we begin
on tap:
on tap:
listened to while…
…laying out on a blanket in prospect park
general thoughts
this album feels so very...unpretentious. in the best way. just a brilliant woman writing songs as she hears them. super caszh one sec, but then out of nowhere she smacks you over the head with poignantly poetic moments of truth.
and this is the album that started this listening journey! it came up in a podcast so i decided to listen to it and it moved me enough that i'm finally catching up on all the music i missed.
stray musings
these songs sit really high. i now understand why everyone sounded terrible years ago when they brought in Joni Mitchell songs for an audition session
jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle on...the river? did she really base a song off jingle bells? oh wait…if you listen to the words it's intentional. the song is about christmastime. lock in, jacinth.
standout moments
final three tracks. damn. really saving the heavy hitters for last.
“river” made me tear up.
“a case of you” is one of those poignantly poetic moments
“the last time i saw richard” ends us strong.
general thoughts
this is a timeless album.
and actually wasn't my first time listening! first time was during lockdown summer of 2020 while prepping for my oral exams, as it was one of the one hundred pieces of music i was expected to be fully knowledgeable/conversant on for a couple hour “chat” with the faculty.
to make the studying process less stressful—and also ofc to better appreciate the album—i inhaled some...medicinal herb (sorry mom and dad) before listening through, and should my life ever flash before my eyes in review, i'm pretty sure those forty-four minutes will be part of the highlight reel.
listened to while…
…writing morning pages during catwalk art residency in catskill ny
standout moments
benefit of mr. kite. i love it so much.
within you without you. trippy sonic pleasure.
stray musings
apparently this album came about cause the group was tired of touring and wanted just to make music. i love that. they just…tried stuff. because they wanted to. and people were like, "wtf?" and then it becomes iconic in the lens of history.
listened to the 2017 remaster and...i don’t know that it was necessary? doesn't sound all that different to me. (and when it does, i think i prefer the og 🤷🏾♂️)
listened to while…
…sitting on a rock at little deep swimming hole in woodstock, then also driving along the winding two lane backroads from woodstock to catskill
standout moments
the transition from “war on war” to “jesus, etc.” drew an audible “whaaaat?” out of me. that was sexy.
“pot kettle black” tickled some part of my brain in a very good way. probably just that high school legend of chin nostalgia
general thoughts
i was worried when this first started that it was gonna be an entire album of sad white boy music, but it very quickly proved itself to be a fascinating and enveloping exploration of sound. some moments are clearly squarely situated in the early oughts (this is dial-up internet era. you can—sometimes literally—almost hear the aol dialup sound (eeeYONG eeeYONG tschhhhhhh). i’m thinking songs like “radio cure”, “war on war”, “pot kettle black”: all reminiscent of jon foreman/switchfoot (a band whose discography i am very familiar with)
but then they stop the LP train for a moment just to play around with some noise brilliance (see dialup sound above). so much of this album is that fun interplay between what feels familiar in a good way and then sudden sonic alice wonderlands
stray musings
apparently this album is nothing like what Wilco did before and broke up the band/got them kicked off their label? wild.
beatles influence everyone. "i’m the man who loves you" i’m lookin at you, esp after a recent sgt peppers excursion. great juxtapostion
"jesus etc" also felt very fleetwood mac
apparently this album was set to be released september 11, 2001, and weirdly coincidental that i first listen to it 25 years later leading into september 11, 2026.
general thoughts
this album came with the note that it is “an incredible album to fly to" and the opening bars prove this immediately correct. aaaaaand…i kinda wish he didn't start singing and that we stayed in that musical wash longer. (perhaps for the whole album?)
wasn’t my favorite. sad croony head voice falsetto might be my least favorite kind of music. and i’m trying to figure out why it bothers me? a lack of groundedness maybe? when do we sing from the belly? from the gut? when do we tap deep? i just needed a few more colors i guess. a bit more rhythm.
standout moments
“michicant”. the sound works for me here. maybe the rhythmic insistence of the guitar helps? have something more pointed, more precise underneath the croon rather than another continued wash of sound.
“perth” makes me think of friday night lights the tv show.
listened to while…
…writing some more morning pages in catskill
stray musings
i fall asleep on planes.
a very wintry album. a very midwest wintry album.
hozier’s "almost (sweet music)" started playing immediately after the album ended and my ears immediately perked up. I hear the influence/relation between the two that makes hozier algorithmically the next artist, but his is a grit and rhythm and grounded earthiness that made me realize why i zoned out for much of this album. come down from the cloud Bon Iver! live with us on the ground.
listened to while…
…doing morning pages on my last day in catskill.
standout moments
highway patrolman
state trooper: a little more rhythmic. reminded me of the quiet fear i had when driving to little deep by myself a few days prior, losing cell reception, making a wrong turn, and finding myself briefly lost in the backwoods of upstate new york.
general thoughts
the history of this album is fascinating. and maybe proved more interesting to me than the album itself ("stylistically merged together" as wikipedia said).
but also it is a continuation of the exploration of artistry/doing w/ever tf you want when creating. that constant struggle b/w individual voice and popular success. what does it mean to be commercially successful, and how do you maintain artistic integrity within yourself when 1. you gotta eat to live and gotta create to eat, and 2. you have tasted the sweet nectar and ambrosia of mass appeal
stray musings
i think much of the brilliance of this album has to do with the lyrics. and i don't really hear lyrics when listening to music, particularly for the first time. unless i force myself to actively parse the words, they often just become part of the instrumental sound.