Can I get something off my chest?

[nodep5]

My explanation on all of this for me personally comes down to age. I once read an interview where Tweedy talks about not being able to hear music like he once did. That he struggled to find it as emotionally engaging as say when he was 19 or 20. I agree 100%. For me Being There and Summerteeth were not cerebral, they were a roller coaster ride on a gut level. I hung on every word. I was about 20 at the time, think back and you'll remember. Now at the age of 30 when Sky blue Sky comes out, I have moments of that, but mostly I'm coming at it from a more brain oriented place (that sounds stupid). My example would be "You Are My Face", lyrically it sounds cool, but doesn't punch me in the gut, and then I think man that guitar part is cool, and I started thinking and thinking, instead of like the first time I heard "Sunken Treasure" when my reaction was I'm crying all of a sudden.

[Central Scrutinizer]

My explanation on all of this for me personally comes down to age. I once read an interview where Tweedy talks about not being able to hear music like he once did. That he struggled to find it as emotionally engaging as say when he was 19 or 20. I agree 100%. For me Being There and Summerteeth were not cerebral, they were a roller coaster ride on a gut level. I hung on every word. I was about 20 at the time, think back and you'll remember. Now at the age of 30 when Sky blue Sky comes out, I have moments of that, but mostly I'm coming at it from a more brain oriented place (that sounds stupid). My example would be "You Are My Face", lyrically it sounds cool, but doesn't punch me in the gut, and then I think man that guitar part is cool, and I started thinking and thinking, instead of like the first time I heard "Sunken Treasure" when my reaction was I'm crying all of a sudden.

I'm sorry I didn't hear "Sunken Treasure" the first time in that way. But I know exactly what you mean because other songs have hit me that way. I think that reflects on your connection, how it impacts you and what you take away from it. I can rationalize why I like SBS and maybe why you don't, but no one can deny that feeling when a song resonates with you.

 

What is the old breakup line? "It's not you, it's me."

[W(TF)]

You make a great point nodep5. And it's a recurring theme in Tweedy interviews, that the onus is on the listener to connect. The artist already did their part, but the connection isn't there until we make it.

[Moe_Syzlak]

Well I'm in that "new crop of fans" I guess. I didn't find anything particularly exciting (or maybe new and different is the better way to say it) to my ears about Wilco until YHF. I mean there were nice, good songs, but nothing new and after 35 years of listening to music, I want something new and unique to my ears. YHF represented that. I have since gone back and listened to the earlier albums, of course, and there is much to love. But, I find myself reaching for YHF, AGiB or Kicking Television if I want a Wilco fix as that is where the fresh sound is to me. I think it may be that I am more of a Jim O'Rourke fan now that i think about it. I thought Born Again in the USA was much more interesting than SBS. That's not to say SBS isn't a great album; it's just that with so much music, I want something that sounds unique. And it's not the noise. The noise I could do without, frankly. It's that the music and arrangements feel fresh to these ears when O'Rourke is involved.

[Panther]

SBS is an album not a mission statement so chill out and wait for the next one, you should feel stupid for even worrying

 

its understandable because every Wilco album is probably someones favrite album and they have never done anything twice , your not special I dont care what your mom thinks

[mfwahl]

SBS is an album not a mission statement so chill out and wait for the next one, you should feel stupid for even worrying

 

its understandable because every Wilco album is probably someones favrite album and they have never done anything twice , your not special I dont care what your mom thinks

Sweet

[lost highway]

Wilco is full of musicians who can extort any sort of sound and idea from their instrument, I think it would be interesting to see this utilized...Not "Nels the shredder Cline" but Nels Cline, that guy who can make any sound with his guitar, or Glenn Kotche, the human percussion section, not the drummer. I just think if this current lineup regressed toward the kind of weirdness of their past albums you would have an incredible record, and it still wouldn't sound like any of their past showings.

 

I totally hear that. I think this is what I've been secretly hoping for, for a while. We will have to wait and see. Whatever happens next will be a surprise.

 

SBS is mostly classicism in the rock sense. I think this group of musicians can continue to find the continuum between what some might call 'avant-garde' (for lack of a better signpost) and pop music. This is really what YHF and AGIB are both doing, in completely different ways. There are slivers of it on SBS. To me that territory has always been where the band has stepped from being solid, into being magnificent.

[WilcoFan]

100% absolutely agree. so much of SBS seems like Jeff wrote about 40% of a song and then just let the band take it from there. So many lyrics are throwaway (e.g. ALL of Hate it Here or Walken). In the past when working with Jay, it seemed like even though Jay had a lot of input, Jeff really was involved from beginning to end and was really emotionally invested in each track. I just don't get that with SBS.

 

Really, my favorite tweedy songs of the past few years are probably Hey Chicken/The Ruling Class. He really has a vision for them and you can tell he works hard at them. I don't get that with SBS at all.

 

I agree except for Walken. If I could write a good song like that for my wife I could die happy. Great lyrics.

 

I know that Tweedy is in a different part of his life, it happens, it happened to The Beatles, Jimmy Page and even Einstein. It's kind of like the housing market, you couldn't expect the price of a house to double every 1-2 years forever.

 

Actually my beef is not with Tweedy but with Wilco as a whole. At this point I have passed the chance to see them up 3 times in a row now and that includes this Saturday. Wilco seems to be way to comfortable and have luckily been touring for the last 4-5 years on just 2 albums. Their sets sound like the records to me and as much as they smile and seem to be into the show, they look like nothing more than polished showmen.

 

But I still enjoy listening to their old stuff and always hold out hope for the next record.

[jracette]

i agree about hate it here. that song is somewhat simple lyrically but theres so much emotion in those lines "I try to keep the house nice and neat,do i made my bed ,i changed the sheets, i even learned how to use a washing machine, keeping things clean..doesnt change anything"

 

"Hate it Here" = "Far, Far Away" inverted. My, how things come full circle.

 

Nobody was bitching in 1996 about the lack of obfuscation in that tune.

[Moe_Syzlak]

"Hate it Here" = "Far, Far Away" inverted. My, how things come full circle.

 

Nobody was bitching in 1996 about the lack of obfuscation in that tune.

I thought I just did!

[Sparky speaks]

I agree they are much tighter as a live band musically compared to their live two disc album and I really like SBS.......But "One Wing" is really not that remarkable.......It sounds like just what Jeff called it the other day...."a work in progress".......It is a pretty boring song with a forced instrumental at the end.......Kind of contrived IMO......Kind of a dangerous comment to make around here with my first post.......

[W(TF)]

Their sets sound like the records to me and as much as they smile and seem to be into the show, they look like nothing more than polished showmen.

 

Did you watch the Lolla broadcast from last weekend? After a few months off they seem to be trying out a number of new things.

 

But yeah, the band seems way too happy. How can anything good come of that?

[radiokills]

i think that one wing sounds like it belongs in SBS, which was a major let down for me. i certainly hope they head in a different direction on their next album.

[Central Scrutinizer]

The other thing is, I find ALL the albums much better represented live than on disc....with the possible exception of YHF.

 

I dunno, there is something about some of the keyboard work in their current live version of Pot Kettle Black that makes me go "wow" every time I hear it.

[Central Scrutinizer]

i think that one wing sounds like it belongs in SBS, which was a major let down for me. i certainly hope they head in a different direction on their next album.

I was thinking Sunny Feeling definitely has the same sound of SBS -- basically the same instrumentation as Walken (though the current incarnation doesn't sound as good as Walken).

 

One Wing sounds a step removed from that album. But I suspect were hearing some craftsmen tinkering. Much sawdust, splinters and wood scraps later, as long as they accomplish an album they're collectively proud to present to their fans, that is all we could ask, and we shouldn't ask or demand more.

 

[Wilco LP #7]

It hurts me to say this, but Jeff has really lost his edge. No Jay(s)/Leroy/Ken = No one to keep Jeff honest. While their live set is tight and always fun, anyone else sensing this band songwriting prowess is going downhill (while their notiriety and acclaim has increased) ?

 

Just one man's opinion and I don't expect people to agree with me.

 

I definitely know where you're coming from. Wilco and Tweedy are still great and will probably always be my favorite, but if SBS is the new direction (which it seems to be with the two new songs) rather than the delightful sidestep I told myself it was when it came out, I'll no longer be able to make the argument that Wilco is the most important band around. I actually had this thought about an hour ago and was glad to find this post.

[giraffo]

I think Tweedy and O'Rourke would downplay O'Rourke's influence -- they both went to great pains to point out that O'Rourke actually "removed" a great deal of the "noise" from YHF.

 

I don't necesarily mean he added the noise, but I think he reinforced Tweedy's interest in the noise elements. Bennett himself said in the documentary that he believes it all should serve the melody, where I think Tweedy was more interested in roughing up the edges a bit. also, to be fair, removing the noise doesn't mean much since there's still quite a bit there and it's even more noticable because they had a guy like him arranging those pieces. I think before (on the demos) I noticed the noise but it seemed cumbersome or naive, where O'Rourke's take made me glad that he mixed it. It made sense to me.

also, to be fair, I love SBS and I think it's one record that defies pretension and "newness". I just think that with this lineup you've got to at least want to twist some knobs and make some noise at some point.

[Central Scrutinizer]

I don't necesarily mean he added the noise, but I think he reinforced Tweedy's interest in the noise elements. Bennett himself said in the documentary that he believes it all should serve the melody, where I think Tweedy was more interested in roughing up the edges a bit. also, to be fair, removing the noise doesn't mean much since there's still quite a bit there and it's even more noticable because they had a guy like him arranging those pieces. I think before (on the demos) I noticed the noise but it seemed cumbersome or naive, where O'Rourke's take made me glad that he mixed it. It made sense to me.

also, to be fair, I love SBS and I think it's one record that defies pretension and "newness". I just think that with this lineup you've got to at least want to twist some knobs and make some noise at some point.

I could very easily see this bands components moving towards something sonic and fractured musically (yet in a good way ). But then Nels in the recent interview said the stuff Jeff has been writing lately is "beautiful."

[you ever seen a ghost?]

>But then Nels in the recent interview said the stuff Jeff has been writing lately is "beautiful."

 

Nels comes from an avant garde background. "Beautiful" could be something else entirely to him.

 

-justin

[Central Scrutinizer]

>But then Nels in the recent interview said the stuff Jeff has been writing lately is "beautiful."

 

Nels comes from an avant garde background. "Beautiful" could be something else entirely to him.

 

-justin

 

True, I was thinking that as I hit "add reply"

[TCP]

To me, Jeff is a little bit like Paul McCartney. Paul was best as a Beatle, when he had a musical partner to work with, to tell him what sucks and what doesn't, and most importantly, to push him into doing something brave. It seems like Jeff had that with Jay F., Jay B., and Jim... but when those people aren't around.... the music is pleasant but nothing that won't change the way I listen to music like the first times I heard; Anodyne, Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and Born Again in the USA.

Though I think Paul McCartney's quality of music was far more dynamic then Jeffs. Sky Blue Sky wasn't an awful record, unlike Back to the Egg and all that other trash which has escaped my mind now, luckily.

[W(TF)]

To me, Jeff is a little bit like Paul McCartney. Paul was best as a Beatle, when he had a musical partner to work with, to tell him what sucks and what doesn't, and most importantly, to push him into doing something brave. It seems like Jeff had that with Jay F., Jay B., and Jim... but when those people aren't around.... the music is pleasant but nothing that won't change the way I listen to music like the first times I heard; Anodyne, Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and Born Again in the USA.

Though I think Paul McCartney's quality of music was far more dynamic then Jeffs. Sky Blue Sky wasn't an awful record, unlike Back to the Egg and all that other trash which has escaped my mind now, luckily.

 

 

Well, I suppose this thread's good for another 20 pages of banter now.

[Central Scrutinizer]

To me, Jeff is a little bit like Paul McCartney. Paul was best as a Beatle, when he had a musical partner to work with, to tell him what sucks and what doesn't, and most importantly, to push him into doing something brave. It seems like Jeff had that with Jay F., Jay B., and Jim... but when those people aren't around.... the music is pleasant but nothing that won't change the way I listen to music like the first times I heard; Anodyne, Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and Born Again in the USA.

Though I think Paul McCartney's quality of music was far more dynamic then Jeffs. Sky Blue Sky wasn't an awful record, unlike Back to the Egg and all that other trash which has escaped my mind now, luckily.

"I'm getting closer, my salamander."?!? Yeah, Paul McCartney has done better.

 

It's a personal thing, but I like Jeff Tweedy a whole lot better than Paul McCartney. In the same way I like Billy Williams a whole lot more than I like Ty Cobb.

[Central Scrutinizer]

 

Well, I suppose this thread's good for another 20 pages of banter now.

Continuing with awful baseball analogies, I was watching an episode of a series on one of the sports channels, how they cobble together old baseball home movies and films about players, stadiums etc. The argument was about who was better, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mayes or Duke Snyder. One sports announcer said, "you don't have the argument to get to the answer, you have the argument because you can." -- it's something worth feeling passionate about.

 

So yeah, 15-20 pages ought to do it

[mpolak21]

To me, Jeff is a little bit like Paul McCartney. Paul was best as a Beatle, when he had a musical partner to work with, to tell him what sucks and what doesn't, and most importantly, to push him into doing something brave. It seems like Jeff had that with Jay F., Jay B., and Jim... but when those people aren't around.... the music is pleasant but nothing that won't change the way I listen to music like the first times I heard; Anodyne, Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and Born Again in the USA.

Though I think Paul McCartney's quality of music was far more dynamic then Jeffs. Sky Blue Sky wasn't an awful record, unlike Back to the Egg and all that other trash which has escaped my mind now, luckily.

 

I agree with this more or less, though I always thought of Jay Bennett as Tweedy's McCartney. Like Lennon's first album without Paul Plastic Ono Band, A Ghost is Born is a damn impressive, chilling work. Imagine is great, but after that the quality dropped off a bit. I am not sure what direction Wilco is headed in at the moment, but I hope the new record is better than Sometime in New York City and Back to the Egg.

 

--Mike