Poll: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (a.k.a. best album of the 00's)

Not the best album of the 00's, but a worthy record all the same. I like a number of the songs, but really I'd be kidding if it wasn't "Jesus Etc".

In a recent Facebook countdown of my 100 favourite songs ever, I actually had "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" at #3 (I say "actually" because most of the time I'm not that big a Wilco fan).

"Poor Places"

"Jesus, Etc."

Most of these songs are bores.

"Jesus, Etc."

Most of these songs are bores.

― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, June 6, 2011 12:36 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

I can see why you say that. A few songs don't stand out individually, but in the album it serves as some kind of tools to create a perfect flow. Kinda like a DJ mix.

it serves >>> they serve

I like this album but I can only remember four of the songs. Might vote Radio Cure.

I am not by any stretch a Wilco fan; I think I still own a copy of Being There, which is far more consistent. In most of these songs Tweedy sounds weedy or the lyrics and/or music aren't particularly well thought out.

I like the mood and flow of it a lot but the idea of it ever being an "album of the 00s" masterpiece seems very weird now. Was it the story behind its release, the 9/11 link, the desperate need for an American Radiohead that made it seem like it had more weight than it had? Amazed that it placed as high as #4 in Pitchfork's albums of the 2000s.

Plus, what a easy narrative for fans to follow: the evil record company suppresses a band's masterpiece.

It's not like this is unlistenable, either.

I agree it's kinda boring, but in a vaguely comfortable way (i.e. not the best album of the '00s)

I also like "Kamera," and like "Heavy Metal Drummer" a lot. The rest of the album I can't remember.

When I think of boring, "Reservations" and "Radio Cure" come to mind.

yeah, so i was going to try to vote in this, but no

"Jesus, Etc." doesn't need any help, so I'll vote for "Kamera."

"Jesus, Etc", but this still disappoints. Had high hopes after Summer Teeth but didn't care for the path they took.

If I had strong (or any) feelings about metal, I'd probably find "Heavy Metal Drummer" hopelessly patronizing: "I miss the innocence I've known/Playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned." I don't, so for me it's just a really catchy song.

the answer isn't "Jesus, Etc." btw

At the time I disliked how a song called "Heavy Metal Drummer" wasn't very heavy metal, nor boast memorable drumming.

And "Take the Skinheads Bowling" isn't very oi-ish, either. Which is just fine.

Never really liked "Jesus" much.

At the time I disliked how a song called "Heavy Metal Drummer" wasn't very heavy metal, nor boast memorable drumming.

― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, June 6, 2011 2:14 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark

I was listening to a lot of that Spoon song that went "Always on the outside, always looking in/I was in a drop-D metal band they called Requiem" about the time I heard this album, and it always made me laugh that these button-down indie types would harbour any passion for metal at all.

this is sort of the joke of these songs isn't it? "heavy metal drummer" = synth pop song about metal. "sister jack" = john mellencamp song about metal. "best ever death metal band from denton" = john prine song about metal? i mean, the titles/subject matter are obviously playing with your expectations for how the song is going to sound.

anyhoo, i too prefer summerteeth, but i still love this album lots, even if it got overhyped in some circles.

i loved "reservations" and "pot kettle black" in high school. still like "i am trying to break your heart" and "jesus etc" a lot but i haven't listened to this in foreeeeeeeeeeeeever. i will right now!

Not sure how many have seen this video a film student made for "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." I totally love it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Nc6Kcj71w&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

they gave it the old college try, but Wilco's reach has always exceeded its grasp

Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Favorite Track

anyway, going to give some love to radio cure.

three handclaps

xpost

I think I still own a copy of Being There, which is far more consistent.

I like Being There a lot, probably more than YHF, but consistent is the last word I would use to describe it.

yeah i agree -- being there is all over the place, both in terms of quality and vibe. i think that's at least partly by design -- the idea of a double lp sprawl seems to be at the heart of the tweed's concept here.

Heavy Metal Drummer

three handclaps

― buzza, Monday, June 6, 2011 12:56 PM

loooool

the answer is poor places

good choice

love "reservations" but i also sometimes think of it as a dude telling his ladyfriend that he scored a table at a really hot restaurant.

"Jesus Etc." is really pretty, but I've always been a fan of the title track, which retains a pretty pivotal, dramatic place in most Wilco sets.

mannnn i was humming "war on war" and "kamera" all last week, after not thinking of this album for YEARS. ill go for "war on war" this time.

take it by title track you mean poor places, josh -- but yes! that song was luminous live when i saw them do it.

Oh, shit, I meant "I am Trying to Break Your Heart!" The movie fucked me up. My bad.

I saw this band so many times leading up to this album's release and the tour behind it, and they were all some of the most intense shows I ever saw. My favorite might have been the band in Anaheim, maybe March of 2002, before the album had officially come out. But it was circulating, widely enough that people were singing along. Also one of the few shows I've ever seen where I saw people crying. I chalk it up to lingering post 9/11 trauma.

I still think A Ghost Is Born is Wilco's best album. I am aware I'm somewhat alone in holding that opinion.

YHF didn't match the hype. It is a beautifully produced album. Real ear candy.

xp i saw them i think three times during the YHF tour -- actually thought that the earlier shows were pretty ragged, like the band hadn't quite figured out how to play the songs yet. probably something to do with the absence of jay bennett--that guy really ran the band when he was in it. but by the end of the tour they had really come into their own, killing on both the YHF tunes and the older stuff.

"heavy metal drummer" = synth pop song about metal.

man i dont know what u think synth pop is

sorry, how would you characterize that song? i just meant bouncy, bright song with keys.

i guess "indie pop-rock"? synth-pop is like erasure imo but i mean im mostly just talkin shit; i get your point.

yeah i was just typin' -- didn't mean it sounded like depeche mode or anything.

haven't played this in ages, even though i agree it's a great record and the sequencing is well smart or whatever. voting for Heavy Metal Drummers, apparently i like a light moment in a dark record best, hmm.

well 1 Heavy Metal Drummer is enough

my favorite thing about YHF is the suffocating production. Then everything opens up in the last 2-3 minutes of Reservations, such a release! im sure it's been well-documented in other threads but that, at least, is a stroke of genius.

is YHF a "dark" record? I seriously haven't noticed. It's...muffled.

It's reasonably dark, especially listened to through the accidental spectrum of September 11. But I don't know if it's darker than "Summerteeth," just ... woozier.

This record sounds lush, and when j play it I really enjoy it, but ice not played it in ages. Voted for the opener; love how that piano line finally rolls in and hooks you at 4mins.

"Pot Kettle Black"

I love the sound of the guitars on "Kamera", so I'm voting that. The sound reminds me of "Good Day Sunshine", like ~turning on~, hyperaware & -sensitive.

I also really love "Poor Places" & like "Pot Camera Black" a lot. I never liked the dirges on here, which seem to come like every other song. The next album was better because the dirges achieve guitar liftoff.

"Heavy Metal Drummer" is the only song on here I don't really like (and I only dislike it in the context of the rest of the album - it's not like I'd turn it off if it came on the radio or something). Voted "Jesus, Etc" but it was a tough one. Love this album. This is also the last Wilco album I've heard, "Handshake Drugs," "Impossible Germany" and "Company In My Back" notwithstanding - am I missing any other good deep cuts?

bunch of good stuff on ghost is born -- though i might prefer the versions of those songs on the live album.

I still think A Ghost Is Born is Wilco's best album. I am aware I'm somewhat alone in holding that opinion.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Five years ago this would have been my album of the decade, listened recently and it has not aged well IMO. I still know every single word and musical turn though.

Voted "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart." Surprised at the (growing consensus?) around "Jesus, etc." - never stood out to me.

"Heavy Metal Drummer" for me, mainly for sentimental reasons (being from the St. Louis area, I appreciate the regional references).

I think I'd decided that I like the poppier moments best on this one. Will relisten before voting, but pretty sure it is going to be something like War on War or Pot Kettle Black.

man this is so hard

i like the poppier moments, but then i also far prefer summerteeth.

i think kamera or pot kettle black. it's not easy to choose, but i'm more surprised how mediocre the whole seems to me now.

i do dig this one, but yeah summerteeth..

This is also the last Wilco album I've heard, "Handshake Drugs," "Impossible Germany" and "Company In My Back" notwithstanding - am I missing any other good deep cuts?

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Tuesday, June 7, 2011 2:30 PM (8 hours ago) Bookmark

Hummingbird and Wishful Thinking are the shit.

i like most of these songs still but yeah it's "jesus etc"

I'll probably vote for "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" (Mouthy OTM about the piano rolling in at the end - makes the whole song) but could also happily vote for "Radio Cure" which seems to be ignored around here.

Giving a shout out to "Ashes of American Flags" since it hasn't been mentioned. Love that guitar riff.

1 day left, folks

Always saw these guys as the "not quite" band of alternative America. They're a bit like Pavement but not quite as loose and shambolic, a bit like Spoon but not quite as daring, a bit like Radiohead but not quite as out there... They're kind of just this middle ground of rock, which is fine, but not quite the button pusher they should be.

how is Spoon daring?

(no snark intended)

they push the boat out more than Wilco - especially in the way they structure their songs. Could be argued Wilco also try and spice up their songs with a few light experimental touches, but it always felt tokenistic to me.

Like, Wilco seem more at home being a trad-rock band in spirit but somehow end up putting in just enough esoteric flourish to keep themselves from becoming that.

Wish they'd found room for this (maybe instead of Radio Cure):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1zPzJ1-Dso

ILX is the only place it feels challopsy to say that I think this far and away their best album (although Handshake Drugs is probably my favourite Wilco song).

I still think A Ghost Is Born is Wilco's best album. I am aware I'm somewhat alone in holding that opinion.

YHF didn't match the hype. It is a beautifully produced album. Real ear candy.

― Brooker T Buckingham, Monday, June 6, 2011 1:15 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark

Seconded on both these comments (aside from the "ear candy" part on YHF), so you're not totally alone on AGIB. What's funny is that I wasn't expecting to like "A Ghost is Born" that much - I thought YHF was kinda cold, in no small part due to Jim O'Rourke's purposely alienating production, and from reviews I'd read it appeared the follow-up had disappeared even further down the rabbit hole of self-indulgence. But aside from the 10 minutes of air conditioner hum on "Less Than You Think" the self-indulgence on AGIB didn't bother me. Also a surprise because I saw these guys in concert a few months before the album was released and was underwhelmed - during that time period, they apparently played up their most pretentious moments in concert. Nels Cline really toned them up, though - saw them again in 2010 and it was one of the best shows I've ever witnessed.

I guess my point on AGIB is that it was a weird exception to my usual rule on Wilco - Jeff Tweedy's avant strivings are usually the band's most irritating feature; he's a great songwriter when he isn't striving for capital-a Art. But on "Ghost" his pretensions actually worked out in the music's favor. Was it the drugs?

i'm a YHF fan but i get irrationally angry every time i see this thread title

listened to summerteeth today. still maybe their best record, but it doesn't hit me like it did in high school, and that sucks. they were my favorite band ~2004/2005, but now jeff tweedy's voice and lyrics just sort of makes me roll my eyes.

I had a drummer who tried to sell me on this as one of the greatest albums of all time but honestly I hated it

how "i am trying to break your heart" never really takes off, not sure if i love that or hate that. how tired tweedy's voice sounds, is that good or bad? don't know. it's a great album for sure, it's between jesus etc and heavy metal drummer, iirc.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Always dug this one from the demos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdNq8NlM8vY

This is ten years ago, but I had a buddy send me a CD in the mail with all those YHF outtakes on it. I didn't know the titles, couldn't for some reason find a running order or any other information on what and who was on them. (I'm sure it has its own wikipedia entry by now.)

I made up my own album cover, came up with my sequencing and titles, and called it Dixie Motel Tango. I listened to it more than I did the final version once it was released.

This may sound a little dad-rocky, but it was maybe the last time I ever adopted a record like that, thinking of it as my "own". It was a cool span that started with Styx' Paradise Theater, ran through The Nylon Curtain, Master of Puppets, Pleased to Meet Me, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain...

I might one day hear a new album that grabs me by the lapels, but I'm kinda scared it's going to be by Trey Anastazio or somebody.

"Heavy Metal Drummer" (Tweedy) – 3:08 8

you really think this is the best song? i mean, 1 or 2 people i could see, but 8 people?

otm, baffled by eight Heavy Metal Drummer votes. Challops?

what did markers vote?

"Heavy Metal Drummer" is the closest thing to a radio-friendly pop song on the album. why is it surprising that some people would like it?

I'm almost surprised it didn't win

Ditto. Don't see what's mysterious about that at all.

what did markers vote?

― bros -izing bros (k3vin k.)

i don't even remember if i ended up voting tbh

yeah, so i was going to try to vote in this, but no

― markers, Monday, June 6, 2011 9:02 AM

the answer isn't "Jesus, Etc." btw

― markers, Monday, June 6, 2011 9:14 AM

^^^^

"jesus" is a great song fuiud - problem is there's a few others just as good

might have gone w/ the opener, can't remember

i like jesus, etc. but my gut said it's not the best song

"Ashes of American Flags" is definitely the most forgettable song on the album..

. . .

"Ashes of American Flags" is definitely the most forgettable song on the album..

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr)

http://i56.tinypic.com/dwvvqa.jpg..

Like, Wilco seem more at home being a trad-rock band in spirit but somehow end up putting in just enough esoteric flourish to keep themselves from becoming that.
Exactly. Pavement for yuppies.

Pavement for yuppies.

Implying Pavement isn't for yuppies = obviously missed the reunion tour crowd...

is mixing trad rock elements with more adventurous elements really a problem? i dunno, i like that about a lot of my fave bands/artists. not even sure where the yuppies thing comes into play. are we talking about this guy?
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QjLqcP52EC4/Sx-Bd0EsaVI/AAAAAAAABF8/3MzjB1JYAtU/s400/yuppie.jpg

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090909220405/en.futurama/images/thumb/8/8b/ThatGuy.jpg/250px-ThatGuy.jpg

"I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" works in concert, but on YHF it's dangerously ponderous - "expressive" bad poetry a la "Misunderstood" (why the hell do they have to make these songs the openers?) The song's first two or three lines left a bad taste instantly - could've even ruined the record for me if not for "Kamera" opening my ears back up again. On repeated listens the production clicks, especially on songs you already liked, but at moments it's almost as wanky as Tweedy's tortured lyrics. And O'Rourke and the band never resolve the disjuncture between YHF's avant and "roots" impulses, rendering the whole thing doubly self conscious. But the songs are rarely less than gorgeous, even when they're so midwestern passive-aggressive you wish Husker Du would horn in and show them a thing or two about expression, which is usually. And "Jesus, Etc." works completely.

I still pretty much love Wilco. Sometimes they fuckin' piss me off, though. There's less patent bullshit to their present-day "dad-rock" phase (not my choice of words), but at this point I think I'd rather see them live.

"I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" works in concert, but on YHF it's dangerously ponderous - "expressive" bad poetry a la "Misunderstood" (why the hell do they have to make these songs the openers?) The song's first two or three lines left a bad taste instantly

OTM x 1000