Wilco Experience

[WilcoIsLove]

I just wanted to know if anyone else here had trouble getting into YHF?

I listened to it the first time..and nothing really stuck with me. I didnt hate it.. I just didnt get it at the time.

So a couple of months ago, I finally listened to it.. over and over. And its SUCH a beautiful record.. subtle beauty i think.

It takes a lot of plays to appreciate it and actually HEAR it. at least it was like that for me..

has anyone else's experience with YHF been like mine?

P.S.

its a freakin gorgeous record.. truly beautiful.

ohhh and I think they should have left some of the engineer demo songs in...

and I didnt like radio cure too much <_>

[Magus673]

I had a similar experience. YHF was actually the first Wilco record i listened to; I was into anti-war songs for some reason so the title "War on War" caught my eye. The open-ended nature of the lyrics interested me as did the folky nature + weird noises combination. It followed into Jesus, etc. next so i came to enjoy that song as well. I didn't listen to the album except for those songs for a while, and eventually got into the most accessible tune, heavy metal drummer. It was when i returned to the record later and listened to it all the way through that the subtle beauty you speak of became apparent to me. Every song is so good but they also form such a cohesive whole, lyrically, thematically, and musically. It definitely took time to grow on me but now YHF is without a doubt one of my favorite records of all time.

 

Its annoying in a way because it takes time to appreciate the album and most people are not willing to invest that time.

[froggie]

i jumped on the wilco band wagon when mermaid avenue came out. i loved Summerteeth on the first listen as well as the 2nd mermaid avenue album one. YHF left me cold on the studio version, and to this day, i still prefer the live versions of the songs

[WilcoIsLove]

I kind of agree with you froggie, I feel the live songs I have heard from YHF are somewhat superior to the studio versions. But I still love the studio versions.. And Magus673, I also found it a bit annoying that it took so looong to get into it, but it was worth it.

I think my favorite song is.. Pot Kettle Black? I dont know.. each song is gorgeous in its own way.

Hmm maybe its Reservations.. Its honestly difficult to pick a favorite song from YHF. I truly Love this album hah

Poor Places..ah such a beautiful song.

[Szabo]

YHF was the first Wilco record I owned, and I got it right about the time it came out. At first listen I knew it was something different than I'd ever heard before but I didn't know why. I then listened to it every day for about a month and kept finding new things I loved about it. It's such a good album to me because of that fact, even though I've listened to YHF about 200 times, I still find something new that I've never actually "heard" before in the album.

[cryptique]

Interesting question.

 

I was a Tupelo fan from way back in the day and a Wilco fan from the time AM was released. I think some of the sonic experimentation on Summerteeth had somewhat prepared me for what YHF turned out to be, though YHF took things in such a completely different direction that Summerteeth could only drop a mere hint about its successor.

 

That said, I was on board with YHF from the beginning. I'm not sure why -- it just hit me right away upon my first listen. It was still unmistakably Wilco, but it was so much more as well.

 

Sadly, I think the rush of YHF (which still hasn't quite subsided for me) virtually guaranteed that I'd be disappointed by what followed. I just couldn't get into AGIB, and though I dearly love some of the tracks on that record, it's still one that I rarely listen to.

 

Perhaps that's why SBS works for me (though it took some time to do so). I don't know.

[bleedorange]

I was kind of a late bloomer in that I had just gotten into Uncle Tupelo around the time Summerteeth was coming out. I always liked Jay's stuff from Tupelo a little more than Jeff's, so I never gave Wilco much thought. But a friend gave me a copy of YHF when it came out and the first notes of IATTBYH instantly hooked me, and it just got better and better.

 

I have never had a moment or experience like that with an album before or since.

[badger]

I only started getting into Wilco around he time of AGIB. I heard Muzzle of Bees and wanted to investigate further. However, a learned friend suggested I start with YHF. I have to say, initially I was hugely disappointed: Kamera, Pot, Kettle Black and I'm the Man..... were good tunes, but the rest seemed just too difficult. In particular, I remember thinking that Ashes of American Flags, Reservations, Poor Places and Radio Cure were always going to be tracks that I skipped. Radio Cure I positively hated. I can't remember the exact moment when the tide started to turn, but those four tracks are now my favourite from that album and three of them would be in my Wilco top ten. I love Radio Cure. I don't know how they do it, but my least favourite track from Summerteeth was In a Future Age, which over time has become my favourite. Also, I really hated Hate it Here at first, but that is now one of my favourite SBS tracks. Who knows, Shake it Off might still have a chance!

[Guest David Puddy]

I think my favorite song is.. Pot Kettle Black?

 

i was a mild wilco fan (liked both Being There and Summerteeth, but didn't know AM existed) when YHF came out. I was a rabid wilco fan after listening to YHF just once. it blew me away. i've heard people often say it took them a while to get into YHF, but for me, it was the perfect record at that time in my life. i felt like everything jeff was saying, i could be saying myself, and it just made such sense to me.

 

and Pot Kettle Black is my favorite Wilco song, i think.

[bleedorange]

it blew me away. i've heard people often say it took them a while to get into YHF, but for me, it was the perfect record at that time in my life. i felt like everything jeff was saying, i could be saying myself, and it just made such sense to me.

 

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[beniking]

This topic inspired me to sit back in the dark with YHF coming through full definition in my headphones. All i could do is laugh because it is so ridiculously good. I hadn't really visited this album in quite a while and hearing it with fresh ears is so refreshing to know that there is still some real music out there.

[mpolak21]

Summerteeth was the first album of Wilco's I heard, but I got it right before Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out, so within a couple of weeks I had both of them. I really liked Summerteeth, particularly Can't Stand It on first listen, but with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot I felt they took it to an entirely different level. The first time I listened to it, I think I spent an hour just listening to I am Trying To Break Your Heart alone. I was almost afraid to let it play through, because I thought there was no way it could any better. Thankfully I did. I actually didn't take too any of their other records as instantly as I did with YHF, which puts me in the distinct minority, but everything clicked for me on that album right away.

 

--Mike

[anthony]

I didn't like any Wilco record the first spin - including YHF.

 

But the second spin I started to 'get it'.

 

Third spin - hooked.

 

Fourth time around I was addicted.

[WilcoIsLove]

I didn't like any Wilco record the first spin - including YHF.

 

But the second spin I started to 'get it'.

 

Third spin - hooked.

 

Fourth time around I was addicted.

 

that only happened to me with AM and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (and sorta Summerteeth but not really)

but with Sky Blue Sky and A Ghost is Born.. it was instant. Love at first listen

[virtualreason]

I bought YHF and Kid A within the same week; both my first albums from the respective bands. Listening to those two repeatedly for about a month was probably one of the best experiences my young self had. And listening to one prepared me for the other since they are pretty much the same album. I'll defend that last statement to the grave.

 

Anyway, YHF hit instantly with me, but the other albums took multiple listens, especially AM and SBS.

[Marijn]

I remember the YHF-hype on Murmurs that brought me back to Wilco (right after the band was dropped from Reprise and streamed the record on their website). I knew Summerteeth and kinda liked it, but it only took a couple of listens to get completely hooked on YHF. And I was fortunate enough to find a copy the day it came out.

 

It's still my favorite record of all time.

[Guest David Puddy]

It's still my favorite record of all time.

 

QFT

 

although sometimes i say the same for Being There

[MadMonkey]

Jumped on Uncle Tupelo late and once I was turned on to Anodyne I was bummed to find out the band had broken up. Well ,needless to say I bought both AM and Trace upon release and loved them both.

 

Since I've only had to listen to 2 Wilco records more than once to "Get it". YHF and AGIB and I still think that they are the biggest "reward" albums that the band has.

 

Most of there other work sans ST are pretty straight up. One has to, sorry Jeff, Be Patient with the others IMHO.

 

I'm definitely a Live over Studio person (but I'm that way with most bands.)

[replacements75]

I was a Wilco fan since I first heard AM. Which was a little bit after Being There had come out which was even better then AM. I was hooked. I then went back and got into Uncle Tupelo. Summerteeth was an amazing record as well and I think its the record that really solidified what I loved about the band. All the different elements. So by the time YHF was supposed to come out and they got dropped and it was in limbo I was salivating for the record. Some how I got a copy of YHF on cd (I don't even remember who sent it to me) before it was streamed even. Then Sept 11th hit and being in NY and in a certain department that lost a lot of members that day YHF came to mean a lot more to me than all the others. The songs gave me hope and the strength that I needed. The songs were uplifting and heartbreaking especially given the context of my days at that time. The songs still resonant with that time for me and I really must thank both Wilco and that kind person who sent me a cd copy because that music really got me through. Jesus Etc stills sounds to me as if it were written after 9/11. But even better than having that beautiful collection of songs to help me through was getting to see them at Town Hall that same month.

 

My life was saved by rock n roll.

[TheMaker]

I'll be the dissenter here, I guess. It was love at first listen. To this day, I swear it's the album I would've made in a parallel universe if I'd become a musician instead of a visual artist (which, my god, if I could remake reality, I would be). Everything from the production to the songs to the general atmosphere felt totally unique but also incredibly familiar to me right off the bat.

[explodo]

I thought this thread was going to be about the new ride at Six Flags.

[Guest Jesus Etc]

A friend of Jeff and Sue's turned me on to Wilco about six months ago so I started with Sky Blue Sky. I really liked the record but was blown away by YHF after purchasing it two weeks later. I am surprised by the original poster's dislike of Radio Cure. Of all of the Wilco/Loose Fur/Uncle Tupelo songs I think Radio Cure might be both the most beautiful and hauntingly desperate songs the bands have recorded. I will submit that one of the reasons the song means so much to me is because I feel that I can really relate to the subject matter.

[Cachookie]

AGIB was the first album I listened to on a recommendation from a friend. I was instantly hooked. As I voraciously bought and listened to anything Tweedy or Wilco one of the things I loved was Jeff's ability to hook me with lyrics that seemed to speak out to me. I also admired the ability of the group to sound fresh on every album, and until SBS I listened to them backwards to see the roots of what I had already heard. I hope this makes sense, but no other group of artists has ever had me hooked like Wilco.

[Griddles]

After reading this thread I listened to YHF all the way through again and realized that I really liked it a whole bunch. Reservations is my favorite song off of it and my have moved into my top 5 Wilco songs.

I would agree that Jesus ETC. could describe feelings about Sept. 11, along with Ashes if one did not know better this album could be very moving, (I realize that Ashes is not about how great America is, but complimenting the people who burn the flag, that is why I said if I did not know any better.)

[andshewas]

I got into Wilco right after the Wilco Book came out [because of heavy discussion about it on a Radiohead forum]. The people there told me to listen to Jesus, Etc...

 

It sounded so different and beautiful to me. Jeff sounded to me like the kind of person that I needed in my life at the time. I latched on to YHF quickly and got into AGIB and Summerteeth [inherently Kicking Television, as well...], but I really didn't get Being There, AM or any of the Uncle Tupelo material until summer 2006 [which was when I finally got to see them live, and hence realized that they pretty much pwn all other bands]. I got SBS the day it came out, and was definitely not in love with most of it until a few weeks later.

 

I'm so obsessed...

 

This kid at one of my jobs said, "I don't like Wilco or their fans. Their music is bland and all the fans can ever talk about is how sweet that last show was, or, 'did you get that bootleg from the Springfield show?' Wilco is all they ever fucking talk about."

In my fanatic furor, I almost kicked his Arcade Fire/!!!-loving ass.

 

I assumed he used to be a fan, but I decided not to ask questions. He's since decided that he's too cool to talk to me.