lamradio Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 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. I don't know how someone could possibly be a former fan of Wilco.. Once your hooked, you are hooked for life.. He probably never really was a fan before.. But every Wilco fan I know is like you. I know I am.. My friends/family get annoyed with how much I talk about them.. "Check out this new bootleg!" "I'm going to see them in Charleston!"... I have said before that I love several other bands, but there is Wilco, and then there is everyone else.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andshewas Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I don't know how someone could possibly be a former fan of Wilco.. Once your hooked, you are hooked for life.. I don't understand, either, but he said enough denoting the behavior of rabid fans that I had to stop and ponder exactly why and how he said what he did. Perhaps there is no logical answer... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
QueenCityMichael Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 This is a story I've always wanted to tell...(I wonder if VC has a word limit)I'd like to relate to you my evolution into Wilco becoming my favorite band:It all started with my job I guess. I worked the graveyard shift at a hotel out in Flagstaff, AZ. A wonderful radio show called The Acoustic Cafe came on every Sunday morning at 6:00am. In the spring of '97, they started playing a ton of Son Volt songs in recognition of the release of Straightaways. In the subsequent weeks, both from interviews and the show's playlists I was introduced to Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. I've loved music my entire life. I don't play, but consider myself "gifted" I guess, with a half-way decent voice, perfect pitch, and a rather uncanny ability to to identify guitar chords (especially intros [introes], what the hell is the plural of intro?).Straightaways just knocked me out. I think the 1st 5 songs on there are STILL just a hallmark of late 20th century American music. I also love the fact that my favorite songs on that album have gone from 1. Back Into Your World, to 2. Caryatid Easy, to 3. Left a Slide, to 4. Creosote (which still is).I soon learned of the break-up of UT, and the formation of SV and Wilco exclusively from Jay Farrar's "side" or point of view. This was all from a very "knowledgable" record store owner. To be honest, I don't remember his "reasons" why UT broke up and I really didn't/don't care. But I do remember thinking that I found Jeff to be a bit of a "diva" in interviews and that in the back of my mind I'd always like SV more. Flash forward to the next summer (of '98). Within a space of about 2 weeks, my neighbor started playing Anodyne incessantly, and the 1st Mermaid Avenue CD came out. From the get-go, it just grabbed me. "Walt Whitman's Niece", "California Stars", "Hoodoo Voodoo", and "Hesitating Beauty" became part of the soundtrack of that summer. I explored no other Wilco CD's, saw no concerts, and eventually bought SV's next disc, Wide Swing Tremolo.I liked it, but it did/does not compare to their previous CD. Still saw no shows (school and work will do that to you), and just sort of ordinarily went on with my life. Then 2 summers later Mermaid Vol 2 came out. At this point, I still liked Son Volt and Jay a lot more, didn't feel guilty about it at all. *heh* I also was of the opinion that it was a cheap and heartless move to release "outtakes" from the Mermaid sessions, which of course TOTALLY influenced my 1st couple of listens. And then it grew on me...."Airline to Heaven", "My Flying Saucer", and "Secret of the Sea" are just SO ahead of their time. Words written in 1939, 1950 and 1939 respectively. I was still a Night Auditor at a hotel so "Hot Rod Hotel", though obviously extur-REME-ly creepy, sort of became my work anthem. "Secret of the Sea" hearkened me back to George Harrison's Dark Horse years. And then there's "Mountain Bed". I'd play this for musician friends of mine and they would just exclaim, "What the f*** is this?!". Even the heavy Dylan fans recognized it as just far-and-away, the greatest folk-narrative ever set to music. And the ex-teacher in me recognized it also as an allegory. I will always want to know after completing the final take whether the band just pumped their fists and went "YES!".So that was it. ~10 shows and the complete discography later...But I'm still a Son Volt fan and damn proud of it. Each band's music is wonderfully different but I feel each tries to capture the same sort of feelings. One obvious difference is about $1,000,000 in sound equipment, and with this lineup it is just so obvious that Jeff is enjoying himself and the band is as tight as I've ever seen them.If you feel I've murdered this thread I truly apologize. MI ..and the band kept playin' on.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Blue and Green Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 The first album I heard from Wilco was Being There back in 96 and I have always loved their new material and Uncle Tupelo's material. I met the band at X-fest when I was seventeen at one of the signing booths after their set. No one really knew who they were so the line was super short. Hard to believe that was almost eleven years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evil horn Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I thought this thread was going to be about the new ride at Six Flags. as much as I enjoyed reading it all, that was my initial hope as well. I pictured it to be like 'It's A Small World" where you ride by a Jay Bennett smoking and jumping up and down and see a grinning Dave Fricke waving at you. and lots of little children singing California Stars. I came to wilco, via son volt first. then uncle tupelo... then wilco. kind of strange I know. and I'm going to now headphone YHF because of this thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Delightful Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I moved out to South Dakota to work as a volunteer teacher for a few years and one of my housemates turned me onto YHF. It was my first Wilco experince and I was swept away. In fact we all were and that album (and then AGIB) became center pieces of our music listening schedule. Since then I've consumed the rest of their catalouge and have gotten to see them 9 times in various places all over the country and they just get better and better. SBS spent a long time in my car stereo this summer and I just love it as well! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drinky Crow Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I don't know how someone could possibly be a former fan of Wilco.. Once your hooked, you are hooked for life.. He probably never really was a fan before.. But every Wilco fan I know is like you. I know I am.. My friends/family get annoyed with how much I talk about them.. "Check out this new bootleg!" "I'm going to see them in Charleston!"... I have said before that I love several other bands, but there is Wilco, and then there is everyone else..Well said. I couldn't agree more. I think Jerry Garcia's quote about Deadheads is very appropriate to Wilco fans (Wilcoholics? Wilcodependents?): "Our audience is like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice, really like licorice." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cmackey34 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Personally, I purposefully did not listen to Wilco at all until about a year and a half ago. With all the hype initially revolving around YHF and my disappointment with the first song I heard from that album (Heavy Metal Drummer) I just wrote them off and never thought about them again... or so I thought. Fast forward a few years and a friend of mine calls me up and asks if I want to see Wilco in Boston (where I lived). I said sure, considering he already paid for the ticket. I then decided to listen to Wilco again in order to "prepare" for the concert that I was going to. I started with "She's a Jar" and "Via Chicago" - from the moment those two songs concluded I was intrigued and excited. I listened to the whole of Summerteeth and was smiling like a fool. I immediately ran out of work (seriously) to buy YHF, Kicking Television, Being There and AGIB. Needless to say, I was floored. Just absolutely stunned - especially at YHF. The instrumentation and production on that album are second-to-none. I've listened to a lot of music in my day (being a musician myself) and STILL find YHF to be the pinnacle of the post-millenial musical landscape. It's flawless, courageous, melodic, honest and beautiful. Everything an album should be - and everything that musicians should stive to produce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NightOfJoy Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Oh. My. Gawd! Hesitating Beauty is a Woody G. tune? I always thought it was penned by JT. I love, LOVE, that song..... especially this lyric "I'll kiss you for each leaf on every tree"....what a neat way to profess one's deep love for another.... I guess I gotta get the Mermaid albums now....I wonder why I delayed in doing so.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest David Puddy Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I guess I gotta get the Mermaid albums now....I wonder why I delayed in doing so.... Jeff's stuff on those albums is incredible. i pretty much can't stand most of the billy bragg shit though. you must get both of these today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I guess I gotta get the Mermaid albums now....I wonder why I delayed in doing so.... wait till you hear Feed of Man! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
willywoody Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 wait till you hear Feed of Man! especially the live version from chicago july 4th show at the end of jb's tenure. one of my favorites to crank up loud. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 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. My friend 'Dancin' Joe' hooked me up with a copy in August of 01. He said it was more of the 'noise shit'. I appreciated it right away and it grew to iconic status (for me) with repeated listens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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