I have had so many influences in my varied taste of music.
Some came out of rebellion others came as if being reeled back in after a
rebellion. You know your parent’s music is never cool until it is. There are times
where my immediate tastes have been explorations of things I knew and others
still influences I only knew by name. During the latter my growth is musical tastes
would make their greatest strides as I would voraciously and repetitiously
listen to these influences and become fascinated by their stories and how they
evolved musically. I would be remiss to not mention that finding the music of
these influences by the current listening fad broadens my horizons all the
more. It is hard for me to focus deeply into these new musical excusions in a
way that has me emerging as an expert on the lyrics or song names of my at that
time current obsessions but I try. I am
in the midst of one of the largest spurts in my musical expansions. It is
almost like an out of control oil spill engulfing without prejudice everything
it its path. This has helped me evolve to one truth for me. Wilco Is my
favorite band. If Jerry Garcia Came back
I would prefer to see Wilco…
For those who know me I have been a dead head for most of my
life. I love a bunch of Jam bands. I have been a devote of Little Feat, The Allman
Brothers band, King Crimson, Modern Psychedelic, Opera, Classical, Punk , Funk the
list goes on but I feel stronger about Wilco than any other band. There completeness
in musician ship, song writing, production and live performance are unequaled. There is such a balance. They take chances. I
have listened to some much ‘Art House’ music that was nothing but chances poorly
attempted with the expressed purpose to create a fan base that likes the music
for what seems to be intended reason of making them feel superior to others because they ‘Get
it’, even though it is SHIT created by
shit players narcissistically saying ‘like this and you will be cool.’ I want
to be careful to not throw all performance artists and true visionaries into
this category like Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen or Laurie Anderson the list goes
on. What strikes me about Wilco is that they take musical chances not to just
take an obvious chance. They are so well
calculated and executed. It’s not noise here it is an integral message of the
song. It comes off as a psychological sub textual conscience in the form of a backdrop
to the more concrete Lyrical and melodic message. The ebbs and flows of this
orchestration and performance would be akin to a Movie for a blind person, where
the scapes created serve as the auditory color and pictures to the message of a
song or performance. This is done so well on record but is all enveloping live.
It is at times shocking, many times arousing and always strategically place. I can’t
stress any harder that everyone needs to see Wilco Live.
The band is full of virtuosos. I will go on record to state that I believe Jeff Tweedy
is the greatest living American song writer. I would consider Tom Waits a
performance artist so it would be hard to just pin him as a song writer. No
offence meant here Tom. I could wax about
Tweedy but I won’t. He is a very serviceable player and has a great knack at making
space for the band. He is truly inspirational in his deliver as a solo act as
well, but Wilco as the unit it has evolved into today, is like a beautiful handmade
car where all the players, workers, craft the parts that make the whole with mastered
expertise. Each has vital solo work. When brought together as a selfless unit
they create a confluence of sound which is nearing perfection. What can I say
about Glenn
Kotche We are talking about one of the most understated drummers who has mastered
the spaces in between. I have played in bands and all too often the drummer
just doesn’t know when not to play. Glenn is so economical but can be Bonham on
a dime if he needs to be. He is a true percussionist who contributes the
underlying canvas for the band. I couldn’t picture anyone else there. John
Stirratt Goes way beyond being a base player . Completing the sold pocket
is the easy part here. He is a tremendous song writer. Please check out his
solo works with Pat. He brings an improvisation to his playing while holding
down back ground vocals. His stage presence is infectious. Having a Multi instrumentalist
so at home on Keys or Piano like Pat Sansone
enables the band to not only recreate the feel of the recorded song but free’s
the band to broaden the sound scape to the point of a full wave of sound ,
which soaks the listener to the bone. Mikael
Jorgensen on Keyboards contributes so much of the melodic undercurrent
while being so much a part to the wild card aspect of Wilco’s performances.
What is there to say about Nels Cline widely considered by those who matter as one
of the most innovated virtuoso’s on guitar? I wish I could just discuss guitar
pedals with him for a few days. His ability to soak every piece of sound consistently
from all of his percussive guitar accessories is jaw dropping. His control of what is the most complex set up
I have ever seen is mind boggling. I would only wish to be able to constantly recreate
signature sounds which all feel as if they are a happy accident, but after watching
show after show reviles them to be meticulously carved elements, birthed on a
dime and on call. Never monotonous always inventive but like the great modern
Jazz player he is scripted for effect to round out the movie…
I do love all of Wilco’s music but they just keep getting better.
It is so unbelievably rare to find artists who can get past the big success
they have created and still stay vital. Some switch things up just as a Fuck
you to their fans or other s how do it because they don’t want to get penned in
anywhere. But Wilco’s evolution as a unit tells a great musical story. The
current record “The Whole Love” better than most and takes them into the future
un encumbered by what comes before. It is obvious that all the music they have
done is still vital for them. I guess they do play some songs to please the
crowd but I have yet to get the feeling that they would prefer to be doing
anything else. Wilco is a band firmly entrenched in making art for their own
pleasure this ideal salutes a deep appreciation
to their fans, Granted there are always people who want a band to keep churning
out the same stuff as a nostalgia to what completes the box they tend to put
the band in but by and large moving forward most Wilco fans would agree that
the best is yet to come.
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