Wow! I miss a couple of days and boom - we're on to Ode To Joy! I'm really looking forward to this.When the album was first announced I love the title. Just the word Joy means quite a lot to me. I remember hearing the first "single" (I need to look it up) and thinking it had a Norwegian Wood vibe. As the album was released I sampled quite a bit of it and just didn't feel it. It wasn't the Wilco I was looking for at that time in my life. I moved on to other artists and other music. I never did pick it up and kind of forgot about the album. I appreciate the advice to listen to this album on headphones. Not my typical tack but worth a shot. Happy Thanksgiving all.
Strange to get a nomination for a ridiculously expensive package containing no extra musical content, but that's the Grammys for you. Have taken a break from this thread. I like Warm and Warmer just fine, can't really decode which I like best. Ode to Joy is great. Saw them on the tour late last year 3 times, once in Toronto and twice in Chicago. The songs really improve live where Glenn's bashing is about 10 times as loud as the record and the embellishments from the rest of the band are far more noticeable.
I was thinking more "sponge bath in mental health facility," but you know, tomayto, tomahto ... I like this track, too, mainly for the descending pop riff in the chorus. It occurs to me now how damaged he sounds, the forever-muted vocals, the lyrical themes. This strikes me as someone who is having difficulties. Nothing wrong with that - Roger Waters became a superstar as a result. But, man, this makes me appreciate bands like ABBA all the more!
Wow. Some great posts to go through... @fredyidas - I knew nothing about Deep Sea Diver when they opened for the Louisville show I saw in early November (I think it was in early November). They were great. Soccer Mommy opened for the Chastain Park Atlanta show and she/they were fantastic. That record is going to be one of my favorites of 2020. But I really liked Deep Sea Diver as well. @Gabe Walters - the feeling you had at the show you saw was very similar to how I felt about the Chastain Park show. It was pretty chilly that night as well and the whole evening/atmosphere was one of "heavy fall." Looking back I sort of have the same feeling of "winter is coming," about that show - although weirdly I saw them once more after that - and that show just seemed like a "regular show." Strange. I love "Before Us." And @Parachute Woman the "war" line that you quoted is astounding. It stood out to me the first time I heard this song. This is such a great record. I listened to it last night as well and it has held up exceptionally well.
I think the record speaks to a sense of foreboding. It's the only Wilco record of a certain political era, and it seems to comment on that without directly commenting on it, as I'm also trying and failing to do here. That it works so well in light of current pandemic circumstances, which obviously exist above and apart from specific political circumstances, only heightens that mood for me in my listening. Like Warm and Warmer, it's as if Jeff isn't trying to make music that looks away from the abyss. It's more like he wants to make music that guides us through and comforts us. Yes, all this is going on in the world, he seems to say, and you are right to be feeling the way you're feeling. But don't forget to find your joy, too, because that's also an important part of all of this thing.
Starting with brief noise, Before Us again has an insistent drum driving a quiet track, along with a repeating acoustic guitar. The chorus’s “alone with the people” melody is quite memorable, and it’s a curious turn of phrase. It’s another track that I like, and so far we're two for two. Incidentally, Ode to Joy will always mean the last movement of Beethoven's 9th to me.
I'm a little behind here. Sorry you may have had COVID; I truly hope you are recovered. I agree with you on the "masterpiece" designation for this one. I connect with this Wilco album the most. I think Jeff catches the American zeitgeist here in a big way, even before we got slammed by the pandemic because as I remember it (haven't started listening for this thread) foreboding and a recognition that things aren't so wonderful these days is all over this album. And here we are living "Everyone Hides." What's funny for me is that when they were released early, I just assumed "Everyone Hides" and "Love Is Everywhere" would be the slow or relaxed songs on the album. As it turns out, they're the fast or "rocking" ones. Have to work now unfortunately, but I think I'll really enjoy this part of the thread.
"Before Us"- Most likely my favorite song on the album, although there are others that come close. Great lyrics to go with the very tribal drums and bells. I agree with the headphone comment. You can pick up so much more of everything going on in these songs. I hear the band contributions all over this album. They treated theses songs with such delicacy. This is a beautiful album to listen to on headphones in the dark. I was shocked when comments about this album were negative on the first few songs being boring. This is a unique and transcendent listening experience. Jeff and Wilco at their best creating an album that is best taken in as a whole. An album that creates a mood unlike anything else they have ever done or anyone has ever done. My favorite song of 2019. 5/5
ASMR Rock. That was my other shorthand tag for the album last year. Flippant, but I actually do wonder whether this music might go over big with the people who feel a tingle from watching videos of someone whispering. Some of you may want to check that out. Alternatively, the internet tells me that if you feel angry or anxious from listening to ASMR media, it could be a sign of misophonia. One of my kids struggles with that condition; I probably shouldn't test Ode to Joy on her, then. I usually listen to the album with headphones on, in the dark, btw. Who knows, maybe I have some level of misophonia, too. I like that acoustic guitar figure in the beginning of "Before Us"; it reminds me of "Future Age" or something. The chorus, "Alone with the people who have come before," chanted like a mantra, is reminiscent of something that Tweedy/Wilco has done before, as well, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm also not sure, what does that mean? I appreciate the "I remember when wars would end" verse, though. That does have the ring of truth. The song is fine, sort of like Wilco revisiting their own material without doing a specific cover, as on Wilco (The Album), but still building toward something better on the record. Maybe Jeff heard that he always frontloads his albums, so in recent years he's thought to himself, "Well, I'll show you...."
I just listened through the entire album again and think this has got to be the most underutilized band album....pretty much period. Then I went back and listened to ‘If I Ever Was a Child’ from Schmilco with its vibrant bass (John Stirratt’s alive!) and other clear band member’s contributions. The songwriting is still all Tweedy (nobody else has managed any inroads since Star Wars) but the band is hardly prominent on Ode. At least that’s my current impression.
I can't say I agree, Zeki. I think the band brings amazing things to every song here. Do you hear an immediate difference from Warm/Warmer? I certainly do. I think it is subtle work, but I also think this is a band album. Great guitar, bass, piano and drums through the whole thing. This feels more like a group statement than Schmilco did for me.
I hear a difference, sure, but think the band is, generally, buried. Jeff says, “I look at myself as being a passenger in these songs—Glenn being the mode of transportation—and everybody else in Wilco, in a lot of ways, are the things going by the windows.” (Apple Music introduction to the album). Group statement. Well, we’re miles apart if you feel that way. But that’s okay.
On "Before Us", Tweedy sounds once again just like Ryan Adams. I mean, talk about a vocal doppelgänger - it's almost unsettling. This is a great song. Lush and yet completely organic. This song oozes atmosphere and warmth. Love it.
I have always latched on to the lyric about wars ending too. I like the chorus where you can hear John and Pat singing along. Simple but good baseline, especially underneath the chorus. This was the second song after Bright Leaves at the 2 OTJ live shows I went to (Dallas and 2nd Austin show), and I think they did this at most of the shows. Again the drums were amazing in person.
Yes - it’s definitely worth checking out the Brooklyn Steel show on YouTube to get a sense of the weight of these two live openers.
ASMR = Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. From Wikipedia: "ASMR signifies the subjective experience of 'low-grade euphoria' characterized by 'a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin.' It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control. A genre of videos which intend to induce ASMR has emerged, of which by 2018 over 13 million are published on YouTube." Common triggers include whispering voices, hearing someone breathing into a microphone, and various quiet, repetitive sounds like tapping or turning the pages of a book. ASMR - Wikipedia
Before Us builds around one of those D-chord figures that Jeff loves... see Remember the Mountainbed as an example. Even the riff on the Warm outtake Life Story is kinda similar. But the lyric is heavy. Especially the direct comment about war. And the music is so restrained but focused. Will be interesting to see what the next Wilco album is like, but this seems to be the difference between Tweedy and Wilco. Watching it live you can really see the difference between Nels/Glenn and the Tweedys: Nels is doing the faux pedal steel trick and the weird atmospheric stuff all at once. Jeff does this by multiple overdubs. Watch the Brooklyn Steel video and there are some amazing close-ups. He never shreds on this song, but he is just insanely focused on every. Single. Note. Wow. Glenn is playing a simple droning beat. Yet watch him live and see what he is actually doing. Three sticks... one of which is a mallet in his right hand so he can add in another sonic texture. And then using different drums (two floor time) and many different cymbals. Yet it also sounds so understated. This is the polar opposite of Spencer. Spencer uses a minimal kit... he doesn’t usually have a crash cymbal and I think only uses a ride on one song on Sukierae. Yet his beats are relatively complex and unorthodox... which to my ears has always resulted in a weird underhanded flashiness (but I’ll admit that’s just me!). Nonetheless, with Glenn you are in the hands of a master. So with these two in particular they create so much texture and I find it very effective and moving.
Happy Thanksgiving to everybody in America and elsewhere! I am thankful this year for this thread and spending the last six months discussing this wonderful band in detail with all of the amazing, kind, and thoughtful contributors to our grand Wilco project. When I look back on 2020, this thread will always be in my memories. Thank you all! One and a Half Stars I've got a few thoughts on this song. When I first saw the song title, it reminded me of 'Four Out of Five' by Arctic Monkeys--a song that dwells on the modern desire and need to rate everything and distill thoughts about art and life to a star system. Of course, I've seen a number of people use this title against the band--I rate this album 1 and 1/2 stars! It sucks! etc. I guess they were asking for it, ha. I seem to recall seeing an interview where Jeff explained the title, but I can't find it now. Does anyone remember that? The song itself has a lot of thrust and momentum to my ears. I spent the morning driving myself crazy trying to nail down what the opening chords of this song remind me of and I finally got it. It sounds a little bit like 'Red-Eyed and Blue.' Not a lot, but enough that my brain was connecting those dots. Lyrically, 'One and a Half Stars' reflects on depression and how darn hard it is just to live in the modern world. 'I'm worried about the way we're all living' Jeff sings, and this could really encapsulate a lot of different things. It takes on new depths in light of the pandemic, that's for sure. The protagonist of this song stays in bed all day, stuck in a domain of their own making or the world's making (or both). Words cannot express how much I relate. I've spent a lot of this year in my bed, I can tell you that. This song also recycles a line directly from Ultra Orange Room off of Warmer: "There is no mother like pain." It's a good line, but that's the first time I can remember Jeff outright using a lyric over again in an entirely different song. I like the arrangement with the tinkling keys giving the track a delicate feeling. This song is very indicative of so many of the things I love about Ode to Joy. It is warm and it cares about our well-being.
Here's the song performed live by the band last year for Songkick in Chicago. I've watched these performances a few times in 2020, reliving times when concerts were possible. This performance accentuates the way the momentum of the track builds even better than the album version.
Happy Thanksgiving! I’m not sure I like One and a Half Stars as much as the first two tracks. For one thing, the third song in a row with a similar feel (insistent drums, acoustic guitar in the right channel, and largely quiet) is a bit too much. The melody feels forced. Is it about a person who can’t escape his depression? On its own it's actually good but I was ready for something a little different.
Sadness, still. And a slow beat. But the opening strumming sounds like a light breeze, the sign that the heavy clouds looming over the album's first songs are starting to dissipate. Oh, it’s just a start, but at least we can now see the stars: one and a half of them… Like on Bright Leaves and Before Us, the music is telling the story. The stars don’t appear in the lyrics, they are imbedded in the opening strum, deliberately modeled after the brightest ones in the Wilco catalogue: California Stars (could it be what you were looking for, @Parachute Woman, even more so than Red-eyed and Blue ?) I’d like to know if the title came as an afterthought or if quoting the Mermaid Avenue classic was the concept right from the start (@fredyidas, can you please ask your good friend Susie in an upcoming Tweedy show ?). Similarly, I’d love to know the meaning of Jeff recycling the Ultra Orange Room line about mother pain. Could the song date from the WARM/WARMER sessions, or is it another oblique clue ? Once again, Jeff whisper-sings, once again what the band brings is understated but masterful, droning under the song to add tension and dynamics to a melody and performance that seem to deliberately shy away from anything of the kind. At this point in the LP, I perfectly understand why some would be tempted to abandon ship. The first three songs are the uncovering of a veil, each one of them challenging and unexpected. But I also find them extremely layered and intricately connected to one another like a three parts suite. The album is gaining momentum, slowly, deliberately, marching on the beat of Glenn’s tribal drums and building towards an eventual release. I too think the songkick version is better than the album one. And I adore the following solo performance, especially because of the hilarious initial banter.
