Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
It was a horrible day on the roads around Cambridge today. A ghastly accident on the A14 blocked the main routes, and so traffic was helplessly squeezed into byways and back lanes in the vain hope of getting to its destination. And yet I managed to escape the worst, with a run to work not much worse than the usual rush-hour peaks. I could tell from the unusual queues in unusual places that something was up; it wasn't until I got to the office that I discovered exactly what had happened.
My companion through the queues was Wilco's fourth album, a selection made on the basis of several appearances in the end-of-year album reviews for 2002. I discovered that the band had gone through various shifts in identity and personnel, even during in the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I also learned that when Warners heard how the album was proceeding, they deemed it uncommercial and declined to release it. The band had to buy back the rights to their own music and put it out themselves. Contracts, eh?
It's easy to see how a major label wouldn't like what they hear here. But then again, always remember that this is world in which even the most experimental mainstream albums - e.g. Radiohead's Kid A - can sell well. There are a still a couple of classic 'pop' songs, most notably the instantly accessible 'Heavy Metal Drummer', with its feel-good beat and summery sounds. But the majority of music on this album is much more progressive in nature.
The opening and closing tracks, for instance, feature a noise like strumming the strings of a piano, as well as plenty of static and samples gleaned from the airwaves. (Wilco have just forked out in royalties from lifting a monotonic 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' repeating voice from a record compiling miliary 'numbers stations'.) They may not be 'songs' (how about 'works'?) but you'll still find a sense of melody and structure, as well as a smattering of abstract poetry.
Prog in the 00s sounds very different to its 1970s counterpart. Gone are the rambling indulgent guitar solos, and in come lengthy swooshes and a few beeps. So next time you're stuck in a jam, try it for size. You won't get there any quicker, but you won't mind.
My companion through the queues was Wilco's fourth album, a selection made on the basis of several appearances in the end-of-year album reviews for 2002. I discovered that the band had gone through various shifts in identity and personnel, even during in the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I also learned that when Warners heard how the album was proceeding, they deemed it uncommercial and declined to release it. The band had to buy back the rights to their own music and put it out themselves. Contracts, eh?
It's easy to see how a major label wouldn't like what they hear here. But then again, always remember that this is world in which even the most experimental mainstream albums - e.g. Radiohead's Kid A - can sell well. There are a still a couple of classic 'pop' songs, most notably the instantly accessible 'Heavy Metal Drummer', with its feel-good beat and summery sounds. But the majority of music on this album is much more progressive in nature.
The opening and closing tracks, for instance, feature a noise like strumming the strings of a piano, as well as plenty of static and samples gleaned from the airwaves. (Wilco have just forked out in royalties from lifting a monotonic 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' repeating voice from a record compiling miliary 'numbers stations'.) They may not be 'songs' (how about 'works'?) but you'll still find a sense of melody and structure, as well as a smattering of abstract poetry.
Prog in the 00s sounds very different to its 1970s counterpart. Gone are the rambling indulgent guitar solos, and in come lengthy swooshes and a few beeps. So next time you're stuck in a jam, try it for size. You won't get there any quicker, but you won't mind.
# posted by Sam : 22:10
