(The Album) - One Week Later

[Preferred B]

I do think there is something to 'listening hard,' however. Like, 'Poor Places' for example, is a song that has so many nuggets of goodness in it for those who 'listen hard.' Just my opinion, and I'll apologize for using such broad sweeps in my original post.

Yes, I am in total agreement. When I spend a lot of time with a song, I'm often rewarded. You just have to pick your battles. I do the same thing with books all the time. See: Thomas Pynchon. Maybe if I ever make myself finish one of his books I'll think it's wonderful...

 

By the way, it required no effort at all for me to enjoy Wilco (the album).

[awatt]

This is....depressing. Murder, everything alive must die, wave goodbye, so much worse than we feared, I'll kill, the other shoe waits for you. Sure, no doubt I'm projecting somewhat, and yes, some glimmers of light, but wow so....typical for the Tweedy on the dark side.

 

[awatt]

This is....depressing. Murder, everything alive must die, wave goodbye, so much worse than we feared, I'll kill, the other shoe waits for you. Sure, no doubt I'm projecting somewhat, and yes, some glimmers of light, but wow so....typical for the Tweedy on the dark side.

 

 

Though I should add that it all feels much better knowing that Wilco loves me, baby!

[willstafa24]

I go through a process when listening to a new Wilco album: I first listen to it on nice surround sound speakers in a small room. Then I listen to it while driving around. Finally, and this is the kicker, I listen to it straight through with headphones on and no distractions. With that said, I am in love with this album. Intricacies in every song, the baroque style drums in deeper down, the hypnotic spiders keys in Bull Black Nova. Tweedy's best songwriting and singing in a long time. It is a happy, loving album and I, for one, am happy and in love with this album.

[Basil II]

I continue to like the album alot and have some of the tunes stuck in my head. I wish three things however....

 

1. More Nels

2. More Glenn

3 Less of Pat playing repetitive triplets.

 

LouieB

 

 

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Pat's limitations are painfully clear........Jay or Leroy would have made shadings of music quite complex to make the lyrics pop......

instead of "pap"

 

 

-Robert

[mpolak21]

3. Pat's limitations are painfully clear........Jay or Leroy would have made shadings of music quite complex to make the lyrics pop......

instead of "pap"

 

 

-Robert

 

One of my favorite exchanges from the Enjoy Wilco on My Terms thread...

 

Within your terms, does Pat Sansone exist?

 

He's a lot like the tree that falls in the forest with no one around to hear it. Only the tree looks like Sandy Duncan.

[choo-choo-charlie]

'Melody' ≠ 'Tasty Lick'

Unless, there's a George Harrison song that You Never Know got its melody from?

 

 

 

A hundred times yes, except Dark Neon should actually replace The Song in my opinion.

 

Thank you! It's as if people don't understand the difference between a melody and one tasty guitar lick in a song. I was gonna stay out of it, but had to just chime in when you pointed this out. Thank you!

[barnyard pimp]

I still think this album would have better with Dark Neon leading things off followed by the current song order.

 

I find the sequencing so inappropriate that I made a few slight changes, which I've been trying to sell my friends on...

 

1. Dark Neon

2. Sonny Feeling

3. Deeper Down

4. One Wing

5. You and I

6. You Never Know

7. Solitaire

8. I'll Fight

9. Bull Black Nova

10. Country Disappeared

11. Everlasting Everything

12. Wilco the Song

 

I'd love to hear thoughts from anyone who tries this order. I find that 'Dark Neon' as an opener is so odd and off-putting that it paints the album in a TOTALLY different light, and the drum intro/build-up of additional instruments is a great way to start the record. I put 'Sonny Feeling' next because I think it's way too upbeat and catchy to be buried at the end of the record, and it really shines in the 2nd slot. Then basically the rest of the album is in a pretty similar order, but with the heaviness of 'Dark Neon' and 'Sonny Feeling' at the beginning I was able to save 'Bull Black Nova' for closer to the end of the record, which I think really balances out the second side and keeps it from getting too dreary, which a lot of people have complained about. I found 'Everlasting' to be waaaay too bombastic and ultimately disappointing as a closer, so I tacked 'Wilco the Song' right at the end which totally leaves you feeling uplifted and excited when the record ends rather than feeling like you've just sat thru 5 slow songs and it's over.

 

I'm not saying it's perfect but to me it balances the hard/soft dynamics much more evenly across the whole record.

[Golden Smoghead]

Just wanted to chime in on the SBS-disliking bit earlier: some of us really just didn't like the album very much at all. I think I unpacked why I didn't like it in threads after it came out, but the gist is that it didn't resonate with me other than "What Light," largely because I am not a fan of Nels' long solos. I think a large part of why I prefer W(TA) is because this Nels-wank-factor was greatly reduced.

 

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW SBS-HATER-HATERS?? SEE HOW THERE IS LOGIC IN THAT?? SBS-disdain was not some sort of odd Wilco fan internet hari-kari, it was an actual response by actual fans; not that hard to compreehend.

 

I totally think Speed Racer is right though, we just all have different tastes. And again: w(ta) really is kickass and grows on me more and more.

[Basil II]

I went back to A.M. after listening to WTA..... The problem is in the sound mixes . Every song on WTA has a muddied sameness to it.....which detracts from some decent lyrics. On A.M., The drums and Henneman's leads are brightly up front punctuating the lyrics........on that reason alone.......A.M. is the better record.

 

 

-Robert

[Sir Stewart]

I find the sequencing so inappropriate that I made a few slight changes, which I've been trying to sell my friends on...

 

1. Dark Neon

2. Sonny Feeling

3. Deeper Down

4. One Wing

5. You and I

6. You Never Know

7. Solitaire

8. I'll Fight

9. Bull Black Nova

10. Country Disappeared

11. Everlasting Everything

12. Wilco the Song

 

I'd love to hear thoughts from anyone who tries this order. I find that 'Dark Neon' as an opener is so odd and off-putting that it paints the album in a TOTALLY different light, and the drum intro/build-up of additional instruments is a great way to start the record. I put 'Sonny Feeling' next because I think it's way too upbeat and catchy to be buried at the end of the record, and it really shines in the 2nd slot. Then basically the rest of the album is in a pretty similar order, but with the heaviness of 'Dark Neon' and 'Sonny Feeling' at the beginning I was able to save 'Bull Black Nova' for closer to the end of the record, which I think really balances out the second side and keeps it from getting too dreary, which a lot of people have complained about. I found 'Everlasting' to be waaaay too bombastic and ultimately disappointing as a closer, so I tacked 'Wilco the Song' right at the end which totally leaves you feeling uplifted and excited when the record ends rather than feeling like you've just sat thru 5 slow songs and it's over.

 

I'm not saying it's perfect but to me it balances the hard/soft dynamics much more evenly across the whole record.

I like what you did here, because I'm just as big a fan of 'Dark Neon' as an opener. Except I'd remove 'The Song' altogether, and not change the order of the rest of the album. The way I listen now, 'Dark Neon' (like you said above) paints the rest of the album in a light that 'The Song' didn't do at all. It's more cohesive, stronger, deeper.

If I'd change anything else, I think it would be dropping 'Everlasting Everything', because it's IMO the most boring Wilco song ever. But, the album needs a closer.

[barnyard pimp]

That's why I figured sticking 'the song' at the end made for a fun closer (and indeed it ends quite abruptly) and finishes the record on less of a 'low note' than 'Everlasting...'. Kiiiind of like what 'Late Greats' does for the drone.

[Central Scrutinizer]

Back when the album was leaked, I said that I thought this album spoke of the relationship between band and audience -- beyond just Wilco (the Song). In fact I saw You and I, not as a love duet, but as a sort of flipside to The Lonely 1 -- tweedy characterizing the relationship with fans and what they share, don't have to get too deep into what it all means etc. I saw this quote from a Q&A published 7/16 (it references the cover concept) and I found a bit of validation in this:

 

"It was supposed to be a subtle commentary on identity and how people pour themselves into the identity of the music they like, and appropriate personas. There's some commentary like that on the record, too ... I sent her a bunch of reference photos, and I wanted one that made people say, "What the hell is going on? And why wasn't I invited?"

[Guest Francis X. Hummel]

I went back to A.M. after listening to WTA..... Every song on A.M. (save for the terrible It's Just That Simple) is better than any song on WTA ........on that reason alone.......A.M. is the better record.

 

Fixed it for ya!

[Ghost of Electricity]

Back when the album was leaked, I said that I thought this album spoke of the relationship between band and audience -- beyond just Wilco (the Song). In fact I saw You and I, not as a love duet, but as a sort of flipside to The Lonely 1 -- tweedy characterizing the relationship with fans and what they share, don't have to get too deep into what it all means etc. I saw this quote from a Q&A published 7/16 (it references the cover concept) and I found a bit of validation in this:

 

"It was supposed to be a subtle commentary on identity and how people pour themselves into the identity of the music they like, and appropriate personas. There's some commentary like that on the record, too ... I sent her a bunch of reference photos, and I wanted one that made people say, "What the hell is going on? And why wasn't I invited?"

yeah, and i looked for this several times after i had responded to it, but it had been deleted.

[Merlin401]

I think SBS and WTA are both very solid albums which dont exactly quench the full excitement of NEW MUSIC from Wilco, simply because that usually meant a new genre and here it hasn't. At least the mood shifted considerably on SBS whereas here it remains the same. I like a lot of the songs a lot and it is very listenable (unlike a few moments of experimentation they've had in the past perhaps).

 

Overall, I'd say it would have been perfect if the best of both albums were combined into one. That would have been a masterpiece. Its kind of how I feel with KidA/Amnesiac from Radiohead.

 

Highlights are:

One Wing (great melody)

Bull Black Nova (intense, great imagery and emotional interplay between lyrics and music)

You and I (personal favorite, but just happened to relate it to something in real life so...)

 

Blander moments are:

Country Disappeared

Solitaire

Everlasting Everything (its like trying to use start/stop dynamics on a ballad... weird tempo to this song)

[lamradio]

He's a lot like the tree that falls in the forest with no one around to hear it. Only the tree looks like Sandy Duncan.

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

Patty Dunsone

 

 

God that's scary..

[Beltmann]

So this is what it feels like to be traumatized.

[Basil II]

This is really hard for me to say..........W(TA) will probably be the last Wilco record I will purchase sight unseen or unheard........

 

 

-Robert

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Just wanted to chime in on the SBS-disliking bit earlier: some of us really just didn't like the album very much at all. I think I unpacked why I didn't like it in threads after it came out, but the gist is that it didn't resonate with me largely because I am not a fan of Nels' long solos. I think a large part of why I prefer W(TA) is because this Nels-wank-factor was greatly reduced.

This is exactly how I feel. In fact, the last couple times I saw Wilco, way before W(TA), my enjoyment of the show was greatly reduced by Nels' apparent need to wankity wank during every freaking song. Can't the guy just wait for his solo and vamp sometimes? The brutal cacophony at the end of certain songs (Handshake Drugs, Spiders, I'm the Man Who Loves You, Impossible Germany) actually caused me to plug my ears.

 

W(TA) has plenty of guitar in it, but I don't have the feeling during every song of "Oh boy, Nels sure is playing the shit out of this song, isn't he?" And that's a good thing.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

This is exactly how I feel. In fact, the last couple times I saw Wilco, way before W(TA), my enjoyment of the show was greatly reduced by Nels' apparent need to wankity wank during every freaking song. Can't the guy just wait for his solo and vamp sometimes? The brutal cacophony at the end of certain songs (Handshake Drugs, Spiders, I'm the Man Who Loves You, Impossible Germany) actually caused me to plug my ears.

 

 

 

 

Well...Jeff is responsible for most of the 'brutal cacophony' on the above mentioned songs. Can't really blame Nels there.

[Vacant Horizon]

i've finally come to some conclusions about the album. after a few weeks on my ipod, i have deleted (not permanently) Bull Black Nova, You And I, and I'll Fight. I do like the song BBN, but it just doesn't seem to fit. It would worked better on a darker album like AGIB. You and I is just a complete toss off and should have been a bonus track. Pleasant to hear, but not too compelling. I'll fight is just terrible. I wish the band would've kept Let's not get carried away for this album as it would've paired well with BBN and made the disc a little less boring. the rest of the songs are just okay. nothing amazing. SBS had some great songs that made me play air guitar, if you know what i mean. One Wing and Deeper Down are classic latter era wilco songs. Solitaire is also good, but i hate the double tracked tweedy vocals. the band needs a mix up to keep things fresh i think.

[awatt]

Every Wilco studio album has three songs in a row that blow my mind:

 

AM--Box, Ashamed, Change

BT (1)--Misunderstood, Away, Monday

BT (2)--Why, Lonely, Dreamer

ST--Always, nothing, Pieholden

YHF--Pot, Poor, Reservations

AGIB--Drugs, Wishful, Company

SBS--Face, Germany, Sky

 

It's now clear to me after listening multiple times which three take the cake from W(TA):

 

Fight, Sonny, Everlasting

 

IMO