Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

So?? You didn't mean it, then?

keiko- can i ask what were they doing? how were they experimenting?

julio: it involved pipettes

Josh, you have done something no one has managed: I'm now interested in Wilco (not really).

OK, gloaters, start your engines...

*insert sound of crickets chirping*

JEFF TWEEDY SPEED METAL! Best typo ever, Julio!

NTI, Wilco aren't really very big in the UK.

But their alltime best song will always be California Stars, off the Mermaid Avenue vol 1 Woody Guthrie cd.

otm

OTM

There are only a few records I like better so far this decade.

I didn't listen to this for a few years for some reason but pulled it out again yesterday and really loved it the way I did when I first heard it. I still think Summerteeth might have the edge but this is really fantastic and they haven't done anything since that touches it.

and going back and listening to ghost is born and sky blue sky, I might have to say that jay bennet was more important to this band than they let on, because the albums since have been pretty flat; surprising considering the input nels cline and glen kotchke probably have. it's not just the lack of textures, but the songwriting has just lost something. bennet didn't get much credit for YHF (in fact until I saw 'i'm trying to break your heart' for some reason I was under the impression he quit before it was even finished) but I think maybe he deserves more of it than he gets.

I like YHF a lot, but I like SBS almost as much (if not more). I don't really understand why the former is so lauded and the latter is, by comparison, at least, so pilloried.

is it pilloried? i thought people liked it. it's fine, it's pretty good, but I think YHF has an edge and more memorable sounding songs

is it pilloried?

In some "hip" corners, yes. Then it turned up on a lot of Best of 2007 Lists, which led to a new round of dismissive "Dadrock!" comments.

The AAA station in Chicago did a live broadcast of Wilco's show the other night. During intermission, the DJs sounded like color commentary guys at halftime: "So far during this five-night stand, they've played "Impossible Germany" four times, "Poor Places" three times, which means you've gotta figure that one's gonna resurface later on tonight." "Did you notice Nels Cline's solo on that one? Hoo boy, that was masterful."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/10/wilco-save-your.html

Wilco: Save your money, don't buy our Blu-ray!

03:05 PM PT, Oct 29 2008

In this tough economic time, Chicago-centered rock band Wilco is looking out for you. For those die-hard Wilco completists out there, the band is trying to save you some money. Don't, says the band, buy a new Blu-ray edition of its 2002 documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart."

At the end of an e-mail announcing tour dates as well as an appearance Thursday night on "The Colbert Report," the band had a "CONSUMER ALERT" (the caps, Pop & Hiss wants it known, are all Wilco). Reads the notice:

Without consulting us, the DVD company (not WB/Nonesuch) that released "I am trying to break your heart" is about to issue a Blu-Ray Edition which, no surprise, costs considerably more (nearly 2x) than the standard DVD. We're unsure as to the rationale for the release, given that the film was shot in beautiful grainy B&W and has a stereo-only audio track... there is, in our opinion, not much to be gained by spending the extra cash. It's your money... and in this case you should probably hang onto it.

On Amazon.com, the single-disc version of the film costs $17.99, the two-disc DVD set will run you $24.99, and the Blu-ray edition, which will be released Nov. 18, is selling at a pre-order price of $30.99. Or you can find the used copy of the VHS (VHS! Was 2002 really that long ago?) for about $12.

UPDATE: Plexifilm co-founder Gary Hustwit e-mailed in a response to Wilco's statement. He says that the Blu-ray carries a higher list price because it costs more to make, and that there are added licensing costs to manufacture discs in the format. Additionally, Hustwit says, the quality of the film is significantly greater in Blu-ray.

Wrote Hustwit, "If you've got a film that was shot on super-16mm, like the Wilco film, a high-definition transfer on Blu-ray disc is going to look better than a standard-definition transfer compressed to DVD. Watching the Blu-ray disc is the closest you can get to actually sitting in a theater and watching the original film.... But we want to release our films in the best available format, and Blu-ray is just better than DVD, period."

On a side note, Wilco's upcoming tour mate, Neil Young, seems to have a different view toward Blu-ray technology. At the end of January, Young will release "Archive," his 10-disc set of performances from 1963-72 in multiple formats, including Blu-ray.

"Blu-ray is the future," Young told Billboard. "It sounds the best; the navigating system is the best. I've made a lot of CDs and we've made a lot of DVDs, and Blu-ray technology is so far superior to anything else. The fact there aren't many players out there now doesn't meant that much to me, because it is the future, so I would rather focus on what's next. If you were to get a Blu-ray of the 'Archive,' you would get the best."

Sounds like some debate fodder for the tour bus.

Neil Young will be playing, sans Wilco, Thursday night at the Forum in Inglewood.

-- Todd Martens

It's kind of dull, isn't it? The songs aren't that good, and the production affects an illusion of progression that just isn't there. But then, I've never liked Wilco. But I seriously can't understand what everyone is raving about.
― Melissa W, Friday, March 22, 2002 1:00 AM (6 years ago)

Whoops.