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

https://i.imgur.com/jb6AJBt.jpg

Wilco is Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone. Formed following the dissolution of Tweedy's first band, alt-country legends Uncle Tupelo, Wilco's work spans four decades and includes forays into country rock, chamber pop, experimental rock, krautrock, indie-rock, folk, and Americana across 14 studio albums.

This is my first time running a poll here, so please forgive any hiccups. I would also welcome any help with images!

Ballot #1: Wilco Albums & EPs - Up to 5 Wilco Albums. Eligible: 12 studio albums, 2 Mermaid Avenue albums, Kicking Television, and the 6 Wilco EPs.

Ballot #2: Wilco/Jeff Tweedy tracks – Up to 40 tracks. All tracks written and performed by Jeff Tweedy are eligible, meaning you can vote for Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Golden Smog, The Minus 5, Loose Fur, Tweedy, and solo Jeff Tweedy tracks, so long as Tweedy is credited as a writer and is the primary vocalist. If there are passionate fans of songs Tweedy wrote performed by Jay Farrar, Mavis Staples, etc., or that one John Stirratt song on A.M., speak up, and I'll let the thread decide. Since there are multiple versions of many Tweedy songs, don't worry about artist/version - you are voting for the song itself.

Ballot #3: Wilco Side Projects Albums (Optional) - Up to 5 Albums. This is intentionally wide-ranged, as I think it will be more interesting. Any Albums or EPs that any Wilco members were significantly involved in at any point in their career is eligible including all the solo work, Uncle Tupelo, et al. Given the number of possibilities here, I'd suggest advocating for non-obvious choices in this thread.

Vote here: https://forms.gle/NhA9LcCjvN6xsxof7

Voting is open until Sunday, Sep. 18, 2022 Midnight (Pacific Time).

lol i only did that discog run a few months ago, will happily participate

get ready for a star wars/schmilco-heavy ballot

here for it

absolutely campaigning for the first loose fur album

would be my #2 if we were counting side-project & wilco albums together, and i expect the three tweedy-led tracks will all be on my ballot, especially "laminated cat"

i hope people don't overlook "bird without a tail/base of my skull" for instance just because it's on the new album

What's the consensus on Outtasite (Outta Mind) vs. Outta Mind (Outta Sight) to prevent vote splitting? I prefer the latter as it rocks more & is how it comes across live.

This is one of those polls where I have enough knowledge and liking of the music to construct the sort of ballot the real heads would absolutely hate, lmao

i think the votes for "outtasite" & "outta mind" should just be combined

Seems fair

Don't sleep on the Minus 5's Down With Wilco for the side project poll!

One side project I will campaign for is Glenn Kotche's 2006 solo album Mobile, which begins with Steve Reich-inspired ambient but quickly expands in scope and becomes a showcase for Kotche's tremendous talents as a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He plays drum kit, piano, vibraphone, mbira, and electronic drum pads. The whole thing is extremely rhythmic and musical in a way that might surprise you and appeal to fans of bands like The Books. I have not kept up with Kotche's solo output so would be interested if there are other albums voters would recommend.

the sort of ballot the real heads would absolutely hate, lmao

tried to figure out what you could be going for here and realised you're talking about voting for all of the wilco book

lol!

but yeah y'know. only votes for the 'experimental' stuff. appears to not understand country music. hasn't heard anything before YHF or from any side project. probably gonna sit this one out tbh but 'one sunday morning' had basically better win

Gonna try to do at least a tracks ballot. So many good side projects, that’s the most daunting one.

It seems like Tweedy-sung Mermaid Avenue should be eligible for the tracks ballot, is that right?

ranking albums is going to be so hard because there's an easy, boring #1 for me and then there's a wide assortment of albums that are pretty good but all flawed in very different ways

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2022/06/16/jeff-tweedy-on-wilcos-cruel-country/

just stumbled across this interview where tweedy mentions their next album is in progress & is an "alien" "experimental" "sculpted art pop" album so that sounds very promising

hasn't heard anything before YHF

you fool!!!!!

I love Aquarium Drunkard despite the fact they're named after my least-favorite lyric in all of Wilco-dom.

lol!

but yeah y'know. only votes for the 'experimental' stuff. appears to not understand country music. hasn't heard anything before YHF or from any side project. probably gonna sit this one out tbh but 'one sunday morning' had basically better win

― imago, Thursday, September 1, 2022 3:19 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Vote!

Gonna try to do at least a tracks ballot. So many good side projects, that’s the most daunting one.

It seems like Tweedy-sung Mermaid Avenue should be eligible for the tracks ballot, is that right?

― Chris L, Thursday, September 1, 2022 4:42 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yes, absolutely. Sorry, should have clarified that.

Spent yesterday revisiting the Loose Fur albums. Born Again in the USA has some good material, but I pretty much always prefer the live Tweedy solo versions of his side-project songs. Used to have the Sunken Treasure, Live in the Pacific Northwest DVD audio on my iPod -- which has "The Ruling Class" and "Laminated Cat", as well as a few other loose ends like "The Thanks I Get", all of which will be on my ballot -- and would listen to it more than most of the Wilco albums.

WARM is much better than I remembered -- worth a revisit -- though by the time I finished WARMER I needed an espresso. Former might sneak onto my side project ballot but there's all those damn Uncle Tupelo records.

here to vote for all the tupelo records/songs!

Would rule to see at least one Golden Smog track place. This one is great imo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We5Jij2jxRA

Aw shit, ive been cuttin' wilco-only down to 40, gonna have to recalibrate my tweedy sense.

but yeah y'know. only votes for the 'experimental' stuff. appears to not understand country music. hasn't heard anything before YHF or from any side project

if you want more 'experimental' wilco then the first loose fur album is the way to go, it kinda splits the difference between yhf & o'rourke's insignificance but is krautier than either

& summerteeth is one of the least country wilco albums, being the one where they got really into power-pop & 60s psych-pop. i recommend the live version of "via chicago" at least if you want one of their best self-consciously 'experimental' moves

literally still staggering in disbelief that lj has never heard summerteeth

I too am surprised to hear there are YHF fans who haven't heard Summerteeth! It is well worth anyone's time to listen to Being There > Summerteeth > YHF, if only to hear how much their sound evolved in that period from alt country -> 60s pop rock -> experimental indie folk. All three are excellent albums that reflected the evolving interests and talents of the people who worked on them, all three sound "like Wilco," but they are very, very different.

Perhaps a bit silly but the first four album runs for Wilco and Radiohead have always been loosely connected in my mind, with the second record being a much better, fully realized (but still quite commercial) version of the sound developed on the debut, the third picking up specific, successful elements of the second and making something far more creative and interesting, and the fourth being a rejection of the third's more bloated features for a sparser, more experimental sound. Wilco was a year or two behind Radiohead in their album cycle, and while I am not aware of any direct inspiration they took from the band, it seems they had similar motivations in their evolutions.

Coda: Found this after writing the above: https://www.reddit.com/r/radiohead/comments/51pfly/wilco_and_radiohead_have_had_very_similar_album/

summerteeth/yhf & the bends/okc works better as a comparison i think though it's still not a great one

would the loose fur s/t be less criminally underrated if it were billed as "jim o'rourke & wilco" or "jim o'rourke & jeff tweedy" i wonder

That Wilco/Radiohead thing def. holds water. There were comparisons in the press at the time and certainly plenty of fans who came aboard w/Summerteeth and/or YHF who were also big Radiohead nuts.

Indeed, Wilco graced the cover of The Wire circa A Ghost Is Born and were described as the "American Radiohead" in the article.

Just to clarify, I never took to the "American Radiohead" description, but if you've only heard YHF, you're missing out.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/302725926_10158929598063157_6699227372384948705_n.jpg?stp=cp1_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=6Rfp995dwawAX-csL4X&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=00_AT-_D4RZ9XusDaFTd_R0WOM3F4uEikSzwz7SYJRD6ERklw&oe=63171164

https://i.imgur.com/jADyVyK.png

The "American Radiohead" thing reminded me of how film critics were trying to compare seemingly every movie to Mulholland Drive in the early 00s.

A little surprised to find that I'm placing more tracks from Cruel Country than I am Being There. It's a top 5 Wilco album for me for sure. Can't wait for it come out on vinyl.

Also, I just noticed that the progress bar in Spotify for the songs on Star Wars is a light saber!

xxxp STP? Dan Fogelberg? FFS...

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.

(By Uncle Tupelo)

rt

all right i am def gonna try to submit a ballot, so i’m listening to cruel country for the first time rn. imo: whoa

also whenever i listen to early uncle tupelo i think maybe "country-fried replacements" is as good as punk music can get

I’m also putting in a ballot sometime today. I don’t like mine and it’s ok if you want to lose it — it will steer the results toward things everyone knows

wait fuck the deadline is this weekend?

If any of you are like “is Kamera too obvious?”, I don’t know, but it’s definitely on my ballot

I tried Cruel Country again this weekend. A lot of it is a total snooze fest, iibh. And I really liked Ode to Joy! Just could not with "The Empty Condor" or any number of other shapeless acoustic trifles. Reminds me of Sukierae, a similarly bloated album of tune after tune that I can't much discern from the last.

It has its moments: "Many Worlds," which morphs from a slow (very much the operative word for a lot of this album) piano ballad into a pretty rippin' country rock jam on the backs of Nels and Glenn; "A Lifetime to Find" has some life to it; "I am My Mother" and "Country Song Upside-Down" are greatly aided by their relative concision.

oh i thought cruel country was extremely tuneful and the arrangements were super cool, whereas i'm not sure if ode to joy ever snapped together for me

maybe at least we can all agree with some distance that schmilco is incredibly dope and not boring, it's like it restrains itself so much it gets gnarled inside (aka it's star wars inside out)

god the second half of "quarters" is like a miniature "small hours"

i'm taking a real bifurcated path through the catalog, veering between tupelo and late wilco, and omg i forgot how much i love "watch me fall." "watch me fall"!!!!

i listened to still feel gone a lot more in college than i thought i did

cruel country is really lovely, it's remarkably solid the whole way through & in terms of pure front-to-back listenability it might be one of their best, though it rarely reaches the sort of heights they have elsewhere. i'm not sure that anything from it is going to manage to fit onto my ballot except "bird without a tail / base of my skull", which is the best thing they've done since "one sunday morning". maybe "sad kind of way" or something else will squeeze in though

i also really appreciate the return of the mellotron & some other keyboard textures that haven't really been heard since YHF - the album was recorded while they were preparing for the YHF anniversary shows and that influenced the sounds they used

"many worlds" is actually one of the weakest tracks, the starting piano ballad is not very compelling & feels pretty disconnected from the ending duelling solos which are just fine.

I like “The Universe,” trying to find space for it on my ballot

Any tracks from any of the Tweedy solo albums anyone want to stump for? Of all his work those are the ones that really go in one ear and out the other for me.

sukierae is worth a listen at least, it's more than the sleepy acoustic tunes of the following solo albums (though those are also jeff playing most instruments with his son on drums). there's some weirdness like "diamond light pt. 1"

I’m probably going to sit this poll out - there’s a lot of solo Tweedy I haven’t gotten to, plus the very early Wilco albums and yet to get through Cruel Country - but am looking forward to the rollout and discussion and listening along.

(Sitting it out in terms of voting.)

solo tweedy is not particularly worth digging through unless you're really dedicated (though i do heavily recommend the first loose fur album)

if you can get any sort of ballot together it's worth voting even if you haven't had a chance to take an exhaustive listen of the entire discography

will be positively torturing myself to get this down to 40 tracks

anyway i hung out with ode to joy for a little while last night. it's a good record. i only just learned the method of its recording (tweedy and kotche putting down sketches that the band filled in after the fact) which may be the very thing that makes the album refuse to focus for me (and is also the thing that's most interesting about it, the dislocation between its elements). anyway i really adore "one and a half stars" (great lyric) and "quiet amplifier" and "we were lucky" and the singles are both lovely but i remain confused that it was hailed as a return to form while acknowledging it's been growing on me slow as ivy since it was released and one day i'll probably think it's the best wilco album idk

the atmosphere & arrangements are really lovely but tweedy's tunes are generally some of his weakest ever

what are everyone's favorite mermaid avenue songs? mine are "remember the mountain bed" and "someday some morning sometime"

The solo Tweedy songs that are on my ballot radar:

Having Been Is No Way To Be (lock)
I Know What It's Like
Some Birds
Don't Forget
Family Ghost
Summer Noon (from Sukirae)

xp I didn't realize it until going through to make this ballot but a lot of my fav Mermaid Avenue tracks are actually Billy Bragg ones. That surprised me. Even "Another Man's Done Gone," which I love, was apparently written by Bragg though sung by Tweedy. But yeah, huge fan of "Remember the Mountain Bed." I will also be voting for "Airline to Heaven" and "One by One" even though the latter is a little dirgey and repetitive. Considering "Secret of the Sea" too

I voted for a bunch of Mermaid Avenue songs. "One by One" was at the top, though a lot of that has to due with the poetry, some of Guthrie's finest. It's surprising and heartbreaking stuff - I'm not sure when Guthrie wrote it, but I imagine it was after his illness had begun to overwhelm him. I kept thinking about it when I visited the Guthrie exhibit at the Morgan Library and saw the materials they had from his final years.

Airline to Heaven, 100%. There are a bunch of others on my radar. California Stars almost certainly and Christ for President, probably. One by One and Secret of the Sea both great tunes that have a shot for me if I have room.

TBH, I think I may have voted for nearly every eligible Mermaid Avenue track from the first volume and at least a few from the second. The ones mentioned from the second - "Airline to Heaven," "Mountain Bed," "Secret of the Sea," "Someday Some Morning Sometime" - all made my list.

California Stars... so simple but so pure. Yeah I guess that one needs to be there too

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

― ufo, Monday, September 5, 2022 5:30 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

i don't agree with this but i feel like my wilco opinions are entering contrarian-for-its-own-sake territory. just wanting to say that the whole love is def not my favorite wilco album but "black moon" is awesome

i am calling it, "one sunday morning" is gonna win this poll

I left Mermaid songs off my ballot because I had a hard enough time fitting in some of Jeff's Loose Fur & Uncle Tupelo tracks without bringing Woody's lyrics into that equation.

The Whole Love is the artier older brother to Summerteeth. "Dawned on Me" is a lock. Bunch of others I'm considering.

I will die on any hill for the song “Whole Love” as well. Something about the production just gets me. As far as the upbeat tracks on that album, not a fan of “Dawned on Me”, a little too hooky and singsongy. I do enjoy “Born Alone” though and I think I’m in the minority in digging “I Might”.

All of that being said, The Whole Love is not sniffing my albums ballot. I feel like for this poll 5 is too small a number, having to make some painful choices…

We are up to 6 submitted ballots.

I hope all of you are revisiting A.M. Has a few of my favorite Tweedy songs of all time. "That's Not the Issue" will be very high on my ballot.

My two favourite Mermaid Avenue tracks are Birds & Ships (no Tweedy) and The Unwelcome Guest (barely any Tweedy). Will probably vote for California Stars, At My Window and Remember the Mountain Bed.

yeah 5 albums is too little to vote for lol, there's too many to choose from.

nothing from mermaid avenue is going to make my ballot

as far as TWL goes beyond the bookends, "whole love" might have a chance of squeezing into my ballot. "black moon" is quite nice for sure but it's not enough of a standout to have a chance of making my ballot or anything

does anyone have any non-album track recommendations? i've listened to most of what i can find & i don't think i'll vote for any - best is "kicking television" and some of the yhf-era rarities like "cars can't escape", "the good part" "a magazine called sunset", "more like the moon"

if I actually get my ballot done in time, "Woodgrain" will be on it, and Being There outtakes "No Poetry" and "Blasting Fonda" are contenders for me as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ecZ4_v7kI

wild discovery from going through the summerteeth deluxe is that "locator" dates back to an early draft of the "can't stand it" riff or something like that?

really looking forward to the yhf deluxe which is partially out this week

Partially? As far as I can tell, it’s been pushed back two weeks to the 30th, for both the physical versions and the digital release (at least according to the bandcamp page).

ah the itunes page still says it's coming this week but maybe they just forgot to update that too

Trying to piece together my ballot, but not sure I’ll have it done in time. This was a lot tougher than I anticipated and just refreshing myself with the track lists of albums I haven’t heard recently proved insufficient.

Saw a little drama on another forum from people who pre-ordered the YHF box straight from Wilco for $120 when it is only $70 on Amazon right now, particularly since Wilco is charging a 5% cancellation fee.

If we need to extend voting by a week or two to get more ballots, let me know.

re: non-album tracks, "The Thanks I Get" is one of those incredibly simple Tweedy songs that is a joy to hear performed live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqRZ9E0DeSw

goddamit how is it that i can't find room on my ballot for "Reservations"

Before I build 77 of these...

https://i.imgur.com/TrLyS7D.jpg

is it wrong to characterize born again in the usa as proto-star wars lol

.... wow @ "wreckroom" aka jazz wilco

amazed that i am the first person to bring up "wreckroom" itt

xp Indexed, I know that I could get a ballot together for sure with another week, but I'll leave that up to you as the poll runner

bring on another week, i almost requested it myself (my ballot will be done tomorrow)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ3G1t0O8ic

i'm sorry but this is the greatest shit ever to me

Yes, "Wreckroom" kills. Not sure how I forgot that!

Also: wow I was digging around on wilcoworld, and in the "Credits & Notes" drawer on the Sunken Treasure page there's a link to a dropbox with all the mp3s from the DVD. As I mentioned upthread, this is well worth your time and has many great Jeff solo recordings, including the version of "The Thanks I Get" I posted this morning.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5i5hvkudi54lmc5/AAAmm7KLw7v1snlQ4s3T5swSa?dl=0

How fucking great is it that wilcoworld has every setlist and official show poster ever? Do other bands do this?

e.g.,

https://wilcoworld.net/tour_date_type/21-september-2012-greek-theatre-berkeley-ca/

https://wilcoworld.net/tour_date_type/1994-11-23-lounge-ax/

https://wilcoworld.net/tour_date_type/23-mar-2019-the-vic-chicago-2/

my ballot is almost done, but i will admit i have not listened at all to the two most recent albums so longer might get them on my ballot!

Wreckroom is monstrous. How have I never heard this before? Thin Lizzy plays Liturgy.

Another week it is! Mazel tov!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeGnjB_7phI

Thanks for the extension Indexed, going to probably need it.

So voting is now open until Sunday September 25 12 AM Pacific?

Officially, sure, though if possible to get your ballot in by Saturday, I'd appreciate a non-work day to start getting organized.

"wreckroom" is certainly the highlight from born again in the usa

dang, i sent in my ballot before really giving that one a chance. i did really like the first loose fur album, which i hadn't listened to until this poll. laminated cat and you were wrong are both high up on my ballot, and wouldn't have been before

the rest of the album is a bit less interesting than the first, but "wreckroom" is immense and going to be up there on my ballot

Y'all are sleeping on "The Ruling Class."

I listened to the first Golden Smog album last night for the first time in ages and couldn't believe how many hits there were. Much more power pop/alternative rock than alt-country, as I had misremembered. Going to give Another Fine Day a spin today.

"the ruling class" is indeed pretty sleepy

Also, I would politely ask that as many people submit a 3rd ballot as possible, even if you have limited knowledge of the various side projects! We have only received 1.5 so far, and I'd hate to have to scrap that one for lack of votes.

thank u poll for occasioning a deeper acquaintance btween me and the tweedy record, it is so dope

in an effort to comply with Indexed's request to submit a 3rd ballot, does anyone have anything approaching a comprehensive list of "side project" albums? Just considering Tweedy, I can think of

4 Uncle Tupelo
2 Loose Fur
2(?) Golden Smog
2 solo albums + "Tweedy"
Minus 5 - Down with Wilco

What am I missing? What other band members' stuff should I give a listen to? I know there are bands called On Fillmore and The Autumn Defense though I can't even remember which band members are in them. What's Nels Cline's other best stuff? I do want to revisit the Kotche solo records if I have time too

oh man warm is fantastic, why did everyone tell me this is boring

there are 4 jeff tweedy solo albums (though together at last is just acoustic versions of previously released songs)

The Autumn Defense is John Stiratt's Mellow Mafia-style side project.

with pat sansone, who was in it before he joined wilco

the b-side i ended up including in my ballot was "panthers." tbh as i get older i seem to only get more fond of the ghost is born material. has a sense of space (maybe the off-white psychic echo of a migraine?) that i can't say i've heard in any other record

record reminds me of the more ramshackle end of lindsey buckingham productions where every sonic element sounds faxed in from elsewhere. i love it

finally i think the alternate version of "hummingbird" is better than the album version but i feel like i understand why they went for the album arrangement, it's a welcome break in the tension

i do recall at the time that "less than you think" was widely interpreted as a sonic representation of tweedy's migraines

it's been confirmed by tweedy as well afaik

Listened to "Being There" for the first time in a while tonight and had so much fun.

the b-side i ended up including in my ballot was "panthers."

Same!

this was also my first brush with the golden smog catalog and another fine day was far and away my favorite. felt like a record i would've checked out of the library in the mid-2000s and privately fallen in love with and would've never had anybody to talk about it with

i did check out down with wilco from the library several times in the mid-2000s, i don't think i ever quite fell in love with it though. "the family gardener" remains a gem

revisiting cruel country before i submit my ballot and “the empty condor” is pink floyd wilco

cruel country isn't that different in sound from any of tweedy's solo albums, or even ode to joy, but the songs have stuck with me so much more

i think it’s pretty different from ode to joy, less of a pencil drawing more of a spirograph, especially in the adventurous middle

feels like it would be a v special record in literally any other band’s discog

The curse of being consistently good.

it has a similar sort of mood & atmosphere, just less intricate than ode to joy by virtue of being largely live takes rather than a studio construction

it seems like it'll sneak onto my albums ballot in fact

less of a pencil drawing more of a spirograph

feel like i just described the album art of each record here. regardless, well-chosen album art

i'm going to make my side projects ballot more interesting today so i'd like to second the request for cline and kotche recommendations. and are the autumn defense any good???????

assuming jay bennett's the palace at 4am counts, i'm def voting for it

I am by no means a Cline expert, haven't even come close to absorbing his whole discography, but I'd say that either Lovers or the Nels Cline Singers' Share the Wealth are great places to start. Can also recommend Instrumentals, The Giant Pin and BB&C, the one album he did with Tim Berne and Jim Black.

I'll second the recommendation of Kotche's Mobile, like that one a lot.

yeah took a quick glance at cline's discography and it is massive, and basically completely unfamiliar to me. thanks for the recs, jvc. have never heard bennett's solo record, will for sure check that one out now that the deadline's extended

Haven't even tried with most of Nels's stuff. Are the albums w/ Thurston Moore any good?

Very glad to see a second of Mobile! Would probably appeal more to non-Wilco fans, but I can't recommend it enough.

the b-side i ended up including in my ballot was "panthers." tbh as i get older i seem to only get more fond of the ghost is born material. has a sense of space (maybe the off-white psychic echo of a migraine?) that i can't say i've heard in any other record

I like "Panthers" a lot, I actually inserted it into the album (second track) within a week of listening to the deluxe edition.

less of a pencil drawing more of a spirograph... feel like i just described the album art of each record here. regardless, well-chosen album art

& Summer Teeth is the photo collage album with the same cover-filling shape as those two.

i think my mom would enjoy nels cline’s lovers (a compliment, my mom is cool and loves both trad jazz and wilco)

combo-contrarian/received wisdom opinion: the only dip in the catalog is wilco (the album) + the whole love; both, to different degrees, feel like wilco assembling a greatest hits out of new material, and no matter how much i listen to them i just can’t connect to them as, uh, wholes

first half of wilco and “one sunday morning” are still amazing

I have listened to ST twice, AGIB twice, SBS three times and CC once and feel lost as ever. I still need to replay a few others but getting there. This is fucking hard.

Ah i always felt like sky blue sky and Wilco (the album) were there low point for me and the whole love is where they got it back.

Still haven’t listened to cruel country yet cause I’ve been stuck with Warm on repeat.

The Whole Love is half Summerteeth-lite and half dreary and forgettable imo. Cruel Country sounds sounds considerably more vitalised. Best album in years

I don't know playing Sky Blue Sky has been the very best experience from this little project but I have always praised this album and has stood out even more for me this time around when comparing.

xpost

it's such a beautiful record

a third of the whole love (the bookend epics) is a career highpoint but there's not a whole lot going for the rest of it - it's generally fine but it's kinda just a slightly better version of the wilco-by-numbers of wilco (the album) which is one of the least essential in their whole discography - "one wing" is nice and "bull black nova" is an ok mini-"spiders" but that's about it

definitely agree with brad that neither is really compelling as a whole

ok i need to mention that "deeper down" is fucking incredible

l might submit something for this— was thinking recently about how Wilco is the only teenage obsession that I am embarrassed by. Why is that? I should listen to the whole discography.

the Nels Cline Singers' Share the Wealth

yooooooo this rocks

ballot submitted

First proper listen to Warm and yeah, it's lovely. This is vague, but there's something about the later Wilco/Tweedy stuff wherein I sort of half-listen, letting it coalesce in the background - it's more of a totalising effect somehow, less of the statement of the earlier records (up to Ghost, I guess), sonically and lyrically.

Picking up lots of Beatles from Warm, but also plenty Bolan, oddly - partly in the harmonies (such as they are) but also in the way Tweedy's voice falls off or in at the end of a line.

I helped with modifying the date.

Tonight, finally listened to YFH again.

12 ballots submitted - as a reminder, voting has been extended a week but if possible to submit any sooner, I'd appreciate it.

you can expect most ballots to come in at the last minute, just how these things go

Am I late to learning that the Spotify song progress bar is a lightsaber for Star Wars?!

i guarantee if you put an album called star wars episode 20 empire of shit tomorrow it would have a lightsaber progress bar, spotify adds it to every “star wars” release

LMAO

will mixed ballots be accepted? i haven't had time to do a full re-listen so i'll prob only be able to rank 10 or so

Yes!

Just leave an extra space in your ballot, and I'll assume it's mixed.

Is anyone else obsessed with "That's Not The Issue"? Maybe my favorite of the early country songs. Love the shuffle rhythm and the interplay of banjo and electric guitar. A simple but effective lyric, too.

voted!

5 albums was a tough cut off, found it harder than the tracks (not that that was easy either!)

Someone will have to figure out if One Sunday Morning is for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend or Girlfriend, because we have votes for both.

Also, we have votes for both Outta Mind (Outta Sight) and Outtasite (Outta Mind). There was some discussion upthread about combining these votes...thoughts from the group?

don't see any reason not to combine them at all

they're the same song, arranged differently. i think combining makes sense

the vast majority of the ranked section of my ballot is gonna be from the big 3, and i am ok with it

when I started this i thought it was going to be easy. there are so many songs...

I'm getting there though

There *are* so many songs! We only have 12 ballots, many of which are partial, and over 130 different songs have received a vote.

hey indexed did my ballot go thru? I see that you had 12 before and after i submitted.

yup, didn't see that gman59 had submitted

Voted

ah oops yes I did submit. thank you!

Just a few days left, and we could definitely use a few more ballots, especially for Poll #3, though I know that might be the hardest for folks to feel comfortable participating in. Thanks to those who have already voted. Has been a big help in prepping images.

(Almost) Last Call. I know many of you are off-ILM on weekends. Would love to get a few more ballots. Thanks to the couple of folks who have submitted in the last 24 hours!

Voted! Ridiculously hard. That strange feeling in trying to rearrange things that many of the tracks are so part of the sorry self I carry around with me every day that I scarce recognise the titles.

Still planning to submit!

lol k, did it

Voted!

Submitted a lean but mean ballot.

just voted, went with my gut!

Got a bunch of ballots yesterday - many thanks to the procrastinators and all who voted.

My work week looks absolutely brutal so will likely save the roll out for next week. If anyone wants to submit a late ballot, let me know, and I'll see what's possible based on image work.

I know I was one of those requesting the additional time, but I had a variety of life events pop up this week that mean I'm not able to pull together a ballot. Sorry about that. Really looking forward to the roll out though!

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