Wilco - Being There Poll

what's the world got in store -> hotel arizona -> say you miss me are my fav 3 songs on this all in a row

i hadn't heard this yet in 2011 when this poll ran despite being really into summerteeth and YHF way back in high school

second half stunner that deserved a vote is "why would you wanna live"

Otm, shocked that I apparently didn’t vote for it. In my top 3 songs on this record, maybe top 2.

the second disc of this is a fair bit weaker than the first, would have been phenomenal cut down a little bit to make a single album

still going with RE&B in 2022

misunderstood
far far away
monday
outtasite outta mind
red-eyed and blue
why would you wanna live
sunken treasure
i got you
what's the world got in store
hotel arizona
say you miss me
the lonely 1

something like this is what i'd edit it down to

i must be the only one with a soft spot for “kingpin” and “someday soon.” the zero vote-getter that i would prob choose is “was i in your dreams”

I enjoy "Someday Soon", but "Kingpin" is so embarrassingly bad they shouldn't even have recorded it. I think I'd have voted for "Misunderstood".

I read How To Write One Song, mentioned above, but it's misnamed. It's really about setting up routines and practices to become a regular songwriter. Writing just one song would presume that you sit down knowing what you want to say, which isn't Tweedy's method - he free-associates and figures out what the song might mean afterwards.

I'll have to revisit this, but IIRC every time I've played it, my enjoyment rapidly starts to fade once I hit "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)" on Disc Two.

(I should just try stopping the album after "Someday Soon" and see how it works if the first 12 tracks were THE album proper.)

Say You Miss Me or Forget the Flowers

Probably an unpopular opinion but in my edit I would lose the maudlin epics that open each disc. I get that they're important breakthroughs that point the way to the future direction of the band, but Tweedy's not really there yet imo, and when I reach for this album I'm looking for trad/Americana-era Wilco sounds, not Important Artistic Songs. I would keep all the genre pastiche and probably end up with:

Far Far Away
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
Forget the Flowers
Red Eyed & Blue
I Got You
Someday Soon
Was I In Your Dreams
Hotel Arizona
Why Would You Wanna Live
Dreamer in My Dreams