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Thoughts on Wilco, In Which Mike Conklin Does the Dylan Thing
Now a little over two weeks since its official release, much has already been written about Wilco’s sixth full-length, Sky Blue Sky. The general consensus among rock critics and bloggers and various internet forums is that it is a throwback of sorts to the halcyon days of ’70s AM radio, when the vibe was laid back, the vocals somewhat breathy and passive, and the guitar solos more than plentiful. The record is seemingly without much conflict, as themes of acceptance and of a carefree kind of uncertainty pervade.
Parallels can be drawn to Jeff Tweedy’s much-publicized bout with substance abuse and the subsequent rehabilitation that brought on a shift in perspective for the artist, a sort of hyper-aware process of regulating oneself physically and emotionally without the help of chemicals, to the point where there is a perhaps forced willingness to take things in stride. The opening track, “Either Way,” lays it all out there on the table: “Maybe you still love me / Maybe you don’t / Either you will or you won’t / Maybe you just need some time alone / I will try to understand / Everything has its plan.” And for better or worse, this very same sentiment seems, at first listen, to carry over into the music that accompanies Tweedy’s newly Zen outlook. The songs are mid-tempo for the most part, lacking both the sonic manipulations that made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot the monumental event that it was, and the instrumental freakouts that characterized A Ghost Is Born. Instead, we get a record where the parts sort of blend in to one another, and where the songs do too.
Knowing what we know about Tweedy and the rest of the band, though, we can rest assured that the creative process wasn’t nearly as breezy and blithe as it would appear. Listen to the way the solos work, to the way the chord progressions never quite sound like anything you’ve ever heard (even if you have, a million times), to how the lyrics are just ambiguous enough that everything is still very much open to interpretation. That they were able to feign lightheartedness without sacrificing the studied tone we’ve come to love and respect is a ringing testament to their dexterity, and ultimately why we can be certain that we will be listening to Wilco for a long, long time.
This, I think, is the most notable thing about them—their unparalleled staying power—and why my experience listening to a new Wilco record for the first time is different than my experiences listening to new records by other, less established bands. I find myself giving Jeff Tweedy and the gang the benefit of the doubt more readily than I would almost any other band, and while one could make the argument that it takes credence away from me in my role as a critic, I’m mostly ok with that.
***
Barring Wilco’s debut, A.M., which was pretty much just an Uncle Tupelo record without any songs by Jay Farrar, Wilco has made a career out of not giving critics (or fans) what they want. Take Being There, their massive double-album from 1996. It was a success overall, full of big, powerful bar-rock songs and lovely, country-ish ballads that saw Tweedy proudly carrying the alt-country torch he helped light with Uncle Tupelo a few years earlier, but critics complained that it was cluttered, too long by approximately half. Then there was Summerteeth, the 1999 album on which the band tinkered with a more elaborate, heavily orchestrated power-pop sound, and although it was a critical hit, purists everywhere started complaining that their favorite band had all but ditched the alt-country thing. What followed that album, of course, was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the band’s crowning achievement, both for their radical, deconstructionist approach to standard rock songs, and the well-documented troubles on the business side of things, which ultimately saw them get dropped by one Warner-owned label, then signed by another one, making it so that the same people effectively paid for the same record—twice. The songs were hard to swallow at first, and anyone who’d complained that Summerteeth was too much of a departure was left pining for the days when they could at least identify all of the instruments they were hearing. Then, on 2004’s A Ghost Is Born, Tweedy’s friendship and collaboration with producer extraordinaire Jim O’Rourke came to the forefront, and the addition of guitarist Nels Cline to the ever-evolving lineup opened the door to all sorts of instrumental exploration, resulting in extended, often-abrasive guitar solos and hard-to-follow song structures. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot seemed quaint by comparison.
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22 Comments
interesting take on the longevity of wilco. cool parallel to dylan.
I couldn’t agree more…this piece was well written and SMART!Thank you. I miss the days of being genuinely excited about a new release and more often than not giving it one listen, casting the disc aside and then going back to it weeks, months and sometimes years later and having the light bulb go off and having something to really treasure. Not many bands can do that for me anymore but Wilco can and it is worth keeping the faith. Isn’t that what it’s all about? For me it is.
I find Wilco a bit tiresome. Maybe its just after the big success of YHF and everyone claiming to be big fans forever turned me off.
I totally agree with the notion of giving Wilco the benefit of the doubt. Some bands can do no wrong in the eyes of a true fan. As far as Wilco is concerned, innovation is the key. If that means not giving the fairweather fans what they want, well then, too bad.
Why is it seem to be the rule of thumb that the more boring, obscure and self indulgent a band allows itself to be, the more critics and fans wax over the importance of the work? I own every Wilco album. I was there at the start. This new album (and yes there are a couple of good songs and jams) just bores me. Sometimes Rock and Roll is about three chords and a lyric. I wish Wilco might remember that on occassion. Again, I’m a fan. But starting to wonder why.
Why is it seem to be the rule of thumb that the more boring, obscure and self indulgent a band allows itself to be, the more critics and fans wax over the importance of the work? I own every Wilco album. I was there at the start. This new album (and yes there are a couple of good songs and jams) just bores me. Sometimes Rock and Roll is about three chords and a lyric. I wish Wilco might remember that on occassion. Again, I’m a fan. But starting to wonder why.
Why is it seem to be the rule of thumb that the more boring, obscure and self indulgent a band allows itself to be, the more critics and fans wax over the importance of the work? I own every Wilco album. I was there at the start. This new album (and yes there are a couple of good songs and jams) just bores me. Sometimes Rock and Roll is about three chords and a lyric. I wish Wilco might remember that on occassion. Again, I’m a fan. But starting to wonder why.
Boring, self-indulgent, and even obscure, really, are all in the eye of the beholder. And to fall back on the archaic cliche of “three chords and the truth” or whatever, while certainly quaint and earnest and somewhat endearingly idealistic, is over-simplifying things. Because sometimes, it’s not about that at all.
Interesting take on the “instant gratification game”. Indeed so, I agree with you. Some bands are more cut out for that than others. As far as letting the music sink in, as you said… the “instant world” doesn’t really give that time. And it doesn’t always feel like Wilco give you that time either, when they – when you get it – already moved on to something new. Musical journeys can be a good thing, like for example Dylan, and (a great example as a Deadhead) Grateful Dead, but when you get the feeling you had about Ryan Adams – which i really agree with you about -
“the feeling he’s mostly just dabbling in different genres to entertain himself” – then it gets boring. Now I have yet to listen to the new Wilco album, but I haven’t got that feeling about them, yet at least.
Longevity for any artist hinges on both the ability and the willingness to change. If you as a consumer wish to keep up, cool. If not, cool. What could be more boring as an artist than to hear a request for a song you’ve played every night and what could be more boring as a fan than to feel let down if you don’t hear it. “Free Bird, man.”
I signed up with Being There. Summerteeth was an enjoyable listen so I was willing to try YHF which blew my mind. Ghost was an interesting reminder of my early recovery. Sky Blue Sky is a subtle and mature album. I enjoy a band that is interested in growth, not stagnation. More power to them for the willingness to experiment and to stay interested in the process.
I was truely excited about the new release and I love it. A Ghost is Born is still growing on me. Like you said, maybe it’ll take 10 years before I fully get it.
hey anonymous — I know what you mean about the hype. I was actually so indifferent to the YHF love tsunami that to this day, I don’t own an original copy. At a certain point I ambivalently accepted a burned copy, figuring I might as well at least know what everyone was so ga-ga about, and once I did… Well, I’ll be damned if it’s not truly a great album. I’m not really a member of the cult of Wilco, but I think they deserve the accolades, even if they don’t come from me.
Similarly, I’ve never had a Dylan phase, and I’m glad. Yeah yeah yeah, I know, he’s the king of the gods of every great note ever played on any instrument on earth, and the best lyricist since whatever, I get it. Having grown up obsessed with music but somehow not Dylan, I feel lucky that I can view a lot of music that people say is Dylanesque without the Dylan foil. I remember playing the Velvet Underground for someone who’d never heard them, and all they could say was “huh, it sounds like Dylan.” I felt bad for them.
I do recognize, though, that every other new band that comes out, I tend to hear and think, “huh. sounds like the Velvets.” What can ya do?
jove, i love your feedback.
No question Wilco is an exceptional band; not that they’re incredible (all tastes differ) but exceptional because (as Concklin so eloquently explained) their music is so much more transmogrification in their style, sound, and meaning.
I’ll admit I’m a fan, but I’m a fan because I love music and regardless of what genre it is labeled or whom the new album has suprised/disappointed/blown away, I know that it will be unique and different. And after all, isn’t music all about change – spitting in the face of history (with a subconscious respect for the past)?
Great review, interesting comparison. Nitpicky fan thing though, and that is that Nels Cline didn’t join the band until after A Ghost is Born was released… I’m lame.
When Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out, I jumped on it, but after listening repeatedly in the summer of ‘02, realized it was more about a mood than anything you could pin down musically or lyrically. A Ghost is Born seemed to be even more about that. I think Wilco is basically a group that appears to be about nothing or pure abstraction, but leaves a residue that stays with the listener, sometimes uncomfortably. Tweedy’s singing sometimes grates on me–I find him to be a quintessential whiner–and their musical experimentations seem pretty benign and unskilled, unemotional and calculated at times. Actually, I feel their best work was probably when they came down from that a bit, using Woody Guthrie’s lyrics in collaboration with Billy Bragg for the Mermaid Avenue albums, which you don’t mention at all.
You’re so right about the ‘Highway 61′ comparison (not that I’m familiar but I’ll take your word for it)… maybe that’s the best review of Sky Blue Sky that could be written….. that you’ll find yourself saying to yourself every other day…. “Ahhh… I think I’ll listen to Sky Blue Sky now”, and off into happy land you go :-D
As I’ve said in discussions with other fans of Wilco…. it’s not brilliant, it’s not a masterpiece, it’s not groundbreaking… but that’s not the point of this album. The point is that I love it – all of it – and it brings a smile to my face.
Similar in that respect to Zwan’s record…. that wasn’t a Corgan masterpiece, but that record too transports you to a place that is pretty enjoyable to be.
Nice work, Mike. I’m trying to think up some super-clever, insider-y objection (”the band will never be the same without Bob Egan on pedal steel!”), but I find I agree with your analysis completely. ML
I’m a rock writer myself, and every time I try to take on Wilco I end up just gushing. I feel like this article does a great job at summing up why better than anything I’ve read before. And to the poster who complained that sometimes rock and roll is about three chords and a lyric: of course. But if you’re getting bored of Wilco, then you’re missing their three-chords and a lyrics songs, like “Heavy Metal Drummer” or “The Late Greats.”
What an album. The songs that annoyed me when I first heard the album have, almost inevitably, become the ones I like the most now. That’s pretty much my whole story with Wilco. I first “met” them with Summerteeth, which I loved when I first heard it, and played to death for a year or so. And after YHF, my incredible gnawing disappointment the first time I heard A Ghost is Born — which within a week or two had turned to incredible respect and frankly something close to awe. And now here we have this Sky Blue Sky. At least by now I had learned to pace myself. But even so, the first few listens were difficult – and I really did think I’d fallen off the wagon, and that I would never get over the hump with this one, and the hell with them anyway, I’m not 13 years old and I don’t need this… Here we are three months later and I have played this album and loved this album probably more than any of the others. What is it about certain artists that inspire this kind of persistence? I kind of long for the day when they DO let me down, so I’ll know it’s not just blind hero worship on my part…. This review really nails it — something about this group just compels you to give them the benefit of the doubt, and damn if we’re not rewarded every time.
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There is mention of the problems with Wilco, but the true problem lies with the fans. Fans of bands like Wilco remind of Dead fans. The band can do no wrong, and heaven help you if you criticize them. I enjoy Wilco from the perspective of a music fan, not a Wilco fan (though I was a huge “fan” some years ago). I realized that Jeff quite frankly has shot his wad. The last few albums have been boring. Jeff’s lyrics are annoying now also.