Watch as Jeremy and Rishi dissect albums song by song and note by note, but first let’s meet these two self-appointed musical experts:

Rishi is a lapsed indie rocker who nowadays likes nothing more than a well produced album with a crisp drum sound and no lo-fi hiss. Where once his shelves were filled with Blast Off Country Style compilations and Beat Happening tribute albums, they are now home to Radiohead’s non-rock ventures and Super Furry Animals dvds. He has been in more bands than I have freckles and wields his guitar as a weapon when needed. His middle name is Tilak so you know you can trust him. If you ever make him lunch, remember he likes extra guacamole on his burrito. (bio by Jeremy)

A rare man who can critique both Puccini and The White Stripes with the same passion and virility, Jeremy is known around his hometown of Dorset, Vermont as a man of many ages. You may know him from such events as “freeksandgeeksathon 2002” and Battle of the Bands 1995 (Fifth place). As someone who is moved more by effort than by virtuosity, Jeremy is interested in artists that create novel niches within established forms, rather than those that master them. And he loves candy! (bio by Rishi)

Let the battle begin!

Jeremy's Thoughts:

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - The statement of purpose. Snatches of sound, a collision of instruments, nonsensical yet captivating lyrics. Slowly it all starts to come together with the various sounds providing accents to the music. This song took me a few listens to get used to and a few more to truly love. The last two minutes, with his shouted vocals, the low drones, and the gradual onslaught of noise and chaos, are magnificent. I especially love the snatch of lyrics he sings from song 8, as a sort of foreshadowing. And that last high-pitched noise is so perfectly annoying leading to…

Kamera - A complete change of pace. Instantly pleasing and singable. Something about the way the title is spelled really appeals to me.

Radio Cure - When I listen to this song, I can almost see what the radio execs were thinking about when they said this album was not commercial at all. Not a career ender by any means, but man, this song is so languorous and depressing and the melody is so nebulous and odd. The uniformity of the first half just makes the relative brightness of the "distance has no way" part feel like sunshine breaking through a sky full of gray clouds. And when his voice breaks a bit at the end…yowsa!

War on War - Again, a more upbeat song follows. The track layout on this album helps it a lot. Too many Radio Cures in a row and you end up not hearing the second half of the album because you're lying in a bathtub with your wrists slit. You just can't beat call and response and when it's between percussion/guitar and bizarre wah-wah noises, it's just that much better. Strumstrum-Wahhh- Strumstrum- Wahhhh! Yeah!

Jesus, Etc. - My absolute favorite on the album. The dueling violins are glorious, alternating between folksy goodness and heart breaking beauty. Plus, when he says, "tuned to chords strung down your cheeks" it is absolutely perfect. Oh, and the wonderfully minimal steel petal use and the pizzicato violin part! Everything about this song makes me teary eyed and completely in awe of Mr. Tweedy and the arrangements on this album.

Ashes of American Flags - You've gotta love a well placed "fuck." That windy sound throughout adds to the loneliness and depressed hope of the lyrics. A post-apocalyptic folk song. Possibly my favorite line on the album, "I would like to salute the ashes of American flags, and all the fallen leaves filling up shopping bags." Marvelous. The ending too, the mixture of the windy sounds and static interference and underlying dread, is fantastic.

Heavy Metal Drummer - Every time I hear this, I can't help but imagine Tweedy doing that Kiss head move that Gene Simmons does all the time. You know what I mean. This song is so upbeat it's almost out of place. Almost.

I'm the Man Who Loves You - A completely chaotic pop song. Best arrangement of the album - After the wonderfully out of control guitar noise solo thing when everything drops out except for singing and horns. It always surprises and delights me.

Pot Kettle Black - How many words that rhyme can you fit into one sentence? Knot, not, caught, pot. Another song with an unbelievably good arrangement and fabulous lyrics. I can see this song getting lost in the shuffle of the other standouts and experiments on the album, but this track is a hidden gem.

Poor Places - Another slow building song that ends with noise and confusion like 1 and 3 but I consider this the winner of the three. The compliment to "I Am Trying…" where sounds pop up out of nowhere and die away just as quickly while later static threatens to overtake the singer. A perfect ending song, encapsulating everything that came before it and tying on a bow.

Reservations - The coda after the big finale. A sweet love song sing along to wash away all the doubt and confusion of the album ending with a beautiful ambient cloud to drift away on.

Rishi's Thoughts:

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - Ok. The introduction to this album is extremely important. The wafts and bubbles of noises set the rules for the rest of this record. Wilco is basically setting up a framework from which anything can and may happen. The chaos establishes a feeling of uncertainty. Pop songs may emerge from layers of guitar feedback and then disappear without being resolved. Bridges may be instrumental passages sparked by vibes and keyboard squalls. The songs may come and go without memorable choruses, the rhythms may tease and hint. The first song definitely drags a bit, but it does so in order to establish an environment of unpredictability. By the end, you can't wait for the next song, you can't wait to see what comes next.

Kamera - 4 bars into this song, I'm thinking "What shithead of an A&R didn't think there was a single on this album?" So it turns out not to be your traditional radio pop song, but I got the impression from reviews that this was supposed to be an album of fragmented, disjointed thoughts that would never see the light of day with a commercial audience. Um, no. My mother could hum this tune.

Radio Cure - Ooh! This type of shit gets me going. The whole time I'm sitting there waiting for something to happen with no expectations, waiting for the song to take me somewhere without a clue of where it's going. Tension--Resolve! There's so much of it in the verse melody here, and it keeps repeating until you can't take it anymore. Creepy!

War on War - The vocal tambres on this track are great. Man, has Tweedy come a long way from "New Madrid," a straight country Uncle Yupelo song that I see as this song's evolutionary ancestor. While Jay Farrar continues to flirt with irrelevancy, Tweedy just continues to blossom. They're like the NBA's Grant brothers. There's Horace who won championships with Chicago, and Harvey who toiled in obscurity with the Bullets. Harvey even had one Son Volt "Trace" year where he averaged 20+ppg. Eerie. P.S. This is the first song since the intro where chaos threatens again. The drums get out of step towards the end, threatening to dissolve into a sonic guitar noise freakout. It doesn't happen, but it sure builds the mystery. Stay in your seat, punks!

Jesus, Etc. - How did they pull this song off? I'm getting chills, nothing but chills. When was the last time an "experimental" album had a chorus as simple and true as this one? Descending bass lines, pedal steel, cigarette and guitar references. I'm sold.

Ashes of American Flags - Let's take a moment here to praise this album's production. I could be wrong, but it seems like every song has had a new drum sound. This is another distinct one here: trashy, crappy, sleazy and fitting. It's rare that bands have the financial freedom to be so meticulous about production, and it's even rarer that they actually make positive use of it. Go Wilco! 6 songs in, and they finally give you the noise freakout you expected a few songs ago. Keep on your toes!

Heavy Metal Drummer - This song is the one of the album's slight flaws with me. It's positioned to be the climax, but it's trying to hard to be just that. The rhythm is too uppity and cluttered to make sense with the melody of the song and the rest of the album. I'll have to listen to it some more.

I'm the Man Who Loves You - Who needs Jay Bennett? The lead guitar is inspired and volatile. Completely makes this track.

Pot Kettle Black - I love focusing on the My Bloody Valentine style feedback on this song. Feedback as atmosphere and harmony is so incredibly hard to pull off. Here, they've made it sound like pedal steel instead of the ear piercing self-indulgence that it often is.

Poor Places - This feels like it should be the last song, partly because it reminds me of the first song. Repeated melodies, etc.

Reservations - Ahhh... the denouement: This song gives amazing closure and sums up why this is album is so fantastic. The textural sounds provide a bed for the melody and harmony to lay on. The rhythmic trickery towards the end catches you off guard and releases you from expectations. The song is catchy and memorable, but it doesn't overstay its welcome. It leaves you without a cum-shot and demands that you satisfy yourself in more subtle ways. Simple pleasures shielded by complexity. Cheers to Jeff Tweedy, the Horace Grant of Alternative Country!!