Idolator: wilco

Looking for another summer festival to hit, ...

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:15:00 EDT

Looking for another summer festival to hit, but not wanting to go much farther than say...Jackson Hole, Wyoming? Well get psyched for the weekend of August 16th, when the Black Crowes, Medeski Martin and Wood, Kaki King, Wilco AND Son Volt entertain folks at the inaugural two-day Jackson Hole Music Festival. Wilco and Son Volt, people. Wilco and Son Volt. I smell the unthinkable. [Jackson Hole Music Festival]

Jingle Writing Goes The "American Idol" Route

Maura Johnston — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:30:00 EDT

CBS has decided to pick up the Mark Burnett game show Jingles, during which contestants will be required to write songs showcasing the various sponsors of the program in a positive light, then have those tunes judged by an "expert panel" and Americans. Winning songs will get used in the featured products' commercials, a fact that should make any indie musician hoping to pay his rent by selling his track to a soap company quiver in his boots. The designed-for-evading-TiVoers show will likely appear on the network's schedule come summertime, and casting is apparently going on right now! Here's a suggestion for CBS: How about cueing up a "marginal indie celebrity" version of the show to bring down your network's average viewing age—perhaps Feist vs. Wilco vs. Stephin Merritt? A preview of that potential throwdown is after the jump.

It's "Jingles" all the way for CBS, Burnett [Reuters]

Oh yeah, with all the They Might Be Giants ...

Jess Harvell — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EDT

Oh yeah, with all the They Might Be Giants videos and rhinestones and my general Dante-from-Clerks attitude this week, I almost forgot to mention that Rage Against The Machine and Wilco have been added to the list of Bands That Might Be Playing Lollapalooza (But Maybe Not). Perez Hilton unavailable for comment at post time. (Give it a couple hours.) [Chicago Sun-Times via Blabbermouth

The New York Times may be a little out of ...

Maura Johnston — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:30:17 EST

The New York Times may be a little out of control blog-wise, but their blog all about migraines (!) has an entry from Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in which he talks about his lifelong problem with the crippling headaches, and how managing his depression and panic disorders helped him become freer from pain than any painkiller would allow him to. And for those of you who are rubberneckers as far as finding out just what personal tragedies inspired some of your favorite albums, Tweedy discusses how some songs on A Ghost Is Born were inspired by the trajectories of his migraines. [Migraine via regard]

Wilco On "SNL": The Role Of Jeff Tweedy Will Be Played By Vincent D'Onofrio

Maura Johnston — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:41:38 EST

While a lot of the scuttlebutt from this weekend's Saturday Night Live will probably be about Hillary Clinton's bright-eyed cameo and Andy Samberg's spot-on Diablo Cody impersonation (complete with Nate Dogg reference!), I thought the most notable part of the episode was the fact that, for the first time in forever, the band actually sounded good. Wilco's two songs were, for the most part, free of the mixing problems and cruddy amplification that have plagued so many other bands playing the Grand Central Station-decorated stage. (But surely I'm not the only one who a) thought Jeff Tweedy looked a lot like the also-cameoing Vincent D'Onofrio and b) got annoyed when the Law & Order "chunk-chunk" was used during D'Onofrio's too-brief appearance, since the spinoff he appears on doesn't use that sound anymore. What, did Jeremy Sisto cancel at the last minute? Hmph.) "Hate It Here" is above; "Walken" is after the jump.

Wilco on SNL 3/1/2008 part 1 [Redlasso via TV Crunch]
Wilco - Walken - LIVE on SNL [YouTube]
Wilco [MySpace]

Tomorrow's New Releases Revealed Today

mjohnston — Mon, 14 May 2007 17:15:34 EDT

Welcome to On The Shelf, Idolator's weekly look at new releases hitting store shelves on Tuesday. Like it or not, the big album coming out tomorrow is Linkin Park's 98% rap-free effort, Minutes to Midnight; after the jump, we give that album a once-over, along with new efforts from Wilco, Megadeth, Gretchen Wilson, and Rufus Wainwright.

Linkin Park, Minutes To Midnight
The artist: Rap-rock stalwarts looking to break free from the first half of the decade ... by looking like the Strokes.
The sound: Less rap, more moaning, same quotient of not-very-good.
The first in line: The few. The proud. The people who still listen to modern rock radio.

Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
The artist: Elder statesmen who still manage to remain scruffy.
The sound: A long, divisive ride back to the early '70s album-rock era.
The first in line: Mailing list subscribers (at least, the band hopes so).

Megadeth, United Abominations
The artist: Premier shredder Dave Mustaine and his latest band of hired hands.
The sound: Heavy riffing and New World Order ranting.
The first in line: Diehard fans hoping for a return to Rust In Peace form (and who almost, almost get it).

Gretchen Wilson, One Of The Boys
The artist: Dirt-kicking lass who wears her redneck-woman status proudly.
The sound: Whiskey-filled, but melancholy—like those 30 minutes between last call and the bar shutting down.
The first in line: Cowgirl tomboys who like to shoot whiskey, pool, and the shit.

Rufus Wainwright, Release The Stars
The artist: Just your everyday gay messiah.
The sound: Pomp-filled pop orchestrated in part by the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant.
The first in line: Drama club kids.

On The CD Front [Pause & Play]

The Last Word: Wilco's "Blue" Monday

Brian Raftery — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:50:01 EDT

Every week, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today's entry is Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, which will be released tomorrow.

- "The production is straightforward, but the song structures aren't; that's where Wilco's idiosyncrasies still hide out. The tunes amble into instrumental interludes that stack riffs into steely patterns or let Wilco's lead guitarist, Nels Cline, slice through the calm surfaces. Wilco's new music is contemplative, stripping away past distractions, but it's far from placid." [NYT]
- "For a band who can credit a hefty part of their charm to always thinking they're weirder than they actually are, stripping away the disconnect between Wilco's earthy adult-alternative center and their more recent ambitious aspirations— whether they're exploring Krautrock, breaking into a Sonic Youth freakout, or sabotaging a song's structure— reveals a fairly traditional band that's emerged from their "weird" phase a markedly less interesting group than they were before they entered it. Perhaps after giving the band-member carousel another spin, Tweedy merely ended up with the wrong personnel to articulate his mood here. If that's the case— as long as his restless habits hold— we may only need to wait one more album for message and messenger to click back into alignment. [5.2]" [Pitchfork]
- "For my money, Wilco has done its greatest work when Tweedy has given voice to his darkest sentiments, as on 'Summerteeth,' or pondered the most frightening and unsettling aspects of these troubled times, as on the last two albums. And that's a voice we need much more than fresh sheets or clean dishes. [Three stars]" [Chicago Sun-Times]

Listening Station: Wilco's "Vine" Intervention

Brian Raftery — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:31:46 EDT

MOTOVRES MUSIC has an MP3 of "One True Vine," the first b-side from Wilco's Sky Blue Sky. Rumors are swirling that the mid-tempo piano number is Jeff Tweedy's ode to Craig Nicholls, and we've confirmed that those rumors were 100 percent made up by us:

~~Wilco - One True Vine~~ [MP3, link expired]

Aggregated Assault: What The Music Blogs Are Posting Right Now

idolguest2 — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:15:51 EDT

-In a couple weeks, we'll all be tired of reading about Mr. Scruffy here and his band (Will-Call, or something like that?). Until then, here's some older stuff, some you may know, some not. [popheadwound]
-A smart look at the decline of the mixtape scene in the post-Juice, post-CD world. On a related note, not one of DJ Gilbert's mixes has ever gotten anyone (including himself) any action. [Adam's World]
-Ever want to rip songs from someone's MySpace page? This might help. Not that we're saying you should do that. [Devlounge]

Wilco Encourages Fans To Get Their Leak On

Brian Raftery — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:20:50 EDT

A few weeks ago, we made the argument that pre-release leaks do more good than harm (our working theory, in summary, is that the benefits of building excitement among fans outweighs the fact that some of them may not buy them album upon its official release). And it looks like Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche agrees with us—sort of.

From an interview with Australia's X-Press Online:

The album streamed on the web. Does it concern you that people will end up with copies of the album months before it is officially released?
Not at all. That is how things are going to be. If people are that excited about it that they are going to get the software, figure out how to record it and trade it amongst themselves then I think that is great, they are enthusiastic about it.

I have said it before, it's absolutely true... I have met countless people at shows who have confessed that they have downloaded our records illegally - or burned copies instead of buying it - and then you see them at a show and they have bought tickets to the show and they are going to buy the older records or t-shirts or whatever. They are supporting the band and for me - and for all of us - it is way more important for the music to be heard than for us to get a little money off of every CD. The reason we make it is for people to enjoy it and for people to relate to it, so that doesn't bother me at all. I think that people who resist that are kidding themselves and that is the way that it is going to be in the future.

It's nice to hear a band embrace the technology and not kick against it or fear it.

It is not even the technology for me. You make music, you want people to hear it, you know? If they can't afford it and want to check it out, I don't care if they buy it or not.

Granted, Wilco is is a thirteen-year-old band with six albums, a documentary and a giant touring fanbase, so it makes sense that Kotche isn't going to sweat it if some kid in Pittsburgh rips a copy of Sky Blue Sky and never winds up paying for it. But at least he recognizes that the main reason people scour torrent sites and ping around YouSendIt files for an advance album is because they actually want to hear the music, not because they want to hustle CDRs down at the Fulton Mall. And even though Sky is pretty much everywhere at this point, we're pretty certain it will have a nice first-week debut. Heck, we might even buy a copy. Well, probably not. But maybe!

WILCO'S GLENN KOTCHE Drummerteeth [X-Press Online]

Leak Of The Day: Wilco Keep Monkeying Around

Brian Raftery — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 10:10:26 EST

It's Wilco week on the Hype Machine and Elbo.ws, what with Sky Blue Sky shining down all over the blogosphere. And as "the snoozer or sleeper?" debate continues, we present another track, the languid "Side With The Seeds":

~~Wilco - Side With The Seeds~~ [MP3, link removed]

Leak Of The Day: Wilco's "Sky" Opens Up Even More

Brian Raftery — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 09:19:53 EST

A handful of tracks from Wilco's upcoming Sky Blue Sky trickled out last week, but now the whole thing is available for those who know where to look. It's a pretty noodly album at times, and on a track like "Impossible Germany," below, Tweedy and Co. are clearly nicking Television:

~~Wilco - Impossible Germany~~ [MP3, link expired]
Wilco [MySpace]

Above The Din: Will Wilco's "Blue Sky" Make Fans See Red?

Brian Raftery — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:35:36 EST

Every few days, new songs by a beloved artist surface on the Internet—and within hours, the Web renders its verdict. Let's see if those leaked cuts from Wilco's Sky Blue Sky are faring:

- "...this is some Randy Newman horse shit. And then you've got the organs in the background that make me cringe because they remind me of Fastball, and the intermittent explosively diarrhetic guitar solos from the guy who looks like David Bowie, and you just know he's playing them with like a shish-kebob skewer and a mannequin leg." [Wolf Notes]
- "Out of the three tracks, 'You Are My Face' is my favorite and I think it gives a good idea of the sound that this record is going to explore. It has that warm folk/country sound that attracted me to Wilco in the first place mixed with some punchy guitar parts thrown in to keep things interesting." [Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good]
- "It's more great countrypolitan rock with searingly emotional lyrics from one of America's best bands." [Prefix]
- "I'm a little worried that I might hear these songs in a couple years on the softrock station my dentist plays." [Idolator commenter rsn]

Leak Of The Day: Wilco Blows The Clouds Away

mjohnston — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 09:38:08 EST

Indietastic has a few advance tracks from Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, which comes out on May 15; the album's the first Wilco record to feature contributions from Nels Cline and Pat Sansone, and we especially like "You Are My Face," which has a well-placed guitar solo around the 1:40 mark:

~~Wilco - Either Way~~ [MP3, link expired]
~~Wilco - You Are My Face~~ [MP3, link expired]
Advance tracks from Sky Blue Sky [Indietastic.net]
Wilco [MySpace]