half of it's you, half is me
The first 2.7 months of 2005, I listened to Wilco's A Ghost Is Born and almost nothing else (I have an annoyed little sister who'll back me up on this). I'd listened to it once when it came out in 2004 and then put it away, unimpressed. Then an NPR reviewer called it his Album of the Year, and I gave it another listen, and another, and another, and another. It became my favorite Wilco album, and then it became pure comfort as I went through a horrendous breakup. Not that any of the songs were exactly relevant, but the music somehow just felt good; it held the same security for me as really good mac'n'cheese or Presidente beer or the Millennium Force or the blanket I or my parents conveniently "lost" when I was 4. Most-comforting/played song: "Muzzle of Bees".
But that's a 2004 release and here it is February 2006 and I'm supposed to be talking about 2005 releases (or what I have been led to believe are 2005 releases), so I'll stop going on about A Ghost is Born, and go on about this instead:
Wilco Kicking Television: Live in Chicago.
It's a great live record. Period. And I've become a gi-normous Wilco fan somehow (much to the previously-alluded-to annoyance of my siblings). That being said, I'm not sure I've heard the whole thing more than a few times. Doesn't matter, though, because it's my theory that the raison d'etre of this record is the very first track, "Misunderstood", which seems meant to settle the question, at least for a little while, of who the best live act is these days. Favorite moment: right around the five-minute mark, when the crowd figures out what's happening and goes crazy.
In other news: Saint Etienne has a new record. At first glance, it's their best since Good Humor.
In other other news: I saw Terrence Malick's The New World today. It's an astonishingly beautiful film; nobody else makes movies like that. If you still have the chance to catch it on the big screen, I highly recommend it.
posted by Hans at 02:34
3 Comments:
On the Wilco Live in Chicago album: holy crap, I love this album too - it's such a great, clean recording, and totally catches the essence of them live. Cory and I saw them in Memphis last year, with some dudes behind us screaming every single lyric in our ears (there were actually lots of dudes doing this, and it was really annoying), which pretty much soured the show for me (even though I still thought they were pretty amazing), so it was really nice to get this album and hear essentially the same set they played - sans the annoying drunk frat dudes singing every lyric. Actually, because of drunk frat guys, I passed on trying to get tickets to see them at the Ryman in March because I sort of thought it would be the same deal - I'm kind of regretting it now, but when I do, I just need to put in that album and all is good (plus the memory of seeing them play a fantastic show in Lexington - without the drunk frat guys since it was at a stuffy, but acoustically awesome, auditorium on campus).
On New World: I saw this a few weeks ago, and I was pretty blown away by the beauty of it. Agreed about seeing it on the big screen - it just will not compare at home -even if you have the fattest setup of all time (though, that wouldn't hurt). I heard alot of criticism that "it drags" or "it's boring" or "there's not enough dialogue" or "the characters don't get developed" (that was a little David Brent wasn't it?), and to me that all misses the point - you're supposed to lose yourself in it and I think be as confused as the characters were when they met each other or had to deal with this completely foreign wilderness. Fantastic film.
21 February 2006 at 19:18:00 GMT-5
Well said. I don't think the film drags at all, it's just not paced the way most hollywood movies are. Malick actually cut 15-20 minutes out of what he originally presented to the studio, feeling that the flow of the film would be improved without the extra footage. That's pretty much unheard of in Hollywood (or New Zealand or King Kong Island or wherever); usually the director is fighting with the studio to add footage, not take it away. It makes me respect Malick's artistry all the more. I kind of wish he would make movies more often, but if his infrequency ensures them being that good, then okay.
21 February 2006 at 20:27:00 GMT-5
The only Malick film I've ever seen was "The Thin Red Line" and while I can't say I loved it, it did leave a pretty big impression. Especially since I saw it on the ginormous screen at the Uptown. I get the sense that Malick is more intereted in setting a tone than telling a story. Which makes his decision to make a movie about a story that is so woven into the fabric of american experience pretty intriguing. Alas, it stars Irish Bad Boy Colin Farrell (tm)...so I dunno what to make of it. But your recommendations tip the scale for me.
As for the Wilco, I once read a review of a Teenage Fanclub that likened them to your favorite pair of jeans. I think that applies to Wilco even better.
22 February 2006 at 10:48:00 GMT-5
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