Wilco Albums

Being There.

and i think i'm in the minority here

I know at least a couple of people that would agree with you. I have to be boring and pick YHF.

wau Wilco sux. But I'll choose YHF.

when i see them live, i always wish they will do more Being There songs, but they don't
YHF is one of my least favourite record of them , it's a bit too pretentious, especially after you get used to Being There too much:i like it's Big Star influence, direct approach and touches of experiments here and there.it's Tweedy at it's best.
summerteeth comes 2nd and than ghost is born.

For California Stars, which is far and away my favorite Wilco song, I picked Mermaid Avenue Vol 1.

I picked YHF. I think they use the experimental sound that some refer to - and have every right to, why not - as pretentious to tremendous effect. It's about disconnection and dissolution and is singularly American. And I just fucking obliterated the pretentious-speak scale. Best album by any band since OK Computer.

I also read in Greg Kot's book about them that they recorded California Stars (or was it One by One? Both great songs, at any rate) on a lark weeks after Billy Bragg had recorded his last bits for the album.

and i think i'm in the minority here

maybe, but I'm with you.

"Best album by any band since OK Computer. "

that sounds right,cause i don't like Radiohead at all

am

"After some soul-searching, I decided to include the Billy Bragg Mermaid Avenue albums."

did you walk on the beach for a while. kick some sand. skip some stones. look out at the water and finally realize that each grain of sand represented a lost moment of time without a wilco poll on ilm. did you finally say to god and the heavens and the infinite roar of the surf: "i will do this. billy bragg be damned!"

just wondering.

folks' "oh god this is the hardest choice i've ever made in my life" declarations on these sorts of threads are guaranteed lolz

being there, btw

'Being There' 'cause it gets the most personal play by myself in my home (though those Mermaid Ave sessions are great - can't help but listen to them and wish they were in the hands of Mr. Zimmerman).

But boy does my wife play the shit outta 'YHF' - good on her, but it gets a bit flat after so many listens - 'Being There' does not.

I listened to those YHF demos more than anything. "Magazine Called Sunset", "Shakin' Sugar", that eleven minute instrumental jam that went nowhere. If I could, I'd vote for that.

But I can't, so I'm going with A.M.

Scott -

- No, I was looking through the soul bin at Vintage Vinyl and I said to myself, "Fuck the haters. I will include Mermaid Avenue volumes one and two."

summerteeth for me. It's more on the edge than Being There, but not too far over the edge like YHF.

Edge of what? I don't know, but there's an edge.

Being There

As long as nobody votes for A Ghost Is Born... I hate that record.

As long as nobody votes for A Ghost Is Born... I hate that record.

I just did. I don't like a lot of the production values (or lack thereof), but song-wise I think it's probably one of their better records to me. Plus the fucked-up songs hit me at the right time in my life. Call it a personal fave.

Actually, I didn't phrase that right. The production is alright by me. I guess it's the lackluster recordings on several of the songs, just too weary and resigned sounding, too little energy. But a great album nonetheless.

Tough for me between Being There (which I've been listening to a lot recently) and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But I voted for YHF, because really it's a stunnning album, and I don't think anything on Being There measures hits the heights of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" or "Jesus Etc.", and "Heavy Metal Drummer" isn't so far behind "Monday" as a pop song. Being There is a lot more fun, though.

Mermaid Avenue and Summerteeth are great albums, too. But the former's a bit too rigidly classicist, and the latter . . . well, I'm not one of those people who thinks Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's are the pinnacles of Western culture. And I like AM and Ghost fine (the latter after pretty much hating it at first -- a stage I'm still stuck in for Sky Blue Sky, and from which I'll probably never exit because I have no desire ever to play it again).

yankee

but, i simply adore BOTH being there and summerteeth

It's cliche in most cases to state this, but I honestly believe that Being There should've been whittled down to just two sides.

Summerteeth. But just barely over Being There.

Re; recording / production on AGIB - I think that's their best-sounding record.

I can't remember if I voted or not. I probably like YHF best, but I came to it first.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Ghost, just cos of the first two tracks. The "this is what a migraine sounds like" guitar leads are incandescent - Tweedy touching on Neil Young territory. And the Krautrock workout - yay!
I also echo the fucked up songs as comfort sentiment. Don't worry, I'm much happier now!

YHF is stronger all round and has more pop smarts though.

I put on Summerteeth for the first time in a good two or three years the other day. Loved it when I first heard it, but in the light of the last three it sounds way over-egged. Tweedy was right to give Jay Bennett and his horrid whiteboy dreadlocks the boot.

YHF is obviously great, but I voted Summerteeth based solely on song-stuck-in-head frequency. plus, "Via Chicago" is as quietly epic as anything off YHF, which is good when I don't feel like listening to 40+ minutes of that kind of thing.

(PS I am not one of those Pet Sounds/Sgt. Pepper's dudes; I've only even listened to one of those albums, and not more than a handful of times)

Wilco don't get credit for the good Mermaid songs
Summerteeth and Being There are just horribly dull albums
YHF wins by default - six or seven good songs amongst the flavorless white bread

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

SBS isn't my favorite, but it makes me happy that some people voted for it.

lol @ entire thread being "Summerteeth wins narrowly over Being There" or "Being There, with Summerteeth and AM close behind", then YHF sweeping to deserved victory just like we all knew it would

i actually can't believe summer teeth got more than being there. i expected YHF to win-- it is their best, though not my personal favorite (listened to it WAAAAYY too much)-- but really, people like summer teeth better than being there? fucking weirdoes.

summerteeth is a shiny, great pop album (mostly) with really interesting production and great songs. being there is good but still too rooted in classic rock for me. I don't think they've topped summerteeth and doubt they ever will.

Another good question would be what is your favorite Wilco lineup? Jay Bennett was instrumental to Summerteeth being what it is, but you could just tell he wasn't long for the band. His contributions to YHF are inestimable, too. Seriously, no one could verify just what he contributed to it. The awesome rhythm to Jesus, Etc. is especially grand, though. And Jim O'Rourke brought a lot to the table when he joined for YHF. The current lineup is fantastic live, too.

On Loose Fur's first album, there is a much slower and more somber take on Heavy Metal Drummer. It's really lovely. It only checks these lyrics, though:

Unlock my body and move myself at last
In the warm liquid, flowing glowing glass
Classical music, blasting masks are ringing in my ears

Excuse my superlatives.

I can never remember anyone's name but Tweedy and Bennett. What's the other kinda balding guy? Besides him I can't even see their faces.

I meant Stirratt, looks like)