Jay Bennett, formerly of Wilco died Saturday night and it's very sad news. I've been trying to write an entry about him, Wilco, his effect on me as a fan and his effect on all Wilco fans, but it's going long. And rambling. Someone posted this youtube vid below and it says everything about the guy (sorta, not really) that I'm getting at in my inability to write it all out. In short, it's so sad and really does have an effect on Wilco fans based mostly on the movie "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" which the clip below is from.
I know I've always admired Bennett's contribution to my favorite band, but I've also sided heavily with Jeff Tweedy in booting the guy from Wilco. It seemed like an impossible collaboration and although I know film can lie, I "know" people like the person Bennett was portrayed as in that film, and I could see where Jeff was coming from. Even so, I always tried to lend an ear to what Jay was up to and check it out. His contribution and collaboration to Wilco made them what they are today, no ands, ifs, buts. In fact the song "Jesus, etc." is, for my money, one of the finest songs ever created and Bennett has a ton to do with that.
Since I listen to all of Jay's stuff, about 4 months ago, I downloaded for free- per his request- his new album. And I was really digging it. Then, I heard he was suing Jeff Tweedy for royalties owed 7 years after the fact as well as for money from "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" which Jeff was merely a participant in, not a producer of and I'll be honest. It soured me on him and I tucked the CD away. I felt he was being petty and low and cheap. Then, he died Saturday. And it turns out it was from complications of hip surgery. A hip surgery that he was suing Tweedy to cover. Ugh. Ouch. As bad as I and other fans feel, put yourself in Jeff's shows. Ugh.
I have acquaintances who make fun of me for saying "we" when referring to a sports team I like or make fun on my fan boy tendencies. But you know, when you love a band or team or director, you feel on board with them. It's like church. You gravitate towards them and their message and what they bring to you. You take it personally. Like it's for real. It is real. You invest your quiet moments with these bands/teams/figures and you come together to worship and be happy for and with. And when someone who had a big part of that dies, it hurts.
So yesterday, today and for a while...I miss Jay Bennett. His last solo album really is quite great and anyone who ever saw the guy with Wilco or otherwise can attest to his brilliance. I just wish things hadn't been so messy and moreover, I wish they hadn't ended so sadly.
Showing posts with label wilco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wilco. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday, August 04, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
Top 5 music!
O.K…here’s the last or first part…depending how you look at it. I just noticed that my top 5 (or 5.5) are all pretty damned unattractive. The Spoon guys are o.k. looking but that would ruin the hilarity of fug that is happening here.
Tomorrow THERE WILL BE BLOOD opens and man, I am seriously stoked! I haven’t been this excited since the last STAR WARS/LORD OF THE RINGS movies and THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a 3 hour emandering art film. Jeez, I’m such a snob these-a-days. But a true snob wouldn’t be dying to see a film like I’m dying to see that one. Anyway….on with the tunes!
1. Ike Reilly Assassination- We Belong to the Staggering Evening
Dude. Duuuuuude. This album rocks so damned hard I literally crave it when I’m feeling down. I had Ike’s first album a few years back and I just didn’t get it. He seemed to have a potty mouth just for the sake of having a potty mouth, although the guy could write a tune. Then I heard some good stuff about “We Belong to the Staggering Evening” and as it happened, I was in Boston last June and he was playing.
I went to the show and promptly had my doors blown off. I think they’re somewhere in Boston still but now I have this new album to try and restore my doors. I compare Ike to a grubbier Bruce Springsteen or a more refined Replacements. Many of his songs are stories that are either total lies or some of the best life experiences one could have. Either way, they’re fun and insightful and the band totally rips. The Ike Reilly Assassination also reminds me of Marah, a band I love dearly but who get more and more hit and miss with every album they put out. At least Ike is there to fill that gap.
2. Two Cow Garage- 3
It was with great deliberation I decided to put Two Cow Garages “3” at the #2 slot. I really love this album and all it stands for but sometimes it’s hard to put a lil band like this so high on a list ahead of more “accomplished” artists. But then I realized how silly that is because “3” has played in my car everytime I get in it I think. I’m also a big fan of alt-country/punkbilly/cowpunk or whatever you want to call it and with the demise of Slobberbone, these guys are the heir apparent to the throne.
Plus this album rocks but also features songs about just how frigging hard it is to be in a band- emotionally, physically and responsibility wise. On this album the band laments not going to college and constantly have the feeling they should hang it up. But those songs are mixed in with songs about how music has always been a part of their lives and to give up now might render their lives pointless. Like the Tommy Womack album, creating, especially for a living, is a sticky area. You’re always high from the feeling then dragged down by poor response. On and on it goes and Two Cow Garage captures those feelings perfectly.
3. Wilco- Sky Blue Sky
Yeah, #3! My favorite band of all-time made a really, really, really great album and it’s not even amongst my least favorites of theirs. I just liked other stuff better this year. I actually feel bad not putting Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky” higher because it’s been the most slagged album the band has done. If you always wondered what the hell I’m on about when I talk about how much I love Wilco, this album is a perfect jumping off point for you. It’s very accessible.
Jeff Tweedy has pulled together the very best lineup of the band yet with Nels Cline on guitar and Glenn Kotche on drums. These guys are just amazing and their extremely “arty” in the regular gigs. But here, they’re all like peas and carrots mixing together perfectly. This is such a great album, you should go buy it immediately.
3.5 Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Damn lists!! I woke up this morning humming Spoon’s “The Underdog” in my head and realized I left them off my list! Again, like Ted Leo, Spoon are the darlings of indie rock…or were a year or two ago. Now that they had the nerve to make a fun, interesting and accessible album, they may have been shunned a bit. Anyone shunning Spoon for Gax5 is just doing themselves a disservice as this album is a good one.
If you listen to the radio on pretty much any station playing newer rock, you heard “The Underdog” and that’s pretty cool. I’ve heard the song on at least 4 very different radio stations and that kind of crossover appeal for a smaller band is impressive. But there’s also tons of great songs on this album and I think I’m going to go listen to it right now!
4. Josh Ritter-The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter is a bad ass. Unlike Ted Leo, he’s only amassed a teeny bit of indie buzz but the guy is one of the best singer songwriters out there…and that’s saying a lot. His last album “Animal Years” is also great, but for me it kind of tailed off about midway through. But this album, “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” has held my attention throughout nearly every listen.
This album is also much “bigger” than his other one (actually, he has several but the other one I own) and features all kinds of cool arrangements and instrumentation. But Ritter has an elegance about him and through all the new sounds on here, his songwriting is still clear…and awesome.
5. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- Living with the Living
I had been hearing about these punk oriented rockers for years but I always feel like a big ole poser when I jump on a bands buzz laden bandwagon. But when a few different people started raving about “Living with the Living” I checked it out and fell in love.
Fairly simple guitar riffs and cool lyrics had me listening all summer and the album was one of those ones you always find yourself looking for in your car. While driving. And text messaging. Kidding.
Tomorrow THERE WILL BE BLOOD opens and man, I am seriously stoked! I haven’t been this excited since the last STAR WARS/LORD OF THE RINGS movies and THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a 3 hour emandering art film. Jeez, I’m such a snob these-a-days. But a true snob wouldn’t be dying to see a film like I’m dying to see that one. Anyway….on with the tunes!
1. Ike Reilly Assassination- We Belong to the Staggering Evening
Dude. Duuuuuude. This album rocks so damned hard I literally crave it when I’m feeling down. I had Ike’s first album a few years back and I just didn’t get it. He seemed to have a potty mouth just for the sake of having a potty mouth, although the guy could write a tune. Then I heard some good stuff about “We Belong to the Staggering Evening” and as it happened, I was in Boston last June and he was playing.
I went to the show and promptly had my doors blown off. I think they’re somewhere in Boston still but now I have this new album to try and restore my doors. I compare Ike to a grubbier Bruce Springsteen or a more refined Replacements. Many of his songs are stories that are either total lies or some of the best life experiences one could have. Either way, they’re fun and insightful and the band totally rips. The Ike Reilly Assassination also reminds me of Marah, a band I love dearly but who get more and more hit and miss with every album they put out. At least Ike is there to fill that gap.
2. Two Cow Garage- 3
It was with great deliberation I decided to put Two Cow Garages “3” at the #2 slot. I really love this album and all it stands for but sometimes it’s hard to put a lil band like this so high on a list ahead of more “accomplished” artists. But then I realized how silly that is because “3” has played in my car everytime I get in it I think. I’m also a big fan of alt-country/punkbilly/cowpunk or whatever you want to call it and with the demise of Slobberbone, these guys are the heir apparent to the throne.
Plus this album rocks but also features songs about just how frigging hard it is to be in a band- emotionally, physically and responsibility wise. On this album the band laments not going to college and constantly have the feeling they should hang it up. But those songs are mixed in with songs about how music has always been a part of their lives and to give up now might render their lives pointless. Like the Tommy Womack album, creating, especially for a living, is a sticky area. You’re always high from the feeling then dragged down by poor response. On and on it goes and Two Cow Garage captures those feelings perfectly.
3. Wilco- Sky Blue Sky
Yeah, #3! My favorite band of all-time made a really, really, really great album and it’s not even amongst my least favorites of theirs. I just liked other stuff better this year. I actually feel bad not putting Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky” higher because it’s been the most slagged album the band has done. If you always wondered what the hell I’m on about when I talk about how much I love Wilco, this album is a perfect jumping off point for you. It’s very accessible.
Jeff Tweedy has pulled together the very best lineup of the band yet with Nels Cline on guitar and Glenn Kotche on drums. These guys are just amazing and their extremely “arty” in the regular gigs. But here, they’re all like peas and carrots mixing together perfectly. This is such a great album, you should go buy it immediately.
3.5 Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Damn lists!! I woke up this morning humming Spoon’s “The Underdog” in my head and realized I left them off my list! Again, like Ted Leo, Spoon are the darlings of indie rock…or were a year or two ago. Now that they had the nerve to make a fun, interesting and accessible album, they may have been shunned a bit. Anyone shunning Spoon for Gax5 is just doing themselves a disservice as this album is a good one.
If you listen to the radio on pretty much any station playing newer rock, you heard “The Underdog” and that’s pretty cool. I’ve heard the song on at least 4 very different radio stations and that kind of crossover appeal for a smaller band is impressive. But there’s also tons of great songs on this album and I think I’m going to go listen to it right now!
4. Josh Ritter-The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter is a bad ass. Unlike Ted Leo, he’s only amassed a teeny bit of indie buzz but the guy is one of the best singer songwriters out there…and that’s saying a lot. His last album “Animal Years” is also great, but for me it kind of tailed off about midway through. But this album, “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” has held my attention throughout nearly every listen.
This album is also much “bigger” than his other one (actually, he has several but the other one I own) and features all kinds of cool arrangements and instrumentation. But Ritter has an elegance about him and through all the new sounds on here, his songwriting is still clear…and awesome.
5. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- Living with the Living
I had been hearing about these punk oriented rockers for years but I always feel like a big ole poser when I jump on a bands buzz laden bandwagon. But when a few different people started raving about “Living with the Living” I checked it out and fell in love.
Fairly simple guitar riffs and cool lyrics had me listening all summer and the album was one of those ones you always find yourself looking for in your car. While driving. And text messaging. Kidding.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Hardly Strictly my last weekend...
Since I've been lazily uploading (hillarious) YouTube clips instead of "actually" blogging, I thought I'd throw you a bone and go over my last weekend! Yayyyy! Lets see...
I haven't really posted much about this but my wife is majorly pregnant. Yeah, thanks. She's due the 9th which, yes, is tomorrow. I'm somewhere between excited, terrified and just ready for this kid to be here. I've recently realized I can't really put things that are about to happen or "might" happen into real feelings. I used to worry about every single minute detail of everything before it happened. So much so I'd either end up a nervous wreck or have no feelings whatsoever when the thing DID happen because I kind of lived through it already. So now I just take things as they come. By now you're asking what this has to do with my weekend. Well, I'll tell you.
Since I have no idea how I'll feel when my child arrives, I'm trying to go do cool stuff now. For instance a few weeks ago Will Kimborugh was playing on a Thursday night in Sacramento. I love Will Kimbrough but by Thursdays, I've been driving to school/work and home three times over. Driving two hours to Sac was not appealing. But, I've never seen an entire Will Kimbrough show and when the baby comes, I may want to sit home and make goo-goo eyes until it's time for her to go to bed. So, I went. And I was sooo glad I did. It was an amazing, uplifting and fun show.
So this weekend the baby could be here but Jeff Tweedy was playing the Friday night slot at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. It was a calculated risk to go, but again, I figured it's not that far, the baby isn't here...it's Jeff Tweedy...etc. So I went. I called my friend Brook and picked her up around noon and off we went. We got there way early. So early in fact, we drove right up to one of the stages. It was weird. Like...we were in the wrong spot. But no one said anything so we walked down and grabbed a spot about 100 yards from the stage. Some Australian band was on first then the amazing Buddy Miller. Both were very good and it was a perfect day in SF.
T-Bone Burnett and Friends had been scheduled to play but until midweek last week, no one knew who his "friends" were. I was thinking they could be Robert Plant and Allison Krauss since T-Bone produced their new album (which is amazing, by the way) but it was soon announced his friend were Doyle Bramhall II, Neko Case and...John Mellencamp. That made the yuppie factor jump to 100 for people at that show. Ugh. They hit the stage and it was o.k. at best. It was totally unrehearsed which wasn't bad when the band was doing blues and rock standards. Bramhall and Case were awesome and then out came little Johnny Cougar. I love Mellencamp, don't get me wrong...but he didn't seem to fit here. They played some new song he and T-Bone wrote about the Jena 6 and then something else and then "Pink Houses." The bass player was totally lost on "Pink Houses" and it really made for a weird sounding song. It was all just o.k...not bad, not great. Then came my hero, Jeff Tweedy.
I felt bad for Jeff because a bunch of people split before he went on. I was glad they did because we got closer and really, when there's 20,000 people or more, losing a few thousand doesn't make much of a difference. It was also odd because T-Bone had like, 12 people onstage then Jeff was up there all alone. But he played for TWO HOURS! My friend Cori came too and she likes Wilco but had never seen them or Jeff solo so that was cool to see her see Tweedy solo. And he played a little bit of everything. Uncle Tupelo, Woody Guthrie, old Wilco, new Wilco. It was an awesome show and I'm so glad I went. I may not feel like doing stuff like that any more or I may be too tired. But rather than dwell on what may or may not happen, I'm content knowing that my last concert as a non-parent was my favorite artist on an awesome day.
I also haven't been drinking the last three weeks which is weird. Well, I take that back. Weekend before last my inlaws were here so I got a 6 pack and a 22 oz beer which I drank. The next day...ugh. I have never had a worse hangover. It was really weird. I had a headache that wouldn't quit even after I ate and drank a ton of water. Not cool. Lesson learned.
So Saturday I went to a nice funeral for my friends dad who passed. It was nice to be there and my friend couldn't make it so I'm glad me and my sister and our friend Nate could be there for him. Saturday night I met with our editor who is doing a GREAT job on our new doc. Then I had 2 pints at Russian River and met the nearest living relative of General Custer: Ken Custer. We had a nice talk about Westerns since I've been watching pretty much only Westerns in a class. I don't know why I constantly meet the strangest people whereever I go. Maybe it's because I'm strange and we are all attracted to one another? Maybe it's because I notice interesting people and I'm not afraid to talk to them. I dunno...but I met Ken Custer and he's a cool guy. After my two pints I hightailed it home to watch Seth Rogen and Spoon on Saturday night Live and it was a great episode...for once.
Sunday I saw THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD and it was out-frigging-standing. One of the best of the year. I'll write more on it later but I really want to see it again and it's a long, slowish movie. Now, it's off to work and to await "the phone call" which can come at any moment.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
New Wilco
The new Wilco came out this past Tuesday and it's really great. Yeah, of course I think it's great, they're my favorite band. But...this one is just a nice, mellow...almost introspective album. There's hardly any "noise" and no experimentation as there has been on most of their last 5-6 albums. I've been telling people "it's the perfect springtime album" and I totally believe that. My favorite song on the album is "I Hate it Here" (no, I'm not being drab...the song's not what you might think) but I also love "What Light." Here's the lyrics...they're incredible:
If you feel like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along
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 (one light)
There's a light (white light)
Inside of you
If you think you might need somebody
To pick you up when you drag
Don't loose sight of yourself
Don't let anyone change your bag
And if the whole world's singing your songs
And all of your 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
Because there's a light (what light)
There's a light (one light)
There's a light (white light)..................
and so forth.
Go buy SKY BLUE SKY today! It'll make you feel good inside!
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