SONG: Impossible Germany
ALBUM: Sky Blue Sky
TRACK: 3
This one's certainly direct: it's nothing more than a sweet and tender love song from a rock star on a world tour to his faithful wife back at home. Specifically, Tweedy hones in on the way his long-distance expressions of love can only bring so much comfort: "I'll say what this means to me/I'll do what I can". It's difficult to really communicate with his wife when he's out on the road, and that can frustrate both of them and strain the relationship.
But midway through the song, he states that "if this was still new to me/I wouldn't understand". He acknowledges that they've been over this before, and he knows it's hard to feel loved when you're sleeping in an empty bed...yet he concludes,
but this is what love is for
to be out of place
gorgeous and alone
face to face
It's a quiet comfort that even when they're alone and apart, husband and wife are dreaming of each others' faces, and this shared vision gives them both comfort. Knowing this, phone calls from far away are more reassuring because, as Tweedy sings, there's "nothing more important/than to know someone's listening".
As for me, I'm listening to that awesome three-guitar outro. Pat Sansone and Jeff Tweedy hammer out some tasty Steely-Dan-esque harmonies while Nels Cline spazzes out on his Fender Jaguar. It's a nice, satisfying rock-n-roll ending - Tweedy's way of reminding us that even tender-hearted songwriters can crank it up to eleven if they wanna rawk.
7/23/07
Sky Blue Sky
I know I just started this project today, but I've been blessed with a perfect opportunity to get a buncha tracks out of the way, and fast. A friend cancelled post-work plans at the last minute, and I was left at home with a free evening, a half-bottle of wine, and the DVD from the Deluxe Edition of Wilco's most recent studio album, Sky Blue Sky. In it, Jeff and the band talk in great detail about the making of the record in between footage of the album's recording sessions from the band's Chicago loft. It's great - and not only do I get to enjoy it, my blog gets a quick couple of songs crossed off its list. Woohoo!
First up...
SONG: Sky Blue Sky
ALBUM: Sky Blue Sky
TRACK: 4
Tweedy makes this one easy. He admits in his DVD interview that the whole song is a snapshot portrait of a moment from his teenage years. In recent press, he's stated that he tried to be more "direct" and less "impressionistic" with Sky Blue Sky than with previous records. He aimed to tell send simple stories with plain language. This track is his attempt to convey a memory of being stuck in small-town traffic on a rainy day, forced to wait as a homecoming parade slogged through the drizzle. From a subtle past-tense perspective (in likes like "The old buildings downtown, empty so long ago"), he describes the scene in great sensory detail.
The turning point comes in the last line of the second verse: "So happy to leave what was my home". This sentiment, expressed with such finality, puts a point on Tweedy's memory of his experience. He's glad he left. But when the chorus kicks in, he begins to reflect and contemplate:
With a sky-blue sky
This rotten time
Wouldn't seem so bad to me now
OK, maybe things weren't so bad, it was just a shitty day. Jeff seems to mellow on it. But he takes it a step further in the second half of the chorus:
I didn't die
I should be satisfied
I survived, that's good enough for now
That's a far cry from "I'd like to thank you all for nothing/I'd like to thank you all for nothing at all" (from "Misunderstood"), and it speaks volumes about how Jeff Tweedy feels these days. But it doesn't always take lyric analysis to figure that out. Like I said, Jeff makes it easy for you. I quote from the opening lines of the DVD:
"The world is so mysterious and so terrifying right now...it just felt weird to write puzzles and disjointed, non-sequitur kinda lyrics. I think now is a good time to sit down and sing people some motherfucking songs. That's what I want. Just someone to sing me a song, y'know?"
Amen, Tweedy.
First up...
SONG: Sky Blue Sky
ALBUM: Sky Blue Sky
TRACK: 4
Tweedy makes this one easy. He admits in his DVD interview that the whole song is a snapshot portrait of a moment from his teenage years. In recent press, he's stated that he tried to be more "direct" and less "impressionistic" with Sky Blue Sky than with previous records. He aimed to tell send simple stories with plain language. This track is his attempt to convey a memory of being stuck in small-town traffic on a rainy day, forced to wait as a homecoming parade slogged through the drizzle. From a subtle past-tense perspective (in likes like "The old buildings downtown, empty so long ago"), he describes the scene in great sensory detail.
The turning point comes in the last line of the second verse: "So happy to leave what was my home". This sentiment, expressed with such finality, puts a point on Tweedy's memory of his experience. He's glad he left. But when the chorus kicks in, he begins to reflect and contemplate:
With a sky-blue sky
This rotten time
Wouldn't seem so bad to me now
OK, maybe things weren't so bad, it was just a shitty day. Jeff seems to mellow on it. But he takes it a step further in the second half of the chorus:
I didn't die
I should be satisfied
I survived, that's good enough for now
That's a far cry from "I'd like to thank you all for nothing/I'd like to thank you all for nothing at all" (from "Misunderstood"), and it speaks volumes about how Jeff Tweedy feels these days. But it doesn't always take lyric analysis to figure that out. Like I said, Jeff makes it easy for you. I quote from the opening lines of the DVD:
"The world is so mysterious and so terrifying right now...it just felt weird to write puzzles and disjointed, non-sequitur kinda lyrics. I think now is a good time to sit down and sing people some motherfucking songs. That's what I want. Just someone to sing me a song, y'know?"
Amen, Tweedy.
Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (again)
SONG: Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (again)
ALBUM: Summerteeth
TRACK: 6
I've chosen this track as my inaugural entry because it was the first Wilco song that sucked me in completely and kick-started my love affair with the band. The tone is upbeat and exuberant (like many tracks on Summerteeth), with a catchy chorus that encourages sing-alongs and syncopated hand-claps. But with all of Jeff Tweedy's lyrics, there's depth and complexity lurking just beneath the surface.
This song focuses on feeling confident and optimistic in the face of tough times in a relationship. Jangly major-key guitars introduce the tune, and the first verse quickly spells it out - Tweedy's need to "make some sense out of this mess" is met by his belief that the conflict is "a test", and the answer is simple..."a kiss is all we need". He's so certain, in fact, that he introduces the whole song with the disclaimer "We'll find a way, regardless".
The second verse contrasts two aspects of love that anyone who's ever been in a relationship can understand. On one hand, love is when you find someone who fulfills all the requirements of your personal "dream guy/girl" checklist (admit it, we've all got one). Tweedy says this in the verse's first two lines: "All the above for being in love/Shouldn't that alone be enough?". The question seems almost rhetorical. But on the other hand, love also lets loose uncontrollable emotions that spring from deep within, and these feelings can be difficult to grapple with. They range from joy to anger, fear to hope, comfort to agony, and they don't always make sense. Tweedy says this when he finishes the verse with "Oh, it's tough when love's a weed/it grows inside of me". Typically, love is compared to a flower, but here, it's a weed - tenacious, prickly, and impossible to eliminate. Which is kinda romantic, in a weird way.
The chorus repeats a fragment of a phrase twice but doesn't complete the thought until its third time around. This makes it feel like both a mantra of pure confidence and the stuttering uncertainty of a man trying to vanquish doubt. As I mentioned eariler, the hand-claps amplify the upbeat nature of this song. Tweedy often performs it solo acoustic, with an auditorium full of joyful fans clap-clapping in unison. It's quite a joyful scene. :)
The bridge is crucial to the song's depth. Tweedy's wristwatch ticks away the seconds, and an alarm clock rings abruptly. This seems to serve as a wake-up call from the cheery optimism of the chorus, snapping him out of his daydream and back to reality. The line "I'm a bomb regardless" implies an explosion. But does he mean a self-destructive detonation or a burst of unbridled happiness? I'd like to think it's the latter, but the wailing background vocals and sharp staccato beat of this bridge might persuade listeners otherwise.
Altogether, this is a great track from an even greater album. You can't help but sing (and clap-clap) along. Also, I would be remiss in failing to mention the humorous title. The squished-together words give the whole song energy and momentum, jamming all the uplifting power of the titular phrase into one blast of syntax. Kudos, too, for the totally unnecessary parentheses. :)
ALBUM: Summerteeth
TRACK: 6
I've chosen this track as my inaugural entry because it was the first Wilco song that sucked me in completely and kick-started my love affair with the band. The tone is upbeat and exuberant (like many tracks on Summerteeth), with a catchy chorus that encourages sing-alongs and syncopated hand-claps. But with all of Jeff Tweedy's lyrics, there's depth and complexity lurking just beneath the surface.
This song focuses on feeling confident and optimistic in the face of tough times in a relationship. Jangly major-key guitars introduce the tune, and the first verse quickly spells it out - Tweedy's need to "make some sense out of this mess" is met by his belief that the conflict is "a test", and the answer is simple..."a kiss is all we need". He's so certain, in fact, that he introduces the whole song with the disclaimer "We'll find a way, regardless".
The second verse contrasts two aspects of love that anyone who's ever been in a relationship can understand. On one hand, love is when you find someone who fulfills all the requirements of your personal "dream guy/girl" checklist (admit it, we've all got one). Tweedy says this in the verse's first two lines: "All the above for being in love/Shouldn't that alone be enough?". The question seems almost rhetorical. But on the other hand, love also lets loose uncontrollable emotions that spring from deep within, and these feelings can be difficult to grapple with. They range from joy to anger, fear to hope, comfort to agony, and they don't always make sense. Tweedy says this when he finishes the verse with "Oh, it's tough when love's a weed/it grows inside of me". Typically, love is compared to a flower, but here, it's a weed - tenacious, prickly, and impossible to eliminate. Which is kinda romantic, in a weird way.
The chorus repeats a fragment of a phrase twice but doesn't complete the thought until its third time around. This makes it feel like both a mantra of pure confidence and the stuttering uncertainty of a man trying to vanquish doubt. As I mentioned eariler, the hand-claps amplify the upbeat nature of this song. Tweedy often performs it solo acoustic, with an auditorium full of joyful fans clap-clapping in unison. It's quite a joyful scene. :)
The bridge is crucial to the song's depth. Tweedy's wristwatch ticks away the seconds, and an alarm clock rings abruptly. This seems to serve as a wake-up call from the cheery optimism of the chorus, snapping him out of his daydream and back to reality. The line "I'm a bomb regardless" implies an explosion. But does he mean a self-destructive detonation or a burst of unbridled happiness? I'd like to think it's the latter, but the wailing background vocals and sharp staccato beat of this bridge might persuade listeners otherwise.
Altogether, this is a great track from an even greater album. You can't help but sing (and clap-clap) along. Also, I would be remiss in failing to mention the humorous title. The squished-together words give the whole song energy and momentum, jamming all the uplifting power of the titular phrase into one blast of syntax. Kudos, too, for the totally unnecessary parentheses. :)
Welcome
Woo woooooo! All aboard the Geek Train!
Inspired by blogs like Pop Songs 07 and More Than Ten, wherein super-fans analyze all the songs ever recorded by a certain band (R.E.M. and Pearl Jam, respectively), I've created "So Misunderstood" as a place to cover every track by the alt-country/Beatlesque/noise-rock/dad-rock/just plain RAWK band Wilco. Not only because they're my favorite group, or because I could babble for hours about their entire catalog, but because Wilco's twelve-year-plus history contains a vast treasure trove of great music that deserves to be reviewed in-depth.
Bear with me - as the author of "Pop Songs 07" disclaims, this is a side project, and one that I will update rather irregularly. However, I'm committed to writing about every last song, including officially-released B-sides and one-offs (like the band's contribution to the Spongebob Squarepants Movie soundtrack). I appreciate feedback and comments, so feel free to chip in your two cents. Enjoy the ride, and remember:
the best songs don't ever get sung
the best life never leaves your lungs
it's so good you won't ever know
you can't hear it on the radio
Inspired by blogs like Pop Songs 07 and More Than Ten, wherein super-fans analyze all the songs ever recorded by a certain band (R.E.M. and Pearl Jam, respectively), I've created "So Misunderstood" as a place to cover every track by the alt-country/Beatlesque/noise-rock/dad-rock/just plain RAWK band Wilco. Not only because they're my favorite group, or because I could babble for hours about their entire catalog, but because Wilco's twelve-year-plus history contains a vast treasure trove of great music that deserves to be reviewed in-depth.
Bear with me - as the author of "Pop Songs 07" disclaims, this is a side project, and one that I will update rather irregularly. However, I'm committed to writing about every last song, including officially-released B-sides and one-offs (like the band's contribution to the Spongebob Squarepants Movie soundtrack). I appreciate feedback and comments, so feel free to chip in your two cents. Enjoy the ride, and remember:
the best songs don't ever get sung
the best life never leaves your lungs
it's so good you won't ever know
you can't hear it on the radio
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)