I love the Wilco.

Broktun: I love the Wilco.

This.

Saw them two nights in a row this spring when they came through Montana. Farking awesome shows!

/during finals week
//totally worth it

I would like to salute
The ashes of American flags
And all the fallen leaves
Filling up shopping bags

I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I don't like them though. I respect them and appreciate their ethic as a band and really enjoyed that documentary film about them but I just can't dig their tunes. Their songs seem dull and lacking hooks.

Strange.
I really like bands like Radar Bros and Low but Wilco have yet to pull me in.

Why am I not surprised that Wilco doesn't know anything about technology?

I like the film. If I was going to buy it, it would only be on Blu-Ray. It'll look better (Especially if it's grainy black and white), and the audio will be better. You'd think a band would want the best audio available....

These guys have always gone against the grain. I saw them in the middle of the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot fracas and Tweedy gave their website URL on the mic and told us all to go download their new album for free because it would probably never come out. I was playing the whole thing start to back the next day, and bought the CD when it did come out. I love those guys.

Who is tell me to do what?

don't buy our Blu-Ray disc

I don't buy any of them.

They're just a 21st century laserdisc.

craigdamage: I don't like them though. I respect them and appreciate their ethic as a band and really enjoyed that documentary film about them but I just can't dig their tunes. Their songs seem dull and lacking hooks.

Warning: Fanboy treatise ahead.

It's OK not to like them, but if you don't hear "hooks" maybe you are just not listening to the right stuff? When I turn people on to Wilco, I always try to start them early, with A.M., and work up so you can hear the development.

The point is to hear how they began to use the "studio as instrument" approach, which many people don't like. I have mixed feelings about it myself, and in fact I do not like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but like the songs on it when I hear the demos and live versions.

The tough part is that YHF is the disc that most people are familiar with.

It's very similar to the Beatles, how some people like the early stuff, some the Revolver era, and others Abbey Road. And no one listens to every song on The White Album.

Also, let me suggest you go see them live; they are quite excellent, and very good musicians. They really pull "the Wilco sound" off live.

If you can't catch them, Wilco is one of the bands that allows live taping and distribution of the recordings, so there are many high quality live recordings of them available for legal download.

Some selected tunes I think have big hooks:

Box Full Of Letters
I Must Be High
Outtasite
Passenger Side
I Got You (a personal favorite)
California Stars - Lyrics by Woody Guthrie
Kicking Television (total replacements ripoff but that is a good thing)
What Light

There are more I love but I don't wanna spam.

/ When it comes to Wilco, The Replacements and Old School punk rock I am no better than Bevets.

Tweedy is god!

/in my book

Roger.

Please, save your money, don't buy anything since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

craigdamage: I don't like them though.

I had many of the same feelings you do about Wilco until about 2 months ago. I struggled with not liking them, because so many people with a similar taste in music to mine, really did like them. I had their albums on my ipod though, and one day when I was tired of everything else, I gave them a try. I found some stuff I really liked, and there's still certainly stuff that I don't like, but for the most part I enjoy it as background music at work. Some of the stuff I like turned up though.

Isn't taste a funny thing?

barneyfifesbullet: don't buy our Blu-Ray disc

I don't buy any of them.

They're just a 21st century laserdisc.

Nah...anyone that has the proper equipment knows this is false. Hook your Blu ray player up to an HDMI AV receiver that can produce the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD formats and a large 1080p TV and you'll see the difference.

The problem with Blu Ray is that most people buying them are hooking them to 37"-42" flat panel TVs with no AV receivers in the mix. The screens are almost too small to see a discerable difference and TV speakers blow.

I listen to every song on the White Album.

/even Revolution 9
//love Wilco too

ihatedumbpeople: barneyfifesbullet: don't buy our Blu-Ray disc

I don't buy any of them.

They're just a 21st century laserdisc.

Nah...anyone that has the proper equipment knows this is false. Hook your Blu ray player up to an HDMI AV receiver that can produce the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD formats and a large 1080p TV and you'll see the difference.

The problem with Blu Ray is that most people buying them are hooking them to 37"-42" flat panel TVs with no AV receivers in the mix. The screens are almost too small to see a discerable difference and TV speakers blow.

Ah, yes, the Microsoft approach.

Vista doesn't blow, you just need a computer 8x more powerful to truly appreciate it. Then it still blows.

Blu ray doesn't blow, you just need 8x better equipment to properly appreciate it. Then it's still not worth it.

So how they sound the same?

I really like their live album "Kicking Television". It's also a great introduction to them. A lot of great songs.... tho i seem to listen to the first disc more than the second...
good stuff tho.

deevo: Please, save your money, don't buy anything since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Really? I love Sky Blue Sky

Way ahead of you, Tweedy. I find all your albums equally yawn-inducing.

Malinki: ihatedumbpeople: barneyfifesbullet: don't buy our Blu-Ray disc

I don't buy any of them.

They're just a 21st century laserdisc.

Nah...anyone that has the proper equipment knows this is false. Hook your Blu ray player up to an HDMI AV receiver that can produce the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD formats and a large 1080p TV and you'll see the difference.

The problem with Blu Ray is that most people buying them are hooking them to 37"-42" flat panel TVs with no AV receivers in the mix. The screens are almost too small to see a discerable difference and TV speakers blow.

Ah, yes, the Microsoft approach.

Vista doesn't blow, you just need a computer 8x more powerful to truly appreciate it. Then it still blows.

Blu ray doesn't blow, you just need 8x better equipment to properly appreciate it. Then it's still not worth it.

So how they sound the same?

Not really...Vista is a turd no matter what you do. The faster your PC is, the more processor it has to crash and slow down.

Blu ray is awesome if you actually WANT to experience a difference. If DVD is good enough, don't bother upgrading.

Vista=No potential
Blu ray is really the best HD source available right now. They just need to bring the software price down a bit.

Best live band I've ever seen.

craigdamage: I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I don't like them though. I respect them and appreciate their ethic as a band and really enjoyed that documentary film about them but I just can't dig their tunes. Their songs seem dull and lacking hooks.

Strange.
I really like bands like Radar Bros and Low but Wilco have yet to pull me in.

It's OK, this is how I feel about Modest Mouse. Especially after seeing them live.

Musical enjoyment is one of the most subjective qualities in the world. If you don't like it, you don't like it. But I can respect your respect.

/also doesn't like chocolate ice cream

craigdamage: I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I don't like them though.

Ditto. I tried too. I wish them well and rooted for them in their record company battles, but they just aren't my cup of tea.

Seeing them w/Neil Young in December. Both great.

craigdamage: I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I don't like them though. I respect them and appreciate their ethic as a band and really enjoyed that documentary film about them but I just can't dig their tunes. Their songs seem dull and lacking hooks.

Strange.
I really like bands like Radar Bros and Low but Wilco have yet to pull me in.

It's okay not to like them. It took me a while, but now I'm a huge fan.

Have a good one

craigdamage: I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I've always thought the appeal of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had more to do with the anti-Majors sentiment at the time. Especially since they canned the album for not being mainstream enough, only to have the album picked up by a subsidiary.

It was an okay album, but more or less Kid A for people who think Radiohead is too weird.


/will check out Radar Bros, though. I almost squealed with delight when I saw it had a former member of Medicine (one of the most under-rated shoegaze bands) in it and you mentioned them in the same sentence as Low.

FeedTheCollapse: craigdamage: I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I've always thought the appeal of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had more to do with the anti-Majors sentiment at the time. Especially since they canned the album for not being mainstream enough, only to have the album picked up by a subsidiary.



I have no idea what in the f--- you are talking about. It's a great album.

the Sunken Treasure DVD which is an amazing solo show by Tweedy and is available on netflix has a cool little special feature....put it in your pc and download over 200MB of free music, alot of bsides from previous albums, and the whole audio from the dvd.

he does so many gorgeous versions of old songs like Please Tell My Brother

-"Jesus, Etc" is still one of the greatest love pop-country-rock songs ever written.

jeff tweedy, along with daniel johnston and phil elverum are the greatest lyricists of our generation.

I saw them play once, and the show was great. I like most of what Wilco's put out. Looking forward to the new disc -- they just finished demos and are now working them out in their loft-studio place.

I have a shiatty 19inch wal-mart TV I bought back in '03. And I don't even have a proper DVD player. I use my playstation II. Sure, I could go buy "bigger and better", but that's just not necessary.

DVD, etc, is "good enough" and while blu-ray surely is a lot better, it's just overkill for a lot of people. And, heck, I really really love music, play guitar, etc, etc.

My point is that "better" isn't always worth the cost involved, and what you got is good enough anyway.

One COULD buy a real crazy expensive guitar, but sometimes one like the cheaper one, while not "just as good" will do "just as well" for what one wants of it.

/jesus etc is one of my all time favorite songs
/so is radio cure

Bhasayate: I saw them play once, and the show was great. I like most of what Wilco's put out. Looking forward to the new disc -- they just finished demos and are now working them out in their loft-studio place.

I have a shiatty 19inch wal-mart TV I bought back in '03. And I don't even have a proper DVD player. I use my playstation II. Sure, I could go buy "bigger and better", but that's just not necessary.

DVD, etc, is "good enough" and while blu-ray surely is a lot better, it's just overkill for a lot of people. And, heck, I really really love music, play guitar, etc, etc.

My point is that "better" isn't always worth the cost involved, and what you got is good enough anyway.

One COULD buy a real crazy expensive guitar, but sometimes one like the cheaper one, while not "just as good" will do "just as well" for what one wants of it.

/jesus etc is one of my all time favorite songs
/so is radio cure

as is At Least Thats What You Said, How To Fight Lonliness, Sky Blue Sky and....OMG

OMG

Link (Impossible Germany)

The Dynamite Monkey:

Some selected tunes I think have big hooks:

Box Full Of Letters
I Must Be High
Outtasite
Passenger Side
I Got You (a personal favorite)
California Stars - Lyrics by Woody Guthrie
Kicking Television (total replacements ripoff but that is a good thing)
What Light



ELT!

Wilco is one of the great live bands of the era. Nels Cline is a brilliant guitarist who once covered John Coltrane's "Interstellar Space" note for note.

I like everything Wilco's done, even their really recent stuff. And for kind of the same reason I like everything The Beatles did (except "She's Leaving Home") - you can see real craft going into the songwriting along with incredible musicianship through the changing years.

deevo: Please, save your money, don't buy anything since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Whoa....A Ghost is Born is my favorite Wilco record.

bassmonkeee: Why am I not surprised that Wilco doesn't know anything about technology?

I like the film. If I was going to buy it, it would only be on Blu-Ray. It'll look better (Especially if it's grainy black and white), and the audio will be better. You'd think a band would want the best audio available....

Yeah, but how expensive do your speakers have to be before you can tell the difference?

In my experience, not all serious musicians are audiophiles - probably not even a majority of them. If the number of amplified shows you've played in your life is in the high triple digits then your hearing is probably sub-optimal anyway.

Well there's a dreamer in my dreams,
Swing from the beams,
(With a) light shining off the snow.
Well there's a singer in my heart,
Burning up the charts,
With songs about things we all know.
Well there's a blister on his brain,
That's driving him insane,
Cause all good things they gotta go.
Well there's a child on the way,
It could be any day,
But how this life will change him, that we don't know.
Well there's a child on the way,
One day, he's gonna say, "Ain't you my dad?"
Then he's gonna look down and smile,
and after awhile,
He'll say, "That's for sure son, cause you got my eyes."
Well there's a dreamer in my dreams,
He's hanging from the beams,
With light shining off the snow.
Well there's a blister on his brain,
It's driving him insane,
And all good things have to go, all right.
There's a dreamer in my dreams,
Swinging from the beams,
With a light shining off the lake.
Well, I know I made mistakes,
I'm passing then all on.
But I hope he gets some before there gone, all right.
Yeah, that's it.
Well there's a dreamer in my dreams,
Climbing up the back,
Of a car they used to call a Cadillac.
It's got a brand new set of keys,
It's got a new look, it's got a new look,
And his young one is gonna take it all away.
I believe it...
Well there's a dreamer in my dreams,
Swinging from the beams,
All wrapped up in my garage.
He's hanging from a bell,
He don't know what he's done,
Just don't forget to day goodbye when he's gone.
That's it.

/great live.

deevo: Please, save your money, don't buy anything since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Affirmative. Tweedy can try to mask it by surrounding himself with musician wizzards like Cline and Kotche, but Bennett was the genius ... especially when it came to songwriting. Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky just don't have the hooks.


And for all those saying what a great guy Tweedy is and how he's so easy to cheer for, Ken Coomer would like to have a word with you.

FeedTheCollapse
By all means check out Radar Bros.
Their first self-titled record is quite superb but so is "Singing Hatchet" and "Surrounding Mountains"

Their music is slow, sleepy and understated but there is also a sublime almost darkly ironic element too. Usually hidden in the often weird lyrics. Their sound is so simple but I really dig the texture and ambiance of their songs. I swear to God the bass player in Radar Bros (Senon) has the easiest job in the world.
WHOLE NOTE--REST..........
WHOLE NOTE--REST..........
WHOLE NOTE--REST..........

I suppose if you mixed Galaxie 500 and Velvet Underground with Wilco you would have something that sounds like Radar Bros.

The thing with Wilco, and Jeff Tweedy in particular, is the journey which has taken place over the years. You can hear the anger in Summerteeth, which he wrote while going through a divorce. That anger evolved into angst and frustration with the band (or a member thereof,) and his battle with addictions in a couple of albums following Summerteeth (YHF, Ghost). And once you really start understanding Jeff and Wilco, you can hear the redemption in his voice and in the music of Sky Blue Sky. He has had a rough couple of decades, but seems to have found his peace, much like Johnny Cash did towards the last few years of his life. Jeff's song and music writing appeals to more than just those of us who like music... it even taps into the emotional and intellectual parts of humanity. So often, he writes in metaphors, and it's hard to understand what he is talking about... but as I like to tell people: I don't always understand what he means, but I sure like hearing how he says it. By the way, check out his live concert on NPR... the opening is "Sunken Treasure", and if that doesn't touch you, then go back to listening to your top 40 radio.

InmanRoshi: deevo: Please, save your money, don't buy anything since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Affirmative. Tweedy can try to mask it by surrounding himself with musician wizzards like Cline and Kotche, but Bennett was the genius ... especially when it came to songwriting. Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky just don't have the hooks.

Bennett was definitely the antagonist needed for Wilco to write the amazing catalogue of A.M. through YHF.


And for all those saying what a great guy Tweedy is and how he's so easy to cheer for, Ken Coomer would like to have a word with you.

Patrick shopped with me a couple of months ago, when they were playing in town. SUPER nice guy!

InmanRoshi: Affirmative. Tweedy can try to mask it by surrounding himself with musician wizzards like Cline and Kotche, but Bennett was the genius ... especially when it came to songwriting. Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky just don't have the hooks.

As big a Wilco fan as I am, I have to agree with you somewhat on this. Bennett is a gifted pop guy and his contributino to Wilco was substantive. What IATTBYH glosses over is that much of the issue was with his substance abuse and the personal and hearing problems it created. Tweedy had similar problems and it was a bad combination.

The band definitely became less rootsy and more jazzy when Jay left -- and when I first heard about Nels Cline, I was definitely against him, and disliked a lot of the first boots I heard with him in the band. But I realized it was a band growing and changing, which a band like Wilco has to do or it ends. And then I saw them live, and did a total 180 on Nels, I am a huge fan. He is an incredible performer.

InmanRoshi: And for all those saying what a great guy Tweedy is and how he's so easy to cheer for, Ken Coomer would like to have a word with you.

I don't know anyone who thinks that about Tweedy. If you read the Wilco bio, even his wife says he is often insufferable. The aforementioned substance abuse, and of course the migraines... even Jeff would admit it I bet. He's something of a principled diva, like his heroes Westerberg and Dylan.

For what it's worth, I got to hang backstage at a recent wilco show and it was Pat Sansone who appeared to be the band a-hole. I heard him ream out their (female) tour manager very loudly.

dnoble_34: You can hear the anger in Summerteeth, which he wrote while going through a divorce.

While he has had public marital strife, I believe he is still married to Sue Miller. She's a jar.

dnoble_34: The thing with Wilco, and Jeff Tweedy in particular, is the journey which has taken place over the years. You can hear the anger in Summerteeth, which he wrote while going through a divorce. That anger evolved into angst and frustration with the band (or a member thereof,) and his battle with addictions in a couple of albums following Summerteeth (YHF, Ghost). And once you really start understanding Jeff and Wilco, you can hear the redemption in his voice and in the music of Sky Blue Sky. He has had a rough couple of decades, but seems to have found his peace, much like Johnny Cash did towards the last few years of his life. Jeff's song and music writing appeals to more than just those of us who like music... it even taps into the emotional and intellectual parts of humanity. So often, he writes in metaphors, and it's hard to understand what he is talking about... but as I like to tell people: I don't always understand what he means, but I sure like hearing how he says it. By the way, check out his live concert on NPR... the opening is "Sunken Treasure", and if that doesn't touch you, then go back to listening to your top 40 radio.

win. i copied and pasted this post.

im surrounded by assholes at work who dont understand the mentality of (nor do they believe it exists) that musicians arent musicans for the money. they call everyone "entertainers in the entertainment industry" and even without hearing wilco they bash him as a loser and a moron for not wanting more money.

but this is the most human style of music. theyre mainstream, with indie hearts. and i love wilco to death.

The Dynamite Monkey:

dnoble_34: You can hear the anger in Summerteeth, which he wrote while going through a divorce.

While he has had public marital strife, I believe he is still married to Sue Miller. She's a jar.

You are correct, sir... they are still married, and she is a jar. During the writing of this album, their divorce was imminent, but he went on and recorded "Mermaid Avenue" before Summerteeth was completed. When production of Summerteeth continued afterward, several changes were made by Jeff to the band, and in his relationship with Sue. He did, however, have her blessings to proceed with the material he had previously written (a lot of which was inspired by her: "she begs me not to hit her").

dnoble_34: "she begs me not to hit her"

I bet he wishes he never wrote that line. As heart stopping as it is, he'll be forever asked when he stopped beating his wife.

/ I really hope it was a metaphor

i want to share a story about Impossible Germany. according to tweedy, its about denial and accepting your own failures. but i discovered this on my own. he just confirmed it.

i was flying back from Raleigh to LaGuardia after a wonderful vacation with my family who i hadnt seen in a while. i was very depressed about returning. i had work the next day at a job i hate, i had to return to my miserable apartment with my horrible roomate. i had a big fight with a friend just before i had left. and my flight was delayed several hours, so i wouldnt have time to sleep. i had to go into work directly from the airport.

we were several thousand feet up, and it was a perfectly clear night. no clouds. and i could see all the gorgeous lights so far below. i had my head pressed against the window as i silently looked out, thinking about all the aforementioned crap. and then my ipod started playing this song. and the meaning hit me like a ton of bricks. i had heard it before but never like this. it was so literal and obvious and powerrful that tears ran down my face.

its such an amazing song.

For seventy years, the dominant video format was NTSC -- 480 visible scanlines, interlaced, with electrical limitations making the maximum theoretical horizontal resolution of a color signal about 750 'pixels'. So that's about 1/3 megapixel of image information in every 1/60-second instance.

The maximum resolution supported by BluRay, AFAIK, is 1080p. 1920x1080 = about 2 megapixels. So, six times the detail of an NTSC picture.

A definite improvement, sure but a single frame still contains less information than a photo from a low-end digital camera. How is this format supposed to be futureproof if consumer electronics are already beginning to surpass its specs?

Hey hey, good to see some Radar Bros love in this thread. I had sort of a meh response to the album they released this year but the previous three are just stunning driving music. 'Camplight' and 'On the Line' are two of my favorite songs ever.

Related: has anyone heard his Mt Wilson Repeater side-project? Curious.

I'll have to concur with everything the DynamiteMonkey said, though I have a different take on how Jay Bennett was treated during the film.

If you watch his interviews, then the interviews with the rest of the band, the keyboard/guitar player (now gone thank God) and even Tweedy ends up sounding worse.

The "sometimes I don't need to understand everything you say" scene was really intense as a musician. Perhaps it's because I am often the Jay Bennett type who has difficulty understanding when something is not up for discussion.

All in all, I think Bennett was amazing while he was in the band, and that Wilco is now the Jeff Tweedy Band, and it kicks ass. Nels Cline is an inventive guitar player who has grasped a sort of finely tuned sloppiness paired with a true gift for melody. His solos on Sky Blue Sky, and the live improvisations based on those solos, are incredible pieces of composition, without question, front to back. His tone, technique, and inventiveness are a perfect fit for the band.

I feel very similarly about Glen Kotche.

Sorry for those of you who want to puke at how terribly ass-kissy this is. It's a great band.

/I also like bluegrass, but no one ever talks about it on the internets.

craigdamage: I have regarded Wilco as a band of integrity for many years now.

I don't like them though. I respect them and appreciate their ethic as a band and really enjoyed that documentary film about them but I just can't dig their tunes. Their songs seem dull and lacking hooks.

Strange.
I really like bands like Radar Bros and Low but Wilco have yet to pull me in.

Agreed.

A.M. was good, but it's been downhill from there.

Son Volt has had a similar slow decline.

Maybe it's time that Tweedy and Farrar got back together again.