18 - Wilco

"Side With The Seeds" – Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

The opening recalls a Rolling Stones ballad, and the closing recalls, well, Phish. I was startled by how much the soloing in this song sounded like the work of Trey Anastasio; I even played the section from 3:20 or so through the end for a Phish fan without saying who the artist was, and he assumed it was new Anastasio solo material.

Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork agrees as well, but here’s how he puts it (in a lukewarm review of the album overall):

On the other hand, "Side With the Seeds" is the rare track where the new band demonstrates its chops without getting in the way of the song. With a soulful vocal, intertwined piano and organ, and guitar conversations that build to melodic peaks over a loosely swinging Kotche drumbeat, it's way jambandy, but epic and triumphant nonetheless.

Oh, just say it: it’s way Phish. And it’s epic and triumphant despite being Phishy?

Later, in a review of the Beastie Boys The Mix-Up, the same critic again describes his favorite track on an otherwise disappointing album using Phish (OK, “jambands”) as a negative point of reference:

And very occasionally, the band hits upon something new (for them), like the refreshingly bold (if a wee bit jambandy) guitar riffs that slice through the noodle-funk plod of "Off the Grid" and "The Rat Cage".

Now come on, Rob. Why do these songs have to be good despite being “jambandy?” Why can’t they simply be good? Or…you might want to sit down for this…what if those songs are good because they are Phishy?

Apparently if you reference a “jambandy” sound at Pitchfork without explicitly knocking jam bands in the process, you lose all your indie cred and have to sit alone in the cafeteria. And if you type the letters “p-h-i-s-h” in succession, a trap door opens under your chair and you drop into a pit of hungry sharks. With lasers.