It's a solid record; I think it really picks up from I Know What It's Like through the end. Having Been Is No Way To Be may be one of my favorites by Tweedy in a long time.

yeah i really like that one too. i think one thing that feels funny is that with tweedy on the drums, there's the potential for that ramshackle sound reminiscent of the Neil Young "ditch" years. But then he's too good at all the other instruments, so it sounds just a little disjointed.

All this Wilco bumping got me started thinking about Son Volt again. Do you think it was the story around YHF that got Wilco into the consciousness more, or something else? I liked the first couple SV albums but in that big gap from 98 to 05 I just sort of forgot about them.

I think it's a combination of the buzz around YHF, and the fact that they got way more musically compelling on that record. Like, the same story with Summer Teeth wouldn't have hit. They single-handedly pushed alt-country into the realm of bold studio experimentation with that record, and the whole Warner Bros/Nonesuch fiasco was both a result of, and testament to, the album they turned into executives.

My friend and former drummer played drums for Son Volt, and I couldn't name a single song or hum a melody.

son volt has some great songs but i can’t get into them over a full album

Their hit. I played it a lot on my college radio station.

And yeah, Summer Teeth was alright but YHF was amazing where it went. One of my absolute favorite albums ever.

tear stained eye ftw

Been listening to Loose Fur since this thread brought it up a few days ago. Interesting stuff, similar yet different.

which album? They are very different. The first one feels like a sunnier extension of YHF, the second one feels like a real band with their own defined sound. I much prefer the latter.

Both, and I agree: the first one is like a collection of thoughts and the second is a collection of songs.

Haven’t heard the second but you’re right about the first Loose Fur.

I preferred The Autumn Defense more at the time. I should revisit those albums.

the second loose fur is really, really good. the 3:59 mark onward of wreckroom is some of the best stuff i've heard from anyone associated with wilco -- just a wall of sound. it makes me hope that tweedy and o'rourke will eventually release more of the stuff on which they collaborated.

Did they do a lot of stuff that didn’t make the second record? I’ve not heard anything outside of the disc that came with the Wilco book, would love to hear it

tweedy mentioned that they have a lot of what he called "unfinished" stuff that he eventually hopes to get around to. he made it sound like the songs were all recorded, but never fully produced. he said he still keeps in touch with o'rourke, and gets together with him when they're on tour in or near japan.

Well that’s good to hear. I was sort of scared that Jim had some sort of falling out with everyone.

I got the electric version of the book...the analog one has a CD? I'm going to have to go to Powell's.

Yeah, a bunch of YHF demos and outtakes

Thinking of the instrumentation on songs like Hummingbird and Muzzle of Bees, I gotta say that I’d be all in for a Wilco Xmas album