–I wrote a lengthy item a few months ago about how much I love the band Wilco. And so I’d been eagerly awaiting their newest album, A Ghost is Born.
I’m quite disappointed. There are vast stretches of the record that are simply…well, bad. Hard to listen to. Ugly-sounding.
My feeling is that the band (and by “band” I mean Jeff Tweedy, the songwriter and frontman), fresh off the success of their quirky–and brilliant–Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, felt they had to keep pushing the limits of their sound. The result is an album that’s too strange to enjoy.
In a recent article on Slate, “What’s So Great About Wilco?”, Stephen Metcalf rails against the band. He mostly says they’re over-rated, and that Tweedy’s an insecure prima donna. He may be right.
(Side note: what I hate about most rock journalism is that the entire genre often feels like a venue for over-educated hipsters to demonstrate just how cool they (think they) are. Take Metcalf’s clever–if irrelevant–jab at the unwashed masses who adore corporate rock:
“To a listener accustomed to Hootie and the Blowfish, Wilco sounds like the Minutemen–daring, allusive, funky, weird, and yet so right. To a listener accustomed to the Minutemen, Wilco sounds like Hootie and the Blowfish: classic rock for frat boys.”)
I will say this in Wilco’s defense: so far all of their albums have been different and enjoyable in varying manners. Perhaps this one’s just the same. But it’s gonna take a while to grow on me.
–Other stuff:
Drinking those cool Krispy Kremes: “Doughnut retailer unveils frozen beverage line, including a glazed-flavored drink.”
Fast Company article on Whole Foods: “John Mackey’s approach to management is equal parts Star Trek and 1970s flashback. It seems like a recipe for disaster, but at Whole Foods it’s a prescription for world-beating growth — and maybe for a world-changing company.”
“Giant Rabbit Is As Big As 3-Year-Old”