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July 1, 2009
wilco (the suck)
there is a moment in the song you never know that i think perfectly sums up wilco (the album). as the song limps to a close jeff tweedy plaintively wails "i don't care anymore - i don't care anymore - i don't care anymore - i don't care anymore". and that's exactly what this album sounds like to me - a smugly self-satisfied band lost in the bloat of middle age making rock 'n roll for men who wear pleated shorts and sperry topsiders on the weekend. this album just isn't very good. in fact at times it's embarrassingly bad. it's beach blanket, cheap beer, meat on a stick, passed out in the port-a-john summer amphitheater concert series bad.
which is why i don't understand all of the "positive" reviews it's been getting. pitchfork - rolling stone - paste - the chicago tribune all give this album a ringing endorsement. and yet if you read the reviews they all say essentially the same thing. the songs aren't very strong - there's really nothing new here - but it's a nice summary of all the various stylistic turns the band has taken through the years wrapped up in a neat little package. so the record isn't good but you liked it anyway? i'm confused...reading those reviews made me think of john madden and his blind brett favre devotion - "i know he just cost his team the game with that interception - but he's having so much fun out there!"
sure there are nice musical moments here and there on wilco (the toss-off)- but it's all been done before. the strongest song on the record one wing is essentially impossible germany with a bigger chorus. in fact there are a lot of songs that sound like they were built on the template of earlier better wilco songs. imitation is the sincerest form of hackery. it's a fun game - feel free to play along:
wilco (the song) - one of the few on the record that could actually be accused of having a tempo is crafted around the barebones chassis of can't stand it.
bull black nova is spiders/kidsmoke (and the less said about that the better).
i'll fight apes the intro from at least that's what you said before melting into a note for note for note re-imagining of the sbs closer on and on and on
and finally you and i sticks a knife in the back of jesus etc and takes its lunch money. and it's horrible. it makes me want to commit murder. why have the much lauded if decidedly un-feisty feist appear on your record if she's only there to laconically mimic the melody. it adds nothing to the song. in fact there are a couple of glaring instances where she and jeff tweedy aren't in sync at all. and it sounds like bad wilco karaoke night with your host leslie feist.
perhaps i'm being too harsh. but i really don't think so. because the lazy songs and the muddy production belie the fact that wilco are a phenomenal band. it would be impossible to lodge a complaint about the playing on the record. but would it kill you to break a sweat? come on man - i miss this band rocking. i miss the shimmering pop hooks. i miss everything that was and still could be great about this band. so what happened? who stole the magic? i for one am pointing the finger of blame at nels cline. actually that's not fair. i should probably blame jeff tweedy. because if you look at his history he has a tendency to take on the sound of his most prominent sideman. see jays farrar and bennett. and while nels is a phenomenal guitarist and an excellent showman he doesn't really rock. he's a jazz player. and that sound has sort of consumed the last couple of records.
and look a lot of people (some around these parts) eviscerated sky blue sky for being somnambulant yacht rock. and while i can appreciate the argument - i still find it a very satisfying record that i can listen start to finish and it just makes me feel groovy baby. and hey - even if it wasn't your cup of tea it was new territory. so... i don't know what exactly needs to happen here to repair this relationship. but i'm certainly willing to consider counseling. because hey - it's been 15 years. 15 dizzyingly satisfying years. but suddenly i find myself having reservations about so many things - including you.
| By young_christopher | 9:44 AM
Comments
SBS wasn't new territory. It was boring. It was a non-sound. If I want to feel that kind of "groovy" I'll pick up some Steely Dan. (The Album) is not great, and I agree that elements of better songs pop up all over the place, but at least they're revisiting their own territory as opposed to the crap white bread bland-rock ripped directly from the dullest part of the 70's that you insist upon defending as "satisfying." Please. (The Album) has no tempo? You've clearly lost your mind.
Posted by: heidi at July 1, 2009 11:12 AM
i invite you to name one song that would inspire you to rise to your feet and commence dancing...?
Posted by: christopher at July 1, 2009 11:18 AM
I never said it was be-bopping super pop dancing delight; I said it had tempo. In fact, it's an album with a refreshing variety of tempos. Sorry, but l just kind of liked it. Wilco (The Sampler) is okay by me. They're never going to do anything new again � a position you need to accept � and honestly I was anticipating worse... and there you have it: my expectations were so low that a little humor and reference to the old days was a nice surprise.
Posted by: heidi at July 1, 2009 12:01 PM
so i think we're really saying the same thing here. i'm just feeling hyperbolic today i guess? it's just that i was still hopeful for something new - something magique. but let's face it ever since yhf it's just been gradations of disappointment as opposed to something genuinely fresh and exciting. but then i've always expected too much haven't i?
Posted by: christopher at July 1, 2009 3:23 PM
Yes, you're a hopeless idealist doomed to be disappointed.
I still think Ghost is pretty fantastic, it just suffered coming on the heels of YHF...and it had long electronic jam sessions (and Kidsmoke). Nevertheless, there was still a lot of brilliance. Not so these last two.
Posted by: heidi at July 1, 2009 5:24 PM
well heck - if someone has to hope in the face of impossible odds...when all hope seems lost. it might as well be me. probably because i'm 1 corinthians 13 personified.
Posted by: christopher at July 1, 2009 9:18 PM
My own thoughts on the record are in the works. Look for them before the weekend is over.
Posted by: Micah at July 3, 2009 4:21 PM
Done.
http://micahcarver.atlblogs.com/archives/2009/07/wilco-the-revie.html
Posted by: Micah at July 4, 2009 1:44 AM
Kidsmoke is a fucking good song. At least it rocks out. Can't say the same for anything on SBS or, apparently, Wilco (the album).
Posted by: Nic(k) at July 9, 2009 10:50 AM