Schmilco!

[u2roolz]

I asked a journalist acquaintance who has heard the album what to expect, expressing my preference for their loud, asymmetrical stuff and he said it's "quite loud and definitely asymmetrical. Maybe not so much peppy." He also said it's amazing. Which I took as a given.

Hmm. Excellent info! I love "quite loud" Wilco. I was wondering if Wilco threw us a few curveballs by releasing Locator & If I Ever Was A Child. I guess if they released a few songs off of Star Wars, you still couldn't tell what the final record would sound like. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the upcoming run of shows.

[TCP]

I really appreciate these shorter Wilco albums. It's always a little much to flip/switch the record every two or three songs on albums that are just a few minutes too long for 2 LPs 1LP like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. 

Edited July 21, 2016 by The Cowboy Poet

[nalafej]

I really appreciate these shorter Wilco albums. It's always a little much to flip/switch the record every two or three songs on albums that are just a few minutes too long for 2 LPs like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. 

 

Think you mean too long for 1 LP??

 

I liked the length of Star Wars, but any length has been pretty good historically.

[u2roolz]

http://schmilco.kungfustore.com/all-products/wilco-turntable-wil815.html#prev

 

$489 for a special limited edition Schmilco turntable. They need 100 orders to make them. It comes with the Orange Vinyl. Specs are on the link.

[TCP]

That looks great. Don't tempt me, Wilco!

 

Think you mean too long for 1 LP??

Oops, yep! That's what I get for posting while also finishing my work.

[Uncle Skujelo]

Just want to say that I've been a huge fan since YHF came out, I really love Star Wars (never tire of it), and now this! What a wonderful time to be a Wilco fan. Clearly the guys are having some fun with the album title and artwork. Tweedy talked about "why not just have some fucking fun" in some recent interviews. Why not? Too many bands take themselves way too seriously. "Fun" does not mean the music is shit. The opposite might be the case. 

 

Anyway....fun times!!

[rhino4evr]

I love that turntable, but I just can't see having a bright green turntable in my living room.

[jff]

For reference, that turntable (without the Wilco graphics) retails for $399.

[rhino4evr]

it also comes with the vinyl..so figure you are paying about $50-$60 more to have a "wilco" record player.

[rhino4evr]

I see they added the pressing number to the limited vinyl...3,000 much less then the 7,000 pink pressings for record stores.

[ThisIsNowhere]

Really enjoying If I Ever Was a Child right now. I am beyond stoked for this album now.

[u2roolz]

Really enjoying If I Ever Was a Child right now. I am beyond stoked for this album now.

Yay! Someone is talking about the new song that we have and not the album title. I love both songs. Genuis has the lyrics and they're some of the best Tweedy has written. "I hunt for the kind of pain I can take".

[davidtobin100]

Like the look of that turntable. Seen and heard the basic non-Wilco turntable and it's a great piece of kit.

[jff]

Yeah, everyone seems to love the Pro-Ject turntables. I use an Audio Technica ATPL120, but I'll probably get a Pro-Ject at some point. The only thing that concerns me is that in order to switch speeds you have to remove the platter and adjust the belt.

[davidtobin100]

@jff: You already have a very solid turntable there. I've seen the belt change on the Pro-ject and it's quite an easy switch so i wouldn't let that put you off.

[jff]

@jff: You already have a very solid turntable there. I've seen the belt change on the Pro-ject and it's quite an easy switch so i wouldn't let that put you off.

 

Yes, I'm very happy with my turntable. When I got it, I could tell a massive difference in sound quality compared to any other turntable I've owned.  I should have said "I'll probably buy one if I ever decide to upgrade."

[peteboiler]

I am not a troll!  That being said, I am not loving the direction Wilco is going AS A FAN.  I still love me some Tweedy and the boys, but as someone alluded to earlier, they just aren't the same.  And I am all for changing direction with the sound and what not.  I am.  However, although Star Wars was a great piece of work, I miss the days where I could close my eyes and get lost in their world.  Now it is just noise.  The lyrics are so scatterbrained that I can't make sense of them.  Granted, some of their older stuff, a la SummerTeeth was the same.  It is hard to explain.  Emotion?  Maybe that's it.  I used to hear the pain that Jeff was going through and I could empathize, but not I just hear random words with chaotic music.  I do miss melody.  And where has Nels run off to?  Again, I am not hating on Wilco, so you can bash me all you like, but that is not where I am coming from.  Anyone?

[ThisIsNowhere]

I always get excited when I see this thread get bumped, it makes me think the inevitable leak or stream has come out 

[lost highway]

I always get excited when I see this thread get bumped, it makes me think the inevitable leak or stream has come out

Me too!

I am not a troll!

Me neither!

[TCP]

I always get excited when I see this thread get bumped, it makes me think the inevitable leak or stream has come out 

 

Or a If I Ever Was A Child 7" was announced/released!!! 

[Albert Tatlock]

  I used to hear the pain that Jeff was going through and I could empathize, but not I just hear random words with chaotic music.  I do miss melody.

I am all about melody and still find JT as one of its greatest purveyors. I get your point with some of the obvious word play / Come Together style lyrics on some songs, but Where Do I Begin has plenty of emotion when I listen to it, for example.

[lost highway]

Both Locator and If I Ever Was a Child have more of a focus than the more dadaist Random Name Generator or More.

[jbray]

However, although Star Wars was a great piece of work, I miss the days where I could close my eyes and get lost in their world.  Now it is just noise.  The lyrics are so scatterbrained that I can't make sense of them.  Granted, some of their older stuff, a la SummerTeeth was the same.  It is hard to explain.  Emotion?  Maybe that's it.  I used to hear the pain that Jeff was going through and I could empathize, but not I just hear random words with chaotic music.  I do miss melody.  And where has Nels run off to? 

 

 

I am all about melody and still find JT as one of its greatest purveyors. I get your point with some of the obvious word play / Come Together style lyrics on some songs, but Where Do I Begin has plenty of emotion when I listen to it, for example.

 

 

Both Locator and If I Ever Was a Child have more of a focus than the more dadaist Random Name Generator or More.

I consider Random Name Generator to be part of a wonderful line of Wilco word play songs like "Pot Kettle Black" (which is my favorite on YHF), " I'm a Wheel", "Kingpin", and to some degree the most successful of them all, "You Are My Face" because the word play is interwoven into a more focused song. But I do think that those used to be more nestled in with songs that felt more urgent. I will parrot Albert Tatlock in pointing to "Where do I Begin" as being a really powerful song. Personally I would also say that everything from "Taste the Ceiling" to "Magnetized" with the exception of maybe "Pickled Ginger" are part of an overarching lyrical theme.

 

Anyways, I also agree with lost highway in that the two new songs seem to be more lyrically focused. I mean my enjoyment of "If I Ever Was a Child" is way more tied to what Jeff is singing than the bed of music it lies in. I'm looking forward to Schmilco because Jeff has expressed that he is speaking to something. 

[PopTodd]

 

My first thought, too!

Not a bad album to reference. Not at all.

[os83]

I am not a troll!  That being said, I am not loving the direction Wilco is going AS A FAN.  I still love me some Tweedy and the boys, but as someone alluded to earlier, they just aren't the same.  And I am all for changing direction with the sound and what not.  I am.  However, although Star Wars was a great piece of work, I miss the days where I could close my eyes and get lost in their world.  Now it is just noise.  The lyrics are so scatterbrained that I can't make sense of them.  Granted, some of their older stuff, a la SummerTeeth was the same.  It is hard to explain.  Emotion?  Maybe that's it.  I used to hear the pain that Jeff was going through and I could empathize, but not I just hear random words with chaotic music.  I do miss melody.  And where has Nels run off to?  Again, I am not hating on Wilco, so you can bash me all you like, but that is not where I am coming from.  Anyone?

 

I know what you mean.  Wilco is one of my favorite bands and always will be, but Star Wars was a little lacking in the emotional department.  I feel like that's sort of inevitable after a while...when you write hundreds of songs, you eventually run out of water in the well.  Even the most complicated/difficult life only lends itself to a few great stories.  Once those have been told, what next?

 

Also, I don't know if I'm alone here but I actually thought the second disc of Sukierae was the most emotional set of songs he's ever done.  Maybe it was partly what I was going through in my own life, but I listened to that quite a bit and it hit me hard every time.  

 

Perhaps he put his emotional focus during that time period into Sukierae, and just tried to have fun with Star Wars.  It'll be interesting to see what happens with the new one.  Given the relatively quick turnaround, and the title, I suspect it'll be more of the "fun" angle.  If so, I'll still love it - it just won't stand up to some of their past efforts.