I saw Wilco at the Ryman Auditorium for the first time in October and it was amazing! I found an artist that is in the same vein - Nathan Roberts. Check out NathanRobertsMusic.tumblr.com
@godelike... being neutral is exactly the message of this song. if that's how it makes you feel, it is perfect... this is wilco's answer to the song from beatles "Let it be".. Very similar conceptual themes.. Just learn to say "meh" is what it is all about...
This is one of my favorite wilco songs, but this mix sounds very flat and lacking a lot. I can understand that you can't always replicate what goes into the studio mix but this sounds really bad. Maybe it has something to do with how this video was recorded to some degree, but really I expected better from Wilco.
people need to let this hipster/true/first fans politics scene bullshit go. it's ruining the essence of music and rock n roll. for fuck's sake, i don't care if you respect my music taste or not. i don't listen to music to impress people or gain some misguided respect and conceited notoriety for being a snobbish music elitist, i listen to music because i love it. it keeps life colorful and interesting. just sit back and listeeeeen bbs
i like this song a lot. I covered shouldn't be ashamed, it's actually pretty good and there's no actual originals for the song, i can't insert links for some reason, its under my channel or just type in Jdespers-Shouldn't Be Ashamed. thanks..
comparing neutral milk hotel to wilco is like apples and oranges. Wilco (along with tupelo) pioneered alt-country and a whole new sound. Songwriting is completely different. Plus wilco is better
@TheGravitationist noo, its a somewhat rarely heard dutch name, some people have the same name but not much, and my parents liked the name, because they knew a person called Wilco
@gogolplex74 Hipster shit for Pitchfork obsessed retards? Jeff Tweedy was making amazing music before Pitchfork was even though of. So nice try sir, but you lose.
@gogolplex74 Pitchfork didn't make them famous. They're famous because they consistently write amazing albums. And no, they don't sound like a Neutral Milk Hotel rip off. They may have slight elements that are reminiscent of NMH, but they're far from a complete rip off. They've got their own sound.
@gogolplex74 Uncle Tupelo, the Wilco progenitor, had been making music long before Neutral Milk Hotel formed; not to mention that it's a dumb comparison to make, since they really sound nothing like one another. Pitchfork had nothing to do with their fame. I would go as far as to say that Pitchfork did more to make NMH famous than doing so for Wilco.
Annoyed? Yeah it is pretty annoying when people make condescending remarks towards people for their musical tastes, isn't it? You're just as stuck up and shallow as the "hipsters" you despise so much.
I connect his phrase "You have to learn how to die/ If you wanna be alive" with Socrates' "True wisdom is the skill and practice of death." My interpretation is this: In order to grow as a person, we must be able to let certain things (negative facets of personality, bad relationships, etc.) "die" (in the metaphorical sense). Another English teacher's $0.02.
I connect his phrase "You have to learn how to die/ If you wanna be alive" with Socrates' "True wisdom is the skill and practice of death." My interpretation is this: In order to grow as a person, we must be able to let certain things (negative facets of personality, bad relationships, etc.) "die" (in the metaphorical sense). Another English teacher's $0.02.
BlackBelt's comment is hilarious! Though I would have to clarify that I think Jeff is the greatest songwriter of the last 20...nah, 30... awww shit, best songwriter ever.
@blackbeltbeatdown I can see you have mastered the concept of restraint so central to the martial arts. Son, you're just are a 5th degree douchebag with a potty mouth and a bad attitude.
Also, looking at the other comments, why ate people obsessed with genre? Is it so they can pretend to be passionate about music? They pigeonhole it because they can't feel it! Total doucheslags!
@typhoon382 The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin , Pink Floyd, The Beatles all used most of the time electric guitar, Todays rock is all about learics and cords thats not Rockn Roll. Song writers use acoustic guitars such as James Taylor and alot of the old folk players. Modern rock or alternative doesn't pay homage to great electric guitar work anymore. This is why my point ....IS VALID !!!!!!!
If you like these guys as much as I do, and you want to discover a similar up and coming artist. Check out Jailbox on iTunes, Twitter, and Myspace. I think you'll like what you hear ;)
Amazing band, amazing song, amazing discography, just keeps getting better (even though YHF is my fave) - the guitar solo on the live version of "Ashes of American Flags" on the Kicking Television has to be heard to be believed - the best 90 seconds of sound I've ever heard
@casperguylkn Oh? I recollect the Wallflowers (Jakob Dylan's band) from the late 80's, and these guys look younger than jake dylan is now, so I thot these guys came after. Wikipedia puts these guys at startup 1994. Did they have a previous incarnation?
Your memory/brain is broken. The Wallflowers achieved fame in 1996 (even though yes, their debut did come out in 1992). Wilco's Jeff Tweedy started with Uncle Tupelo in the late '80s (which is the origin of Wilco's sound) and then yes, formed Wilco in '94. I like the Wallflowers OK, but even contemplating whose sound is whose is laughable, considering Uncle Tupelo essentially invented the alt.country sound that WIlco was initially associated with.
@fasteddie1019 I would say the Rolling stones invented the alt. country sound with exile on main. but contemporary like the latest in music i'd say Wilco puts a stamp on.
@DHLHC I'd say that the Stones actually learned it from Gram Parsons - Gram is generally considered the founder of Country-Rock & Alt-Country, dating back to the landmark album that he made with the Byrds in '68, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Gram was very tight with the Stones, Keith in particular, & it's alleged by some that they actually penned Wild Horses for him, while others claim that he simply convinced Jagger & Richards to allow him to record it with his band, the Flying Burrito Bros.
Hmmm...Try giving an ear to "Sunny Girlfriend", or "What Am I Doing Hanging 'Round?" from the Monkees' Headquarters LP, released in '67. Hipsters learned of alt. country from the Stones, but there was plenty lying about, and pretty much universally disdained. Likewise now, because of Ric Reuben(sp?), all the punks LOVE Johnny Cash, but pretty much ignore his contemporaries. It's attitude country, not alternative country to them.
The general consensus is that the song is in regards to the inner-struggle of war. I always assumed that it was more specific in that wars such as the one in Iraq and Afghanistan are intended to bring peace to those regions, thus in "War on War" Wilco tries to point out the hypocrisy of those conflicts.
This is in reference to how in the frontline.. they instilled courage in the soldiers by telling them that to be functional on the frontline... you have to learn how to die. You have accept the fact that you are already dead. Then will you find the courage and freewill to pick up your gun and fight and be alive. Its a war on war... its an inner struggle first... that is war.
@ashkon52 Jeff Tweedy has stated multiple times that he uses books as reference to many of his songs, this song is based on a quote from "Tuedays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
@ashkon52 this is totally not related to any real war nor to soldiers. This is everyday life struggle, but, if you want, when it comes to wars, by the way, Wilco is totally anti-war band.
@ashkon52 Interesting take on this excellent Wilco song. I also see this as a personal song about living in the moment. The war on war describes the conflict between our ego, or need for control, and our desire to be happy. By learning to die, or giving up our ego, we find beauty in ourselves and happiness in the moment. No matter what interpretation - this song is an example of good writing. Each listener comes away with something different.
@mrshiggs1 Interesting. I've always viewed this song as coming to terms with our own mortality. You have to be able to deal with your mortality and accept it before you can ever really enjoy life while you are living.
@Shep11111 As a creative writing teacher, I encourage multiple readings; there is never just one way to read a poem or a song because we all come from different backgrounds with various understandings of our world and experiences. To me - in this case, either interpretation works because war can be a physical or mental struggle: an exterior or an interior struggle. That's why this song is so great.
Your post and some of the reactions to it awaened some other Wilco lyrics: "When the whole worlds singing your songs
and paintings have all been hung
Just remember what was yours is everyone's from now on"
I'm not really on board with your EXPLANATION, as the time the song was written makes your explanation suspect...and Tweedy's explanations of what it was written about. That being said...your RESPONSE is great. It's cool that this song formed those well-thought out ideas.
@elewewhy You are probably right. It was just my interpretation. Its hard to really say much in a youtube box and many people have now eluded to it. I dont think Im saying that this is a pro-war song. Its just an observation of how we mobilise as a society during war. The comic book 'V for Vendetta' first explosed me to this notion (which the film glosses over) but in the book he almost kills the female protagonist as a lesson... You must first learn how to die before you can learn how to live.
too hard to pick a favourite wilco track but this one comes pretty effen close. i couldnt of seen any reason why this or "heavy metal drummer" couldnt have been good singles. cant wait for brisbane tivoli gig april 30!
it's also a quote from Morrie Schwartz who the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" was based on. Morrie's said, Learn how to live, and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you'll learn how to live."
Hey can some of you PLEASE watch some of my songs? I REALLY want some feedback. Like, if you think I suck, tell me I suck. If you think I'm very average, tell me to stop posting songs. If you LOVE me, tell me.
all people who downgrade wilco are most likely american idol fans. The people below who call wilco 'overrated' or 'bad' should be commissioned to only listening to top 40 radio for the rest of their lives because that's all they're good for. How obnoxious to say that! Especially this duchebag trevormc1434. First off retarded display name. and second you probably go to bed every night listening to 'the climb' by billy ray's little girl. LOSER!!!!!!!
sure I'm a fan. Have been since A.M. And I 'can't stand it' when idiots call them overrated. Come on. They've never had the spotlight and don't care to.
@saddleking25 Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Don't be an arrogant fan, or an ignorant music listener. Like saddleking25 is any of a better screen name lol This stuff is actually more likely to appear on Fuse/Vh1 than any of the stuff I listen to, and I'm not too hot for this band.
Ya this song is middle of the road, but its not bad. If you've listened to the rest of the record, there is some weird stuff on there. Wilco doesn't make a living making middle of the road songs. They got kicked off their record label because the manager said that there were "no singles" on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
I just quickly looked it up, you're mostly right. It was an A&R representative Mio Vukovic, not the head, but a ridiculously minor point. Thanks for the correction :)
who the hell is that on the keyboard closest to Tweedy?
Noseheros 6 days ago
John Stirrat's bass is bee knees on this tune.
banjovi22 1 week ago
They've come such a long, beautiful way.
DanPF9 1 week ago
Lol... Tweedy with a haircut?
sspelak 1 week ago
gleenn kotche <3
angelflorido92 1 month ago
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RainyCatori 2 months ago
I am sorry, but really, what is so special about this? I mean in a good or bad way; to me it sounds absolutely neutral...
godelike 2 months ago
@godelike yeah I know, I'm mad I'm bobbing my head so much to it...
inshepherdswetrust 1 month ago
@godelike... being neutral is exactly the message of this song. if that's how it makes you feel, it is perfect... this is wilco's answer to the song from beatles "Let it be".. Very similar conceptual themes.. Just learn to say "meh" is what it is all about...
rat0attack 1 week ago
This is one of my favorite wilco songs, but this mix sounds very flat and lacking a lot. I can understand that you can't always replicate what goes into the studio mix but this sounds really bad. Maybe it has something to do with how this video was recorded to some degree, but really I expected better from Wilco.
bradstorrs 3 months ago
people need to let this hipster/true/first fans politics scene bullshit go. it's ruining the essence of music and rock n roll. for fuck's sake, i don't care if you respect my music taste or not. i don't listen to music to impress people or gain some misguided respect and conceited notoriety for being a snobbish music elitist, i listen to music because i love it. it keeps life colorful and interesting. just sit back and listeeeeen bbs
bohemianbeagle 3 months ago 2
@mikhkos lol go suck someone's dick
gogolplex74 3 months ago
@GrayPrideGalaxyWide You're into dead fish too? I've honestly never met anyone else that shares this fetish except, to some extent, Kanye West.
xCroB93x 3 months ago
My dead fish makes better music.
xCroB93x 3 months ago
LOVE THIS!
alittleaffair 4 months ago
Where is Nels!?!?!?
Fsparks70 4 months ago
@Fsparks70
He didn't join until 2004. This is from 2002.
TheGravitationist 4 months ago
i don't get it
cryingmelodies25 5 months ago
The Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is definitely one of the best albuns of the 2k's first decade.
Idonteatdog 5 months ago
the fuck is this?
NoMutantAllowed 5 months ago
Guy sounds a lot like Jerry Garcia. There's definitely some Dead in this band.
jwbadham 6 months ago 2
sounds they still Listen to Rumours album..... YUK!!!!!
racoon1957 6 months ago
im not even gonna get into it wit u cunts. this is easily 1 of the greatest band of all time!!!!
frednaskathey 6 months ago
@frednaskathey right? people dont listen anymore.
muzicsalesman 4 months ago in playlist YouTube Mix for Wilco
i like this song a lot. I covered shouldn't be ashamed, it's actually pretty good and there's no actual originals for the song, i can't insert links for some reason, its under my channel or just type in Jdespers-Shouldn't Be Ashamed. thanks..
xyphoidespers 6 months ago
ian Hunter ROCKS!
billwood 6 months ago
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I associate the Sound of this Band with a 21th Century version of the Grateful Dead.
Do I need to say that I like it?
JonasAnonym 6 months ago
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JonasAnonym 6 months ago
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These guys fucking blow!
StoneyMcJuicyBuds 6 months ago
@StoneyMcJuicyBuds i think you have them confused wit yo mama
ri394 6 months ago
comparing neutral milk hotel to wilco is like apples and oranges. Wilco (along with tupelo) pioneered alt-country and a whole new sound. Songwriting is completely different. Plus wilco is better
blindboygrunt13 7 months ago
so pra ficar sussa!!!
vjfelipemonteiro 7 months ago
my name is the same as the title of the band (A)
wildwilco 7 months ago
@wildwilco
did your parents name you after the band?
TheGravitationist 7 months ago
@TheGravitationist noo, its a somewhat rarely heard dutch name, some people have the same name but not much, and my parents liked the name, because they knew a person called Wilco
wildwilco 7 months ago
Comment removed
DanKreiger 7 months ago
NO MAMES! SALE JIM O´ROURKE DETRÁS... QUE CHINGON.
xfebar 8 months ago
@gogolplex74
You're kidding right?
1972jarrod 8 months ago
@gogolplex74
You're kidding, right?
1972jarrod 8 months ago
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0:51 charlie sheen on the drums...
jolson27 9 months ago
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jolson27 9 months ago
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jolson27 9 months ago
Who's the lead singer
connorrob3 9 months ago
These guys are more boring than country music.
jamster8888 9 months ago
@dlb8685 Then watch Conan!
silvermannnnnnn 9 months ago
Dam the music's never this good when I watch Letterman
dlb8685 9 months ago
foottapping bassplayer, like in the seventies ;) LOL!
HaasjeRepje 10 months ago
@HaasjeRepje and every other time period.
Purplepen123783 9 months ago
This is amazing, and continue to be our band's influence! Keep up the good work boys!
thereflectacles 10 months ago
Jeff Tweedy, your music is actually pretty awesome!
CavemanSynthesizer 10 months ago
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fucking hipster shit for pitchfork obsessed retards
my dead fish can make better music than this
gogolplex74 10 months ago
@gogolplex74 Sweet! I can't WAIT to hear what your dead fish makes, because this is pretty awesome.
ZRN959 10 months ago 15
@gogolplex74 thats gogolplex lame.
MrHippobippo 10 months ago
@gogolplex74 Hipster shit for Pitchfork obsessed retards? Jeff Tweedy was making amazing music before Pitchfork was even though of. So nice try sir, but you lose.
neverender888 9 months ago 2
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@neverender888 but p4k made them famous
and they sound like neutral milk hotel rip off
gogolplex74 9 months ago
@gogolplex74 Pitchfork didn't make them famous. They're famous because they consistently write amazing albums. And no, they don't sound like a Neutral Milk Hotel rip off. They may have slight elements that are reminiscent of NMH, but they're far from a complete rip off. They've got their own sound.
neverender888 9 months ago 27
@gogolplex74 you have no idea what you are talking about.
davidyow 8 months ago
@gogolplex74 Uncle Tupelo, the Wilco progenitor, had been making music long before Neutral Milk Hotel formed; not to mention that it's a dumb comparison to make, since they really sound nothing like one another. Pitchfork had nothing to do with their fame. I would go as far as to say that Pitchfork did more to make NMH famous than doing so for Wilco.
Capriccio01 4 months ago
@Capriccio01 Well I still think tha Wilco is better than NMH
Wilco's music got famous because of critical acclaim
NMH got famous because of /mu/
gogolplex74 4 months ago
@gogolplex74
This from a Coldplay fan? I'd rather listen to your dead fish than 'Fix You'.
UncreativeName222 4 months ago
@UncreativeName222 fuck off hipster
gogolplex74 4 months ago
@gogolplex74
Annoyed? Yeah it is pretty annoying when people make condescending remarks towards people for their musical tastes, isn't it? You're just as stuck up and shallow as the "hipsters" you despise so much.
UncreativeName222 3 months ago 2
it's sad how wilco doesn't have a million views on anything
mtd6886 11 months ago
country shit !!
carlos19RKS10 11 months ago
Is it just me or does Dave Letterman never really actually like the bands on his show?
chopperdave13 11 months ago
@chopperdave13
He loves Ryan Adams :)
ajs58174 10 months ago
Stop by my hand to listen to my band coving Ryan Adams songs. Thanks Ya'll
juicemcnorway 11 months ago
reminds me of the beatles
itur8888 1 year ago
@itur8888 thats funny. my dad says the same thing whenever i play wilco
simostuff 11 months ago
@itur8888
Doesn't sound anything remotely like the Beatles
ecmartz 8 months ago
remind of the beatles
itur8888 1 year ago
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I connect his phrase "You have to learn how to die/ If you wanna be alive" with Socrates' "True wisdom is the skill and practice of death." My interpretation is this: In order to grow as a person, we must be able to let certain things (negative facets of personality, bad relationships, etc.) "die" (in the metaphorical sense). Another English teacher's $0.02.
kerfluffy 1 year ago
I connect his phrase "You have to learn how to die/ If you wanna be alive" with Socrates' "True wisdom is the skill and practice of death." My interpretation is this: In order to grow as a person, we must be able to let certain things (negative facets of personality, bad relationships, etc.) "die" (in the metaphorical sense). Another English teacher's $0.02.
kerfluffy 1 year ago
Holy shit you can tell Avi Buffalo are influenced by this band
Ryann15693 1 year ago
I've always thought of Wilco as Pavement's younger, more intellectual brother
LouReedsBooks 1 year ago 3
@LouReedsBooks not at all
mfnpjparty 8 months ago
hahahaha theres a kid in my class his last names wilco
nightwatch501 1 year ago
Who are the 38 jackasses who dislike this??
Triumph72 1 year ago
i loved Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. it's so calming sometimes
leslien92 1 year ago 2
@leslien92 at all times
wilcopops81 1 year ago
Who's playing keyboards on this?
alexs1422 1 year ago
melodic and profound. what more could you ask for?
MrSlimjimk 1 year ago
john stirrat is the fuckin man
unclejunglebass 1 year ago
BlackBelt's comment is hilarious! Though I would have to clarify that I think Jeff is the greatest songwriter of the last 20...nah, 30... awww shit, best songwriter ever.
Bus1588 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown your a piece of shit. Go practice falling down
Pirate0727 1 year ago
linvis protter, mosin mooves!
MrSadGuru 1 year ago
fyi that guy in the background is maestro jim o'rourke.
stereonovas 1 year ago
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These guys fucking suck and they have the lamest fans on the planet. I'd love to punch Jeff Tweedy smack in the face.
blackbeltbeatdown 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown you a bitch boy bro
Sadsic 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown That doesn't suprise me, with a name like that...
Meatpuppet1234 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown I can see you have mastered the concept of restraint so central to the martial arts. Son, you're just are a 5th degree douchebag with a potty mouth and a bad attitude.
volzrule98 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown
why are you here then??
xXxDaNgErMouSE93xXx 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown you must be one of those dominant male monkey mother fuckers
Bhaile08 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown 0/10
notbuttershift1 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown you're a cool kid.
TheBensont123 1 year ago
@blackbeltbeatdown
Lol, tweedy would knock the shit out of you, man...xD
weakervessel 1 year ago
rafita lorca sí que sabes
vacoin 1 year ago
wilco arent a rock n roll band dumbass, they are an alt rock band
get it right david
11joshman 1 year ago
JB, love man...
reissue 1 year ago
Man, that Fender bass sounds so good. I hate it in concert when he puts that one away and takes out the hoffner - it sounds weak by comaparison.
smallbeans 1 year ago
Please, say that again in English. "It's a Wah and Wah?" Are you Ozzy?
ThomasMetal75 1 year ago
Also, looking at the other comments, why ate people obsessed with genre? Is it so they can pretend to be passionate about music? They pigeonhole it because they can't feel it! Total doucheslags!
R8mondo 1 year ago
Jim O' Rourke at the back.... He plays super well!
R8mondo 1 year ago
Tom6093 you are a tool.
joesoleo1 1 year ago
this is a lot more compelling than the album version
hazybear 1 year ago
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Rockn Roll doesn't have acoustic guitars.
Tom6093 1 year ago
@Tom6093 Thats as valid as saying Rock and roll doesnt have electric guitars.
typhoon382 1 year ago
@typhoon382 The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin , Pink Floyd, The Beatles all used most of the time electric guitar, Todays rock is all about learics and cords thats not Rockn Roll. Song writers use acoustic guitars such as James Taylor and alot of the old folk players. Modern rock or alternative doesn't pay homage to great electric guitar work anymore. This is why my point ....IS VALID !!!!!!!
Tom6093 1 year ago
@Tom6093 Elvis used an acoustic guitar... You could not be more wrong.
djramone 1 year ago
@djramone Thats Hillbilly rock !!!! Not Rockn Roll
Tom6093 1 year ago
this could have used another electric guitar.
ezrhino100 1 year ago
wow war is so terrible!!!
megsalisburydimitrov 1 year ago
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MsMusicstalker 1 year ago
war is the bad thing ever happened to the earth.
chunkspizza 1 year ago
@chunkspizza no, bad grammar is
zach92zach 1 year ago
R.I.P. Jay Bennett.
casperguylkn 1 year ago
GOD DAMN THIS BAND IS SO FUCKING GOOD
thatspud 1 year ago
Amazing band, amazing song, amazing discography, just keeps getting better (even though YHF is my fave) - the guitar solo on the live version of "Ashes of American Flags" on the Kicking Television has to be heard to be believed - the best 90 seconds of sound I've ever heard
kickittome70 1 year ago
Terrific!
moosey62 1 year ago
Anybody else think their sounds resembles the Wallflowers a little? And I like it.... :)
BeeCeereeus 1 year ago
@BeeCeereeus They were around before the Wallflowers, I believe.
casperguylkn 1 year ago
@casperguylkn Oh? I recollect the Wallflowers (Jakob Dylan's band) from the late 80's, and these guys look younger than jake dylan is now, so I thot these guys came after. Wikipedia puts these guys at startup 1994. Did they have a previous incarnation?
BeeCeereeus 1 year ago
@BeeCeereeus
Your memory/brain is broken. The Wallflowers achieved fame in 1996 (even though yes, their debut did come out in 1992). Wilco's Jeff Tweedy started with Uncle Tupelo in the late '80s (which is the origin of Wilco's sound) and then yes, formed Wilco in '94. I like the Wallflowers OK, but even contemplating whose sound is whose is laughable, considering Uncle Tupelo essentially invented the alt.country sound that WIlco was initially associated with.
fasteddie1019 1 year ago
@fasteddie1019 I would say the Rolling stones invented the alt. country sound with exile on main. but contemporary like the latest in music i'd say Wilco puts a stamp on.
DHLHC 1 year ago
@DHLHC I'd say that the Stones actually learned it from Gram Parsons - Gram is generally considered the founder of Country-Rock & Alt-Country, dating back to the landmark album that he made with the Byrds in '68, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Gram was very tight with the Stones, Keith in particular, & it's alleged by some that they actually penned Wild Horses for him, while others claim that he simply convinced Jagger & Richards to allow him to record it with his band, the Flying Burrito Bros.
LeGrandeOrange 1 year ago
@LeGrandeOrange
Hmmm...Try giving an ear to "Sunny Girlfriend", or "What Am I Doing Hanging 'Round?" from the Monkees' Headquarters LP, released in '67. Hipsters learned of alt. country from the Stones, but there was plenty lying about, and pretty much universally disdained. Likewise now, because of Ric Reuben(sp?), all the punks LOVE Johnny Cash, but pretty much ignore his contemporaries. It's attitude country, not alternative country to them.
facelesshorseman 1 year ago
@casperguylkn ... nevertheless, their sound is really good! :)
BeeCeereeus 1 year ago
This is awesome. Terry Griffiths on keyboards as well.. fantastic !
meerkat710 1 year ago 2
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Wilco sucks. Listen to Ryan Adams.
N0G0Dsuckers 1 year ago
@N0G0Dsuckers you suck listen again!
jestoon425 1 year ago 2
sounds a little bit like green day's "last of the american girls."
winggoddess 1 year ago
The general consensus is that the song is in regards to the inner-struggle of war. I always assumed that it was more specific in that wars such as the one in Iraq and Afghanistan are intended to bring peace to those regions, thus in "War on War" Wilco tries to point out the hypocrisy of those conflicts.
halibutpie 1 year ago
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_Cody (Jailbox)
Jailboxband 1 year ago
That lyric reminded me of a Bruce Lee quote: "To accept defeat — to learn to die — is to be liberated from it."
Quixotic1018 1 year ago
Stewboss "No One"
Stewbossmusic 1 year ago
is voice sounds off here
settler18 1 year ago
Jeff Tweedy is The Man.
jtdiver 1 year ago 52
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Franz ferdinand, the strokes, Interpol
that's different class
father042 1 year ago
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yeah, worse class def.
yourfaultpoops 1 year ago
If you think that garage class is better than post-punk...
allright
father042 1 year ago
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weak song
father042 1 year ago
I really liked this version of Wilco. Leroy Bach did alot to keep them afloat for a couple of tough years.
PappyHab 1 year ago 3
"You have to lose...Learn how to die"
This is in reference to how in the frontline.. they instilled courage in the soldiers by telling them that to be functional on the frontline... you have to learn how to die. You have accept the fact that you are already dead. Then will you find the courage and freewill to pick up your gun and fight and be alive. Its a war on war... its an inner struggle first... that is war.
ashkon52 1 year ago 68
@ashkon52 Jeff Tweedy has stated multiple times that he uses books as reference to many of his songs, this song is based on a quote from "Tuedays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
jovenmedia 1 year ago
@ashkon52 This is also reflective of the Heideggerean conception of death and man's finitude as a necessarily aspect of what it means to be alive.
rblodget 1 year ago
@ashkon52 this is totally not related to any real war nor to soldiers. This is everyday life struggle, but, if you want, when it comes to wars, by the way, Wilco is totally anti-war band.
zurkolomac 1 year ago
@ashkon52 Interesting take on this excellent Wilco song. I also see this as a personal song about living in the moment. The war on war describes the conflict between our ego, or need for control, and our desire to be happy. By learning to die, or giving up our ego, we find beauty in ourselves and happiness in the moment. No matter what interpretation - this song is an example of good writing. Each listener comes away with something different.
mrshiggs1 1 year ago
@mrshiggs1 Interesting. I've always viewed this song as coming to terms with our own mortality. You have to be able to deal with your mortality and accept it before you can ever really enjoy life while you are living.
Shep11111 1 year ago
@Shep11111 As a creative writing teacher, I encourage multiple readings; there is never just one way to read a poem or a song because we all come from different backgrounds with various understandings of our world and experiences. To me - in this case, either interpretation works because war can be a physical or mental struggle: an exterior or an interior struggle. That's why this song is so great.
mrshiggs1 1 year ago
@ashkon52 music and poerty is about what ever you want it to be. that is the beauty of it.
4eachother 11 months ago
@ashkon52
Your post and some of the reactions to it awaened some other Wilco lyrics: "When the whole worlds singing your songs
and paintings have all been hung
Just remember what was yours is everyone's from now on"
I'm not really on board with your EXPLANATION, as the time the song was written makes your explanation suspect...and Tweedy's explanations of what it was written about. That being said...your RESPONSE is great. It's cool that this song formed those well-thought out ideas.
elewewhy 11 months ago
@elewewhy You are probably right. It was just my interpretation. Its hard to really say much in a youtube box and many people have now eluded to it. I dont think Im saying that this is a pro-war song. Its just an observation of how we mobilise as a society during war. The comic book 'V for Vendetta' first explosed me to this notion (which the film glosses over) but in the book he almost kills the female protagonist as a lesson... You must first learn how to die before you can learn how to live.
ashkon52 11 months ago
too hard to pick a favourite wilco track but this one comes pretty effen close. i couldnt of seen any reason why this or "heavy metal drummer" couldnt have been good singles. cant wait for brisbane tivoli gig april 30!
simostuff 1 year ago
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Fluff and drivel.
mercenarylibrarian 2 years ago
YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE!!! YOU HAVE TO LOSE!1! YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO DIE!!!!
I have no idea what that means but it makes sense!
Most great things in life are paradoxes...wilco is no exception.
220Media 2 years ago 7
@220Media
Well then they sing "You have to learn how to die / If you wanna wanna be alive."
I think the point is that, in order to really and fully appreciate winning (and living) you have to learn how to lose (or die, so to speak).
NorthWriter 1 year ago
@NorthWriter
yeah it reminds me of an episode in "band of brothers", where there was a private who was afraid to fight and hid in the trenches.
His Lieutenant told him to "learn to die first and then you'll never fear death."
220Media 1 year ago
@northwriter
it's also a quote from Morrie Schwartz who the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" was based on. Morrie's said, Learn how to live, and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you'll learn how to live."
A very profound paradox...
220Media 1 year ago
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Got a headache listening to this band. U2 is also a band i get a headache from LOL
zepkid1 2 years ago
both bands remove headaches
SenorStupido 2 years ago
I guess I'm one those people who think they are overrated then, but I'll pass on the "Top 40" and American Idol.
MightyDragon 2 years ago
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Hey can some of you PLEASE watch some of my songs? I REALLY want some feedback. Like, if you think I suck, tell me I suck. If you think I'm very average, tell me to stop posting songs. If you LOVE me, tell me.
ryanthethird 2 years ago
all people who downgrade wilco are most likely american idol fans. The people below who call wilco 'overrated' or 'bad' should be commissioned to only listening to top 40 radio for the rest of their lives because that's all they're good for. How obnoxious to say that! Especially this duchebag trevormc1434. First off retarded display name. and second you probably go to bed every night listening to 'the climb' by billy ray's little girl. LOSER!!!!!!!
saddleking25 2 years ago 7
fanboy
Ranc0r007 2 years ago
sure I'm a fan. Have been since A.M. And I 'can't stand it' when idiots call them overrated. Come on. They've never had the spotlight and don't care to.
saddleking25 2 years ago 3
@saddleking25 I agree, and whatever acclaim they do get, they completely deserve
DoctorTchock 2 years ago
@saddleking25 Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Don't be an arrogant fan, or an ignorant music listener. Like saddleking25 is any of a better screen name lol This stuff is actually more likely to appear on Fuse/Vh1 than any of the stuff I listen to, and I'm not too hot for this band.
mikeyskywalker 2 years ago
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not saying there bad but definitely the single most overrated band ever
trevormc1434 2 years ago
you're a fag. U2 is the most overrated band ever. DUH!
saddleking25 2 years ago 7
i mean wilco's awesome, but U2's pretty good too, you know they can both be good
jhuggins27 2 years ago 6
If you do not understand this great music and poetry, you do not have to listen! (love this song!)
larryblackde 2 years ago 4
Wico rocks
meyerw4 2 years ago 7
once but my dad could take it
bleach6bleach 2 years ago
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middle of the road bullshit
feralmothbite 2 years ago
@feralmothbite
Ya this song is middle of the road, but its not bad. If you've listened to the rest of the record, there is some weird stuff on there. Wilco doesn't make a living making middle of the road songs. They got kicked off their record label because the manager said that there were "no singles" on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
BloggerMusicMan 2 years ago
@BloggerMusicMan it was actually the head of A&R at their label who condemned the album as having no singles.
RocksOff1039 2 years ago
I just quickly looked it up, you're mostly right. It was an A&R representative Mio Vukovic, not the head, but a ridiculously minor point. Thanks for the correction :)
BloggerMusicMan 2 years ago
you should respect his, which im sure floating boats stands for
bleach6bleach 2 years ago