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Post by riley on Apr 5, 2006 9:04:44 GMT -5
That question helped me get to the root of something I haven't been able to get my head around for a while. It has also prompted me to formulate the first Tool rant I've had since leaving the old boards. Pack a lunch. Apologies in advance.
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Post by riley on Apr 5, 2006 9:05:00 GMT -5
I don't hate Wilco, I'm just sort of bored with them. I love that Tweedy fucked with convention by following Yankee with something far less easier to fathom, and certainly not what was expected. Fact of the matter is though, Ghost didn't work, it wasn't good, and they lost some momentum. All good bands are entitled to mis-step, and all good music fans are entitled to move along until the band proves they've regained their footing.
Wilco take roots and traditional guitar/bass/drum music themes and integrate strangeness and non-traditional elements with clever well crafted songs. To say it's as complex or as ambitious as what Tool comes up with is absurd. Whatever works for you and to each their own and all that of course, but the idea that one is credible and the other novel is ridiculous and based on ill conceived genre perceptions.
If Tool worked more often they might get more praise granted, but there is no band from the States in the last 10-15 years who have created anything as all encompassing, monumental or impressive as Tool. The fact that Wilco fit more nicely into that Springsteen/Dylan-esque comfort zone that Americans prefer serves to widen the divide with how a more progressive band like Tool is shunned. They're an art band. Much like Wilco. Less organic is all.
Why is it easier to lump Tool in with bands they don't have anything in common with than it is to lump Wilco in with bands they have everything in common with. The first two Jayhawks albums were better than anything Wilco has released, but because no one latched onto them the same way and didn't prop them up as heartland Americana type stuff, you never hear about them like you hear about Being There from the same era.
People rarely reflect on bands like Yes with the same suspiscion they reserve for Tool. The irony is the prog bands of yester-year who are still held in high regard, albeit niche like, were never able to capture the purely humanistic and emotional piece that Tool taps into.
The idea Tool is somehow novel or metalish is short sighted and unfiar, and often arrived at by non investing listeners. Maynard sings with the same receptive take on the human spirit as the more critically trumpeted troubador types, and generally sings with far more believability. Because Tweedy's a scruffy guy with a harmonica doesn't automatically make him a superior scribe for things that transpire around us all. Because Wilco songs often have clean corners and familiar edges, doesn't necessarily mean that Tool selections shrouded in musical complexities and louder amplifiers aren't capturing the same emotional highs and lows with equal legitimacy.
At the end of the day they're all wankers like us with a passion for art. So why is it so inconceivable that Tool are a much better American band than Wilco?
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Post by Galactus on Apr 5, 2006 9:07:08 GMT -5
Nice, something to think about.
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Post by riley on Apr 5, 2006 9:35:09 GMT -5
And Paul, just so you know, that rant was by no means directed at you or anyone else specifically for that matter. Your question simply opened the flood gates for something I've not had time before to get out of my system. Last time you pose an open ended question I bet  |
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Post by Paul on Apr 5, 2006 10:04:19 GMT -5
That's was a good read Riley! I for one don't know much of Tool outside of their early 90's work; when MTV actually played songs and occasionally played those creepy Tool videos...As for their work over the past decade, I plead complete ignorance. I've actually been one to clump them w/ Metal, and since I'm not really into metal, haven't really given Tool much thought. Perhaps I'm in need of a mix (wink, wink)....
Perhaps the reason I do like Wilco, is b/c I view Tweedy as a "next generation" Dylan, and Wilco does have a more familiar, yet oddly different sound. And for the record, I thought 'A Ghost Is Born' was a fabulous album. Out of 12 songs, I really liked 11; in my book that equals A-.
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Post by pattentank24 on Apr 5, 2006 13:01:13 GMT -5
Great Posts
I would have to side with Tool over Wilco due to the fact Tool is still a band, you know orginal members,where as Wilco could be reffered to as the Jeff Tweedy Project although I listen to more Wilco as a whole
Tool Fans are more loyal as well
How many bands have their fans counting down days till a new album and are willing to wait or the ACTUAL release date.
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Post by pattentank24 on Apr 5, 2006 13:03:46 GMT -5
ON To The Regional Final
4.Wilco (8-5)
2.Radiohead (9-4)
You could argue this would be the battle of BEST BAND Since 1995 (throw out Pablo Honey since it's 93)
Voting ENDS SUNDAY
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Post by Kensterberg on Apr 5, 2006 13:04:59 GMT -5
That's easy:
WILCO
Even though I really liked Radiohead's last album, and didn't like Wilco's.
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Post by riley on Apr 5, 2006 13:05:08 GMT -5
Radiohead
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Post by rockysigman on Apr 5, 2006 13:06:25 GMT -5
Wilco
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Post by luke on Apr 5, 2006 13:09:36 GMT -5
Radiohead.
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Post by Galactus on Apr 5, 2006 13:10:16 GMT -5
For some reason I'd like to see Radiohead lose for once so...
Wilco
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Post by luke on Apr 5, 2006 13:16:31 GMT -5
For some reason I'd like to see Radiohead lose for once so... Wilco I was about to vote Wilco for the same reason, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell a lie. It would have been easy to pick Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, or Modest Mouse over them, but I just couldn't justify Wilco, much as I do like them. |
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Post by Galactus on Apr 5, 2006 13:19:10 GMT -5
Yeah, honestly at this point Wilco and Radiohead are about even in my book...neither of them excites me too much right now. I would've happily voted for Pearl Jam.
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Post by skvorisdeadsorta on Apr 5, 2006 13:44:33 GMT -5
Wilco
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