| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1559 Registered: 05-2005 |
The new Wilco album Sky Blue Sky is getting very indifferent reviews here in the UK. So far I have read 6 reviews from publications that I generally respect, and perhaps strangely each and every one of them have dished out a 3 star(out of 5) review - that is Uncut, Mojo, Record Collector, Q, The Independent and The Guardian. Now I know that it is only 1 persons opinion overall in each of these publications(although I suspect that editors might have the final say in certain cases - especially for "major" releases like this), but to be honest I have to agree with them and would not rate it any higher, in fact initially I was thinking along the lines of 2 stars. Thinking about it, its maybe because of the standards set by Wilco before that the reviews are so lukewarm, if this was a relatively new act I am sure most reviewers would give it a 4, but really Wilco are now at their peak and should be releasing a stone cold 5 star classic, after all they havent exactly rushed it out. Anyway, now the album is upon us it will be interesting to see what people in Go-Bs land think of it over the coming weeks. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 231 Registered: 01-2006 |
Haven't got it yet, should have next week. In the meantime there are some great downloads here, especially the YHF demos and Engineer's demos... http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?s howtopic=26738 And Wilco are on Jools Holland on Friday May 25th, though I'll be in Berlin then, having seen them live the previous night...can't wait... | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1476 Registered: 05-2005 |
Re Wilco, good press observations Kev. I dunno what to think about the negative press reaction. if they get up to write a review with a hangover, problems in the family, a break up, things not going well, yadda yadda yadda, I know it sounds ridic, but you just never know, maybe that's why. Most journalists cross paths with one another, maybe they agreed to dis it en masse!!!!! I also think, that as Wilco can't really be pigeonholed any longer, not since their early days, and that they don't sound like any current crop of shit wave or don't look like they shop at Topman, they are never gonna get the attention they really deserve in the press, their time in the press may be over. I suspect people expect YHF or Ghost, however its easy gloss over a group, when its attention is less on the big dynamic shots, and more about the attention to detail, things being understated. As Tony their boss once commented, they have the artistic thing sorted, but to Wilco, the commercial thing has always eluded them. For me, what I have heard, it sounds very good, beautiful songs. Its intelligent, its a slow burner (how many journalists really sit with a release on constant rotation given how many they review nowadays?) its classical, its just, er, Wilco. Like I say from what I hear up to now, i really like it, I could see them putting out a nother album real soon, but in my eyes they can't put a foot wrong. One final comment on Wilco, you have to see them live, its part of the Wilco deal, they are an exceptional live experience. They are like Television, in many ways much more exciting than Tom and Richard, I saw both bands summer 2005, and Television, although awesome, were like watching paint dry. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 232 Registered: 01-2006 |
Spence I read somewhere that they have the next album practically done already and that there's a possiblity it could be released end of this year or early next year... I've downloaded quite a few new Wilco songs, from this album and a few other new ones that didn't make the cut. I haven't listened to them yet as I'm waiting on the album, think a lot of them are live versions, when I hear the new one I'll see if there any differences, if so I can post them somewhere for all.... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1560 Registered: 05-2005 |
They dont even like it on the Wilco messageboard http://p099.ezboard.com/fwilcofrm2.showM essageRange?topicID=18560.topic&start=1& stop=20 | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1478 Registered: 05-2005 |
Fascinating! I'll ignore everyone and "take a trip to Mexico where I can unwind!! ...and listen to Wilco! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1479 Registered: 05-2005 |
just listened to clips off their website, I love the new stuff. What do people want man, Maximo Bloody park!!!???? | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1562 Registered: 05-2005 |
Spence, just to clarify, I love Wilco and am not trying to diss them, I am just intrigued as to why so many people including myself see this new album as a disappointment. Like you say above, Wilco live is part of the deal. I saw them on both the YHF and Ghost tours, each time they were mindblowing. However, this album is bland,bland,bland, and if its not bland its got guitar wibbly noodling all over it - both major crimes in my book. The last track, On and On is a very pretty song though and I will play that every so often, and maybe one or two others but cant see me even buying this, the first time I have never bought a Wilco album It'll be interesting to see how the US mags review it. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1480 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kev I wasn't directing that comment at you!! At the msg boarders on Wilco site. I see this album as Wilco being content with themselves. Like YHF and Ghost. On the DVD, which I keep using a s a ref point, there was this thing that Wilco were happy with YHF regardless of what everyone atthe record company thought, and look waht happened. Form eI can see they's be happy with this too, yeah its less experimental, buts its the sound of a band in tune with its own happiness! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1904 Registered: 03-2006 |
Kev, some guy using your name was swearing up and down how much he loved the new Wilco a few weeks ago! You should contact the admin and have him put a stop to that. Those guys on the Wilco message board sound like some real brain trusts... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1365 Registered: 04-2005 |
Anyway, Kevin, who cares what other people think? Your opinion is the only one that should count to you. Critics are notorious bandwagon jumpers (and jumpers-off). Obviously, they've decided to turn against Wilco now. I suspect the album will get better reviews in the U.S. than it has in the UK. I'm not sure why this is, but U.S. critics seem more loyal to artists who stick around for a long time; UK critics seem more eager to dump former favorites and move on. Given that other peoples' opinions don't matter, I'll toss in mine anyway--my first thought on hearing the album was that it was a reactionary move (thinking it was almost a retreat to "A.M."), but listening more carefully, it's clearly the album they wanted to make. Tweedy obviously was into more concise, direct songwriting this time and musically, they felt like exploring a more mellow, early '70s groove. But the instrumental passages and guitar parts are informed (there's a rock critic word!) by their more experimental leanings of the past couple of albums. Though it's quieter and more structured than they've been in awhile, I don't think it's a sellout or a commercial move at all. It's just a band changing backing off from the extreme because they want to--a la going from "White Light/White Heat" to "The Velvet Underground"--an album I think the new Wilco could almost be compared to, though obviously it's not as great. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1905 Registered: 03-2006 |
Great points, Kurt. Don't know if youse guys saw this great and absorbing interview in Pitchfoke, but that sounds exactly like what they were trying to do, explore that mellow, warm, 70's groove: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/fe ature/42415-interview-wilco | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1563 Registered: 05-2005 |
LK, no need to call Admin, I managed to find my posts about Wilco and if this is "swearing up and down how much he loved the new Wilco" you need glasses my friend On March 13 I wrote "I've heard it once right through, and some of the tracks 2 or 3 times. Initial reaction is that this sucks, and I'm a BIG Wilco fan. Thoughts such as "this is bland", "christ, another wibbly guitar solo, thats at least 6 now" kept going through my head. The title track sounds ok, but ok is not good enough, and there is no place for mellotron on a modern rock record. Please tell me you thought the same and after 6 or 7 listens it reveals itself as a masterpiece. Will listen again later,please let it be better!" Later on the same day I wrote "Listened to Wilco again and it sounded better, but still not as good as I had hoped." On March 16 I wrote "Wilco - Sky Blue Sky. My initial claims of blandness are susbsiding - the songs are now revealing themselves as tasteful well constructed gentle songs, very reflective in parts. maybe mr tweedy is/has been going through emotional turmoil. still one or two many wibbly guitar solos for me at times though" Granted that showed that I was warming to it, but trust me thats only because I love the band. However,when I played it again the other day it was the first time in about 6 weeks - I was so obviously so impressed by it that I could not muster enough interest in it to even stick it on. Kurts right, who does care what other people think, but in this instance I find myself totally agreeing with what the critics are writing.Although I must take issue with his take on the difference between UK and US journalists, being loyal to artists who are putting out substandard work is blind loyalty. Something just struck me, like it or not, lots of artists make their greatest works when either under the influence of drink or drugs, isnt Tweedy now clean of both? Just a thought. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 630 Registered: 08-2004 |
Since when does a messageboard poster know anything about anything? | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1907 Registered: 03-2006 |
Kev, I coulda sworn you said something along the lines of "boy, was I wrong about this one", but I might be confusing it with your mea culpa about the new Arcade Fire. But, I actually do wear glasses, so that could be it. I personally don't care what anyone else thinks, critics, fans or message board posters - I still think it's a great freakin' record, one of their best, and wonder if, at the end of they day, it's going to be their most beloved record since "Being There". | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1564 Registered: 05-2005 |
LK - yes you are getting mixed up about my U turn on The Arcade Fire, I really surprised myself with that one. Although I now hate that track Black Mirror with a vengeance, last week while we were in Krakow the bar we were in had that one song on a loop for at least an hour, crazy stuff. Who said the Poles dont have a sense of humour. To get things in perspective, I am not writing Wilco off totally here. Lots of people have picked up on the point that this seems to be the album they wanted to make at the time, and fair play to them. It just so happens the type of music they are making on this album is the kind of music I am allergic to. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1908 Registered: 03-2006 |
You'll forgive my confusion, Kev - even the post you cited, while not a protestation of undying love, sounds like you had found things to like about it, and makes one wonder where those qualities flew off to...Probably being off the drugs made Tweedy realize how self-indulgent and devoid of legible tunes the last one was: "maybe an 11 minute feedback loop isn't such a good idea"... I love the new Arcade Fire record but hearing Black Mirror nonstop for an hour would not be my idea of fun - those wacky Poles. The record works surprisingly well, btw, for driving down Sunset Blvd. The apocalyptic lyrics make for a great, ironic juxtaposition as you wend your way past Beverly Hills. | ||
| John B. Member Username: John_b Post Number: 111 Registered: 10-2006 |
I have heard a few songs on the radio, not paying full attention, but it sounded very relaxed me. The album got a full five stars in the German Rolling Stone. The reviewer agreed with Spence' assessment that "its less experimental, but its the sound of a band in tune with its own happiness!" But the girl in my record shop is probably not the only one wondering about this new rock-star-like photo of the band. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 94 Registered: 05-2005 |
Never heard Wilco, but I like the (wellknown) photo on the cover. | ||
| peter ward Member Username: Peter_ward Post Number: 30 Registered: 06-2005 |
Been listening to it for a month now and think it's their best, most cohesive collection of songs, reminds me of Josh Rouse's 1973 in parts, will be my soundtrack to Summer next to The Bees "Octopus" I've only seen Wilco once live and they were excellent and was hoping to see them this year but they're only playing a sold out oxygen festival in Kildare. Love Jeff Tweedy's voice, his "Far, Far Away" was the soundtrack to our honeymoon in Chicago. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1567 Registered: 05-2005 |
I was curious to see what Pitchfork were going to make of this, they have previously backed Wilco big time. I wasnt surprised by the review http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/re cord_review/42878-sky-blue-sky The US reviews are starting to come in now. The Entertainment Weekly one , which is the highest rating, mentions the Eagles ffs. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/ wilco/skybluesky Earlier on in this thread I mentioned that I wasnt going to buy this album, the first time I had never bought a Wilco album. Well bugger it, I am going to buy it and pray like hell it joins Exile on Main St and Blood On the Tracks and Odelay and loads of other albums that were initially thought to suck and turned out to be masterpieces. Lets hope that I have had cloth ears for the past 2 months and that that the reviewers know Jack shit and LK, Spence,Peter and others who have defended it so far turn out to be gloriously right in their opinions of the album | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1912 Registered: 03-2006 |
Blood On the Tracks, initially thought to suck? Wow, if I ever knew that, I forgot it. There are a lot of instances like that in history, particularly in movies. There's a whole long list of films that were utterly panned that society at large went on to love, "terrible", like "Casablanca". Maybe it's going to be one of those classic, divisive albums... But, it really isn't surprising that Pitchfork doesn't like it. They, all too predictably, diss it, it seems to me, for being straightforward and abandoning the more forthrightly experimental. It, in a lot of ways, is a typical, annoying Pitchfork review - there's a lot of wilful misunderstanding, to help bolster their stance. For instance, the lyrics of "Either Way". They're far from "indecisive" and to characterize them as such completely misses the point. Tweedy, as I hear the lyrics, is saying whether or not the sun shines, or his wife leaves him, he's going to survive. Most of us in the real, adult world call that "strength", Pitchfork, not indecision. And the weird, half-thought through observations go on from there. The reviewer laments Tweedy's passiveness, then cites his "direct and domestic lyrics" as an example. How can you be direct and passive at the same time? The reviewer must be a Republican: he's using that classic tactic of putting something out there that doesn't really add up, then, if's not challenged, taking that as evidence of its truth. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 598 Registered: 08-2006 |
Wow, I'm trapped in a recording studio all weekend and one of the most dynamic threads in a while springs up while I'm away. Anyone hear the Wilco boys on "Prarie Home Companion" this weekend? I was driving home from the studio to let my dogs out and caught at least the first part of their appearance. They sounded good. Haven't heard the whole record but - this being Chicago - it's been on the radio a lot. Still, the "Prarie Home Companion" thing was a bit of a shock. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1914 Registered: 03-2006 |
I was driving back from the beach and heard that, too, Rob. And, I thought they sounded great, too. Tweedy engaged in some funny repartee with Keillor. (This may not translate for our overseas pals - do you guys get "Prairie Home Companion"?) Keillor was grappling with the definition of "alternative", saying, "your music sounds the way music should sound". Tweedy allowed as how he didn't really know what it meant, either". Maybe their appearance on PHC is yet another sign that they're not really interested in making music for the Pitchfork set anymore. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1369 Registered: 04-2005 |
And other reviewers manage to put aside their expectations of what a Wilco album "should be" and hear it for how well it succeeds at being what the band itself wanted it to be: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/revie ws/33236/wilco-sky-blue-sky/ | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1485 Registered: 05-2005 |
In the media, there's no doubt about it, there's a mixed vibe. Kev was right to point this out, as usually the press seem to love these guys. Maybe all the review copies got put in the WRONG hands!!! Again, I have listened, and tomorrow I shall buy, and once again, my conclusion is, its the business, whatever the business is... To the critics...if I were Jeff, I'd respond with this... I did you didn't I do you don't I will you wont | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 109 Registered: 05-2005 |
Bernard Zuel from the Syndey Morning Herald is a critic I respect. Here's his review of the album: http://www.smh.com.au/news/cd-reviews/sk y-blue-sky/2007/05/11/1178390538441.html >>After two albums which sometimes seemed to be bursting out of their skin with restlessness and agitation - in a way that was fascinating and satisfying for a surprisingly large number of listeners - Sky Blue Sky can feel like Wilco in repose. But as with the songs individually, this album doesn't go where you expect it to or end at the same place it started. There are country rock drawls, bright Beatlesque tunes, twin guitar moments reminiscent of Television, laid-back West Coast pop moments and verging-on-prog digressions. Often within the one song. Remarkably, it works. As you absorb the album the ease of the songwriting reveals itself to be more complex but still attractively constructed. And it is certainly more consistent in mood than they have been in some years. I must admit I miss the startling adventure of songs such as Spiders, from 2004's A Ghost Is Born, but I also must admit that I keep putting this album on and just enjoying the moment.<< | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1918 Registered: 03-2006 |
For those of youse who wants to check it out, here's a link to their stint on Prairie Home Companion: http://dickdarlington.blogspot.com/index .html | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 70 Registered: 01-2007 |
I've loved Wilco since I bought being there in FLorida way back and drove round in a converted chevrolet, Since then I've bought most of their stuff though not got Ghost Is Born. Am I right in thinking that this new CD has good songs and less experimental? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1486 Registered: 05-2005 |
make your own mind up Jerry! That should be the order of the day, and do yourself a favour, go buy Ghost, TODAY!!!! Close the surgery or set one up at HMV in your lunchour! | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 71 Registered: 01-2007 |
Thank You Spence | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1920 Registered: 03-2006 |
Yet another viewpoint on "Sky": http://www.salon.com/ent/audiofile/2007/ 05/15/new_music/index.html | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1568 Registered: 05-2005 |
Looks like we were right, the Yanks in general seem to rate the album, its the Brits that have the downer on it. Metacritic have now collated 21 reviews giving it a rating of 80, or if you prefer, 4 stars. There are only about 3 Brit reviews in the 21 as far as I can see, interestingly this does not include the 3 star reviews dished out by Uncut,Mojo,Q and Record Collector. Maybe some arithmetical genius can work it out better than I could, but its safe to say that if these reviews were included in the overall average it would drag the score down a bit. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/ wilco/skybluesky For me, now actually having the album as opposed to the "leak", I can say it at least sounds better. I think the copy I had was actually the stream from Wilco's website from a few months back so sonically it now sounds far,far better. I am now at the stage where I think if this was by anybody else I would probably rate it fairly highly, but as its Wilco I was perhaps expecting too much. I am warming to it though, maybe it is that slow burning classic after all, one that takes 20 or 30 listens to really hit home. I think (and hope) that the Popmatters review Kurt posted on Monday could sum it all up perfectly. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 233 Registered: 01-2006 |
Well the Irish seem to side with the Yanks so, it got 4 stars in the Irish Times last week. I just got it yesterday and there is some stuff I like and some stuff I find quite boring, I always need a few listens to warm up to albums so I'll see over the nest week. I would say it'll sound good live anyway so lookin forward to that next Thursday week... | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1925 Registered: 03-2006 |
I got the extry-special deluxe version of it, for 5 bucks more. It features a DVD with live versions of some of the songs, along with some interview footage. For all of you Wilcomaniax out there, it might be worth it - it's really good. The interviews offer a lot of insight into the songs, and there's also a lot of fascinating, wibbly guitar work by Nels Cline, who really is a shit-hot guitarist. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1927 Registered: 03-2006 |
Not their critical opinion carries much weight, but that shining beacon of American journalism, USA Today, has offered a good(ish) review of it: Wilco, Sky Blue Sky: * * * More pop, less experimenting Jeff Tweedy’s voice — confident and relaxed, with enough husk to suggest world-weary wisdom — anchors the band’s sixth album, a jangly Americana affair with a plethora of ’70s signposts. Coming on the heels of such experimental forays as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky is surprisingly straightforward, laying bare tasteful melodies, sumptuous guitars and unambiguous lyrics that prove no less satisfying than Wilco’s knottier constructions. — Gundersen >>Download: gorgeous What Light, folky Either Way, electrifying Impossible Germany >>Consider: Hate It Here, Walken | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1491 Registered: 05-2005 |
What Wilco have produced, is so well crafted. The album is stunning, if you can't see it, this goes to anybody, it really is as Mr Fricke quotes, hard luck, or hard cheese as they say in England, on your part! Am off to play it again, yippeeeeeeeeee!!!!! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 603 Registered: 08-2006 |
I think a "yippeeeeeeeee!!!!!" translates to a 9.0, at least, on the Metacritic scale. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1492 Registered: 05-2005 |
9.1 actually Rob!  | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 235 Registered: 01-2006 |
If I was pushed.....hot. Have only been listening to it since Monday and at first I really wasn't hugely impressed but all week it's been really growing on me. There are some really great songs in here like Leave Me (Like you Found me), Hate it Here and Either Way. There are also a few that don't do a great deal for me but overall I'd say this is a good if not great album and a kinda bold step by them | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 75 Registered: 01-2007 |
Just bought it today, unfortunately no Ghost Is Born, so just got Sky Blue Sky and from what I've heard it really is very good is a laid back but good songs,I would go as far as to say best thing I've heard so far this year. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1933 Registered: 03-2006 |
They like it in the OC, cultural mecca that it is...this might be the most rapturous review I've read yet, of it: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ent ertainment/music/abox/article_1698540.ph p ps - it's looking like an extra space was inserted when I pasted the link, between the h and the p, at the end. You may have to close that up for the link to work. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 51 Registered: 10-2006 |
well, I'm a Wilco virgin so I thought I'd lose my cherry with Sky to see what all the fuss was about... and I'm really enjoying it, I think it's going to grow and settle in, I love that organ sound, Tweedy's voice... but it needs time, I think. So which Wilco album should I go for next? | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 78 Registered: 01-2007 |
Being There and Summerteath I really like, to my mind summerteath has a similar feels possibly not as immediate but some good strong songs,being there is a double CD nice big collection to get stuck in too. Yankee Foxtrot is more downbeat but good ithat kind of way. I've not got Ghost is Born but Spence and Kevin are the experts here! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1580 Registered: 05-2005 |
Stuart, I would start Being There, followed by Yankee...., both 5 star stellar albums. Ghost has its moments but has a couple of filler, not to mention an unlistenable 11 minute feedback drone. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1937 Registered: 03-2006 |
Stuart, I'd second the recommendations of "Being There", the album that made everybody stand up and recognize Wilco as a force to be reckoned with, and also give a big shoutout to "Summerteeth", which is nearly as good, and features such beloved tuneage as "I'm Always In Love" and "Via Chicago". And oh, the collaboration with Billy Bragg (actually there were two volumes of it) of Woody Guthrie lyrics that they set to music, "Mermaid Avenue", is awfully damn good, too, and well worth checking out. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 52 Registered: 10-2006 |
Difficult band to agree on, obviously, this bunch! Two votes for the Summerteeth album, which otherwise in other places gets lambasted as a horrendous wrong turning in the Wilco career! Just have to buy everything, I guess. I knew this site was going to cost me. | ||
| Wolfgang Steinhardt Member Username: Berbatov Post Number: 70 Registered: 09-2006 |
I'm not so into Wilco, but to whom it may concern: a raving review in Zürich newspaper Tagesanzeiger. The headline says: "Where The Eagles stopped, Wilco continues" and further "the best seventies-record in the new millenium so far" - plus lots of Tweedy interviews and stories in almost every german or swiss (mainstream-)newspaper. Still love Uncle Tupelos Moonshiner... | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 54 Registered: 10-2006 |
A raving review... I like that! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1512 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah just buy them all Stauart. they are all great in their own way. And who are we to say which order to play? We all have different tastes. The thing about this thread, is the more I think about it and the more annalytical I become, the less I like the music! Sometimes, the msg board, provokes reaction, and demands answers to questions, like is the new Wilco album any good? I feel, rather than asking this question, i'd I'd just like to listen to it, and like I did in the early days, play the vinyl over and over and get accustomed to it. I suppose, I am taking a disliking to this thread the more and more I visit it. I am gulity of doing the provoking, however i have come to the decision, to stop and just get on with the art of listening, whilst remaining enthusiastic and recommending the group where suitable. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 615 Registered: 08-2006 |
You know, Spence, I think that's true. I used to edit a music e-zine back in the day and the pressures of writing at length about bands and albums really had a negative impact on my enjoyment of the music I was covering. I started to equate music with deadlines. Every record I'd put on I'd start thinking how I was going to review it as opposed to listening for entertainment and pleasure. So I have admiration for critics who can make the intellectual effort to analyze music while still responding to it on an emotional level. I wasn't up to the task. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 79 Registered: 01-2007 |
ignore the hype and listen to the music, what prompted me to get the latest Wilco cd is that it was on the whole not received favourably,but to my mind is ther most accessible and rewarding,as mentioned the organ playing is great and there is some fabulous guitar playing.It is more Tallulah than 16LL in my mind. There are no real edges to the LP put on and play. I think it is the best record I've bought in well over a year. Excluding the new National Lp i've just bought today | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1189 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm watching this thread closely. I only have "Ghost" which I pulled out to listen to last night. My problem with that record is that I could easily hack out 20 to 25 minutes and improve it. But the good stuff is good. So far everything I've read about "Sky Blue Sky" on here has been promising (figuring Kevin's lack of enthusiasm might be a variant of 16LL aversion) and I have a lot of faith in Spence's sensibilities BUT when a reviewer starts comparing them to the Eagles all the big red lights start flashing and the air raid siren peals. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1513 Registered: 05-2005 |
Rob, interesting and well put. I'd agree with you too Jerry the GB's album comparison. Randy, ref the Eagles compariosn, my mate Pete asked me what I thought of Wilco album and gig, I told him and he replied: "Saw some of the press for the new album. Music journalism is pretty poor all round in this country I think. NME is nothing but a celebrity-trash mag. Watched the first in the new series (Seven Ages of Rock) - thought it was awful. Full of the usual cliches about Hendrix and how in '67 everything was peace and love but come '69 it was all murder and paranoia. Really fucking lazy. Charles Shaar Muuray is a dick!" So I suppose there you have it! You know in many ways, Kev has always kept the faith you know. Years ago, a long time ago, i wouldn't have given Wilco the time of day, but kev is sheer PUNK maaaaaaan!!!!!!!! Through and through, sir, I salute you, you hardened post millenium future wave(er) you! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1583 Registered: 05-2005 |
straight back at ya Spence, as I believe the kids say!! Actually, to get back to the subject,I find I am playing the Wilco album most days and am really enjoying it now. Like a few wise souls on here have said, just appreciate it for what it is. I guess my initial disappointment was due to the fact that after the last 2 albums I thought Wilco had no boundaries and I was really anticipating this album to see where they would go next. I didnt think it would be backwards, but on reflection, and just judging it on musical merit alone, I suppose its ace! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1378 Registered: 04-2005 |
To expound on what Spence said, what is it with the Eagles comparisons? (Made mostly by reviewers, not people here.) In the '70s, there was actually good country rock, soft rock, hippie rock, or whatever you want to call the style that the Wilco album may be a throwback to--but the Eagles weren't the ones making it. The Eagles were smug, arrogant, aloof cokeheads who never lost sight of the almighty dollar when crafting their "art." They created two sure-fire hit singles for every album, and you better believe they were under the counsel of Irv Azoff, David Geffen, etc., to make sure that their albums were designed to dominate the charts. That's so far from Wilco credo that I just don't think there's any comparison at all between the two bands. Like others have said, it's just a lazy, uninformed comparsion. And by the way, some of us Yanks rate Robert Christgau as a critic, but he hates Wilco. I've never let that stop me from enjoying Wilco. Who cares what any critic thinks if it sounds good to you? | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1944 Registered: 03-2006 |
Rehab is, by now, such a cliche almost, such a commonplace in our culture (witness Amy Winehouse's great song about it), that I think it's possible to take for granted what a profound and life-changing experience it can be for people. (I should try it!). But reading between the lines, I'm wondering if clearing away all the junk in Tweedy's life made him want to do the same kind of thing with his music, gave him the strength to let the songs and the bruised emotions in them stand unadorned, without all the artifice, all the fancy shmancy arrangements. In the DVD I keep nattering on about, he speaks simply and eloquently of how, after coming out of rehab, he sort of woke up and realized he had a lot of great people around him, especially his wife, and that was what the songs were about. My other theory is that, for a band that loves to throw curveballs, what better twist than just playing the songs and making the lyrics directly about real things? It's pretty subversive, much more so than if they'd, in the constant quest to do something diffent, made their next album, I dunno, polkas songs sung in Swahili and played completely on kazoos stuck up their bums... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1192 Registered: 03-2005 |
Spence very nicely sent me three songs as samples from "Sky Blue Sky." I see I can reset the circuit breakers on the Eagles alarm. After turning me onto great folks like Gene Clark, Gram Parsons, the Dillards and Ian & Sylvia, my oldest brother's pursuit of the various threads leading out from the Byrds and the Buffalo Springfield took him into deadly cul-de-sacs such as Poco, C,S & N, Manassas and the Eagles. If I hear that smarmy "Take It Easy" ditty, it's all I can do to retain my last meal. | ||
| peter ward Member Username: Peter_ward Post Number: 36 Registered: 06-2005 |
For those who can get bbc2, Wilco will be appearing live on Jools Hollands show this Friday night, for others I'm sure it will be on You Tube soon. How is this album selling for Wilco? I'd imagine this was a more difficult album to make than the previous two, it's harder to put together such a strong collection of soulful songs, extremely well played that have crossover appeal than what has come before, are the masses taking to it? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1515 Registered: 05-2005 |
Peter Cheers, wondered what jef was on about on monday when they said they were having a day off to record TV. it would be hard to tell if the masses (UK) were taking to it, but Wilco sold out first London show in a day. And the second one was packed to the rafters. i was amazed at the amount of youth at the Wilco show, all singing along, it wasn't ol timers in ther like me, with their baggy side pocket combat troos and airwalk trainers. (no I don't wear this gear!) i wonder if the youth recognise them in a diff light now that checking out people retrospectively which is what we all did when we were young, is now catching on, given the amount of plagarism the new wavers have been involved with. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1586 Registered: 05-2005 |
Peter, I would imagine that this album would be selling a lot better if the bloody supermarkets would sell it. I was convinced that an act of Wilcos stature would be sold by Asda,Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys etc, so I decided not to order it from Amazon and go and buy it from one of these supermarkets on day of release, thinking I would save myself a good few quid into the bargain - did they have it, did they squat!! They didnt even make it into Asda's Top 100 CDs. These shops did stock stuff like BRMC, surely this band dont hold a candle to Wilco. I just wonder if the multiple negative reviews in the UK press leading up to the release of the album stopped the supermarkets stocking it. I bet bloody Wal-Mart, or whatever its called, stock it! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1518 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wal Mart is ASDA is it not Kev!? Its funny as our Sainsburys often has some good stuff, like u say, fairly cheap on day of release. Maybe its the distribution zones. mute or whoever distributes for mute for instance always get Cave's stuff in the supermarkets. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1976 Registered: 03-2006 |
Christgau weighs in with a review, and for him (he doesn't typically have a lot nice to say about Wilco), it sounds like he likes it a pretty fair bit: http://music.msn.com/music/consumerguide He, however, completely disses Midlake. Did I say I liked them? What the hell was I thinking? They suck! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1607 Registered: 05-2005 |
More proof that the Brit journos are at war with the Yank journos over this album. http://www.playlouder.com/review/+sky-bl ue-sky/ A quick look at Metacritic shows that the only Brit publication to rate the album is The Observer Monthly with a 4 out of 5. The rest are 3 stars or lower. I dont think I have had such schizophrenic feelings over an album for such a long,long time -hated it initially, then after the songs sunk in thought it was going to be a cracker. However,I havent had the urge to play it for a week or more now, although when the title track played on a comp CD I was listening to in the car it sounded pretty good. My current thinking is that it would be a great 5 track EP, probably the first 3 songs and the last 2. For me it dips too much in the middle, and the lyrics of songs like Hate It Here just make me cringe, although I notice The Dean, as you guys call him, said it was the best song. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 251 Registered: 01-2006 |
Yeah good idea Kevin, though I'd go for a 7 track mini album myself, nice link here from their website of live SBS sessions... http://spinner.aol.com/videos/sessions-l ive-performances/wilco | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1573 Registered: 05-2005 |
I have had Sky Blue Sky on heavy rotation. I really like it. Its like a close friend now. I feel really comfortable with it. Its just so well crafted. Tweedy has a really soothing voice. Its a laid back album, they are allowed to have one, surely! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1574 Registered: 05-2005 |
Nice link XY, ah, this pic is what someone sent me saying I was a dead ringer for the guy on the left, Pat Sansome, suppose he has the same luke skywalker mop as me, or as him! I wonder if there's any money in lookey likes for Pat Sansome!! Proabably not. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 92 Registered: 01-2007 |
I really like it I bought it with some trepidation, and have not played it for nearly a week ( been trying to get into the new National)but listened on the iPod last night and really loved it, not loved a record like this for a few years now. Though it did strike me that the guitar solo on Impossible Germany had echoes of Neil Young/Television and dare i say it Pink Floyd. but I love that song. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1610 Registered: 05-2005 |
Spence, laid back is not a factor for me, its the quality thats at issue. I'm glad you love it, I just wish I did!! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1577 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kev fair comment, but some bands can do laid back and some ca't...it, to me is such a clever art. I can see how people would see this album as being really bland, I really can, but, to me, I don't think anyone on this board is like this, but if it falls on deaf ears coz people do see it as bland, they need to ring David Fricke, he's so right, most of the time. The criteria I lay out for liking Sky Blue Sky is as follows, you have to be feairly old, I am 38, that's fine, you have to like MArquee Moon and be prepared to do a karaoke version of it, including singing the solos, and possible air guitar to it front of people you don't know, fine, you have to like tweedy's nasally voice, its a real bummer if you have never heard his cvoice before, coz you won't like SBS, be prepared to read betwen the lines, realise that this is intelligent music, and appreciate that it it trying to make you feel good, if not trying to break your heart!!!! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2000 Registered: 03-2006 |
Really well put, Spence. I am 1,000% with you on this one, O' pal o mine. I guess SBS is destined to be one of those "either you get it, or you don't" kind of things...It is about the feeling (as music really always is, at least for me) and this music very definitely makes me feel good. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2001 Registered: 03-2006 |
Hey, I just realized - I'm a TWO thousandaire, hear me roar. Woo hoo. I forgot to party like it was 1999. Now it's 2,000 zero zero oops party over out of time... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1616 Registered: 05-2005 |
Big up LK the new millenium man. But surely you can only claim credit for half these posts, some guy called Hardin was responsible for the rest, and anyway I thought his posts were far more entertaining | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2004 Registered: 03-2006 |
Ouch. You're gonna make me schizophrenic! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1584 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah Big up 'LK (the big 2K) in'da Msg Board!" | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 657 Registered: 08-2006 |
We kneel before you, our oft-posting overlord. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1496 Registered: 05-2005 |
Having been swindled out of getting to 1000 in third place by Kurt posting any old nonsense just to beat me, I intend getting to 2000 before him. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1497 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oh, I guess I should worry about getting to 1500 first though! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1498 Registered: 05-2005 |
Not long now. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1499 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wilco, yadda, yadda, yadda. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1500 Registered: 05-2005 |
Take that Kurt, with your pathetic 1414 posts! Who's the daddy now?! | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 253 Registered: 01-2006 |
Me mysterious Padraig? must be the user name surely... I was a bit hasty in agreeing with Kevin that SBS could have been a great 7 track mini LP, I've tried to imagine cutting 5 tracks off it to come up with a 7 song format and I can't do it, best I can do is drop Walken and On and On, I find those two the weakest songs on the album. The rest of it is great I think.. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1622 Registered: 05-2005 |
Its strange how we all hear things differently XY. On and On is one of the tracks to make my 5 song EP, and if it had been 6 songs instead of 5 then Walken would have made the cut. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 254 Registered: 01-2006 |
yep this the beauty of it Kevin....List your 5 track EP there Kevin, I'll try to come up with a 7 song mini album....ok here goes.. 1. Either Way 2. You Are My Face 3. Sky Blue Sky 4. Hate It Here 5. Leave Me (Like you found me) 6. What Light 7. Side With The Seeds That means dropping Impossible Germany, Please Be Patient With Me and Shake It Off...Walken and On and On could be B-Sides.. And this is not including The Thanks I get which is available to everyone but the Brits and Irish..bummer... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1623 Registered: 05-2005 |
XY, I posted this on Thursday 7th June, so this is my 5 track effort. "My current thinking is that it would be a great 5 track EP, probably the first 3 songs and the last 2. For me it dips too much in the middle, and the lyrics of songs like Hate It Here just make me cringe" | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 255 Registered: 01-2006 |
Oh eyah I remember that post. I love Hate It Here, mostly the music which reminds me of The Beatles on Abbey Road, I think the lyrics are intentionally simple and straightforward and it works for mr though they wouldn't be his best lyrics... Also the very first few chords of Impossible Germany remind me of a late 70s ad on Irish & British TV, it was the Flake ad, try singing 'Only the crumbliest, tastiest chocolate' to yourself at the start of IG and see if it reminds you of it too.... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1624 Registered: 05-2005 |
Ouch, the guy from Record Collector doesnt like it "The mood seems to swing in to pure, self satisfied musicianship - a skill approved by technicians of the game, rather than soulseekers - its painfully bland. Hate it Here is a pointless, Commitments-esque blues trawl, What Light? is limp wristed and redundant" "Many will say this is just the maverick Tweedy wrong footing his loyal audience once more. When they thought he was a balledeer in the vein of Guthrie or Dylan he turned audio terrorist. And now with fans of Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo hailing his band as messiahs he makes,tragically,the blandest record of his career. Whats going on?" I feel like I could have written this review myself. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 256 Registered: 01-2006 |
Yoiks, the Commitments? What a horrible memory. I don't pay too much attention to music journalists. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1234 Registered: 03-2005 |
Ok, second listen to the first half and first listen to the second half: Either Way -- brilliant key changes. Maybe that's "approved by technicians" but it's good. What's to dislike in the fluid guitar break? The song is quietly fine. You Are My Face -- White soul with arty touches that I'm gathering is a Wilco trademark. Impossible Germany -- Spence sent this to me a few weeks ago so I have a head start here. Personally I'd trim the length of the guitar workout at the end (maybe by about a minute--this must be a Kevin "wibbly guitar break"--but the burbling fountain of Television at the end? That's gotta stay). The song itself exhibits a deceptive ease which only a gifted veteran can pull off. I'm willing to bet this will still be a nice thing to listen to ten years from now. Sky Blue Sky -- Albums need songs like this. This is filler in the good sense of the term. Again, it's a well-written song that does not make heavy demands on the listener. This particular "wibbly guitar solo" is shorter and has an actual beginning, middle and end. It uses the song's melody. Very interesting that it is the title song. Side with the Seeds -- I obviously need to backtrack and get things like YHF. I'm thinking this song must harken back to that. One of the things that I like about Tweedy's writing is his tendency to take a fairly predictable white soul structure and then just throw in an occasional chord change borrowed from somewhere else (like the Beatles). I imagine this song being done one of the old classic american soul singers and I think it would work (obviously with a much more traditional arrangement). I could live without the final guitar break. Shake It Off -- On first listen this song does not do a whole heck of a lot for me. It's kind of a lazy white-boy funk. Just not my personal thing and I'm not qualified to comment on it. Please Be Patient With Me -- Pleasant enough, with occasionally lovely subtly country blues acoustic. Not an attention-getter though. Hate It Here -- What a vintage 1970 sound! XY's right about the "Abbey Road" reference (before reading his comment I was thinking of the "Let It Be" album). I confess I haven't been really listening to the lyrics so far but I had to on this one since Kevin hates them. Maybe it's the trauma-scarred memory of cramming for the bar exam that makes these lyrics work for me: washing dishes and doing laundry were highlights to the day under those dreary circumstances. But, yes, maybe the idea is taken about 20% too far here. Leave Me (Like You Found Me) -- Spence sent me this one too. Impressive middle-eight key change. Again, I'd say this song gives a future interpreter a lot of material to work with. Walken -- Just not my thing. I am not knocking this song; it just conjures up too much of an era of music I personally am not fond of. What Light -- Classic folkie with pedal steel backdrop. This is an easy shot into Randy's approval slot, kind of like a nine foot guy doing a slam dunk. Nothing new, just an archetype that always works. On and On and On -- Atmospheric stuff. Maybe not a whole lot of song here. Not bad, but not what I'd end the album with. I have one over-arching observation to make about bland and I learned this from the unrelated field of car body design. Oftentimes it will be the things originally seen as bland that end up holding up very well over the long haul. Too much of the time, the spikey sensational things too quickly become dated. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1625 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, using the star rating analogy for a minute here, if I interpret your review correctly I would guess you would give it a 3 out of 5? Which would bring you in line with myself, and the majority of Brit reviews I have read. Your review also seems to confirm what I think, this album would be at home nestling between a lot of the 60s and 70s music I am not too fond off, somebody tell Tweedy its 2007 for Gods sake! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1235 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, I am a critical type by nature and I'd have all sorts of criticisms for my absolute favorite records too. Right now, I'd actually give "Sky Blue Sky" 3 1/2 to 4 stars. As for the vintage aspect of the album, that's become so universal it might be epidemic. Certainly the same comment applies to YLT's "I Will Beat Your Ass," Midlake's 'Van Occupanther" and Shack's "Miles & Gil." The only reason I'm not too keen on the Midlake one is just the vintage they chose to draw from. We could do a whole separate thread on the subject of new records that are not over-heavy with self-conscious references to the past. What records would they be? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1507 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hey all you Wilco fans - I've posted a cult hero article on Alex Chilton at www.myspace.com/padraigcollins (Wilco have covered Chilton's song Thirteen of course!) | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1415 Registered: 04-2005 |
Padraig, I hope you're happy now that you've tainted your once flawless legacy on this board with post-whoring to get to 1,500. Am I the only one starting to view this thread the same way we all came to view the "Sound quality of Oceans Apart" thread that could not be killed? | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 258 Registered: 01-2006 |
Well Spence is on his hols Kurt so I expect some postings from upon his return, i'd say it'll go over the 100 mark very soon. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1626 Registered: 05-2005 |
I wonder who started both of these threads then? err, I'll get my coat on the way out shall I | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 260 Registered: 01-2006 |
Hold on there kevin we gotta hit 100 posts yet.... BTW Wilco are playing the Indian Summer Festival in Glasgow later in the summer.... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1418 Registered: 04-2005 |
Did you start the "sound quality" thread? If so, you deserve a prize because it led to an improved pressing of the CD. It was ending that thread that was the problem! And you can end this one too. Pick one: (a) I don't like "Sky Blue Sky" (b) I like "Sky Blue Sky" (c) Eh...not really my thing--I'll wait for the next Wilco album | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1628 Registered: 05-2005 |
I'll go for C I think its their Sandanista/Automatic For The People/16LL/Satanic Majesties.../Exodus etc | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2017 Registered: 03-2006 |
I've heard that, due to this thread, Wilco are re-recording SBS with a mariachi band and members of Einsturzende Neubauten, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (or as cool people call them, "the Chili Peppers") and "guest-rapping" by Perry Farrell, to add a little flavor and, hopefully, make it less boring... That is, as soon as Tweedy gets out of rehab due to the lapse brought on by stress from all the kvetching about the new record...the wussy... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1420 Registered: 04-2005 |
Well, it's tasteless to say, but if Tweedy goes off the wagon, it probably means more experimental albums from Wilco. So Kev, you might want to catch Wilco on tour and see if you can lure Jeff into washing a few pills down with some whiskey. Seriously, I think you're right--whether you like it or not, this album is what they're doing this time, but I don't expect them to make a career of it. Next time could be their avant-masterpiece. Tweedy gets bored fast, so I wouldn't expect the next one to be "dad rock." | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1513 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kurt, it's kinda like the Oceans Apart sound thread - only without all the bile, hate and vitriol. And without the person who shall remain nameless. | ||
| John B. Member Username: John_b Post Number: 114 Registered: 10-2006 |
I like SBS (but can do without Shake it off), but YHF remains my favourite. It was interesting to see that the SBS songs fit in so very well with the rest at the concert. At least in the concert environment it never felt that the album was so different compared to the previous three. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 601 Registered: 10-2004 |
Hey Padraig, I just revisited said OA sound thread, and wow, what a blast of nostalgia. I'd forgotten just how much bile and vitriol that thread generated. Who woulda thought? | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1714 Registered: 05-2005 |
On a similar subject to the Wilco album, the Interpol album is dividing critics on both sides of the pond. The Brit critics mostly seemed to dismiss Sky Blue Sky, whereas the US embraced it. With the Interpol album, Uncut, Mojo and Q all gave it album of the month status, the several US reviews I have read so far are pretty scathing. I find Interpol to be Joy Division imitators but with a bit of polish, which is obviously a bad thing. Could be worse, they could be The Editors who are Interpol imitators!! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1474 Registered: 04-2005 |
Ah, but the big difference is that Interpol flat-out sucks as a band. Wilco is a great-but-erratic band. I don't know what UK Interpol shows are like, but I've heard that in the States, they're full of screaming teenage girls. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 626 Registered: 10-2004 |
I actually kind of liked the first Interpol album. I don't think they immitated Joy Division nearly as well as they got credit for, but I do think that first album had some decent, catchy material. Nothing earth-shattering, but decent. I thought their second album was an embarrassing case of the sophomore slump. It sound as if all their ideas were used up on the first album and they just forced this half-baked abortion out simply out of obligation. Because of that 2nd album, I've more or less written them off, but I am slightly curious to hear the new one, nonetheless. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2101 Registered: 03-2006 |
Man, with all due respect to them what likes them, I have a hard time with the Interpol. They bring to mind that expression coined by that master phrasemaker, Randy: "aggressively derivative". They, how to put it nicely...really suck arse...(They should get together with the Killers and record an album called, "Together, We REALLY suck arse") And their new record, sounds like yet another abortion, another bit of sonic afterbirth clogging up iPods across the land, based on reviews and its incredibly naff, Celine Dion-reject title...at least it has sort of a cool cover, though they even stole that apparently(check out the cover of the latest one by Ola Podrida)...I can't believe they have a song on it called "There Is No I In Threesome". That is so mind-blowingly cheesy and icky, the mind just reels (can they be joking? But, it's not really that funny, even as parody)It's cheesier and ickier than Morris Albert's "Feelings", than Burt Reynolds in a maroon leisure suit with a flyaway collar shirt unbuttoned to his navel (with plenty of copious chest rug peeking out), than Englebert Humperdinck coming on to your fake bosomed stepmother at the breakfast bar at the Venetian in Vegas, than..well, you get the idea... And, I bet it'll go to #1, but who gives a rat's ass. It's just another dispiriting phenomenon heralding the end of civilization, like "Transformers" being the number one movie. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1716 Registered: 05-2005 |
Well said that man!! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2102 Registered: 03-2006 |
They must really irritate you, Kev, being the consummate Joy Division fan you are. There is a lot of great JD material out there (including that tremendous box set, "Heart and Soul"), why not, you know, just listen to them? Why does the world need an eviscerated and polished version of Joy Division? I guess some people like Interpol because, that way they can enjoy the approximation of that sound, but they don't have to deal with all of that annoying meaning and all of that scary emotion. They don't want to have to get their mommies to come give them a hug... | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 627 Registered: 10-2004 |
Thing is, I'm as massive a Joy Division fan as the next guy, but I honestly hear *very* little Joy Division in Interpol. At their best, they remind me much more of the Chameleons or Adorable. The singer kind of sounds like Ian Curtis, and maybe he's guilty of playing up that similarity in his voice, but honestly, any comparisons can stop there. In my humble opinion, saying that Interpol sounds like (or is trying to copy) Joy Division is a HUGE insult to Joy Division. I listened to the little 30 second samples of the new album on Amazon, and although that's usually a poor way to get the feel of an album, the samples seemed like more of the dreary, laborious, directionless sludge they did on their second album. Now, if you want to talk about some really pathetic rip-off artists, I'd like to nominate the Rapture. They ripped off early Gang of Four and Metal Box-era PIL so well on "Echoes" that I almost liked them. Predictably, they've proven to be a bunch of talentless trust fund kids who, without the production skills of the DFA, would've remained complete nobodies. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 759 Registered: 08-2006 |
On nice weekend days, the guy who rents the place next door to my house (and I'm in the city so he's REALLY next door) opens his window, which looks out on my garden, and blasts Interpol. I can vouch for the fact that, in addition to their other defects, they make a lousy soundtrack for gardening. Whenever that song about "you could be in my space" comes on I deeply, deeply wish their music would get the hell OUT of my space. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2104 Registered: 03-2006 |
Rob, I hope you pay him back in kind, with some, I dunno, Fela Kuti, anything with a smidge of honesty and grit really, played at full volume... At least he's not playing that "Threesome" song, which would be cause for alarm cuz it might be him trying to drop a hint... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1476 Registered: 04-2005 |
In the early '90s, Interpol would have been a grunge band. In the mid '80s, they would have been a hair metal band. In the late '70s, they would have been corporate generic rock a la Journey and REO Speedwagon. They are professional hacks carefully refining their sound and image for maximum commercial effect. They have no original ideas. I for the life of me don't understand why some of my friends who should know better (being into the "real thing" like early Wire, JD, G of 4, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Birthday Party, etc.) think Interpol is good. And that singer has to be one of the worst ever--he sounds like a barnyard animal channeling Ian Curtis. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 761 Registered: 08-2006 |
I know we've never met, LK, but you know me too well. I do, in fact, return fire, although not with anything as genteel as Fela Kuti (I'm a vengeful SOB). My weapon of choice? Flipper. "Generic." Sex bomb, baby, yeah. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 628 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ah, Flipper - now *that* was a cool band! Their album "Generic" is a classic, and one of a tiny handful of SF/Bay Area records that us Bay Area folks can actually be proud of. I'd be pretty stoked if my neighbor was blasting Flipper. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 762 Registered: 08-2006 |
I completely agree, Jeff, although I don't often find people who share my love for the Flip. Usually when I put it on, people get an indigestion-type look on their faces, glower at the stereo and ask, "What the f**k is THAT?" So basically, I'm making an educated bet that my neighbor doesn't share your refined tastes. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1292 Registered: 03-2005 |
I would have suggested something like Scott Walker's first album, though I don't suppose THAT's a record to garden to either. I've never heard Flipper. What do they sound like? | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 629 Registered: 10-2004 |
Flipper is the sonic equivalent of banging your head against the side of a bathtub while submerged in sewer sludge; a visceral, scud-dropping mess, with an occasional primitive hook. Guaranteed to quickly clear the floor of *any* venue at closing time. I saw them on a sort of reunion tour when I was in high school and my ears were ringing all through the next day. I'm not sure they'd be your cup of tea, Randy. They came out of San Francisco's late 70s punk scene, and immediately defied punk's "rules" by playing everything really slow and dirge-like. They were also bone-crushingly loud and painfully discordant and sludgy. They could be both utterly tasteless/crass *and* highly intelligent/thoughtful all in the same song. When pressed to reveal my favorite SF punk band, I always mention Flipper. | ||
| Catherine Vaughan Member Username: Catherine Post Number: 70 Registered: 05-2005 |
Never heard Flipper either, but I'm intrigued! At first read of your message, Rob, I thought you were talking about the theme tune to the old TV programme! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 764 Registered: 08-2006 |
The Flipper theme song probably would have achieved a similar goal, vis-a-vis my neighbor, Catherine! As far as Flipper the band, Jeff's description is about as apt as you could wish. Punk durges recorded with a lot of cobwebs and a healthy sense of humor. "Generic" is the one to get, if you can find it. The last song is nine minutes long and, lyrically, consists entirely of the line "sex bomb, baby, yeah!" To give you sense of the band's attitude, after PiL "stole" their "Generic" album title, they named their next release "Public Flipper Limited." Nice. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1594 Registered: 05-2005 |
I always mix up Flipper and Skippy. I know that shouldn't happen as one is a dolphin and the other is a kangaroo; but it does. If you asked me to sing the Flipper theme tune I would do so to the music of Skippy. Both shows rocked my one channel early years though. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1595 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oh, and Interpol suck ass. I do like Editors though. I know they sound exactly what you'd imagine a slightly poppier version of Joy Division would sound like, but I like it. I wish they'd admit it though. I read some quote where they said they'd only started listening to JD after reviews said they sounded like them! What a lie! | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 480 Registered: 04-2006 |
a quote from germany. i like joy division, for sure. and flipper is always like a good friend to me. i like the editors first album. and i think they don't sound like JD. they sound more like the chameleons. and i like interpol's second album 'antics' very, very much. it doesn't suck. and for my opinion they doesn't sound like JD, too. JD always was more punk, more rougher, more intensive than the editors or interpol. and they were the 'originals'. but that doesn't mean that both bands are worse. they have there highs and they have their lows. and taste differs. that brings me back to the topic: wilco's new album (and in general) never touched me and my heart really. and believe me i tried it again and again. cheers from berlin andreas | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1724 Registered: 05-2005 |
I'm as guilty as anybody when it comes to saying that Interpol and Editors are Joy Division imitators. What we really mean is that the vocalists ape Ian Curtis, especially that idiot from The Editors. Curtis had a tortured life, reflected in his vocals, the clown from Editors probably had a breakdown when mummy and daddys trust money was a day late arriving when he was at Eton or wherever he studied "how to be in an indie band" | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1602 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oh Kevin, you always nail it with your critiques! (A compliment, btw). The singer from Editors grew up in a colliery town actually and was working in't mine from age 5 onwards. (Not certain that's true. I may have made it up). He's known hardship too though; his pet rabbit died just before they recorded their debut. (I still like them - but you've given me food for thought Kevin...) | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1726 Registered: 05-2005 |
Padraig, it just shows you how times have changed. The guy from Editors is dating Edith Bowman (a BBC "celebrity" who is a Radio 1 DJ,and hosts things like Glastonbury). Curtis, even if he wasnt married would never have dated anybody famous, before he died JD could hardly get arrested. Editors have been "primed" for a Coldplay style crossover, the saturation coverage of them on the BBC at Glastonbury and T In The Park tells you that. Things can only go downhill musically from here. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 679 Registered: 08-2004 |
Actually he sacrificed his rabbit at the Crossroads for his devilish vocal talent, or something. All the new New Wave bands are struggling to keep up the image. They basically have good singles, expensive video's, average albums. The problem is adulation is limited if it can't be categorised as 'straight ahead rock'. Apart from Interpol the others are rushing towards FM respectability too fast for my taste. The super-lucrative US market shies from cult-y bands. I can see the labels pushing for songs that build form nothing to stadium-filling euphoria in 4 minutes flat. Snow Patrol have won the war. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1652 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Editors look like a bunch of stook up Ferrari test driving, bank clerks on a dat out a t a Bryan Ferry hunting festival at some manor or other, whereas Interpol look and sound damn cool, they're from NY NY Godammit! (OK, 2 of them are English...) | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 701 Registered: 01-2005 |
I bought my vinyl copy of "Generic" Flipper back in 1983. I made a cassette copy of it and remember playing it on the drive from Detroit to the Grand Canyon with three of my buds. They didn't know what to make of it, but I don't think they liked it as I recall. The cassettes I brought along were pretty eclectic, ranging from "Generic" to Kate and Anna McGarrigle's eponymus debut, but then that's me. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 2006 Registered: 05-2005 |
At the risk of a right hook from Spence, I think the end of year polls have answered the question posed by this thread - a pretty resounding "not". Get rid of Nels the noodler and their next album will be top of the polls, and you can take that to the bank!! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2031 Registered: 05-2005 |
Southpaw Grammar! Kev, I know what you mean with the Nels. I dig the album, I can't over analyse it any more mate, I'm very very tired!! |