Bits and pieces, pleasures and disappointments

[junkiesmile]

I love CD. What the hell is wrong with this song that I'm not getting?

[dontknownuthin]

I wrote these thoughts down after my second listen, knowing that this thread would someday appear. Verbatim from last week:

 

"This album reminds me of a quote I heard Billy Joel give on Friday Night Videos back in the day. When asked about the Eurythmics, he said, "Interesting...little gimmicky".

 

Aside from One Wing, Glenn is pretty much just keeping time again. Would love to hear You Never Know with Coomer on drums!

 

Backwards guitar on You and I? Is that the Shankar reference from the Rolling Stone interview?

 

I

[RainDogToo]

I'll Fight is lame. IMO, just beat out "What Light" for worst lyrics of any tune in the band's catalogue.

 

Wow! I think the lyrics for “I’ll Fight” destroy the lyrics to "What Light"… by a long shot! But you're right, though- it's your own opinion.

[Jesusetc84]

I

[JerseyMike]

Aside from One Wing, Glenn is pretty much just keeping time again. Would love to hear You Never Know with Coomer on drums!

 

I can assume three things from this post:

 

1) You are one of those folks who thinks Ringo wasn't a good drummer.

2) you know nothing of the art of subtlety and how hard it is to pull off at the drum set.

3) you are not listening very closely.

[BassMan77]

I agree a lot with some of you, I disagree with some of you also...

 

Negative:

 

I can't stand I'll Fight, and I just am not really feeling One Wing that much.

 

You and I and You Never Know are very 'meh', nothing too special.

 

Positive:

 

Really love Deeper Down, Solitaire, Everlasting, Sonny Feeling.

I like BBN a lot, don't think I like it is as much as you guys yet though

(the song) is so catchy, i really like it, even if it is a little goofy.

I am hating all of this hate for Country Disappeared! I instantly loved it and is currently one of my favorite tracks.

Overall I like it a lot.

 

Ill Fight and One Wing are my 2 favorite songs on the record so far

[Moss]

At approximately 2:31 of Bull Black Nova there is a note that sounds like a mistake that got left in. I like that, even if it was not a mistake.

 

I am loving this album, I find no weaknesses.

[Calexico]

Positive: It's a pretty good album which will hold my interest long after, unlike SBS.

 

Negative: I have to work tomorrow when it seems half the planet is on a holiday of some sort or other. Youse is all bastards.

[dontknownuthin]

I can assume three things from this post:

 

1) You are one of those folks who thinks Ringo wasn't a good drummer.

2) you know nothing of the art of subtlety and how hard it is to pull off at the drum set.

3) you are not listening very closely.

 

Actually Jersey Mike I'm pretty high on Ringo as a drummer. I'm usually the guy who sticks up for him in conversations about best/favorite drummers. I appreciate subtlety in art also, but I don't play drums so I don't have a good sense about how to play them subtly or otherwise. I'll give the album another listen as soon as the stream goes back up.

 

Glenn is my favorite drummer in rock right now. I'd still like to hear Coomer rip the drums on that particular track and think Glenn's talents were underused on the album.

[DAngerer09]

listen to his drumming on Deeper Down. Great stuff.

[DAngerer09]

talents were underused on the album.

 

i think that's the kind of statement you could make for any of the guys besides Jeff in this band. All of them are capable of SO MUCH and they are all legit musicians in their own right who could front their own bands, write their own songs, etc. I mean, I would love to hear more of Jorgensen, Glenn and I would love it if Nels got to let loose a little moore. But, with so much talent jam packed into one band, I guess everyone isn't really going to shine on their own as much. does that make any sense?

[dontknownuthin]

i think that's the kind of statement you could make for any of the guys besides Jeff in this band. All of them are capable of SO MUCH and they are all legit musicians in their own right who could front their own bands, write their own songs, etc. I mean, I would love to hear more of Jorgensen, Glenn and I would love it if Nels got to let loose a little moore. But, with so much talent jam packed into one band, I guess everyone isn't really going to shine on their own as much. does that make any sense?

 

Of course it makes sense. While there's no doubt its Jeff's band, this is a supremely talented ensemble. I remember the comments a few years back from people on this board who felt Nels was underused on the last album. I agreed with that sentiment then and would have expanded it to include Glenn. Nels' range is much more on display on this album, IMO. I was in awe after seeing Glenn perform as the opener on Jeff's solo tour a few years back. His technical skills, his mastery of rhythm and yes, his subtlety, blew me away. I've figured it out though, I'm starting a political action committee: People for a More Dominant Glenn. Will be holding a fundraiser shortly, to be followed by a lengthy lobbying tour, starting July 8th at Wolf Trap.

[DAngerer09]

Yeah, I agree with you. I see what you mean.

[random painted highway]

1) Wilco The Song: I loved Nels' lead. It's somewhat random, but it seems to seamlessly fit in. Loved the harmonies in bells in the bridge! I don't know why they had to dial it down so much on the album compared with the Colbert Report version.

 

2) Deeper Down: Kind of like "Faust Arp" on "In Rainbows". An intriguing deviation. I won't call it my favorite song, but it's one of the more rewarding listens. I love Nels' baroque breakdown!

 

3) One Wing: For some reason, I find the songwriting very weak. Makes me appreciate "Impossible Germany" a lot more. Preferred the live version; they had a nice Interpol vibe that got a little watered down; I guess it's not a bad thing for a band to show a sense of economy by cutting the occasional wanky solo once in awhile, but the breakdown at the end was pretty cool.

 

4) Bull Black Nova: One of the highlights. Very Television-esque guitars, and not in a blantant-ripoff-way like in "Impossible Germany". I also think there's a universal consensus that the breakdown around 2:20ish is freakin' awesome. The ending was a little disappointing though. Surely the band that has mastered dynamics on "Kidsmoke" live could come up with something more subtle and effective than a minute of squall to indicate tension.

 

5) You And I: Tweedy's songwriting is amazing. Did they have to go with the most MOR arrangement imaginable though? Loved Nels' backwards outro.

 

6) You Never Know: Somewhat forgettable. Constant refrains of "I don't care anymore" become self-fulfilling prophecies for the listener. This actually makes a great cool-down song during a work out.

 

7) An example of amazing songwriting, and terrible production. If this had more of an O'Rourke production, it would have been absolutely amazing. But instead they went with "Either Way 2.0". Songwriting is the foundation of a good song and all, but imagine if "Jesus Etc" or "Ashes" was arranged like this? They'd definitely go down a peg.

 

8) Solitaire: One of the stand-outs of the album. When people compared it to Nick Drake, at first I thought it was a shallow comparison, but upon numerous listens, the song definitely synthesizes bits and pieces of "Northern Sky", "Pink Moon" and "Places To Be" in a gorgeous way. Nels' guitar playing and especially Pat's organ fills are heavenly.

 

 

9) I'll Fight: A very agreeable song, but nothing that grabs me.

 

10) Sonny Feeling: Another stand-out. One of the catchiest things they've ever written.

 

11) Everlasting: Amazing Nels flute outro FTW!

 

 

I guess I have contradictory opinions on this album. I think it's got some of the best songwriting Wilco has ever done, but some of the production and arrangements just seem to sap the life out of the songs. I guess I'm more of a person who values both hi-fi and production. "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" was what floored me, and got me into Wilco.

 

I think if there's one thing that really distinguishes this album is probably Nels' role. Wilco blended a lot better with Nels' style, and Nels' style has blended a lot more with Wilco. It's just magical to hear what he does on "Deeper Down", "Solitaire", and the outros of "You and I", and "Everlasting".

[bleedorange]

I think if there's one thing that really distinguishes this album is probably Nels' role. Wilco blended a lot better with Nels' style, and Nels' style has blended a lot more with Wilco. It's just magical to hear what he does on "Deeper Down", "Solitaire", and the outros of "You and I", and "Everlasting".

 

Definitely agree with this. Not that I minded what Nels brought to the table before, but I do think they have figured out ways to use him more effectively than just pasting a solo on the end or in the middle.

[jlb1705]

Positives:

- The vocals at the end of Bull Black Nova

- The lyrics of Deeper Down. I hear them as the opposite reaction to the lyrics in She's a Jar. The central figure in Deeper Down look internally, handles the situation passively. The central figure in a She's a Jar looks externally, handles it voilently. It reminds me of the difference between myself and my father. Also, I think the turn of phrase at the end of Deeper Down is a similar "surprise" to the one that occurs at the end of She's a Jar.

- You Never Know is just a fun song for me.

- I like the double-tracked vocals and pretty much everything else about Solitaire.

- I like the ending to One Wing. It's the more concise cousin to the ending of Muzzle of Bees.

- I like that many of us seem to think that the songs "end too soon" or "right when the best part came". I am a fan of Guided By Voices - they made a ton of great (and crappy) short songs that ended before they got stale and the best parts lost their impact. That's what I'm hearing in the best parts of some of these songs and I like it.

 

Negatives:

- I haven't figured out how to get into Sonny Feeling yet. I love the chorus, but the verses seem rather tepid so far. I'm not giving up on it though.

- I think I could say the same for I'll Fight.

- Listening to it in lossy quality.

 

Also, not a positive or a negative necessarily, but I want to comment on Glenn's drum parts. On this album, the drum parts don't announce themselves. You have to go find them. Once you do though, it's well worth it. I love the type of stuff you hear on I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, or War on War - but I also kinda like the fact that if you don't want to hear dominant or complex drumming on this album you don't have to and the songs don't suffer for it.

[random painted highway]

For some reason, I love "I can't calm down, I can't think," both in Tweedy's expression, and the point of tension in the music at that point in time. Also, the Television-esque breakdown around 1:40ish - 2:10ish is so delicious in every way imaginable.

[anthony]

 

- I like the double-tracked vocals and pretty much everything else about Solitaire.

 

+1

 

The more i listen to this, the more it grows on me.

[cooperissup3r]

i'll fight goes down like a really good beer. it's easy.