think of smooth jazz."

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