When You Wake Up Feeling POLL - ILM Artist Poll #115 - WILCO/JEFF TWEEDY (Voting extended until Sunday, Sept 25)

RE: Wilco/Tweedy tracks, for the Mermaid Avenue songs, those are eligible as long as Tweedy sings lead, correct? (He didn't write the lyrics, but all the music with his lead vocal has music composed by him and Wilco, so that should make him a co-writer in that respect.)

ah nm, I missed the post that confirmed that it's a yes

is any of tweedy's solo work worthwhile? i listened to warm & it was pretty dull

Pulled together all the Wilco/UT/Golden Smog/Loose Fur songs and really quickly picked out about 30 songs I knew were contenders. Now I’m shuffling through the rest to remind me of anything I’m forgetting. But golly when he is boring he is really boring.

ah nm, I missed the post that confirmed that it's a yes

― birdistheword,

I just posted this in the ballot thread for people who bookmark.

I have never seen a voting link for a artist ballot poll before, nice addition. I would not be able to figure all that out myself.

still bizarre to me that the label didn't hear a hit on summerteeth and insisted that they write one (resulting in "can't stand it" which is pretty average and not an obvious hit) when the album has like, "i'm always in love" and "elt" on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IsGgKM56qs

this 20 minute loose fur jam (a bonus track on their second album) is cool

XP They were trying to break into Alternative Radio in '99, which was becoming the home to alot of bland Guitar Pop Rock. I remember some retrospective interview with Tweedy or maybe Stirratt where he mentioned the label was "...mad we didn't want to become Matchbox 20".

This recent Stereogum #1's piece on Vertical Horizon does a good job summing up the radio hellscape in 1999.

https://www.stereogum.com/2196389/the-number-ones-vertical-horizons-everything-you-want/columns/the-number-ones/

even in the 99 alt radio hellscape it's still like, "i'm always in love" would have surely been a better bet than "can't stand it" idk

I agree with you, but when the label wants you to be Matchbox 20...

jeez, that stereogum piece is harsh enough that it makes me worry about the v horizon singer's self-esteem, if he sees it!

i mean, that song does suck very badly though

Self XP...or now that I think about it, it may have been the Wallflowers.

Anyway, here's the band on Leno doing "I Can't Stand It"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSd2wvurFBE

Bennett was clearly just one of those catalysts that made everything and everybody in that band better. Post-Bennett (and pills) Wilco has always been solid, and stable, but for all their various high points I'd be lying if I said I liked any of it nearly as much as that streak of "Being There," Mermaid avenues, "Summerteeth" and "YHF." Imo Wilco actually got weirder and more adventurous post Bennett, but somehow, counterintuitively, less interesting, too.

ghost is born and sky blue sky are as good as any of those records

I like the latter (post-pills), and some of the former (peak-pills) a lot, but I feel like it was the afterglow carrying them forward.

i don't think this is a popular opinion, but i think that nels cline bores me. i realize he is one of the greatest guitar players of all time, has perfect taste and tone and always adds just the right element for the song, all of that. but i keep trying to dig into the cline-era albums and i hit a wall, every time. maybe i'm blaming too much on cline

i think i really like it when i think there's the potential for a band to mess up

I've honestly never liked Nels Cline in any context. Him, Jeff Parker and Reeves Gabrels are three guitar nerd faves that just do nothing for me.

jeff parker rules! i haven't heard gabrels, i don't think. but yeah, in the same way that i read you saying jeff parker does nothing for you and i immediately think "oh no, that's just wrong. jeff parker is wonderful", i'm sure a nels cline diss also just pisses people off, haha

I like a few Parker records, but he's generally not what I like best about them.

xxpost I totally agree with that, which is sort of the confirmation bias/crux of the Bennett situation. Was he the x-factor, or was it him *plus* the fact that they were less perfectionist/more prone to mess up/more "rock and roll"/more messed up themselves? I've seen Wilco a million times, but the best were with Bennett (and shortly afterwards) when the band was loose and ragged and fun and (later) totally intense and fucked up, like they were on the YHF tour. Ghost tour was the last with Leroy Bach and the first with Cline, iirc, and that's when the dynamic really changed, imo.

Looking at that Leno clip, it strikes me as a good trick (if indeed intentional) to name the song the label forced you to write "I Can't Stand It", so that when performed live the bile and resentment can really be amped up.

A la those earlier performances of "Misunderstood," which ended with Tweedy shouting "I'd like to thank you all for NOTHING!!!!" over and over again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_HBJ5sHcJU

should have been followed by a quiet "thank you all for comin out today"

Must be great to have such a vehicle for catharsis. He still spits out those nothings, but it's nowhere near as venomous.

I'd absolutely include Ghost in the golden run from Summerteeth. I think everything culminates with Kicking Television, where Cline is eyewateringly good in places (the extended Ashes of American Flags as exhibit A). I like the post KT stuff, but agree it's steady rather than transcendent.

I tried Sky Blue Sky again multiple times and it still doesn't sound that interesting or engaging apart from a handful of tracks. I actually bought a copy so I'll probably keep trying. It seems to be more appreciated now than it ever was before, so hopefully I'll come around to it as well. (Great album cover regardless, right up there with the one for YHF.)

I bought the Capitol Theater box set back when there was a flash sale (basically the whole run of 2014 shows at that venue). I haven't dived into it yet, but those were supposed to be great shows. I think the whole thing may still be streamable on nugs.

lots of great stuff on sky blue sky - "either way", "you are my face", "impossible germany" of course, "side with the seeds", "on and on and on"... it's all about the vibes and the cool guitar parts. sometimes it's a bit too classic rock bluesy i guess? that doesn't quite capture what's not to my taste about "shake it off" etc. but that's not a huge complaint. and some songs are a little unassuming but it's still very solid, i'd definitely consider it the last of their classic period from being there onward.

wilco (the album) was their first inessential album since a.m., the first time they just coasted - it's not bad or anything but not particularly strong either. only "one wing" and "bull black nova" really stand out to me and even then idk that either is really up with their best

i could see people disliking “hate it here” for its overt beatles cosplay, but he nails the let it be era pretty well on that imo

I love that they launched Sky Blue Sky with a series of Volkswagen ads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4XxEQwHYUY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hkPuIkeZCQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-MQuf1Prz8

gotta say I love Cline for the same reason I love Hendrix, despite hating the "guitar hero" concept - like e.g. Charlie Parker, the technique is always in service to the melodic expression. That "Impossible Germany" solo is absolutely a poem, including the bruised and fried sound of the Jazzmaster and whatever preamp is overloading.

on my provisional ballot, A Ghost is Born has the most individual tracks, so far. i did not expect that at all, going in for the catalog relisten

xp i love "impossible germany" as well, and i am well prepared to eat my words on his contributions to the band. there are no stakes for me, so sometimes i revel in just being completely wrong but honest about how i hear something at first

see also: "Either Way", "Bull Black Nova"
I forgot how good Star Wars is, but I have totally disregarded The Whole Love since it came out.

the whole love has the two incredible career-high bookends and then the rest is just fine

i get why people thought sky blue sky was an uncool, regressive move at the time but it's really really good at what it does even if i don't really care for the most let it be-cosplay moments

The Whole Love is fighting for my 5th spot.

I'd like to thank the 3 people who have voted thus far. Interesting to have the insider view of what's placing, as there are more than a couple tracks that I don't recognize and will have to look up, and I know the band very well aside from the last 2 or so albums. Would it be helpful or a spoiler to provide a list of all tracks that have been voted for at some point? Perhaps after I've received 5 or 7 ballots? Almost like a nominations list without having to do nominations?

Just discovered and am catching up on this thread. I would vote against tipping your hand on voted for tracks, I'll be more excited to be surprised.

I am also compelled to call out

"can't stand it" which is pretty average

as blasphemy. aiui from wikipedia, the band did not write the song at the label's behest, simply remixed it. but if that's true it's weird that there's no other version on the deluxe edition, just a short track of them working out the guitar riff. Whatever the case, though, the song is a jam and will be fighting for space on my ballot.

here's the excerpt from tweedy's autobiography where he describes how "can't stand it happen" came about.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/25/jeff-tweedy-on-songwriting-the-hardest-part-is-getting-started

that doesn't go into it but after they recorded "can't stand it" the label then asked to remix it to improve its hit potential, as described in the wiki article. both parts of the story are included in greg kot's wilco book which the wiki article cites.

"can't stand it" is just fine, it's nothing special, average. not at all bad but not close to a standout or anything

got it, that makes sense. still agree to disagree on its averageness... that riff opening the album, one of the earlier examples of tearing-his-hair-out-in-exasperation tweedy vox... i find the energy infectious. now that i think about it though, every other wilco album from the classic period (being there > sky blue sky) has a murkier, slow build start... there's an alternate universe where that album opens with "she's a jar"

ode to joy is still a weird album that doesn't do much for me, they clearly spent a bunch of time fiddling around in the studio so each track has a really lovely, detailed atmosphere but the songs aren't there at all. they're clearly onto something with the general approach to the arrangements, i just wish tweedy had brought better songs to the table. makes for a contrast with cruel country which is in a fairly similar place in terms of atmosphere (despite not being a studio creation in the same way), but has generally stronger songs & is just a really pleasant listen the whole way through despite rarely being up with their best work (only really "bird without a tail / base of my skull")

I have 2 or 3 songs picked out from every album post-AGIB, but also at least 40 just thru AGIB that deserve to rank.

Upon reflection, my rankings:

Fun Wilco > Wistful Wilco >> Wonky Wilco >>> Morose Wilco >> Detached Wilco

Struggling with “Red Eyed and Blue” > “I Got You (At the End of the Century).” I think of them as a suite on the album, and I am pretty sure that they’ve played them back to back the couple of times that I’ve seen them played live. Together I think of that duo as a high point of Being There, but if taken individually both songs are a little slight to rank highly….

I've made a list of 46 tracks. Two big areas to explore (or re-explore, in a new context): everything post-Sky Blue Sky and the Tupelo/Golden Smog stuff that fits the thread remit. On that last point, with time pretty tight, does anyone care to stan for any Tweedy-led Tupelo/Golden Smog stuff I should know about?

Uncle Tupelo in order of likelihood to make my ballot:
- New Madrid
- Acuff-Rose
- No Sense in Lovin
- Black Eye
- Wait Up
- The Long Cut
- Warfare

Loose Fur in order of likelihood to make my ballot:
- The Ruling Class
- Laminated Cat

We have just four ballots and only seven days to vote! If people need more time, let me know. Know it's a big catalog.

Whoops, realized you said Golden Smog not Loose Fur. Here are my picks for them, though I need to revisit those records myself:

Radio King
Pecan Pie
Please Tell My Brother
Lost Love
Long Time Ago

Thanks Indexed. I'll have a ballot with you by this time next week.

Fatal Wound will be fairly high on my ballot, I think.

Tracks voting is absolutely closed but if you or anyone else wants to submit an Albums or Side Projects ballot before the end of this week, go for it. Very easy for me to update those in advance of next week's roll out.

The anticipation is killing me.

ratings for selected lines in Shot in the Arm:

The ashtray says you were up all night (10/10)

We fell in love in the key of C (9)
We walked along down by the sea (1)

Please rate “I know you don’t talk much but you’re such a good talker“ from outta sight outta mind

Also, I can’t honestly say that this is a true misheard lyric, but having grown up in Albany New York, whenever tweedy sings “you followed me down the neck to D“, I like to sing it as “you followed me down to Schenectady“

realizing i never posted my (mixed) ballot!

Tracks
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
I’m Always In Love
Misunderstood
Poor Places
Impossible Germany
Hotel Arizona
Ashes Of American Flags
Summer Teeth
(Was I) In Your Dreams
ELT
A Shot In The Arm
Wait Up
Sunken Treasure
Hate It Here
Pot Kettle Black
I Got You (At The End of the Century)
Via Chicago
When You Wake Up Feeling Old
Someday Soon
Nothing’severgonnastandinmywayagain
Random Number Generator

Forget The Flowers
Muzzle Of Bees
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
Kingpin
Jesus, Etc
Heavy Metal Drummer
I’m The Man WHo Loves You
Handshake Drugs
The Joke Explained
Someone To Lose
California Stars
At Least That’s What You Said
Theologians
Acuff Rose
Either Way
One Sunday Morning
Art Of Almost
New Madrid
Watch Me Fall

Albums
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Summerteeth
Being There
Star Wars
Sky Blue Sky

Also, I can’t honestly say that this is a true misheard lyric, but having grown up in Albany New York, whenever tweedy sings “you followed me down the neck to D“, I like to sing it as “you followed me down to Schenectady“

this is so bizarre that i hesitate to bring it up, but: did you read or hear about Schenectady recently, in relation to Wilco? because -- i know this sounds completely fake and just feel free to ignore it -- last night i went to bed at about 7:30pm. i woke back up at midnight and was wide awake, in bed, for several hours. during that time, i had Shot in the Arm in my head. it was annoying. i put on some other music (Languoria) but I couldn't get it out of my head. "We fell in love, in the key of C" (cool timpani part), then the "...we walked along down the sea" part that i don't like so much, then the rest of it, the sliding down the neck to D, and then once again the sea. but then - I SWEAR IT! - i was rhyming "Schenectady" in there. "we walked along...to sche-nec-tad-y...", and i was even thinking to myself "why do I know his town?". i lived in brooklyn for a couple years, i went to grad school in upstate, my ex's family has a home out there, etc. but Schenectady is not a town i ever think about, and i had absolutely no idea how to spell it.

so why do YOU sing it that way? is there something out there in the world that is causing us to introduce "Schenectady" in there?

the first place i looked was this thread, as well as the voting thread. but i don't think it was on ilx - i did a search for "Schenectady" and it hasn't come up for months. then i looked on genius.com, because i had been peeping the lyrics there along with the scholarly annotations. but no. i don't think so.

to wrap this up i would like to rate “you followed me down to Schenectady“ as 10/10 and canon; true wilco heads will dream it to life

did you read or hear about Schenectady recently, in relation to Wilco

and

so why do YOU sing it that way? is there something out there in the world that is causing us to introduce "Schenectady" in there?

ok ignore these questions as you very clearly mentioned that you grew up nearby, lol.

i don't know how to express how strange this is (to me) and also how little it matters in the grand scheme of things

on an entirely different note, has anyone seen "Where are you, Jay Bennett"? it's up in full on youtube, at the moment. i admit that i skipped through much of the formative years stuff and just went straight to the wilco portion. it is a very bitter movie because some of the people left behind have an obvious chip on their shoulder, but it's also revealing in some ways.

That misheard lyric has never occurred to me -- I always liked the "followed me down the neck to D" line as I believe it's sung while Tweedy plays a D -- but I know the town from the film of the same name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche,_New_York

I’m adding this “mishearing“ to my internal canon because I love it too and otherwise co-sign Karl’s ratings