farrar and tweedy

gb68
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get back to where you once belonged

Post by gb68 »

As for the High School thing, all those guys that are local are still in contact.


That's cool. I'm glad to hear it. When I talked about growing annoyed at repeated requests to "get back" with your high school buddies, I meant as a band and business venture, as opposed to friendly social contact. Remaining in touch with your old friends from high school is all right, but does anyone really want to make a career out of it?

Friendly social contact is good, and should be encouraged. Working together, making the inevitable business decisions together and being around each other all the time because you have contractual obligations (to record, play shows, do interviews, etc.) changes the nature of any relationship, and is often fraught with difficulty. It can quickly put strains on even the best of friendships.

If I were in the shoes of either Jay or Jeff, I might grow tired of putting out the best music I can as a mature adult only to have to repeatedly answer questions that basically amount to, "when are you gonna go back and do what you did when you were 17?"

I'm glad they can get along, though. It's a mark of maturity that they can look beyond any past disagreements.

twitcher73
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Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:08 am

Post by twitcher73 »

Godsownsinger wrote:Its kinda strange to me that I had never heard Wilco, UT,or Sonvolt untill a couple of years ago. Ive always been pretty aware of alot of music going on, but these bands flew outside of my radar.

One thing I try to be careful with these days is trying to fit my musical tastes into one neat category, when I was younger I would only listen to "punk" even though I secretly like alot of other stuff, I guess I thought I needed to do that to be cool (like I said I was young!) but screw that !
GOOD MUSIC IS GOOD MUSIC, screw the lables, some of the so called "alt country" sucks. That is one reason I dig this board, we talk about ALL kinds of GOOD music.
I have often wondered why I missed UT back in the day as well... I thought I was very knowledgable of most indie-rock / post punk stuff that was out there in the early 90s.
I remember I really liked this band called Clockhammer and I wrote to them to see if I could get them to play in my town if they decided to tour. A few months later I got a letter from the bass player who said that the band had broken up. The drummer, Ken, was playing in a band called Uncle Tupelo, and I should check them out.

And yet somehow, I never did check them out. I meant to. I had no idea what they sounded like, so I never took the plunge. 12 years later I wish I had...

calexico
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Location: Terrigen Mists

Post by calexico »

Godsownsinger wrote: Neil Young (my all time fave)
You like Neil Young?

And here's me thinking it was a good looking shot of Charlie Manson in that avatar! :wink:

mister spills
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Post by mister spills »

I really like to read, and yet I skipped every post on this thread.

Godsownsinger
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Location: COULD BE TENNESSEE OR TEXAS

Post by Godsownsinger »

Its kinda strange to me that I had never heard Wilco, UT,or Sonvolt untill a couple of years ago. Ive always been pretty aware of alot of music going on, but these bands flew outside of my radar.
What first got me interested was I kept seeing at places like Amazon that UT was similar to Neil Young (my all time fave), and what really got me was hearing a track off of Terroir Blues on the americana station on my cable. Around that same time a friend turned me on to Tear Stained Eye, then I slowly bought all the CDs, and went to see Jay w/Canyon and started posting on this cool board.
One thing I try to be careful with these days is trying to fit my musical tastes into one neat category, when I was younger I would only listen to "punk" even though I secretly like alot of other stuff, I guess I thought I needed to do that to be cool (like I said I was young!) but screw that !
GOOD MUSIC IS GOOD MUSIC, screw the lables, some of the so called "alt country" sucks. That is one reason I dig this board, we talk about ALL kinds of GOOD music.

Sticky
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Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2003 3:12 pm
Location: Austin

Post by Sticky »

sand dusky wrote: my point is that no-one I know who was there at the beginning, has stopped following either artist. It just becomes another musical family tree to follow.
I was there before the beginning and can honestly say I've never bought a Wilco album. I have most of them that I received as gifts from family members though. I pay attention to Jeff's career, but don't listen to his records. I have a few DVDs and live shows that I recently starting listening to and enjoy.

As for the High School thing, all those guys that are local are still in contact. Jeff's out of the loop, having lived in Chitown for so long, but most of the others all have families with kids about the same age. When they have a kids' party, they all get invited. Jay's on the road so much, he doesn't make many, but last fall, when one of Chuck's had a birthday, they were all at Chuck E. Cheese. My cousin's coming into town this weekend and having a party. The guestlist? The usual suspects: Jay, Mike, Chuck, Kong, etc. Belleville's a pretty strong bond. My best friends are still my HS friends too.

cheers

the art guy
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Location: my own little blue state

Post by the art guy »

I appreciate the comment about not taking sides. I'm not a newbie at all, having been a fan since the Tupelo days, but I have followed both guys through everything they've done since. Sure, a Wilco show these days is a different experience than a JF or SV show, but they're both (about equally) interesting to me.

If you're in LaCrosse, what were you doing at that Vaudeville Mews show in DM last year? (cool little club for Des Moines, by the way)

HighPlainsDrifter
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Post by HighPlainsDrifter »

Some of the roots of my interest in alt-country and related genres were planted early, esp. with stuff like Springsteen, Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, etc., but my real intro to the genre (whatever it is) came when a friend lent me the UT anthology and Wilco's YHF. I then worked backward with both bands, buying up the UT reissues (Anodyne, March 16-20, No Depression, and Still Feel Gone, in that order), and Wilco's stuff (AM and Being There, then Summerteeth). I only got into Son Volt a little later, having picked up Trace toward the end of the summer ('03; yeah I'm a n00b) in which I heavily got into this kind of music. It didn't become a favorite for several months. Then I got the rest of SV's stuff and only snapped up all of Jay's solo work after I saw him do a solo show in Des Moines last June. It should have occurred after seeing him on the Canyon tour in September the previous fall, but not yet being 21, we couldn't see it.

Now I like Jay and Jeff's post-Tupelo work about equally, and being a late-comer it's natural not to have 'taken sides,' but I find myself listening to Jay's music more. Wilco is top-quality and I'll buy anything Jeff puts out, but Jay's lyrics and music just speak to me a little more...

sand dusky
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Location: London

Post by sand dusky »

calexico wrote:They are so far apart musically now that surely they don't even come into the rivals stakes do they?
I think even though Jeffs path has been less Alt. Country than Jays, I can't help thinking that roots are roots and you can never really forget them. I do wonder if Jeff ever picks up a Mandolin, Banjo or Harmonica these days, but Mermaid Ave. still suggests that it's all just below the skin and that sound could resurface at any time.

sand dusky
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Post by sand dusky »

Lawrence Fan wrote:I've always wondered about the roads people take to get to these two artists. I would guess that JF has a lot more fans, percentage-wise, that were UT fans back in the day (like me), than Wilco does.
most of the people i know that started as U.T fans have an equal amount of time for both Artists. Personally I think Jay is stronger Lyrically and Jeff does melodies better. I like Jeffs vocals slightly more than Jays, yet I find Jeffs "my music is art" stance a little pretencious and annoying. I'm becoming tired of the obligatory 15 mins of white noise on the wilco's albums. But I'm being picky.
my point is that no-one I know who was there at the beginning, has stopped following either artist. It just becomes another musical family tree to follow.

twitcher73
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Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:08 am

Post by twitcher73 »

Chicago... plllltthhhh...

Too many kids wanting to be like Tim Kinsella... :wink:

Frisky77
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Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2004 9:59 pm

Post by Frisky77 »

Back to the original question on this topic; I saw Tweedy at a SV show in Chicago. Boy its been some years now but I want to say maybe '98 or so...after Straightaways but before WST.

It was one of those Chicago places with the balconies on either side of the stage...Vic or Riv probably. Jeff was up on one watching the show. It was unmistakeably him. Made sense since he was living in Chicago by then.

gb68
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Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan

reunion tour

Post by gb68 »

When my kids are ready for college and I need the money. We're just doing one reunion tour, though, not like the Who.

twitcher73
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Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:08 am

Post by twitcher73 »

calexico wrote: AGIB was one of the best albums released last year and the disparate members of the group seem to be growing into an band with each live performance.I look forward with relish to the next album from them with maybe the others contributing even more.
I kind of agree Calexico - I wanted Wilco to fit a certain mold, and with each record I get from them, I realize just how much they don't fit a mold. I'm probably about ready to give AGIB another try now that I realize what they are about...

calexico
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Post by calexico »

So when are you getting back with your high school buddies then? 8)

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