Twice since we've been on this album, but the second time wasn't really on purpose. l had cued up another song proper, listened to that, got distracted, and before you know it, it was less than I thought. I don't think not making it all the way through damages one's Wilco cred. Just my opinion.
"Less Than You Think"- For sometime now I thought this was the last song on the album. I have the vinyl and the cd, but for some reason when I transferred the album to my iPod and computer the last song got cut off. I have always thought of "The Late Greats" as a bonus song (greatest lost track of all time), but it's obviously not. I think because this long drone feels like the end of the album. The comparison by @Fortuleo of this song going for a Reservations type ending, but coming up a little short, is accurate. I really like the song part of "Less Than You Think", but it's hard to live up to a closing song as good as "Reservations". I think three- four minutes of the drone would have been suffice. I have barely ever listened to the entire song. I played it all the way through yesterday when I heard "What the hell is that noise?". I said "It's the ending of a Wilco song" and the reply was "It's so annoying". I don't mind the long drone, but I don't need to listen to it every time. It is pretty cool on headphones and how it suddenly bursts into "The Late Greats". They made a good call by having one song follow it. I'm not sure how to rate this song, but I like it as much or more than my lowest rated tune from this album "I'm A Wheel" and I was generous and gave that a 4/5, so another 4/5 it is!
I recently listened to this whole album, drone and all, for purposes of enjoying this thread. I won’t say I enjoyed the drone exactly, but I appreciated it more than I thought I would. It has more variation and flow to it than I had remembered. Honestly it held my attention almost as well as the four-minute outro to Reservations on YHF. That said, I agree with the post above that the live versions of this song from 2002-03 are much better than the album version. The climax in those live versions is just incredible, and it doesn’t quite come through on the record.
Generally when I think of aural equivalents of migraines, I go with her variations on this theme through the years:
That's right ... Sunday ... Theologians Neat little track. I'm not sure how Jeff wanted this to come across... there are two ways I can see it coming across. First would be the rebelling against the church idea kind of notion, but a close look suggests that wasn't the intent. Second is, for me at least, a subtle dig at those that spend all their time talking about it, and not doing anything in regards to it.... I love the the line "they thin my heart with little things" . These are doctrinal legalists .... oh the pain .... they pick apart lives based on law, when we are supposed to be under grace. They turn those full of love, into those full of cynicism, and rebellion... The Christ-like references "where I am going you cannot come" and the idea of laying down one's life, are very telling to me. I don't think Jeff was rattling cages when he writes "that illiterate light is with us everyday"... based on what is around it contextually, I think he is saying that God isn't reading your doctrines, and laws. He is reading my faith and soul, and you guys need to butt out. I don't know, but that's how it comes across to me. I base this on the "they don't know nothing about my soul" and I think the double negative is an intentional act of ignorance, playing up to the legalists... Anyway, it is a really interesting song with a cool groove and melody, and one of Jeff's best lead breaks.
"A Ghost Is Born" is one of my favourite Wilco albums. Together with "Star Wars" and "Ode To Joy". Tracks like "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" and "Less Than You Think" made me appreciate Wilco even more. Even though hiding "The Late Greats" at the very end is slightly perverse.
As a throwback to more of a Being There sound, I like "The Late Greats" at the very end of the album. It reminds me of an encore at a live show.
"Less Than You Think" is near and dear to me because, like @Rainy Taxi , I saw it in 2002--and that was at my first Wilco show. They played it also at my second show, in the spring of 2003. Actually, those two pre-AGIB shows remain the only times I've seen them do it; I've never seen the sextet lineup play it. I think the lyrics are just heavenly. Your mind's a machine It's deadly and dull It's never been still and its will Has never been free And: Your fist so clear and climbing Punches a hole in the sky so you can see For yourself if you don't believe me There's so much less to this than you think I don't have the lyric sheet in front of me, so forgive if those are transcribed out of their proper verse. The lyrics strongly imply there's no God--you punch a hole in the sky, but there's nothing to be found there. There's no hand of God predetermining things, and yet you've never had free will because your mind is deadly and dull. The drone? It actually changes quite a lot as it goes. It's pedantic to suggest it's not actually a drone, but I don't have an alternative to suggest, so drone will do. I rarely listen to it all the way through, and I usually have to be in the right mood for it. But when I am, I find it pretty interesting. On headphones, in a dark room, elements can come to the fore that you might have overlooked before, when you were in a different mind set. Especially with the shifting percussion throughout, it can be surprisingly slinky.
I guess this is as good a place to talk about those 2008 Chicago Residency shows since I believe it's the only time they've played 'Less Than You Think' in its entirety. Tickets went on sale in December '07 with the option of buying a "5 Day Ticket" which was nice since the shows were being touted as "five shows exploring the band’s complete recorded works". Jeff claimed in the press release that “Over the five nights we will attempt the ‘complete Wilco’ and try to clear out the dusty corners of the catalog that we haven’t attended to in a while.” Needless to say fans were excited. For context, I believe Wilco had just started their "request a song" form on their website earlier in the year. If the article here is to be believed (Wilco Plans To Shake Up Setlists For Upcoming 'Schmilco' Tour ) it was rife with abuse which wasn't surprising since you could vote for anything you wanted as many times as you'd like. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the impetuses for the Residency was a way to try and stop fans from requesting obscure songs or at least get the band familiar with everything to see which ones worked live with the current band. We initially debated how early we should line up to get into the shows (Chicago weather in February isn't the best) but as luck would have it the morning of the first concert I slipped on some ice and broke my arm so it all became moot. There was no way I was going to last through a G.A. crowd let alone 5 nights. Dejectedly I missed the first night but was eventually talked into sitting in the balcony for night #2 which seemed to work out OK. I believe this was the first night where they turned the lights on after the 2nd encore and piped in "Peaches" by the Presidents of the United States of America. I don't think I've ever seen an audience lose their minds so much over the course of one song. People genuinely wanted more and weren't leaving till they got it. Anyway, so many highlights / memories of those shows I could add but the full version of 'Less Than You Think' was one of the biggest. I know it gets short shrift on the album and even the band typically cuts off the song live or merges it into 'Spiders' but on this night they decided it was time to play the whole thing and it was just jaw dropping. I don't even remember every instrument they played but I think Glen pounded on a kettle drum for a bit while Andrew Bird was strumming on his violin and two members were warping a cross-cut saw while someone else was played a theremin along with the obvious guitar/bass looping feedback thing. It was a fitting way to end the albums proper and I just want to emphasize that as many times as I've seen the band preform live I'm not sure I've ever seen them having so much FUN on stage. I guess you could call the song a little self-indulgent (this writer for the LA times sure did Postscript: Wilco's Chicago residency ; I'm a little surprised these shows got so much attention outside Chicago) but if it makes the band happy I guess I'm all for it. That said, I rarely listen to the entire song and prefer the Jeff Tweedy solo performances since that's the way I first heard it live. Can't say the song isn't memorable however, even if I sometimes feel like it's just filler to pad out the album. I wanted to end with a shoutout to the 5 event posters from that 2008 residency. Sorry for the smallish photo but when put together they made a nice collage of all their album covers plus added a "hidden" image of an acoustic guitar...
It can't be understated how amazing that residency was. Since then they've done four more Chicago residencies (2011, 2014, 2017, 2019). 2017 and 2019 were a step down from the others in terms of setlist craziness, but the 2008–2014 runs were just insane. 2008 was the one that started it all though — the first time they decided to "dust off" all the forgotten songs of the band's history. I've been lucky to go to several of the shows in these runs, and they are magical.
Yeah, they've played some crazy shows during their Chicago residencies to be sure. Not to derail the thread too far but it looks like the original link to the 2008 Chicago Residency posters didn't work so I found a second (bigger) image for all to enjoy:
"Less Than You Think" seems to be a song about one of Tweedy's migraine episodes and, while I find the lyrics poetic and the man-on-the-edge-of-a-breakdown manner that Tweedy sings the song in to be quite touching, I just don't find the song to be very compelling -- and that's if it had stopped after the first 3 minutes. The fact that we then get 12 more minutes of droning synths, one part for each band member, takes the song from being merely the weakest on the album, but hardly bad, into the unlistenable category for me. Like Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, it's an interesting one-time listen and I can appreciate the artistic intent behind including this coda, but, as Tweedy even noted at the time, it stops the album dead. Yes, we do get the most poppy song on the album afterward as a palate-cleanser, but I think the impact of that song is diluted by having to sit through 12 minutes of drones to get to it. (I rarely hit fast-forward on my CD player or mobile listening devices but, here, yeah...I'll admit to it.) More often, since I'm not a huge fan of the closing track either, I just stop playing the album after "Theologians" ends. (I just read the "challenge" from our fair leader. I just listened to the entirety of it but via ear pods. I don't think my cat would have enjoyed it either - although she was grooving to the Miles Davis I was playing on ye olde hi-fi over the weekend. This is probably the first time I've made it all the way through in a decade or so!)
I just read the "challenge" from our fair leader. I just listened to the entirety of it but via ear pods. I don't think my cat would have enjoyed it either - although she was grooving to the Miles Davis I was playing on ye olde hi-fi over the weekend. This is probably the first time I've made it all the way through in a decade or so!)
I must thank my friend @Jack for sending me a wonderful package containing some very amazing Wilco 45s! I thought I would share them here in the thread. Tweedy 'Summer Noon' b/w 'Do the Minimum (blue vinyl) Two copies of I Might b/w I Love My Label (1 on blue, 1 on clear) You Never Know b/w Unlikely Japan Random Name Generator b/w Bull Black Nova (gorgeous teal) I'm a Wheel b/w Kicking Television What Light b/w Let's Not Get Carried Away Nick Lowe's Cruel to Be Kind (version w/ Wilco on the b-side, on green) Plus my beloved Mr. Jagger lookin' saucy. Thanks Jack! This is so cool. My Wilco heart pitter patters. I've never had them on vinyl before. By the way everyone: my plan right now is to take tomorrow for The Late Greats + wrap up thoughts on the album and then use Wednesday for Kicking Television (the rest of the album), Kicking Television (the song) and Panthers. That would mean we should start on Sky Blue Sky on Thursday. Thanks as ever for your amazing posts!
Yes. Excellent observation. I've noticed over the years that, whenever I think of the drone section of "Less Than You Think" (which is more often than you'd think), the image that pops into my head is the album cover. "Operating room" is the perfect distillation of the image I get. Sterile, colorless, and coldly technological.
Hey W&M alum here, glad you made it down there! Not sure the venue you saw them. The concerts I saw were all ‘88-89 so very different. But R.E.M., Sting, Hornsby etc were all at the basketball place. But I moved away and never saw Wilco there. In fact, though I’ve seen Wilco 10x, it’s only ever been in Columbus and Cincinnati
It was in William and Mary Hall, according to Wilcoworld: 2006 04 22 / William And Mary Hall - Wilco We ate beforehand at that one deli near the campus that everyone recommends.
Those delis were my beer and food lifeblood before Wilco existed! There are three of them, all Greek owned. Anyway, jealous that you saw one of my favorite bands at W&M
Today we close out A Ghost is Born with the final track: The Late Greats Jeff Tweedy: vocals, acoustic guitar John Stirratt: bass Glenn Kotche: drums, hammered dulcimer Leroy Bach: piano Mikael Jorgensen: piano, Farfisa organ Jim O'Rourke: electric guitar What a great final track. It is great in and of itself--so catchy, so life-affirming, the wonderful use of the piano and dulcimer, the steady climbing build, the satisfying lurch of the power chords. And it is also an excellent statement to end the album on. "The best songs never get sung / The best life never leaves your lung." As Jeff said, "Things don't have to be polished and marketed and sold. That stuff can just be inside you." It's a love letter to art for art's sake and the joys of all our own great musical loves that aren't household names. A Ghost is Born goes to some very dark places over the running time and Jeff may have thought he wasn't going to make it--but he went to rehab and he did make it. And he has enriched so many lives with the songs he has written. The band sounds fantastic on this track and it just fills me with warmth. It has kind of an old school charm to it as well and there I definitely see the paths that will lead us towards Sky Blue Sky and the power of simplicity. Album Thoughts Today is also for final album thoughts and track rankings. A Ghost is Born will always be incredibly special to me because it was my first Wilco album and you never forget your first. It put me on this wonderful journey with this amazing band. Wilco means a lot to me and they actually mean more and more every year the older I get and the more I listen to their work. They would be my favorite band if the Stones didn't exist but #2 is absolutely nothing to sniff at. This album is pretty miraculous. So many acts over the years have had to face the challenge of following up an album that was really big, really popular, really acclaimed and that put them on the map. We've seen some very interesting responses that that challenge in the history of rock (a great example is Tusk, which I adore). Wilco made an album that is every bit as good as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and in fact challenging, artistic and emotional in new ways. They were continuing to press forward. I also think--and this has really solidified in my mind as we've gone track by track--that AGIB features some of Jeff's greatest ever lyrical writing. The words are poetic and even opaque at times, but they are also incredibly powerful and paint a vivid portrait of a man at the end of his rope. He was sure that he was near death and that this would be his final statement for his family. Thank goodness it wasn't. And I don't want to leave out the rest of the band. This album has a unique lineup (and though he wasn't an official 'member,' Jim O'Rourke is an essential ingredient on A Ghost is Born) and everyone contributes beautiful parts, sensitive playing and they work together as a cohesive unit. Here I'll bid farewell to Leroy Bach officially. He was a great player and he was in the band during one of their most expressive and challenging periods. Overall, this is a moving and beautiful album full of excellent songwriting. It could be deeply sad to listen to but it somehow isn't, as there is so much love woven through it and it ends on this note of positivity. Another brilliant record from this brilliant band. Track ranking: 01. Muzzle of Bees (A+) 02. Hummingbird (A+) 03. Theologians (A) 04. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (A) 05. At Least That's What You Said (A) 06. The Late Greats (A) 07. Wishful Thinking (A) 08. Handshake Drugs (A-) 09. Company in My Back (B+) 10. I'm a Wheel (B+) 11. Hell is Chrome (B+) 12. Less Than You Think (B+ for the song / D for the drone...I guess. This is weird to rate). As I said, today is for album wrap-up. Tomorrow we will tackle Kicking Television and the bonus songs from this era and then on Thursday we start in on Sky Blue Sky.
It was probably a mistake to re-read Tweedy’s memoir right before the A Ghost Is Born discussion, though I will say that the album never left that big of an impression on me. Reading the book actually left me with quite a negative feeling as we worked our way through the album. On a positive note, my new Post Jay Wilco playlist includes: Hell Is Chrome Muzzle of Bees Hummingbird Handshake Drugs The Late Greats
I liked this album a little better than I remembered as I listened to the tracks posted each day. This is definitely the album that made me realize that I was a much bigger Jay Bennett fan than I ever realized (I always found him slightly annoying at shows). This is also the point where I stopped being a big fan. My favorite tracks on the album are The Late Greats, I'm A Wheel and Theologians. I loved the early live Spiders and was really excited for the new album. However, I have never really warmed up to the album version of Spiders and I was very disappointed in the album. I am looking forward to listening to all of the up coming albums. I have them all but have probably only ever listened to each of them once and filed them away. I'm hoping to unearth some gems along the way.
Ahh, I was waiting for this. Easily my favorite song on the album and in my album closer HOF. Catchy as Hell and a paean to garage bands everywhere. The music world is strewn with bands that whether through bad luck, poor management or a terrible record label, never made it. Or worse yet, never made it out of the garage. Tweedy and company nail it. I never tire of hearing this song. It always me makes me smile.
Very interesting that this is the point when you stopped being a big fan because this is the point when I started being one! I said it before, but the six-man lineup of the band since 2004 is my favorite Wilco. I hope you do discover some new songs to love as we continue. I think every album has got plenty of 'em!
The Late Greats is the perfect closing track. It's catchy and remains in the mind after it's over. The breakup in the middle keeps things interesting in a Wilco way. Short and sweet - you should hear it on the radio!
