lost highway Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Hey VCers. A thought occurred to me in a nerdy record collector conversation that brought me yet another new appreciation for Wilco. The stat is this: music acts after their 20 year mark. I needn't remind you Wilco brought the excellent run of Star Wars, Schmilco, Ode to Joy and Cruel Country. Set aside how many never make it that far, let's look at what other greats have coughed up at this stage in their career (if I throw shade at an underappreciated lp feel free to push back). Rolling Stones-Bridges to Babylon Bob Dylan- Empire Burlesque Neil Young- Freedom The Who- It's Hard The Kinks-Word of Mouth Guided By Voices- Let's Go Eat the Factory Smashing Pumpkins- Oceania I have some peers for them who released strong work later, but as I think on it Wilco's longevity is pretty exceptional. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lukestar Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 Nerdy note.... The Stones hit their 20yr mark with Undercover (not awful, IMO, given I was 15 and it was part of what formed my perception of who they were as a whole...beginning with Some Girls thru Tattoo You. The following 10yrs of discovering and digging into their entire catalogue were just as formative, and I still feel that thrill when listening from time to time, after having stepped away from their music for a while), their 30yr mark with Voodoo Lounge (uhhhh, ok*) and Bridges to Babylon, almost halfway through their fourth decade (just happy they were still active, making music to go on tour with). Yo La Tengo deserves note for their longevity and continually creative output. *Although, over time, Out Of Tears has become my favorite song from that album. Check the video....totally 90's slick and Charlie actually acting. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 7 hours ago, Lukestar said: The Stones hit their 20yr mark with Undercover (not awful, IMO, given I was 15 and it was part of what formed my perception of who they were as a whole...beginning with Some Girls thru Tattoo You. The following 10yrs of discovering and digging into their entire catalogue were just as formative, and I still feel that thrill when listening from time to time, after having stepped away from their music for a while), their 30yr mark with Voodoo Lounge (uhhhh, ok*) and Bridges to Babylon, almost halfway through their fourth decade (just happy they were still active, making music to go on tour with). Oh God, you're right! The Stones longevity exceeds my math abilities. Psyched for new YLT coming soon. Those guys are definitely in the 20+ and going strong club. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 a couple spring to mind: Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse was 20+ years after their debut. Mogwai - As The Love Continues (24 years after the debut) This bends the rules a bit but Sleep released The Sciences 27 years after their first record and i think it might be their best. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind was a solid effort 20 years in. Their live show may have peaked in 2000, too ---- at least that Boston release from that tour is my favorite live dvd release of the theirs (though technically that was a 2001 performance). Presently listening to Teenage's Fanclub's - Shadows. Another one 20 years in -- saw them in 2010, they were putting on a great, solid show. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chez Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 The Mekons continue to put out great music 40+ years [!] after their 1979 debut. Twenty years in, they released "Journey To The End of the Night." And two of my favorite releases of 2022, Spoon's "Lucifer On the Couch" and Drive-By Trucker's "Welcome To Club 13" were both released more than 20 years after each band's debut. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted November 22, 2022 Author Share Posted November 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Chez said: The Mekons continue to put out great music 40+ years [!] after their 1979 debut. Twenty years in, they released "Journey To The End of the Night." And two of my favorite releases of 2022, Spoon's "Lucifer On the Couch" and Drive-By Trucker's "Welcome To Club 13" were both released more than 20 years after each band's debut. Excellent picks. I still contend these, and Wilco, are the exception not the rule. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
5hake1t0ff Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Love this topic. Part of the question is what counts as "excellent." Jeff has a quote in the YHF 20th Anniv. book about making a record being about the sense of "discovery." Of my favorite bands, the only acts that still do seem to be able convey that they are 'discovering' after 20+ years are (or was): Yo La Tengo, Low (RIP Mimi), Radiohead, and maybe Spoon (though I'm less emotionally attached to them for whatever reason). Another question is whether the 20 year mark for this lineup of Wilco (which is coming up!) isn't a better point of comparison. Part of the challenge is keeping the same personnel energized and still willing to get out of their comfort zone in the studio. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 I think Dylan's closest 20-year-in album is Infidels (1983) as his first record came out in 1962. I love Infidels. Way better than Empire Burlesque to my ears. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 Related to this topic, I recently saw Time Out of Mind referred to as a "mid-period" Dylan album. That struck me as laughably wrong until I realized it came out 25 years ago (and 35 years into his career). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Oil Can Boyd said: Related to this topic, I recently saw Time Out of Mind referred to as a "mid-period" Dylan album. That struck me as laughably wrong until I realized it came out 25 years ago (and 35 years into his career). That's crazy! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 6 hours ago, The Inside of Outside said: That's crazy! Yeah, it makes me feel old. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian F. Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 I'll mention Pearl Jam, whose 2020 Gigaton record is fantastic. The only problem with PJ past the twenty-year mark is that the albums have been few and far between. Since their 20th anniversary in 2010, they have only released albums in 2015 and 2020. I think there are plenty of acts that continue to put out good records well into their careers, but audiences don't tend to give later albums the same time and attention they give earlier albums, not necessarily because of quality, but because the circumstances of the listeners have changed. It's really easy for a 20-year-old to discover a new favorite artist and listen to their album hundreds of times. But that 20-year-old at age 45 tends to have a lot of other things that keep thing from spending time with new music: job, spouse, kids and, as time goes on, the increasing distractions of an ever-expanding entertainment menu. And a lot of people don't connect as well on an emotional level as they get older the same way they did with the music of their youth. I'm speaking here about the typical music listener. Obviously, the type of people posting here tend to be a bit more committed to the music they love and the artists they admire. A related thing I was thinking about this week in the context of veteran acts is how there is a significant portion of the music-listening public that really never moves far beyond their entry point with a particular artist. Pearl Jam was a massive success from their first album, and the majority of their fans discovered the band due to that album or one of the next two that followed in quick succession in a span of three years. Today, thirty years later, it's those albums, and particularly the first one, that most fans want to hear. Many of them may not even realize that there are 21st-century Pearl Jam albums or, if they do, they barely gave them a listen. In the case of Wilco, which didn't achieve its biggest success and audience until its fourth album, it's that fourth album that generates the biggest response from most Wilco fans today. Even though Pearl Jam and Wilco both play a lot of songs from across their careers in their live shows, it's a minority of diehards that are most animated by hearing the songs that come from the albums that weren't their entry points. And, in both cases, even with the broad playlists, the late-career records tend to disappear from setlists after the tours immediately following their release. For Pearl Jam, this would be Riot Act (2002), Pearl Jam (2006), Backspacer (2009) and Lightning Bolt (2015). For Wilco, it's Wilco (The Album), The Whole Love, Star Wars, Schmilco and Ode to Joy. If the pattern continues, we won't be hearing much of Cruel Country when Wilco tours in 2026. One other thought on this: there's an argument to be made that Wilco is only 20 years into its career now, if you think of Wilco as having had three distinct eras due to changing personnel. Wilco I was the Wilco of A.M., with Max Johnston and all the contributions of Brian Henneman, Bob Egan, etc. Wilco II was the Jay Bennett era of Being There, Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, where they begin transitioning into the current iteration of Wilco III, with first Glenn and then Nels, Pat and Mikael. Jeff is of course the central creative force, and he's been there all along (as has John), but this is not really the same act that existed in 2001 or 1999, let alone in 1995 when I first saw them. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KevinG Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 A couple more REM - Around the Sun Elvis Costello - All This Useless Beauty (technically 19 years from first release, but it is so damn good). And his stuff from 30 years into his career is pretty amazing. Son Volt - Notes of Blue, which is underrated IMHO and this might be a stretch, but Jack White released the first White Stripes album in 1999 and at the 20 year mark he came out with the fantastic one two punch of Fear the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted February 16, 2023 Author Share Posted February 16, 2023 I like the Wilco- Pearl Jam/REM comparisons because they both have latter day catalog entries that are criminally underrated. But I would argue both of those bands have runs of albums where they lost the plot and Wilco never has. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Granted they have not put out a ton of music but the Feelies first record came out in 1980 and their most recent album came out in 2017. There's some stuff on the latest one that's as good as anything they've done. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Still a good live band too! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 31 minutes ago, tinnitus photography said: Still a good live band too! Friday April 21 at the Sinclair! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chez Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 1 hour ago, tinnitus photography said: Still a good live band too! After March 6, my concert bucket list will be down to two. Feelies are one of the two. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 1 hour ago, Chez said: After March 6, my concert bucket list will be down to two. Feelies are one of the two. And the other? The Feelies seem to only play the DC to Boston/I-95 corridor these days. I know at least one of the band remembers doesn't fly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chez Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 25 minutes ago, Oil Can Boyd said: And the other? The Feelies seem to only play the DC to Boston/I-95 corridor these days. I know at least one of the band remembers doesn't fly. I'm going to see Bill Callahan on 3/6. That will leave The Feelies and Bob Dylan on my list. Who's on your bucket list? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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