This past weekend my wife and I spent a lot of time driving around Western NC (Hendersonville/Brevard area) and I had Being There pretty much on repeat in the car. Had lots of evening thunderstorms and drove/rode through a lot of late afternoon mountain mist/fog/haze and this record seemed to be the perfect travelling companion. I am loving this thread. I listen to a lot of Wilco as a rule but for the past few years its really gravitated towards live shows - especially now that so many shows are available on Nugs. I am realizing that I've really been neglecting their studio work and this thread has really gotten me to go back to them in a "deep dive" sort of way.
I love the concept and delivery of this song. I think Parachute Woman summed it up about as well as need be. I love the walking bassline acoustic guitar, and I like that it holds to a folk tradition, which is built on being derivative in terms of passing on stories via familiar tunes. This is actually brilliant in its concept and execution.
I never picked up the All Over the Place EP but unless there's a typo on it (like the Mermaid Avenue Bonus EP) the version of Somebody Else's Song from Snow Job 97 is VERY different to the recorded version. I can't seem to find a version of it online outside a half hour clip of the concert (which I'm still hoping to post at the end of the album) so if you've never heard this version be a little patient and you can be (pleasently?!?) surprised. Suffice to say, if there was one song in their entire catalog which could/should have been done in multiple stylings this would get my vote.
Someone Else's Song is a great one. I love the line " ...and your eyes, they just roll...". I'm with you guys on the parallel with Neil's Borrowed Tune. As for the melody, it reminds me of something Townes Van Zandt has sung. I'll have to ponder what that song might be.
It's the rocking version, yeah? There's an FM recording from The Riviera, 5/23/1997, that has that version of "Someone Else's Song" on it. I . . . prefer the acoustic version. I first saw Wilco perform this one at my first Wilco show, again 10/14/2002 at the 9:30 Club on the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tour. I loved it, and still think this is a nice little sleeper tune. It impresses that Jeff Tweedy has some good, and deceptively simple, guitar chops. I mentioned before that Wilco replaced Pearl Jam as my favorite rock band. I don't think I mentioned how it came to be that I was at that show. I made a friend from an old Pearl Jam fan community online; his then-girlfriend did promo work for a radio station. He asked her to put my name on the list for the Wilco show, and she did. Imagine my excitement--my first Wilco show, one of my first ever trips to the 9:30 Club, and I was on the list! In those days, it was still pretty easy to get up toward the front, too. Just a year later, they played a well-sold DAR Constitution Hall, which is probably a few times the size. In subsequent years at the 9:30, Wilco shows were shoulder to shoulder and hard to move through. I arrived late once and just had to hang near the soundboard. Which is not the worst place to hear a show, of course, but seeing? Indie rock audiences are chock full of tall dudes.
I was reading Wilcopedia earlier today and I think that version of Somebody Else's Song is one of two songs from that EP that are omitted from the rarities box set. Kind of makes me wonder why...
Someone Else’s Song is a favourite of mine. I love these quiet introspective songs of Jeff’s, although Dash 7 didn’t seem to be well received in the AM discussion! I agree that this one ties in well to the notion of Being There as a concept album... more songs about songs. To hint at a future song, I kind of see Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard as a postmodern cousin to this one, but we’ll get to this song later. As for the live versions, I was thinking of posting one too, but we have already discussed Snow Job earlier in the thread. I’ll just say, it’s a violent, ferocious beast in those contemporary live renditions. Perhaps Jeff just wasn’t ready to be vulnerable on stage. He really does seem on the verge of a breakdown in some of these shows. last, as for tall guys at indie shows, guilty as charged. I was once up front at a Wilco show and hadn’t thought through the implications of wearing a tall cowboy hat as well. Another concertgoer at least had the courage to ask me to take it off, which I of course did. Can’t control being over 6’ tall, but I can refrain from wearing large hats. Apologies to the shorter spectrum of the population!
Ha, well I'm 6' tall myself, but if you show up late to a Wilco club show, best of luck regardless of height! I like your insight on "Bob Dylan's 49th Beard." I always liked that one, too.
I was just listening to the period-appropriate appearance on KFOG. The whole performance is available on the trading sites--check the Wilco Archive that used to be hosted by the Owl and Bear--but here's the last tune broadcast, a stripped down "Outta Mind."
Re: Wilco Archive, at least the massive Google Drive group of files. Has anyone ever put together a loose guide on highlights for certain tracks and/or shows? It's very hard to navigate just by date. I recently picked up the Wilcopedia book, and it occasionally points out certain concert dates for great live versions of a given track. Or landmark Tweedy solo shows and such. I did pull down a good bit of material from the Owl and Bear site way back when, but this G Drive thing is enormous in comparison! An incredible undertaking for whoever put that together. I recall before The Basement Tapes came out officially, there were a few sites that laid out what was going on, track by track, and that was enormously helpful in terms of understanding that body of work. It would be cool if the same could happen here!
This is something that I really like about it--the guitar part sounds just like an old song, maybe something like a Willie Nelson record, maybe something even older than that, but if there is a direct reference or quote, it's not a song that I know. When people say that an old record is "timeless," this has that same quality. Really a beautiful performance; simple, pure.
That's something I could've done 15 years ago, easily, but now it sounds like so much work. Of course, the Roadcase official downloads and now the streaming shows on Nugs have made the old tape-trading/file-sharing/.shn/.flac/bit torrent days feel like work.
I don't say this for recognition or pats on the back or anything else. Only for information purposes. I'm the guy who ups all those shows. There was a time when I spent hours and hours working on such things. We have a google sheet where we track everything on there, where the show came from, taper, source. etc. I usually only update about twice a year now. There is not as many new shows these days. A lot of old shows seem to pop up - but not too many new shows. Although a few times in the last couple of years some older shows have appeared that I never saw before. I backup everything I have uploaded on dvds and a portable hard drive. I also keep a sheet with a lists of all the shows I save to a dvd. I should say that in the beginning there were a few of us uploading. But now it is just me.
"Someone Else's Song" I'd say his most personal and intimate composition here. The approach fits the sentiment; just Jeff and his guitar with minimal accompaniment. I was just reading about how Jeff went into these sessions with the mindset that he could easily walk away from making music because he had discovered something more important in life, his new born son. But as these sessions went on he realized that this was what he was meant to do, or at least he knew that this was what he was going to do. This song seems to distill those emotions.
I just looked it up and checked it out. That’s an awesome resource I’ll be referring to often. Thank you!
Yes, 02. Someone Else's Song (Live) and 03. Kingpin (Live) from All Over The Place EP didn't make it for whatever reason. I transferred those two from vinyl not that long ago for my Pick Up The Change: An Alpha Mike Foxtrot Companion set that mops up the 39 officially released non-album tracks that aren't on the boxset.
Dude, I remember you well from the old Wilco forums and you are aces for carrying the flame, great work - we appreciate it! I have some old DVD and Cd backups and I suspect many may have come from you
The “liner notes” on the back of the All Over The Place EP may be a clue as to why those two tracks weren’t later included on the Alpha Mike Foxtrot compilation: "Someone Else's Song"- recorded 18 March 97 on Marble Mountain, Newfoundland, Canada for Much Music. Filmed on a ski slope during a layover on our way to France. Just prior to this, Bob had failed to land an ill-advised jump, throwing himself off balance and into a snow bank an impressive six feet away. Our most famous performance. “Kingpin"- recorded 31 March 97 for 2 Metre Sessions, VARA Radio, Netherlands. This was our soundcheck for a radio/TV performance in Holland. Good enough for us, but apparently old Han had gotten up on the wrong side of the futon. Also of interest: Ken's playing rented drums with sticks fashioned out of Fig Newtons. Beautiful sarcasm there. I get the impression that perhaps, in the fullness of time, they decided (ie. Jeff decided) that these performances represented bad memories that were best left behind?
We are still there. Or some of us anyhow. Almost 18 years now. I have not really listened to much Wilco in a long time. This thread sort of got me interested again.
Someday Soon: First time I played the album, I thought this one was a cover. For an "Americana" thing, that's pretty much the highest compliment you can give an original that was made in 1996, no? I'd rank it top 2 or 3 on the album.
Someone Else’s Song from Live at The Troubadour is a feedback soaked guitar noise number. Someone Else’s? Perhaps Hendrix in this instance... or maybe Neil Young jamming with Crazy Horse. Love it!
I just gave disk 2 of this album a good close listen this evening. Someone Else’s Song is probably the highlight for me, beautifully recorded, great lyrics. This song is right in my Wilco sweet spot.
Next: Kingpin This funky little rocker appeals to the same part of me that loves classic material by the Band. It's got that swing and even that kind of crunchy weird organ that Garth Hudson played all over those Band recordings. It's like a little cousin of 'Up on a Cripple Creek.' 'Kingpin' is a very enjoyable midtempo rocker with a great classic rock style guitar solo and some interesting lyrics from Jeff. I've always loved 'Dimetapp and Spinal Tap.' What's the song about? Hard to say. It seems to feature a lot of fun wordplay (I'm not sure that 'pediate' is even a real word...) but wanting to be someone's kingpin seems to be a wish to be central and important in their life. He wants the band to be central and important in the lives of the listeners? Well, he accomplished that! This one has a nice groove to it and ends with a burst of laughter. The lighter side.
Here's the great version of 'Kingpin' from Ashes of American Flags: This one has always been really good live. It invites a bit of jamming and intensity, plus Jeff often changes "Pekin" to a local city.
