Best of 2011: Wilco - "Black Moon"

The strongest arrangements since Yankee Foxtrot reside on The Whole Love. I'm always a sucker for subtle finger-picking and string accompaniments, which makes "Black Moon" one of my favorite songs of the year.

The Band

I feel like I should be a lot more into The Band than I am. My mother always names Music from the Big Pink as her favorite album and many a friend have told me they got into The Band via Martin Scorsese's supposedly phenomenal The Last Waltz. As is, all I have is their 1969 self-titled second album. A couple of the songs have come up on random shuffle when I uploaded this onto my ipod years ago, but judging from the dates in my itunes, I haven't heard the album since 2008. I guess the thing is, I'm just not into Americana roots music influenced by folk and bluegrass. Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield are nowhere near the top of my list of favorite bands. The more recent bands like Calexico and Golden Smog aren't my cup of tea, either. There are a handful of songs in the Wilco discography I really like (if not downright love), but I can take or leave the former bands of their members. What bands I do like that could be classified in this category (like Creedence Clearwater Revival or Drive-By Truckers) have to much rock-n-roll elements in their songs for me to not press repeat.

So why don't I like this kind of stuff? I guess I prefer my rock-n-roll loud, with bombastic guitar solos and feedback and squeals, and vocalists who throw themselves into their words as if nothing in the world matters more than the song they're singing. I don't get that with The Band. I see a group of talented multi-instrumentalists who incorporate their vast experience into their music, but I hear very little of the early rock-n-roll and Motown that supposedly influences their songs. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is the key track on this record, and easily one of their most beloved songs. Maybe I'm too ignorant about Southern history and the peculiarities of the Civil War but the sadness that's supposed to be so apparent in this song is just lost on me.

The Band is one of those bands that I respect more than I like, and I can't imagining myself revisiting this record anytime soon. I wonder if at this stage in my life, my listening habits are too set for me to get into something that deviates from the type of music I normally listen to. I'd like to consider myself open-minded enough to find things to enjoy in every genre, but I'm not sure about my relationship with roots-tinged Americana, and I'm not sure if that will ever change.

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Release Date: April 23, 2002

★★★★★ Tracks:

Kamera

War on War

Jesus, etc.

Ashes of American Flags

Most of us dreamed of doing something great when we grew up: fireman, astronaut, scientist, teacher, hooker, etc. Me? I dreamed of being in a rock'n'roll band. And I got to live that dream while I attended college, albeit briefly, and on a very small scale. My version looked nothing like it does in the movies. The creation of art, the camaraderie, the fame, the girls, the money, the drugs, the touring -- we romanticize the idea of a band to complete unbelievability. Are those things really attainable, or even something musicians should be striving for? Regardless, I do miss it dearly, and given the opportunity I would start a band up all over again, if only for the realistic goals of artistic expression and camaraderie.

Jeff Tweedy has been living the dream for quite some time now, and on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, he lets us know it's not all it's cracked up to be. Our loved ones know all about the stories of the road, and Tweedy is having a hard time balancing his marriage and his career. There's tension within the band, a newborn child at home, trust issues, loneliness, addiction, exhaustion, and a problem with chronic migraines I can relate to; most subjects hardly new to the annals of rock'n'roll singers. But Tweedy approaches the topic with unparalleled prose, and the lyrics contained within YHF could easily be ripped from a book of poetry.

"Radio Cure:"

"Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable"

"Ashes of American Flags:"

"I'm down on my hands and knees
Every time the doorbell rings
I shake like a toothache
When I hear myself sing

All my lies are only wishes
I know I would die if I could come back new"

"Poor Places"

"There's bourbon on the breath
Of the singer you love so much
He takes all his words from the books
That you don't read anyway"

"Jesus, etc."

"I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad, sad songs
Tuned to chords
Strung down your cheek
Bitter melodies
Turning your orbit around"

Wilco continues their descent through the rabbit hole of studio experimentation with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And it continues to pay off. They add track splicing, delay and multi-layered guitar effects, bringing the Beatles' studio era to mind. Radiohead-like blips and beeps and atmospheric background noise are ever-present. Synths abound throughout, as well as voice and percussive sound manipulation. They also involved more people in the production of the record. Replacing Ken Coomer on drums is Glenn Kotche, who's versatility the band preferred. And one of Jeff Tweedy's favorite musicians, Jim O'Rourke, is responsible for a large portion of the experimental mixing. While all of the changes and studio magic may sound overbearing, the added touches are subtle, culminating in small but very effective nuances to what is a simple yet astonishing and unique folk record.

I have't bothered with any Wilco albums following Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I know I shouldn't assume I wouldn't like them, but the dismissal of Jay Bennett from the band has left me less interested. And it probably had to happen; there is a point in the Wilco documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, where Tweety literally becomes sick to his stomach following a very uncomfortable argument with Jay Bennett on how a track should be edited (which I'll include below, skip to 4:00 if you don't want to wait). Sometimes cohesiveness and morale is more important than creativity. But that tension and competition between the two of them is partly responsible for bringing Wilco to its creative heights, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a testament to that.

Wilco - Summerteeth

Release Date: March 9, 1999

★★★★★ Tracks:

Can't Stand It

A Shot in the Arm

How to Fight Loneliness

Things get a lot more interesting with Summerteeth, as Wilco further expands on their experimentation with traditional country music and pop-rock. They spend more time in the studio here; incorporating intriguing studio techniques and effects, ditching the steel guitar but adding more captivating instrumentation in the process, and further distancing themselves from Americana. It all culminates in to a unique album that sounds like something they've authored themselves, as opposed to a collection of songs mostly mimicking their country-rock heroes.

I imagine Jeff Tweedy is responsible for most, if not all, the lyrics and basic acoustic compositions for Wilco, and he writes some damn good songs. But Jay Bennett, Wilco guitarist and all-around-instrumentalist, is much more involved with the writing and production on Summerteeth. And while he appeared to be a difficult individual to work with (based off of the interesting documentary I am Trying to Break Your Heart), it's Bennett's ear for tweaks to the band's arrangements and compositions, and his increasing confidence in studio production and manipulation that really catapult Wilco from imitators to innovators.

I think one of the best examples of Wilco's growth is the catchy bright piano driven track, "A Shot in the Arm." Synthesizers, frequency shifts, buzzing "wah" effects and flanger guitars are always present, and only increase in multitude and volume as the song progresses, while strings and the occasional orchestral bass drum add subtle touches to the composition. The effect is a song sounding very progressive, but still having all the driving forces of a radio-friendly pop tune.

(Note: the live version doesn't include all the bells and whistles that the album song features. But the energy from the performance here makes it the best clip available. For the studio version, click here.)

Other great tracks like "Can't Stand It," "How to Fight Loneliness," and "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (again)" really exemplify Summerteeth's strengths: great folksy pop-songs which include unique arrangements and experimental studio techniques. At 52:50 and 17 tracks the album runs a bit too long for my tastes, and there are a few songs I find to be filler, like "Candy Floss" and "ELT," but Summerteeth is a massive upgrade over Being There, and a record I'm very happy to have stumbled upon.

Wilco - Being There

Release Date: October 29, 1996

★★★★★ Tracks:

Sunken Treasure

My introduction to Wilco was through Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and it's become one of those rare records that never gets old. Being as I liked it so much, I did what I always do when discovering new artists and worked my way backwards, downloading both Being There and Summerteeth. I never got around to listening to much of either one of them until now, but Being There, a double-album spanning 19 songs, is just not keeping my interest like YHF did.

I think Wilco's second album would be considered Americana. I don't really even know what that means, but according to Wikipedia, "Americana is popularly referred to, especially in print, as alternative country, alt-country or sometimes alt.country." And I think that's a pretty good fit. This is Good ol' Country-pop for the kids. Country was never my thing, but I can still listen to and enjoy an album from the genre should it include some catchy tunes and a touch of originality. Being There has a bit of both, but most of these tracks sound more like homages to their influences. "Far, Far Away," "Forget the Flowers," and "Why Would You Wanna Live?" are all nice acoustic, bluesy-country songs, with steel guitar, and the occasional banjo added for good measure. But the big-sounding, electric rock'n'roll songs like "Monday," "Outtasite," and especially "I Got You," with it's anthemed vocals, "I got you and it's all I need!" are just downright corny. If I'm ever in the mood for country rock, I'll most likely stick to my Neil Young and Bob Dylan records. I could do without Being There.

I did find one gem however, fittingly entitled "Sunken Treasure." A great line is repeated throughout the song, and Wilco adds a touch of experimentalism -- untuned guitars, out-of-key chords, and trippy vocal effects -- that helps to compliment the subject matter.

"I am so out of tune.
With you."