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Re: New Wilco Album out today

BillAdama
Wilco knows how to play well whether or not they're being experimental, but when they're not, they're just 'competent standard'.

Some bands can play standard music exceptionally, for instance, The Band. Wilco plays standard music competently, and experimental music exceptionally.

It's all about the melodies. I think the only time they managed really good melodies was on YHF.


What about Summerteeth, an album that's melody for melody, a top 5 album of the 90s imo.

I don't think it has anything to do with Wilco being melodically poor. In fact, I'd put Jeff Tweedy as a melodicist against any songwriter of the past ten years. He writes classic melodies instead of cheap hooks, which is why his melodies go over some people's heads.

What makes Wilco, The Flaming Lips and Radiohead great is that even though they're experimental, there are still great tunes there.

That's what always put those bands head and shoulders above The White Stripes, The Arcade Fire, and The Strokes, who were completely fine digging up retro sounds and naively parading them around as some new discovery.