Jesus, Etc.
March 3, 2009, 12:20 am
Filed under:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
America,
Blog,
Connect,
David Letterman,
Jeff Tweedy,
Jesus Etc.,
Kicking Television,
Morrissey,
Music,
Nels Cline,
Rock,
Ryan Adams,
The Smiths,
Violin,
Wilco,
Wordpress,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,
YouTubeI can remember the first time I listened to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot back when I was in high school. I came home, listened to it straight through, and immediately went online to look for live clips of the songs. The first one I searched for was “Jesus, Etc.” I found a really great version from an appearance the band made on Letterman, and then there were the billion other recordings people had done. Tweedy solo performances… Crappy quality audience shots… And then there was the violin-less version that the most recent incarnation of Wilco has been playing. The slide guitar in the intro doesn’t have the same effect on me as the violin, but I understand that they can’t reproduce everything just like they recorded it.
I’m not really sure why this seems to be the quintessential Wilco song to so many people. I can’t deny that it’s great, but I find it a bit odd that so many people connect with it. Why not “Ashes of American Flags” or “War on War?” I think the answer all lies in how the song is presented. All of those feelings people were experiencing in early 21st century America were in this recording. Sadness… Fear… Uncertainty… This song did what The Smiths did back in the 1980s: it reached out to this group of people who felt disconnected and resonated more than anything else had.
This symbol of strength that so many people turn to (Jesus) has to be comforted by the narrator because things are so bad. He’s talking to Jesus like they’re just a couple of guys hanging out. A couple of very thoughtful/emotional guys, but you get what I mean… The narrator manages to have just a little bit of optimism, however. Notice how the lyrics change from “each one is a setting sun” to “each one is a burning sun” in the last verse.
Well, that does it for the blog. I’ve had a really great time, and if there are any b-side/outtake requests, I’d be glad to take them on. I’ll probably post on here now and again, but you can find me over at www.starlitediner.wordpress.com posting about Ryan Adams from now on.
Thanks for reading,
Bryn
Ashes of American Flags
February 20, 2009, 11:25 pm
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
2002,
2009,
America,
Ashes of American Flags,
ATM,
Cash Machine,
DVD,
Live,
United States,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel FoxtrotThe first time I listened to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I thought it was just a good album. That is, until I reached “Ashes of American Flags.” It’s one of the most poetic, haunting songs I’ve ever heard, and is a startlingly accurate depiction of American life in the 21st century. The character is hollow and unhappy with himself, but he goes through his life just like everyone else, hitting up the ATM to get some cash to buy some smokes and soda. We do a pretty good job of hiding our discontent, but while it may keep us from bringing others down, it isn’t healthy.
The narrator of the song is irritable (“I wonder why we listen to poets when nobody gives a fuck”) and fearful (“Speaking of tomorrow/How will it ever come?”), but doesn’t see anything about his life that is out of the ordinary. He wants all of the same things happy people want, but for different reasons. (“Fresh wind and bright sky/To enjoy my suffering”) There isn’t anything that’s going to make him happy, but it would just make his suffering (life) a little bit more enjoyable.
And then there’s that final verse:
I would like to salute
the ashes of American flags
and all the fallen leaves
filling up shopping bags
Easily the most moving four lines I’ve ever heard…
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
February 3, 2009, 11:13 pm
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
2002,
9/11,
Alcohol,
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,
Kid A,
Radiohead,
Record Store,
Relationship,
September 11,
Story,
W,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,
YHFI used to work at a record store, and one day an acquaintance of mine (at the time… She later became a friend) came in to buy a few albums. Being the typical snobby record store clerk, I decided to flip through her purchases for the day, only to come across Radiohead’s Kid A. I explained that I’m a big fan of Radiohead up until that album (I think The Bends was their best), and suggested she take a look at something else. She was a bit taken aback, and commented on how she had heard there were a lot of 9/11 references (even though the album came out way before) and that it had a lot of stuff going on at the same time. I walked her over to the “W” section and picked up a copy of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, handing it to her as I said she would be better off buying it.
She told me later that it was some of the best advice she had ever been given. She went out shortly after and bought Summerteeth and Being There, and told me that she cried at the end of the album’s opener, today’s track: “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.”
This song practically reeks of alcohol. There’s a seasick haze that hangs over the music and mumbled lyrics, which contain references to being an “American aquarium drinker” and “disposable Dixie cup drinker.” (Not to mention “You were so right when you said I’d been drinking.”) I think the narrator of the song is, to put it simply, a sad drunk. He’s looking back at a relationship from the end to the beginning. It’s really odd that he looks at it all backwards, but it’s pretty obvious. The first verse has the line “What was I thinking when I let go of you?” and slowly works it way to “What was I thinking when we said ‘hello’?” It takes you from the collapse of the relationship all the way to the first time they met, before he admits…
“I am trying to break your heart/Still, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t easy/I am trying to break your heart.”
It’s such a great line/title. It manages to say something that a lot of people do, but no one admits to. The narrator is vengeful, bitter, lonely, angry with himself, and impressively honest. What a song…
Kamera
January 20, 2009, 11:56 pm
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
Alternative,
Bryn,
First Song,
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,
Kamera,
Live,
Middle School,
More Like The Moon,
Rock,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot“Kamera” was the first Wilco song I truly listened to. I was in middle school and had been hearing all of this hype about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I didn’t know what it would sound like, because most of the reviews couldn’t put their finger on it. All I knew was that Wilco was an alternative rock band, which meant the possibilities were endless. I don’t remember what the website was, but they had the song streaming as a preview of the album. While I definitely liked the song, I’ll admit that it took me a few years before I actually GOT Wilco. Still, I wonder what I would be listening to if I hadn’t given that preview a shot…
For the longest time, I really preferred the version included on I Am Trying To Break Your Heart and More Like The Moon. Now that I really think about the song, the quieter version works much better. The lyrics are wandering and fearful, with wide open music structured around a rigid drum part. I feel like “Kamera” is actually the quintessential Yankee Hotel Foxtrot song for me. It captures the concerns and fears that a lot of people had entering the new decade/century/millenium/whatever/etc. really, really well.
Reservations
January 13, 2009, 9:15 am
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Bob Dylan's 49th Beard,
Cellist,
Cello,
Eggbeaters,
Guitar Piano,
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,
Jay Bennett,
Jeff Tweedy,
Poor Places,
Reservations,
simple,
Studio,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel FoxtrotI’ve always really enjoyed “Reservations” as a song. The recording, however, keeps me ending Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after “Poor Places.” If you watch I Am Trying To break Your Heart, there’s a scene where they’re working on the cello part in the studio. Jeff is standing next to cellist, nylon-string in hand, playing the song while Jay is at a piano in the corner plinking around. I feel like the simple arrangement would have made a much better final recorded version, rather than having all of their studio tricks playing in the background. Also, the fact that the song carries on for about four minutes longer than it should takes it down a few notches in my book.
I guess I just see the song as simple. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is so full of feedback, synths, random percussion, and eggbeaters, it seems like it would have been even more moving to end it with something simple. I feel like that would allow the listener to come back down after the madness that is the end of “Poor Places.” I always thought the song would have sounded great in a “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” way: like a folk song. Jay Bennett actually said that, when you strip away all of the atmosphere they add, you have simple folk songs. Maybe that’s what Wilco should have done on this one…
But, once again, I do like the song and its lyrics. I just feel like the band didn’t let the song reach its potential as a recording…
Pot Kettle Black
December 31, 2008, 6:39 pm
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
Criticism,
Favorite,
Guitar,
In Between Days,
Jay Bennett,
Lollapalooza,
Pot Calling The Kettle Black,
Pot Kettle Black,
Similarities,
The Cure,
Video,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel FoxtrotI’ve been waiting a long time to do this one! There are so many different parts I could rant about… There are the whines of feedback in the background, Jay Bennett’s B-Bender guitar, the hushed vocals, and all of the other things that are happening in this poppy-yet-dramatic number. I guess I’ll start with something I discovered the other day…
The guitar intro sounds just like “In Between Days” by The Cure. I’m not a big fan of theirs, but I had heard from a friend that the songs were pretty similar, so I gave it a listen. I was expecting some little riff that would sound the same, but when I found out that the parts were almost identical, I was stunned. Of course, this was probably (or at least hopefully) unintentional, but not even that coincidence could make me love this song any less.
When you look at the lyrics, there’s a lot of emotion in them. That’s what makes the quiet vocals so powerful The narrator is being very critical and condescending to someone. The line “It’s become so obvious/That you are so oblivious to yourself” is a major insult to throw at someone. What’s interesting is that the narrator realizes that he isn’t perfect. “You’re tied in a knot/But I’m not/Gonna get caught/Calling the pot/Kettle black” references the saying “pot calling the kettle black” which is a statement about hypocrisy. The pot and the kettle are both black, so for the pot to reprimand the kettle for its color makes no sense.
The flaws in the narrator are pretty heavy. The first pre-chorus says it all: “I, myself, have found/A real rival in myself.” I think this explains the rest of the song pretty well: he is his own critic. He shouldn’t be spending all of this time criticizing himself when there’s no need for it. Especially when, in theory, he has no room to talk!
Enjoy!
The Cure-”In Between Days” (:16 in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssiga9gs7dQ
Wilco-”Pot Kettle Black” live at Lollapalooza 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaJboetHAq4
Radio Cure
December 24, 2008, 9:32 am
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2002,
Alternative,
Art,
Depression,
Experimental,
Interpretation,
Jeff Tweedy,
Radio Cure,
Rock,
There Is Something Wrong With Me,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel FoxtrotBefore I get started, let me say this is my least favorite Wilco song. I think Yankee Hotel Foxtrot definitely could have done without it and that “Cars Can’t Escape” would have been a much better choice for the final tracklisting. However, I’m writing about every Wilco song, not just the ones I like; so here goes nothing…
I feel like this is an attempt by someone with depression or some other condition trying to explain it to their child. The child is upset, and the narrator is trying to cheer them up while explaining why he isn’t happy. He has to put it in words they would understand, so he just says something’s wrong with him. When he starts to go in-depth, however, he starts to get a lot more creative with his words. He describes his feelings of hopelessness as clouds of fog while his shoulders are “shrugging off.” His feelings of irritability (and possibly migraines) are described as “electronic surgical wounds.”
The “chorus” (I guess that’s what you’d call this part…) has one of the most hollow lines in the whole song: “Oh, distance has no way/Of making love understandable.” Because this person is away from home for long periods of time (touring?), it confuses the child he’s talking to. All they understand is that he isn’t there, which means a lot to a child. When he isn’t around, they don’t understand how he (the narrator) can still love them, even though he tries to explain…
Tomorrow’s post is going to be a song that isn’t quite as heavy…
Heavy Metal Drummer
December 20, 2008, 4:47 pm
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
2002,
2008,
Heavy Metal,
Heavy Metal Drummer,
Jeff Tweedy,
Jeff Tweedy Solo,
Kids,
Kidz Stage,
Laclede's Landing,
Lollapalooza,
Lollapalooza 2008,
She Fell In Love With Another,
St. Louis,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,
YHFIf there’s one thing that can really get on my nerves, it’s when people write songs about looking back at the “good ol’ days.” How many modern country songs are there where it’s some guy singing about how much he loved being in high school? Most of the time these songs fall flat on their faces. Sure, when it’s released by someone like Kenny Chesney it could move a few million copies, but that doesn’t necessarily make it good.
Not surprisingly, Wilco was able to make this song work. In their defense, however, this song isn’t looking back too fondly. When you take the time to think about it, “Heavy Metal Drummer” is a bit of a sad song. The narrator is now an adult who is remembering the days he used to spend hanging out in clubs in St. Louis listening to hair metal bands. The line “I sincerely miss those heavy metal bands/We used to go see on The Landing in the summer” is a reference to Laclede’s Landing, a neighborhood in St. Louis that has bars and clubs aplenty. (And a Spaghetti Factory restaurant)
There are a few other references in the song that are easy to pick up once you actually think about them. I mean, I challenge anyone to convince me the “warm liquid, flowing, blowing glass” line isn’t about hitting a bong. After all, he misses “playing Kiss covers/beautiful and stoned.” (During his solo set on the Kidz Stage at Lollapalooza 2008, Jeff changed the line to “beautiful and unknown” to keep from corrupting the younger members of the audience)
The whole story about his girlfriend falling in love with the drummer is just one of those classic stories. Personally, I’m glad they left out the verse they add during live shows. While it’s fun, I think it takes away from the song when you’re listening to it on the album. It’s mainly about the loss of innocence, not the loss of the girlfriend. However, it’s entirely possible that they’re related… (or the same thing)
Heavy Metal Drummer from I Am Trying To Break Your Heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f4s427bx7c
Poor Places
December 12, 2008, 2:24 pm
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
Folk,
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,
Jay Bennett,
military,
Poor Places,
War,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,
YHF“Poor Places” is quite possibly my favorite song on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It’s relatively simple, but still manages to have the fearful atmosphere that is characteristic of the album. One thing I’ve found interesting is the way the song evolved from its earlier incarnation. If you watch I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, you’ll hear that the band removed a line following each thought throughout the song. This takes away from the original subject of the song, making it much more mysterious and open for interpretation. (The original opening line was “It’s my father’s voice trailing off/Sailors sailing off in the morning/To fight the war”)
I think the song is all about priorities. There are a lot of things in this world that you can worry about, and you’re the one who chooses what those things are. Your favorite singer: he’s a drunk and he steals his lyrics from books… Which is worse? How important is it to you that you have your air conditioned room at the top of the stairs? When I see/hear the line “Sailors sailing off in the morning/For the air conditioned room at the top of the stairs”, I think it’s about using military force to keep our conveniences. So this brings up another question of priorities: human lives v. comfort?
But then the narrator just puts it all out on the table: “It makes no difference to me/Why they cried all over overseas/It’s hot in the poor places tonight/I’m not going outside.” He doesn’t really care about the human cost… It’s not his problem if things aren’t right overseas, it’s not like he plans on going over there. As long as he has what he wants, he’s fine with anything.
War On War
December 5, 2008, 5:04 pm
Filed under:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Tags:
Be My Demon,
David Letterman,
Death,
Folk,
Glenn Kotche,
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,
Jay Bennett,
Jeff Tweedy,
Late Show,
Learn How To Die,
Nels Cline,
Panic,
Sunken Treasure,
War on War,
Wilco,
Yankee Hotel FoxtrotIn “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”, there’s one part where Jay Bennett talks about how, until you put all of the noise/reverb/atmosphere on a recording, they’re just simple folk songs. I think the best example of that is “War on War.” If you’ve seen Jeff Tweedy’s “Sunken Treasure” DVD, there’s a performance of it with Glenn Kotche on drums and Nels Cline on dobro. Really, you don’t get much folkier than that… Nels’ parts don’t sound at all out of place, and doesn’t affect the performance of the song much at all.
They did a killer job with the recording on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, however. It starts off with a loose acoustic guitar rhythm before drums and a light synth backing starts. Suddenly, Jay Bennett’s rough MicroKorg squawks kick in before the piano melody leads the song to its first verse. This song does a lot with only a few lyrics. The first verse is “It’s a war on war” repeated a fistful of times, the second verse’s lyrics have more variety. The first line is repeated, followed by “You are not my typewriter/But you could be my demon/Moving forward through flaming doors.” I honestly can’t crack that one open. It’s like an early 1980s Michael Stipe lyric, where you can try as hard as you can to understand it, but you won’t get anywhere.
The highlight of this song for me would have to be the lyrics in the choruses. “You’re gonna lose/You have to lose/You have to learn how to die”, in particular… In this war, which do you have to learn first? Obviously, if you die in a war, you lose. So do you learn how to die before you can lose, or is the other way around? Really, it’s just a morbid version of “which came first: chicken or the egg?”… The second chorus puts a bit of a twist on it, though, by changing it to: “You have to lose/You have to learn to die/If you want to want to be alive/Okay?” That’s when those MicroKorg squawks jump in, followed by a repeat of the second verse.
Then the chorus changes again: “You have to die/You have to die/You have to learn how to die/If you want to want to be alive/Okay?” These lyrics are pretty scary ones. To survive in a war, you have to be able to kill your enemy. So you need to know how a life ends in order to protect your own. But they add the extra “want to” in the line, which changes things up a bit. I think what it means is if you want to have the desire to live after the war, you’ll have to die. Maybe living with what you’ve done would be too traumatic, meaning the only way you’ll actually want life is if you die… The final “Okay?” is almost startling, after such a serious declaration.
The song ends with the poppy piano melody over more MicroKorg and some added percussion, combining a very happy sounding instrumental part with noise and panic. The startling contrast makes “War on War” seem like one of the noise songs on the album, when really it’s one of the most tame.
“War on War” Live on the Late Show with David Letterman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j2ykHinIPg&feature=related
