Whats your take on Impossible Germany?

[The Inside of Outside]

No idea what the song is about. But I rank it as one of the all-time great songs. As my buddy says, "Impossibly" great tune. The opaqueness of the lyrics, the melody, the 3 guitars wrapping around each other, Nels, the resolution. A masterpiece. I listen to mostly live Wilco when I listen to Wilco, and it looks boring on the setlist. Ho hum, another Impossible Germany. But then it comes on, and it never fails to move me. I think I'm bored with it, and then it just blows me away. Every time.

This pretty much says it for me.

 

And I can't think of a go-to Wilco piss break song for me. I try my best to hold it in, frankly. Between the opening band and Wilco is the time for that business. Except the "Evening with..." shows. I remember going during Airline to Heaven; I had little choice in that - my kids had to go.

 

I love that a thread about one song has turned into a referendum on piss break songs. Crow is right - we need a new album.....

[rwilson580]

I make sure I hit the men's room before the show starts. Just a tip for you kids out there! But if an emergency DID ever sneak up on me, Impossible Germany would be absolutely the last song I would bail out on.

 

This isn't meant as a criticism...just curious...but for those who have grown tired of the band's music...why do you continue to hang out at a fan site? That would seem like continuing to watch that wedding video after the divorce to me. Again, just curious.

[tinnitus photography]

because it brings back great memories of the open bar.

[LouieB]

 

This isn't meant as a criticism...just curious...but for those who have grown tired of the band's music...why do you continue to hang out at a fan site? That would seem like continuing to watch that wedding video after the divorce to me. Again, just curious.

 

See the thread on You Guys Scare Me for more discussion (if you need it) on that.

because it brings back great memories of the open bar.

Great post. 

 

LouieB

[Atticus]

it is stunning to me to think this is a piss break song for some people....c'mon, that's what "Shake It Off" or "Hate It Here" is for.

 

 

to me, this is one of Jeff's most brilliant lyrics. and i love the buildup / tension at the end, even though i know it's coming every time.

 

"Shake It Off" is a fantastic song.

[tinnitus photography]

i don't think you actually think that.

[IRememberDBoon]

I love Hate it Here. Impossible Germany is as good a song as anyone has every written.

I always thought it said "No logic problems"

Its the first song I would play for someone that has never heard them before.

[LouieB]

I guess it is a good thing not everyone dislikes different songs for bathroom breaks.

 

LouieB

[Yaz Rock]

Impossible Germany = noodling for the sake of noodling. Not a huge fan of this tune and the Nels jam, but when the show starts, I get into even the songs I don't normally listen to on the CDs. No piss breaks. I like Handshake Drugs and the outtro noise, but wish they'd get rid of the electronic noise in Via Chicago. It's painful and I've never understood why it gets such big cheers from the audience.

 

I actually like the Impossible Germany lyrics on their own. At times abstract, at times direct. Typical of Jeff and it works. I interpret the content of the song as the main thing in any relationship, or the "fundamental problem."  To know that someone is actually listening. If someone feels they are not being heard in a relationship, that's pretty much the end of things. Even if nothing else is wrong, or perhaps especially when there's "no larger problem," the lack of communication, or response to communication, will become the only problem.

 

These are the lyrics from BeMyDemon.org, slightly different than what wa sposted above.

 

Impossible Germany

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

Wherever you go
Wherever you land
I’ll say what this means to me
I’ll do what I can

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

The fundamental problem
We all need to face
This is important
But I know you’re not listening
Oh I know you’re not listening

If this was still new to me
I wouldn’t understand

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

But this is what love is for
To be out of place
Gorgeous and alone
Face to face

With no larger problems
That need to be erased
Nothing more important than to know
Someone’s listening
Now I know
You’ll be listening
 

[Muzzle of Dan]

It always seemed to me that Jeff was using the actions of WWII Germany/Japan as a metaphor for the types of crazy shit people will do in their personal relationships when they feel they aren't being heard or valued enough.

[LouieB]

It always seemed to me that Jeff was using the actions of WWII Germany/Japan as a metaphor for the types of crazy shit people will do in their personal relationships when they feel they aren't being heard or valued enough.

I Like that.

 

LouieB

[IRememberDBoon]

NOODLING??!! CMON

[smells like flowers]

Of all the times I've heard this one at a show, I only really got into it once... and at that show I had partaken of an illegal substance. Otherwise, it's definitely my pee break song, too. I got totally smeared on here for saying it when I first joined the forum, but the guitar solos are too close to smooth jazz for my ears.

[roadhse ma]

Ok im the original poster 

yep I love the Song there I said it

 

However I just don't get this pee brk song chatter.

 

 Wilco Live for me always tough to make the run to to the Mens room

 to me they are akin to having a Solid Baseball Team with a Great Pitcher and Offense.

You don't want to miss a Pitch nor a Hit 

So yep I just drink less beer at both events!

[choo-choo-charlie]

I recently returned to spinning the album version of IG, which I still think is great. In its present form, it's gotten quite long in live settings. I think they added a few more minutes of soloing -- earlier live versions still featured a solo but it didn't carry on for as long as it does now. 

[jff]

 

 

This isn't meant as a criticism...just curious...but for those who have grown tired of the band's music...why do you continue to hang out at a fan site? That would seem like continuing to watch that wedding video after the divorce to me. Again, just curious.

 

It's sort of like a group of friends.  What kind of person would stop hanging out with their friends just because they are no longer into a band the group once bonded over?  There would still be plenty to sustain the relationship.  

 

Even if someone despises Wilco, there is almost certainly something being discussed here that they would find interesting..

[Ghost of Electricity]

I've always thought it had to do with addiction recovery, and not losing hope over what might be perceived as a lost cause.  The Axis thing being used as a metaphor for 1)the fucked up things addiction can bring on ans 2)the fact that those countries have made an honest attempt at purging the demons of their past, much in the same way an addict should.  

 

reading the transcribed words above, not all lines support this readin, but screw it that's my take and i'm sticking to it.

[thermocaster]

It always seemed to me that Jeff was using the actions of WWII Germany/Japan as a metaphor for the types of crazy shit people will do in their personal relationships when they feel they aren't being heard or valued enough.

 

Someone posted a theory that it wasn't Tweedy talking about (or to) any one person, but that it was actually him talking to the mid-2000s United States, as a society. How the idea of society declining into the single-minded imperialism of WW2 Germany or Japan was just as possible now. Jeff addressing his country as a concerned lover, I guess.

[choo-choo-charlie]

I think this thread represents exactly what Jeff Tweedy would want his fans to do with his songs.

[Muzzle of Dan]

Someone posted a theory that it wasn't Tweedy talking about (or to) any one person, but that it was actually him talking to the mid-2000s United States, as a society. How the idea of society declining into the single-minded imperialism of WW2 Germany or Japan was just as possible now. Jeff addressing his country as a concerned lover, I guess.

 

I dig it.

[Ghost of Electricity]

I think this thread represents exactly what Jeff Tweedy would want his fans to do with his songs.

If you're reading this... Hi Jeff!

[Jcamp]

I love Impossible Germany.

It seems to me to be the inverse of Steely Dan's Bodhisattva.

It has something like a slow-moving inverted 4/4 time signiture structure versus that of Steely Dan's 2/4 time Bodhisattva ,

while Bodhisattva has drumming/tempo that is a half measure ahead of guitar aka Richards/Watts..

 

The shine of your Japan...

The sparkle of your China ..

Can you show me Bodhisattva

[e_wind]

I love this song. At work yesterday it came on Pandora and I said to a coworker "this is one of the most beautiful wilco songs..." Having only been a fan for a few years and having only seen them twice, I haven't yet had time to grow tired of any live staple, like I usually do with bands I see over and over again. So, I still think its one of it not the best live song I've seen Wilco play. 

 

Actually, this song may be the song that got me into Wilco. On the MMJ board while I was asking where to start with Wilco, someone said "the best thing humanity has going for it right now is that they still play this song live" and posted a video of Impossible Germany live.

 

I've always thought it was a concerned love song.