About a month prior to the May 15, 2007 release of Wilco's most recent album, "Sky Blue Sky," I received a copy of it. Even though the mp3's had been streamed on their own site, I planned to buy the album when it actually came out, along with a special edition DVD including footage of the band's new lineup playing various songs from the album.
Unfortunately, I wasn't so keen on the album when I first heard it, and it wasn't until May 16 that I decided to buckle down and actually buy, listen to, and enjoy Wilco's truly massive talent. This worked partially: I developed a more concrete taste for it by drawing comparisons to my favorite classic rock bands/artists like the Allman Brothers Band (who I saw a lot of in this CD), Bob Dylan (in "What Light"), etc.
But still, I didn't see "Sky Blue Sky" as Wilco; there were a lot of holes. Songs like "Impossible Germany" were melodically and instrumentally brilliant, but the vocals that were paired with them were relatively unenlightened for a band that has consistently floored me.
Today, though, I watched the companion DVD for the first time, and was actually incredibly happy when I discovered that it includes multiple interviews with Jeff Tweedy as well as the band's other members. And in retrospect, I'm even happier. Listening to these dialogues gave me a new sense of hope for the album, and assigned it a fresh identity in my mind. I'm listening to it right now, and I can finally see all of the little aspects of it that make it undeniably Wilco.
Watching the band members play together in The Loft had the same sort of affect on me that listening to live clips of "A Ghost is Born" did––it reaffirmed the band's ability and assigned a face to the album that instantly made it more real, and expanded my understanding of it immensely.
I've always had this theory about Wilco (even before reading/hearing/seeing any sort of actual statements on the matter) that its members care about the music they make, and everything else kind of comes about as a byproduct––popularity's great when you're trying to make a living playing music, but with Wilco's albums, the main goal always sounded like it was the music itself. That's why I liked them to begin with, and seeing that concept in action on screen only makes me like them even more.
The condensed version of a review I wrote of Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" appeared in Thursday, May 24's News-Gazette in the Spin-Off section. The original will most likely be posted here relatively shortly.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Sunken Treasure
Earlier this year, I was able to see Jeff Tweedy (lead singer/vocalist and frontman for the popular indie band, Wilco) at Foellinger Auditorium perform solo with an acoustic guitar, a mic, and a spotlight.
For you readers out there who don't actually know me, Wilco is my absolute favorite band; Jeff Tweedy is a man I love and worship, whose bare feet I would gladly kiss if I could be so privileged. Maybe not...the point is, I'm pretty into the guy, and I would be at major risk of soiling myself if I were less than ten feet away from him in a room.
So it's no surprise that my mind was blown into millions of little pieces even though I wasn't startlingly close to Tweedy––unlike at the My Morning Jacket show later this year at the same venue where their lead, Jim James, almost hit me in the face with his guitar.
After the show, I began searching for Tweedy solo tracks. None. All I found was a minute-long preview for his DVD, "Sunken Treasure," advertised with a clip from the song..."Sunken Treasure." It captivated me and hadn't loosened its grasp on my soul in the slightest, until earlier this week when I began looking for the whole clip via Youtube.
Lucky for me, my good friend Ryan Carlson happened to get onto Gmail chat right at this very moment, and he (being the musical genius he is) sent me the track. It's tears at my heart in the best way possible. Hearing that song would be good enough on its own, but its significance was increased infinitely by the fact that:
a.) I'd wanted this song for months and I finally had acquired it.
b.) My speakers are amazing. The song came through so crisply that it sounded live. Seriously.
On the way back from the Six Flags trip my senior class just took, I listened to it. It was night, on a charter bus, driving through the country––the perfect setting for this variety of Tweedy. But then again, what isn't the perfect setting for that variety of Tweedy? Pretty much nowhere. Turns out Tweedy was wrong when he sang, "there is no sunken treasure"––that line alone is gold.
For you readers out there who don't actually know me, Wilco is my absolute favorite band; Jeff Tweedy is a man I love and worship, whose bare feet I would gladly kiss if I could be so privileged. Maybe not...the point is, I'm pretty into the guy, and I would be at major risk of soiling myself if I were less than ten feet away from him in a room.
So it's no surprise that my mind was blown into millions of little pieces even though I wasn't startlingly close to Tweedy––unlike at the My Morning Jacket show later this year at the same venue where their lead, Jim James, almost hit me in the face with his guitar.
After the show, I began searching for Tweedy solo tracks. None. All I found was a minute-long preview for his DVD, "Sunken Treasure," advertised with a clip from the song..."Sunken Treasure." It captivated me and hadn't loosened its grasp on my soul in the slightest, until earlier this week when I began looking for the whole clip via Youtube.
Lucky for me, my good friend Ryan Carlson happened to get onto Gmail chat right at this very moment, and he (being the musical genius he is) sent me the track. It's tears at my heart in the best way possible. Hearing that song would be good enough on its own, but its significance was increased infinitely by the fact that:
a.) I'd wanted this song for months and I finally had acquired it.
b.) My speakers are amazing. The song came through so crisply that it sounded live. Seriously.
On the way back from the Six Flags trip my senior class just took, I listened to it. It was night, on a charter bus, driving through the country––the perfect setting for this variety of Tweedy. But then again, what isn't the perfect setting for that variety of Tweedy? Pretty much nowhere. Turns out Tweedy was wrong when he sang, "there is no sunken treasure"––that line alone is gold.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
I'm sorry for the break
I've been completely unable to post recently with all the stresses of finishing my high school career. My plan is to start back up during the summer and work on this blog a fair amount. I also hope to be working at Exile on Main St. (the local record store here), but that's still just a distant dream...
In any case, I have two things to say, each of which with points:
1.) Yesterday, I turned eighteen. As an homage to Bill Sutton's (my US history teacher) obsession with singing "I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper, I played this song, and realized that, in fact, it isn't terrible, and the main guitar riff is actually incredibly catchy and downright cool. Actually, for some reason, it reminds me of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin...don't ask me why, I think that's just because I played that yesterday as well.
2.) I also purchased "Sensuous" by Cornelius, an amazing Japanese solo-artist who was once signed to Matador Records. I've only listened to this a little bit, but I already like it––Cornelius is great at coming up with crazy guitar parts mixed with strange electronic instrumentals (although he could never compare to Dan Deacon in this regard). I also got "Dolittle" by the Pixies finally, and I believe it's safe to say that while I was not completely unfamiliar with it before popping it into my computer, I still think it's one of the best albums I've heard in a while, which was somehow a surprise to my ears.
BONUS: 3.) My sister got me the Criterion DVD with the complete footage of Monterey Pop. I've seen some of the big concerts already, of course (The Who, Hendrix, the Mamas and Papas, Big Brother and the Holding Company, etc.), but hell...it's awesome as fuck to actually own this stuff––amazing.
Okay, there was something else I wanted to say, but by now, I've already completely forgotten it. Again, I'll have a few blog posts over the next few weeks, maybe, but I won't be back into the groove, as it were, until the school year finally ends. Until then, keep on keepin' on.
-Jono
In any case, I have two things to say, each of which with points:
1.) Yesterday, I turned eighteen. As an homage to Bill Sutton's (my US history teacher) obsession with singing "I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper, I played this song, and realized that, in fact, it isn't terrible, and the main guitar riff is actually incredibly catchy and downright cool. Actually, for some reason, it reminds me of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin...don't ask me why, I think that's just because I played that yesterday as well.
2.) I also purchased "Sensuous" by Cornelius, an amazing Japanese solo-artist who was once signed to Matador Records. I've only listened to this a little bit, but I already like it––Cornelius is great at coming up with crazy guitar parts mixed with strange electronic instrumentals (although he could never compare to Dan Deacon in this regard). I also got "Dolittle" by the Pixies finally, and I believe it's safe to say that while I was not completely unfamiliar with it before popping it into my computer, I still think it's one of the best albums I've heard in a while, which was somehow a surprise to my ears.
BONUS: 3.) My sister got me the Criterion DVD with the complete footage of Monterey Pop. I've seen some of the big concerts already, of course (The Who, Hendrix, the Mamas and Papas, Big Brother and the Holding Company, etc.), but hell...it's awesome as fuck to actually own this stuff––amazing.
Okay, there was something else I wanted to say, but by now, I've already completely forgotten it. Again, I'll have a few blog posts over the next few weeks, maybe, but I won't be back into the groove, as it were, until the school year finally ends. Until then, keep on keepin' on.
-Jono
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