Wilco's relevance.

[Kalle]

I've said this quite a few times before here on threads with similar topics. Wilco will get their due twenty thirty years down the road and I completely agree with the VU comparison. Wilco will be remembered as one of the best live bands ever imo and one of the best bands during this time period, Sky Blue Sky and all (I think eventually people will understand SBS and give it the respect it deserves). They're really just my favourite band and they have effected me in so many ways and if they have effected me in that way I can only assume that they do the same for people now and people who discover them down the road.

[mfwahl]

I like the fact that, whatever their sound is at a point in time, it's arrived at organically. So I don't care if they're relevant and I really really hope that they don't care.

 

They'll get their due in years to come for sure. But it seems like they're already pretty popular critically, with other musicians, and with a growing fan base. Actually they are pretty relevant right now. What was the question?

[purplestallion]

Wilco certainly won't be remembered for being an experimental band. I think anyone who believes that is diluting themselves.

 

First, I really hope no one here dilutes themselves. That could get messy.

 

Next, I'm not sure the music itself is terribly experimental, although I think the process they used to write and record YHF really was. What I think Wilco will be remembered for is embracing the internet and new way to view music. The way they released YHF (and all subsequent albums) on the internet before releasing them in stores certainly was experimental. They were one of the first bands to recognize the change in the way the world views music and distribution of music, and they did something original at the perfect time. They probably weren't the first band to do so, but they have certainly made an impact.

[tugmoose]

It's been downhill since the big Lude.

 

[Hi my name is Lee]

"she said 'you can't repeat the past'. i said 'what do you mean you can't? of course you can!'" a line probably too long to fit, sung perfectly and followed by a W.C. Fields allusion. nice!

 

yeah, and we all know what happened to Gatsby.

[giraffo]

personally, I thought Modern Times was the unlistenable ramblings of a senile old man whose writing was like an echo, trying to sound relevent. Even the album title "Modern Times" sounds plain trite [yes, I know where it came from]. Rolling Stone has always loved Dylan, at such a critical moment for the ailing magizine and songwriter they were not about to throw his newest creation out the window. also, I admire Dylan's other work as to John Wesley Harding and etc, but I always felt he wasn't really in his own skin around that time, like he was trying to be this cowboy/farmer guy all of a sudden and trying to maintain a pasture style persona he had always admired. It's not bad by any means, but it's just like I look at 1965-1966 and 1974-1976 and John Wesley Harding/Nashville Skyline stuff just makes me shrug my shoulders.

As to the Basement Tapes, I think people ALWAYS overrate what even Tweedy called "a bunch of young guys drinking coffee, smoking pot and going to the basement to make music." There is nothing legendary or even anything really good about them. It really bugs me when people try and bring this album up, because I fail to see what's good about it...especially when they knock Self Portrait as garbage. Self Portrait isn't good, don't get me wrong, but to say that The Basement Tapes are gold or legendary while Self Portrait is garbage is like saying that one of two one dollar bills is worth more than the other.

[Bubs101]

For me, the legend behind YHF will guarantee there place in history and serve as an inspiration to any band who doesn't have full support from their label. Kicking Television should guarantee their live reputation and I'd be shellshocked if every second band from Chicago didn't claim wilco to be their main influence. And for me, A ghost is Born is more likely to harm their legacy than SBS, if you forget the grammys

[LouieB]

So it's groundbreaking because he borrowed lyrics and because Rolling Stone said it was?

 

P.S. I only skimmed through half of the article.

Something like that....

 

Actually Dylan did a few other group breaking albums prior to Highway 61....

 

LouieB

[caliber66]

As to the Basement Tapes, I think people ALWAYS overrate what even Tweedy called "a bunch of young guys drinking coffee, smoking pot and going to the basement to make music." There is nothing legendary or even anything really good about them. It really bugs me when people try and bring this album up, because I fail to see what's good about it...especially when they knock Self Portrait as garbage. Self Portrait isn't good, don't get me wrong, but to say that The Basement Tapes are gold or legendary while Self Portrait is garbage is like saying that one of two one dollar bills is worth more than the other.

First, it doesn't mean anything to me what Jeff Tweedy thinks about the Basement Tapes, although his description of the process sounds about right. But that it was informal doesn't mean they didn't make some great music. Sure, there's plenty of filler, because it was just a bunch of guys hanging around playing music. I don't listen to it to hear some perfectly mixed and mastered studio album. I listen and think, "My God, how fucking cool would it have been to be there?"

 

For me, the legend behind YHF will guarantee there place in history and serve as an inspiration to any band who doesn't have full support from their label. Kicking Television should guarantee their live reputation and I'd be shellshocked if every second band from Chicago didn't claim wilco to be their main influence. And for me, A ghost is Born is more likely to harm their legacy than SBS, if you forget the grammys

What about bands that don't sound anything like Wilco?

[you ever seen a ghost?]

>Rolling Stone has always loved Dylan, at such a critical moment for the ailing magizine and songwriter they were not about to throw his newest creation out the window

 

it ain't just Rolling Stone. universal acclaim from both reviewers and users on the site.

 

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/dy...=modern%20times

 

 

>As to the Basement Tapes, I think people ALWAYS overrate what even Tweedy called "a bunch of young guys drinking coffee, smoking pot and going to the basement to make music."

 

somewhat similiar to the process at The Loft, just without the studio equipment, no? see, i didn't know great music couldn't be played spotaneously. some of Dylan's best songs come from those sessions: "This Wheel's On Fire," "Tears Of Rage," "Goin' To Acapulco," "Sign On The Cross," and "I'm Not There (1956)."

 

-justin

[MattZ]

some of Dylan's best songs come from those sessions: "This Wheel's On Fire," "Tears Of Rage," "Goin' To Acapulco," "Sign On The Cross," and "I'm Not There (1956)."

 

Plus, this one line, which knocks me flat every time:

 

It's a one-track town, just brown, and a breeze, too

[Analogman]

The lyrics of YHF would not exist if not for the beat writers and thier influence on Dylan.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

>It's a one-track town, just brown, and a breeze, too

 

assuming sarcasm, if you can't have fun with "Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread" then you just plain don't like music.

[MattZ]

>It's a one-track town, just brown, and a breeze, too

 

assuming sarcasm, if you can't have fun with "Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread" then you just plain don't like music.

 

Bad assumption. I love that tune to pieces. That song epitomizes the basement tapes for me -- a bunch of guys together having fun. And me having fun with them.

 

And that line really does knock me flat. I love how he sings it.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

did you know that he broke it out for the first time ever in NYC in 2002? i think he might have played it at one other show after that, but the first version was cool. definitely a shocker for the setlist watchers and the hardcore fans went apeshit. he said something to the effect of "this is a request, of course." a couple of years later, he broke out "Million Dollar Bash" for the first time ever.

 

-justin

[FourStrongWinds]

why would you want another YHF, when you already have that album.

geez, its almost as bad as Ryan Adams fans and bloody Heartbreaker...get over it

[MattZ]

did you know that he broke it out for the first time ever in NYC in 2002? i think he might have played it at one other show after that, but the first version was cool. definitely a shocker for the setlist watchers and the hardcore fans went apeshit. he said something to the effect of "this is a request, of course." a couple of years later, he broke out "Million Dollar Bash" for the first time ever.

 

-justin

 

Yeah, I was there, man. One of the best moments of my music life. Were you there too?

[MattZ]

Actually, when he busted into it, I had no idea that it was the first time he had ever played it. I was just psyched to hear it. And frankly, I dont remember the hard core fans there going crazy. I seem to remember no one around me having any idea what it was. My shit eating grin hinted that it was something cool though.

 

Unless I am remembering wrong, I think this was when he played two shows at MSG? And at the other show he encored with Something and dedicated it to George. Although maybe that was in 2001? I am getting my years mixed up now. Dylan often pulls out some beauties when he comes back to New York Town.

 

Sorry to have derailed this thread...

[you ever seen a ghost?]

nope, i wasn't there, but when listening to the bootleg, i hear some of the fans go crazy when they finally recognize it.

 

the thing with the George Harrison song, "Something" was neat too. someone tried to bring him a lyric sheet and he said "fuck that! get that out of here." you can hear that on the bootleg of that show too!

 

-justin

[Sir Stewart]

That boot of Yea! Heavy is so frustrating because you can hear people talking through the whole damn song!

[you ever seen a ghost?]

there's probably several different recordings of the show. not sure which one i have as i don't have it here with me, but you might be able to obtain one without the obtrusive chatter.

 

-justin

[Sir Stewart]

That'd be nice - actually, the one I have was the recording that bobdylan.com hosted for awhile after that gig.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

hmm...that might have actually been from the tape that circulated the most. there are probably other tapes, but i'm not sure about that one!

 

-justin

[WaronWar]

most groups are even lucky to make a mark like YHF and A Ghost Is Born, let alone have such impressive back catalogs as BT ST and then SBS. After Dylan did Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde, he's made virtually only 2 albums [blood on the Tracks and Desire] that even compare. Most bands usually make 1 or 2 or 3 noticable records, the only exception is The Beatles, for the most part.

 

I know it's off topic, but hell no, Dylan also made "John Wesley Harding," "Nashville Skyline," and "The Basement Tapes" (though it's not really an official album) to just name a few after his surreal world era.

[EL the Famous]

in the original post, using spoon's 'ga X 5' as a comparison for experimentalism is kind of off...while I love it, it's a lot less experiemental than 'kill the moonlight' and sees them further honing in on that blue-eyed soul/rock hybrid that the Jam perfected many, many years ago.

 

the 'classic rock' sound that has been tagged on SBS...while a different subset, can be ascribed to spoon's latest as well.