Support group for those who are now bored with wilco

[Guest David Puddy]

SBS is by far, hands-down my least favorite wilco album. But only because the 5 preceeding albums are so stellar.

 

i can't say i'm at all bored with wilco. yes, i think their last effort was their worst, but i still love it (except hate it here and what light - those are bad songs). it's still my favorite album that came out in 2007. by far.

 

if you're bored with wilco, just listen to something else. you'll come back to them, i'm sure...

[a_quiet_domino]

But only because the 5 preceeding albums are so stellar.

 

 

I don't count the MA albums as real Wilco albums either.

[Guest David Puddy]

I don't count the MA albums as real Wilco albums either.

 

well, i could. i like them both very much. i've just always looked at them as more of a side project. but really, i'd probably consider them to be wilco albums if the billy bragg contributions didn't blow so much.

[jakobnicholas]

I love most all of SBS.

 

 

I would trade One True Vine for Walken....Walken, to me, dampens the end of the album. Walken should have been a bonus track.

 

 

As for no good music these days. That's total BS. I don't even get to listen to all the new music that I want to, and I've heard some great stuff lately. Okkervil River, Band of Horses, Raconteurs, Vic Chesnutt, Rock Plaza Central, Drive By Truckers, Cat Pwer, Richard Buckner, Radiohead (yeah, it's wimpier than The Bends, but wimpier doesn't always mean suckier....it can also mean more mature and understated).....

[Elixir Sue]

WOW! Im freaked out by this thread.

 

Which one of these songs do you guys not love???

 

"Either Way"

[mathew]

Sky blue sky is a very expiramental album and thats why its hard for alot of people with dumb ears to get

okay i didnt mean to be and ass about it but wilco taking elements of their past and creating orchastrated rock songs is brilliant

i.e walken is not dad rock it is a moment of realisation and fits perfectly into the sequeincing, the entire idea behind the album is just as experimental as YHF

in that they created a process to wrk under, low amps few pedals live arrangments and for those of you longing for noise the noise is in the production listen with headphones and you can here it just ass you can hear it in betales records duh! they didnt mix the album as most modern bands do hoping to get the attention

of those who sit on their computer and listen to music at the same time ... if u cant find the time to listen well thats to bad and i really hope u can see the fun

 

p.s shake it off is my favrite song on the album and thats the truth

[hardwood floor]

seeing wilco in a tiny club in philly just before AM came out was as exciting as any live music i've ever seen

 

current wilco doesn't come close to giving me that feeling

 

fair to say i'm bored with wilco

 

jay farrar's best songs still slay me. jeff's don't

[Jesusetc84]

a heck, maybe they just need to do another record with bennett.

 

 

They've been consistently sliding since Bennett left; I love AGIB, but to me, it's no Summer Teeth or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

 

I personally don't think Wilco's current lineup challenges Jeff; Wilco to me feels a lot less like a group and a lot more like a sextet with a distinct band director. Sometimes you need a guy who will stepup and say "Let's try this another way." Friction is great for art; look at Lennon and McCartney; they made some of the best albums of all time when they hated each other.

 

I can't imagine Nels Cline, with his extensive background in expiremental music, thinking the weather channel solo on "Either Way" was the best way to go, or Glen happily pounding out rudementary beats when he's possibly the possibly the greatest drummer in popular music today. John's basslines are as solid as ever, but there's only so much even a great bassplayer like John can do with dreck like "Shake it Off".

 

People say this is a very band friendly record, that it's obviously the work of 6 guys, not the work of one; I disagree completely. To me it feels like Jeff Tweedy with backing band...Ban me, hate me, shoot me in the foot, do whatever you want...but that's how I feel....I don't need to give reasons, because those of you who agree with me will just nod, and those of you who disagree will just call me an idiot.

 

*Shrug* maybe this incarnation of Wilco is just a better live band than it is a studio band.

[BigWheeledWagon]

seeing wilco in a tiny club in philly just before AM came out was as exciting as any live music i've ever seen

 

current wilco doesn't come close to giving me that feeling

 

fair to say i'm bored with wilco

 

jay farrar's best songs still slay me. jeff's don't

 

While Sky Blue Sky is not one of my favorite Wilco albums, the band still amazes me live. Even if my favorite Wilco material isn't their most recent stuff, I can still enjoy the newer songs. With Jay, I tend to only enjoy the older stuff. If Wilco not evolving into its current incarnation meant that it would end up like Farrar/Son Volt (keeping pretty much the same sound, with each new album sounding more and more like a pale imitation of the last), then I'm glad things have worked out the way they have. I saw Jay live a few years ago, and it was one of the most boring shows I've ever been seen (though it could have just been an off night).

 

I mentioned this idea when Sky Blue Sky first came out, and I've come to believe there's something to it: I think that the way some people (myself included) feel about Wilco (or any band) has as much to do with the listener as with the band. When I discovered Wilco, I was in college. Music in general, and Wilco specifically, seemed so important and exciting. I wonder if I discovered that same music now, would it still seem so exciting or important? There's no denying that Wilco's changed, but I also can't deny that I've changed. Yes, "Sky Blue Sky" didn't grab me like "Being There" did, but I'm not sure "Being There" would have grabbed me like that were it released today (not that I wouln't love the hell out of it). By way of comparison, I present Star Wars. "Empire" was the first movie I ever experienced in a theater, and the original trilogy was absolutely magical to me as a kid. Watching them now with a more critical and adult mindset, I can see that these movies weren't anywhere near as great as I thought they were at the time. Yet, they still hold a special place in my heart. when the prequels came out, I, like almost everyone else, was disappointed. Now, objectively, the prequels were generally not as good as the originals, but even had they been much, much better films, they would have disappointed me, because there was not way they could recapture the childhood joy of discovering an imaginary galaxy far, far away. Likewise, no album Wilco makes now could ever recreate the joy I felt listening to "Being There" while drinking beer in my dorm room or the way "Summerteeth" took me through some tough times the summer after I graduated from college. For a lot of folks on the board, "YHF" is the Wilco album to which no other will ever compare. I love YHF, but I was in law school when it came out, and while I was amazed by the album on an artistic level, it didn't mean the same to me as the earlier albums. It may be a better album, but it didn't excite me the way the others did . . and it had very little to do with the album itself. So, while I think that "Sky Blue Sky" is not one of the better albums, I can't help but think that some of the disappointment I have for the album has more to do with just not having that joy of discovery. That said, I still can't wait to see Wilco at the Ryman in March.

 

Oh, and I don't mean to suggest that getting older takes any joy away from music or life in general. I'm only talking about the joy of a specific experience (be it Wilco or otherwise) and how it can be fleeting and difficult to recapture (it's like the difference between the crazy romance of youth and the more comfortable affection of an old married couple).

[Guest Speed Racer]

I can't imagine Nels Cline, with his extensive background in expiremental music, thinking the weather channel solo on "Either Way" was the best way to go, or Glen happily pounding out rudementary beats when he's possibly the possibly the greatest drummer in popular music today. John's basslines are as solid as ever, but there's only so much even a great bassplayer like John can do with dreck like "Shake it Off".

 

Technically speaking, their work on this album is not to be snubbed. Experimental? Not really. Rudementary? Hardly.

 

This record leaked at the beginning of what were most definitely the worst five months of my life. Given that I was also trying to get into this record, I ended up playing it to the point where it became an unfortunate soundtrack to something I'd not like to remember. Incidentally, 'Walken' and 'What Light' are the only tracks that I can still listen to, simply because I heard them before that period. I can't really listen to the album in full now, and though I can occasionally take in tracks at random, 'Shake it Off' and 'Side With the Seeds' are off limits indefinitely.

 

"Leave Me Like You Found Me" is off limits simply because it's a piece of horseshit, more or less.

 

I don't know how I would feel about it under different circumstances. This is not Wilco's best effort for my tastes; I appreciate the song-writing here, but I do prefer the band's more experimental efforts. Lyrically, I think Jeff is still doing quite well for himself. "You Are My Face," "Side With the Seeds," "Shake it Off," and the recent Golden Smog tracks are evidence of that.

 

Wilco will never go back to what they were - aesthetically speaking, I think it's impossible for artists to ever make two records sound alike, particularly with time and an album between efforts. That being said, I don't think they have a bleak future. And anyone who thinks they can't find music like Wilco's previous eras simply isn't looking hard enough. History is not without an excellent jukebox.

[Guest Jules]

People say this is a very band friendly record, that it's obviously the work of 6 guys, not the work of one; I disagree completely. To me it feels like Jeff Tweedy with backing band...

so, it feels like that to you, right? What about the fact that each member has said the opposite with regards to participation in the process? Are they lying?

 

FYI, SBS isn't my favorite Wilco album either, just looking for clarification.

[patrickhayes]

I, too, don't really like the new Wilco music. So I just listen to Drag the River instead.

 

 

Hell yeah. Just saw Drags final Colorado shows and they were on fire. Very good for any "old" Wilco fan. Good call.

[mountain bed]

While Sky Blue Sky is not one of my favorite Wilco albums, the band still amazes me live. Even if my favorite Wilco material isn't their most recent stuff, I can still enjoy the newer songs. With Jay, I tend to only enjoy the older stuff. If Wilco not evolving into its current incarnation meant that it would end up like Farrar/Son Volt (keeping pretty much the same sound, with each new album sounding more and more like a pale imitation of the last), then I'm glad things have worked out the way they have. I saw Jay live a few years ago, and it was one of the most boring shows I've ever been seen (though it could have just been an off night).

 

I mentioned this idea when Sky Blue Sky first came out, and I've come to believe there's something to it: I think that the way some people (myself included) feel about Wilco (or any band) has as much to do with the listener as with the band. When I discovered Wilco, I was in college. Music in general, and Wilco specifically, seemed so important and exciting. I wonder if I discovered that same music now, would it still seem so exciting or important? There's no denying that Wilco's changed, but I also can't deny that I've changed. Yes, "Sky Blue Sky" didn't grab me like "Being There" did, but I'm not sure "Being There" would have grabbed me like that were it released today (not that I wouln't love the hell out of it). By way of comparison, I present Star Wars. "Empire" was the first movie I ever experienced in a theater, and the original trilogy was absolutely magical to me as a kid. Watching them now with a more critical and adult mindset, I can see that these movies weren't anywhere near as great as I thought they were at the time. Yet, they still hold a special place in my heart. when the prequels came out, I, like almost everyone else, was disappointed. Now, objectively, the prequels were generally not as good as the originals, but even had they been much, much better films, they would have disappointed me, because there was not way they could recapture the childhood joy of discovering an imaginary galaxy far, far away. Likewise, no album Wilco makes now could ever recreate the joy I felt listening to "Being There" while drinking beer in my dorm room or the way "Summerteeth" took me through some tough times the summer after I graduated from college. For a lot of folks on the board, "YHF" is the Wilco album to which no other will ever compare. I love YHF, but I was in law school when it came out, and while I was amazed by the album on an artistic level, it didn't mean the same to me as the earlier albums. It may be a better album, but it didn't excite me the way the others did . . and it had very little to do with the album itself. So, while I think that "Sky Blue Sky" is not one of the better albums, I can't help but think that some of the disappointment I have for the album has more to do with just not having that joy of discovery. That said, I still can't wait to see Wilco at the Ryman in March.

 

Oh, and I don't mean to suggest that getting older takes any joy away from music or life in general. I'm only talking about the joy of a specific experience (be it Wilco or otherwise) and how it can be fleeting and difficult to recapture (it's like the difference between the crazy romance of youth and the more comfortable affection of an old married couple).

 

Nice post BWW. You might have hit on something there.

 

As for myself, I was already in my mid-thirties with three young kids when A.M. came out so there's never been any association with youth in it for me. I do know that from the first notes of YHF I was immediately blown away with it, and began checking out their shows from then on.

 

The thing that Jeff has (imo) that is such a rare commodity in rock and roll is that the music he and his bandmates have created over the years is the kind of music that he can carry around with him and age gracefully with it. A good part of the catalogue could be done by a 20 year old kid, or a 60 year old man. I love that it has that much leeway. Bodes well for the future.

 

I guess I'm not too jaded yet.

[BigWheeledWagon]

Nice post BWW. You might have hit on something there.

 

As for myself, I was already in my mid-thirties with three young kids when A.M. came out so there's never been any association with youth in it for me. I do know that from the first notes of YHF I was immediately blown away with it, and began checking out their shows from then on.

 

The thing that Jeff has (imo) that is such a rare commodity in rock and roll is that the music he and his bandmates have created over the years is the kind of music that he can carry around with him and age gracefully with it. A good part of the catalogue could be done by a 20 year old kid, or a 60 year old man. I love that it has that much leeway. Bodes well for the future.

 

I guess I'm not too jaded yet.

 

I have to agree that there's a real sense of Jeff's music growing up with him. Part of what I've enjoyed about "SBS" is that it's the rare rock record that isn't afraid to embrace domesticity and responsibility. If most of Jeff's earlier works were about a struggle to make a connection/communicate, "SBS" is about how to handle that connection once its made. In a way, it speaks to my life now every bit as much as earlier albums did then, if not more -- even if I'm not as blown away by the music as i have been by some other albums. Maybe SBS hasn't grabbed the same place in my heart as past albums, but it's found a place all its own.

 

As for my previous post, I don't know if it's really about youth or getting jaded as much as it is about music fitting into a moment and experiencing something for the first time. In fact, I suppose it takes a little naivety to expect a new album to fill that same role to you as a previous album. Even though you personally discovered AM in your thirties, I'd wager that you still associate that album with that time period during which you really first lived with that music. Although a lot of people express disappointment that SBS doesn't sound like, say, YHF, I suspect many of them mean that they are disappointed that it's not YHF,. I mean, Wilco could make an album that sounds just like Being There, but it wouldn't be that album -- it would feel like going to your high school reunion: nostalgic, maybe a little fun in a bittersweet way, but also a little embarassing and uncomfortable. You just can't re-experience that particular moment and it can make taking on new Wilco as a new and unique experience a little difficult when you have those kind of expectations. Luckily, I still find music that grabs me a ties itself to parts of my life (for instance, I will always associate Spoon's new album with this past summer and with buying my first house -- I may find that the next Spoon album can't meet those lofty standards).

[Halsey12]

I just think something like YHF was it for me. Perfect in every sense, and I don't know what can really go beyond that feeling for me. The 2 albums since, as wholes, maybe don't have the same impact... although there are great songs on all of their albums.

[froggie]

since we're on the topic, am i the only person here that loves everything Wilco has done, except for AGIB?

 

the album bores me

[Griddles]

I discovered Wilco with Summerteeth and got really into it really fast. When I got a copy of YHF I hated it, then AGIB came and I Loved it, then found AM, BT MA1, MA2. These were great. Then comes SBS. When it first leaked it was great, then I got a copy and could not stand it. Now it is hard not to be bored with at least SBS. So to not be bored I listen to the demos, and live versions of song.

I would join this support group if there was free coofe and it if was cheaper than a movie. and if it supplied a solution to Wilcobore. (A disease I just made up.)

[Lynch]

I am by NO means bored with the newer Wilco. I think Jeff's newer songs have alot more emotion behind them, and you can tell that he is still growing as a songwriter and as an artist. Just because this album is less complex that YHF does not mean this is a regression, as someone alluded to in an earlier post. Putting out an album like SBS was alot braver than putting out another highly experimental album like YHF and AGIB. I thnk lyrically this is his strongest album to date, easily. SBS took me a few listens to get into (although I immediately loved What Light and Sky Blue Sky), but now I love it.

[hardwood floor]

What Light ...

 

that song

 

a friend of mine called me and said, "Isn't Wilco that band you really dig?"

 

yeah

 

"Well, one of their songs just came on XM and ... you sure this is the band you dig?"

 

yeah

 

"It's called What Light."

 

oh yeah

 

that one

 

well

 

uh

 

etc.

[a_quiet_domino]

I don't deny that SBS shows that the band is a great bunch of musicians playing really well together, with intricate, complex lyrics that reward multiple listens.

 

But if that's what I wanted, I would just listen to Steely Dan.

[IRememberDBoon]

"Leave Me Like You Found Me" is off limits simply because it's a piece of horseshit, more or less.

 

dreck like "Shake it Off".

 

weather channel solo on "Either Way"

 

holy dumb

[PopTodd]

I always make it a point to rotate my listening so that I do NOT get sick of the music that I love.

That is probably why you hardly ever see me listening to Wilco. My wife listens to them enough at home so that I get my fill there. I do love it, so I do not want to get sick of it. Hence, no Wilco for me at work.

[jakobnicholas]

Ha. I like the "Holy dumb" post.

 

I agree with writer Stephen King, "Either Way" is the best song of 2007.

 

Leave Me Like You Found Me is beautiful. I love.

 

The person bored with AGIB?......really? At Least That's What You Said still gives me goosebumps. Hell is Chrome is spooky good. Spiders is funky great.

 

 

I WILL agree with Wilco getting boring or bland if the next record is like Sky Blue Sky. I love the beauty of the record, but don't want another.

 

I hope the go back to 70's rock-pop sounds. I've been listening a ton to Chris Bell's "I Am the Cosmos", and I totally dig and love his approach to pop and rock.

[ction]

I'm bored with people who get defensive when other people say they're bored with Wilco.

 

Ok, no I'm not. I still find them fascinating!!!

[alison the wilca]

yeah, what the heck? If someone is bored with it it's not like they can change that or they're stupid. That's just how it is!