BCB 100 - Wilco

Beno · Postby **Beno** » 12 Jul 2006, 22:12

I bought Summerteeth when it came out and to be honest I always found it a pleasant enough album by an, admittedly ultra-competent, but ultimately workmanlike band.

I was a bit shocked to see them so revered on here so did have another go with them with YHF, but again nothing clicked for me.

Album - Of the two albums I probably would choose YHF as I prefer its atmospheric qualities over Summerteeth's 60s pastiche.

Song - Can't recall a single title, which probably sums up the impression they have made on me.

Penk! · Postby **Penk!** » 12 Jul 2006, 22:20

Beno wrote:I bought Summerteeth when it came out and to be honest I always found it a pleasant enough album by an, admittedly ultra-competent, but ultimately workmanlike band.

My thoughts exactly. They're good, but never great.

Kings of America · Postby **Kings of America** » 12 Jul 2006, 22:57

Ted Maul wrote:
King of America wrote:Haven't they just split up?

http://www.nme.com/news/weezer/23579

Er, that link is about power-nerds Weezer.

My mistake, I'm zonked out on anti-hayfever tablets - Didn't Wilco used to be in Dr Feelgood?

nathan · Postby **nathan** » 12 Jul 2006, 23:00

The Penk wrote:
Beno wrote:I bought Summerteeth when it came out and to be honest I always found it a pleasant enough album by an, admittedly ultra-competent, but ultimately workmanlike band.

My thoughts exactly. They're good, but never great.

It basically is recycled Americana that never really reaches the level of inventiveness that people say but Jeff can write a good tune here and there.

Song: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe · Postby **Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe** » 12 Jul 2006, 23:13

Album: YHF
(by a mile, an absolute mile)

Song: that Stones-y thing on Being There...what's it called? 'Monday'?

BARON CORNY DOG · Postby **BARON CORNY DOG** » 13 Jul 2006, 02:18

Geoff wrote:I'm still stuck at AM & Casino Queen.

Not such a bad place to be!

BARON CORNY DOG · Postby **BARON CORNY DOG** » 13 Jul 2006, 02:18

The Penk wrote:
Beno wrote:I bought Summerteeth when it came out and to be honest I always found it a pleasant enough album by an, admittedly ultra-competent, but ultimately workmanlike band.

My thoughts exactly. They're good, but never great.

At one point, they were a superb rock and roll band. You might not understand.

Shagger Dave · Postby **Shagger Dave** » 13 Jul 2006, 03:36

Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe wrote:Album: YHF
(by a mile, an absolute mile)

Song: that Stones-y thing on Being There...what's it called? 'Monday'?

That tune made my Memphis JU disc. Great track.

Fuck the haters. Wilco is a great band- great songs, they can as traditional as you want then turn and do something off-kilter and it's all within their sound, nothing sounds forced. Geoffcowgill ain't far off by his comparisons with Radiohead.

Album- Being There

Song- I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

My name is Spaulding · Postby **My name is Spaulding** » 13 Jul 2006, 09:17

Shagger Dave wrote:
Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe wrote:Album: YHF
(by a mile, an absolute mile)

Song: that Stones-y thing on Being There...what's it called? 'Monday'?

That tune made my Memphis JU disc. Great track.

Fuck the haters. Wilco is a great band- great songs, they can as traditional as you want then turn and do something off-kilter and it's all within their sound, nothing sounds forced. Geoffcowgill ain't far off by his comparisons with Radiohead.

Not at all. Tweedy is an incredibly talented man, but I think that he also has been very clever to know who he wants to be surrounded by. He had nailed the traditional thing pretty much since his Uncle Tupelo days, but in order to make the experimental (yet always touching) songs he´s been delivering in the last three albums, he had to choose the right people for his line up (that´s also why their live album is their best yet, the band is just perfect).

A couple of weeks ago I read an interview with Gary Louris (side note: Louris was presenting Golden Smog´s third album, which as usual, also features Tweedy), and he said that he thought that the experimental side of Wilco only took off when Glenn Kotche joined the band, almost like suggesting that the real driving force behind those experiments could be Kotche.

Tactful Cactus · Postby **Tactful Cactus** » 13 Jul 2006, 09:26

Summerteeth a a 60's pastiche!?! Who said that? The Thrills are 60's pastiche. Summerteeth sounds like a 90's album to me. Superb it is too and I think, like others have said, Shot In The Arm is the best thing off it, maybe the best thing they ever did.

Right now my favourite is Why Would You Wanna Live.
Album:Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

My name is Spaulding · Postby **My name is Spaulding** » 13 Jul 2006, 09:45

Tactful Cactus wrote:Summerteeth a a 60's pastiche!?! Who said that? The Thrills are 60's pastiche. Summerteeth sounds like a 90's album to me. Superb it is too and I think, like others have said, Shot In The Arm is the best thing off it, maybe the best thing they ever did.

Absolutely.My life has changed since the day when I was able to see Wilcolive and shout along with them the line " something in my veins bloodier than blood!"

I can´t see the pastiche either. Not in the poppier tracks (Can't Stand It, Shot In The Arm, I'm Always In Love, Nothingsevergoingtostandinmyway, ELT), and of course not in the more introspective and/or experimental songs (How To Fight Loneliness, Via Chicago, She´s a jar)

Tactful Cactus · Postby **Tactful Cactus** » 13 Jul 2006, 09:50

Captain Spaulding wrote:Absolutely.My life has changed since the day when I was able to see Wilcolive and shout along with them the line " [i]something in my veins bloodier than blood!"

I don't know how they did it, but that electronic heartbeat that builds up during the middle of the song is absolutely euphoric.

automatic_drip · Postby **automatic_drip** » 13 Jul 2006, 12:38

One of my very favorite bands. Much of the appeal for me is Tweedy's voice - timbre, phrasing... I love listening to his singing.

Album - YHF

Song - I would pick either Remember the Mountain Bed or Airline to Heaven, but both of these were lyrics written by Woody Guthrie, so I'm going with Shot In The Arm.

Phenomenal Cat · Postby **Phenomenal Cat** » 13 Jul 2006, 22:34

I do enjoy that Tweedy croak, but this is a band that I feel has gotten worse. I love Being There and Summerteeth, but now they either go all college rock on me or they litter the soundscape with so many beeps and white noise that I sense they're hiding something from me. Like better songs. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart". What do you mean "trying"?

Strider · Postby **Strider** » 13 Jul 2006, 23:04

One of the best bands of the last several years. The secrets of the later Wilco are not apparent on initial listens so for those that do not "get" recent Wilco, give it a few more listens. It seems they are in a little bit of transitional stage right now and maybe treading water a bit as "Ghost" was not their strongest collection of songs. It will be interesting to hear where they go from here. My favorite Wilco album revolves b/t Being There, Summerteeth, and the more experimental YHF. For today, I'll say:
Album: Summerteeth
Song: Shot in the Arm

Piggly Wiggly · Postby **Piggly Wiggly** » 13 Jul 2006, 23:38

It's almost reflexive for me to come over all cynical about Tweedy and Wilco at this point, so...don't mind me.

I will state as absolute fact that Warner's rejecting YHF was the best thing that ever happened to Tweedy and Wilco. And it couldn't have happened at a more crucial juncture. There isn't a press agent in the world that could have bought them such credibility, and hooray to all parties involved for playing that episode like fucking champs. Image counts for a lot these days, and this one little episode took them from being the Bo Deans/Jayhawks/Smithereens of late 90s-00s "alt-rock" (virtual extinction, in other words) to something far more attractive to a certain audience. We all need archetypes/heroes, and Wilco as tortured/misunderstood/daring/experimental underdogs - I can only imagine My Morning Jacket or the Flaming Lips kicking themselves. As with the Clash, the idea of a "band that matters" (however suddenly) is not to be scoffed at. I hear the next record - About A Headache - is going to be in black and white.

As Bobby Darin said, people hear what they see - and this most certainly is a brutal fucking business, so I give them absolute kudos for riding the tide expertly.

As for the music, I think they were almost great with Being There (the great lost Replacements album that should have been), with - to put it politely - diminishing returns ever since.

Album: Being There
Song: "I Got You"

BARON CORNY DOG · Postby **BARON CORNY DOG** » 13 Jul 2006, 23:41

Loveless wrote:I will state as absolute fact that Warner's rejecting YHF was the best thing that ever happened to Tweedy and Wilco. And it couldn't have happened at a more crucial juncture. There isn't a press agent in the world that could have bought them such credibility, and hooray to all parties involved for playing that episode like fucking champs. Image counts for a lot these days, and this one little episode took them from being the Bo Deans/Jayhawks/Smithereens of late 90s-00s "alt-rock" (virtual extinction, in other words) to something far more attractive to a certain audience. We all need archetypes/heroes, and Wilco as tortured/misunderstood/daring/experimental underdogs - I can only imagine My Morning Jacket or the Flaming Lips kicking themselves. As with the Clash, the idea of a "band that matters" (however suddenly) is not to be scoffed at. I hear the next record - About A Headache - is going to be in black and white.

As Bobby Darin said, people see what they hear - and this most certainly is a brutal fucking business, so I give them absolute kudos for riding the tide expertly.

As for the music, I think they were almost great with Being There (the great lost Replacements album that should have been), with - to put it politely - diminishing returns ever since.

I think I like Wilco a lot more than Brother loveless, but this is about 95% fact.

Penk! · Postby **Penk!** » 13 Jul 2006, 23:47

see baron cry wrote:
The Penk wrote:
Beno wrote:I bought Summerteeth when it came out and to be honest I always found it a pleasant enough album by an, admittedly ultra-competent, but ultimately workmanlike band.

My thoughts exactly. They're good, but never great.

At one point, they were a superb rock and roll band. You might not understand.

What point was that then? The only album I actually own is Summerteeth. I'm playing it now and it still sounds pleasant but unspectacular.

Sneelock · Postby **Sneelock** » 13 Jul 2006, 23:53

I must admit that having Wilco force-fed to me by someone insisting that I HAD to like it may have done the trick.

album: yankee hotel foxtrot
largely by virtue of it's self concious 'artsiness', I make no excuses. I'm a sucker for that stuff if the songs are strong enough and I think these songs nearly are.

song: maybe "Casino Queen"?
one of the more Big Star sounding things.

BARON CORNY DOG · Postby **BARON CORNY DOG** » 14 Jul 2006, 00:18

The Penk wrote:
see baron cry wrote:
The Penk wrote:
Beno wrote:I bought Summerteeth when it came out and to be honest I always found it a pleasant enough album by an, admittedly ultra-competent, but ultimately workmanlike band.

My thoughts exactly. They're good, but never great.

At one point, they were a superb rock and roll band. You might not understand.

What point was that then? The only album I actually own is Summerteeth. I'm playing it now and it still sounds pleasant but unspectacular.

Sometime between Being There and Summerteeth. They only fulfilled their promise (as a superb rock band) live. I think that YHF is a very good, and in some ways better than their prior records, but they weren't really a band by then.