For Old Times, In Iso, Let's Do Some Shit We Used To

[cobl04]

Damn the forum be active hey!

I wanna take advantage of this shit!

Partly, to be a bit vulnerable, because when this place eventually truly dies, I'm going to miss it terribly. In the last few years as this forum began to slow down, I realised that I haven't been able to - and will never - find something to replace it. I won't ever be about to geek out about music like I've been fortunate to do here for so many years. Even talking one-on-one with people I know who love the same music I do... I'll never to be able to like "I love how the lilting vocals float so effortlessly on top of the gentle guitar riff", and have the other person respond in kind. When it really gets down to it, I'm a nerd. And the level of nerdery on show here, and the acceptance of that nerdery, and this forum being an outlet for that nerdery... I'll never find it again.

So! While there's a few of us kicking around and things are active, let's bring some of that shit back.

NAME YOUR FAVOURITE 7 SONGS BY ANY ARTIST.

And while you do that, please, take the time to add a comment, two or three lines, speaking to these favourites, or the artist.

In follow-up posts, feel free to do whatever the fuck you want. Pick 7 songs by the same artist, or a different one. Or do a Rushmore, in honour of a B&C maxim.

What I will ask however, is please make the effort to engage. Don't just post a list and fuck off. We're all human beings. Let's celebrate this ridiculously nerdy U2 obsession that's led us here and engage with each other.

While we got a few peeps in 'ere, let's do some of that nerdery that we used to do, eh?

 

[cobl04]

TOP 9 DESTROYER SONGS - YEAH I'M BREAKINg THE RULES ALREADY
1. My Favourite Year
2. Bay of Pigs (Detail)
3. European Oils
4. The Bad Arts
5. Painter in Your Pocket
6. Kaputt
7. Archer on the Beach
8. Girl in a Sling
9. Sky's Grey

I love Destroyer so fucking much. I am so thankful I found them. I have SUCH strong memories tied to Kaputt. Seeing Dan Bejar a couple of years ago, even solo, was really special. Their music speaks so much to me.

Destroyer album ranking of the ones I've heard?
Kaputt > Rubies > Have We Met > Trouble in Dreams > Poison Season > Thief > Streethawk > ken

Have We Met is fucking terrific, and worthy of all the praise it has been getting. As you can see, I think it's (comfortably) his best front-to-back record since Kaputt.

 

[iron yuppie]

Have you heard the more ambient Archer on the Beach with Tim Hecker? I was trying like hell to get that on my DI list but couldn’t manage it.

 

[cobl04]

Yes. It's nowhere near as good imo. If I'm not wrong, it was a legitimate single release before Kaputt, as Bay of Pigs was. But I greatly prefer the version on Poison Season. But damn, I would have loved that on your list.

 

[iron yuppie]

Yeah I'd agree the Poison Season version is better - it's a damn near perfect song.

 

[Hewson]

NAME YOUR FAVOURITE 7 SONGS BY ANY ARTIST.

TOP 9 DESTROYER SONGS - .

 

[cobl04]

nice selective editing m88!!!!

 

[gump]

Damn, cobbler, you made me spend like an hour on this.

Top 10 Wilco songs:

1. Sunken Treasure: Those suspended chords in the intro are perfect for the feeling of longing that the song conveys. This is Jeff at his most poetic (“For all the leaves will burn, In autumn fires and then return, For all the fires we burn, All will return”). And when you think this is a simple folk number, you get the guitars coming in at the end, and the “Music is my savior/I was maimed by rock and roll” lyric, which still gets the best reaction in their live shows, and thei signature wall of sound towards the end. As disc 2 opener, this is also the perfect counterpart to Misunderstood, which opens disc 1. This is the perfect song. I love it so much.

2. Via Chicago: though there were glimpses of that in Being There, Summerteeth really marks the shifting Wilco sound, and Via Chicago is the best example. And that opening verse is so powerful (“I dreamed about killing you again last night, And it felt alright to me, Dying on the banks of Embarcadero skies, I sat and watched you bleed, Buried you alive in a fireworks display, Raining down on me, You cold, hot blood ran away from me, To the sea”)

3. Misunderstood: Misunderstood is when Wilco showed us what band they were going to become a few years later, even if that sound is not fully developed in Being There. It’s a classic for a reason, and the drum break/“Nothing” is such a wonderful part of their live shows. He delivers that in different ways, but I love the gentle “Nothing at all” from the Kicking Television version. That live recording may be what sold me on Wilco.

4. Jesus, Etc: I love everything about this song - the strings, its somewhat romantic yet sincere message, the beautiful lyricism of the chorus (“Tall buildings shake, Voices escape singing sad sad songs, Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks, Bitter melodies turning your orbit around”). And it’s the perfect middle break to the more cynical and world-weary Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sound.

5. Poor Places: Jesus Etc is the prettiest song in YHF, and my favorite for personal reasons, but Poor Places might be the best. It’s such a good depiction of what they were doing turning beautiful little folk songs into sonic adventures around the time. The little piano line that comes in at 1:30 and then becomes staccato chords at 1:50 or so. The synth line in the verses. It quiets down and picks it back up, until the whole thing breaks down and explodes. So fucking good.

6. Spiders (Kidsmoke): I got into Wilco right around the time AGIB was released, and this song opened up so many musical possibilities and avenues for me. It’s so uncompromising, and I love that. It’s their best live song (I miss the Poor Places -> Spiders transition of that era). Go listen to the Kicking Television version if you haven’t.

7. Passenger Side: This list underrepresented the alt-country version of Wilco to some extent - and I like that band. Passenger Side is my favorite off AM, but I could have I Might Be High on this list too).

8. One Sunday Morning: looking at this list, I see it leans towards long/epic songs. While I wouldn’t call this one epic - there is no crescendo, it’s beauty is in the simple repetition of its gorgeous melody. There is such patience and restraint here, which are hallmarks of great songwriting. This is the only post-AGIB song on this list, which is only due to space constraints, but I find it a good representation of their attempt to go back to their original sound, though with more restraint and confidence.

9. Impossible Germany: This makes the list mostly for Nels’ epic solo, though I like the abstract lyrics - somewhat of a departure for Jeff.

10. Laminated Cat (Wilco-adjacent, but they play it live as a band): I think this is possibly the best encapsulation of the early-2000s Wilco sound: a weird drone, Jeff’s detached vocals, but lyrics that remain quite personal and specific (“When autumn comes you sit in your chair and you stare at the TV square hiding in the deep end, weeding out the weekends”), the wall of noise in a live setting. It’s a fantastic chorus, too, and perhaps my favorite guitar riff.

I'm heartbroken I couldn't add At Least That's What You Said to the list. I should have used cobber's math rules and made a top-11.

 

[lazarus]

We all know my mixed feelings about Wilco, but Sunken Treasure is my favorite track of theirs as well.

 

[Jerry Dunk]

The National - Top 7 Live Songs

I'm doing this on live versions rather than studio versions, because it's my list and fuck it.

1. Mr. November - The song has muscle in any form. It's a great example of both sides of Matt Berninger's brilliant history of lyrics: the social anxiety and self doubt, combined with the defiant confidence that comes from having had moments of success and a lot of alcohol. The live version certainly takes off due to the drama of his wandering into the crowd, but the real difference is in the drums. Alligator was the first album where Bryan Devendorf really showed his ability, but it was not until Boxer that they figured out how to record the drums. The sound isn't there on the album version, and then the playing is slightly restrained. The added sixteenth notes on the hi-hats as the song builds (in the intro, pre-chorus, and chorus alike) are crucial to making it the legendary staple it is today.

2. Don't Swallow the Cap - Far and away their best opener, the live guitars really take off. The tongue-in-cheek chorus "I'm not alone, I'll never be; and to the bone I'm evergreen" expresses a summary of the song's concern that getting into a relationship has failed to stabilize his behavior or calm his fears.

3. Terrible Love - There has been debate abound, including on this forum, about whether the album take or alternate/single take is the better version. I have always preferred the alternate because the drums are so muddied on the album take, but the live version is the definitive. When I first saw them live in 2010, they closed with this, and I distinctly remember midway through the song realizing that they'd cranked the volume on everything. It was ear splitting for the final two minutes of the show, but it was right for the song. The post-chorus refrain "It takes an ocean not to break" is a great example of lyrics finding a perfect match with the music. The song feels like a series of escalating waves building until the outro, where it finally breaks and sends everything floating chaotically to a new place.

4. Brainy - They have a habit of adding sections to songs, which will be addressed with my last three, but this is a great example of just figuring out how to fill out what they already had. The sharpness of the intro guitar is there. The drums are even more thundering. It's maybe Devendorf's best drum riff. The outro is again stellar, The horn flourish and drums play off each other wonderfully. And the lyrics paint a wonderful, almost prescient picture of two people learning about each other from a distance, trying to figure out if they can do the "right" things to make it work together.

5. Squalor Victoria - Probably their best improvement from studio take to live version, it takes a song that feels incomplete and fills in the missing piece. The lyrics up until the final verse follow the drum line that charges the song ahead, as he's keeping his head right at the water in his professional career. The final lament that it's not working doesn't work when it just falls off a cliff in the studio version. That realization or recognition would lead to someone like Berninger staying up all night freaking out about his lot. The live version's inserted explosion feels much more thematically appropriate. It's a really good riff, and it works great built up to that huge finish.

6. Carin at the Liquor Store - A gorgeous piano riff, maybe their best. This is one of the songs in the live setting that is at the right volume and tempo for Matt to not strain his vocals, which gives it an improved studio feel. His vocals are usually the one downside of their live performances, since he's drinking and projecting more so as to be heard. That's not the case on this ode to his wife. And they add a nice repeat of the middle-eight guitar and horn combo to the outro of the song when performed live. Pink Rabbits walked so this song could run.

7. Humiliation - It feels like a deep cut since they've essentially dropped it from their setlist over the last two tours. But this was a rocket on the tour for Trouble Will Find Me, a great lead in to Mr. November in the encore. I really like what Bryan does here with the drums to use the bass drum to alternate the pacing. He'll stop using it entirely for long stretches of the verse, and then kick it back in on every beat to propel things forward for a bit. The verse lyrics of finally calming down after going to a party and worrying the whole time about messing things up, only to get killed in an explosion, are very funny to me.

Limiting this to seven was incredibly difficult. Apologies to Slow Show, Nobody Else Will Be There, Conversation 16, I'll Still Destroy You, The Geese of Beverly Road, Dark Side of the Gym, Baby We'll Be Fine, Empire Line, Tall Saint, Light Years, etc.

 

[gump]

Oh hell yes to Humiliation. I'm so sad they stopped playing it. Top moment of those shows for me.

Loved your list. I recognize Squalor Victoria's greatness live, but I have to say, I think they play it too often given the vastness of their catalogue.

I would add Fake Empire to the list. For Slow Show (in your honorable mention), a favorite in mine, I would say the studio version is better than the live version.

The one song missing in your list that would be high on mine is About Today.

 

[gump]

We all know my mixed feelings about Wilco, but Sunken Treasure is my favorite track of theirs as well.

If I remember correctly, Being There is your favorite album of theirs, right? I've always loved it, but it has grown on me in recent years.

 

[the tourist]

In no order.

New Year’s Day

One of the first U2 songs I ever heard and almost always considered my favorite. The studio version is flawless in all facets. The piano line is amazing, and the guitar/piano back and forth is something I think most songwriters hope to achieve once in their life.

Bad

I have the unpopular opinion of liking the studio version more than the live version. It’s just the perfect droning, building, dark song. And yes, I love the synth on the studio version. And just Bono, man. Maybe my favorite of his performances.

Pride

I know, I know, people hate it because it’s overplayed or something. But it’s overplayed for a reason. Still gives me goosebumps almost every time. Again, in my opinion no live version has ever topped the studio version. That guitar tone on the studio version is perfection.

Like A Song

The drums! Ah the drums! So good! Also the “a new heart is what I need, ah god make it bleed” is one of my favorite Bono moments. Also, Edge’s guitar here is amazing. The playing and the tone. One of my favorite solos. Probably my most unpopular opinion of a top U2 song.

With Or Without You

I never get tired of this song. The part that raises the hair on my neck is the liftoff at the “ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh” part. The pulsing bass, thundering drums, the sustainer guitar, and then that main riff. Back when the band was more organic (hey, maybe that’s the formula for writing hits Bono - not cramming a thousand words into every verse).

Heartland

I really wish this had been on The Joshua Tree. The vocals are definitely my favorite part, followed closely by the lead guitar. This song has such a wonderful space and some of my favorite lyrics of any U2 song. Especially on the verses. Always has been my favorite on Rattle & Hum.

Where The Streets Have No Name

The live version eclipses the studio version, but I still love the studio version. The definitive Edge delay/tone combination. Some of Bono’s best lyrics. Great keys. The time signature change. Larry’s bashing away. The pulsing bass. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Just missed the cut: A Sort Of Homecoming, The Unforgettable Fire, All I Want Is You, Until The End Of The World, Ultraviolet, Acrobat, Zooropa, Lemon, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Wake Up Dead Man

 

[lazarus]

If I remember correctly, Being There is your favorite album of theirs, right? I've always loved it, but it has grown on me in recent years.

Yes, followed somewhat closely by A Ghost is Born.

Not sure if I mentioned it months ago but I picked up a used copy of Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne. Hadn't really heard the band outside a random track or two over the years, but damn is that one great album. I don't know if I'd put it above Being There because the latter has so much variety (and is Wilco's White Album, I'd venture), but in terms of consistency of quality it's beyond solid.

 

[gump]

Yes, followed somewhat closely by A Ghost is Born.

Not sure if I mentioned it months ago but I picked up a used copy of Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne. Hadn't really heard the band outside a random track or two over the years, but damn is that one great album. I don't know if I'd put it above Being There because the latter has so much variety (and is Wilco's White Album, I'd venture), but in terms of consistency of quality it's beyond solid.

Oh yeah. That's definitely my favorite Uncle Tupelo album, and possibly the best alt-country album there is. You can almost hear the band breaking up in those songs. New Madrid and Acuff-Rose are great, but I tend to prefer the Jay Farrar songs here, with the title song being just marvelous. If you haven't heard their other albums, both No Depression and March 16-20, 1992 are well worth it.

And not sure if you ever got into Son Volt, but I've always liked their rougher edges compared to Wilco after the breakup. It's a shame Jay Farrar never got as much recognition (in his autobiography, Tweedy has some words of regret and a pretty honest take on the breakup). I haven't heard their more recent stuff, but Trace is really an essential album for the genre, and Straightaways is also pretty good. I bought a live album they put out on Record Store Day a couple of years ago, recorded in 1995, and the energy of that band is incredible.

 

[bono_212]

The very first fucking post, my God...

 

[cobl04]

Bad

I have the unpopular opinion of liking the studio version more than the live version. It’s just the perfect droning, building, dark song. And yes, I love the synth on the studio version. And just Bono, man. Maybe my favorite of his performances.


Like A Song

The drums! Ah the drums! So good! Also the “a new heart is what I need, ah god make it bleed” is one of my favorite Bono moments. Also, Edge’s guitar here is amazing. The playing and the tone. One of my favorite solos. Probably my most unpopular opinion of a top U2 song.

With Or Without You

I never get tired of this song. The part that raises the hair on my neck is the liftoff at the “ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh” part. The pulsing bass, thundering drums, the sustainer guitar, and then that main riff. Back when the band was more organic (hey, maybe that’s the formula for writing hits Bono - not cramming a thousand words into every verse).

I'm with you on preferring Bad studio to Bad live. Only on a musical level of course, because the experience of Bad live is something else. But I much prefer the guitar being the focus on the studio version, to the synth loop that takes the lead on the live version.

Not unpopular about Like a Song at all!

With or Without You I will also never get sick of. It gets me very single time.

The National - Top 7 Live Songs

I'm doing this on live versions rather than studio versions, because it's my list and fuck it.

Great post man, thanks they are such a terrific live band. We were devastated when the virus hit as we had front-row tickets for three shows in three nights in a small theatre in March. It's been moved to December, but who knows if we'll be able to see live music by then.

Squalor Victoria is their top live song for mine. The album version is neither here nor there, as you say, but I don't ever want to witness a National show without Squalor Victoria. It's that good.

Damn, cobbler, you made me spend like an hour on this.

Top 10 Wilco songs:

Thanks man, great read Sunken Treasure is definitely my favourite Wilco song. Summerteeth is comfortably my favourite Wilco album though.

The very first fucking post, my God...

Hmm?

 

[DaveC]

the verve:

slide away - getting high with my friends in college and jamming together
already there - smoking salvia (don't smoke salvia)
neon wilderness/weeping willow - a girl i did a lot of drugs with
stormy clouds/(reprise) - watching the sunrise over the ocean smoking a joint with friends
life's an ocean - no specific memory but this song just kills live
she's a superstar - see next
lucky man - our first dance song when i get married next year

 

[iron yuppie]

Carin at the Liquor Store - A gorgeous piano riff, maybe their best. This is one of the songs in the live setting that is at the right volume and tempo for Matt to not strain his vocals, which gives it an improved studio feel. His vocals are usually the one downside of their live performances, since he's drinking and projecting more so as to be heard. That's not the case on this ode to his wife. And they add a nice repeat of the middle-eight guitar and horn combo to the outro of the song when performed live. Pink Rabbits walked so this song could run.

I am partial to Carin for many of the reasons you listed here. But I feel all of their piano ballads were a test run for Light Years, which is just about perfect. The riff is so effortless, finally feeling natural in that staccato style they love so much, and the imagery of lyrics lands all the harder for the realism.

 

[the tourist]

The Cure has become a top 5 band for me over the last year. My favorite era reflects the years of my favorite era of U2 (1980-1993).

In no order:

Push

One of my favorite riffs of all time, great guitar tone. Infectious melody that gets stuck in my head for weeks. And the chord progression while simple is just one of those perfect chord professions. Probably my favorite overall by The Cure.

Disintegration

If Push wasn’t my favorite on a particular day, then it would be Disintegration. The long instrumentals are perfect, and the vocals are some of Robert Smith’s best. I always used to get lost in the second half of that album, but every time that song would come on, it would pull me right back in. I credit it as probably the song that inspired my deep dive into their discography last year.

The Figurehead

The lyrics man. I don’t know if I can say anything to properly justify my appreciation for these lyrics. And great musically as well. But this is only even my second favorite on Pornography because of the existence of...

Cold

The organ and the pounding drums and the synth. The lyrics. This song has grown on my incredibly over the last year or so. It’s the perfect climax to an album I consider to be their third best, a proto-shoegaze wall of sound beast of an album.

Just Like Heaven

The interplay of the synth and the guitar are what’s just like heaven on this song. My favorite of the pop songs they’ve released for sure. Just fun and light and airy and infectious. It sounds like they were having a lot of fun when this was recorded.

All Cats Are Grey

The atmosphere is incredible on this one. And I love the lyrics and delivery, and the blurry production. Just has this cold humidity to it that makes me feel like I’m in Blackreach hunting red nirnroot. Maybe because of the actual cave lyric. Not sure. Love it though.

Plainsong

This was a hard choice as there are a lot of songs that were vying for this last selection. But it’s one of the most epic openings of any album ever, and all the blurry production I mentioned on All Cats Are Grey is here in spades as well. Usually when I just idly think of The Cure, the intro to this hits my brain like a ton of bricks.

13 Honorable Mentions:
A Forest
The Funeral Party
One Hundred Years
Dressing Up
In Between Days
Sinking
Why Can’t I Be You
Lullaby
Closedown
Friday I’m In Love
A Letter To Elise
To Wish Impossible Things
Bloodflowers

Spoiler

Album ranking:
The Head On The Door
Disinitegration
Pornography
Faith
Wish
Bloodflowers
Seventeen Seconds
Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
The Top
The Cure
Three Imaginary Boys
4:13 Dream
Wild Mood Swings

 

[Jerry Dunk]

Top 7 Father John Misty Songs

7. Only Son of the Ladiesman

The focus most often turns to his lyrics, but it's always worth nothing that Josh Tillman is an excellent vocalist. He surely knows this; I don't think he would have so many "oh's" in his songs if he didn't think his vocal work was part of the price of admission. This song does not show the full extent of his range, but it is a song that only works with a great voice. It's a neat story, but it's a vocal showcase at the end of the day, and it's beautiful for it.

6. Now I'm Learning to Love the War

It's self-deprecating and self-critical, but it indicts us all. Unlike some of his lyrics on Pure Comedy, though, it does so without feeling preachy. It's a truly fascinating concept for a song, and the framing is clever. It is difficult to make the lyric "Gonna leave behind things that won't decompose" sound poignant and not shoehorned in, but it is incredibly meaningful in this context.

5. Chateau Lobby

The title is the worst part of this beautiful love song, which I'm editing in protest. He showed it through the Honeybear album, but he can maintain his wit, charm, and humor while writing about more sincere topics. The little details peppered into this make it clear that he and his wife are a good match, that their lives add to each other's. The love is clear, and there's no hedging, but that doesn't mean it's boring. It's beautiful in an inviting way.

4. Strange Encounter

I think if you've spent enough of your life participating in drugs, alcohol, and nightlife, you've had nights that this would remind you of. People passed out or ill, sometimes people you don't know well or at all. It leads you to self-reflection as you come down off the high or sober up quickly, though still under the influence and not totally razor sharp. It's a more nuanced version of the hungover cliche of "I'm never going to drink again!"

3. I'm Writing a Novel

The best example of using his experience leaving Fleet Foxes and moving to California to free himself from the constraints of his self-serious solo career. It's fun, it's funny, it's strange and druggy, and it feels like a fun life is within reach. It's appreciating the things you get from going out drinking and doing drugs. There's camaraderie, new characters, and interesting adventures. That's not a bad thing.

2. Holy Shit

The verses leading up to the chord change have little in the way of a coherent message. They're almost like the words flashing up on the screen behind U2 as they play "The Fly." But the final verses tie the whole thing together, as the song soars to its conclusion (it's especially incredible in the live setting):

And love is just an institution based on human frailty
What's your paradise gotta do with Adam and Eve?
Maybe love is just an economy based on resource scarcity
What I fail to see is what that's got to do with you and me

1. Hangout at the Gallows

It did not take long on God's Favorite Customer to recognize that FJM had bounced back from some of the missteps on Pure Comedy. The album rivals his first two in terms of personal touch, but mixes in the dark themes of Pure Comedy in a much better and more affecting manner. No song is a better example of it than the opening track. The song takes off when it gets to the chorus, and posits tough questions he openly admits he doesn't know how to answer. It's also an acknowledgement that the constant fretting over these subjects isn't healthy, which is especially meaningful as he admits it hasn't helped him learn anything new or useful.

Honorable Mentions:

I Love You, Honeybear
Date Night
The Ideal Husband
Total Entertainment Forever
Please Don't Die
Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
Real Love Baby
Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution
Ballad of the Dying Man
Just Dumb Enough to Try
Pure Comedy
I Went to the Store One Day
Well You Can Do It without Me
Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All
Mr. Tillman

 

[cobl04]

Niiiiice. My fav tracks of his are Ideal Husband, True Affection, This is Sally Hatchet, Only Son of the Ladiesman, Real Love Baby and Hollywood Forever. I kinda fell off with Pure Comedy, it was like he took the worst song and idea on Honeybear (Bored in the USA) and tripled down, becoming a further caricature. So I never even ended up listening to God's Favourite Son, even though I really enjoyed the first two albums and played them a lot. He's a riot live.

I also got to interview him once. He was on like his fifth straight interview of the day, it was after Fear Fun had come out, and I asked him about the same shit everyone was asking him about, being depressed and buying a van and taking shitloads mushrooms. And he was like "man, no offence, but I'm gonna kill myself if I have to fucking talk about this shit again". So I changed tack and we had a great convo about Aubrey Plaza and the then-new video for Hollywood Forever.

 

[womanfish]

Damn, cobbler, you made me spend like an hour on this.

Top 10 Wilco songs:

1. Sunken Treasure: Those suspended chords in the intro are perfect for the feeling of longing that the song conveys. This is Jeff at his most poetic (“For all the leaves will burn, In autumn fires and then return, For all the fires we burn, All will return”). And when you think this is a simple folk number, you get the guitars coming in at the end, and the “Music is my savior/I was maimed by rock and roll” lyric, which still gets the best reaction in their live shows, and thei signature wall of sound towards the end. As disc 2 opener, this is also the perfect counterpart to Misunderstood, which opens disc 1. This is the perfect song. I love it so much.

2. Via Chicago: though there were glimpses of that in Being There, Summerteeth really marks the shifting Wilco sound, and Via Chicago is the best example. And that opening verse is so powerful (“I dreamed about killing you again last night, And it felt alright to me, Dying on the banks of Embarcadero skies, I sat and watched you bleed, Buried you alive in a fireworks display, Raining down on me, You cold, hot blood ran away from me, To the sea”)

3. Misunderstood: Misunderstood is when Wilco showed us what band they were going to become a few years later, even if that sound is not fully developed in Being There. It’s a classic for a reason, and the drum break/“Nothing” is such a wonderful part of their live shows. He delivers that in different ways, but I love the gentle “Nothing at all” from the Kicking Television version. That live recording may be what sold me on Wilco.

4. Jesus, Etc: I love everything about this song - the strings, its somewhat romantic yet sincere message, the beautiful lyricism of the chorus (“Tall buildings shake, Voices escape singing sad sad songs, Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks, Bitter melodies turning your orbit around”). And it’s the perfect middle break to the more cynical and world-weary Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sound.

5. Poor Places: Jesus Etc is the prettiest song in YHF, and my favorite for personal reasons, but Poor Places might be the best. It’s such a good depiction of what they were doing turning beautiful little folk songs into sonic adventures around the time. The little piano line that comes in at 1:30 and then becomes staccato chords at 1:50 or so. The synth line in the verses. It quiets down and picks it back up, until the whole thing breaks down and explodes. So fucking good.

6. Spiders (Kidsmoke): I got into Wilco right around the time AGIB was released, and this song opened up so many musical possibilities and avenues for me. It’s so uncompromising, and I love that. It’s their best live song (I miss the Poor Places -> Spiders transition of that era). Go listen to the Kicking Television version if you haven’t.

7. Passenger Side: This list underrepresented the alt-country version of Wilco to some extent - and I like that band. Passenger Side is my favorite off AM, but I could have I Might Be High on this list too).

8. One Sunday Morning: looking at this list, I see it leans towards long/epic songs. While I wouldn’t call this one epic - there is no crescendo, it’s beauty is in the simple repetition of its gorgeous melody. There is such patience and restraint here, which are hallmarks of great songwriting. This is the only post-AGIB song on this list, which is only due to space constraints, but I find it a good representation of their attempt to go back to their original sound, though with more restraint and confidence.

9. Impossible Germany: This makes the list mostly for Nels’ epic solo, though I like the abstract lyrics - somewhat of a departure for Jeff.

10. Laminated Cat (Wilco-adjacent, but they play it live as a band): I think this is possibly the best encapsulation of the early-2000s Wilco sound: a weird drone, Jeff’s detached vocals, but lyrics that remain quite personal and specific (“When autumn comes you sit in your chair and you stare at the TV square hiding in the deep end, weeding out the weekends”), the wall of noise in a live setting. It’s a fantastic chorus, too, and perhaps my favorite guitar riff.

I'm heartbroken I couldn't add At Least That's What You Said to the list. I should have used cobber's math rules and made a top-11.

Via Chicago

 

[iron yuppie]

Seven most meaningful Beach House songs to me, in chronological order:

1. You Came to Me: It took Devotion a while to click with me, but when it did, it was because of this song. There is a gorgeous, ominous chord shift toward the middle that presages a lot of their brilliant transition work to come.

2. Silver Soul: The song that first caught my attention from them. I stumbled upon the video in this forum, in what must have been one of my first months hanging around B&C. I managed to get the CD from the local library (which it's a minor miracle they had among all the adult contemporary stuff) and quickly fell in love with the band.

3. Real Love (iTunes session): Another song with some beautiful chord changes - more pronounced in this session version than on the Teen Dream version. It's maybe one of the first times Victoria sings over a single acoustic instrument, and her voice works just as well in that setting as it does in their trademark haze.

4. Lazuli: Maybe their first song with some genuine muscle, which especially shines with the live drummer. The synth intro is among their most hypnotic.

5. New Year: I have distinct memories of this song as I rode in a train down the coast from Naples to Sicily. The trip was way longer than I anticipated, and I must have listened to Bloom three or four times in a row. This song in particular is burned in my memory from that trip. I adore the moment when everything strips away to the single whispering synth line.

6. Sparks: Maybe their single best song IMO. I remember going to my car to listen to this premiere on Sirius XMU and being thrilled with the new direction, even if it ended up being a red herring for the larger vibe of the album.

7. Black Car: Maybe their most noir track on an album full of them. Foreboding Beach House is my favorite Beach House, and this track does it better than just about anything else in their catalogue.

 

[cobl04]

Not big on Beach House overall, but I certainly have extremely fond memories of driving from Vancouver to Calgary listening to Teen Dream, a perfect soundtrack for the green and white landscape, and yes, I agree on Sparks, easily their best song.

 

[iron yuppie]

There was one month here in early 2010 where I discovered both Beach House and Destroyer. I really owe this forum for that, among many other things.

 

[Hewson]

Top 7 Interference threads:

7. What Are You Planning To Do? Type out a top 7 list

6. What Are You Doing? Making a top 7 list

5. What Did You Just Do? Started a top 7 list

4. How Are You Doing? Progressing nicely with the list

3. What's For Lunch Or Dinner? 3 bean chili for lunch

2. What Are You Eating? 3 bean chili, can't you read?

1. What Are You Smelling? Sorry, it happens when I eat 3 bean chili.

 

[gump]

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Top 7 Interference threads:



7. What Are You Planning To Do? Type out a top 7 list



6. What Are You Doing? Making a top 7 list



5. What Did You Just Do? Started a top 7 list



4. How Are You Doing? Progressing nicely with the list



3. What's For Lunch Or Dinner? 3 bean chili for lunch



2. What Are You Eating? 3 bean chili, can't you read?



1. What Are You Smelling? Sorry, it happens when I eat 3 bean chili.

But what’s your favorite number 7?

 

[Hewson]

But what’s your favorite number 7?

You know that.

But maybe just to be sure, you should start a thread in OOC asking that question.