Yeah! I listened to this very same video to hear one of the early arrangements of the song. Once again it’s really cool to hear them start with a song that sounds fairly normal and recognizable in its style, only to adjust the arrangement later as Tweedy figures out a conceptual framework for the album that he wants to release.
Been awol for awhile but wanted to comment a bit on 'Spiders'. Sorry if some of this has already been mentioned / discussed. - 'Spiders' is the beginning of the "Animal" portion of the record. I thought I read somewhere that the songs from "A Ghost is Born" were originally going to represent different aspects of Jeff's life through the anthropomorphism of animals. I'm kinda curious what was left off the album ('Panthers' is an obvious choice but I'm not much of a fan of the song so maybe I shouldn't be diving too deeply into this). I really like "A Ghost is Born" but wonder why they abandoned the concept so quickly. Were they rushed / under some pressure to finish the album? I guess that might explain reusing songs like "Handshake Drugs" or the "padding" out of 'Less Than You Think'. Just something to think about as the album progresses. - I tend to associate Michigan beaches with day trips from Chicago as it's a typical destination for city dwelling families. That said, if you're "filling out tax returns" in March / April then Michigan beaches would be fairly empty since the water would still be pretty cold. In fact, if you went during Spring Break most locals wouldn't even be there since it's really the only time for them to escape before the summer tourist rush. -I assume 'Kidsmoke' is a reference to Jeff's kids fighting / fuming over something ("winging birds fighting for the keys"). All Jeff just wants is some peace and quite to write while the kids blow off steam on the beach. But clearly Jeff's goofing around as well since he's "filling out tax returns" instead of writing. I love how the musical tension here perfectly depicts Jeff's tug of war of writing vs. fooling around just like his kids. And of course he'd be remiss without mentioning his stone (wife Sue) that's getting exhausted taking care of everyone. If this isn't the definition of "Dad Rock" I don't know what is... -The acoustic version of 'Spiders' does nothing for me (unlike most of Jeff's solo interpretations) since IMO the electric guitar is so integral to the understanding of the song. I still remember Spencer & friend (probably Sam) rocking out in a balcony box during the "Kicking Televsion" shows decked out in Flaming Lips and AC/DC t-shirts. They looked like the literal embodiment of Beavis & Butt-head and just seemed SO funny/appropriate at the time.
Never thought of the words in this light. “Kidsmoke” is so enigmatic, but it’s in the title so must be a key part of understanding the words. Raising kids can definitely feel like this song... so much routine (in work and parenting), but so much random chaos fighting against it all the time. Even more so during COVID lockdown. Managing zoom meetings with little ones at your feet is... fun?
I loved this version and was really excited for AGIB but I was super disappointed with how this song turned out on the album. The exact version I fell in love with was from All Tomorrow's Parties in 2002. I am pretty sure they streamed it on the Wilco website for awhile.
I find that you can encounter a lot of Spiders invading beachfront homes during springtime, especially if nobody's there to get rid of them. I guess it would certainly be another distraction to writing. I kinda like the idea of the guitar riff playing off a spider creeping up on someone and then the commotion of being discovered; it almost adds a horror film quality to the song. I still think it's more about his relationship to his family / kids though. Going to the beach wasn't his idea ("I just do as I’m told") and it doesn't seem like anyone really wants to be there anyway ("why can't they say what they want / need?"). They don't seem to appreciate the time off like their father ("why do they miss when their kisses should") even though he seems just as bored as they are (taking phone calls / doing his taxes / getting rid of spiders / watching the kids goof off.). I still see the guitar riff as an extension of Jeff being distracted /daydreaming while trying to get some work done. Seems pretty straight forward to me but what do I know?
A couple weeks ago, @gjp163 said that the extended groove in "Laminated Cat" reminded him of Neu! So I think there's a fair chance that when Jeff and Jim O'Rourke got together, they spent some time listening to old Neu! LPs (or maybe '90s boot CDs); maybe Can and other krautrock, too. And when I first heard "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" on Kicking Television, I'd been listening to the Neu! reissues on Astralwerks quite a bit, so I felt like, "Aha!" Tweedy and I were listening to the same music! At that time I also made a mix CD for a woman with hip tastes, someone I wanted to impress, and I hoped that "Spiders" might turn her on to Wilco; I'm afraid that I even wrote notes that tediously explained how the motorik beat and the dynamics reflected the influence of Neu! I probably included a Neu! track on the CD to drive the point home, but I don't remember which one. Anyway, I thought it was incredibly exciting, and I really wanted to share the good word. Even now, it feels thrilling to hear the live performances of the song from back then (I don't really care so much for the acoustic arrangement in recent years). The lyrics are inscrutable to me--so I appreciate reading the interpretations here--but nevertheless the music always carries me away. The studio take on the album sounds to me like a blueprint or a map. All of the components are there, and it's good, but a bit stiff and restrained in comparison to the glories on stage. There is a performance included in Alpha Mike Foxtrot. Since I don't have the CD notes, and I can't find the info online, I don't know when it was recorded or where it was originally issued.
I like your explanation. Occam’s Razor might even say it’s more likely correct as to what Tweedy was thinking when he originally wrote the song. Great art can lend itself to multiple interpretations, and the one I wrote about this morning is what the song means to *me*. I think there’s a reason why he shifted the song into a krautrock setting after the original versions were played live however, and that’s what my interpretation rests on.
06/12/2004 live at The Vic Theater in Chicago. Excellent versions of Spiders and Hell Is Chrome from this date were available as downloads from Wilcoworld.com and are now on the Alpha Mike Foxtrot compilation. The Kicking Television live album is from the same Vic Theater but in May of 2005.
One of my favorite versions of Spiders is from the 2017 Solid Sound show. It is immediately preceded by Locator which, although it wouldn’t be considered Krautrock, locks into a hypnotic groove making it thematically similar to Spiders. Locator seamlessly slides into Spiders, sort of like Wilco’s version of the Dead’s Scarlet Begonias into Fire on the Mountain. Nels’ guitar in Spiders is, as usual, commanding. Towards the end Jeff leads the crowd into “playing“ the melody of the song in unison- think mimicking the descending notes with “ba’s”. Some may find it distracting but it’s a very cool memory if you were fortunate enough to have been there.
I think Spiders is an amazing song. Parachute Woman and dirkster already have provided great writeups and insight. All I can say is that the relentless drums/bass beat with the crazy guitar followed by that super-powered big riff provided a tension and release that's one of the best I've ever heard. I've been lucky enough to see both the electric and the acoustic versions of this track live, and it was a highlight in both forms.
The original arrangement of “Spiders” was so good--and it was the first thing I ever saw Wilco do live--that I was sorely disappointed and taken aback when the album leaked. But in time, especially having seen it live so many times in its new arrangement, I grew to love it. The motorik beat is terribly hypnotic and Jeff's guitar playing so tense that when the band finally erupts in unison, it really does offer a tremendous release. It's one of the more cathartic pieces they do live, and much more so than the original version. I only saw the original version, with the quartet lineup and Jeff on electric guitar, that once. But I have probably every recording of it that circulates. They played the krautrock version at the first five shows I saw the current lineup do, between 2004 and 2007. I didn't see it again until 2010, on the "An Evening with Wilco" tour, where there was no opener and they did an acoustic set in the middle of the show. We got the krautrock version of "Spiders" that night, I'm pretty sure, to close the first set and if I remember correctly they left the guitars ringing while transitioning to the acoustic instruments. I'll have to go back to that recording to see if it matches my memory; they might have done an electric version of the original arrangement, or maybe even an acoustic version of it. I next saw the group in 2012, at Wolf Trap where the audience was treated to an acoustic version similar to the original arrangement, and it was so lovely. I was so taken with how the band performed it; it's available as part of the Roadcase 010 show, if anyone wants to check it out. I saw them again at Wolf Trap in 2017, where they played "Ashes of American Flags" and the krautrock "Spiders" as the first encore.
I've only seen the band do "Hell Is Chrome" four times, out of 13 shows. They've played it rarely since 2006. Though it wasn't one of my early favorites from the record, I've come to really love it and I think it's due for a resurrection.
"Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is an interesting song that brings the somewhat underwhelming opening trio of tracks on the album to a close. In many ways, I think that, for me, the proper album starts with the next song - or at least the best part of the record (Tracks 4-10 are brilliant). "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is another song that suffers from vague lyrics, although I've always gotten a sense of societal malaise that bleeds into personal misery from the song. I find that the song is just too long for what it contains - it would have been far better at half the length. We have more Neil Young guitar playing - or at least what to my ears sounds something like a parody of Neil Young playing guitar. Again, a little of this would have sufficed. I think this song is better live than on record - when I've seen it played, it's been shorter than it is here, which is good. Longer would not be so good. This song smacks somewhat of Tweedy trying to give people something other than what he thinks they expect from Wilco. I like it to a point, but it's certainly not the sort of music I think of when I think of Tweedy and Wilco. It feels more like a science project than something from the heart and soul.
I have to echo a lot of what some other people, most recently @Gabe Walters, have said about "Spiders." If you asked me at any time in 2002 or 2003 what my favorite Wilco song was, I probably would have said "Spiders," even before it appeared on an album in any kind of official studio form. The original arrangement in the live version was just that good, Glenn's drum part especially. The used to open a lot of their shows in 2002 with it. Then it came back, in a similar but slightly different arrangement in 2003. In any case, I was really looking forward to this one being on the new album. Then some of the early press said the song was on the album (yay!) but had been transformed into an 11-minute jam (umm...). I didn't know what to make of that. When I finally heard it, I was crestfallen. They totally slaughtered my favorite song. Don't get me wrong, I had no problem with krautrock. I like Neu! But why did they have to do that to Spiders?? Couldn't they have invented another animal song to try the style out on? "Cheetahs" "Alligators" anything else! Yada yada yada, after a while, my initial shock and disappointment wore off, and I became a big fan of the song, both the studio version and live version. It didn't stop me from hoping there was an alternate recording or demo of it out there (there isn't, that I know of), but nowadays the studio and live versions of song both register as highlights, and I honestly never get sick of seeing it in concert.
As for the lyrics, this is just me, but I always took it as a song about contemplating having kids/starting a family. And maybe even regretting it. Spiders = metaphor for a family —many legs, like adding a "branch" to the family tree "filling out tax returns" = getting a deduction for having a kid "private beach on Michigan" = family vacation spot (not Vegas!) "kidsmoke" = talking up how great it is to have kids "recent rash of kidsmoke" = several of our friends are having kids "It was good to be alone" = We we better off in the peace and quiet before we had kids. Note: the original version of the song features the past tense "It was" before Jeff changed it to "It's." "Why can't they just say what they want/need" = babies/toddlers who can't communicate "We'll climb into cars" = a reference to large SUVs, which you buy when you have a lot of kids to lug around "The future has a valley and a shortcut around" = valley is the first few months/years with a newborn/young kids, shortcut is either not having kids or getting a divorce "fooled me with the kiss of kidsmoke" = I was deceived! You tricked me into this, making it seem it would be better/easier than it is. "from a microscopic home" = Our house suddenly looks a lot smaller with more people and more stuff in it The "I'll be in my bed" part doesn't make a lot of sense either way. But the"There's no blood on my hands/I just do as I am told" could be him saying "Hey raising a kid is hard, but it's what you told me you wanted." No one has ever confirmed my interpretation, so it's all just speculation on my part. But this has been my theory.
Spiders We have that cool intro, and I almost expect the riff to Funky Town to kick in. Then we get the vocal come in. It almost feels disconnected. Although somewhat disjointed that first bit of lead guitar works well to break things up. It is like the band is trying to hypnotize us with the rhythm section. As the intensity comes in with that descending arpeggio, expectation rises. Then we get the much needed change up and we move into that punchy descending chord section. We get Tweedy playing his kind of disjointed lead, and we roll back to the verse. The format rolls through again. We get a vocal section over the punchy section, again just adding enough change to keep me interested. Then we get a kind of industrial noise guitar lead break. It kind if seems like an extended jam the band had and turned into a song. Later in Zappa's career he often got the band to vamp on a simple structure or even one chord when he was spotlighting his guitar, because it actually allows more sonic freedom, eith less melodic constraints.... it is an interesting way of approaching things on occasion. Not a favourite, but better than I generally feel it's going to be.
Good morning my friends. Muzzle of Bees I think 'Muzzle of Bees' is almost transcendental in its beauty. It lifts me up. It feels healthy and good for my soul to listen to this track. So much of this period of Wilco's music is (for me) all about dealing with mental health, both Jeff's and my own. But this one isn't about the darkness. It has a different purpose. In 'Muzzle of Bees' we have one of the many truly gorgeous songs on A Ghost is Born. Some of the lyrics here deal with communication and trying to bridge that gap between people--a major theme of the period. Jeff seems to have felt isolated and disconnected, but continually reached out. He speaks about the "fences in between" and leaves a message on her machine. But this song isn't plagued by the desperation for connection. Instead, he feels their togetherness even as he drifts. He sits with his head on her knee, cradled in her comfort and love, and feels that the breeze itself reflects their oneness and wholeness. 'Half of it's you, half of it's me' It's another beautiful love song from Jeff Tweedy, really. He really loves Susie and my goodness he should. She seems amazing. But those are just the words. The music? It is absolutely pure and lovely and instantly conjures this pastoral image for me of a nice big grass field with a large oak tree, a little picket fence and a house in the distance. They sit beneath it, cradled together (like John and Yoko on the Plastic Ono Band covers). The personnel here: Jeff Tweedy: vocals, acoustic baritone twelve-string guitar, lead guitar John Stirratt: piano, bg vocals Glenn Kotche: drums Leroy Bach: bass Mikael Jorgensen: piano, Farfisa organ Jim O'Rourke: acoustic guitar, piano We've got three different people on piano, so I'm not sure which of them contributes the absolutely beautiful and crystal clear main line. The music is so pretty and gentle and warm. The pairing of that piano with the finger-picked guitar is wonderful. I also love how the song plays with dynamics with the very soft, sweet verses and then those breaks of louder, though still glimmering instrumental passages. The guitar solo at the end feels like it could be discordant or clash with the overall bucolic feel, but it doesn't. It is instead the most brilliant climax and it isn't just dissonance. Once again, it feels composed and purposeful and melodic. This song is simply superb! An all-time favorite. This middle portion of A Ghost is Born is stunning. And I've got multiple live versions to share as well...
Some good thoughts here. I get what you’re saying. And “Kidsmoke” is such an interesting made-up word. Tweedy has never definitively said what the word means to him, has he?
Here's a great performance clip from Wilco's official YouTube page that I may have watched 10 or 12 (hundred) times: It doesn't have any date information about when they did this. 2005ish? Nels Cline, man.
And here's the version from Kicking Television. I just love the interplay of the piano and the guitars (acoustic and electric) on this song. I think it is masterfully arranged. The guitar solos are different on all three of these versions and they are all great.
It’s definitely one of the richest Wilco songs, though not the easiest to access, except for the enveloping beauty of the sound. To me it’s one of the most mysterious and layered pieces they ever put to tape, one that has never ceased to fascinate me by surrounding me with details and glimpses of little emotions and sensations all around. I hear stuff that I know here and there (like maybe some Paul Simon Hearts & Bones fingerpicking, a bit of Steve Hackett 12 strings acoustic and fluid phrases + the little electric guitar lick on “Silently” that could be from an Elliott Smith song but I’m not 100% sure, someone please help me out !), but it’s never there long enough for me to put my finger on it. By the way, I was STUNNED by the Rush reference yesterday, well done Mr. @audiotom, I could not believe my ears! But back to the Bees. This may be the pinnacle of the O’Rourke/Tweedy partnership, Wilco’s take on the acoustic folk-prog songs that Jim did on Insignificance and on the first Loose Fur LP. It showcases the greatest asset of A Ghost Is Born : the sheer genius of the arrangements. With Jay Bennett out, Tweedy had to step up as (almost) the sole writer, yes. But even more critical was the need to replace Jay's arranging skills, that were such a big part the Wilco sound, especially since they’d make a habit of building over his demos. Even more so than the first three tracks on Ghost, Muzzle of Bees is the moment where we get a full sense of what Jeff was able to ADD to his band by getting his first lieutenant out of the picture. The arrangement of this song is nothing short of extraordinary, the different sections seamlessly buzzing around, with all the musicians at the top of their game. Absolutely Madam Parachute, I count three piano players (O’Rourke, Jorgensen and… Stirratt !) intertwined in the most beautiful and dynamic way. After the motorik beat of Spiders, the listener is invited to lose himself in this meandering kaleidoscopic yet blissful song, a labyrinth of sounds and ideas, up until the mesmerizing climatic build-up of the finale. Then, the buzzing will stop, the sky will clear, the sun will rise, and the (humming)bird will be singing.
