If you know me and we talk music, I've probably expressed my love for Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. When I do end up doing a best of the decade album list, it's going to be hard not to put it at number one. The band's 2002 album has a very mythical status to it now, especially with the timing of a handful of events, including the band being dropped from their label. That event was famously documented in the film I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (a film about Wilco) which is a pretty great music doc if you haven't seen it. It was fairly difficult figuring which of three of four songs off YHF would make it on this list, but it ended up being 'Poor Places'.Most of the great things about YHF can be found in 'Poor Places'. Jeff Tweedy's lyrics are always interesting and 'Poor Places' is no different. The brilliant thing about the album is the way a beautiful melody can be flushed out into something way more interesting by adding layers upon layers of instruments and texture. The end of 'Poor Places' is one of the best examples of that on the album. I'm posting two videos with this....the first is the album version of 'Poor Places'. The second is a clip from the Wilco documentary mentioned above with some behind the scenes recording stuff for the song. The recording of 'Poor Places' begins about 1:30 into the second video.
The album version of 'Poor Places':
Footage of the recording of 'Poor Places' (begins about 1:30 into the video):
-Matt
1 comment:
Stellar. Classic. Landmark album. What else can you say about this album that hasn't already been said? Very difficult to pick a favorite off of YHF, but "Poor Places" is a damn fine place to start. I gotta admit, I was "late to the party" with Wilco but after giving this album one spin I was turned into an immediate die-hard. It's never too late.
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