Hey Metacritic, you do know that Wilco has a new album out and it's being reviewed, right?

I'm jumping on this thread a bit late, I realize; but I'm curious as to people's opinions of the Wilco side projects in general (eg Loose Fur, Golden Smog, etc.) I've read the posts, and while there's a few references to these albums, there's nothing really comprehensive. I know there has to be some Wilco freaks out there who have ALL of that stuff.

As for myself, I really like the two Mermaid Avenue albums, and I love Golden Smog's last one (seems like forever ago), but other than that I haven't had much of a chance to listen to the other stuff. (I tried the first Smog album, and it sounded like your standard friends-fucking-around-in-the-recording-studio-type-thing-- kind of sloppy and loose and no doubt fun to record, but not really, uh, essential listening).

Anyone out there really familiar with these albums? I'm especially curious about Tweedy's solo soundtrack thing-a-ma-bob. And has anyone gotten into Jay B.'s solo stuff? (Summerteeth is my favorite Wilco album)

OK, I guess that's enough questions for now. God bless you in advance.

I've never really listened to Golden Smog. I wasn't that enamored with the first Loose Fur album, but I hear the new one is quite different.

I also really liked the Mermaid Avenue albums, especially the first one.

THING, have you checked out their collaboration with the Minus 5, Down With Wilco?

No, I haven't. I see that the Minus 5 have just released a new album, as well. They sound like they'd be pretty good, but I've heard absolutely nuthin'.
Right now I'm living in Istanbul, where CDs are very expensive (and I don't have a CD player, either-- this is my roommate's computer I'm typing on). I don't even have Kicking TV yet, and I'm chomping at the bit. When I get back to the States, it'll be an orgy of CD acquisition, starting with Wilco (and Neil Young, and Sufjan Stevens, etc).

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Well, I'm in the 1% minority again. The entire point of A Ghost is Born is in the 10, well, actually 12, minutes of "fuzz" (that ain't no fuzz), so I can understand why the album is "underrated" and "misunderstood" (quoting myself.)

Mark f, I agree with you that "Less Than You Think" is important, with regards to the structure of the album. I definitely think that song adds something important to understand what the album is trying to convey, being the incarnation of the "soul" or whatever.

My favorite Wilco album is YHF, but Ghost is a close second. I can't say I'm a hugh Wilco fan, other than the two just mentioned albums, because I never particularly cared for Being There (except for a handful of songs). And Summerteeth, although at first loving it, has not been in my car or home stereo in quite some time.

Well, all the Wilco albums are good, so I'd go back and replay 'em. The funny thing about A Ghost is Born and "Less Than You Think" is that the "soul" (ghost) being born is undoubtedly the Wilco fan's...or at least, some of 'em.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Well, all the Wilco albums are good, so I'd go back and replay 'em. The funny thing about A Ghost is Born and "Less Than You Think" is that the "soul" (ghost) being born is undoubtedly the Wilco fan's...or at least, some of 'em.

My Wilco ghost was born back in 2002, when I first heard YHF. Does that make me older than you?

I've always felt that, as much as I like YHF, it seems less an album than a collection of songs. AGIB, on the other hand, seems to stand together as a piece; in that context, "self-indulgent" tracks like "Less Than You Think" make more sense-- without the balance of the other tracks, its kind of a minor noise experiment-- but it really can't be divorced from the other tracks, I think.
Some day, in the far-flung future, there's going to be a really interesting box set in all of this.

I wonder what Farrar makes of all of this experimentation?

UP!

I'm (finally) ready to rank the Wilco albums. Notice that I didn't listen to A.M. because everybody say that it's the worst Wilco album.

1. A Ghost is Born
2. Summerteeth
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
4. Kicking Television
5. Being There

quote:

Originally posted by eggTweedyegg:
Notice that I didn't listen to A.M. because everybody say that it's the worst Wilco album.

I wouldn't say that necessarily, but it's unlike the rest of their catalog. It's a traditonal alt-country album. If you like the experimental pop of their last three albums, it's disappointing. But if you liked the stuff Tweedy was doing in Uncle Tupelo, it's pretty good.

I used to compare Wilco albums to Radiohead albums and they matched up pretty well. It seems pretty obvious to me, so it's probably been said here before. If you think of the steps they take to go from album to album, the next "level" if you will, they match nice.

A.M. = Pablo Honey
Being There = The Bends
Summerteeth = OK Computer
YHF = Kid A
A Ghost Is Born = Hail to the Theif

I didn't include Amnesiac because it was basically Kid A Part II, came from the same sessions. I didn't include the Mermaid albums because they are side projects.

That's a good comparison, especially for me, since I dearly love Hail to the Thief and A Ghost is Born. I'd probably group Amnesiac with Kid A because, although I like the latter more, I still love the former. Shut up, fanboy.

Summerteeth=OK Computer!!!!!!?

A tight set of literate alt-country jangle matches that sprawling space rock masterpiece?

Still, good call re kid A/amnesiac=YHF and ghost is born=hail to the thief. Nice anglo/american experimentalist comparison - even if for me the brit RH and their rock-art is close to the modern second coming and Wilco are (just) a fantastic US experimental band!

Play Summerteeth, NOW! It's awesome! I don't want to get into degrees in awesomeness, but Wilco is just about as awesome as Radiohead. Maybe I'm a traitor and need to be scooped up by Matt Damon! Ha!, I'd kick his ass!

Fair enough Mark F - I must admit I did love the singles from summerteeth but when I listened to it as a whole I just didn't hear enough in it to reel me in. I def will give it another go.

The Summerteeth/ OK Compyter is an easy one for me. They took their first steps into experimental songs, without alienating anyone in the process. It wasn't a huge step, but both albums are fairly experimental. Radiohead use a bunch of crazy guitar effects and wilco do a lot of layering of different instruments.

I like the Ghost/ Hail comparisons too. The easiest one there for me is that both bands became less experimental, a step back (or to the side) instead of a step forward. Both albums dissappointed many fans, but still have some serious merits to them. Also, I think Ghost and Hail are the best sound quality to date for both bands. Very lush.

Also, you couldn't pay me to listen to Pablo Honey or A.M....so you've got that too.

Summerteeth is awesome, and in some regards, I'd say it's Wilco's best album.

On any given day I might proclaim that Being There/Summerteeth/YHF/AGIB is Wilco's Best album. When you're in the right mood, any of those albums can sound spectacular.

With Radiohead, I only flip-flop between OK Computer and Kid A.

What makes these 4 albums so great are the special production of each of them:

Being there: I see the band in a old shack or a old house playing what the fuck they want. We can hear a Jeff Tweedy that is kind of confuse between traditional and experimental music.

Summerteeth: I imagine that I'm in a christmas family reunion with tons of people I love, that is something It will never happen to me...strange. I imagine myself talking with fictive friends. This album makes me feel so...alone...A very modest, warm, simple production

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: I often imagine the band playing on a isolated city with a lot of tall buildings, but nobody live in this city except Tweedy and his crew. And the album sounds like something that should have been done in the 50's or in the 60's. The booklet of the album describes the music on the record...

A ghost is born: Everything is grey and white, nobody exists, my soul wants to come out of my body, with songs like hell is chrome and less than you think. The souls are playing music on this album, not the bodies.

How do you describe the atmosphere of the Wilco albums?

quote:

Originally posted by eggTweedyegg:
What makes these 4 albums so great are the special production of each of them:

Summerteeth: A very modest, warm, simple production

I have to disagree with you on this one. Summerteeth is not a simple production. It is very layered. Tweedy has said himself that it was his first time using a computer to record with and he went a bit overboard. Also, most of the album was recorded with just Tweedy and Bennett, and not much of a full band effort. The production is quite dense, look no further than the crazy sounds in Candyfloss.