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Jahfin

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?As the Joker said, "why so serious?" I was just kidding you. But since you brought it up, in a countdown you count down to zero, you don't stop at one...for instance, the NASA launches. Today is blast-off day, and in a couple of hours the record stores will open here in L.A., and I can go out and buy my copy of the new Wilco album.

And so...

0!!!

Go out and buy Wilco's "The Whole Love", kiddies. Jahfin, I believe you get the double-whammy of getting the new album AND seeing them in concert tonight, right? Enjoy the show!

Edited by Strider
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Jahfin, I believe you get the double-whammy of getting the new album AND seeing them in concert tonight, right? Enjoy the show!

Yes, I do. Thanks. I'm listening to Nels Cline being interviewed right now on WUNC's The State of Things radio program. Wilco are donating a portion of merch sales from tonight's show to a locally based organization called Farmer Foodshare, which is the topic of today's discussion. If anyone would like to listen to the interview, click here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does anybody here own the album Wilco recorded with Billy Bragg? I've been listening to it online, just wanted to have some comments from other users before I order it.

They actually recorded two, Mermaid Avenue Vols. 1 & 2. Both of them are well worth ordering.

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^^^I'll second that...both Volumes 1 & 2 are worth getting.

So it's been nearly two weeks I've been listening to the new Wilco album, "The Whole Love", but thanks to my peripatetic life, it's only now I can post my thoughts about said album.

So far this year, the albums that have impressed me the most and occupied a place on my stereo almost continuously have been PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake", Lucinda Williams "Blessed", Radiohead's "King of Limbs", Low's "C'mon", Erin Corday's "Where the Body Is", Moon Duo's "Mazes", Bon Iver's "Bon Iver", Explosions in the Sky's "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care", Moonface's "Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped" and a few others that I'll have to dig through the stacks of 2011 releases to remember.

Add Wilco's new album to that list...in fact, I feel fairly confident that it will make my Top 10 of the year.

The Nonesuch era is over, and now the band has their own label dBpm. Not counting the two Billy Bragg collaborations, this is Wilco's 8th studio album. They also have a live album...so album-wise, they are in the same place Led Zeppelin was when they ended: 8 studio records and 1 live album. In a sign of how things are different in the music biz, Led Zeppelin accomplished their output in 10 years, while Wilco is nearing their 18th year together. And Zeppelin was considered lethargic in their day, haha.

But enough small talk, what about the music?

Well, after the slight disappointment in 2009's "Wilco(The Album)", I can say that "The Whole Love" is a return to form of sorts. It wasn't that the last album was bad, but it felt sort of automatic...the kind of record they could do in their sleep. "Bull Black Nova" is the only song from that album that proved memorable to me.

Right from the get-go, the new album grabs me with the opening track, "Art of Almost". I'm sure the band is tired of hearing the Radiohead comparisons, and I agree it's a too-easy simplification to hang around their necks by calling them the "American Radiohead". They're a great band, period, that is carving their own niche in rock and roll.

But I couldn't help but notice the similarities between "Art of Almost" and the opening song, "15 Steps", on Radiohead's "In Rainbows"...both have this skitterish rhythm track coupled with washes of programmed keyboard sounds.

Additionally, just as "In Rainbows" was considered a return to glory for Radiohead(apparently I was in the minority of liking "Hail to the Thief"), so much of the early word on "The Whole Love" suggested the same for Wilco. I can't say firsthand, as I tend to avoid reading too much about an album before I have a chance to hear it, but Jahfin, who is well-connected to the music-radio and music-journalism worlds, said that the word was that this album would bring back the old Wilco fans.

That remains to be seen, but there are a few songs on here that could fit on either "Being There" or "Summerteeth". As a whole though, while this album is an improvement over the last album, it neither marks a great leap forward in sound nor a retreat to the past. It's simply a well-made album with just enough of that and a little of this to make it a "Wilco" record. It also features some of Jeff Tweedy's best lyrics, some truly touching songs.

If you're a Wilco fan, you'll love it...if you've been resistant to Wilco in the past, I don't know if this album will change your mind. Although "One Sunday Morning" might do the trick...more on this little miracle later.

One difference between Wilco and Radiohead is that while Radiohead's approach might be called "the art of playing guitar by not playing guitar", Wilco ain't afraid to play guitar solos. And "Art of Almost" has one of those Nels Cline flourishes.

The second song "I Might" is the first single off the album, and like most first singles these days, it's probably the least interesting song on the album...which makes it perfect for radio. I didn't even realize until I read the album credits(these are things you don't get with mp3's and iTunes, kids) that they use a sample of The Stooges "TV Eye" in the song...it's barely noticeable.

Let's move on to song 3: "Sunloathe", a nice John Lennon/Beatle-esque number that would sound perfectly at home on "Summerteeth". Lovely as the tune is, it features some bleak lyrics by Jeff.

"I kill my memories with a cheap disease"

"Dawned on Me" is a crunchy uptempo number...it'll probably be played live so the band can just have a little fun.

Now we get to the crux of the album, and where the new album really begins to shine and lift itself up to the level of the best Wilco has done...the 3-song span from track 5 to track 7.

5. "Black Moon"...shimmery acoustic song with Nels adding evocative lap steel guitar. I suppose this might be one of those tracks that brings back the old Wilco fans. If it doesn't, it's their loss.

6. "Born Alone"...I cannot wait to hear this in concert! It better be in the setlist. More lovely yet depressing lyrics from Jeff, but instead of somber music to accompany them, Jeff, Nels and Patrick crank their guitars up and send the song off in a wall of guitar crunch. In an interview, Jeff mentioned that the band used some musical concept called "the Shephard tone"...which I'm sure one of the musicians on here can describe better than me. All I know is that the end of the song fades out too soon for me, and I am hoping that in concert they extend it longer with maybe Nels going crazy.

7. "Open Mind"...after the previous guitar assault, we downshift into this beautiful love song...fabulous imagery in the lyrics, beginning with the first verse:

"I would throw myself underneath

The wheels of any train of thought

Running off the rails or sail you through

The rogue waves of your brain"

After the greatness of this three-song center of the album, it's no sin that the next tune is a generic uptempo number, "Capitol City", with anachronistic lines about pay phones(does anybody still use those...do they even still exist? LA has gotten rid of most of theirs). A little catchy, it's no "Heavy Metal Drummer" though.

Track 9 is another short, sharp guitar rocker, "Standing O", that segues right into song #10: a slow evocative piece called "Rising Red Lung", with some of the stranger lyrics Jeff's ever sung. The song grows on you with each listen.

The penultimate track, "The Whole Love", is a pleasant enough ditty...a "Wilco love song", but in the context of the album, it's just the pause before the gorgeous climax of the record...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the closing song, track 12: "One Sunday Morning(Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)"...12+ minutes of gobsmackingly beautiful awesomeness. You know the cliché about how it's worth buying an album just for one song? Well, this is THAT song!!!

Just the title alone sets off expectations. I don't know about you, but when I bought the cd and saw the song title, I immediately thought of the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning", Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra's "Some Velvet Morning".

This song is in that class...an epic closer to the album, to be sure, and rumoured to actually have been inspired by a conversation Jeff had with the boyfriend of noted author Jane Smiley(hence the parenthetical song title).

The lyrics are moving enough...especially if you had a parent who disapproved of your life, and felt relieved, then guilt, upon their passing. But the lyrics are married to music of such sublime hauntingness that...oh, hell, I am just going to shut up because there are no words I can say to adequately describe the miracle of this song.

All I know is that "One Sunday Morning" should immediately be a permanent part of Wilco's set list. Bravo Wilco...standing O from this listener for this song alone.

And there you have it...12 tracks, just over 56 minutes. If I were rating it on a 5-star scale, I'd say 4, maybe 4-and-a-half stars.

This is the 3rd album with this lineup intact...and while Jeff, Nels and everyone are great, it is obvious from the production credits that Patrick Sansone was the secret weapon on this album. Way to go Patrick.

As for Nels Cline, he's a little more subtle and subdued here than originally led to believe...apart from a couple solos, as on "Art of Almost". It will be interesting to see how these songs are translated live...if Nels adds a little more in concert. Can't wait for the tour to hit L.A.

Oh yes, I got the deluxe edition, which comes with a bonus disc...4 songs at around 18 minutes total time.

1. "I Love My Label"...a cover of the old Nick Lowe song; another entry in the "band singing about the music industry" category. Not as great as the Sex Pistols' "EMI", but on a par with, and maybe slightly better than Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Working for MCA".

2. "Message from Mid-Bar"...with a catchy acoustic hook similar to "One Sunday Morning", this isn't bad...in fact, I think I like it better than a song like "Capitol City".

3. "Speak Into the Rose"...instrumental, with Wilco channeling a little Sonic Youth...sounds like it was born from a concert or in-studio jam.

4. "Black Moon"(alternate version)...tell you the truth, the difference between this and the album version is slight. But hey, the song is so luminous, I don't mind having two versions to listen to.

All in all, a great Wilco record...the best songs(tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 12) are up there with the great Wilco albums: Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Being There, A Ghost Is Born.

Edited by Strider
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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the closing song, track 12: "One Sunday Morning(Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)"...12+ minutes of gobsmackingly beautiful awesomeness. You know the cliché about how it's worth buying an album just for one song? Well, this is THAT song!!!

That's actually the reason why I'm buying the album.

I think songs over 10 minutes don't come that often, and not any band can write them. In the nineties there was a Meat Loaf song over 11 minutes, it was cut to 3 minutes for radio airplay. Led Zeppelin has "In My Time of Dying" from Physical Graffiti, exceding 11 minutes also. Wilco's 12 minutes are soothing and a pleasure to listen to. By the way, do you think I should get the standard or the deluxe version of this?

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By the way, do you think I should get the standard or the deluxe version of this?

I'm not Strider but considering I only paid $15 for the deluxe edition of The Whole Love, I'd say go for it. The bonus material is definitely worth it. If I'm not mistaken, the vinyl version includes a bonus track not available on the deluxe edition of the CD.

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That's actually the reason why I'm buying the album. I think songs over 10 minutes don't come that often, and not any band can write them. In the nineties there was a Meat Loaf song over 11 minutes, it was cut to 3 minutes for radio airplay. Led Zeppelin has "In My Time of Dying" from Physical Graffiti, exceding 11 minutes also. Wilco's 12 minutes are soothing and a pleasure to listen to. By the way, do you think I should get the standard or the deluxe version of this?

Absolutely get the deluxe edition. It's only a few bucks more, around $15, and besides the bonus disc, which has some nifty tunes, you get a nice booklet with artwork and the lyrics. The vinyl edition has the 12 songs on the original album, as well as a bonus song, "Sometimes It Happens", which I also believe comes as a bonus track if you get the album on iTunes.

Regarding "One Sunday Morning", it's the kind of song that you don't realize you want to hear until you hear it...a song where time literally stops and you feel yourself floating, drifting on the song's vibe. It reminds me of when I was anticipating the release of Led Zeppelin III...I loved the first two Zeppelin albums and couldn't wait to hear what they would come up with for the next one. I expected more heavy guitar rock and atmospherics like "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker" and "How Many More Times"...and that is what I THOUGHT I wanted.

But when Led Zeppelin III finally was released, while at first I was confused by the lack of heavy riffage, by the third listen, I was thinking THIS was the kind of music I wanted to hear...I just didn't know it was what I wanted to hear until I actually heard it. I still remember being brought to tears by the sheer beauty and melancholy of "That's the Way".

I'm not Strider...

Damn, too bad...I could use an extra one of me for those nights when there's two events happening at the same time in different locales. Actually, two Striders walking around is a scary thought.

So Jahfin, since you and I have basically kept this Wilco thread afloat, and I presume you've read my piece about it, what are your thoughts on the new album?

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So Jahfin, since you and I have basically kept this Wilco thread afloat, and I presume you've read my piece about it, what are your thoughts on the new album?

Definitely a top tenner for 2011 for me. I'm not one of the ones that was put off by Wilco (the Album) or Sky Blue Sky so I can't say this is a "return to form" but the experimental moments (of which there are a few) do work for me. There seems to be a little bit of everything Wilco have ever done mixed into this record but it's done in a very inspired way instead of a cheapened manner that's meant to bring back some of their older fans. Compiling a top ten list is going to be especially tough this year since there's been so many great records released in 2011: the Decemberists, Mount Moriah, R.E.M., Drive-By Truckers, Gregg Allman, the Gourds, Megafaun, Tommy Stinson, Hayes Carll, Emmylou Harris, etc. And that's just the ones I've heard. The new Ryan Adams, Ashes & Fire, drops tomorrow. From what I've heard from it, it sounds like it will also be worthy of top ten status. Then, there's the albums I still haven't gotten around to purchasing: Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Glossary, the Baseball Project, Tim Easton, John Hiatt, the Old 97's, Paul Simon, Tinariwen, Kurt Vile, the War on Drugs, etc. The list just goes on and on. Meanwhile, I'm sure there's someone out there complaining that there's no new music to be excited about in 2011 but I'm damn sure not one of them.

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From Paste:

Wilco Announces Picture Contest

for Limited Cassette Run of The Whole Love

contest_banner_wilco3.png?1318001766

Contrary to what the Oxford English Dictionary might think, the cassette isn’t totally dead just yet. And now Wilco has announced a competition that will get the photos of five fans on the cover of a limited run of The Whole Love cassettes.

The band asks that fans take pictures that are inspired by track names and meanings, and the band will then judge the top five images for the cassette cover. The competition goes until Oct. 15. Photos can be submitted and you can check out more information at Hipstamatic’s site.

Edited by Jahfin
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Not gettin why One Sunday Morning is getting so much love though. It's about 8 minutes too long to me.

This is from a review that was posted on the No Depression website:

If there was any doubt, the twelve-minute album closing “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)" should erase any misgivings. Apparently written out of a deeply poignant conversation with the boyfriend of the novelist and frequent Huffington Post contributor of the same name, the song is a masterpiece of non-linear songwriting as Tweedy’s elegiac laments and enigmatic verses (“I said it’s your God I don’t believe in/No, your Bible can’t be true/Knocked down by the long life/He cried out, I fear what waits for you”), build forth to an amazingly satisfying conclusion and fadeout. This is the type of composition that has been missing from recent Wilco albums, one where Tweedy really mines the well of emotional catharsis. He can write with the best of them and it is a welcome sight and listen to have him and the band emerge in such a concrete and conscientious manner.

Not trying to convince you of it's significance (or lack thereof) one way or another, just offering up a different perspective. I'm still digging on the record so I'm not sure what I'd cut from that particular song, if anything. I know the experimental side of Wilco can be more than a bit tedious at times but so far that hasn't been my experience with this song (or record).

Edited by Jahfin
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They actually recorded two, Mermaid Avenue Vols. 1 & 2. Both of them are well worth ordering.

I learnt elsewhere that these two are being re-released in early 2012, along with a third volume of Mermaid Avenue. I thought I'd better wait for that box.

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I'm not Strider but considering I only paid $15 for the deluxe edition of The Whole Love, I'd say go for it. The bonus material is definitely worth it. If I'm not mistaken, the vinyl version includes a bonus track not available on the deluxe edition of the CD.

There is a bonus tune on the LP not found on either version of the CD release. "Sometimes It Happens" is the name of the tune. It's not a throwaway either, believe me.

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By the way, do you think I should get the standard or the deluxe version of this?

I don't know why all of a sudden your post suddenly went tiny...it wasn't like that before the change. To add to my earlier answer to your question, if I said it was worth getting the album just for "One Sunday Morning", then I will add that it is also worth getting the deluxe edition just for "Message from Mid-Bar".

Dewey, we're still waiting for your report on the St. Louis show. How was it? Was the setlist similar the great one played in Raleigh that Jahfin posted?

Meanwhile, Wilco have finally gotten around to announcing the West Coast dates, as well as other dates upcoming late-2011 into 2012. Wilco hits LA January 24, at the Hollywood Palladium. There's a big gap of open dates between LA and the next city, so they'll probably be adding more Palladium shows as the first one will sell out instantaneously.

Wilco 2011-2012 Tour Dates:

10/24 – Glasgow, UK @ Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

10/25 – Manchester, UK @ Academy

10/27 – Bristol, UK @ Colston Hall

10/28 – London, UK @ Roundhouse

10/29 – London, UK @ Roundhouse

11/01 – Madrid, ES @ Teatro Circo Price

11/02 – Barcelona, ES @ Palau De La Musica Catalina

11/03 – San Sebastián, ES @ Kursaal Convention Center

11/04 – Vigo, ES @ Pavillón das Travesas

11/07 – Basel, CH @ Kaserne Basel

11/08 – Frankfurt, DE @ Alte Oper

11/09 – München, DE @ Circus Krone

11/11 – Wesendorf, DE @ Rolling Stone Weekender

11/12 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom

11/13 – Utrecht, NL @ Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn

11/14 – Tilburg, NL @ 013

11/29 – Dallas, TX @ The Music Hall at Fair Park

12/01 – Austin, TX @ ACL at The Moody Theater

12/03 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater

12/04 – Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom

12/06 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre

12/07 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre

12/09 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater

12/10 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore

12/12 – Chicago, IL @ Civic Opera House

12/13 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre

12/15 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre

12/16 – Chicago, IL @ Metro

01/19 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore

01/21 – Tempe, AZ @ Gammage

01/22 – San Diego, CA @ Copley Symphony Hall

01/24 – Hollywood, CA @ Palladium

01/28 – San Jose, CA @ Civic Auditorium

01/29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield

01/31 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre

02/01 – Davis, CA @ Mondavi Center

02/03 – Eugene, OR @ Hult Center

02/05 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum

02/06 – Spokane, WA @ INB Performing Arts Center

02/07 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater

02/08 – Portland, OR @ Schnitzer Theater

02/10 – Santa Baraba, CA @ Arlington Theater

02/26 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene

02/27 – Stockholm, SE @ Annexet

02/28 – Copenhagen, DK @ Falconer Salen

03/02 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique

03/03 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique

03/05 – Paris, FR @ Le Grand Rex

03/07 – Zurich, CH @ Volkshaus

03/08 – Milan, IT @ Alcatraz

03/09 – Bologna, IT @ Estragon

03/11 – Zagreb, HR @ Aquarius

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  • 2 weeks later...

From TheDaily.com:

Wilco

Our musical mathematician breaks down what makes up performers

101711-arts-music-xray-ss.jpg

BY @DISCOGRAPHIES MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2011

15% Volvo-esque stability, reliability and mid-tempo choogling

[View Image]

15% Moody, semi-evocative lyrics about ... uh ... well ... you know ... stuff

[Jeff Tweedy: “I grunt and make noises and sounds that I think sound like what lyrics would sound like if I had any, and then I go and listen to them over and over and over and over again until it sounds like words, and then I write them down.”]

[MIKE: can you italicize “stuff”?]

15% Jagged tempo shifts, guitar squalls and sudden bursts of static-y weirdness

[Jeff Tweedy: “The band itself overall is populated with pretty major Rush fans.”]

14% Hatred of being labeled “dad rock”

[Glenn Kotche: “Being a dad twice over now, that phrase makes no sense ... I understand the term means complacent, middle-aged and you have a house and a luxury car, but man, being a dad? I drink 10 times more than I did before.”]

12% Social media awareness

[Jeff Tweedy: “I have no doubt that the second this record becomes available there’s somebody sitting in a basement at their computer with the word ‘meh’ already typed up, waiting to post a review.”]

11% An informed fanbase

[Jeff Tweedy: “We were waiting for some food one time at a bar ... and this guy turned around and he recognized me, and he said, “Hey, man. I really wish your records would start selling.”]

9% #humblebrag

[Jeff Tweedy: “There are gaping holes in my knowledge of literature, and at the same time I’m a big fan of Robert Walser, a semi-obscure German short-story writer.”]

5% Social democracy

[Jeff Tweedy: [“You know, I don’t think Kanye West probably hangs out with his [road] crew too much.”]

3% “ ‘M’ is for the million things she...”

[Jeff Tweedy: “My mom told me something that I struggled with my whole life: ‘You’re born alone and you die alone. So you should get used to being alone.’ And that’s just terrible advice.”]

1% Archopyrophobia

[Jeff Tweedy: “[Our worst show ever was] the first time we played the Sasquatch festival. We went on after Arcade Fire, who were just becoming huge at the time ... it was like having your ass handed to you by, like, Cirque du Soleil.”]

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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 weeks later...

Wilco is coming to LA next week for three shows, and while in town, it looks like Jeff isn't content to just play concerts, as I got this notice from the Largo club recently:

Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) will be the guest on the next Jeff Garlin In Conversation with... on Monday, January 23. Click here to purchase tickets. Grab them while you can as this show is sure to sell out.

More guests will be announced soon for future Jeff Garlin In Conversation with... shows. Past 'Conversations' evenings included guestsLarry David, John Waters, Michael Moore, Henry Rollins & Judd Apatow among others. More of these fantastic shows will be announced for the coming months on Largo's online calendar. Stay tuned!

Monday, January 23: Jeff Garlin In Conversation with Jeff Tweedy. Seats will be assigned beginning at 6pm, Doors open for drinks at 7pm, Showtime 8pm, Tickets $30. Click here to purchase tickets.

For more detailed information about Largo at the Coronet please find us our website, www.largo-la.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter. Click here for Largo's Seat Assignment/Will Call/Ticket Purchase Policy. Stay tuned for more announcements and thank you for your support.

Cheers,

-Largo

Luckily, I got my fix before it sold out!

Edited by Strider
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