One Sunday Morning is 12 minutes long and quite repetitive. It feels like it should get old after 7 minutes or so, but somehow it doesn’t. It could go on and on. In 2018 it was my second most listened song on Spotify, even though it counts listens per song, and not per minute. The mood is somewhat melancholic, but still uplifting in a way. It is a song for going for a walk or bike ride while an autumn sun is shining.
I am fascinated by songs that are repetitious; that get into a section that repeats a groove over and over, and it *works*. Some examples are Donovan - Atlantis, RL Burnside - Let My Baby Ride, The Killers - All These Things I've Done (2:30-3:20). (I will probably write about some of these songs in the future.)
They remind me of an interview with Brian Wilson, where he was asked what kind of music he listens to, and he answered Ronettes - Be My Baby. The interviewer was (understandingly) confused, since he had expected a list of artists and perhaps genres, and instead was answered with a single song. But it was a genuine answer. Brian Wilson would sit in his room and listen to Be My Baby on repeat for hours.
The song is directed at Jane Smiley’s boyfriend, called “Jane Smiley’s boyfriend”, with whom Jeff Tweedy had a poignant conversation. Kind of amusing to me to have a song for you, but only so indirectly. Still beats being The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man.
In my view, the golden period of Wilco 1999-2004, where they made an astonishing string of albums: Summerteeth, YHF, A Ghost is Born, and Kicking Television. Their recent albums can be listened to, but they are remarkably less interesting than those from the golden period. I would possibly rather have the fourth worst song on YHF than any song released since this The Whole Love. But this song is brilliant, and while I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite Wilco song, it is the one I’ve listened to the most. If measured in minutes