froggie Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 > I'll always have a soft spot for the first MM Ave album because that was how I discovered Wilco. me too! i dont mind the Bragg stuff at all. California stars was the first song i heard, but the next one that really grabbed me was Way over yonder in the minor key Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Meh. If you don't like a song, press skip. oh, ok so we're not allowed to burn our own CDs or make our own mixes? that's one of your rules for people on this message board? just trying to be clear don't want to break one of your rules Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Interesting. I admit I haven't bothered to investigate (because I can't stand his stuff) -- so my impressions are based solely on what little I've seen of him. Not that this changes my overall opinion of him any. D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 oh, ok so we're not allowed to burn our own CDs or make our own mixes? that's one of your rules for people on this message board? just trying to be clear don't want to break one of your rules Yes, that's one of the rules. Sorry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I really can't fathom why anybody would even think to do this sort of thing. Bragg's contributions are more honest than Wilco's, and there are just as many brilliant interpretations by Billy as there are by Jeff & co. Stetson Kennedy, Way Over Yonder, Walt Whitman's Niece, My Flying Saucer... these are stellar, stellar songs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Bragg's contributions are more honest than Wilco's interesting way to put it, TheMaker what do you mean by that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
W(TF) Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Another pro-Bragg voice here. I wouldn't be without his MA contributions, they're mostly excellent and many of them feature Wilco to boot. Actually, of nearly all the ones Wilco did on MA1-2, I have live versions that I enjoy a lot more -- so I probably enjoy the studio Bragg ones more than the studio Wilco ones now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cooperissup3r Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 there's just something off about the songs and the way they're interpreted on MA1,2 as opposed to being played live. not a big fan of either album, but Minor Key is about the only of bragg's tunes on those albums i'd listen to twice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
winter party person Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I did this too, i think it works just leaving everything in order and taking out the BB tracks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 oh, ok so we're not allowed to burn our own CDs or make our own mixes? that's one of your rules for people on this message board? just trying to be clear don't want to break one of your rulesYeah. Sorry, no exceptions. Wish I could play ball with you on this, but I can't. My hands are tied. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sunken mountain Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Anyways, WHY my MA 1 and 2 haven Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nodep5 Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 Anyways, WHY my MA 1 and 2 haven Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Also - it has been played several times live. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 A question for all of you who think Bragg is an ass: have you met him? What exposure have you had to him that makes you think he's an ass? I've met and talked with Bragg on multiple occasions, and I've never met a warmer or more genuine person in the music industry.I met him once myself and had a ball, hanging out backstage with him and Grant Showbiz. He really isn't an ass, I just think MITS paints him in a weird light. He loves his fans and is very generous with his time from what I have seen and he has been on the right side of many many causes over the years as well. Dumping his songs from the mix is okay in some respects, but his material is also very strong and worth listening to. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Anyways, WHY my MA 1 and 2 haven Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sunken mountain Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Oh sorry, I just remembered to see it on Youtube,and Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Oh sorry, I just remembered to see it on Youtube,and Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
W(TF) Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I met him once myself and had a ball, hanging out backstage with him and Grant Showbiz. He really isn't an ass, I just think MITS paints him in a weird light. That's an interesting take. I've watched MITS a couple of times recently, what I thought is that Jeff definitely 'stole' the scenes he was in. I'm not sure it made Billy look like an idiot, but Tweedy did come across as a more interesting figure. Maybe the filmmaker was infatuated, or maybe the camera just loves Jeff Tweedy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nodep5 Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 Just to clarify from my original post, it is not that Billy Bragg the person wears on me, it is more the sonic aspect of things. See I have always LOVED Tweedy's voice, from day one, even when it wasn't fined tuned, esp on AM and Mermaid AVE he sounds even better like with a bad cold or something. So I'm digging it and loving it and then Billy Braggs voice pops in, and I like the tune (cause it is largely Wilco) but the voice just wears on me. That is why I wanted a straight Wilco Mermaid Ave for some of the time. Not that I had to clarify that, but that is ultimately what I mean. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
owl Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I'm possibly more of a Billy Bragg fan than I am a Wilco fan. Consequently, I've never done this, and I don't plan to. Talking With The Taxman About Poetry is a perfect album and should straighten out the Bragg haters. Disclaimer, I made a Wilco-only mix too, way back in the day, but I have since become a BIG Bragg fan. (See Taxman.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
W(TF) Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Just to clarify from my original post, it is not that Billy Bragg the person wears on me, it is more the sonic aspect of things. See I have always LOVED Tweedy's voice, from day one, even when it wasn't fined tuned, esp on AM and Mermaid AVE he sounds even better like with a bad cold or something. So I'm digging it and loving it and then Billy Braggs voice pops in, and I like the tune (cause it is largely Wilco) but the voice just wears on me. That is why I wanted a straight Wilco Mermaid Ave for some of the time. Not that I had to clarify that, but that is ultimately what I mean. What happened is that you opened a can of worms because of the bad blood between Bragg and Jeff/Jay that goes back to the recording sessions, and apparently has never been resolved. Bragg called Jay a fucker, and Jeff's standard description of Bragg now is 'full of shit'. blah blah Why people call Bragg an asshole, I don't know. Being a Wilco fan doesn't predispose me to that kind of generalization..but that's just me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nodep5 Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 Yeah, I wasn't being sensitive, I figured that this whole Wilco Only Mermaid thread would cause a little of the who's a bigger ass stuff, but at least for me it was soley musical related, even though any musician with politics up front tends to get under my skin. I do appreciate how wilco, at least on their albums hides their politics well, even though we all have a good idea of their politics but that is another thread of which I have no interest, since I like to focus on music to get away from alot of that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 It's OK. I can certainly understand people not liking Bragg's voice. It's an acquired taste for most. If you ever find it convenient, though, you might try giving Talking With The Taxman About Poetry a spin, just to see if it has any effect on you. Just a thought. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
W(TF) Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 For some reason the most hysterical MA-related anecdote I've read was this, "...On May 14, 2000, Jeff Tweedy played the Noise Pop Festival at Double Door in a concert that polarized Wilco fans. Natalie Merchant joined the band onstage, but left after Tweedy requested that she perform Utah Phillips' murder ballad "Rock Salt and Nails". " (from the wikipedia Loose Fur page) I don't know why, but I laughed out loud when I read this. What's the story on that show?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.