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Wilco's career's v. The Bands'


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Thanks for your vote of confidence (unless you are dissing me and I can't figure it out), but above ramble is just the fever dream of someone who has heard too many records and can't manage to listen to everythng I buy. At my advancing age I suppose all I should really be interested in is Crosby Stills and Nash and James Taylor, I have found a whole new area of music to become obsessed about, that made prior to 1925. I just got a copy of the biography of James Reese Europe, one of the most astounding and long forgotten figures in American music. Meanwhile while sitting on the can this morning I read the New Yorker's profile of Chicago phenoms Fall Out Boy, a group that seems way way too easy to dis (check out the article though, at least the picture of them is pretty cool), but they must have something going on. The New Yorker's profile of Arcade Fire was equally as good by the way from a couple weeks before that.

 

That pretty much proves my point - and I certainly am not dissing you.

 

And I also know that a lot of people on this forum have great and ecclectic taste, so don't think I'm hatin' on anyone.

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We do! :lol

Louie, you always remind me that growing older has its perks - more time on this earth to discover great music (both new and old). I hope you're able to get tickets to see the Arcade Fire in Chicago, because I'd love to read your review.

Didn't happen and I didn't try, so unless I run into someone who wants to take me, I am out in the cold. I have lots going on in the next few months (hell the next few nights.....Glenn, Jon Brion,Dolly Vadren, Jon Brion) so such is life. Really the tickets should go to the big fans, which AF seems to have alot of these days. You just can't see everyone sadly.

 

I must be getting really soft in my old age, even thinking that Fall Out Boy isn't totally shit is proof of that (although I did discuss them once with Matt from the Smoking Popes with whom they are on good terms.) I guess I don't think of emo as that closely related to punk, but the critic in the New Yorker seems to think so. If you have not read the the article about the Arcade Fire in the New Yorker, find a copy, it was really quite good.

 

LouieB

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I must be getting really soft in my old age, even thinking that Fall Out Boy isn't totally shit is proof of that (although I did discuss them once with Matt from the Smoking Popes with whom they are on good terms.) I guess I don't think of emo as that closely related to punk, but the critic in the New Yorker seems to think so. If you have not read the the article about the Arcade Fire in the New Yorker, find a copy, it was really quite good.

 

LouieB

i was a bit shocked with your mention of fall out boy. you ok louie...? wow. just kidding. i'll keep my comments about them to myself. i heard some of their stuff before they hit it big and thought what i heard sounded ok, definately emo. maybe their overexposure has soured my current opinion of them. might be a few years till the dust settles to give them a valid assessment, at least from me.

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i was a bit shocked with your mention of fall out boy. you ok louie...? wow. just kidding. i'll keep my comments about them to myself. i heard some of their stuff before they hit it big and thought what i heard sounded ok, definately emo. maybe their overexposure has soured my current opinion of them. might be a few years till the dust settles to give them a valid assessment, at least from me.
UH yea..I am okay...not jumping on their bandwagon for even a minute, but the article gave me pause at least. I am clearly biased; as a long term New Yorker reader, if something appears in it, I am more likely to give it some credibility than if it is in Rolling Stone or something like Paste (which I don't read anyway.)

 

In recent years the New Yorker has gotten way more"hip" and at least tries to give new music and such more credibilty than perhaps it is even due. Considering their critics can actually "write" and have something interesting to say about these guys, gives them more credibility than the usual fanboy crap you get in alot of music publications. (And seriously, the accompanying photograph is seriously good.)

 

(One of my fondest memories was reading a review of Blood on the Tracks in the New Yorker back when the album actually came out. In those days the New Yorker NEVER covered that type of popular music and it was such a shock, I never forgot it.)

 

LouieB

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Talk about Dad-rock. The Band, Little Feat, & the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in one thread? This stuff is MY dad's rock. Maybe that's why I like Wilco.

Well yea....These are all groups from the 60s fer cryin out loud.

 

Regarding the NGDB, according to their website, Jackson Browne was a member prior to them recording on Liberty. Also I totally degrooved copies of Uncle Charlie and his Dog Teddy as well as All The Good Times (United Artists), which are both great and prior to Will the Circle Be Unbroken #1. It appears nearly their entire catalogue including the Liberty albums are back in print.

 

LouieB

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no, you're silly.

 

what was this thread supposed to be about anyway. somebody take the wheel.

 

I say it's silly because only a diehard Wilco fan would even make this comparison. The band has been broken up for 30 years now. When they broke up it was news, they were an institution, part of the American music conscious. After 10 years of existence many of the bands songs were ubiquitous immovable parts of our musical landscape. After more than ten years of existence is there one single Wilco song that can lay claim to being in the pantheon of American Music? None that I can think of, though die hard fans would beg to differ. Would I personally like to listen to YHF more than Music from Big Pink? Some days yes, some days no. But regardless of the mood of the day I recognize that the band is in a totally different class than Wilco. The reality is that Wilco at this point in time has occupied a niche in the market, their music is not wide spread and not making impact on the musical landscape. If Wilco were to break up today it would most likely make them a footnote in American Music history and except for the most diehard of fans it would be a non-event. Of course that's not to say that in ten or twenty years the situation may change. Heck they could end up like Love or the Velvets or Big Star and get that label of the band who influenced everybody. But as of today, no.

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Wow, what an interesting discussion. Here's my 2 cents. The Band had broader popular appeal. But imho the Band's contribution to the progress of music as art is not as important as Wilco's. And I really don't like Robby Robertson (although I must say that The Night They Drove Ole Dixie etc. is an amazingly evocative song, but how a Canadian evoked the pain of the Civil war I will never figure out), his guitar playing is just pentatonic wankery and the fact that he is singing his lungs out on The Last Watlz into a mic that's not even plugged in says volumes.

 

All great music has some connection to the Harry Smith anthology, and both the Band and Wilco qualify.

 

Does anybody fear that what happened to REM will happen to Wilco. Labored in relative popular obscurity, but with vast critical acclaim for the first several albums. Then there's a This One Goes Out to The One I Love moment, and they become a multinational taste sensation superstars that proceed to turn out a bunch of drek.

 

How will it stand up the test of time? Will it still sound fresh 20 years from now. Why are the Police touring?

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Wow, what an interesting discussion. Here's my 2 cents. The Band had broader popular appeal. But imho the Band's contribution to the progress of music as art is not as important as Wilco's. And I really don't like Robby Robertson (although I must say that The Night They Drove Ole Dixie etc. is an amazingly evocative song, but how a Canadian evoked the pain of the Civil war I will never figure out), his guitar playing is just pentatonic wankery and the fact that he is singing his lungs out on The Last Watlz into a mic that's not even plugged in says volumes.

 

Why are the Police touring?

Clearly for the money.....

 

How did Robbie Robertson evoke the pain of the Civil War or the Arcadians, or southern whites or anyone else? He did what every brilliant songwriter does, he used his imagination.

 

LouieB

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Robbie's playing is not just "pentatonic wankery". His playing on the first 2 albums is really great... he played subtle guitar parts in a keyboard-dominated band. However, his playing in the later years ('74-'76) is pretty much how you described it: too flashy and going against his earlier attitude. But the comment makes me think you have only heard his playing in the Last Waltz, which is the "warren report" of rock 'n roll (as Richard use to call it).

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... how a Canadian evoked the pain of the Civil war I will never figure out

Don't forget, Robbie Robertson is an Aboriginal, Jewish Canadian, so he might know a thing or two about the pain of displaced people. (Maybe that's why "Acadian Driftwood" is written with so much genuine empathy, as well.)

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But imho the Band's contribution to the progress of music as art is not as important as Wilco's.

 

 

You are clearly entitled to your opinion but good Christ! Not even Tweedy would agree with you on that. Much as I like Wilco....in 40 years they will be barely a footnote in American musical history. The Band's legacy will be just as strong then as it is now.

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You are clearly entitled to your opinion but good Christ! Not even Tweedy would agree with you on that. Much as I like Wilco....in 40 years they will be barely a footnote in American musical history. The Band's legacy will be just as strong then as it is now.

OK so the Band's legacy will be more important, I'm just saying wrongly. Hence the IMHO in my post. I'm a Wilco fan so I'm posting here and not on the Band's website.

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Okay, before this thread dies. I have got to say....

comparing Little Feat to The Band

is like

comparing The Bay City Rollers to The Beatles.

 

What happened to this thread. I thought it was about

Wilco and The Band.

 

There I said it!

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Okay, before this thread dies. I have got to say....

comparing Little Feat to The Band

is like

comparing The Bay City Rollers to The Beatles.

C'mon, the Bay City Rollers were pretty good, but they weren't that good!

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I love both the Band and Wilco and cannot imagine life without listening to either of their musical contributions. That said, I think the Band will forever be a huge part of our Music History for three reasons:

 

1. They will forever be linked to Bob Dylan

2. Their own albums, which at least two are considered classic masterpieces

3. The music influence they had on other "important" artists, such as Van Morrison and Eric Clapton

 

To me, this is also why comparisons between the Band and other groups (i.e., Little Feat) are fun but ultimately unsatisfying. So many other factors play into legacies.

 

In terms of their place in musical history, so far Wilco only have the second category working for them - which isn't to say that quality music and innovative art isn't enough to make your mark in music history, it's just that the Band has other factors contributing to its legacy that Wilco will never be able to replicate.

 

However, one area that Wilco may be known for in 30 years that may enhance their place in history is their acceptance and use of the internet to make their music available. Perhaps someday they will be seen as musicians who did not fear the worldwide web and fostered in an era where the internet was seen as a beneficial partner in music distribution.

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