New record label?

[Guest Speed Racer]

Maybe the author thinks the past two albums sucked, and hypothesizes that it might be a trend?

[jff]

Maybe the author thinks the past two albums sucked, and hypothesizes that it might be a trend?

 

Perhaps, but putting out sucky albums tends to be a great career move for musicians.

[Guest Speed Racer]

You can't blame a critic for erring on the side of justice.

[LouieB]

The lastt two records did NOT suck....

 

LouieB

[Guest Speed Racer]

What about the last two?

 

Never claimed they did, just hypothesizing why the author might think the fan base wouldn't expand.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I wonder why the author of that article feels the fan base is "unlikely to grow" in coming years.

 

Because it is a band that will never appeal to teenyboppers.

[Guest Speed Racer]

But not all teens are teeny boppers, and certainly people don't only listen to new music exclusively. I was 14 when I first heard Wilco, and the first song I heard was off a years old album.

[welch79]

starting their own label...hmmm....this explains the strange closing to the email update i got from "wilco hq" today. it closes with:

 

"The band will be making a new record and we'll be figuring out how we're gonna release it, etc. So much to do. Stay tuned & stay cool.

 

the HQ camp counselors"

 

i thought that was a bit cryptic, but if they are forming a new label, it makes total sense.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

But not all teens are teeny boppers, and certainly people don't only listen to new music exclusively. I was 14 when I first heard Wilco, and the first song I heard was off a years old album.

 

And I would imagine that you will admit that you are the exception rather than the rule.

 

Wilco will stay in the same realm as Alejandro Escovedo...the best band working and one that hardly anybody knows.

 

But as long as the boys can make a good living on the road and release new material every two years or so...well...is that really such a bad thing?

[Guest Speed Racer]

And I would imagine that you will admit that you are the exception rather than the rule.

 

Teenyboppers are high profile, to be sure, but they are by no means the rule.

 

Wilco will stay in the same realm as Alejandro Escovedo...the best band working and one that hardly anybody knows.

 

Comparing Wilco's profile to Alejandro Escovedo's is laughable at this point in their careers. Wilco has overshadowed him in tour revenue, record sales, commercial appearances, television appearances, venue size, awards, press...should I keep going?

[Beltmann]

Personal observation that may or may not be relevant: I teach high schoolers, and eight years ago it was fairly easy to get teens interested in Wilco. These days, though, it's much more difficult. Today's teens pretty much consider Wilco and their music to be stuff for older folks. Apparently, the gap between modern teens and Wilco-coolness is wider than ever before. Closing that gap is certainly possible--last year I turned a few kids on to Wilco--but it's tougher than ever before. (That was bound to happen eventually, wasn't it?)

[u2roolz]

Personal observation that may or may not be relevant: I teach high schoolers, and eight years ago it was fairly easy to get teens interested in Wilco. These days, though, it's much more difficult. Today's teens pretty much consider Wilco and their music to be stuff for older folks. Apparently, the gap between modern teens and Wilco-coolness is wider than ever before. Closing that gap is certainly possible--last year I turned a few kids on to Wilco--but it's tougher than ever before. (That was bound to happen eventually, wasn't it?)

 

Ah, the ole' WIlco Pusher. That's how I got the majority of my friends to get into them. If I never pushed Wilco onto them, they probably would never have heard of them. This really might not be the best business model, but it certainly has worked for them it seems.

[Jayson]

I'm 17, and all of my friends know who Wilco is....because of me....and they still don't like them....and I still think they're all crazy

 

Actually, I completely get why people don't like Wilco. I mean...it's not exactly the easiest thing to latch on to. I think it takes a certain relationship with music as a whole for you to really develop a relationship with Wilco. I don't want to go as far as to say that some people don't have the depth to "get" or "understand" Wilco, because many of my friends, who are brilliant people in my opinion, just don't like them. I think you just have to be someone who seeks music intellectually and passionately, which is an ok thing not to be. Doesn't mean you're stupid or simple- just means you're not that.

[LouieB]

I'm 17, and all of my friends know who Wilco is....because of me....and they still don't like them....and I still think they're all crazy

 

Who are the 17 year olds listening to this year?

 

LouieB

[Synthesizer Patel]

Personal observation that may or may not be relevant: I teach high schoolers, and eight years ago it was fairly easy to get teens interested in Wilco. These days, though, it's much more difficult. Today's teens pretty much consider Wilco and their music to be stuff for older folks. Apparently, the gap between modern teens and Wilco-coolness is wider than ever before. Closing that gap is certainly possible--last year I turned a few kids on to Wilco--but it's tougher than ever before. (That was bound to happen eventually, wasn't it?)

 

8 years ago wilco put out their best album (well, i prefer AGIB - but YHF was a big leap in quality and relevancy for the band) - so it's good to know that it was easier getting kids to like them back then - it means the kids do like the best stuff! wilco really aren't very relevant anymore, and i feel they aren't very good (which is, i know, my opinion - but the relevancy thing is just a fact). their early work was only relevant within a specific genre which (whilst being great) wasn't exactly of it's time, so when they actually hit a purple patch it was natural that young kids would gravitate towards them. maybe they'll get good & relevant again!

 

this all sounds very negative. but, ya know, i'm just trying to explain why i think kids would be into them 10 or so years ago, rather than now. and also, that i think the kids are all right!

[Guest Speed Racer]

the relevancy thing is just a fact

 

Oh, that depends entirely on how you apply the term "relevancy." Relevent to what? To you? Certainly less relevant. Relevant to culture? If they were irrelevant, then their radio play would be less (which is not true), their appearance on soundtracks would diminish (television and movie alike, definitely not true), their venue sizes would be smaller (definitely not true), their magazine features would be fewer, of a lower profile (cover of Spin? again, not true). More people are talking about them, listening to them and featuring them than they were 10 years ago. Or just as much, perhaps.

 

Relevant to whom? Relevant to what?

[Synthesizer Patel]

Oh, that depends entirely on how you apply the term "relevancy." Relevent to what? To you? Certainly less relevant. Relevant to culture? If they were irrelevant, then their radio play would be less (which is not true), their appearance on soundtracks would diminish (television and movie alike, definitely not true), their venue sizes would be smaller (definitely not true), their magazine features would be fewer, of a lower profile (cover of Spin? again, not true). More people are talking about them, listening to them and featuring them than they were 10 years ago. Or just as much, perhaps.

 

Relevant to whom? Relevant to what?

 

relevant to my argument, damn it!

 

no, i mean relevant to the development of music. the size of sales, venue size, radio play means nothing - otherwise they've never really been relevant at all. in "don't look back" bob dylan says, they talk about music in terms of "is he saying something?" or whatever he says. that's what i mean. if they are saying something now, i can probably think of a whole bunch of people that are saying it better.

 

you know if you want to think they are as relevant now, or more so; fair enough. i can't see people looking back on this year in 20 years time and mentioning wilco. however when they look back at 2000-4, i'm sure they'll get a little line in the history books of music.

[Guest Speed Racer]

no, i mean relevant to the development of music.

 

It's not whether or not I think they're relevant now; the point is that relevancy is, by and large, a tool of opinion. Twenty years from now, they might make a line in the "history books" for 2000-2004? Whose book? Who's reading it?

 

Their legacy will probably be YHF and the controversy surrounding it, but if by some miracle of the lord himself I wind up with a kid, and that kid asks about YHF, I'd be crazy not to hand them Summerteeth. Point being, regardless of what the sum of their legacy is, the parts are greater than the whole in this instance, in my opinion.

 

To people who hear Wilco on Parenthood and buy W(TA), Wilco is relevant now. To people who hear YHF today for the first time and start creating different music because of it, Wilco is relevant now. To people who no longer like Wilco after hearing Leave Me Like You Found Me, so long as they forgave them for that abomination and still listen to earlier releases, Wilco is relevant to them now.

[Synthesizer Patel]

oh, alright i give!

i think i've had this, or a very similar, argument on this site a number of times before and it never got me anywhere. i;m just back here doing it again!

[LouieB]

Personal observation that may or may not be relevant: I teach high schoolers, and eight years ago it was fairly easy to get teens interested in Wilco. These days, though, it's much more difficult. Today's teens pretty much consider Wilco and their music to be stuff for older folks. Apparently, the gap between modern teens and Wilco-coolness is wider than ever before. Closing that gap is certainly possible--last year I turned a few kids on to Wilco--but it's tougher than ever before. (That was bound to happen eventually, wasn't it?)

I guess I should ask you...what are are kids listening to these days??

 

Well clearly Wilco is music for older folks. In the last few years the content of the lyrics has certainly been more geared to issues of maturity (relationships, personal feelings, nostalgia, grappling with internal life, etc.) A record label can do a few different things, not simply sell new music to new fans, although that would be nice. It can sell new music to older fans who continue to be fans, sell new music of other groups to new and old fans, or sell old music to old and new fans, if the rights are taken back from the original labels. I would assume Wilco is interested in doing all of the above. If not I have no idea why they need their own imprint.

 

LouieB

[u2roolz]

To me it's pretty irrelevant what kids listen to these days, since the term "kids" is so broad and vague. Are we talking about tweens, teens, college kids or young professionals? What about Minor Leaguers? I know that "kids" somewhere are listening to WIlco.

 

Anyways, getting to Sex Nap's comment about Wilco radio play I have an interesting and frustrating story that I'd like to share with you.

 

In Boston on WFNX they have an A-Z weekend where they play songs with the 1st letter of the alphabet then end up on Z on Sunday night. I ended up messaging them on their Facebook board to request Wilco and furthermore why they never play Wilco.

 

Here's what I wrote: "Hey WFNX any reason why you won't play Wilco?! Is it because of their record label or some other odd reason? You can't really say that they don't fit the format because you're playing Depeche Mode followed by Red Hot Chili Peppers. LOL."

 

Here's my response that I got: "We love Wilco. They get played occasionally, but as awesome as they are, they don't have very many recognizable "radio songs". Next time they release an album we'll probably play them more often."

 

WTF!!! You as a FUCKING radio station make music more "recognizable". Hello! Earth to FNX! Do you think any "kid" listening to FNX knew of Depeche Mode's Halo or Fly On The Windscreen? No. Probably not. But you keep playing it in your deep cuts A-Z weekend.

 

Anyone want to bombard WFNX's Facebook page with Wilco requests this coming Friday? (I thought about doing this when this originally happened, but held back. Although, I had more ammo that time because Wilco was one weekend away from playing the Orpheum.) Seriously, this station plays She & Him, Spoon, Green Day, Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers, & Weezer. To name a few.

 

Oh yeah. I'm not really trying to contradict myself on this one. I do believe that "kids" listen to Wilco on their own means, but in Boston they don't play them anywhere on the radio.

[mpolak21]

oh, alright i give!

i think i've had this, or a very similar, argument on this site a number of times before and it never got me anywhere. i;m just back here doing it again!

 

It's damn near impossible not to let personal judgement get into it though. If you think the last two albums were shit, it's easy to make the connection that they aren't relevant anymore because they aren't as relevant to you and that's the perspective through which you filter things.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Oooh, I had a fun idea! Maybe this label will be their opportunity to move Pat to a desk job within the organization, no?

[LouieB]

To me it's pretty irrelevant what kids listen to these days, since the term "kids" is so broad and vague.

In this case it was not vague at all. I was asking a 17 year old and a high school teacher. Kids in this case mean just what it says, anyone below the age of 18.

 

It isn't irrelevant if a band is interested in selling records to teens, but since Wilco has never been a teen band, I don't think they were ever interested in selling to teens. They picked up plenty of teens who have decent taste (like MY previous teens), but those are fewer and further between as Wilco (The Band) also gets older.

 

LouieB

[u2roolz]

I apologize. I didn't read Jayson's posts because he began it with "I'm 17 years old....".