Is anyone else distracted by the guitar lick on "You Never Know" that is EXACTLY the same as George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord"?

And "Everlasting Everything" clearly is channeling the Beatles. The piano lick is straight out of "A Day in the Life", and when the drums enter about halfway through the song, I swear its fucking Ringo Starr.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:

And as much as everyone likes to downplay The Beatles music as simple pop, there was significant depth and substance there.

FKA, if anyone ever says anything like that to you [that the Beatles are simple pop that is], your first reaction should be to slap them straight across the face. Anyone who disregards the Beatles as simple pop is a mongoloid with half a brain. Just put on Helter Skelter and the argument ends right there.

Oh I wasn't trying to argue that Wilco wasn't a great band earlier, I just feel like they aren't my cup of tea at some times. They're one of those bands where I have to be in the mood to listen to them. However, YHF is incredible, but I don't see anything else in their discography that rivals it. Summerteeth was great, Being There was spottily great, and I don't really dig on much of the post-YHF stuff, so I guess I have a bias.

That said, all this discussion makes me want to get the album, but I always get bummed out when a band with a "classic" like YHF releases a relative dud... I call it the "Source Tags and Codes" syndrome.

as great as the beatles are, "Pet Sounds" is still the greatest pop album of all time! I know it's just my opinion but that album is genius.

I brought the whole radiohead thing up because what I think makes them a solid band is their creative and experimental approach to music. BUT, I think YHF and AGiB are just as experimental as any Radiohead album, but at the same time they're listenable. The argument cant really be settled though cause the two bands sound entirely different.

quote:

And "Everlasting Everything" clearly is channeling the Beatles. The piano lick is straight out of "A Day in the Life", and when the drums enter about halfway through the song, I swear its fucking Ringo Starr.

Finally, somebody gives an example of where they are finding the Beatles' in this album.

I'll buy that.

Hey joymonger, I don't think there is something wrong with you. The way I've approached Wilco, in terms of recommending them to others, is to start with AGiB. Most people, when hearing an amazing band/artist for the first time, will love the first album they hear by them the most. YHF was Wilco's breakthrough album and that's the one that gets cited the most often. But of the—say six people—I have shown Wilco to, five of them like AGiB the most, followed by Summerteeth and then YHF. The other person doesn't count, she liked SBS the most and that's just unheard of.

I like AGiB the most because it's challenging while being gripping and poignant. There were some demons inside of Jeff Tweedy and he was battling with a lot. His inner Neil Young shines through ("At Least That's What You Said") and the Television influence is strongly felt on the guitar solos. They're jagged, rough around the edges but utterly amazing. I feel the album flows the best, the themes are marvelous and from top to bottom is just a stunning collection.

I'm glad someone else hears The Beatles influence on this new one, I knew I wasn't crazy. I know that if mark was still here, he would hear it too. And I wasn't so much getting on crob but he said something like the music wasn't as poppy as The Beatles and I was confused because I thought, "Wait, The Beatles were pop only?" I was wrong, Dr. Knockers was the one who said Wilco was just as good as Radiohead. I agree with everything you said man, although I may like The Beatles (White Album) as much as Pet Sounds.

Anyways, Tweedy says Wilco is love and this album is already much better than SBS, let the love fill you in.

quote:

But of the—say six people—I have shown Wilco to, five of them like AGiB the most, followed by Summerteeth and then YHF. The other person doesn't count, she liked SBS the most and that's just unheard of.

Since I thought your "findings" were interesting, I thought I would poll my closest group of friends, and ask them what their favorite Wilco album is. And, for your interest, the results...

Being There: 1 (our resident folky was the only guy who voted for this one)
Summerteeth: 0 (sadness)
YHF: 4 (if you include me, 5)
AGiB: 2
SBS: 4 (This seems to affect the ladies...)

With a band like Wilco (or The Beatles, Radiohead, etc) that has so many good albums, it's interesting to see what sorts of people and tastes gravitate towards specific albums.

chaos is right, anyone who doubts Wilco's status as one of the greatest bands of the past decade or so (maybe longer considering which albums are your favorite) needs only to listen to the live double album "kicking television". Anybody seen the YHF documentary DVD? Its unbelievable, and its funny to see what an asshole Jay Bennett is/was.

"Bull Black Nova" gets better and better with repeat listens. I love the krautrock with the repititve piano and dissonant guitars banging away. The last 2 minutes of that song are magic.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr.Knockers:
chaos is right, anyone who doubts Wilco's status as one of the greatest bands of the past decade or so (maybe longer considering which albums are your favorite) needs only to listen to the live double album "kicking television". Anybody seen the YHF documentary DVD? Its unbelievable, and its funny to see what an asshole Jay Bennett is/was.

Asshole or not, Jay Bennett made that band great. There's a distinct qualitative drop off on the albums he wasn't involved in.

It seems like Tweedy works better (or at least puts out better material) when he's got someone challenging him.

^ I see where you are coming from, but considering how much I enjoy the band's post-Bennett records, I don't think he added THAT much except an enormous ego. and jesus, I'm surprised no one lit him up with big fat fist to the face during that dvd.

C'mon Jay Bennett wasn't that bad on I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. I'm sure he was edited to be the bad guy which is pretty easy to do. To me he came across as a guy who had strong opinions on what he wanted to do with YHF but knew it wasn't his band. He knew he couldn't take over and do it his way so he had to tip-toe around the best he could which made him look like a dick. And don't believe Jay Bennett's bitching over the mixing of "Heavy Metal Drummer" made Tweedy throw up. Tweedy had/has severe migraines which induce nausea. He even said he had them since he was a kid. That whole sequence was edited to make Bennett look awful. He does have a bit of an off-putting ego, but Wilco was lucky to have him.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hophead,

quote:

Originally posted by hophead:
"Bull Black Nova" gets better and better with repeat listens. I love the krautrock with the repititve piano and dissonant guitars banging away. The last 2 minutes of that song are magic.

Yeah, I listened to the whole album again last night, the Krautrock influence is extended here from "Spiders (Kidsmoke)"; great song.

I agree that Jay Bennett was an integral part of the band. Had he stayed on, Wilco would have been a very much different band than they are now. But I love A Ghost is Born and this new album is a vast improvement from the previous album.

However, I think that Jeff Tweedy is also a hard person to work with. Keep in mind, that since their inception, only he and bassist John Stirratt are from the original line-up. Actually, they've been together since Uncle Tupelo. So they've gone through many different line-up changes. I don't know if you guys have seen the new DVD (fantastic, by the way) but even Tweedy says something to the effect of "Yeah, Wilco could go through another change, as long as it isn't John leaving."

And I personally feel that Bennett was edited and made out to be the bad guy. Before he left, Wilco was his and Tweedy's band and they fought over many decisions. In many ways, Bennett is a huge reason why I even got into Wilco. If you've heard the Guthrie albums, those songs were half by Billy Bragg and the others were by Bennett/Tweedy.

Wasn't Glen Kotch in the original line up to?

quote:

Originally posted by Dr.Knockers:
Wasn't Glen Kotch in the original line up to?

No. Ken Coomer was the original drummer. He was fired during the YHF sessions in favor of Kotche.

just wondering, cause Kotche is the MAN.

Awwwwwwww man. Now I feel like a huge douche wad for talking smack about Jay Bennett; it's never cool when somebody passes away.

This is insanity. I mean fuck, I know there's been a lot said and done but this guy had a huge part in making one of my favorite albums. What a bad note to end on though. I hope the lawsuit disappears for both the band and Bennett's dignity's sake. RIP Jay Bennett.

I read about Jay Bennett's passing yesterday morning on the A.V. Club. It's very sad news because of how young Bennett was. I know he had written on his page that he was going through some surgeries for his hip and a torn ACL but I never saw this coming.

Like I mentioned before, he was a very important and integreal part of Wilco's songwriting process. And although Tweedy and him clashed quite a bit, he was able to have enough of an influence for the both to make the right decision, together. I'll always wonder how their sound would have progressed had he stayed in the group.

All around though, very sad news. I don't have the link on me because I am at work but if you go to the A.V. Club's site, they have a cool video that shows Bennett's influence on Wilco's "Poor Places," R.I.P. Bennett

What bad timing for me to rip on Jay Bennett...RIP Jay.

Some of the best collaborations are born out of larger-than-life personalities that clash. Like Lennon and McCartney. Jay's contributions pushed Wilco into a different realm. Although I love Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (the album), there is an edge that is missing from the band. RIP Jay Bennett.