Vox’s posts tagged wilco

And Tulsa burns / On the desert floor / Like a signal fire

nobody@vox.com(Skot Nelson) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:36:23 +0000

That's what I said last night when four of us were out for dinner with a consultant for work. We were talking about travel, and airports, and he mentioned Tulsa. Tulsa doesn't come up that often in conversation at work (or, frankly, at all) and that's a line from a Cowboy Junkies song that's been on my frequent playlist lately. Specifically, the version of 200 More Milesfrom the Trinity Revisited album with haunting vocals by Ryan Adams

The response from the visiting consultant was instant. "Don't go quoting country music lyrics to me young man."

I laughed long and hard, and the thing is...a prediction from a long long time ago might be finally and fully true.

i am trying to break your heart

nobody@vox.com(ekennedy) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:38:53 +0000

Take off your Band-Aid because I don't believe in touchdowns....

I am trying to break your heart
I am trying to break your heart
But still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy
I am trying to break your heart

wilco

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I Shall Be Released, Wilco, Spokane, WA

nobody@vox.com(Skot Nelson) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:00:58 +0000

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Photo Essay from Outside Lands

nobody@vox.com(KCRW Music News) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:19:04 +0000

Regina Spektor Smiles

Walkmen

ALO fans

Dan Lebowitz of ALO

Nicole Atkins and the Sea

Bon Iver

Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco

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Leaving Outside Lands on a High Note

nobody@vox.com(KCRW Music News) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:10:57 +0000

Bon Iver

Bon Iver's music is not exactly light hearted so I wasn't sure how it would fit in a festival setting, but it was breathtakingly beautiful. I'm always worried slow music will be a "downer," especially mid-afternoon, but his voice and the silent worshipping crowd made it as moving as Sunday church.

It was a tough act to follow. The Cool Kids weren't really my thing so I waited for the Broken Social Scene. The Canadian collective/super group is definitely something to see. I now understand why Margaret Cho told us in her guest DJ set that she wants to join the band. I can't quite pin them down with a description, I just know the make interesting music with lots of instruments and people.

I think Wilco is one of the best live bands on the planet right now and they proved me right once again. Jeff Tweedy and co played some of their greatest hits - "I'm the Man Who Loves You," "I am Trying to Break Your Heart,"Hummingbird," "California Stars," so many good ones. I heard a bunch of screams and cheers during the middle of "Jesus etc" and it turns out some guy had proposed in the middle of the song! Apparently she said yes.

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco

We watched part of Jack Johnson's set - I'm a longtime fan and have seen him many times so I stayed just long enough to see ALO's Dan Lebowitz sit in on guitar as a special guest (ALO's Zach Gill plays keys for Jack and also has a solo album).

After 3 days, I was just getting good at navigating the grounds but my poor little feet could not handle another day -- hopefully I will get another chance to tackle it next year.

RR
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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Wilco ending day 3

nobody@vox.com(aa) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:20:54 +0000

I guess there's more later. But this is it for me.

Wilco, stage left

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I had a Lolla, Lolla fun

nobody@vox.com(Dale) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:10:53 +0000

Well, it's over. I meant to post a recap of who I saw on Saturday yesterday morning, but I got sidetracked; and I've been in bed feeling like rubbish all day today. Not sure whether Lollapalooza's to blame or some other source of lurgee, but I can at least see straight now.

So, Saturday. We got to Grant Park in time to see a snippet of Foals. I had no opinion on them either way, which is odd considering they're one of the many "saviours of rock n' roll" that get trotted out by the NME every year. I also caught a little snippet of The Gutter Twins, featuring the inimitable Mark Lanegan. I wasn't paying too much attention, but they sounded alright.

The first band proper for me was MGMT, whose weird Bowie meets dance sound was perfectly suited to the festival vibe. I really enjoyed them, and their guitarist's shredding all over 'Kids' was fantastic.

Kids

MGMT

Josie went off to see DeVotchKa, who are like a Hispanic gypsy folk take on The Smiths, while Jess and I hung out waiting for Brand New to come on. We saw them live already, but in a terrible venue full of teenyboppers, so we were hoping they'd be better at a festival. Not so much. The highlight of their set was the dudes brawling a few metres away from me. It's a shame, because on CD, they're great.

At least frontman Jesse Lacey was as disappointed as us, at one point telling the crowd "You should all be watching Explosions In The Sky."

Sowing Season

Brand New

Somehow, there was a big gap for us, until we ended up watching Okkervil River while waiting for Broken Social Scene to come on. They weren't what I expected (the name conjured up rootsy blues, but they were more folky and upbeat). I liked them.

Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe

Okkervil River

Then Broken Social Scene... Broken Social Scene were my second favourite band after Radiohead. For a band with such an inconsistent line-up, they manage to be consistently awesome, and played some of my favourites including '7/4 (Shoreline)' and 'Farewell To The Pressure Kids'... and they had Amy from Stars with them, awesome.

7/4 (Shoreline)

Broken Social Scene

We caught the tail end of Toadies' set (apparently they were big in America, never heard of them... and gladly so), then sat patiently waiting for Rage Against The Machine. I had chosen them over Wilco as I don't know that I would get to see them again.

Testify

Rage Against The Machine

I was... kinda non-plussed. While musically, they were tight, it sounded exactly the same as the CDs. To me, part of the appeal of seeing a band live is seeing how they mess with their arrangements. Add to that the fact they *kept* stopping so Zach could lecture the moshpit, and it wasn't all that entertaining. A massive shame. I wish I had seen Wilco now.

Sunday was the least action packed of the three days, reflected by the fact we were able to head down so late (not helped by The Weakerthans pulling out).

As we arrived, we could hear Iron & Wine and decided against them as they would be a bit of a Debbie Downer. So, our first act of the day was the brilliant Saul Williams. The girls weren't fans, but he did put on an energetic performance.

Niggy Tardust

Saul Williams

We caught snippets of Blues Traveller and Love & Rockets, but the next band proper was The National. Having seen them in the colossal United Center supporting REM, I wanted to see if their sound fared better in a relatively smaller environment... and I am pleased to say it did. I love them.

Mistaken For Strangers

The National

After they left the stage, the girls went over to catch the start of Kanye West's set while I watched Nine Inch Nails. I'd seen them before and really enjoyed them, but for some reason, the magic just wasn't there this time around... I think mostly because they decided to kill the mood a short way into their set by playing some of the instrumental pieces from Ghosts I-IV... which, while great to listen to when you're chilling out, is not really much fun when you're stood in a field.

They did play an awful lot of material from The Downward Spiral, though, which sort of made up for it. Especially 'Closer'.

Closer

Nine Inch Nails

Overall, it really was a good weekend, marred only - really - by feeling horribly ill today.

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Vox Hunt: My Favorite Band

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:25:54 +0000

Share a song from your favorite band.

They're not my favorite (I don't think I have a favorite band), but I like these guys, and .... they are right outside my office building today!

Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer (clip)

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Lollapalooza: Day 2

nobody@vox.com(michellemybelle) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:56:09 +0000

I'll spare you the shots of my horrible sunburn. It was so hot that putting sunblock on my face didn't work as well as I had hoped...today I'm wearing a hat. And a burka.

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Lollapalooza's here!

nobody@vox.com(Dale) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:48:23 +0000

Lollapalooza

It's hard to believe that it's already August, and odd that I'm attending my second Lollapalooza since moving here. Crazy!

Yesterday, after an oddly productive morning at work, I left the office to meet Jess for lunch then headed to meet our friend Josie. She's in town to join in with the shenanigans.

When we dropped her stuff off and endured the slow buses down to the festival grounds, we had missed the first few songs by Gogol Bordello, the band she wanted to see. Their music wasn't really my thing, but their gypsy punk was at least entertaining to watch.

We started to watch Mates Of State, but live they're very difficult to endure - the already ear-damaging vocals do more damage when they're out of key - so we went to wait for Jess by the merchandise stand, hearing little snippets of what I think was Grizzly Bear, judging by the schedule.

With Jess now a part of the gang, we went on down to see Bloc Party. Last year, we bought tickets to see them but didn't think we knew them well enough to justify going. They're really great live, so naturally I regret that decision. They didn't play their best song, 'Little Thoughts', but they busted out 'Helicopter' and 'Like Eating Glass', so I was happy.

Like Eating Glass

Bloc Party

After hemming and hawing about whether to stay in place for Radiohead (who were over an hour away), we decided instead to go get food. This had the added bonus of putting us in line with the stage CSS were playing on. I feel bad that I didn't give them my full intention, they sounded tight live, and were obviously far more entertaining than the annoying-sounding Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks they were competing against.

Rat Is Dead (Rage)

CSS

We witnessed the huge flood of people towards the stage for Radiohead (wisely, the organisers didn't pit anyone against them, as playing to no one would be depressing). From our distance, it was initially a little hard to get into the band, but it meant we could hear them perfectly, and we still saw their interesting new light show.

Happy-To-Be-Here

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I also know their entire setlist:

- 15 Step
- Airbag
- There There
- All I Need
- Nude
- Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
- The Gloaming
- The National Anthem
- Faust Arp
- No Surprises
- Jigsaw Falling Into Place
- Reckoner
- Lucky
- The Bends
- Everything In Its Right Place
- Fake Plastic Trees
- Bodysnatchers
- Videotape
- Paranoid Android
- Dollar And Cents
- House of Cards
- Optimistic
- 2+2=5
- Idioteque

Highs:
- 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi'!
- The awesome radio sampling on 'The National Anthem'
- 'Idioteque' (even though we heard it from outside of the venue as we didn't want to be crushed by the rumoured 75,000 people as they left)

Lows:
- 'The Bends' was played way too slow. There are awesome guitar lines on the verse with the line "The planet is a gunboat on a sea of fear", but the build-up to them didn't work.
- We were too far to see Thom's crazy dancing, boo.
- NOTHING from Pablo Honey? Boo!

I think 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi' is a strong contender for my favourite song of all time.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

Radiohead

Roll on day two! I'm mostly aiming to see MGMT, Brand New, Broken Social Scene and Rage Against The Machine (the choice between them and Wilco was the only difficult decision all weekend).

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what light?

nobody@vox.com(naomi) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:26:47 +0000

If you feel like singing a song, and you want other people to sing along
Then just sing what you feel, don't let anyone say it's wrong

And if you're trying to paint a picture, but you're not sure which colors belong
Just paint what you see, don't let anyone say it's wrong

And if you're strung out like a kite, or stung awake in the night
It's alright to be frightened

When there's a light, what light
There's a light, what light
There's a light, white light
Inside of you

You think you might need somebody to pick you up when you drag
Don't lose sight of yourself, don't let anyone change you back

and if the whole world's singing your songs
and all you're paintings have been hung
just remember what was yours is everyone's from now on
and that's not wrong or right
but you can struggle with it all you like
you'll only get uptight

there's a light, one light...

(can't say i love wilco's new album, but love love this song.)

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QotD: Looking Back...

nobody@vox.com(Jodi) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:14:24 +0000

What part of your childhood do you miss the most?
Submitted by Maretta.

I miss the innocence I've known, woohooo yeah, playing KISS covers, beautiful and stoned. I should see if I can answer all the QOTDs for the rest of the week with song lyrics.

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Banda sonora do dia

nobody@vox.com(andiedg) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:41:54 +0000

Depois de the Ting Tings, escolhi Wilco para me acompanhar.

Fiquem com uma música que traduz o que eu quero sempre dizer ao meu querido Pedro:

Wilco - On and on and on

On and on and on we’ll stay together yeah
On and on and on we’ll be together yeah
You and I will try to stay together yeah
On and on and on we’ll be together yeah

Please don’t cry we’re designed to die
Don’t deny what’s inside
On and on and on we’ll stay together yeah
On and on and on
On and on and on

One day we’ll disappear together in a dream
However short or long our lives are going to be
I will live in you or you will live in me
Until we disappear together in a dream

Please don’t cry we’re designed to die
You can’t deny even the gentlest tide
On and on and on we’ll be together yeah
On and on and on
On and on and on
We’re going to try

Please don’t cry
This world of words and meanings makes you feel
outside
Something that you feel already
deep inside
You’ve denied
Go ahead and cry

On and on and on we’ll stay together yeah
On and on and on
On and on and on

You and I will stay together yeah
You and I will try to make it better yeah

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yada yada yada

nobody@vox.com(hotrod) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:08:37 +0000

I was recently asked to compile a mix CD of Wilco songs, and I learned from the endeavor that the box office manager of the 9:30 Club is a total prick. But hey, the mix turned out pretty fucking great.

the definitive wilco

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