Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
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Free Music Notes for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Free Music Review: Very, very interesting.
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll admit, I bought this album because of the whole deal with the record label dispute. How Reprise Records hated it and refused to release it and, in fact, asked Wilco to pack it up and get off the label, and, of course, Nonesuch Records picking this album up and releasing it to so much critical praise. I just had to hear what was going on. Was it really so bad that Reprise could have passed it up? Or was it really good enough to be drawing all this attention, now? The answer is: yes. Yes to both questions. If you're a record executive doing nothing but pumping new albums by the Back-'SYNC-98°-Britney-Aguilera-EMINEM-Ja-Lo-Staind machine into America's awful excuse for rock radio (operated by the Third-Riech of broadcasting, ClearChannel), then Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is nothing to you but disaster. I mean, for God's sake, who would dare use excessive guitar feed back to mold haunting melodies and vibraphones to gently accent phrases underneath genuine raw emotion in Jeff Tweedy's cracking, passionate voice? Who would dare record songs not written by Diane Warren or that fat guy who runs all the boy bands, but insted, release songs that come through as being written by a band? Each instrument speaking in it's own voice, changing from track to track, being heard like it's never been heard before? The Reprise executives knew they couldn't sell this to 13 year-old girls in pink tank-tops or 15 year-old boys in huge FUBU pants and backwards visors, so they canned it. Thank God for Nonesuch Records, who knew that there are people out there who do still appreciate music. People who will take a chance on something new, something real. So, yes. This album really is so good to deserve the attention. From the opening track, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," a haunting effects-driven track that pulses through it's 6+ minutes without ever latching on to a beat (but still grooving harder than La-Rule ever could), this album gets under your skin. There are the pop songs, of course, but not pop in any sort of TRL way. Tracks like "Heavy Metal Drummer" are pop done right. Simple melodies, but what's interesting, here, is the production. Are the drums live? Are they sampled? Who knows! What the hell was that alarm-clock-acoustic-mandolin-sounding thing? Who knows! But it all sounds great. The Amazon.com Editor said it well. It sounds like some fantastic, weird, late-night radio broadcast from some demented station coming out of (more than likely) London. My favorite track on the album is #5. "Jesus, Etc." I don't know what I could compare the sound of this track to, but it's fantastic. It's a gentle, sort-of lounge act groove, and the lyrics are truly inspired. "You were right about the stars; each one is a setting sun. Tall buildings shake, voices escape, singing sad, sad songs..." How good is that? Absolutly poetic. Perhaps this'll be a wake-up call to major labels. They'll realize bands like Wilco can sell albums, even without massive radio air play. For more music that's as new and different and spectacular as Wilco, try Doves, Super Furry Animals, Spiritualized, Ryan Adams, or Ed Harcourt. (That list could go on quite a while, but I'll stop there.) So, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is as good as they say it is. And as bad as Reprise Records claims, by some standards. I do own "Summerteeth," but I lost it. I definitely think I'll be searching for it, soon.Free Music Review: Fantastic
Hit: 5 Stars
Even though they're very different bands, Wilco has done something The Strokes could not. Wilco made a hyped CD, and has lived up to all the adulation it received. While I am very far from a scholarly music fan (though I often pretend to be one), and thus do not own 200+ CD's and cannot make intellectual insights about music, I still say that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of the best CD's I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.Initially, however, I was not very impressed with YHF. I had been wooed by the catchy, pop-flavors of Summerteeth, and found Yankee Hotel Foxtrot a difficult listen. The tunes didn't possess the instant appeal of Summerteeh songs such as "Shot in the Arm," "Candyfloss," "Summerteeth," or "I'm always in Love." They weren't something I could throw in my CD player and listen to while I made my bed or did the other daily drudgery about my house. The songs from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot required me to sit down and "listen" to the music in order to appreciate their greatness. Of course, initially I was impatient. I felt I didn't have the time to sit at my desk, headphones on, lyric book open, taking in all the sounds and moods of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. However, as time grew on, and the strenuous workload of AP classes was assuaged, I found myself willing and able to sit down and really listen to the music. And as time grew, I realized what a wonderful CD I had in my possession.
The first track, "I am trying to Break Your Heart" is a slow-but-complex song about love, loss, and regret. What makes this track so wonderful are the electronical "pings" and "beeps" that softly float about the song, making us feel that we are right on the street with a drunken Tweedy, "American Aquarium Drinkers" ourselves. The poetic lyrics such as "Disposable Dixie Cup Drinker" and "Bible black pre-dawn" show us that Jeff Tweedy (and Jay Bennett?) are not only effective songwriters, but talented lyricists.
The track, "Radio Cure" is a relatively slow and slightly brooding song, that redeems a relatively mediocre song with an extremely catchy chorus. However, the real tracks await in the later half of the CD.
I am still debating as to whether "Jesus etc." is the best song on the album. If it's not the best, it certainly comes close. The violin effect, Tweedy's pained, cracking voice, and beautiful lyrics come together to form the perfect amalgam needed for a brilliant song. "Heavy Metal Drummer" is a catchy, light tune with a touch of melancholy ("I miss the innocence I've known/ Playing KISS covers, beautiful and stoned...").
The last two tracks of the album make it shine, with the poetic "Poor Places," and the heartbreaking "Reservations." The endings of both songs also are filled with strange sound effects played ever so subtly that one must really keep a keen ear in order to here them (much less make out what they are).
I've gone on long enough. In closing, I would like to say that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is an absolutely brilliant CD that has lived up to it's hype completely, and it's greatness should not be ignored. This CD is a proverbial "diamond in the rough"; a wonderful CD full of great music in a desert of commercialism, mediocre songs, and repetition. I am begging you to buy it. You will be pleasantly surprised.
Free Music Review: A giant leap forward
Hit: 5 Stars
We all know it's a damn great album, and you can read every other review on this site to hear more. Because I want to dedicate this one to opening track "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," the opener and possibly the finest song of the last ten years. We begin with this strange electronic burble which is allowed to hover until the quietly shuffling drums enter. They seem confused and off-kilter, producing a strange loping beat which continues for a moment. But then the guitar enters, building into a forceful strum as a few finely placed bass notes punctuate the reverie. Suddenly, it all comes together. The bass, drums and guitar work to produce a sudden change in key, the effect of which is akin to a rush of blood to the head.
And then comes Tweedy: "I am an American aquarium drinker. I assassin down the avenue." His voice is simultaneously crushed and defiant, its low, melodic mumble conveying an amount of heartbreak which no lyric ever could. The first verse continues and then drops out, as the instrumental backing becomes increasingly powerful. The second verse is driven by a propulsively-strummed, ethereal guitar as Tweedy continues to mumble his muffled sweet nothings.
Suddenly, there comes a simplistic piano riff, a babyish melody working almost solo as most of the other instruments drop out. But they once again build around this odd riff and the next verse shimmers into view. Tweedy's voice is now even more pained and the lyrics compliment this nicely. But its the next verse which really attains musical nirvana, when he murmurs "You're such a quiet...domino, bury me now." He's letting go of his catharsis and starting to accept his defeatism, and the effect is nothing short of gorgeous.
The instruments build again and suddenly all click together in an almost orgasmic burst of sound. But they all fade away for another verse, which seamlessly melts into the first and only chorus of the song. "I am trying to break your heart," Tweedy almost whispers as the simple, beautiful bass line ripples under his voice.
From here, there's almost two minutes of unabated instrumental madness as ringing telephones and assorted other found sounds cascade together, increasingly claustrophobic and terrifying. Suddenly, Tweedy comes once again out of the darkness, hollering an approximation of the first verse an entire octave above what was sang before. His voice is being torn to shreds as he screams these lines, sounding as though near tears. After this short burst, the instrumentation begins to fade. All that's left is his odd yelping of "I'm the man who loves you" before the song dissolves into a series of electronic wheezes.
The effect of this song is nothing short of cosmic and incredibly moving. It's nothing that we've ever heard before and we'll be lucky if we ever hear it again. Its build from insular sadness to mad release is majestic in nature and stature, and the rest of the album is damn near as good.
Free Music Review: IF YOU THINK THIS ALBUM IS GREAT, SEE THEM LIVE
Hit: 5 Stars
This is an album that takes repeated listens but stays with you much longer than the current Britney Spears/N SYNC/Lindsey Lohan albums.
The album starts with " I am trying to Break your heart", a six minute confession at a bar perhaps? Wilco sounds as if its stumbling drunk and it feels as if the song could fall apart at any second. However, it works because the song is about communication .
Wilco throws in sound effects that are grating and at the same time intriguing. Instruments are thrown in the mix as well as the code Yankee Hotel Foxtrot which is repeated over and over at the end of poor places.
The sonic landscape of YHF is rich and varied and deserves a listen on headphones. For me, this is the best headphone album since Dark Side of the Moon.
"Heavy Metal Drummer" sounds like a pop hit and its a shame that radio (except college radio) ignored it. It speaks to a time when the music mattered and people could "play Kiss records, beautiful and stoned".
"Radio Cure" sounds like a cry for help with static thrown in. A crackle here, Jeff Tweedy's voice sounds distant in a way . As the lyrics "distance has no way to make love understandable".
A lament about long distant relationships? Perhaps.
"I'm the man who loves you" has horns that remind one of the Stax sound of the Memphis Horns of the 1960's. A guitar pulses a morse code rhythm throughout the song and gets louder at the end.
"Ashes of American Flags" has been misunderstood by some as a post 9-11 lament, but the problem of this is that this song was recorded months before the tragedy. However, it's mood does fit in with post 9-11 sentiment. It is the centerpiece of the album.
"Kamera" ," Jesus Etc","poor places",and "pot kettle black" are great songs in their own right. They complement the framework of the album held down by "I am trying to break your heart", "ashes of american flags" and the final song "reservations".
"Reservations" starts as a soft melody and gradually deteriorates into a noise filled coda which lasts for over 5 minutes.
This is the essence of the album. The album may take a few listens but it grabs you and the light comes on and "you get it".
Why it got overlooked at the 2003 Grammy awards is beyond me. Although I think that the academy didn't want to further embarass Warner Brothers by giving an award to a band whose label (Resprise which is owned by WB) refused to release the album citing it as uncommercial.
I saw Wilco live 3 years ago in Detroit and they blew me away. Not only did they play songs from YHF , but the songs came alive and sounded great. They also played 3 oncores. I recommend their new live album Kicking Television for you to hear them live, then check their website and see if they are appearing at a town near you. Hurray, since tickets usually sell out.
Free Music Review: Wierd, different, utterly brilliant and beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
the one thing i can say that sums up the album best, and most accurate is: WOW. wow because it is the farthest cry possible from the days Jeff Tweedy played bass and wrote a minority of the songs for the alt. country outfit with a punk attitude Uncle Tupelo. wow also because this was simply the most stunning album of 2002, and one of the most stunning albums ever. i bought it off of a casual whim. i read the rolling stone magazine's review of the album and it sounded interesting at the time and i thought i might look into it. i had never heard of wilco before, they sounded pretty cool. at the record store a few weeks later i come across the title, and with nothing better to do with my money at the time, bought it. this turned out to be the best "impulse buy" of my whole life. at first i thought that album was pretty good. slowly but surely though, the more i listened to it, the more i realized: "this is probably one of the better albums ive ever heard this year". the unique production is at first confusing and "cluttered" feeling, but then you realize after repeated listens, that it makes the album come alive. the beautiful details are like burried treasure at times such as the lovely chord progression of "radio cures" that is so subtle it sounds like at any second it might blow away. other times, the beauty of the music is layed out bare bones for all to see, such as the albums consummate moment(for me that is): the short guitar and piano break after the final verse in "poor places". absolutely chill-inducing. the lyrics are also incredible in their own right, poetry for the let down soul. each line of each song further cements my opinion that jeff tweedy is the best songwriter today(the one artist i thought gave him a run for his money was elliott smith, may his soul rest in peace.) here is a sample lyric from "im the man who loves you": "all i see is black and white, and white and pink with blades of blue that lay between, the words i think on a page, i was meaning to send to you, i couldnt tell if it would bring my heart, the way i wanted, when i started, writing this letter to you"...amazing stuff. the first time i ever truly realized just how good this album was, is when i sat down with the lyrics, and listened and read along with no interruptions, afterwards i told myself, "this is one of the best albums ive heard...ever." i could not recommend an album more highly than i do this one. if you appreciate great music that defies being put into any genre other than "great music", you will not regret buying this album. a timeless album that easily captured my pick for the best album of 2002. *just a correction to the review "nine inch wilco"; its not the albums closer "reservations" that has the female voice reciting the title, it is the second to last track "poor places".