Rank The Studio Albums

[junior five]

1 Summerteeth

2 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

3 Being There

4 The Whole Love (though clearly too early to tell)

5 AM

6 A Ghost Is Born

7 Sky Blue Sky

8 Wilco (The Album)

[LaughingDog]

 

Personal preference, different tastes, yada, yada, yada. Ranking Being There last is absolutely preposterous. Exactly what genre is it? There are more "genres" represented on that one album than any other Wilco album.

 

I think I disagree that there are more genres represented on Being There. The difference between some later Wilco albums and Being There is the incorporation of different stylizations within the songs themselves. By listening to a single song (post Being There), you're able to absorb a huge spectrum of textures and ideas and concepts from a plethora of different styles and genres of music. Monday, Outtasite Outtamind, Misunderstood, Far Far Away, I Got You, Kingpin, Lonely 1, and one of my absolute all-time favorite Wilco songs, What's the World Got In Store - absolute classics. So good. But each song is also so precisely one kind of thing. They are shallow. I have to be in a mood to listen to Being There, especially back to front. It just doesn't resonate as deeply with me as, say, GIB or YHF stuff because the songs themselves don't have any "juice" pumped into them - they are simply beautifully put together melodies and tunes that you are able to enjoy quite passively. For me, I prefer Poor Places or IATBYH simply because there are those extra sonic elements and layers that will always catch some part of me off guard, no matter how many times I've listened to them. The songs on Being There are just songs - good ones. YHF and GIB are explorations.

 

Why AM > Being There for me? It's easier for me to listen to as an album, because it's shorter. They are pretty interchangeable on my list, but will probably remain low on it because of the sentiments expressed above. Still love both of these albums to death.

[-seven]

Misunderstood is "shallow"? is "so precisely one kind of thing"? I completely disagree. I have no problem with people having their song preferences as well as those they don't like but this just strikes me as majorly off. Misunderstood is a masterpiece. Nothing else sounded like it at the time. This was the band breaking new ground and heading into new territory. I have no idea how anyone would say this song doesn't have any "juice pumped" into it. My god, my head is spinning.

[smells like flowers]

What I love so much about Being There is the energy.... the songs might not have that deep, multi-layered style of ST or YHF, but there is so much exuberance on BT. I Got You, Monday, Outtasite... the unrestrained, rock-out quality of these songs keeps me coming back for more. I think too, that what makes that balls-to-the-wall power-pop/southern rock-y sound so appealing is the contrast to the subsequent more introspective, troubled songs. It's fun to imagine Jeff writing a song where the only way the feeling could be expressed was a frenzied, ecstatic scream. If that's not "juice pumped into it," I don't know what is!

 

Plus they were young.

 

Edit: The above reflects only my deep and abiding love for disc 1. Don't even get me started on Sunken Treasure!

[lost highway]

I love Being There. I could do without the "Kingpin"- "(was I) In Your Dreams"- "Why Would You Wanna Live" part. I like "(Was I) In Your Dreams" in a Randy Newman kind of way, but at that point in the album those three seem kind of inferior to everything that came before.... it gets a little tired.

 

One thing about BT, that I think Laughing Dog is noticing (and apparently offending people with) is "Misunderstood" (maybe "Sunken Treasure" in a way too) is the only song that deconstructs genre conventions. The rest is kind of a exuberant game of roll the genre dice. Most of the exercises are joyful, melodic and vibrant. But it's also an album chock full of good covers for a bar band. My dad doesn't scrunch up his eyebrows to understand it when he's listening.

 

All of that changed in the albums that follow. The band deconstructed their methodology, they pulled apart the conventions to make new statements and they frequently transcended genre. For example "Muzzle of Bees" could be called a folk song for short hand but it's kind of its own thing. "Monday" and "I Got You" are foot stomping rockers plain and simple.

 

Where I think some people got disappointed with W(TA) is it was an attempt at channeling versions of what Wilco is. An album like BT (and AM) was interested in channeling all the things that rock and roll is. ST, YHF, AGIB and now in an impressive way TWL are channeling art, using new and old musical vocabulary to communicate beyond some kind of "roots" tradition.

 

I don't really know where SBS fits into that. I see it having bits of all of those tropes. I think at this point I would have to listen to the entire catalog over to get a hierarchy.

[smells like flowers]

Since this thread got a bit derailed re: Being There, I've always wondered about the significance of the Sunken Treasure lyric "got my name from rock and roll." I've searched VC and the internet without finding anything to illuminate it. Is Jeff talking about his own name, or the band's name -- anyone know? (I know that Wilco = will comply, so I'm assuming he's referring to something else.)

[LaughingDog]

Misunderstood is "shallow"? is "so precisely one kind of thing"? I completely disagree. I have no problem with people having their song preferences as well as those they don't like but this just strikes me as majorly off. Misunderstood is a masterpiece. Nothing else sounded like it at the time. This was the band breaking new ground and heading into new territory. I have no idea how anyone would say this song doesn't have any "juice pumped" into it. My god, my head is spinning.

 

But you misunderstood (heh) me absolutely completely... lost highway's post put it probably way more eloquently than I can put it, so I won't type a long reply, but you are expressing sentiments on a single song within a double album... Misunderstood, Sunken Treasure, some tunes off Summerteeth... it was Wilco's demonstration of breaking new ground, sure, but when YHF was released, the game changed. That is an entire album that redefined the music industry on an incredibly poignant front. I just cannot compare that to Being There. Sorry to make your head spin, I'd offer Advil if I were over there. (;

 

 

What I love so much about Being There is the energy.... the songs might not have that deep, multi-layered style of ST or YHF, but there is so much exuberance on BT. I Got You, Monday, Outtasite... the unrestrained, rock-out quality of these songs keeps me coming back for more. I think too, that what makes that balls-to-the-wall power-pop/southern rock-y sound so appealing is the contrast to the subsequent more introspective, troubled songs. It's fun to imagine Jeff writing a song where the only way the feeling could be expressed was a frenzied, ecstatic scream. If that's not "juice pumped into it," I don't know what is!

 

Plus they were young.

 

Edit: The above reflects only my deep and abiding love for disc 1. Don't even get me started on Sunken Treasure!

 

You bring up some factors that I honestly did not think of. They were young. Here's the thing that kind of negates that for me, though: A.M. Talk about good songwriting, Jeff's been doing it since day 1, really. Your comment about the unrestrained rockers is absolutely indisputable. Some (probably most) would take that over something like GIB or YHF. I just don't. That's all (: I love those songs to death, I really do. Where my personal taste comes in is the high placement of Sky Blue Sky. I prefer that dad rock, bluesy genre over country rock, most of the times. I place SBS so highly based only on the fact that I have listened to it SO much. I've only listened to Being There a handful of times front to back. Maybe I should listen more, my opinion may change.

 

 

I love Being There. I could do without the "Kingpin"- "(was I) In Your Dreams"- "Why Would You Wanna Live" part. I like "(Was I) In Your Dreams" in a Randy Newman kind of way, but at that point in the album those three seem kind of inferior to everything that came before.... it gets a little tired.

 

One thing about BT, that I think Laughing Dog is noticing (and apparently offending people with) is "Misunderstood" (maybe "Sunken Treasure" in a way too) is the only song that deconstructs genre conventions. The rest is kind of a exuberant game of roll the genre dice. Most of the exercises are joyful, melodic and vibrant. But it's also an album chock full of good covers for a bar band. My dad doesn't scrunch up his eyebrows to understand it when he's listening.

 

All of that changed in the albums that follow. The band deconstructed their methodology, they pulled apart the conventions to make new statements and they frequently transcended genre. For example "Muzzle of Bees" could be called a folk song for short hand but it's kind of its own thing. "Monday" and "I Got You" are foot stomping rockers plain and simple.

 

That's exactly what I mean, you really nailed it.

 

Your comment about getting tired near the third quarter of the album is a reason why it's last on my list. I do get tired listening to it.... that doesn't happen with me for any other Wilco album. That's a pretty big factor, if you ask me.

[-seven]

Since this thread got a bit derailed re: Being There, I've always wondered about the significance of the Sunken Treasure lyric "got my name from rock and roll." I've searched VC and the internet without finding anything to illuminate it. Is Jeff talking about his own name, or the band's name -- anyone know? (I know that Wilco = will comply, so I'm assuming he's referring to something else.)

 

I think that line just speaks to a achieving a certain amount of fame

[-seven]

 

But you misunderstood (heh) me absolutely completely... lost highway's post put it probably way more eloquently than I can put it, so I won't type a long reply, but you are expressing sentiments on a single song within a double album... Misunderstood, Sunken Treasure, some tunes off Summerteeth... it was Wilco's demonstration of breaking new ground, sure, but when YHF was released, the game changed. That is an entire album that redefined the music industry on an incredibly poignant front. I just cannot compare that to Being There. Sorry to make your head spin, I'd offer Advil if I were over there. (;

 

Still feel like you should have left Misunderstood out of your example.

[Magnetized]

This is a wonderful post. [Edit: I was replying to Lost Highway's post.] I'm reading in kind of a hurry and I'm not sure I completely agree with everything you said, but definitely most of it, and you've expressed what I've tried to say many times before much better than I could.

 

It's honestly a mystery to me why I never get tired of listening to Wilco, whereas with some other artists I love (Randy Newman,Warren Zevon, Lou Reed, Springsteen, on and on and on) I can burn out after a few days. But with Wilco it's really different. It's like their music has seeped into my soul and become a part of me, so listening to it is just a comfort to me. I relate to their music on a whole different level from anyone else. Maybe it's the complexity, maybe it's Jeff's voice (I KNOW a big part of it is Jeff's voice), but there's a connection to this band that is undeniable.

[LaughingDog]

 

Still feel like you should have left Misunderstood out of your example.

 

OHHHHH, I see where I offended you now, haha. I listed those songs not as examples as to why I disliked the album, but as a sampler of songs I really enjoyed off of it. There's an album's worth (maybe an album and a half) of extremely good songs on Being There, really. It's the pacing, length, and overall lack of depth on most of the really good songs that gets to me. Sorry, I reread what I posted and really should have left Misunderstood out of that sampling right before my comment about the shallowness. Misunderstood is the one (there are a few others) that definitely transcends that barrier.

[-seven]

 

OHHHHH, I see where I offended you now, haha. I listed those songs not as examples as to why I disliked the album, but as a sampler of songs I really enjoyed off of it. There's an album's worth (maybe an album and a half) of extremely good songs on Being There, really. It's the pacing, length, and overall lack of depth on most of the really good songs that gets to me. Sorry, I reread what I posted and really should have left Misunderstood out of that sampling right before my comment about the shallowness. Misunderstood is the one (there are a few others) that definitely transcends that barrier.

 

I wasn't offended. I just thought it was off base and now it seems that we are in agreement. So all is well in the neighborhood.

[Queen Amaranthine]

It's like their music has seeped into my soul and become a part of me, so listening to it is just a comfort to me. I relate to their music on a whole different level from anyone else. Maybe it's the complexity, maybe it's Jeff's voice (I KNOW a big part of it is Jeff's voice), but there's a connection to this band that is undeniable.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself!

 

Plus they were young.

 

Edit: The above reflects only my deep and abiding love for disc 1. Don't even get me started on Sunken Treasure!

 

I'm the same age as Jeff, and the whole life stages part could be some of my tendency to relate to the music. Still, though, I can listen to older albums and relate to some degree. I didn't know about Wilco until I was in my mid-30s and wonder how I'd have connected (or not) had I heard Being There or AM when they first came out. Many of the lyrics and the messages in the songs would have spoke to me even then, but the twang in most of those tunes might've scared me off! Too much banjo than I could have handled in my 20's/early 30's!

 

The first time I heard Sunken Treasure was live in 2002, when the band reworked it to sound more haunting and comtemplative. Mesmerizing. Even now I much prefer that version to the album version.

[bleedorange]

Not being able to listen to Being There all the way through says more about the listener's attention span than the album itself. It's one of Wilco's strongest albums thematically and the various styles it incorporates in all the songs really come together well. It's an album to immerse yourself in and get completely lost (in the best possible way).

[LaughingDog]

Not being able to listen to Being There all the way through says more about the listener's attention span than the album itself. It's one of Wilco's strongest albums thematically and the various styles it incorporates in all the songs really come together well. It's an album to immerse yourself in and get completely lost (in the best possible way).

 

Does it? Or does it say more about my taste? If you go back to my list, GIB is at the top... I'd argue you need an infinitely greater attention span for Less Than You Think versus any other song off Being There. I'd probably argue that for Spiders, too. Being There is one of Wilco's strongest albums thematically: yes. It is not one of my favorite themes. What do you want me to say? It's a double album of a side of Wilco I'm not the hugest fan of...

 

Personally, I much prefer to get lost in the soundscapes of YHF or GIB over the hard rockers of Being There, even the introspective slower ballads. I find it easier to get lost in the latter than the former, simply because of the depth and room for interpretation. There is only one way to interpret Outtasite Outtamind or I Got You, really: by RAWKIN OUT

 

It's good sometimes but not all the time for me. That's all. Moving on.

[Guest McGuffin]

Why can't the guy or anyone else have an opinion that's less than glowing about something Wilco has done without being subjected to Blitzkrieg? It's an opinion board. And opinions will differ. ****sake.

 

Anyway, Being There was immediate for me. That's unlike most of the last three albums. So what.

[Ghost of Electricity]

 

You're crazy maaaaan.

I assuming you say this because AM is so high or ST is so low. Well, AM was my first, and at the time it was all about that record, Anodyne, Trace, and Hollywood Town Hall. It was a magical period for "alt-country" and an equally magical period in my personal life, so I decided to answer with my heart. Other records (even ST) appeal to my brain more, but that doesn't change the fact that I love what I love.

 

Conversely, I missed ST by a few years, only getting to it after YHF, so it was more an exercise in filling in the gaps. It may be a "greater accomplishment" than AM (whatever tf that means) but it just doesn't have all the positive emotional baggage attached.

[smells like flowers]

 

Plus they were young.

 

By saying that, I meant I didn't mean that the songs were simple easy rockers because of the band's youth. I meant I love BT because the youthful energy it has... I guess what I'm really saying is you don't feel like that when you're older! You're so much more aware of yourself. And I'm almost as old as Jeff is too, so I'm not saying they're oldsters now or anything.

 

I respect everyone's love for the band, no matter which albums speak to them the loudest. I simply felt inspired to articulate the reasons I love BT. And those songs are so kick-ass played live!

[Edie]

You know, it would be so much easier if we just ranked them chronologically, like the old days.

[smells like flowers]

I've only listened to Being There a handful of times front to back. Maybe I should listen more, my opinion may change.

 

Funny, it took several years of only an occasional listen for BT to get under my skin. At first I dismissed it as over-indulgence on their part with the jammy songs and never-ending endings (disc 2). And then on a long drive, I listened to it and something clicked. Not knocking your affinity for SBS at all! I guess I just like talking about my feelings about Wilco. Thank god for this board, since my husband is so over my Wilco obsession!

[-seven]

Why can't the guy or anyone else have an opinion that's less than glowing about something Wilco has done without being subjected to Blitzkrieg? It's an opinion board. And opinions will differ. ****sake.

 

Are you security? I think he's fine. He's got opinions. We've got opinions. That's how these things work.

 

But maybe we should check. Laughingdog, do you need a hug?

[LaughingDog]

 

Are you security? I think he's fine. He's got opinions. We've got opinions. That's how these things work.

 

But maybe we should check. Laughingdog, do you need a hug?

 

Yes

 

I'm just shattered that you like something more than me

 

Izz all good McGuffin, some bumpin heads about a band we are all passionate about ain't gonna hurt nobody.

[tinnitus photography]

things i have learned from this thread:

 

 

Opinions matter!

 

 

Some opinions are wrong!

[-seven]

 

Yes

 

I'm just shattered that you like something more than me

 

Izz all good McGuffin, some bumpin heads about a band we are all passionate about ain't gonna hurt nobody.

 

I'm not very good at ranking albums so, that's probably how I got off track. In any case, Being There is killer, okay? alright? okay? alright?

[Guest McGuffin]

 

Are you security? I think he's fine. He's got opinions. We've got opinions. That's how these things work.

 

But maybe we should check. Laughingdog, do you need a hug?

 

Hi, champ. How are you?

 

No, I'm not security. Where did I claim to be? Nowhere. Clear, cap'n?

 

Anyway, I was referring more to posts earlier in the thread where people were going at other posts.

 

Hope this helps!