I'm so glad Wilco has done a song like this. As much as I loved Sky Blue Sky, there wasn't a ton of tension on that album. It was a pretty uplifting record, song-to-song. I love the uncomfortable intensity of this song. About a guy who is totally at the end of the line, realizes that the blood he's spilled is about to catch up to him in the worst way possible. He's lost control and has no hope of regaining it. The music and Jeff's vocal delivery combine perfectly to make the tension almost unbearable, even to the listener. I mean, I feel nervous just listening to this.
The tense feel of this song reminds me of the songs "A Mind Of Her Own" and "Never Leave A Job Half Done" by Pedro the Lion, a pair of songs in which the protagonist of the album's story kills his wife (the former) and then tries to "hide the evidence" (the latter). The difference is that character holds a "ends justifies the means" mentality, where the character in "Bull Black Nova" is obviously feeling convicted about what he's done.
The more I listen to this song, the more I love it.
I'm so glad Wilco has done a song like this. As much as I loved Sky Blue Sky, there wasn't a ton of tension on that album. It was a pretty uplifting record, song-to-song. I love the uncomfortable intensity of this song. About a guy who is totally at the end of the line, realizes that the blood he's spilled is about to catch up to him in the worst way possible. He's lost control and has no hope of regaining it. The music and Jeff's vocal delivery combine perfectly to make the tension almost unbearable, even to the listener. I mean, I feel nervous just listening to this.
The tense feel of this song reminds me of the songs "A Mind Of Her Own" and "Never Leave A Job Half Done" by Pedro the Lion, a pair of songs in which the protagonist of the album's story kills his wife (the former) and then tries to "hide the evidence" (the latter). The difference is that character holds a "ends justifies the means" mentality, where the character in "Bull Black Nova" is obviously feeling convicted about what he's done.
The more I listen to this song, the more I love it.