Wilco: Album by Album

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Parachute Woman, May 11, 2020.

  1. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Ha - you had the same thought I did but stated it far better!
     
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  2. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    Schmilco. Or, if they had wanted to nod at Nilsson in a different way, they could've called it Son of Sukierae. Jeff is back to sounding like he's trying not to wake the household. Although I like Glenn's work on the album, I think Jeff could've made nearly the same record if he'd just taken Spencer into the studio, and called in James Elkington or any other friends who play guitar, again. What's the point of keeping someone like Nels Cline on retainer if he's just going to be playing tasteful lap guitar in the background? What do Pat and Mikael actually do around here, now? The band isn't really essential to this or Ode to Joy, even if Jeff indicates that he feels like Glenn and John are key players, and I can't help but feel disappointed by that. I really hope that the song-by-song approach will help me appreciate the songs better, anyway.

    Kurt Cobain would've been proud to write "Normal American Kids." I suspect that @fspringer is right that most people feel like a misfit and an impostor, even if you have won a Grammy and have a Gold Record at home, but that just makes it more of a universal theme! Songwriting gold! The lyrics say that he was afraid of the "normal" kids, afraid to be one of them, but he also hated them, hated that he had to put on a mask for them, and ultimately had to get away from them. He even finishes by singing this twice: "Always hated those normal American kids." He doesn't scream about it, and actually seems a bit wistful (ironically?), but is it possible to hate people so much that you have to get away to save yourself, without looking down on them? I don't see any indication in the words that he feels, looking back, like the normal kids had something good, or anything that he really wanted. I think he probably wishes that he didn't have to feel like a misfit in society, but how would he like that to play out? Well, evidently he and his sons would like it if the people in Belleville would recognize that he turned out to be one of the cool kids, after all. Other than that, I doubt he knows.
     
  3. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    Jeff and Nels playing "Normal American Kids" at Museum Speelklok during Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, 2016

    Very nice.

     
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  4. fspringer

    fspringer Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    I went back and re-read that portion of Jeff's book where he gets into the reunion. Turns out it was 2005 and was his 20th year high-school reunion. While I found his descriptions very funny, boy, he was hard on those ladies, and I'd be curious to know their side of the story in terms of meeting him again! I don't doubt he was picking up on a desultory vibe, but he wasn't exactly charitable in his descriptions of them.

    A funny thing happened to me when I started getting stuff published and achieving some things I set out to do ... family and friends back in the rural area I grew up in either pretended my stuff didn't exist, or really downplayed the accomplishment. At first I was flummoxed and a bit put out, but eventually I came around to the realization that I was OK with being treated like I was nothing special because in their eyes, I was the same person, and that strange sense of belonging, however negative or positive, was still there. They surely weren't blowing smoke up my *ss! And I came to appreciate that. It seems odd to me that if Jeff had such negative vibes towards old high-school classmates and the town in general, that he would feel any sort of resentment or anger for them not recognizing his achievements. He moved beyond this place and left them behind. Right?

    I also read portions around that where he described being in high school and meeting Jay in his English class. (Jeff bonded with him when Jay listed one of his interests in an assignment as Never Mind the Bollocks, a jolt to Jeff's senses as that was the first kid he met with similar interests.) Jeff sounded a lot like I was in high school - not an outcast, but not among the elite either, and more than likely well thought of by his classmates. I'm not quite getting the undercurrent of anger in this song in this context. All things considered, he seemed like a pretty well-adjusted kid who wasn't wandering the school halls with an elastic underwear band around his neck from nonstop wedgies administered by the elite. He even acknowledged that he recognized outcast kids in school, and that he wasn't one of them. Just seems like an odd issue for a 49-year-old man to leave unresolved?
     
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  5. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    I like Schmilco and all (saw the tour for the album - last Wilco show, of more than I can count, I went to - and was blown away), but this is where Jeff began his monotone style singing that leaves me unengaged, because HE sounds unengaged.

    The songs, music and band are great, but Jeff just sounds so disinterested, and like he couldn't care less about what he's singing about. Most of his songs from this album on, he just sounds like he doesn't really care, so that has the same effect on me. Having that monotone affectation on a song here and there is fine, but it seems like that's just his singing style now. I'm not asking for another song like Monday (but maybe I am), but there was pure joy to be had in his style there - a joy (regardless of the name of his new album), that seems absent these days - even though he's in a much better head/heart space than he was back then.
     
  6. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    After the last entry in the catalog, Schmilco was Jeff's redemption of Wilco in my mind. It felt sort of solo to me, but at least I knew they were still a band that released albums.

    I never felt like a normal American kid, whoever that is, so I liked the first track.

    I saw the band four times in the year after this album was released, so it was a very Wilco year for me. :D
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2020
  7. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    I think I've read somewhere that Jeff presents his Loft demos to the band, and the band decides as a group which tracks they think they can contribute to. Maybe Jeff does an initial screening and puts some songs into a solo bucket and others into a band bucket, but it seems like he's just prolific in this very workmanlike way, more or less 9 to 5 everyday. For better or worse, but I tend to think it's a good way to approach writing, not that everything will come out gold.
     
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  8. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I substantially enjoyed Schmilco on second listening, I remember after my first listen, I thought, "It seems like there's not much here, but I know I'm wrong." And after my second listen, I was on my way to really iking it. By the end of the week, I was full-on Schmilco.

    I bought this CD from Newbury Comics, because they offered a postcard with the album artwork that the band signed. As far as I know. :D
     
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  9. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    So, Schmilco. I spent even less time with this one on release than I did with Star Wars, so this will be a useful and welcome endeavor. I did like the record, but looking over the list of titles on the back cover, man. The only ones I recognize are the first download, "Locator," which I think works much better in context than as a single, and then the four songs on the A side that they played when I saw them on the album's tour.

    That was June 9, 2017, at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. My son was nearly two and this was one show I decided not to miss, winning a night off and driving up by myself. I got home at 1 a.m., which I paid for dearly the next day. Kids that verbal and mobile don't care how late you stayed up the night before. I later learned that my next door neighbor was at the show too, and kicked myself for the missed carpool opportunity.

    Wilco opened the show with "On and On and On," which was wonderful, and then the opening trifecta of Schmilco: "Normal American Kids," "If I Ever Was a Child," and "Cry All Day." They later played "Someone to Lose" during the main set. Apart from those four, which I still think are the album's best tracks, we got "Pickled Ginger" from Star Wars and a whole lot of "greatest hits." Which actually wasn't terrible, because I hadn't seen the band in five years before that night, and it was lovely to see them tighter than ever and to reconnect with some old favorites. I remember watching Nels and Glenn communicate like jazz musicians do the whole time.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I'm fairly sure this is how they opened every night of their five-night stand at the Fillmore in SF. I went to three of those. Great shows. They've never been released as Roadcases, I don't think. Maybe eventually. I should dig up the set lists but I'm too lazy right now.
     
  11. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Next up:

    If I Ever Was a Child


    The opening salvo on the album continues with 'If I Ever Was a Child,' another really strong piece of songwriting. This one really indulges the band's country side and it does so beautifully. A swaying rhythm, sweet slide guitar and just gorgeous vocals and lyrics. It's all about the feeling and the words, like all the best country music. This is a well-defined song with a memorable melody and it is definitely a highlight of Schmilco. I wasn't so sure if I liked the lyric "I cry like a windowpane" when I first heard it, but I've decided that I do like it and the image it conjures of rain running down a window like tears. I don't really have a whole lot to say about this song! It's just a good one.
     
  12. Al Gator

    Al Gator You can call me Al

    The mostly acoustic sounds of If I Ever Was a Child is a nice song, and keeps the laid-back Schmilco feeling that the first track established. As Parachute Woman said, it's a good one, and I think the instrumentation is perfect.
     
  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    If I ever was a child
    That minor change works really well.
    In fact there are a couple of nice chord variations.

    Actually it is interesting hearing these two albums back to back.
    Star Wars almost revisits the earlier stuff the guys were doing before AM... with it's sort of alt/punkish styling... and this albums sort of reminds me of an AM type variation.

    Any way. I like this song too, not amazing from my perspective, but certainly good.

    To me the highlight here is the lyrics.
    For me, the older I get, the harder it is to accept, my innocence and naivety as a young person.
    The stains in my brain from things I would have preferred not to see and hear. Trying to reconcile the damage, self inflicted and otherwise.... the innocence, and lost freshness.... the distance from who I was, to who I am.... all for a reason, some consequences, some necessities.
    There is nothing wrong with being disillusioned, removal of illusions is necessary, but sometimes I miss the bright eyed irrepressible youth I was.

    Anyway, I guess that's what this song says to me, and just in the thoughts there it rose in its standing.
     
  14. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    To me, this is a masterpiece. One of Tweedy’s greatest (later days) songs. I think this track more than validates Jeff's change of approach: it is firmly rooted in the country rock (or folk pop) idiom, but it doesn’t resemble any previous tune that I can think of, nor is it derivative of any specific band, songwriter or sound (which is a rare treat for Wilco, as proven by many insightful comments since this thread started). In short, this is pure Wilco. Whenever you settle for a genre, it can hold you back creatively, or on the contrary, it can help you free yourself from direct specific influences, as has clearly been Jeff’s goal in his most recent records (especially Ode to Joy, where the genres themselves all but disappeared). To achieve that, the band’s input also has to be controlled, framed by the constraints of the genre and the recording method. And it works ! If I Ever Was a Child reaches a level of timeless purity and idiosyncratic classicism that was not found on any Wilco recordings since the best of the Mermaid tracks (Remember the Mountain Bed, When the Roses Bloom Again), or maybe Jesus etc. On this recording, Wilco (the band) is as strong as ever. All the little nuances are perfect, guitar solo, shuffling drums, easy flowing and ultra-melodic bass line, little organ touches. And those backing vocals… I mean, the second “and I cryyyyyyyy like a window pane” moment has to be close to the most magical 5 seconds in the whole Wilco catalogue.
    Here's a sublime live take, with the Schmilco tour decor. Look at the concentration level shown by John ; it's like he knows this is a very special song.

     
  15. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Wow. Based on this write-up I am going to listen again, posthaste!

    (I already had it earmarked for The List. But still.)
     
  16. fspringer

    fspringer Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    After the first two tracks, I was wondering why I felt so lukewarm towards this album. This is good! Yeah, there's the lead vocal thing, but I was learning to live with it when this album came around. I sauntered through the rest of the tracks on a youtube album playlist, and there it was for roughly half the tracks, that sort of murky, light-on-melody sound that reminded me.

    Since first two tracks contain minor Seger-like midwestern look-backs, attached article I found yesterday re: Uncle Tupelo's time living out their "Treatment Bound" days in Belleville seems to apply. An interesting read:

    Uncle Tupelo - "Heart of the Country"
     
  17. dthomas850

    dthomas850 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    I totally agree with @Fortuleo, this is a masterpiece, one of Wilco's best. 5/5
     
  18. Rainy Taxi

    Rainy Taxi The Art of Almost

    Location:
    Chicago
    Have to agree with this superbly worded review by @Fortuleo. "If I Ever Was a Child" is simply a perfectly executed track, from the writing to the arrangement to the production to every subtlety and nuance. A+
     
  19. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    Agreed, and this is my first listen to the song ever!! Although frankly a lot of times with pop/rock music I don't care so much about all of the words, just the jist :D
     
  20. John C Bradley Jr

    John C Bradley Jr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Love that poster @Gabe Walters! A bit off topic but I moved my youngest daughter up to DC last summer (2019) and she and I caught The Avett Brothers at the Wolf Trap. She is a huge fan and had never seen them play so it was very special night for both of us. I love, love that venue.

    A bit behind but I will catch up. I saw Wilco a couple of times on this tour. The first time they were playing a bit more of this record up front in the setlist and they either opened with "Normal American Kids" or played it pretty close to the open of the show. Its a great song and a really good opening in that it sets the tone for the rest of the record. "If I Ever Was a Child" is another great song. I have been listening to this week - I can pretty much make it through during my to and from work commute. I like it a whole lot more than I thought I did (sort of like Star Wars in that regard). The opening "1/2 punch" of "Kids" and "Child" is incredibly solid.
     
  21. Rockford & Roll

    Rockford & Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midway, KY
    If I Ever Was A Child - I'm with y'all on this one. It does harken back to the alt-country days but it's not overt. Just a subtly gorgeous tune, perfectly crafted and performed.
     
  22. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "If I Ever Was a Child"- Always nice waking up to some high praise for a great song. I am in agreement with the general consensus here. This demonstrates the strength of this album because I'm not even sure if it's the best song on the album. There are a couple others that I like just as much or more. This is an expertly crafted Wilco song in every regard. John's bass is killing it, Nels plays a gorgeous solo, and the drums keep everything rolling on beautifully. We even get some perfectly placed organ in the mix. I'm also a fan of the "Cry like a windowpane" lyrics and Jeff's vocal. Well done everybody! 5/5
     
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  23. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    "If I Ever Was a Child" from the Museum Speelklok during Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, 2016



    Beautiful vocals. Really some of the best singing from Tweedy that you'll ever hear.
     
  24. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I agree with @Fortuleo that this is a magical song supported by a wonderful lyric as @mark winstanley notes.

    I’ll admit that the first time I heard this song I laughed when Jeff came in with his first “IIIIII....”. I know there are Tom Petty fans here and I love lots of his songs, but there are moments where his singing is so terribly off-key that I can understand why someone might just totally dismiss it as ridiculous. But if it’s your thing it’s loveable and laughable. Same with Dylan and Young, and I’d argue here with Tweedy. It’s not a well-sung first note, yet that’s where its charm lies.

    The rest of the song just unfolds until the whole band is playing, morphing from the quiet Nels/Jeff duo, into Jeff/John/Glenn, and then the whole gang amiably riding down a country road. I also agree that this is genre-less music. It’s got a country vibe, especially with Nels on dobro, but it’s just pure Wilco.
     
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  25. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Yo La Tengo covered If I Ever Was a Child on the recent Wilcovered compilation (I think just the vinyl reissue). Here’s a version from their recent live set at MassMOCA:
     
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