LouieB Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 SBS is a perfectly fine album. It has some great stuff on it. Not every album has to hit a home run. Some recording artists put out hundreds of albums during their careers and they aren't all masterpieces. SBS is the album Jeff wanted to put out when he put it out. Let's wait and see what happens next. (On what basis is the word light a metaphor for hope?? Aren't there other meanings to light and other metaphors??) LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misplaced Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 SBS might be the most underrated album in their catalog. For me, it's got an underlying Let it Be vibe, the guitar breaks, the vibe, it's the perfect Sunday morning album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I just wanted to get a feel for what people are feeling about Sky Blue Sky? Excuse me for being a new VC poster, but, as a true blue fan I do not understand why people don't understand how great SBS is? I really think it's a great album. As good as anything from any other record. Your thoughts...please? Everytime the band has put out a new album or gone in a new direction they've upset some fans who strongly preferred their previous incarnation. People whined when Summerteeth came out that they were moving away from alt-country, people whined when Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out because of the weird noises, people whined when A Ghost is Born came out because of the production, etc. So because Sky Blue Sky is considerably different than the band's last several records, it's had some detractors. I would say despite this it was still pretty well received among the fanbase. I was going through a pretty rough breakup when it came out, and at that stage in my life I was really in more of A Ghost is Born mindset than a Sky Blue Sky one, and so the album didn't really fit what I wanted. I have grown more appreciative of it over time, but it still lags behind everything the band's put out aside from AM for me. --Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 It's no Summerteeth but it's a solid album. I like it a lot. But then again...there can never be anything like SUMMERTEETH ever again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The High Heat Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 (On what basis is the word light a metaphor for hope?? Aren't there other meanings to light and other metaphors??) LouieBWhat Light; Shine a Light; Into the Light; I Saw the Light; Heading for the Light; Put Your Lights On; Whenever God Shines His Light, etc.Whether the song is about being optimistic; turning toward God; tapping into your specialness or talents; or coming out of a dark space; the underying message of these "light" songs is hope. You ever meet a hopeless optimist? A hopeless believer in God? Tweedy said himself that the album was about hope.All of the above are fine songs ~ I like them, but don't you ever get bored with traditional word/theme associations. I'm not putting anything down. Sometimes it's a good thing to challenge our own comfort levels.I do like that Jack Johnson wrote "Hope" and not once in the song does he mention "light." The song actually registers in my head because I'm not conditioned to hear it without a mention of some kind of light. It's a refreshing approach to an important theme of humanity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cambot Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I love it, personally. It didn't hit me with the same weight as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but I was my favorite record for a long time in 2007-2008. I guess my unprecedented appreciation of YHF had to do with how happy I was to see music as magical as that come from the crusty, rusty old streets of my home city, Chicago (I'm from there, I can call it crusty). To see Chicago get placed on the national musical map so prominently (and recently on the political map) gave me a silly sense of pride. And, no, I'm not one of those people who "WOOOO!" during Via Chicago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The High Heat Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 And, no, I'm not one of those people who "WOOOO!" during Via Chicago.Bless you for your dignity, my friend. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Gym Teacher Man Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 i've said this before, more or less, but Sky Blue Sky is without a doubt, absolutely, totally, completely, without question, my least favorite Wilco album. but it's still a good album, without some incredible tracks (Either Way, You Are My Face, Impossible Germany, Please Be Patient With Me & On and On and On). I just really don't like Shake If Off, Hate It Here, or the god-awful What Light. The remaining tracks have their moments. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nodep5 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Growing up on Tupelo and watching Wilco evolve through the years, I can say the SBS was refreshing in many ways. I was hopeful the first time I heard Walken live prior to album's release that the band would return to the days of fun straight forward tunes. (not to say that I don't absolutely love Summerteeth - YHF- AGIB) I think it was a good turn for Wilco to drop the whole we have to reinvent rock music every time out and wow the critics with our artiness. I think Wilco started believing the hype a little to much around AGIB. After a while that type of crap just becomes contrived and pretenious. To me Tweedy will always be the scrappy dude wearing a Cowboy Hat and playing Forget the Flowers, not some dude sitting in a studio arguing about mixes and edit cuts. SBS is what it is. I agree with the earlier Let It Be comparison. Everyone should allow bands like Wilco to just go in a play some freaking tunes. If SBS is everyone's least favorite I think that Wilco is doing ok. And if AM is your least favorite they are really doing OK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Leo Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Today I've been listening to SBS on vinyl for the first time... Yes!Not that I'm a vinyl snob or anything, but I really didn't appreciate this album fully until listening to the vinyl version. The production sounds way thicker than any of the other releases. A cup of coffee, sunrise and SBS make for a great start to a day.I still wouldn't rank it ahead of YHF, ST, or BT. (Agreeing that rankings are subject to personal circumstances during first several listens) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nodep5 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 SBS on vinyle IS the only way. There is a softness that fits that album that doesn't translate on compact discu or mp3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 The bass playing shines on vinyl in a way the cd didn't capture. It's a great album to listen to on vinyl if you don't mind the work of changing for the four sides it spans. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'm sure it has already been said, but I can't wait for the new album to come out. At least, then we'll have something else to talk about instead of rehashing all these arguments every couple of months. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'm sure it has already been said, but I can't wait for the new album to come out. At least, then we'll have something else to talk about instead of rehashing all these arguments every couple of months.A-men. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chanman1128 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Really don't like it much at all. Really like a few tracks,Really despise a few tracks (on and on and on, what light, leave me...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 why all the hate for What Light? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 why all the hate for What Light?Because it sucks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Because it sucks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Gyrrr Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I like how the vinyl cuts the album up into three song sets. I usually listen to one side over and over for a bit before getting dizzy. Then I get up out of the beanbag and go to the kitchen and have some potato chips. And coke. It's muggy. So so muggy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
runningfree Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Neither Sky Blue Sky or Ghost contain any of the Tweedy magic in my opinion. I never listen to either, don't even own them anymore. I'll take a Tweedy solo show recording any day. I'd be happy if he ditched Wilco altogether and went it alone. Just him and his acoustic guitar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Because it sucks. Don't let anyone say it's wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Neither Sky Blue Sky or Ghost contain any of the Tweedy magic in my opinion. I never listen to either, don't even own them anymore. I'll take a Tweedy solo show recording any day. I'd be happy if he ditched Wilco altogether and went it alone. Just him and his acoustic guitar.Whoa, 12 posts and dissing the group Jeff thinks is the best group he has ever had...yikes...no offense, but they aren't THAT bad. What light is hardly my favorite either, but still... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Don't let anyone say it's wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nodep5 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Neither Sky Blue Sky or Ghost contain any of the Tweedy magic in my opinion. I never listen to either, don't even own them anymore. I'll take a Tweedy solo show recording any day. I'd be happy if he ditched Wilco altogether and went it alone. Just him and his acoustic guitar. Have we had an arguement about the merits of Wilco post Jay Bennet recently? I'm joking, please don't! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Central Scrutinizer Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yes!Not that I'm a vinyl snob or anything, but I really didn't appreciate this album fully until listening to the vinyl version. The production sounds way thicker than any of the other releases. A cup of coffee, sunrise and SBS make for a great start to a day.I still wouldn't rank it ahead of YHF, ST, or BT. (Agreeing that rankings are subject to personal circumstances during first several listens)Honestly, I'd say the order is AMBTSTYHFAGIBSBS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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