Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Alright. Not really my thing. 3/5 ⭐️ 267/1089

Not heard anything by Wilco before, but I did like this album

A great album introduced to me by my Wilco fan friend. Just well crafted but oblique lyrics on top of well crafted but oblique music. It's great throughout. 4.6 out of 5.

3.23 out of 5 stars for this one. I thought it had some interesting vibes to it. Almost Beck like with some stuff and maybe even Radiohead in the long meandering ending track and opening track. Overall, I didn't mind it. Not sure if it makes my library at this point, but I may come for a couple of songs, Heavy Metal Drummer, and Pot Kettle Black. Definitely should be heard by everyone at least once before they die.

There’s always a demon. In every life. In every age. Everyone has one that’s their own, but every generation has one in common. And while the Devil may have promised Jesus unlimited power and riches in the desert, Jesus was a big get. Our souls don’t fetch that high a price. Our demons just whisper in our ear, “I will make things just a little bit easier,” and we don’t think to ask what it will cost, or if we do ask, it gives a vague reply and we get distracted and forget we asked or what the answer was. Your personal demon may be alcohol or consumerism or nicotine or video games or gambling or opioids or whatever. But our generation’s demon was screens. And we gave up our children in the deal. The demon of iPads and iPhones and YouTube and TikTok said “I will distract your children and get them off your fucking back for five seconds so you can drink a cup of coffee and get ready for work” and we took the deal not thinking about the cost. We may have sold our souls a bit, but we gave up our children’s completely. Every time I see a 15 year old walking down the sidewalk with all of creation unfolding around them while they stare unblinkingly at a nine inch black rectangle; every time I say “Can I get some silverware?” to a 19 year old behind a counter and get the blank Gen Z stare indicating a complete lack of understanding of the concept of someone speaking to them in person and how that works; I don’t go “oh these darn kids!” Instead I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and regret for the choice we made in our 20’s or 30’s to give our children to The Beast. Or Mr. Beast. We abandoned the most precious gift we will ever have in life to brand new technology that none of us knew what the effect of exposure to it would be on young minds because it made our lives slightly easier. And now we live in the world we created by making that choice. A world where - from birth - our children were inundated with bright colors and exciting sounds and an endless stream of new things to look at, each one promising to be more interesting than whatever came before it. A world where the expectation of constant stimulation became so ingrained that sitting with something quiet or unfamiliar or demanding began to feel like a chore. A world where nuance and subtlety and allowing an artist to take you on a journey that you’re not sure where it leads but then you get there and you’re delighted, both because the artist totally landed the plane and because you’re surprised by the result, are unthinkable. A world where the kids think Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is boring. To my children, and to all the children of my generation, I’m so sorry. You deserved better and we failed you. I hope that when your generation’s demon whispers in your ear that you will be stronger than we were.

I saw the band and immediately thought “ahh fuck, these guys suck”. Then I quickly reminded myself that I enjoyed the last album I was forced to listen to by them due to this app. Now I’m listening with open ears and mind. Right away, I’m hearing the Lemonheads mixed with The Eels. So it’s darker than I expected. Even if I didn’t expect anything, it’s not a feel good album. There isn’t really much to take away from listening to think. I don’t hate Wilco when I’m listening to them. Perhaps you will have the same outcome

Just really dull

I've only heard a couple wilco songs before and I liked them so I'm excited to listen to this album.

I think I’ve heard better Wilco

Loved this album. So many different sounds. They really remind me of Kurt Vile.

Summerteeth was my intro to Wilco. I was not in the alt country at the time so I was unaware of Uncle Tupelo but I was in love with Summerteeth. Played it nonstop so I was ready when this album came out. It completely exceeded my expectations. It was still catchy songwriting but it had an added experimentalism that I was all about at the time. Absolutely a five star album for me.

Un punto de inflexión del rock alternativo estadounidense del siglo XXI que ha envejecido bien como un estudio sobre la tensión entre la melodía orgánica y el ruido contemporáneo. En el plano de diseño formal, la producción da claridad absoluta al corazón instrumental de las composiciones, articulando guitarras acústicas, bajos melódicos y percusiones matemáticas con nitidez, aun cuando la irrupción constante de distorsiones, ondas de radio y ruidos de fondo genere una aspereza desconcertante que desafía deliberadamente la comodidad de la escucha. La entrega de Jeff Tweedy y la banda sostiene una fuerza y calidez que transmiten autenticidad pura, otorgándole al ensamble una autoridad superior desde una interpretación vulnerable, desprovista de artificios y profundamente terrenal. Pasajes como la progresión fracturada de "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", la elegancia orquestal de "Jesus, Etc.", la ligereza rítmica de "Heavy Metal Drummer" y la marea final de "Poor Places" sostienen un peso musical conmovedor, crudo y real en su sola textura e inflexión melódica, sin depender del análisis lírico para comunicar honestidad. A pesar de los ruidos e interferencias que tensan el ambiente, el álbum preserva una subyacente sensación de paz y fluidez que lo vuelve funcional para múltiples usos, adaptándose especialmente como un fondo estimulante para el trabajo creativo, la conducción atenta o momentos de reflexión solitaria.

This was my first time listen to anything by Wilco and I really quite enjoyed this. At first, I was slightly worried that this was going to be another early 2000s radiohead clone, with the vocals borrowing heavily from the tender, intimacy that Thom Yorke is so well-known for. However, it proved to be very much its own thing. Solid alt-rock across the board, with enough stand-out tracks and experimentation to warrant a good review. I'll certainly come back to this at a later date.

Not for me. What is with all the monotonous whiny lead singers on this list?

You read comments like the following and have to stop and wonder “Who is wrong?” …because it’s either me or them! ”Yankee Hotel Foxtrot received widespread acclaim from music critics at release, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 2000s and of all time.” One of the greatest albums of all time??!! Are you effing high?! It’s not even in my top 100. Hell, I’m not sure why it’s on this list of the top 1001! The music itself is ok but the consistent somber lyrics are a huge downer. I also don’t care for the experimental sounds that float in the background.

It’s hard for me to call myself a Wilco fan, although they have written some of my favorite songs of all time. Their very nature is change and, because of this, they move through so many styles from one album to the next, and at times from one song to the next, they sound like a different band. In places, YHF sounds like Bright Eyes, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen or The War on Drugs. If you don’t like a song, just wait. This is not Sky Blue Sky or Summerteeth, by design of course, but it is brilliant in its own way. Easy to hate on this with it’s cacophony of background sounds, but try it again and see if you aren’t just singing along to Jesus, etc. or Reservations.

Wikipedia describes them as an American rock band. This is not rock. This is what Nick Drake would have sounded like had he been around in the 2000s, only worse. Nick Drake with Air Supply as his band. Did not enjoy this one

this album is like a ray of sun breaking through on a cloudy day

A strong (if slightly overrated) album from Wilco. Jeff Tweedy is at the top of his song-writing game.

Pretty decent and good sounding overall.

It's boring, that's all I can say about this album.

Ik wou het eerst drie sterren geven, ik vond het niet vervelend, maar niet bijzonder. Toen ging ik het nog een keer luisteren en betrapte ik me dat ik een liedje zat te neuriën. Toen nog een keer geluisterd echt van genoten. En dan snap ik niet meer dat ik het de eerste keer niet zo bijzonder vond.

Te lang bij dt album blijven hangen omdat ik niet goed weet wat ik ervan vind. Ik weet dat Tess er vroeger fan van was maar mij heeft het nooit zo gepakt. Ben wel fan de de vele soundscapes op dit album. Kan niet veel slechts zeggen over dit album. Het is niet direct genoeg om je te pakken maar het is ook weer niet rustig genoeg om in een goede flow te komen. Het blijft er tussenin hangen waardoor ik er niet in blijf of kom. Staan best wat leuke nummers op maar zal niet zo snel terugkeren voor het hele album.

Eindelijk even goed kennis kunnen maken met Wilco. Ik ken mensen waarvan dit hun favoriete band is, en volgens mij heeft het dan ook best een grote fanbase waar ik wel in kan komen. Ik vind het leuk: t is een beetje folky, een beetje indie en het bevat mooie instrumenten zoals de akoestische gitaar en Rhodes. Ook de stem van Jeff Tweedy vind ik fijn, en de drums zijn heerlijk droog opgenomen. De nummers zijn catchy te noemen en vooral de minimalistische stukken vind ik fijn om te horen, zoals Jesus, Etc. Ik ben er verder niet helemaal uit of ik de glitchy/noise-effecten leuk vind. Ik snap wat ze ermee willen doen maar ik ben er niet van overtuigd dat t album t echt nodig heeft. Ook zo’n album waarvan ik het idee heb dat je m op z’n minst drie keer moet luisteren.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco is a solid 7/10 masterwork of experimental indie and art rock.

Spectacular in parts

It was ok, I would have given it 3 but for the whiny static noise on several songs. Was very unpleasant!

if i had to describe the album in one word: boring. not much is going on, every song sounds almost the same. same beat, same vocals. i didn't enjoy it and i'll never be coming back to it.

Started with a trio of melancholy songs that made me want to chain smoke a pack of cigarettes by myself, then went through more genres than I knew Wilco was capable of, before finishing right where it started. Solid 3 creeping toward a 4.

I went into this listening experience thinking that the Wilco album I heard in 1995 was their breakthrough record. I started listening to YHF and thought it sounded very experimental and must be one of their first bodies of work. Nope! I really loved YHF, but not right away. During the first track, I questioned Tweedy’s voice and whether it was on-key. I felt like some elementary school students had brought in empty glass bottles, pots, pans, and silverware from home to replicate instruments. But then each track drew me in. The lyrics were strong. The vocals seemed to quickly gain an identity and confidence. The music was more complicated, especially the percussion. I also felt like the band had nods to a variety of other groups, like The Beatles and Radiohead. Tracks 7-10 really hooked me, but the lead up to these deserve a lot of credit and another listen. And I want to go back to earlier Wilco albums and the 1995 one I knew and get a better feel for their larger library.

5.2/10. A certainly obvious indie album, I couldn't help but continuously think of the scene from "Community" where the hitchhiker sings "Jesus Loves Marijuana"; it all sounded like a depressing version of that. The instrumentation was curious, but not exciting enough to make me listen to it again at all. Indie rock like this just isn't my thing.

Verstehe den Hate nicht, sehr schönes gemütliches Album +Reservations

Key album for me. Opened up a world of music to me when I was first exposed to this. Wilco - > Uncle Tupelo ->Son Volt -> All kinds of great county and Americana music. Came out at exactly the right time. In 2001 I was eager and able to expand my musical taste while simultaneously being full of all the typical middle class adolescent feelings. I'm sure this is boring for some people, but I'll never be able to hear it that way. I also still really like it. I find it interesting and lovely to listen to. The best of Tweedy's experimentation as he moved away from county. I really like his guitar tone and style, not groundbreaking, but nice. Holds together exceptionally well. Hard to pick out any favorite song, they flow together and make a whole . No skips either. Easy 5 stars, a real touchstone for me. Bonus points for the album cover which I've always loved. Not from Chicago, but the vibes are perfect.

Miellyttävä

Yeah man, this is a banger. I know nothing about this band or the album's wild history before this, but I really started enjoying this right from the first song. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Jesus Etc., Heavy Metal Drummer, Poor Places, and Reservations are all just bangers. Really enjoyed the hell out of it.

Never heard of this band, don't think I missed much.

I didn't listen much to this album, busy day and all. It was okay

yes

Sky Blue Sky will forever be my favorite of theirs, but this album is fantastic.

I am not a huge Wilco fan, don't like their country twang Americana sound that I was familiar with. First time I have listened to this whole album at once and it is a lot different than what I was expecting. This is way more experimental, psychedelic lo-fi with some americana roots. It really sounds like a 90's lo-fi indie inspired album, Heavy Metal Drummer is a straight Pavement rip-off. I like this one way more than anything else I have heard from them, cool throw-back to a lot of the bands that I like from the 80's and 90's.

I love rock and i was looking forward to listening to this when i saw the cover art, BUT OH MY STARS THIS IS SO BORING! I'm sorry, it's only good for background noise while you edit pictures on Canva

Unsure how this is "art rock" because this reminds me more of their alt-country-rock sound. "Heavy Metal Drummer" does sound different. This is an evening/late-night album as it carries an introspective mood. Its slow pace though makes for a boring but tolerable listen. I much prefer "Being There" as at least it had more spunk and energy. Maybe I'm just not in the mood for something introspective, I do too much of that already (2.5-3).

Kind of a revelation to me. I've listened to it many times but never loved it that much and discovered some of it's most beautiful melodic passages.

I liked pot kettle black and I will relisten sometime

Bien m, je vais sûrement l’oublier

Say what you want about Wilco but man they’re consistent Fundamentally this is a pretty solid album. I think the vocalist is actually pretty damn good and adds a lot to the vibe they’re going for. Heavy Metal Drummer is easily the best thing on here, great song that spices up the variety significantly. Instrumentation is good for the most part, and I think they do a pretty splendid job of building at atmosphere that so many other bands suck at I’m just not a huge fan of the static radio noise they throw in all over this album, it definitely gets obnoxious at times even though it’s kinda their thing. Not a huge fan of the first song and definitely think it could be cut in half and nothing would be lost. Other than the aforementioned Heavy Metal Drummer I think everything on here is just average at best This one does have parts I actively dislike, but it’s not THAT bad and I think the rest of the album is inoffensive enough to not bring it down too much. Definitely a 6/10 for me

why is it that same energy albums with a white dude on guitar bore me to death except for wilco? what kind of black magic is it like idk man im just out here with my feelings and thoughts. its like a vibe.

Here's the thing, my taste in music isn't ever particularly controversial. I like most of the big classic albums and even the ones I don't I still understand why they are celebrated. This is a very rare example where I am not hearing what everyone else is. There’s something very calculated about all of it, where they had ideas that would be refreshing when introduced to the alt-rock they’re making but they didn’t want to rock the boat too much just in case it lost them some appeal. A good example of this is the song Poor Places, where the song ends in some screeching guitar feedback, but it’s so turned down and short lived I can only assume they were worried it might offend someone. Most of this is so forgettable as well! I’ve given this album 4 very generous listens recently, even then I can only vaguely remember the vocal melody to the first song and Heavy Metal Drummer, the latter more because it’s mildly annoying. It's not even outright BAD, but this album is so unmemorable and lacking any sort of attempt to stick to anything interesting that it's borderline offensive in how inoffensive it is. There’s a place for it, possibly in the background of a coffee shop, but the idea that this should be heralded as one of the great indie records is baffling to me.

I enjoyed this but can’t see myself listening to it straight through again. A solid 3.5

A but dull and repetitive. Just doesn’t grab your attention. Quite a whiny voice

This was okay, not really for me. It had moments, but overall just passed me by

You can dial this one up while makin dinner

Couldnt have come at a better time. If fresh air was an album. Exceptional. Faves: Radio Cure, War on War, Jesus, I'm the man who loves you, Pot Kettle Black, Reservations Rating: 9.6/10

A truly fascinating album with a unique quality that is not purposely painful to the ears and lyrics that are intelligent and thought provoking. Never been a huge Wilco fan and never knew of this album until today but this was a great effort and good choice for this list.

Três bon

meni baš kriminalno lose. Jedno tri puta sam htio prestat slušat, ali sam reko aaajde mozda uleti jedna dobra barem. I htio sam stavit dvojku, jer kao vidim da ih ekipa i slusa, ali ipak ne mogu.

Overall, meh. Not very impressive.

I want desparately to like it but i found it a bit underwhelming. The songs i did like left me thinking they do brit pop better than many britpop bands, some lovely Beatlesque elements.

Yeah, it's still that good

This album made me think of damp toast.

IIIIIII'VE GOT RESERVAAAAAATIIOOONS ABOUT SO MANY THINGS BUT NOT ABOUT YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT

I will never forget the first time I listened to "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart". It was a thunder strike in my ears. Fifty sounds I'd never heard before and yet had always known immediately filling my brain. I had never heard anyone sing the way Jeff Tweedy does, or speak about life the way Jeff Tweedy does on that song. I could disappear into every couplet of it forever. It's a fully realized, clambering and clanking "wallace and gromit invention" of a song, spinning and zagging and falling down the stairs in the most splendid gorgeous way. It's the funniest song ever written but remember this is not a joke so please stop smiling. It took me years to actually listen to the rest of the album because every time I pressed play I would just keep relistening to that opening track. I still find it hard to progress past the first song because it is truly one of the all time great achievements in songwriting and production and the dovetailing of the two. But every time I let myself continue into the rest of the album I remember that it is straight up one of the greatest records ever. It's a heightening of Tweedy's craft as he pitches his unique craft instincts and melodic sense across the sounds of missed connections, a world growing apart from itself, cell towers and radio waves. "Radio Cure" contains a stark vulnerability that's like staring into the sun, or a black hole that fades away in the gorgeous chorus. "Jesus, Etc." is such a perfect (but not conventional) pop song it actually is maddening to imagine someone spinning it out of nothing. "Poor Places" is about as good a song as anyone has ever written or ever will write -- the seismic, trembling, swelling import of the tidal wave forming in that song's climax feels like watching the Titanic sink. It's so massive while being insular and pinpoint. How in the heck did they pull this off? I've found a lot of solace and inspiration in Wilco's music this year, especially in Tweedy's songwriting, which I guess makes me want to talk at length about their great achievement here. But the thing is, for however much people build it up, or lay out the red carpet for it, it really speaks for itself. The live versions of these songs sound so uncannily like the record that I have full faith in believing that we are hearing these songs exactly as they occurred to Tweedy and the band. It is paradoxical that it exists as it does for us to hear and enjoy. There's no explaining it. There's just experiencing it. What was I thinking when I said hello

Meh

The OK Computer of alt country.

This is so dull

I was familiar with the hits from this album, but hadent listened to the album in full. I enjoyed it- Wilco has a relaxed style and clever lyrics, and it's good easy listening. I enjoyed the end of the album more than the beginning. Overall 3.5/5

To me, 'Jesus, Etc.' is the greatest pop song ever, and while Yankee Hotel Foxtrot isn't as flawlessly consistent as Summerteeth, it still has plenty of other highlights as well. Definitely a five-star classic.

Low end of a 5 star for me but still worthy of it. Really an album that doesn't sound quite like anything else, just so much attention to detail and so many moments that just stick in my head, little musical riffs and production choices that just work so well.

Soitanta oli kivaa ja siellä oli paikoin mukavia efektejä. Laulu taas ei kaikissa biiseissä miellyttänyt.

Mielenkiintoinen levy, tullut vastaan vastaavissa "best x ever" konteksteissa, ja yhden kappaleen oon aiemmin kuunnellut kyseistä levyä. Päällisin puolin fiilis aika pliisu, ei liikauttanut suuresti, mutta kuitenkin kokemuksena valtaosin positiivisen puolella koko levy. Mieto mielenkiinto, saa nähdä jatkuuko tutkimusmatkailu Wilcon tai kyseisen levyn suhteen. Uikoon ujosti nelosen puolelle.

שוב שמיעה וזאת

I’ve never been super impressed with Wilco but also I just don’t love indie so it makes sense not to love it’s mainstay artists however I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would and would def listen again. It’s interesting and layered. It’s got an extra umph that most the rest of indie lacks.

Listened to this when it came out and I still love it, its a really good feeling album, good music all round

yes

My favorite Wilco album, so many great songs.

Kyle core

Classic album, kind of brooding and meandering and the addition of the soviet number station adds to the mystery.

Medio aburrido, no le agarré la onda

perfectly serviceable alt-country album. 3/5.

Love that this album delivery service has provided another lovely Sunday album to me. Never heard of Wilco (other than the deceased shop, so sad) so had no expectations, but song after song impressed me. Really nice music where you can hear each instrument individually. Strange, melancholic, but also fun and inventive. Had a real struggle deciding which songs to add to my list, so think that shows that it's well good x

This is awful. The guy has a terrible singing voice and the music is blander than beige.

the best album ever made.

Really atmospheric, great with my headphones although at times felt a little too much. I don't like the style of the singer though.

I have a love/hate relationship with Wilco, primarily because I find Jeff Tweedy's voice to be a little irritating if I'm in the wrong mood and the music to be more slight than it's often hyped up to be. I'd personally recommend their live album Kicking Television: Live in Chicago over this one, but I do like "Kamera" and "Heavy Metal Drummer" from this one. Listening to it 20+ years removed from when I first heard it, along with all the other indie rock stuff, makes me realize it's definitely a product of its time, but not really one that transcends it. Long-winded way of saying: it's alright but don't get too excited about it... (3/5)

The record that has been a touchstone throughout this project — referenced in the Television listen for the guitar interplay, in the Marquee Moon review for the extended instrumental conversations, in the Americana discussions as the record that took the tradition somewhere genuinely new. Arriving as an assigned listen after all that context feels less like discovery and more like formal confirmation of something already known. The backstory is almost too perfect: Reprise Records rejected it, Wilco streamed it for free, it became one of the most acclaimed records of the decade before it was officially released, and then it outsold what the label that dropped it ever expected. The story of an institution failing to hear what a record was doing and the record proving them irrelevant is the right origin myth for something this good. Jeff Tweedy's Americana songwriting and the experimental instincts of everyone around him shouldn't coexist as naturally as they do — the noise, dissonance, and texture that push against the melodies creating a tension that makes both elements stronger rather than undermining either. "Jesus, Etc." is the emotional center, strings and pedal steel and Tweedy's voice doing something that feels completely inevitable. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" opens the whole thing with a statement of intent that rewards every subsequent listen differently. The Television connection is real and audible — those extended guitar conversations doing the same work that Verlaine and Lloyd were doing in 1977, the lineage clear and the execution completely Wilco's own. A record that sounds like it came from the whole American music tradition and invented its own corner of it simultaneously. A five that needed no deliberation.

Now it's not cool to like Wilco but I like this album. I think it's catchy and holds up.

joo volt :)))) (4)

solid

not bad

A great big disappointment for me. Very down n depressing music couldn't get into it. Maybe another listen another opinion in another mood.

3 1/2 Stars: Another record that instantly takes me back to a certain time and place. This came out on September 11th 2001, and as a shocked nation retreated to our cultural comforts many of us found it in the music released at that time. This was one of those records. Relistening I didn't love it as much as I did at the time. While there are a few standout tracks, it's buoyed by just as many that are just so-so. The writing is kinda wild, but poetic in ways. And that filter put on Jeff Tweedy's voice gave it that unique sound (similar to Elliot Smith's around the same time). It's a solid record. Just didn't hit the masterpiece heights that I granted it 25 years ago.

One of those bands that you are meant to love, but I just don't get it. Does that make me an inferior music listener, or are they just not all that? Tweedy might write good lyrics, but his delivery is so dull. The album is dull. A couple of tracks in the middle raise the tempo briefly, then it goes back to flatlining. Two songs doth not make an album. Continued Wilco disappointment. One tune with Billy Bragg is all I've got from their vast catalogue of hype.

Ashes of American Flags was really good, Jesus etc. is so spot on and the album cover art make me think 9/11 insanity was somewhat involved but it released only a few weeks later so most if not all had to be written/recorded before that happened. Surreal slice of that time generally at least

Weird album, but I get the hype now, especially if I had first heard it back in 2001 (but actually if I was 9 the first time I heard it I probably would've hated it but you get the idea). It's experimental in a fun way. A little unexciting at times, but still interesting. I really liked I'm the Man Who Loves You, especially that weird discordant guitar solo.

Cool album but knocking it for making the ending of every song incredibly annoying

Strange relationship with Wilco, when I listen…. I dig it but I never want to put it first myself……. Except heavy metal drummer, that song is a bona fide jam

I liked this and may listen to it again

Meh Not for me Many reviews call this album boring I get why now

I mean its not bad but its boring. Some interesting instrumentals but lyrics are uninteresting and singing is.. Bland. Just bland all of it.

Not bad. Not great. Expect this to be the soundtrack to a movie made by someone who think they are far more original than they really are.

Twas okay, nothing crazy tbh 2.4/5

Sounds great

(4/7) a little too deliberately artsy for me

My hipster self has finally reached its final form and yes I love this

Another boring album somehow made it onto this list. This appears to be background, co worker music, with nothing going for it at all

Yet another 'meh' - this has no business being here. It's fine. It's made entirely of music that belongs on an album with better music. Nothing but filler material that should be used to flesh out a release that may not be complete if you put it out with nothing but the good stuff. In and of itself, a completely meaningless album. Said as a fan of Wilco and Chicago music that was around when they kicked it off.

😴

Vettkje om eg likte eller mislikte pling plong pianoet i I am trying to break your heart... Har sounden te å kunna vær veldig kult, men det var litt bland? Ashes of american flags va grei Albumet hitta ikkje heilt i dag, litt for mye lopper i blodet dsv Beste sang: Ashes of american flags

Quite interested when this came up but a bit disappointing for some reason. A bit slow and morose in general. Favourite tracks - Pot Kettle Black and I’m the man who loves you. 3.5

Sauce-less Elliott Smith

Didn't hate it, but that's the best I can say about it

Done

Wilco is one of my favorite bands, but I also understand why people don’t like them. One of the reasons Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is considered groundbreaking is because how out of left field it seemed compared to what came before. Wilco rose from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo as a scruffy, alt country outfit led by Jeff Tweedy who was still in the shadow of Jay Farrar, who was widely considered the more serious songwriter of the pair. The narrative would quickly change with multi instrumentalist Jay Bennett. The experimentation and genre busting began subtly with Being There and they became a powerhouse live band. By they 3rd album, Summerteeth they were showing distinct pop influences with more atmospheric sounds resulting in, at times, psychedelic and baroque arrangements. It was kind of a big deal among fans, some of whom didn’t like the experimental direction and preferred the shambling, folk rock Wilco of the first two records. They weren’t done pushing boundaries yet. YHF added even deeper influences. Sonically inspired by a collection of shortwave radio noise and chatter that would supplement the concise and sparse song structures that were layered with acoustic guitars and assorted keyboards held together by John Stirratt’s melodic bass lines and new drummer Glenn Kotche’s controlled chaos. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was purposefully and methodically as experimental which led to music journalists referring to them as an “American Radiohead” which is wholly inaccurate, but illustrates how far away from their less ambitious beginnings they had come in a relatively short time. Underlying all the experimentation were some really great songs which would reach new levels, and continue to do so, in a live setting. Sadly, due to frustrations over control of the mixing of YHF, Jay Bennett would be asked to leave the band. He left his mark on those 3 records and left us too soon eight years later. This record is as good as everyone says it is and if you like it, check out the documentary, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.

I’ve heard this before and I own it. It’s been a long time since I listened to this because it got overplayed to the point that I got sick of it, but I think it’s long past time for a replay. The thing I remember most about this album is how it was a departure from their earlier music and is extremely chill, with a lot of psych noise effects involved that support the melodies and rescue the album from the potential for being boring, and going beyond that creates some moments of sublime beauty.

Super interesting song titles. Loved the album

I think I’m learning after receiving two of their albums so far that they are just not for me.

Most Excellent

Nothing special for me

7/10 Wilco are a band that I’ve had fairly ambivalent feelings towards with the music of theirs that I’ve heard in the past. None of it has really done a great deal to move the needle in either direction for me and, while I’ve had a reasonable enough time with their work, its never caught my ear enough to dig too much deeper or pay it too many repeat visits. From the outset, I began to get a similar vibe for this record. The opening track started to do some fairly interesting things, but musically they weren’t completely gelling for me at that point. Once moving past the opener however, things began to click. While nothing stood out to me as musically spectacular, the blend of approachable, well considered melodic leads and subtle, lo-fi soundscapes went a long way to building an engaging and endearing vibe in which to spend an enjoyable 50 minutes. The music skilfully danced between an array of emotions, from sombre and dark efforts like Radio Cure and Ashes of American Flags to more fun, upbeat indie-pop numbers like Heavy Metal Drummer and Pot Kettle Black, but none of it felt jarring or out of place. Jeff Tweedy and the gang successfully create a sound world that is both consistent and varied, with singer-songwriter style compositions at their core, but more ambient and lo-fi aspects supplying a style that’s fairly unique to the band, particularly when blended with Tweedy’s own vocal. He’s not a fantastic singer, and I struggled a little more with him on Being There, but here his delivery is subtle and honest, and he never attempts to push his voice into areas that it can’t work in, so as a part of the overall aesthetic it works incredibly well across the record. The overall sense that this record gave me was one of comfortable, warm satisfaction, and sometimes that’s all you need from a record. There were a few spots where the experimentation leeched away from the musicality a tiny bit too much for my ears, but other than that, this was a pretty engaging and pleasant listening experience, and might even tempt me to dig a little deeper into their catalogue. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart - The sound design and uncertainty of the intro here is pretty cool. The drum beat is quite cool in isolation, but it doesn’t really allow the song to flow very well. There’s some weird use of almost random, discordant piano in places that is fairly odd too. The oddest thing is that this is a fairly simple, straightforward song that’s dragged out of shape by production choices that make it a slightly disconcerting listen, and I can’t quite work out if I like it or not. I think I like the ideas rather than the execution. Kamera - This is immediately better and more coherent. The vibe is very nice and the singer-songwriter groove, augmented with some subtle synth work gives it a front-foot, yet dreamy flavour. It’s a nice dose of whimsy, with the tone given an extra bit of style with the double-tracked vocals. It’s melodically strong and, while unspectacular, a very pleasant experience. Radio Cure - A more sombre affair now, but it continues to be more coherent. It’s musically sparse, but some of the crunchy lo-fi sound design is really nice. As the track progresses, it feels like things are simmering and bubbling under the surface, giving things a great tension and texture. The melodic work is strong too, but it’s given extra range thanks to the subtle impact and variety in the production choices. Very nice. War On War - On to a fairly simple and in places repetitive indie singer-songwriter effort. It’s elevate by some of the vocal harmony work and, as the song progresses, the production and sound design work which gives an extra depth to the sonic profile and ambience of the track. There’s some pretty decent rhythmic moments in there too, actually and the slight sense of crumbling apart at the end is cool. Jesus, Etc. - This has a similar vibe to Kamera in that the vibe is really nice, it’s fairly musically restrained, but has enough going on to hold focus. Where it differs is in the production, as this is far more traditionally produced. But melodically and harmonically, this is just an incredibly pleasant and enjoyable track. Ashes Of American Flags - The sombre tone and lilt to this are really nice. It’s almost halting in places, which marries up well with the stark and emotive nature of the vocal delivery. As with much of the record thus far, the sound design and production choices elevate this by enhancing the vibe and building greater atmospheric depth and power that augments the tone of the song really well. It’s a very pretty and poignant song. Heavy Metal Drummer - A pretty stark change of pace and vibe now, but it actually works well to bounce back like this. It’s a vibey, sweet little indie pop song that has excellent rhythms and melodic writing. As with other tracks of this ilk on the record, I wouldn’t say there’s anything spectacular about it, but it’s incredibly enjoyable and has a little touch of something special about it which, when blended with some fun bits of synth work and production, make it so much fun. I'm The Man Who Loves You - This kind of follows on from the last track but with a more gritty, lo-fi edge to it that crumbles around the edges here and there. Melodically, it’s not quite got the hooks of the last track, but it comes fairly close in places. The guitar solo is a bit slapdash and doesn’t necessarily jive with the rest of the track all that well, but other than that, it’s another pretty decent indie-pop number. Pot Kettle Black - I’m definitely warming to this record. There’s a good groove to this and it continues to be a pleasant and vibey experience that hooks you in with its honesty and charm. There are some more lovely melodic choices here and the blend of tones used gives it a warm and thick sound, which is given more prominence by the deft use of dynamic range and subtle pieces of sound design that give it a more unorthodox edge. More very pleasant stuff. Poor Places - A slow burn with a bit more creeping dissonance and unsettling undertones that drift along beneath the lead vocal. Things start to drift more into focus and tighten up as the song progresses, which is quite a nice effect. It doesn’t quite manage to land on something that’s entirely tonally satisfying for me, but I can kind of see what they were going for. There are sections when things get cleaner, but this one gives me a similar sense of being not completely coherent to the opener. Reservations - An entirely pleasant and atmospheric closer that’s got some great sound design to wallow in. There are some really nice harmonic moments that flicker through the wash of sound and then half way through, things dwindle away to almost nothing and we get some more atmospheric, lo-fi soundscape work that bubbles away over some sparse, moody piano chords. It’s nice ambient stuff and becomes quite hypnotic and engaging as it slowly drips past.

Fantastic album=Fire Joe Morgan/Newman track-by-track: "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart:" Subdued, morning-ish way to kick of the album. "Kamera:" One track that has really grown on me—the instrumentation at the coda is fantastic. “Radio Cure:” A real downer yet solid. “War on War:” The most earwormy war song since Edwin Starr. “Jesus, Etc.:” The greatest song to perhaps be a precursor to 9/11 ever. "Ashes of American Flags:" The epitome of a good song that is a bridge between two amazing ones. “Heavy Metal Drummer:” The fast, fun song on the album (at least sounds fun—very nostalgic and the lyric “I miss the innocence I've known” haunts me in both a good and bad way). "I'm the Man Who Loves You:" Another fun ditty that seems to be an earnest love song. “Pot Kettle Black:” Lots of soundscapes make this probably the third best track on the album (behind “Drummer” and “Jesus”). “Poor Places:” Mellow start then a cacophony of sound reminiscent of “A Day in the Life.” “Reservations:” Well… something had to be last.

I like Wilco. I dont love them. This is barely replacement level alternative radio station rock.

--I Am Trying to Break Your Heart...bold choice to lead with a lazy 7 --Kamera...mildly fun country pop --Radio Cure...pleasant but drags a bit --War on War...funky alt-country --Jesus, Etc....simple. sad. elegant --Ashes of American Flags...melodrama --Heavy Metal Drummer...fun sugar --I'm the Man Who Loves You...could be a track on Let It Be --Pot Kettle Black...pleasant folk --Poor Places...heard of elephants at the end --Reservations...dreamy closer for the first half. why am I suspicious of what's to come? oh, because nothing happens

At first blush, I assumed I would be bored by this album. Its a bit quieter and softer than I typically prefer, but it really sounds incredible. Absolutely surprised by how much this gripped me. Easy to see how someone might pass this by, it really does not go out of its way to impress you, but its so well put together. I feel like some "essential" albums can feel like a chore; this goes down so smooth.

Es triste, me pone triste. Que grande el indie rock.

The emotive sounds of Wilco filled the space by the fire in the evening

Heavy Metal Drummer is good, the rest is fine.

Everyone in HS listened to them. What’s the big deal

Bored me.

I've listened to Wilco before but not sure i will again. I thought i walked into a basement bar in Tijuana where the Gringos were dropping blotter acid.

Fascinating sound plays with the haunting deep drone of the bass juxtapose to the high-spirited vocals in "I'm trying to Break Your Heart.". "Kamera" folksy journey brings an array of sounds with fun percussion, jammin guitars, and vocals taking a ride on the wind. The soulful feel of "Radio Cure" beckons the listener to just hit the road and reflect on life while letting the music take you where you need to go. One such reflection "Ashes of American Flags" focuses on this world in which we live. Wilco seems to capture the heartache we've all felt within the heaviness that comes with navigating the American machine. Lyrically layered and just an overall fun song, "Pot Kettle Black" points out how "You are so oblivious to yourself" reminding us not to get caught by it. Reflective song writer and easy listening. Wilco is a musical jam I would keep coming back to.

It was just meh.

It's not offensive. But it's also hard to be offensive when you're just kind of beige. It's all the same tempo, the same mood, and some sparkles here and there or a bit of psychedelic fuzz don't equal colour. I feel albums like this aren't suited to a challenge like this, but at the same time, I can't see myself coming back to this. So it gets my "3 stars means I didn't hate it but I won't choose to put it on" rating, but it's a low 3...

meh

Sad, slow, and meandering

Not exciting prior to listening. It started rough but grew into a solid album. 6.6/10

Very much of the early 00’s, but now, pretty mid tbh

I'm not a big art rock guy. I am aware of Wilco and Jeff Tweedy, but this is not in my wheelhouse. (over half the album are songs 4 minutes or longer!) I liked Kamera a lot (3:30 lol) but most of these songs are too soft and slow for my normal tastes.

Wilco Just doesn't do it for me, but I think the second half is much better than the first.

What a torture to listen to this whiny singer's voice. I also think I heard a cajón in the background. Only hippy flat-sharing communities use these "drums" to make non-sene noises. Giving two out of five only because I already got way worse stuff here. Small update a few songs later: This record is just dogshit! Every new song gets me more mad.

Namby-pamby.

Not bad.

This album missed me as a young adult, which is where it fits in my life's timeline. That's fine. Their other album on the list (their second, apparently) left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It was pretty mediocre (at best) and so long and boring. It happens. This album *IS* better than the first one I heard, but boy am I glad this music passed me by when it was relevant. It's still a bit too long and I just can't like the singer. He's got such a weak voice, it's honestly grating after a while. Barely any range and everything comes out just a hair above a whisper. An entire album of it weighs down the album. Now, the music and some of their experimentation is where this one gets a bit better. The music is still heavily indie/folk/rock stuff, but their (albeit heavy) use of other sounds helps more often than it hurts, and the arrangements in the middle of the album are ok. "Jesus, etc." through "I'm the Man.." were pretty good and balanced this out to a (3/5) for me. I'm still waiting for anyone to explain why this would be 'essential' listening however. I take issue with that. I think the band's hype is stronger than it's actual music.

One of my favorite albums ever by one of my favorite bands. Really enjoy the evolution from Uncle Tupelo to Star Wars, and while I still think that Summerteeth is my favorite from them, YHF and Sky Blue Sky held serve incredibly well, and displayed an evolution of sound that few other acts have been able to thrive within. An unquestionable 5/5 that I've broken out at least a few times a year for the past several decades and will continue to come back to.

174. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco (2001) 8.15.26 Variety: 5 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 4 Emotionality: 5 = 4.8 rounded up to a 5 "There is something wrong with me/ My mind is filled with radio cures/ Electronic surgical words" If this isn't the album that made Jeff Tweedy's reputation, then it's most certainly the one that dipped it in bronze, framed it, and hung it up on the wall of universal critical acclaim. I remember when this thing came out reading dozens of glowing reviews from rock critics whose opinions I generally took high stock in. So I listened to it, and ... it was ok. At the time I honestly did not see what made it so 10/10 amazing, despite liking it just fine ( there are a few tracks form here that remain on by 5-star list, so...). I had never heard any of their previous albums, and was only tangentially aware of Uncle Tupelo as an entity that existed somewhere off in the land of roots rock that at the time I mostly steered clear of. Since then, I've heard more Wilco stuff, and a bunch more Tweedy stuff, and have come to like him as a personality and his music. I don't think I've ever revisited this album in particular for a good 20 years or more, but given that I liked Being There quite a bit when it came up on this list ( I gave it a 4.0/5) I'm hopeful for this one. THE TRACKS "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" - Unusually for me, I jumped ahead and re-listened to "Pot Kettle Black" first, which I immediately noticed some Beatles influence on. Going back and starting at the beginning this is even more apparent, with the droning, semi-psychedelic opening and the sound collagy, zither, almost vintage telephonic ringing noise that brings us into the song proper. Vocally, Tweedy is anything but Beatlesesque though, sounding casual, and even sleepy and closer to someone like Beck, and more likely influenced going further back to someone like Lou Reed, with his affected unaffectedness. So the Beatlesy eclecticism is playing almost in tandem with the stripped down basic sound of the musical elements, more reminiscent of the Velvet Underground with it's basic drumming and simple deadpan vocal delivery. The synthesis works wonders here. I can see why my older self would have been turned off my the psychelic noise at the end, but that kind of thing has grown on me over the years. "Kamera" - I think on Being there I picked up on a lot of Tom Petty vibes, and this one feels of a kind with all of that stuff. Solidly catchy and breezy, with a cool guitar line, and some interesting percussion and electronic accents throughout, this also reminds me a bit of a more rock friendly take on some stuff that Yo La Tengo did, espcially when the acoustic guitar and synth keyboards come in near the end. "Radio Cure" - The pounding bass drum over the delicate acoustic strumming and the discordant piano keys open this one on a very dour note. Tweedy sounds tired and despondent, and we get something here that's more akin to maybe what Radiohead might sound like if they'd developed out of a folk influences rather than a postpunk alternative sound. This one feels very meditative, but never like it's pointless naval gazing. When it picks up near the end, it becomes prettier, even with Tweedy's ragged vocalizations. "War on War" - More Yo La Tengo vibes, with a splash of the Flaming Lips as we get a largely acoustic bouncy little number with ever so slight country tones with the almost slide guitaresque keyboard touches, and lots of radio static and bright very poppy synths. Lovely. "Jesus, Etc." - More steel guitar sounds, and some unexpected violins and the electric keyboards lend this one a very 70s vibe. King Harvest meets ELO maybe. This was very pretty stuff, and despite the very depressing lyrics, felt like perfect music for sitting on the porch and watching the sun go down with a giant mason jars of sweet tea. "Ashes of American Flags"- Aside form more sound collage to start us off, this almost drunkenly slow and steady number feels more skin to the sort of folky pop I would expect from them. The synths are not gone though, but they still are used with a very light touch and never overpower the core of the song. This is the slow dance track for the stoned and the sad, up until it's not. We end on a jet engine howling in the void in an almost David Lynch white noise bit of horror. "Heavy Metal Drummer" - Easily the lightest, poppiest number on the album so far. This one was catchy as fuck, and had several awesome moments. The drums on this are as happy and sharp as anything you might find on the best 60s bubblegum pop hits. We even get some great "woo ooh" backing vocals. Wonderful. This was one of the tracks that made it to my 5-star list. "I'm the Man Who Loves You" - As was this one. Maybe y favorite track on the album. A bit of go-tier vocal melody writing, and a masterclass on how to craft a perfect folk rock song that is packed with texture but does not feel overstuffed. This is fun and playful and those horns at 2:28..... chef's kiss. The fuzzed out guitar noodling somehow does NOTHING to detract from the vibes, and while I normally would not sanction such buffoonery, it just damn works. "Pot Kettle Black" - This is the track I remember best from the album. Way back when, it instantly jumped into my 5-star list and has gotten a lot of play over the years. The shambling, low key super-catchy melodies are everything I love about popular music, and this compares exceedingly well with Elliott Smith who is maybe of the period's top songsmith's in that regard for me. From what I understand this whole album leaned much more into the "indie" sound, so maybe Smith was an influence? Either way this is a delight to revisit, and makes me wonder why the hell I wasn't spurred on to look up more of their discography. Or maybe I did and it didn't sound much like this? My memory is a bit hazy. There are more than a few touches in here that seem more directly influenced by the Beatles than by the Byrds or CSNY stuff one might expect, from the opening stretched out feedbacky sounds that almost seem to imitate birdsong ( "Tomorrow Never Knows"), to the the keyboards that drop in and add a bit of baroqueness ( pick a track - there ar eplenty) , to the clear as a bell, bright poppy acoustic guitar strumming. And yet it's wholly their own still, and not some pale zerox. Those guys cast such huge shadow though, it would be hard to NOT be influenced by them, even accidentally while trying to make this sort of music. This is great. "Poor Places" - More atmosphere to start us off, this time with dorning synths that build and build over Tweedy's matter of fact vocals. When the keyboards come in, everything builds through some heavy reverb to a splash as the drums and shaker finally join in and then it all frops away for some more pretty, Beatlesy pop rock sounds. This one sounds like all the tricks from teh previous songs have coalesced into oe representative song that builds and builds and builds to what one might be forgiven for thinking is the perfect point to end on. Epic and all encompassing of what came before. The air of finality is dripping off of this. And yet... "Reservations" - Fluttering deep bass notes bounce around underneath this ostensible love song where the narrator's all doubt and unsureity. The almost overhwlming, oceanic instrumentation gives this a more dreamlike feel, and by the midpoint we're swimming in slow motion through rightabove the ocean floor. Will we end down below, sunk to the bottom with a heacy weight or will we kick our legs out and push our way back up into the now murky shimmering light up above? I'm not sure we get any resolution as the song fades out with any real change. That fact that it feels ambiguous to me tells me that this album was not entirely as dark or mopey as it might have appeared. HIGHLIGHTS - "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" - "Kamera" - "Radio Cure" - "War on War" - "Jesus, Etc." - "Ashes of American Flags" - "Heavy Metal Drummer" - "I'm the Man Who Loves You" - "Pot Kettle Black" - "Poor Places" - "Reservations" MIDLIGHTS - LOWLIGHTS - FINAL THOUGHTS At the end of this I find myself struggling to wonder why exactly this one did not hit me nearly as hard back when I first listened to it. I most certainly did not have as much patience with stuff that I thought sounded derivative or too "artsy" for it's own sake, so maybe the more ambient stuff made it more slippery of a prospect for me or like the band was coloring too far outside the borders of what I thought they should sound like. Back then I was also a lot more likely to hate on stuff that everyone told me I had to like. So maybe that ended up evening things out as the poppier stuff I at least had a handle on then. This go around I was able to hear so much influence, conscious or not of artists that I love, and as an overall piece it felt very much a whole, complete, purposefully constructed sound rather than just a collection of songs that just happened to have been written all around the same time. Tweedy and company provided some very top level melodic hooks, and provided such interesting textures, and variety of sound that I can't look at this as anything other than a complete success. This gets the rare "5/5, no skips" rating for me, and it's definitely got me curious about diving further into their discography. I mentioned earlier that I've grown to like Tweedy himself a lot more having seen him interviewed quite a bit and caught a lot of his live performances which I thought have all been pretty danged good. For a while he eve had a very charming Youtube channel where he would play covers songs with his whole family from their living room. Highly recommend that stuff. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Nope FURTHER LISTENING - OK Computer by Radiohead - The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips - Sea Change by Beck - The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel - Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird - Terror Twilight by Pavement - Perfect From Now On by Built to Spill - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One by Yo La Tengo - Alien Lanes by Guided by Voices

So this week we had- Gorillaz, an album I bought a week before 9/11. American Idiot, a protest album to our (America’s) response to 9/11. And now a record that was originally supposed to be released on 9/11. Ultimately was released in September 2001 and has twin skyscrapers on the cover. This past week the generator has been really going hard to remind me the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is coming up. I first encountered Wilco on a podcast I listen to. I first encountered a Wilco album way back at number 10 on this 1001 journey. “Being There” hit me pretty good as a Gen X aged dude. I’d never heard Wilco before then but I remember wanting to have nostalgia for that album. I sought out “Summerteeth” on the strength of that one. Loved it. If “Summerteeth” was on this list it would get a 5. This one though is somewhere right in the middle. It is a stronger album than “Being There”. The hooks are stronger, the tracks tighter. It has bounce to it in certain places that call to me. And yet… I think I prefer “Summerteeth” to this one. I think all of my problems with this album come down to the track “Radio Cure.” It’s a blemish on an otherwise great album. Didn’t are for that track, however, at the very least if it had been placed after “Pot Kettle Black”it would’ve flowed better for me. As it was that track just stalled the flow of the album for me and left it right at a 4/5.

Oh, I wish I liked this album better. The sonic background is very cool and unsettling, but I always find Jeff Tweedy to be kind of lugubrious. This time I put some of my prejudice aside and could approximate the mood the album is going for, but it's still a heavy lift. It comes alive for me a little on Heavy Metal Drummer, the only track with a dash of humor in it.

I liked this one better than their Being There album, but I still just don't get the appeal or hype around them. There are tracks of their's across the years that I enjoy by themselves, but I've yet to find an album that speaks to me. I will have to give this one another listen in the future to have a fully formed opinion.

tja niks mis mee maar zeker niet lijstwaardig

I love when the little jangly guitar comes in towards the end of Kamera. I dunno why I haven’t dived into this album before, it actually lives up to the hype. It’s like a Pavement album but with less bullshit. And I think that’s good. Fave Tracks: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Kamera, Jesus etc, Ashes of American Flags, Heavy Metal Drummer, Pot Kettle Black, Poor Places 4.8/5

Wow! That intro immediately grabs me into their world. It sounds kinda weird but it fits soo well and that’s why i love it. The instrument choices are very interesting so that keeps your attention! The lyrics are very honest and relatable. The songs explore really interesting and deep topics and situations! A downside: some songs are lacking some emotional and beautiful melody's. That really impacts my excitement about the songs which is a pity. But i also think you need to listen this album more than once to really feel the music. But after a first listen, after a few songs with the cool instrumentation and atmosphere it becomes a bit boring. There is no variety in the tempo’s and instruments. And as I said, the melody is not always that good…

No me gustó, me aburrió y no me gustó la voz del cantante

This is probably in my list of top 20 most listened-to albums and 20 years ago I probably would have just binged the 5 stars without bothering to listen again. But I don't listen to it much anymore, and revisiting it after a while left me with some questions. Do I still think it's great? Yes. Do I still think it's important? Yes, but maybe less so? I'd take Sky Blue Sky over it these days, but that may say more about me than it?

When my kids were young they used to watch a show called Imagination Movers. It was a show for kids about a band of musicians who would use songs to navigate through situations they would find themselves in. One of the side characters in this show was a neighbor who was essentially boredom personified. He would wear all beige, engage in mundane activities, eat bland foods and held a disdain for fun and liveliness... acting as a foil for the zanier main characters. I hadn't thought about that show or that character in over a decade... that is until I heard this album. And I thought of how this monotonous dull album would be perfect for that character. Once this album ended, I felt my day get a little bit brighter.

This is a challenging, downtrodden record that I wasn’t feeling upon first listen. After giving it some more time I’m appreciating more of the nuances and emotional approach of this project. I want to come back to it and dive into the lyrical focus more at some point, maybe in the colder months. I feel like there is something quite interesting going on here in the uncomfortable, almost too realistic human emotions though it may take some time to fully connect. 3 listens Favorite Tracks: Jesus, Etc.; I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

I would say this met or exceeded my expectations of a Wilco album. Three-plus.

its okay

Never heard of this before. I enjoyed it on first listen. Will definitely give it more time. 3.5 for now but can't offer that rating

I would have appreciated just the tiniest little bit of auto tune here. Does he sing like that on purpose?

Top 3 Ashes of american flags Heavy metal drummer Kamera

Instrumentation-wise, this is pretty nice. But then the singer opens his mouth. It's not that he's bad, it's that he sounds bored out of his mind. On half the tracks here, the guy moans more than he sings (Radio Cure is particularly egregious in that aspect). There's also the fact that there's this amateurish quality to some of the songs, à la anti-folk, but with none of the charm and wit of someone like Kimya Dawson. Despite all this, the music is mostly pleasing and an easy listen, and it makes an interesting use of radio noises without sounding irritating, which I'm sure is hard to do.

Roger

snoozer

Bien.

Really good indie rock. Could’ve been a 5 if not for a few misses, specifically on the latter half of the album

Amazing album

3.5. V good

A Ghost is Born is better but still great

Great album, I'll be back for more

Do we always like Wilco or do we just age ?

I played this in the background while gaming and I was surprised that it actually was pretty pleasant to listen to, even though I dont enjoy this genre of music nearly as much as hiphop

an easy listen, not sure I would go back for more

I enjoyed Kamera and The man who loved you A good 3 star album

Kinda pretty, kinda boring in equal measure? I think in the right mood I’d either be irritated by this or find it more charming than I do. There are bands kind of like this that I like more and I don’t think it’s bad by any measure but I feel no urge to listen to this again. It’s a three but a disappointing one. There are albums I’ve rated lower that I’m still thinking about and this will remain the “oh right that guy was in a couple episodes of Parks and Rec” album

“I’m The Man Who Loves You” sounds like the gifted grandchild of The Beatles’ “Revolver.” Take a nice, catchy song, then add layer upon studio layer of brilliant sounds and production until the nice song is so much More. 
“Poor Places” concludes as if to reveal its identity as the offspring of “A Day in the Life” and “Revolution #9.” In the end, the album doesn’t sound like The Beatles at all. It’s definitely of its time in the Early Oughts. But… I keep coming back to The Beatles comparison because there is a kind of creativity expressed here that doesn’t let go of a song until it’s taken to a new level. Reinvented, even. The original might have been Just Fine, but the band pushes further, and they succeed. Round up to 5!

This album put Wilco on the map. There were strong hints of this kind of work in both Being There and Summerteeth, but in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the best of Wilco is realized in both production value and content. And while this is immediately evident on the opening tracks (I am Trying to Break Your Heart is a masterful song), they seamlessly weave in touches on their softer/alt country roots with Jesus, ETC. The album ends a bit more somber but still committed. It’s a wild, urban, technological treatise on relationship, and it demands your attention.

If yacht rock is the defining genre of my mid to late 40s, Wilco's early style of alt-country was the genre of my early to mid 20s, although this was the album where they really kind of moved on from that, and I kind of moved on from them. I remember seeing them on this tour in Ohio as one of my last acts as an Ohio resident and it was pretty great, but mostly for songs not on this album. It's great but also pretty boring at times. Kamera, Jesus etc, and Heavy Metal Drummer are standouts. In Wilco fashion, it really peters out there at the end. Thanks for the memories Wilco.

Can't really explain why I just have never been able to get into Wilco. Lots of the ingredients are there. I like Jeff Tweedy's voice. Nice, crunchy, lofi-ish production. Heavy Metal Drummer stands out. But for whatever reason, I don't find myself coming back to this. I respect its place on this list.

I'm predisposed to say that nothing Wilco has released since comes close to the triumph of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but that's probably facile. This is hands down their most accomplished album, a mix of sound-stretching experimentalism and songwriting craft. "I am Trying to Break Your Heart" is one of their best ever, and "Heavy Metal Drummer," "I'm the Man Who Loves You," "Pot Kettle Black," and "Kamera" are all great. "Poor Places" is one of my favorites too (while "Yankee...Hotel...Foxtrot" at the end of still creeps me out). This is excellent from start to finish, and I've been chasing this dragon with Wilco since 2002.

Нео боб Дилан. Если вышеуказанный скучный дед в баре, то здесь молодой эквивалент дорвался до технологий, и теперь это скучная тягомотина с электронным звучанием. Явно претендует на исключительность и статус музыки но не дотягивает и барахтается в районе "неплохо" на улице "сойдёт" в доме "на фон". Всегда обнадёживает интересными интро, но интерес на них же и заканчивается. Оценка 3/10 не более.

Love Wilco!

Is there another word but boring? Vocals are dull and the strokes vocals nail that style so much better. The music is ok, nothing wrong with it, but lacks inspiration. Could be good for rainy Saturday mornings, but there’s better out there for that time. 2

"i didn't HATE this album, but..." (<- bad sign) it's fine. there were a couple tracks i liked more than the others but not enough to remember which ones. and not enough to listen again. would be interesting if it weren't so dull. would at least be pleasant background music if it weren't so unexpectedly abrasive. a better album would make that whiplash work. here it just feels like the worst of both worlds. the titular sample in particular is just really annoying. maybe it just hit me in the wrong mood.

Awesome

Oh my God I just don't give a shit about Wilco either.

am I missing something? also what is it with these albums where it's a whiny dude who can't sing

I could write a book on this album. Just saw Wilco live two weeks ago. Saw them play this album straight thru in Chicago a few years back two nights in a row for the 20th anniversary of this album. Saw them play a bunch of songs from this album in Iceland a few years ago as well. I think seeing Wilco live unlocks the albums for you. I get the naysayers that only know Wilco from their albums. They are a totally different band live, and once you see them live, the albums come across completely different. I love this album, but do not think it’s their best work, even if it’s the one that was the greatest challenge, and opened the door for all the rest. 4.5

Bien.

ok im not gonna lie the albums ive listened to up until now i dont like any of them, i dont even rememver what i listemed to here or my experience with it at all

Muy turras

This album just keeps on giving to me. The newly released Unified Theory of Everything mix has once again hooked me on this all time classic.

This album introduced me to Wilco and I was blown away. It’s on continuous rotation in our house. It’s rare for me when a favorite album also has several of my favorite songs, but that’s the case here. Poor Places is among my top ten

Incredibly generic of a certain time in American music. Dull.

I thought I might like the album more based on knowing “Jesus, Etc.”. There were lots of cool bits on the album (for some reason I thought “I’m the Man Who Loves You” was a Beatles song when it first came on), but nothing that I loved.

To me personally, I felt it was quite boring although maybe that would improve on a second hearing. None of the songs seemed to go anywhere.

★½

Earnest and well-made. I didn’t feel like I was really connecting to it, but it did put me in a state of melancholic reflection, so that’s something.

The first song is definitely not a good start to the album. I had not listened to Wilco much but see the band name quite a bit, so I thought man they have to be pretty good. To be honest, I walked away feeling like I had listened to a budget version of Radiohead after several of the songs. The album seemed ok overall and was worth the listen, but I can't say it was one I would probably listen to multiple times.

It's okay

RATING: 10/10 HIGHLIGHT: Jesus etc LOWLIGHT: Radio Cure

No me gustó

Got bored so I didn’t finish it. Not bad tho

Wilco's best known album and probably the best 'indie rock' album of the 2000s. Wilco's sound is more of a mix of alt-country/rock more than the cliches of 2000s indie rock, with some zanyness to it like the occasional jarring noise/dissonance (much welcomed) or some backing strings. I'm too tired to write a long rant against Pitchfork and how people shouldn't take them seriously, though Yankee Hotel Foxtrot does deserve its proper critical acclaim. Soft 5/5 for me, but still a better record than Pet Sounds.

It was alright

Hade för höga förväntningar på denna. Har fått bra kritik. Ett par bra låtar. Mycket utfyllnad och oväsen. I'm the Man Who Loves You och Kamera bäst. Kunde ha kortat ner skivan så hade den fått högre betyg, nu blir det 3 av 5.

Nice vibes but didn't do me much. I guess this album needs extra attention to the lyrics.

Pretty bland and very forgettable. I couldn't tell you what any of it sounds like and it's only been 12 hours since I listened. Not terrible, just meh. 2.5/5

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 What can I say concisely about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? If I wrote the album review I’ve always wanted to hear, it’d be twice as long as any on this website and half as tolerable—maybe just about as biased, maybe more, but at least I’ll admit that. With many of my personal 5 star albums that happen to be on this list, I feel a little guilty giving them a perfect score because I’ve had the benefit of listening to them many times and warming up to their true potential. That might be true of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot for me more than any other album, yet I don’t think I’d have given it lower than a 4.5 on my first listen. When people ask “what’s your favorite album?” I’m always iffy about picking a favorite, but I realized today that deliberation is probably over second place—this one is undoubtedly first. I’m obsessed with justifying my reviews, but for me, there’s no doing that with this one. I grew up with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot—recording for it began around when I was born (def intentional on Tweedy’s part), my dad has been listening to it all my life. I remember him playing a live recording from a Jeff Tweedy solo show of “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” while dropping me off at kindergarten. I don’t know why I was glum that day—you know, between all the things to be depressed about when you’re six and have everything taken care of for you—but I remember going into the classroom and finding a hidden spot between two perpendicular shelves that you could only get to by crawling under a computer desk and singing “I am an American aquarium drinker / I assassin down the avenue” to myself all sadly. I had no idea what that meant then. I actually still don’t really now, but what can I say? I’ve always felt it. So many lyrics on YHF have been formative for me—even though it’s taken me almost my whole life to warm up fully to “War on War” (I used to think it was a super normie song with normie sounds as a kid—imagine that), but I remember my Dad explaining the concept of “you have to learn how to die / if you wanna, wanna be alive” to me while driving into our neighborhood and it really settling in as something profound to my eight-year-old self. Most of the lyrics, though, are things I haven’t bothered to really listen to until my twenties—feeling them passively was plenty enough. This album fucking unzips me, man, even when I don’t know why. I can’t tell you how many times I cried to “Ashes of American Flags” before I processed that he says “All my lies are always wishes / I know I would die if I could come back new”—and still, that’s the exact thing I was feeling as a teenager then and still do now. So many things gut me here, dude—“I shake like a toothache / when I hear myself sing” on the same song just a few lines later, and the cutting juxtaposition (and relatability) of “Cheer up, honey I hope you can / there is something wrong with me / my mind is filled with silvery stars” in “Radio Cure.” I remember my Dad, in high school, trying to tell me “Jesus, etc.” was a happy song when I said the line “You were right about the stars / each one is a setting sun” killed me, because, I guess, it reverts to the uplifting “our love is all we have / our love is all of God’s money / everyone is a burning sun.” I don’t know, though, man—the strings are still trembly, and it’s the really touching type of comfort that can only come from trying to nullify a real, deep sadness. That’s not to say there isn’t happiness, exuberance even, here. “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “I’m the Man Who Loves You” are both pump-your-fists incredible, especially the latter live with Nels Cline shredding at the end—maybe it’s hard to tell from the recording, but it’s like clinically epidermis-melting. “Kamera” and “Pot Kettle Black” are both pretty chill songs that I’ve come to appreciate with time—even though “Kamera”’s still, to me, one of the weakest songs on here (though by no means “weak” on any other album), “Pot Kettle” has become a favorite of mine—I remember skiing with my Dad at sixteen or so, having just listened to the full album for the first time, and feeling very free with the song stuck in my head. Deceptively sweeping. More than anything, though, what slams me and washes over me like a wall is the obliterating soundscape of this album. I hate to give Jay Bennett credit, but god damn, this would’ve never sounded the same without him. I know it’s not for everybody (and I can even sort of understand why), but Wilco does cacophony like nobody else doing it—just total, rhythmic annihilation that miraculously snaps back into place. Songs like “I am Trying to Break Your Heart” or “Poor Places” are the definition of organized chaos, and something about the immensity of those soundscapes—the depth and detail of those emotions—makes me feel alive like nothing else does, gives me an instant and overwhelming reverence for the depth of human expression. This album could probably make me join a cult. Okay, maybe not quite that, but it certainly reminds me of spirituality when something like “Poor Places” blasts over me. One of my more embarrassing little secrets from Middle School, actually, is that I put “Poor Places” on a school dance request list. Gotta start those indie heads early, right? No, but actually, I imagined that the gradual, climactic pace of this song would be a perfect slow dance song (huh??) to ask my crush to dance to. Actually, I think the freakout at the end on loudspeakers might’ve sent everyone home crying, and not in the same way I end up crying at the end of “Poor Places”—more like, “MAKE IT STOP! THE SKY IS FALLING!” I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, but also, I really do—there’s nothing quite like the cathartic intensity of that song, which I think spans such a truly mythic scope. That’s not a word I use lightly, either—if I heard the godhead tomorrow, I think it’d sound like “Poor Places” But that’s enough hyperbole from me. It kind of hurts to know I won’t be able to express how special this music is to me without sounding mega pretentious, or else, maybe worse, overhyping anyone’s expectations for this album. I don’t know Jeff Tweedy, but I’ve seen his onstage snark enough times to know he’d probably respond to this like, “uh, woah dude.” But, you know. Insightfuller. Objectively, I can still say it’s a near-perfect album—masterfully produced, spanning a full spectrum of emotions, lyrically sharp and really well paced. I can see why this might be a three for some people, even if I think that’s really lower than is fair—four is the fairest I’ll go, even if it’s not transcendent to you. Maybe feeling soul-seen, even as a kindergartener, by Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, means I was destined to be a pretentious fuckwit, or maybe just, as the top review for this album says, “boring” (the cardinal sin of music! Holy fuck, why didn’t anybody in Wilco check to see if this prestigious reviewer was bored?!). Maybe there is, as I (honest-to-god, drama-aside) have often felt, “something wrong with me.” Many times, I’m really concerned with reconciling my opinion with consensus reality, but for something so close to my soul, all I can say is I can’t help who I am. “Everyone is a burning sun.” Okay, off to submit my review. Hope I don’t get Pantera tomorrow. 1: Bad | 2: Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

As someone who loves Max deeply, I've owed him a listen-through of this album, his all-time fave, for a verrrrry long time. I'd heard many of the songs on the album before, but never all together and never in order. I found it to be extremely cohesive, emotionally and sonically, and I enjoyed the instrumentation quite a lot (especially the horns). The lyrics were so clever and moving, and the tracks transitioned seamlessly. Unfortunately, there is a disturbing paradox at the heart of my experience. As much as I recognize Jeff Tweedy's centrality to the identity of Wilco as lyricist and ideas guy, his voice has such a negative effect on me that it alone almost took this down to 3 stars. It's really, really unpleasant to listen to, in my opinion. Part of me wishes he would keep writing and leave the singing to someone else, but I also recognize that he wants to sing his own truths. I get that, but it just sounds so awful. I liked listening to everything else a lot though! I'm sorry, Max and Jeff!!!!

A brilliant indie album that I had listened to prior, I thought it was good but it didn't fully click. But after this second listen, I finally clicked. A very good listen filled with somber and beautiful vibes, definitely a great album in my repertoire. Fav Songs Ashes of American Flags I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Jesus, Etc. Is it Top 1001 Worthy (is it essential)? Yes, an amazing indie rock record that has shown it's influence and critical quality over the years. If you like alternative music especially Radiohead, I would recommend.

I was fortunate to get this album while my 1001 was off for a week long vacation, which allowed me to let this one sit and marinate. This album benefitted from that as it is one that requires at least 3 listens and added research to appreciate for what it is, a timeless album

This album very vividly takes me back to a specific time and place. Around the time of the retail release (I was not even a Wilco fan yet and wasn't one of the cool people who downloaded it the previous fall,) my wife was telling me about this great song she heard on NPR. I was buying the album anyway - because of all of the buzz - and when we were listening to it and "Heavy Metal Drummer" came on she said "THIS is the song I heard on NPR!" I had just graduated and we went to the beach and listened to YHF over and over the whole way there and the whole time there. Then at the beach we walked into a bookstore and "Kamera" was playing in the bookstore. It just seemed like we couldn't escape this record, nor did we want to. I was instantly converted and have now seen Wilco live more times than any other artist except Dylan. Listening in the car yesterday I told my wife that the film about this album actually makes it more difficult to listen to, knowing all of the struggle and pain that went into these songs. I am very glad Jeff Tweedy got his shit together and I wish Jay Bennett could have.

Have I listened to this album before No How familiar am I with this album Sort of How do I feel about this artist? My dad hates Wilco, I don't mind them. I enjoyed Mermaid Avenue. Pre-Listen Thoughts: I feel like this could be a 3 or 4 for me. I like the cover, it's a cool representation of Chicago. Favorite track(s): Heavy Metal Drummer Post-Listen Thoughts: I don't want to call it boring, but I also can't call it the opposite. Fine background music but not much stood out.

Overall Rating - 3.00/5 (6.00/10). Pretty middle of the road, early 2000s indie pop. Nothing particularly memorable either way.

I prefer 'A Ghost Is Born' to this one, but this one is the hub's favorite. Not on this album but a fantastic song (my favorite) is Impossible Germany. 5/5

Amazing album

Milquetoast

I’m not sure if I liked this album. It was very… soothing in a way, but it also became quite repetitive.

All timer

Classic. 'Nuff said.

beautiful

I’m going through a bit of an existential crisis with Wilco. Grappling with my age, their sound, the audience that listens to Wilco, what Wilco have become. I’m lucky I got into them at a young age, I listened to them A LOT. I saw them live ten years ago had a panic attack and have been out on them since. It’s more the middle age dread, the clean cut Patagonia crowd the likes them now, and the easy listening sound they’ve become. It’s complicated. Anyways, this is pretty good, half the album tips into an overly saccharine sound that I bristled at. I am trying to break your heart rides that line but is so “avant garde” it kinda works, and Jesus etc. I think I’m just past Wilco, I like their first two better, and I WAY prefer Uncle Tupelo

Early 00s indie rock is definitely my jam, and this is one of the best examples of the genre. (Probably the best received critically of the group, even if I have others I personally favor). There's also an interesting, sort of eerie tie-in with it originally being slotted for release on 9/11/01, considering the content of some of the songs.

Solid stuff. It feels like it was probably meticulously created, and it also feels like much of that effort was wasted on these ears. Other than the bullshit feedback at the end of a couple tracks (which, to be clear, *IS* pretentious bullshit) it rarely grabbed me, but I still largely enjoyed my time with it. 3.7

On a day like today, I guess I needed something like “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” by Wilco to calm me down and make me chill. It succeeded, but only because I almost fell asleep listening to it. This album gave me very Pink Floyd vibes with the experimental sound effects (maybe like in “Time…”), but Wilco is in no way, shape, or form up to that caliber. Most of the unconventional techniques used kind of sound like whatever concoctions I made when I was six years old on GarageBand, which were incredibly dysfunctional and unharmonious. I mentioned I was beginning to fall asleep, and that was because of the instrumentals—these sound effects were what jerked me awake. Honestly, like many albums I’ve listened to, this one isn’t “bad”; it’s just easy to listen to (except for what I mentioned above). You are met with simple melodies, a (most of the time) emotionless voice, and some interesting acoustics. These are very straightforward, and it doesn’t make you go “wow” or anything—it just sounds like a typical indie rock band with no defining characteristics. I would say the only parts of the album I felt were better were the parts with the strings, like in “Pot Kettle Black” or “Reservations,” since you can never go wrong with strings. In all, I just felt half weirded out and half chill throughout the album, because at one instant it could be calm guitar, but then the next, it could be a woman saying “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in the creepiest voice possible. I do not think I will ever revisit this album; in my opinion, it’s just a jumbling of sounds. 2/5

Tries a lot of things at once and fails in all of them.

Really like it

lost a star for the intro song alarm screech, gained it back for the nice outro

yeah ok it is a 5

its perfect. lush production, great melodies, evocative lyrics, every track in its right place

Meh, Indie rock. Nothing stood out. Good music, but nothing memorable

Folk Radiohead

War netter Indie. Hooked mich aber gerade nicht zum erneuten reinhören

# Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: An In-Depth Review Wilco's *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot* is an album that has transcended its status as a mere collection of songs to become a cultural touchstone. Released in 2002 after a turbulent journey involving label rejection, lineup changes, and a prescient free online stream, its story is as compelling as the music itself. It stands as the band's defining work—a delicate and noisy meditation on American identity, love, and loss . ## Lyrics: A Conflicted American Psyche Jeff Tweedy's lyrics on *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot* are the album's emotional core. His words are impressionistic and often cryptic, painting a landscape of a troubled, ambivalent America. He explores both the beauty and the shame he finds in his country , seeking "a good life... to enjoy my suffering" . The album's eerie connection to the 9/11 attacks—it was originally scheduled for release on September 11, 2001—has become an inseparable part of its legacy . Lines like "Tall buildings shake / Voices escape singing sad, sad songs" from "Jesus, Etc." and the title's NATO phonetic alphabet origin, used in aviation communication, felt like unintentional prophecies of a changed world . Through it all, Tweedy offers a stark but fragile solace: "Our love is all we have" . ## Music and Production: The Art of Sonic Dissonance The music is a radical departure from Wilco's alt-country roots. Built from the ground up in their Chicago loft and mixed by avant-garde musician Jim O'Rourke, it created a world where "tunefulness of pop and the chaos of noise" coexist . The recording process was fraught, with drummer Ken Coomer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett leaving the band . Experimental percussionist Glenn Kotche was brought in, contributing unorthodox sounds like playing floor tiles and scraping sandpaper on drumheads . O'Rourke's mixing was a masterclass in restraint; his goal was to reveal the songs beneath the dense textures, deconstructing and reshaping them to heighten the emotional impact . The album's unique instrumentation underscores this mission. On "Radio Cure," Kotche's textured snare drum becomes a second narrative voice, enhancing the song's theme of disintegration . "Ashes of American Flags" dissolves into a "Revolution #9"-style sound collage . Even the opening track, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," is a sonic journey that eventually coalesces into a majestic anthem . ## Themes: Communication, Isolation, and American Identity The album is thematically anchored by broken communication and isolation. The title itself, taken from a sample of a shortwave numbers station, evokes the static and interference of trying to connect in a fractured world . The album explores the internal and external conflicts that arise when that connection fails, mirroring the band's own struggles . The artwork, featuring Chicago's Marina City towers—which look "like corn cobs"—reflects this theme. They were a symbol of a "utopian vision" and community, yet Tweedy saw them as representing a "good old future" that had faded . It captures a deeply personal and uniquely American anxiety . ## Influence and Legacy *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot* is arguably the most influential American rock album of the 2000s. Its defiant stance against a major label and its successful experiment with free online streaming redefined how artists could release and promote music . It cemented Wilco's reputation as pioneers and inspired a generation of indie-rock bands to embrace experimentation. It is now a staple of "best albums" lists and remains Wilco's best-selling and most cherished work . ## Pros & Cons ### Pros - **Visionary Songwriting and Sound:** Effectively merges experimental noise with classic pop songwriting . - **Cohesive Thematic Vision:** A powerful, unified meditation on modern American life . - **Masterful Production and Mixing:** Jim O'Rourke's mix reveals the songs beneath the chaos . - **Cultural Significance:** A prescient and definitive album for the post-9/11 era and a landmark in music industry history . ### Cons - **Accessibility:** The dense, experimental sound can be alienating and requires patience . - **Potential for Over-Hype:** The legendary backstory and critical acclaim can create expectations that overshadow the music itself . - **"Amateurish" Electronic Experimentation:** Some critics feel the electronic elements are tentative compared to truly groundbreaking artists . *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot* is a quintessential "difficult" album that rewards the effort required to understand it. Its power lies not in its immediate accessibility, but in its enduring ability to make sense of confusion—a testament to its status as an American classic.

C'était pas très intéressant pour moi. J'ai trouvé ça assez fade. Je ne sais pas pourquoi il est dans la liste, mais ça n'était pas non plus une purge. Je ne suis peut-être pas le public. En vrai, je me suis bien ennuyé, au bout d'un moment et j'hésite même à mettre un 2.

Kinda slow for me, I liked Heavy Metal Drummer best

This is probably my favorite album made by someone other than Dylan. I am Trying To Break Your Heart is so fucking good. The rest of the album is fantastic too.

Enjoyable alt rock/indie album.

222. nothing special

This album reminded me of Elliot Smith a bit, which I liked. I imagine for a lot of people this is "boring" music but I liked it enough I'd listen to it again.

I love this album. I’ve never actually tried to listen to this all the way through and it’s beautiful and I love every second of it. I’m also in Chicago which was a great coincidence. 15/10. I'm coming back 90 days later. This is definitely my favorite album I hadn't heard yet so far. I've listened to this album maybe every day since it was generated. Just such tight songwriting, lyrics, all the parts fit, this album is perfect. I still can't find the correct words here but this album has had an immense impact on me since first listening to it.

I found this so boring. But it feels too harsh to do any less than a 2 as I can appreciate it's probably someone's cup of tea.

So, this album came out in 2003, so I obviously did not listen to it at the ripe age of 7, but my first hazy memory of it was when I was approximately 14-16. During that time, I listened to pretty much exclusively death metal, and if it wasn’t that, I didn’t like it, or not outwardly so at least. I had heard some hits in the following years, but surely not had really given a critical listen to this ever. Amazing album, very tom petty; had a lot of political themes that resonate today again, but also some good instrumental work as well. Stand outs for me were “Jesus etc”, “I’m the man who loves you”, and “heavy metal drummer”. This definitely deserves its spot on the list 4.4/5

Good.

As an American aquarium drinker I am required to love this album. The lyrics have this amazing quality where 90% of the time you're like "what the fuck are you talking about" and then 10% of the time he's Shakespeare. I wish they would take off all the beeps and radio sound effects you're not tricking me into thinking you're radiohead.

This was not my cup of tea. It was ok. Just found it a bit boring.

realaxing

Listened to this twice, because I feared I was doubting my judgment. Good friends whose music tastes I respect love this band. But I don't.

That was so unengaging that I eventually just tuned it out, and I’m not even sure where in the album that occurred

My goodness how did I miss this one back in the day? It's absolutely lovely.

After not really caring for Being There, I didn't really have strong expectations for this. I figured Wilco just wasn't producing my kind of music. I guess I was wrong. From track one, this record shows a huge leap forward in style and production. The alt-country of the earlier work is mostly stripped away and replaced with a mix of quiet indie pop and full-band experimentation. We're closer to Elliot Smith meets Death Cab for Cutie here... and that's a bit like getting the peanut butter in the chocolate. I love the sentiment on I Am Trying To Break Your Heart... that push/pull of a love that almost assuredly isn't right, but you still can't shake its truth. I'm sure there's more amazing poetry throughout this record... the good lyrics usually seep into my consciousness eventually as long as the music is appealing. I think I might have heard the hit, "Jesus Etc." before but it's definitely another standout. I've only had the chance to play this once through, but I'm hedging my bets on this fully winning me over with a few more plays. I'm looking forward to trying.

The airport code for The Hearst René Fontaine Municipal Airport (YHF) gives us an album about as exciting as landing in that northern Ontario town. You've got the Howard Johnson, you've got the "home of Claude Giroux" sign. uhhh you've got the uhh hooo boy, uhh. Yup it's all here. If you come to Hearst (and aren't being airlifted by a EMS team from the adjacent infinite sprawl of wilderness) please enjoy our re-airing of the Kapuskasing radio station on MOOSE FM. Adult contemporary from a slightly less small tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Now if Moose FM sounds like a lame joke made by an American, I would've thought the same. Fortunately, I am not American, despite the morons in my country trying to make it that there is no discernible difference, and I am sitting here on yet another Tuesday, listening to Wilco. There are buzzy cool moments here, and there are sweet melodies there, but the overarching theme of this thing, much like the town it (accidentally) references, is boredom. Sorry pal. 2.5 GENRE: Franco-Ontarian Wisdom

Yeah it's cool but reworked versions is way better then originals

Fuck yeah dude 5 stars amazing record

3/5

Yeah lush stuff by a lush band, really calming beautiful music. An album that feels nostalgic but not really sure what for. 4.5/5.0 Best Song: I’m the man who love you

A very enjoyable album, he is a great song writer, i should really listen to Wilco more

Ça s'écoute gentiment

I was aware of this album but never listened properly. I understand better why people have very high opinion of it. At times it sounds like Nirvana, REM, etc.

It was not a bad album. Not exactly my taste, but the words were good.

Melhor do que eu esperava

Great early Alt rock selection enjoyed! 931/1001

Wasn't bad to me but it also wasn't fantastic unfortunately! Most songs towards the end were really good though. The main issue for me is the similarities between the songs in the beginning, none of them really brought me in. Overall just a really okay album for me!

I liked this album, it didn't change my world but i had it play in the background as i was doing some work and there were definitely a few songs that stood out to me. overall it all sounded similar and blended together though.

an album so good i forgot i listened to it

Every song is a 4.5/5

Has a quiet energy, not bad

Pretty good, liked it more or less, didnt stick enough, a bit samey.

4/10

anfang war ganz okay, Ende wurde anstrengend

Das hätte ich nicht erwartet, gutes Album, schöne Melodien.

Basic Indie Rock, hatte gute Momente, aber auch wiederrum nicht spannend genug für 4 Sterne

É um disco interessante para escolher um bom fone e curtir os detalhes das músicas. Esse rock alternativo com elementos de folk e eletrônico que o Wilco apresenta no álbum, tornam a experiência de audição do disco muito prazeroso. CVJ Jemine.

I don't have much to say about this album. It's a wonderfull listen and I remember all the rage back when it was released, but i've never really connected to it. Great sound, not memorable, ok I guess

opinión choteada x el pitchforkcore, pero pue que legítimamente sea el mejor disco de los dosmiles. al chilazo. me acuerdo que la primera vez que lo oí, i am trying to break your heart me impactó tanto que el resto del disco se me hizo hasta simplón. dije chingà xq lo demás son canciones normales jsj y esa primera rola no deja de impresionarme y ser mi favorita pero el resto del disco se me ha ido revelando, tanto en los detallitos de la producción, llena de espacios ruiditos raros, la orquestación tan rica en timbres y texturas, y las composiciones preciosas que sostienen todo, melodías tan claras que se pueden dar x sentado y tan directas que se puede desnaturalizar todo lo que las rodea sin que se desdibujen. una chulada, no tiene progenitora, etc.

Light 7/10

favs: radio cure war on war pot kettle black reservations rating 1.8/5

Where do I even begin. I loved this whole album!! Incredible!! It was so interesting and different. The music and the lyric lyrics went together so well throughout. It was art and it was beautiful. New favorite band.

One of the best indie rock albums ever. So many fantastic songs on here that it's genuinely not possible for me to pick a favourite.

meh, some albums just aren't for me and this is one of those

Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) On Day 191, I spent time with an album that proved to be a good listen, though it isn't something I enjoyed top to bottom. It steps into noise rock territories, a style I am still relatively new to, and while I can't say it is bad by any means, it didn't strike me as particularly revolutionary either. Despite the record not fully grabbing me, I walked away with some definitive highlights. I really liked "Heavy Metal Drummer," heavily appreciating the instrumentation, especially the great drum work right at the end of the track. "Kamera" and "War on War" were also solid standouts that captured my attention. Outside of those tracks, there wasn't much else I got from the project, but the standout pieces made it a decent session. A flat 3/5.

I like this just as much as I remember, an excellent record bookended by two meh songs

It was OK, wouldn't have over it. Might listen to some of their other stuff

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I wanted to like this more. Nice music but they can tune his voice a bit more. It’s jarring sometimes. Nice percussions and good range of sounds. But it’s also too long -1 star for this.

never been much into Wilco, but this wasn't a bad album to listen to. i think the phrase "art rock" makes a lot of sense, in reference to the wikipedia page. good album to listen to, but probably wouldnt come back to it

The highlight here is clearly Jesus, Etc. with the other tracks purely being support. I think I preferred our previous Wilco album more than this one but I need to come back to it and give it another shot.

A bit boring. A bit dull. A bit long.

Tweedy and company’s infamous YHF is a very good album, maybe their most famous, with a lot of baggage. I personally am more of a Son Volt head over Wilco, but that’s because Trace is an undeniable six star wildly underrated album. And for anyone wondering, my favorite Uncle Tupelo album is Anodyne, with No Depression as a close second. With that out of the way, this is a five star masterpiece. Over years of continued listening, it’s probably fallen to third on my personal favorite Wilco albums, with Summerteeth and A Ghost Is Born just ahead. I can whisper to the bands output following Wilco (The Album), as most of my passion for Wilco starts to waiver at this point. Fortunately again, I owned this album prior to listening to it for this exercise. In this case, I have the Super Deluxe box set, which I will be commenting on here. Wilco are almost a reminder of Record Store Days past and my years as a record store clerk. My ex boss would put on Wilco with some regularity. A safe haven of music of the day was usually the mix in A song like Heavy Metal Drummer off the remastered version of the album plays like an indelible part of biographical musical and personal history more than a song. It shreds, and Tommy Lee and Pamela should count themselves as lucky they’re MAYBE inhabiting the Wilco universe. Some of the highlights from the set include multiple LPs titled either American Aquarium: Building YHF, Here Comes Everybody: Building YHF, or The Unified Theory of Everything: Building YHF, and a 3 LP set from Wilco circa 2002 at a prior haunt of mine, The Pageant in St. Louis. As for the songs within those three sets, I found Not For The Season (Laminated Cat) on Side G, American Aquarium on Side F and The Good Part on Side I were particularly notable. Songs that made me ask, why wasn’t this on the album? Deeper cuts like A Magazine Called Sunset and Has Anybody Seen My Pencil? show the poppier and more avant-garde sides of Wilco, respectively. There are new arrangements of album cuts like I’m The Man Who Loves You on Side F and Radio Cure & War On War on Side I that were standouts. Overall, this was an amazing deluxe version of one of my favorite bands most essential albums. I was thrilled to revisit it.

made salmon patties to this, good vibes, recorded before 9/11 :o

boring, i dont really like his voice, the instruments are pretty cool some songs like pot kettle black, poor places, war on war and heavy metal drummer are interesting tho

Nostalgia here earns a point, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would since I'd be revisiting this, I own it on CD but haven't listened to it in years. I really did not like the other Wilco album on this list but I did find myself enjoying YHF more after so many years.

Another band and album that would rate 4 stars were it not for the vocals. The band is doing really interesting stuff throughout the album, but the lazy-pitch style vocals are severely lacking. Tweedy doesn't sound like a lead singer on this album, but rather a guy who managed to get closest to singing in tune so he got nominated. 3 stars

Ah yes, one of my favourite albums ever, and one that's universally acclaimed as one of the greatest of all time. Now to simply take a big sip of this coffee and read the nuanced reviews on good old 1001albumsgenerator.com...

Enjoyment: 4/10 Replayability: 4/10 Cohesion: 3/10 Flow/Pacing: 4/10 Artistic Merit: 5/10 Weighted Average: 4/10 Review: I'm all for progressive and indie music, but there was very little concrete enough for me to grab onto and enjoy. And some tracks just felt abrasive to my ears, but maybe that's the point. Liked Song(s): Kamera, Jesus, Etc., Heavy Metal Drummer, I'm the Man Who Loves You Disliked Song(s): I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Recommend? No Heard Before? No

Rate: 8/10.

Truly one of the greatest albums of the last 30 years, an absolute classic

The meh of all mehs.

I just instinctively groan when I see 2000s indie rock albums pop up on here... And this one has a country twang to it! I don't know if that's better or worse. It's not either of those things, as this is another mediocre indie rock album. It has some passably good songs, but most of it is just barely perceptible background noise. Lyrics are basic and unremarkable, just like everything else about this album. I know that Wilco have a pretty good reputation with indie heads, but those guys and me have very different tastes. This is just another mediocre album in a sea of mediocre albums. This album is ranked #5 of 17 albums for 2001. Other 2001 albums rated by me: Is This It(1/17)-4 Gorillaz(3/17)-3 Vespertine(8/17)-4 Gold(15/17)-1 Southern Rock Opera(16/17)-3 Bright Flight(17/17)-3

começa fraco, ai dps o álbum vai melhorando, com o ponto alto do álbum q é "Jesus, Etc.", q tem um ritmo daora e vocais e letras bem boas. Segue bom com essa estética de rock soft indie meio radiohead só q menos morte. O final da uma caída dnv acho, mas no geral uma experiência agradável.

Gostei, calminho ritmo bom, mas não acho q voltarei muito nele