I saw the Whole Love tour in Byron Bay and got to meet the band at a meet and greet. Photos to come. I absolutely love Art Of Almost and is one of their better opening tracks imo. I am a massive Nels fan but could do without his solo as it doesn’t lift the sing when he comes in. It’s better live, but not as a studio track. Cut the song at the 4:30 mark and perfect. I love how he lifts a song ala Impossible Germany or Love Is Everywhere but on AOA he is filling up space.
After a morning in which my addiction to the forums was tested (what do you mean "server error"??) we are back up and running... I Might Jeff Tweedy: vocals, acoustic guitar Nels Cline: slide guitar Pat Sansone: piano, glockenspiel, music stand, vocals Mikael Jorgensen: keyboards, synthesizer John Stirratt: bass, piano vocals Glenn Kotche: drums, percussion I love this song. I think it is oodles of fun. I have put it on many playlists over the years. It's just a catchy, dazzling kind of song to me. Practically every vocal line is followed by a little bit of some kind of instrumentation (a percussive burst, a glockenspiel tinkle, a synth squeal, doo-doo background vocals) and it keeps it interesting all throughout. I love the percussive thrust of the song and I love the melody. It's just exactly the kind of off-kilter pop music I love. Pat is credited for playing 'music stand' on this song, which intrigues me. The entry in Wilcopedia for 'I Might' is kind of hilarious. There are two stories in which a journalist tells Jeff their theory about the song and Jeff just shoots them down. First, a guy from Arizona Republic says that he hears the line "You won't set the kids on fire, but I might" as being about how Wilco can still excite young music listeners. Jeff responds, "No. I was thinking about literally setting children on fire." He says the song was about the freedom to be nonsensical and extreme and that he would never think that he could be some kind of musical sensation for children. Another journalist (from the Montreal Gazette) asked about the Iggy Pop sample on this song (Iggy singing "brutha" from 'TV Eye') and if that was to tie the song in to 'garage band obnoxiousness.' Again, Jeff says no. "No...It was more that that lyrics, every time I tried to sing it, that's what I heard in my head. I wanted to be able to sing 'brother' exactly the way Iggy Pop sang brother on TV Eye. And since I couldn't do it, we called in the cavalry." Anyway, fun song. Weirdo pop bliss.
I Might is a fun song (with some dark lyrics), and Parachute Woman covered it well. That's a funny story about the line about setting the kids on fire; I'd interpreted it the same way as the journalist. Just like the first song, I find the rhythms in this quite entertaining.
I Might: I like this song. I’ve only heard it a couple/three times but I always hear something new that pops out at me. Nice.
I Might always takes me off guard, because I tend to get lost in the expansive sonic world of Art of Almost and forget what’s next when… blam!, I’m blown away by the energy level, the impact of the singing, the relentless power of the groove, all things that I don’t usually associate with twenty-first century Wilco (where most of the high-octane moments are solos and/or instrumental codas to otherwise mid-tempo compositions). The song recalls some of Summerteeth's Elvis Costello & the Attractions influences – but more Get Happy!! than Armed Force this time around, especially because of the motownish/Four Tops do-do-do-do backing vocals. The farsifa organ is another costellian touch (very Steve Nieve, but most probably also indebted to Los Bravos's 1966 Black is Black hit, Some of Jeff’s angst double track screams (or Iggy's?) sound like h'd been paying attention to Win Butler (which is only natural a year after the Suburbs). And the glockenspiel brings that chiming “Christmas single” element that never fails to get me. This is especially engrossing as a piece of recording and production, and a great great way to sustain the brilliance of Art of Almost, the kind of opener that could've killed the record, if the second track was not as exciting and adrenalized as I Might.
"I might" is a great song. A total ear worm. I will be humming it all day just reading about it in this thread.
Ha! This is so true. Jeff always seemed to pay the utmost attention to any kind of negative fan reaction to his work, especially at this time. It's good to be in touch with fans' response, but sometimes I do think Jeff was a little too concerned with it. He still can't talk about Wilco (the Album) without talking about how it's the least-liked thing the band has put out. I realize I never commented on "Art of Almost" yesterday, but it is a stunner, completely unique (in the 9 years since it came out, they haven't done anything else even remotely close to it, sadly) and one of my favorite all-time songs by the band. Great on the album, taken to another level live. I know they've opened shows with this song, but I like it when "Art of Almost" is in the middle of the set. It usually flows out of the end of a song with a lot of noise or dissonance, like IATTBYH or "Poor Places," and that moment when the dissonance flips to the intro to "Art of Almost" is my favorite moment of a Wilco concert. Also, I am glad John's bass playing is getting a lot of attention here, as he is stupendous on this song and this whole album really.
I might To me this is back to the band sequencing perfectly. I love the musical arrangement. The little Doorsy keyboard insert. The thumping beat. Guitar cutting in every now and then. I reckon to some degree it would be easy to look at this as a disposable pop song, but it has so much going on in it. A really nice piece of writing, a brilliant arrangement, and a song that is much more experimental than a cursory listen would suggest.
Art of almost It's probably all been said, but I haven't had a chance to read the posts... I'm sorry, I still love Y'all. This beat starts off beautifully, and then a groove builds and is swamped by a surge of synth. Then we get the vocals. It then moves into a fantastic drum groove. The vocal delivery is fantastic, it is melodic and percussive and just catches the ear. The songs thickens, and that great guitar comes in with an ultra saturated sound. We get little break downs and so many great textures. Again the writing andcarranging here is superb. This may be my favourite Wilco album opener .... Almost ..... just joking ot probably is. The band is experimenting again, and the experiments are refined.... ot is like they have taken the noisescapes of YHF and Ghost and transformed them into a digestible package, but the song is not an easy listening, MOR or dad rock (groan) thing in any way whatsoever. For me this is a real statement, and I reckon it's great.
I Might - I agree with Parachute Woman's intro. I love this song and pretty much had it on repeat play when it was released. It reminded me, at the time, of being stylistically similar to "Kicking Television" but not sure I hear that so much now. The lyrics are great fun too - I'm sure they're fairly meaningless or at least don't stand up to any kind of scrutiny but "The Magna Carta’s on a Slim Jim blood, brutha/The sunk soul with the coal clean toe is the mutha" can't help but make me smile.
"I Might"- Dig that fuzz bass! This song is right up my alley. The 60s by way of the 80s. I guess it has most in common with Summerteeth. Like @Fortuleo already mentioned, that Elvis Costello vibe is back. The organ totally sounds like a early 80s Elvis Costello touch, and there is no doubt that John is a fan of Bruce Thomas. What a blow For Elvis to lose that brilliant bass player! I watched a few live clips this morning and was interesting to see Jeff playing a Rickenbacker on this song. I don't recall seeing him play one very often. While I like the opening song, this one clearly announced that the Wilco I loved was back. I love this song! One of my favorites on the album. 5/5 I didn't even know there was an Iggy sample in here! Makes it even better in my book.
Can't say much more about "I Might", I like it too. Very fun, and I'm a cheesy organ fan so that part doesn't bother me. I mean, "Farfisa" is so fun to say, right?!? Plus I love Candyfloss too, so the sound is cool with me. But I digress on vintage organ sounds ...
I just listened to I Might and enjoyed it a lot more than Art Of Almost. It may very well only be the second time I listened to this song. Actually it's probably the third because I do have the deluxe version of the album that I picked up somewhere cheap many years later and I always listen to every album I buy from first track to last at least once. I'm going to put this album in my vehicle and see if it grows on me.
I Might is super fun. The organ gives it that 60s vibe, but the dead-toned acoustic guitar is pure late era Wilco. There’s a less interesting demo on the Speak into the Rose 10” that’s nothing to worry about. Nels also used a weird tuning that guitar nerds will want to checkout here:
"I Might" is maybe the most pure fun track Wilco has ever recorded. It's pretty fab coming right after "Art Of Almost". The lyrics are odd but this one is all about the music. Such a groove. It's packed with little instrumental touches that shine. Tweedy's vocal is perfect - a blend of whimsy and serious intent. I didn't know about the Iggy Pop sample. This is another winner.
Yeah, the Mavis Staples albums are very good, even outstanding IMO, but I wouldn't consider them to be relevant to this discussion.
The Whole Love Hey, I like Wilco, and I like this album. Once again these guys find another curious path to follow. I can't help but think that, by this point in time, Jeff is simply responding to a personal muse, regardless of outside perception. This is a band that continues to be a genuine creative force, and I'm good with that.
The Whole Love - I do really like this album. Unfortunately after this one I really only know Star Wars (which I really like) and a few songs here and there. Gonna have to start listening after this one's done
"I Might" is kind of crazy. Not a song I really remember. Every band needs a song with this kind of drum beat. The beginning of this album is fairly angular. I hope it stays that way. I need this band coming at me from angles. Enough flatland.
“I Might“ is pure Wilco. I love how the guitars sound almost like bagpipes. I love the bass driving the song, and the other instruments dancing around it all like the circus has done come to town. “And you won’t set the kids on fire but I might,” no idea what that means, but great imagery—I’m not sure there is another band in the history of music that sounds like this. Brilliant! 5/5
Sunloathe Jeff Tweedy: vocals, electric guitar Nels Cline: electric guitar, twelve-string guitar, lap steel, Dobro, loops Pat Sansone: piano, vocals Mikael Jorgensen: keyboards, synthesizers, vocal processing John Stirratt: bass, vocals Glenn Kotche: drums, percussion 'Sunloathe' is fascinating to me. This might be the song in the Wilco catalog that my opinion changed on the most over repeated listens. When I first got The Whole Love, this song was one of my least favorites on the album and I hated its placement in the track listing. We open with the lengthy and epic Art of Almost, dodge into the euphorically catchy I Might and then...this incredibly slow, sad song that seemed to lack melody. It felt like a strange song to put in third position and when listening casually I found the song drab and boring. Then a few things happened. First, I was listening to Wilco on shuffle and this song came up--allowing me to hear it outside the context of the album (and on headphones with my full attention). And suddenly, I found that the song was actually incredibly beautiful, patiently arranged and a brilliant piece of autumnal rock. The sighing background vocals were lovely. The mood was melancholic, but warm. The piano was achingly bittersweet. I knew I had misjudged the track. It's not obvious, but it is really gorgeous. Then, I saw the music video that was created for this track. If any of you haven't watched the video (linked here) I highly recommend it. It features art by Nathaniel Murphy and Peter Glantz directed it. It re-contextualized the song for me again, making it feel like a gentle, ethereal soundtrack to a sweetly dark children's fairytale. It reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are (the Spike Jonze film version is one of my favorite movies) or The Chronicles of Narnia (especially The Silver Chair, with Jill and Eustace traveling with Puddleglum). Cozy and brown, but also quietly sad. The music video also features crafty black cats and I have a black cat obsession (I have two of them) so that helps. In terms of the lyrics, Jeff said it was inspired by a song by Swans called "GD the Sun" (I'm censoring the title there). I don't know the track. An interviewer said that track "seems to be a cry from the pit of absolute misery" and Jeff said, "It can't be real! It can't be. He's mocking the pit." He said that's kind of what 'Sunloathe' is trying to do: "mocking the internally manufactured abyss of addiction. It's a common thread in a lot of my songs--being angry at my own self-pity or self-pity in general, in the face of the real suffering in the world." I remember a few people commented that some of Jeff's songs on Sky Blue Sky felt a bit self-pitying, and 'Sunloathe' is something of his response to that. Again, I know just where he's coming from. Feeling guilty and stupid (even ridiculous or selfish) for your own sadness when you know there are people who have it way worse. The lyrics to this song are taking a different look at his addictions and depression. He even seems to call his addictions "a cheap disease." Speaking more broadly, I'm definitely not a sunshine person and prefer autumn/winter and cloudy or rainy days, so I take the 'loathing' of the sun to heart. This one is now one of my favorites. Despite the music video, it has only been played live one time by Jeff solo and never by Wilco. I can see why this wouldn't work live.
