there haven't been enough wilco threads lately.

[Zoomerang96]

so i've decided to make one.



here's the question:

is 7eff tweedy the best singer-songwriter in the entire world today?

what about in north-america? the united states?

i'd say he's pretty close...but that's probably cause i find his lyrics to be absolutely sick...in a most wonderful way.

and how about this

as good as yankee hotel foxtrot is, a ghost is born is BETTER! that's right folks.

every wilco album has been better than the one before it...how many bands can say that after putting out as many albums as they have?

amazing stuff.

any word on what they're up to at the moment?

 

[anitram]

as good as yankee hotel foxtrot is, a ghost is born is BETTER! that's right folks.

I'm having an existential crisis pertaining to this.

On an intellectual level, I think Ghost may be better. Maybe just for Spiders alone.

But emotionally, it's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot all the way. I fell in love with that album the moment I heard him singing I am trying to break your heart and never looked back. It's sonic beauty and it's cohesion and an incredibly conceptual record.

So at the end of the day I can't get past favouring it over Ghost. I've tried and failed. Repeatedly.

 

[NumbMacphisto]

YAY WILCO!

Jeff Tweedy is definitely one of the best songwriters today. Every single Wilco album sounds different and wonderful at the same time. I'd have to say Summer Teeth is definitely my favorite Wilco album though with some of the strongest songs in their catalog (She's a Jar, Via Chicago, How To Fight Loneliness).

Jeff played a solo show at my school in May and afterwards we got to ask him a few questions, and currently they're putting together hours of footage from their four nights at the Vic in Chicago for a CD/DVD release in the fall, probably sometime in November! Can't wait!

 

[Zoomerang96]

ooh, a new dvd! can't wait for that.

anitram, i hear ya...reservations is ridiculously beautiful.

i don't know of another band who can destruct their songs into sheer noise as well as wilco can...and that song is one of the best examples of it. the noise at the end 7ust sort of floats...i've never heard anything like that...

 

[anitram]

reservations

about so many things
but not about you...

 

[Jack In The Box]

...reservations is ridiculously beautiful.

absolutely, one of my favorite Wilco songs

about Jeff Tweedy, yes, he's one of the best songwriters today, he has an unique voice.

plus, I knew Jim O'Rourke thanks to Wilco, he's amazing too

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

i don't know of another band who can destruct their songs into sheer noise as well as wilco can...and that song is one of the best examples of it. the noise at the end 7ust sort of floats...i've never heard anything like that...

Sonic. Youth.



Back on topic though I really like 'Box Full Of Letters'. EP actually sent me a Wilco mix a long time ago that I still haven't listened to yet. Bloody hell. I really should.

 

[indra]

I bought YHF and AGIB at the same time and love them both. Some days one works a bit better, other days the other. Hell I even like all of Less Than You Think, I don't think I ever skip over that part.

Everything I've heard from them so far (Summerteeth, YHF, & AGIB) I really like. And their earlier work is on my "to buy" list.


Oh, and Jeff Tweedy just had a birthday in late August too. So Happy Birthday!

 

[timothius]

is 7eff tweedy the best singer-songwriter in the entire world today?

No.

what about in north-america? the united states?

Probably. There isn't a great deal of competition from my somewhat restricted listening.

every wilco album has been better than the one before it...how many bands can say that after putting out as many albums as they have?

If bands can get past the "Over-hyped letdown second album" then they tend to go that way - but it is rare. I havent listened to their two earliest albums a great deal to so I can't pass judgement on that.

Wilco are great - I should start listening to them a lot more.

 

[agentorange]

Great to hear there's a dvd of this past tour in the works. It's a tossup for me whether YHF or AGIB is better, so you can't beat the live mix. The two albums flow together pretty seamlessly, along with the Summerteeth stuff, etc.

I tend to gravitate towards AGIB slightly more. I think At Least That's What You Said is one the best guitar performances of this century so far - I can' t recall a song where the crush of a dying relationship is conveyed musically so well. Maybe it's the unconventional, tormented playing. But it is heart rending. And Muzzle of Bees is a gorgeous, strange song.

Re: YHF, Poor Places really hits me emotionally, musically more than lyrically, since the lyrics are pretty cryptic. I really can't explain that song's grasp on me, but I love it. And Ashes of American Flags emerged as a live centerpiece in the recent tour, in my opinion. On disc, it's forgettable. Live, it is majestic.

 

[Basstrap]

Tweedy is a poet

that;s all I have to say
and you can't say that about many singers.

you can't really say that about bono

and YHF is better than Ghost is Born.
Just musically. The lyrics on ghost are as beautiful as ever...and that makes the album very very good.

Let me reinstate

Tweedy is a poet
"Our love is all God's Money"

"I'm down on my hands and knees everytime the door bell rings"

"How do you fight lonliness? you laugh at every joke. Drag your blanket blindy. Fill your heart with smoke"

 

[Zoomerang96]

Tweedy is a poet

that;s all I have to say
and you can't say that about many singers.

you can't really say that about bono

and YHF is better than Ghost is Born.
Just musically. The lyrics on ghost are as beautiful as ever...and that makes the album very very good.

Let me reinstate

Tweedy is a poet
"Our love is all God's Money"

"I'm down on my hands and knees everytime the door bell rings"

"How do you fight lonliness? you laugh at every joke. Drag your blanket blindy. Fill your heart with smoke"

agreed completely.

bono was most definitely a poet at one time though, i do believe. his lyrics up till not that long ago really at times were quite impressive. i mean, so cruel is top notch.

but his best work doesn't touch tweedy's.

"open your arms...as far as they will go..."

wishful thinking. ah yes...along with the music of that song...that's music that actually means something. they didn't throw words together with music...it's all part of each other and you can feel it.

and yeah, i'm another one who listens to all of less than you think. i love that noise...

 

[Kieran McConville]

I should check out Wilco more, sounds interesting.

Beats listening to Spoon, eh? Eh guys!@!! EEEEEHHHHH

 

[Bonochick]

I just got Summer Teeth. The only other album I have is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I love them both.

 

[~LadyLemon~]

Back on topic though I really like 'Box Full Of Letters'.

I get the credit for that, right?
That's from their first album, A.M., which is good, but in comparison to the rest of their albums, is well, sub-par.

For so long, Being There was my favorite.
But YHF is now on my top 5 of favorite albums ever. Ghost is great, but it doesn't give me the same feeling as YHF--I just get lost in that album.

Back to Ghost though...Spiders live...could there be anything better than that? Although I have yet to hear Sunken Treasure live. If and when I do, I'm sure my head will explode...in a good way of course.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Yes, dear double L, you do.

 

[indra]

That's from their first album, A.M., which is good, but in comparison to the rest of their albums, is well, sub-par.

That actually kind of worries me. I bought YHF and AGIB together, then several weeks later bought Summerteeth. Love 'em all, but like YHF and AGIB better than Summerteeth. If, as is the general consensus, their work has gotten better with each release (or at least their later few albums are better than their first few), I fear I may be disappointed by their older work.

I've done that with other artists -- gotten into them several albums into their career and then when I buy the back catalog I'm not so impressed with their early work. And it's not as if it's bad, often it's quite good, it's just that it isn't as good as I know they can be. Does that make any sense?

Probably won't stop me from buying the albums though....

 

[Zoomerang96]

spiders and at least that's what you said, at least when played live, have me thinking it's 7onny greenwood assaulting his guitar... very cool.

 

[zonelistener]

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" is just finishing up on Sundance Channel

They are in Germany playing, I believe, and then they are playing Farm Aid.

 

[Se7en]

bono was most definitely a poet at one time though, i do believe.

night hangs like a prisoner
stretched over black and blue
hear their heartbeat
we hear their heartbeat

 

[~LadyLemon~]

That actually kind of worries me. I bought YHF and AGIB together, then several weeks later bought Summerteeth. Love 'em all, but like YHF and AGIB better than Summerteeth. If, as is the general consensus, their work has gotten better with each release (or at least their later few albums are better than their first few), I fear I may be disappointed by their older work.

I've done that with other artists -- gotten into them several albums into their career and then when I buy the back catalog I'm not so impressed with their early work. And it's not as if it's bad, often it's quite good, it's just that it isn't as good as I know they can be. Does that make any sense?

Probably won't stop me from buying the albums though....

As with most great bands, each album has a different sound. And A.M. reminds me a lot of Tweedy's work with Uncle Tupelo. Uncle Tupelo is great stuff though, and it's interesting to keep going through Jeff's catalog to see how he's progressed musically and lyrically. But back to A.M., I dare you to NOT be instantly hooked on "Casino Queen" and "Box Full of Letters". So damn catchy...

 

[indra]

As with most great bands, each album has a different sound. And A.M. reminds me a lot of Tweedy's work with Uncle Tupelo. Uncle Tupelo is great stuff though, and it's interesting to keep going through Jeff's catalog to see how he's progressed musically and lyrically. But back to A.M., I dare you to NOT be instantly hooked on "Casino Queen" and "Box Full of Letters". So damn catchy...

Well in about three or four weeks my "to buy" list is gonna get a workout, so I'll let you know.

 

[~LadyLemon~]

 

[TheFly84138]

Tweedy rules, best American band right now.

 

[Elvis Presley]

Tweedy is indeed a poet.....

YHF is better than AGIB

Download each and every solo Tweedy show you can find...they dont get old...

"All my lies are always wishes"

 

[Zoomerang96]

that's what makes that 'i am trying to break your heart' dvd so awesome...his solo performances...actually the whole thing is amazing anyway.

 

[NumbMacphisto]

I don't know if you guys have seen this, but over at www.wilcoworld.net they have a streaming live version of "Airline To Heaven" recorded for the CD/DVD, the tentative release date being November 1. This live version is incredible and blows the album version out of the water, just with the ending alone

 

[NumbMacphisto]

"Kicking Television - Live From Chicago" two disc live album released on November 1.

Disc one
01 Misunderstood
02 Company In My Back
03 The Late Greats
04 Hell Is Chrome
05 Handshake Drugs
06 I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
07 Shot in the Arm
08 At Least That's What You Said
09 Wishful Thinking
10 Jesus, Etc.
11 I'm the Man Who Loves You
12 Kicking Television

Disc two
01 Via Chicago
02 Hummingbird
03 Muzzle of Bees
04 One by One
05 Airline to Heaven
06 Radio Cure
07 Ashes of American Flags
08 Heavy Metal Drummer
09 Poor Places
10 Spiders (Kidsmoke)
11 Comment (Charles Wright cover)

 

[indra]

"Kicking Television - Live From Chicago" two disc live album released on November 1.

Disc one
01 Misunderstood
02 Company In My Back
03 The Late Greats
04 Hell Is Chrome
05 Handshake Drugs
06 I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
07 Shot in the Arm
08 At Least That's What You Said
09 Wishful Thinking
10 Jesus, Etc.
11 I'm the Man Who Loves You
12 Kicking Television

Disc two
01 Via Chicago
02 Hummingbird
03 Muzzle of Bees
04 One by One
05 Airline to Heaven
06 Radio Cure
07 Ashes of American Flags
08 Heavy Metal Drummer
09 Poor Places
10 Spiders (Kidsmoke)
11 Comment (Charles Wright cover)

Oh wow! That looks absolutely wonderful! Yet another for my "gotta get" list...this one's going right to the top though.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Fine. Just go ahead and start a Wilco thread while I'm out of town.

The live disc news is very exciting.

Tweedy gets my vote everytime for best songwriter. I sat down once and read the YHF lyric booklet all the way through and was just blown away by the poetry. Some critics say he's obscure but I don't get that at all. When I hear his words I get clear images--even if they're not what he meant, they mean something to me.