i used to be a big wilco fan,....but its seems the older i get the more i'm into the son volt side of uncle tupelo

I can't tell you how refreshing that is to hear. I'm not the only one that landed on that side of the divide afterall. I really like both, all of the bands a lot though.

i dunno,...its just like,......wilco sounds,........monotonous to me


i just get more outa son volt, and jay's side of tupelo

its got more grit

I've heard good things about Wilco, but they sound like just another alt/rock band to me- at least from the few songs I've heard.

Wilco
 

In my opinion, Wilco is one of the greatest indie/rock groups to come out of the last twenty years. Each new album, starting with A.M. right up until their new self-titled album, demonstrates the growth of the groups core members (Jeff Tweedy in particular) as well as the fresh perspective each new member in the ever-changing lineup brings to the table. It's really been an astounding transformation to behold over the years, especially considering Uncle Tupelo co-pilot, Jay Farrar's group Son Volt has remained pretty firmly rooted in the same backwoods, country rock territory.

Additionally, I've become surprised at the general lack of exposure the group's recieved over the last decade. Granted, some of that has been self-imposed, and I'm seeing more and more young people catch on. But the majority of die-hard Wilco fans aren't of the younger demographic.

They're definitely one of those groups that I always seem to have playing in the background at some point during the day.

Thread merged, pleeeease search before making a thread.

Duly noted.

Sorry, lot's of thread pages to sift through. I did'nt know they merged. Thought it would be easier to revive it by creating a new one rather than searching for an old one.

Wilco
 

Making a compilation of Wilco songs for my housemate who dosn't see what the fuss is. in the heated argument that followed a friendship was badly damaged due to his ignorance of dismissing a band he's never given more than a cursory listen to( and that was Sky Blue Sky at that). As an attempt to bridge this chasm that has formed between us,I'm making a Wilco compilation for him to show him the error of his Wilco-ignoring ways. Any suggestions?
Thus far I'm including:
Misunderstood
Can't Stand It
Via Chicago
Heavy Metal Drummer
Jesus Etc
Spiders(Kidsmoke)
Impossible Germany
Company In My Back
Bull Black Nova
I'll Fight
You And I
Dreamer in My Dreams
Handshake Drugs
Kamera
Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)
I Got You At The End Of The Century.

Any chance of you upping your comp once you finish? Looks to be a good listen so far.

Will do.
I'm gonna turn this into a general Wilco thread,with a poll and all that entails.

So,now we have the poll feel free to vote for your favourite Wilco record.
I personally went for A Ghost Is Born,sterling stuff.What about the rest of ye?

No question Yankee Hotel Foxtrot for me, though I do love Summerteeth and Being There as well. Their stuff since then is still good (I wouldn't keep paying for the albums if they weren't) but just can't measure up to the heights they'd reached.

Dunno,I've really been enjoying the most recent one and A Ghost Is Born is outstanding stuff.

I've never really listened to Wilco. I will readily admit I heard they were alt country, then listened to one or two songs of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot without really paying attention, then completely dismissed the band. I was a little bit of a dumbass back then. So I'm basically just like your roommate. It's something I really want to check out now though. I'm assuming Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would be the best place to start? That's the one I always hear great things about.

Aah, these guys have been a personal favorite since I was in Junior High. I would try to go about listening to Wilco as chronologically as possible. Start with "A.M", or even start with the Uncle Tupelo albums, and head up through "Being There", "Summerteeth", etc. You'll have a greater, deeper understanding of their transformation from alt. country rockers; to pop balladeers (Summerteeth); to indie, sonic landscapers (YHF); to their more mature incarnations on albums like "A Ghost is Born" (my personal favrorite). "Sky Blue Sky" is a great introduction to their current lineup, getting listeners aqcuainted with the capabilities of the group's individual talents, as well as their cohesiveness as a band. "Wilco (the album)" shows this lineup as they've settled in and become more comfortable with one another. Either way, I'd try to experience their material in a way that mimics the release dates of their albums. Just an opinion.

I voted for A.M. I love the more raw sound of that album personally.

Id recommend Casino Queen off that album for you Comp.

Uh, you have to show your friend I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.

A Ghost is Born for me. Love that album.

I've had YHF for over a year, this thread gave me the kick to stomp through the rest of their discography (except for their most recent I guess, which I forgot about). Honestly I'd have to say YHF is still their best, or maybe it's just still the one I'm most familiar with so that could change, but other than YHF I'd say A Ghost Is Born. The top half of Sky Blue Sky is really strong too, but I felt like the last half was kind of mediocre.

I need to give Summerteeth another listen because I don't feel like I really gave it a fair shake, but I'd say the stuff leading up to YHF is pretty hit and miss. Definitely seems like they hit their stride with that album. Just my $0.02.

Jesus Etc-An Introduction To Wilco

Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. Its name comes from the voice procedure term "wilco" meaning "will comply." The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004, the other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released seven studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5.

Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay and Television, and has in turn influenced music by a number of modern alternative rock acts. The band continued in the alternative country of Uncle Tupelo on its debut album A.M. (1995), but has since introduced more experimental aspects to their music, including elements of alternative rock, and classic pop.

Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group, leading one critic to say that the album showed "how screwed up the music business [was] in the early twenty-first century."[1] Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 590,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album. Wilco released their seventh studio album, Wilco (The Album), on June 30, 2009.

This compilation is the following
1.Misunderstood
2.I Got You At The End Of The Century
3.Dreamer In My Dreams
4.Spiders(Kidsmoke)
5.Handshake Drugs
6.Company In My Back
7.Impossible Germany
8.Can't Stand It
9.Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway
10.Via Chicago
11.Bull Black Nova
12.You And I
13.I'll Fight
14.Kamera
15.Jesus Etc
16.Heavy Metal Drummer

Tracks 1-3 from Being There,4-6 from A Ghost Is Born,7 from Sky Blue Sky,8-10 from Summerteeth,11-13 from Wilco(The Album),14-16 from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Code:

Enjoy.

I dig what you're selling here, suicide. I like a few Wilco tracks...I'll have to download these and check them out.

Any opinions on the compilation?

Me or the populace? If you meant me I haven't downloaded it yet. Its Christmas time and I work in the non-profit world so I make piss-all for money.

Downloading it now, thanks for the up. I'll give it a listen and let you know.

Wilco's been one of my favorite groups since I was a young'n. I've seen them live in Chicago, Santa Barbra, Hollywood, and San Fran. It's been very rewarding to be able to track their progress throughout the years and to see how Tweedy's songwriting has matured with each new collaboration and album release. Highly reccomend them to anybody wishing to expand their musical horizons. For me, "A Ghost is Born" was really the culmination of Tweedy's creative genius. The arrangements are very spacious and the content is very cerebral and mature. "Being There" is really reminiscent of "Exile on Main Street" by the Stones--it's really a conceptual collage, a collection of very promising ideas. The same might be said of "Yanke Hotel", especially if you have had the opportunity to listen to some of the B-Sides and alternate takes from the album. It was really a daring departure from what they were used to, and it propelled the group to new heights. Virtually every album serves as a landmark for Tweedy (as well as whatever fixed and auxiliary members were involved at the time). They're one of the greatest, most innovative live groups touring to boot.

Some very good documentaries to become familiarized with the band: "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart"; "Sunken Treasures"; and "Ashes of American Flags".

Finally gave it a listen. Great compilation and great choice on the song selection. They really flow together in the order you choose.

Thanks again.

You've got a great list going there already. Also, personally I wouldn't include Via Chicago as it's not one of my favorites, but that's just me. I didn't read through this thread to see what others picked, but some other favorites of mine:

Outtasite (Outta Mind)
Sunken Treasure (a personal favorite, I don't know how appreciated it is among others)
She's a Jar
I'm Always in Love
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Ashes of American Flags
I'm the Man Who Loves You
The Late Greats
Wilco (The Song)
You Never Know

Also best album: I'm torn between Being There, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and Summerteeth. I think I'll go with Being There just because I think it's the best album even if it doesn't have the best quality songs. A Ghost is Born is good but that one 15 minute song Less Than You Think completely takes away from the great closing song, The Late Greats, and kind of ruins the album a bit. I'd say A Ghost is Born has the best individual songs, but as a whole it's not as good as the other 3 I mentioned.

Anyone else think Sky Blue Sky is by and far their worst album? For some reason I've never been a big fan of it, I even like A.M. better.

I'm in full agreement that it's very poor.

Sky Blue Sky feels more to me like a sort of companion piece to Being There, which is my personal favorite album from Wilco. The songwriting of Sky Blue Sky is a little more straight-forward, and utilizes less of the loose experimentation of Being There tracks such as Kingpin or Red-Eyed and Blue.

Also, I never got into Sky Blue Sky's lyrics until recently. (Actually, Bon Iver was instrumental in helping me to understand Wilco's lyrics, when I read something about Bon Iver's lyrics only being used for their sound and not their meaning. For instance, the lack of using the sound "d" or "t" to make the sound more appealing) Wilco probably uses this technique, for instance on Please Be Patient With Me, which seems fairly devoid of meaning, but very pleasing to the ear.

"I should warn you
When I'm not well
I can't tell
Oh, there's nothing I can do
To make this easier for you"

Again, that's just my own guess; it could be anything. At any rate, that's how I got into the more bizarre lyrics of Wilco.

So, as for Sky Blue Sky as a whole, I don't at all think it's their worst album, but certainly not their best. The music does drag a bit toward the latter half. I'm kind of luke-warm on SBS.

It's just that coming after a record as brilliant and adventurous as A Ghost Is Born, it was hugely disappointing to hear Wilco regress like that.I thought Wilco(The Album) was very good though.

Really? I thought "Sky Blue Sky" was superior to the Wilco album. I don't think it was their greatest achievement, but I thought it was a great way for them to introduce their listeners to the new lineup. The album really let each individual band member show their colors; "Wilco (the album)" seemed, at least to me, to show the current lineup settling in a bit more. The new album had some real gems, though, and the album starts off with a string of four great tracks.

I definitely won't go so far as to say Sky Blue Sky was superior to their other releases, but it's far from being a terrible album, especially considering how everyone tends to blather about how great Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which is easily Wilco's most overrated album.I agree that Sky Blue Sky places much more of an emphasis on individual musicianship. It is definitely a departure from their dominate style, which is why I think it's so underappreciated. Impossible Germany alone makes it a worthwhile album.

It's not that it's different that's the problem, it's just plain boring. I constantly find my mind wandering throughout the album. Even the highlights of the album, songs like Impossible Germany, I would consider just album tracks on their other albums. And for the record, my favorite album is probably Being There, not YHF.

Can't believe there's been no votes for Summerteeth and as many for AM as for Being There.

Man thought this thread would be bit more active, such a great band. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot for me. Just a brilliant album, Cant belive Reprise rejected it! One of the few bands that make what I would describe as beautiful music.

Am sure you have made your compo and either hugged it out or dismissed your mate. But did you ad - At least that's what you said ? Surely upon hearing those guitars kick in he would have been converted instantly. Did the man come around?

I'm about to go check out their new s/t. I've been listening to Sky Blue Sky lately and I really do think it's a fantastic massively underappreciated album...not to sound like a broken record or anything.

But considering how good A Ghost Is Born was, it was horribly disappointing to hear them regress like that to the Being There sound. Plus the songwriting wasn't 100% up to par.

I was very familiar with A Ghost is Born, which is an amazing album, when Sky Blue Sky came out, and my initial impression of Sky Blue Sky was that it showed a dramatic upturn in musical maturity with a greater emphasis on individual and collective musicianship. In a nutshell, notwithstanding the fact that it's a much different album than A Ghost is Born or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, It is an album that doesn't try desperately hard to recreate their own sound or accommodate listeners expectations. It's a very genuine, albeit slow and minimalist album, and I see it as one where the band really relaxed and became more cohesive as a group. Yes there is much less of catchy upbeat tunes and a lot of other elements that have defined them as a band, but I think that's what I really found so refreshing about it.

What'd you make of Wilco(The Album) then? I find it to be hugely enjoyable on it's own terms.

Just listened to it for the first time last night, and Am deeply disappointed by it, especially considering all the hype thats surrounded it.