BCB 100 - Wilco

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BARON CORNY DOG
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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.

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Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 00:23

They epitomise what is wrong with modern music.

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Postby BARON CORNY DOG » 14 Jul 2006, 00:27

Sir John Coan wrote:They epitomise what is wrong with modern music.


How?

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 00:31

Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:They epitomise what is wrong with modern music.


How?


a) lifeless production (actually this begins to seem unavoidable these days - unless you're the White Stripes - what I thought was gimmicky retro-ism in their work in Toe Rag studios in fact leads to a fresh, timeless and pleasantly 'open' sound)

b) what they'd doubtless regard as 'avoiding the obvious', or not dealing with cliche in the melodies - so they produce non-tunes, really. Nothing grabs you. Too worked-out.

c) boring vocalist.

d) they have nothing to say, really. I mean, most bands don't, but they can at least fake it.

Wilco are irredeemably dull.

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Postby BARON CORNY DOG » 14 Jul 2006, 00:33

Sir John Coan wrote:
Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:They epitomise what is wrong with modern music.


How?


a) lifeless production (actually this begins to seem unavoidable these days - unless you're the White Stripes - what I thought was gimmicky retro-ism in their work in Toe Rag studios in fact leads to a fresh, timeless and pleasantly 'open' sound)

b) what they'd doubtless regard as 'avoiding the obvious', or not dealing with cliche in the melodies - so they produce non-tunes, really. Nothing grabs you. Too worked-out.

c) boring vocalist.

d) they have nothing to say, really. I mean, most bands don't, but they can at least fake it.

Wilco are irredeemably dull.


I was hoping you would suggest that they wear makeup and silver pants.

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 00:43

Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:
Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:They epitomise what is wrong with modern music.


How?


a) lifeless production (actually this begins to seem unavoidable these days - unless you're the White Stripes - what I thought was gimmicky retro-ism in their work in Toe Rag studios in fact leads to a fresh, timeless and pleasantly 'open' sound)

b) what they'd doubtless regard as 'avoiding the obvious', or not dealing with cliche in the melodies - so they produce non-tunes, really. Nothing grabs you. Too worked-out.

c) boring vocalist.

d) they have nothing to say, really. I mean, most bands don't, but they can at least fake it.

Wilco are irredeemably dull.


I was hoping you would suggest that they wear makeup and silver pants.


:lol:

It'd certainly help!

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Postby Tactful Cactus » 14 Jul 2006, 09:13

Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
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.


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


They were extremely lucky to come out of the whole situation smiling, and no doubt they used it to their advantage (conciously or not), but I don't think it was a make-or-break point for Tweedy. Summerteeth was a big album (in small circles) and Yankee was eagerly anticipated, they already had a strong following by then and even now they're not that big a band. Loveless mentioned Flaming Lips probably kicking themselves. Is he kidding? The F'Lips are huge now, played on the radio, 12-30 year olds going to their gigs. Much bigger than Wilco will ever be.
And they're not dogged with "that story" at every interview they give.


Loveless, could you maybe expand on "black and white" ??

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Postby Clippernolan » 14 Jul 2006, 16:42

Tactful Cactus wrote:
Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
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.


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


They were extremely lucky to come out of the whole situation smiling, and no doubt they used it to their advantage (conciously or not), but I don't think it was a make-or-break point for Tweedy. Summerteeth was a big album (in small circles) and Yankee was eagerly anticipated, they already had a strong following by then and even now they're not that big a band. Loveless mentioned Flaming Lips probably kicking themselves. Is he kidding? The F'Lips are huge now, played on the radio, 12-30 year olds going to their gigs. Much bigger than Wilco will ever be.
And they're not dogged with "that story" at every interview they give.


Loveless, could you maybe expand on "black and white" ??


I think too that if Tweedy had fallen down on songwriting, the hype wouldn't have allowed the band to get much further than a couple of inches in the music rags. It's not the fact that they were screwed by the majors and come out smiling like a bunch of indie folk heroes. It's that they were screwed by the majors over a GREAT ALBUM that they had written that the industry didn't get. But apart from the comment on the state of the industry, it was the excellence of the material was at the heart of that story.
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Postby Insouciant Western People » 14 Jul 2006, 16:56

Sir John Coan wrote:
Baron 'O' Boogie wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:They epitomise what is wrong with modern music.


How?


a) lifeless production (actually this begins to seem unavoidable these days - unless you're the White Stripes - what I thought was gimmicky retro-ism in their work in Toe Rag studios in fact leads to a fresh, timeless and pleasantly 'open' sound)

b) what they'd doubtless regard as 'avoiding the obvious', or not dealing with cliche in the melodies - so they produce non-tunes, really. Nothing grabs you. Too worked-out.

c) boring vocalist.

d) they have nothing to say, really. I mean, most bands don't, but they can at least fake it.

Wilco are irredeemably dull.


I totally disagree with you. Although I was initially sceptical of their 'new sound' the first couple of times I heard YHF - I knew them only as a rather good alt-country band so it was a bit of a shock.

Once YHF had a bit of time to grow on mer though, it really took hold and it's been a regular on my stereo for almost four years now. I think the songwriting is terrific, subtly melodic and deeply affecting. Boring is the last word that comes to mind.

To my mind they're far better and more interesting than The Flaming Lips, whose wilful zaniness and faux avant garde-isms just set my teeth on edge.
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Postby nathan » 14 Jul 2006, 16:58

Nick wrote:To my mind they're far better and more interesting than The Flaming Lips.

:)

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Postby Tactful Cactus » 14 Jul 2006, 18:00

Nick wrote:
Once YHF had a bit of time to grow on mer though, it really took hold


Yeah, same here. And I was already a huge Wilco fan by the time I got Yankee, it just didn't do anything for me, then after maybe a dozen listens it just clicked.

I'd say your words are wasted on coan though

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Postby Mr Maps » 15 Jul 2006, 00:33

I'm not a huge fan but I have a few of their records and I saw them the other night. They were fuckin' great.
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Postby Phenomenal Cat » 15 Jul 2006, 01:15

Clippernolan wrote:It's that they were screwed by the majors over a GREAT ALBUM that they had written that the industry didn't get.


I'm sure they got it as well as the rest of us. I think they were afraid it wouldn't sell outside of Wilco's fanbase, and they were exactly right. The comical part was when a subsidiary ended up buying it back. I think they knew any press, good or bad, couldn't hurt.
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Postby moonie » 15 Jul 2006, 15:08

Terrific band, especially in light of what passes for Americana these days. I enjoy the hell out of their older albums, but of late I have warmed up to YHF. Still, Being There is by far their best work, if for nothing else than the slightly over-ambitious mix of pop and Americountry. They've not been able to pull that off since.

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Postby Django » 16 Jul 2006, 18:07

Put a gun to my head and ask me to tell you who the best band in the world today are, and I'd probably say Wilco. This may prompt you to then unload a full clip into my face, but I'd say it all the same.

I can't really understand some of this criticism, and I'm particularly baffled by Coan's comments. There is no other band currently recording who have made such a rewarding partnership of avant garde sonics and classic pop/rock songwriting. They're ace. And you know it. And they piss all over The Flaming Lips. And you know that as well.

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Postby Zombeels » 20 Jul 2006, 05:59

Album Summerteeth

Song A Shot In the Arm
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Zombeels/favourite_songs

I still like the Kinks

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