One of the joys of any journey is recounting the events that led you to take the journey in the first place. And a musical journey is no different, I remember the first time i listened to Wilco, it was 2002, I was 11 years old and my dad had just brought a CD from the now defunct Lasers Edge record store in Homewood, Alabama. One of the great things about Laser's Edge was with every purchase they would give you a sampler CD of some of the new releases to look out for and these were not just some locals yokles, the likes of Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Andre Previn, Josh Ritter, My Morning Jacket etc. were all on these samplers. However there was one track in particular the fascinated me, it was Wilco's "Kamera", It's hard to explain what listening to Wilco for the first time was like, because at that time I had just discovered The Beatles not a year before, 97.3 (The oldies station) was all I listened to, and my musical knowledge ended around 1971. Wilco was something new, interesting, and modern. But over time the CD got lost and Wilco slipped from memory until last year. When my parents bought me Tom Moon's "1000 Recordings To Listen To Before You Die". In the book Mr. Moon focuses more on the story behind the album. And how it was rejected by their original label (Reprise Records) and then picked up later by another Warner Bros. Label (Nonesuch Records). However what Mr. Moon failed to mention is the power of the music that made the album such a hit. The lyrics of Jeff Tweedy in "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" belie the soul of any young teenager confused with life and love. It is the ultimate break-up song, and well deserving of the title of greatest opening track of the decade. "Heavy Metal Drummer" is the sound of summer love blossoming ("beautiful and stoned"). "Jesus Etc." backbeat relives a 1970s funky backbeat is a cry of two lovers forced to live together post-break up. The voice offers to console her in this tough time ("Don't cry, You can rely on me honey, you can come by anytime you want.") These are just some of the highlights of an album that, when released in 2002 voiced the confusion of a generation in transition (The album had originally been slated for September 11th) but they were able to rely on this legendary album to console them as they discovered both themselves and who they were as a nation. Thursday, January 28, 2010
"I Am An American Aquarium Drinker"
Greetings readers, sorry for the long gap between blog posts, Auburn University has kept me ever so busy the past couple of weeks (along with Netflix but does that really count?). During the past couple days I have been able to add to my growing CD collection (Cannonball Adderly Quintet "At The Lighthouse") and begin my NEW LP collection of some of my favorite albums (John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" and Paul Simon "Graceland"). So while I have not been recounting my journey as of late that does not mean that I have stopped the journey by any means. One of the joys of any journey is recounting the events that led you to take the journey in the first place. And a musical journey is no different, I remember the first time i listened to Wilco, it was 2002, I was 11 years old and my dad had just brought a CD from the now defunct Lasers Edge record store in Homewood, Alabama. One of the great things about Laser's Edge was with every purchase they would give you a sampler CD of some of the new releases to look out for and these were not just some locals yokles, the likes of Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Andre Previn, Josh Ritter, My Morning Jacket etc. were all on these samplers. However there was one track in particular the fascinated me, it was Wilco's "Kamera", It's hard to explain what listening to Wilco for the first time was like, because at that time I had just discovered The Beatles not a year before, 97.3 (The oldies station) was all I listened to, and my musical knowledge ended around 1971. Wilco was something new, interesting, and modern. But over time the CD got lost and Wilco slipped from memory until last year. When my parents bought me Tom Moon's "1000 Recordings To Listen To Before You Die". In the book Mr. Moon focuses more on the story behind the album. And how it was rejected by their original label (Reprise Records) and then picked up later by another Warner Bros. Label (Nonesuch Records). However what Mr. Moon failed to mention is the power of the music that made the album such a hit. The lyrics of Jeff Tweedy in "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" belie the soul of any young teenager confused with life and love. It is the ultimate break-up song, and well deserving of the title of greatest opening track of the decade. "Heavy Metal Drummer" is the sound of summer love blossoming ("beautiful and stoned"). "Jesus Etc." backbeat relives a 1970s funky backbeat is a cry of two lovers forced to live together post-break up. The voice offers to console her in this tough time ("Don't cry, You can rely on me honey, you can come by anytime you want.") These are just some of the highlights of an album that, when released in 2002 voiced the confusion of a generation in transition (The album had originally been slated for September 11th) but they were able to rely on this legendary album to console them as they discovered both themselves and who they were as a nation.
One of the joys of any journey is recounting the events that led you to take the journey in the first place. And a musical journey is no different, I remember the first time i listened to Wilco, it was 2002, I was 11 years old and my dad had just brought a CD from the now defunct Lasers Edge record store in Homewood, Alabama. One of the great things about Laser's Edge was with every purchase they would give you a sampler CD of some of the new releases to look out for and these were not just some locals yokles, the likes of Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Andre Previn, Josh Ritter, My Morning Jacket etc. were all on these samplers. However there was one track in particular the fascinated me, it was Wilco's "Kamera", It's hard to explain what listening to Wilco for the first time was like, because at that time I had just discovered The Beatles not a year before, 97.3 (The oldies station) was all I listened to, and my musical knowledge ended around 1971. Wilco was something new, interesting, and modern. But over time the CD got lost and Wilco slipped from memory until last year. When my parents bought me Tom Moon's "1000 Recordings To Listen To Before You Die". In the book Mr. Moon focuses more on the story behind the album. And how it was rejected by their original label (Reprise Records) and then picked up later by another Warner Bros. Label (Nonesuch Records). However what Mr. Moon failed to mention is the power of the music that made the album such a hit. The lyrics of Jeff Tweedy in "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" belie the soul of any young teenager confused with life and love. It is the ultimate break-up song, and well deserving of the title of greatest opening track of the decade. "Heavy Metal Drummer" is the sound of summer love blossoming ("beautiful and stoned"). "Jesus Etc." backbeat relives a 1970s funky backbeat is a cry of two lovers forced to live together post-break up. The voice offers to console her in this tough time ("Don't cry, You can rely on me honey, you can come by anytime you want.") These are just some of the highlights of an album that, when released in 2002 voiced the confusion of a generation in transition (The album had originally been slated for September 11th) but they were able to rely on this legendary album to console them as they discovered both themselves and who they were as a nation. 
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