Wilco
Encyclopedia
Wilco is an American alternative rock
band based in Chicago, Illinois
. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country
group Uncle Tupelo
following singer Jay Farrar
's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy
and bassist John Stirratt
remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004, the other current members are guitarist Nels Cline
, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone
and Mikael Jorgensen
, and drummer Glenn Kotche
. Wilco has released eight studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg
, and one with The Minus 5
.
Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay
and Television
, and has in turn influenced music by a number of modern alternative rock acts. The band continued in the alternative country of Uncle Tupelo on its debut album A.M.
(1995), but has since introduced more experimental
aspects to their music, including elements of alternative rock and classic pop.
Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
(2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records
rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records
in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group
, leading one critic to say the album showed "how screwed up the music business is in the early twenty-first century." Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 670,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Award
s for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born
, including Best Alternative Music Album. Wilco's most recent studio album, The Whole Love
, was released on September 27, 2011.
. Singer Jay Farrar
quit the band in 1994 supposedly because of a soured relationship with co-singer Jeff Tweedy
. Both Tweedy and Farrar sought to form bands immediately after the breakup. Tweedy was able to keep the entire Uncle Tupelo lineup sans Farrar, including bassist
John Stirratt, drummer
Ken Coomer
, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston
. He even enlisted Uncle Tupelo guest guitarist Brian Henneman
of the Bottle Rockets
, who performed on many of the tracks for Wilco's debut album, A.M.
. The band was tempted to keep the Uncle Tupelo name, but ultimately decided to rename the band. The group named itself "Wilco" after the military and commercial aviation radio voice acronym for "Will Comply", a choice which Tweedy has called "fairly ironic for a rock band to name themselves."
on a cover version of the Ernest Tubb
song "The T.B. is Whipping Me" (released in September 1994 on the Red Hot + Country
compilation produced by the Red Hot Organization
), Wilco began recording tracks for A.M.
, their first studio album, at Easley studio in June 1994. A demo tape from these recordings was sent to executives at Reprise Records
, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, and the label signed Tweedy to a contract. Although Tweedy stated that he wanted a more collaborative project than Uncle Tupelo, only his name appeared on the Reprise contract. Tweedy requested songwriting submissions from other members, but only one submission—John Stirratt's "It's Just That Simple"—appeared on A.M.. It was the last song Wilco ever released that was lyrically solely written by a member besides Tweedy.
Stylistically similar to Uncle Tupelo, the music on A.M. was considered to be straightforward alternative country rock in what Tweedy later described as "trying to tread some water with a perceived audience." A.M. peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard
Heatseekers
chart, considerably lower than the debut album of Jay Farrar's new band, Son Volt
. The album was met with modest reviews though it would rank thirty-fourth in the Village Voices 1995 Pazz & Jop
critics poll. Critically and commercially paling in comparison to the reception of Son Volt's album, the Wilco members perceived A.M. to be a failure. Shortly after the release of the album, multi-instrumentalist
Jay Bennett
joined the band, providing the band with a keyboardist
and another guitarist.
Wilco made its live debut on November 17, 1994 to a capacity crowd at Cicero's Basement Bar in St. Louis, Missouri
(the band was billed for the occasion as "Black Shampoo
").
During the two hundred-date tour supporting A.M., Tweedy began to write songs for a second album. The lyrical theme of the songs reflected a relationship between musical artist and a listener; Tweedy chose this topic because he sought to eschew the alternative country fan base. Ken Coomer elaborated:
A number of songs were recorded with this theme, including "Sunken Treasure" and "Hotel Arizona", however, Wilco also recorded a number of songs in the style of A.M. Wilco named the album Being There
after a Peter Sellers
film of the same name
. The band went through some personnel changes during the recording sessions. Max Johnston left the band because he felt that his role in the band had diminished in favor of Bennett; he had also been replaced by violinist Jesse Greene on one track because the band felt that Johnston was unable to play the part. Bob Egan of Freakwater
briefly joined the band in the studio, playing pedal steel guitar
on "Far, Far Away" and "Dreamer in My Dreams", and then became an official member in September 1996.
Unlike the A.M. recording sessions, the band had no vocation for producing a hit song from their second effort. The recording sessions produced nineteen songs, too many for a single album release. Tweedy was concerned about the high retail price that a double album
would be sold for (at least $30), so he asked Reprise Records to release it as a double album at a single album price ($17.98 or less). Reprise agreed to this on the terms that they received Wilco's share of the album royalties. It was estimated in 2003 that the band lost almost $600,000 on the deal, but Tweedy was satisfied. Being There was well-received by critics from several major media outlets, including Rolling Stone
. The album reached #73 on the Billboard album charts, a significant improvement from A.M., and placed fourteenth on the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1996.
's recording studio in Spicewood, Texas
to record a third studio album. The album was lyrically inspired by the marital problems of Tweedy and his wife, as well as by twentieth-century literature
. Tweedy relied heavily on Bennett to provide music for the singer's "bold, but depressing" lyrics. Wilco recorded several songs, including "Via Chicago" and "She's a Jar," but began working on another project before assembling the tracks into an album.
Nora Guthrie
contacted singer-songwriter Billy Bragg
in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singer Woody Guthrie
. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie's life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments of Huntington's disease
. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a "relic" to the MTV generation
, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was "the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody." Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.
Bragg contacted Tweedy and Bennett about co-recording the album while Wilco was on the European segment of their Being There tour. Bragg was particularly fond of Being There because their influences extended farther back than the 1950s. Although Tweedy was indifferent to the offer, Bennett was enthused about recording songs of one of his idols—Bennett's previous band Titanic Love Affair was named after a Billy Bragg lyric. A recording contract between Bragg and Wilco was signed after a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Bragg mostly recorded the politically-charged lyrics, while Tweedy preferred to record lyrics that showcased Guthrie as a "freak weirdo". The recording of Mermaid Avenue
began on December 12, 1997, and was the topic of BBC
's Man in the Sand
documentary film.
Tempers flared between Bragg and Wilco after the album was completed. Bennett believed that Bragg was overproducing his songs, a sharp contrast to Wilco's sparser contributions. Bennett called Bragg about the possibility of remixing Bragg's songs, to which Bragg responded "you make your record, and I'll make mine, fucker." Eventually Bragg sent copies of his recordings to Chicago for Bennett to remix, but Bragg refused to use the new mixes on the album. The two parties were unable to establish a promotional tour and quarreled over royalties and guest musician fees.
Despite these conflicts, the album was released on June 23, 1998, and sold over 277,000 copies. The album received rave reviews from Robert Christgau and Rolling Stone, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
. It also placed fourth on the Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1998. After the album was released, Bob Egan was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach
.
After the completion of the Mermaid Avenue sessions, Wilco returned to Spicewood to complete their third studio album, Summerteeth
. Unlike previous Wilco and Uncle Tupelo recordings, the album featured a lot of overdubbing with Pro Tools
. Stirratt and Coomer were concerned with the production, since it reduced their involvement in the music. According to Stirratt:
During 1999, Warner Brothers was looking to help repay a $16 billion debt acquired during the recent merger of parent company Warner Communications with Time Inc.
. As a result, Warner's imprint
s were under pressure to produce musical acts that would yield hit records. The head of Reprise, Howie Klein
, who had previously authorized the release of Being There as a double album, was willing to let Wilco produce Summerteeth without label input. When Klein played the album for Reprise's A&R department, however, they demanded a radio single for the album. Wilco agreed to do this "once and once only" and recorded a radio-friendly version of "Can't Stand It" at the request of David Kahne
, the head of the A&R department. The single version of "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over from Triple-A
radio to alternative rock stations. Consequently, the album sold only 200,000 copies, significantly less than Being There. This was despite critical acclaim; the album placed eighth on the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1999.
After the release of Summerteeth
, the band resumed the Mermaid Avenue sessions. Although they had recorded enough material for a second release in 1998, Wilco recorded a few new songs for Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
. "Someday Some Morning Sometime," featuring a vibraphone
filtered through a space echo, was identified by Tweedy as being the "piece to the puzzle" towards the creation of their fourth studio album. The album was released on May 30, 2000, and was the last release from the sessions.
at a festival in Chicago; Tweedy was a fan of O'Rourke's Bad Timing. O'Rourke introduced Tweedy to drummer Glenn Kotche
, and the trio enjoyed working together so much that they decided to record an album as a side project named Loose Fur
. Wilco had recorded an entire album of music at this point, but Tweedy was unhappy with the drum parts. He enjoyed Kotche's contributions to Loose Fur so much that Tweedy brought him into the studio to re-record some demos. Some believe that Tweedy sought to make Wilco sound like Loose Fur after officially replacing Ken Coomer with Kotche in January 2001.
Although Bennett sought to act as both mixer and engineer for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
, Tweedy was unsure of Bennett's abilities against those of O'Rourke. Tweedy and Bennett frequently argued over whether the album should be accessible to a general listener, or attempt to cover new musical ground. Unbeknownst to Bennett, Tweedy invited O'Rourke to remix "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", and the results impressed the other band members—even Bennett. Tensions grew between Bennett and O'Rourke because Bennett wanted to mix every song on the album. O'Rourke cut the contributions of other members on several of the songs; some songs, such as "Poor Places", only featured the Loose Fur trio. The album was completed in 2001, and Bennett was dismissed from the band immediately afterwards. The recording of the album was documented by Sam Jones and released in 2002 as the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.
Time Warner, which owned Warner Bros. Records, merged with America Online in 2001, leading to more pressure on Warner's record labels to cut costs. Over 600 employees of Warner Music Group were fired, including Howie Klein, the president of Reprise Records. In absence of Klein, David Kahne became the interim head of Reprise. Kahne assigned Mio Vukovic to monitor the progress of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and to offer suggestions. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that Vukovic disdained the album and was unhappy that Wilco ignored his suggestions. He brought the album to Kahne, who felt that there was no single on the album. In June 2001, the album
was rejected by Reprise and Wilco was asked to leave the label.
Wilco managed to negotiate terms to a buy-out from Reprise. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that instead of financial compensation, the band agreed to leave the label with the master tapes of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The label was already receiving bad publicity for its treatment of the band and were willing to accommodate Wilco's request. However, Allmusic claims that Wilco "bought the finished studio tapes from Warner/Reprise
for a reported $50,000 and left the label altogether" after Wilco was "[u]nwilling to change the album to make it more 'commercially viable'" To curb the negative publicity, Reprise began to invest more in bands such as The Flaming Lips
. Lead singer Wayne Coyne
once remarked:
As the band searched for a new label to release the album, they decided to stream it at their official website to discourage illegal trading of low-quality MP3
s. The band signed with Nonesuch Records
, another Time Warner
subsidiary, and the album was released in the spring of 2002. When it was released, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
reached number thirteen on the Billboard 200
, Wilco's highest chart position to that date. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
sold over 590,000 copies, and to date remains Wilco's best selling album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was met with wide critical acclaim: it topped 2002's Pazz & Jop critics' poll, was named one of the 100 greatest albums of all time by Q Magazine.
collaborator Scott McCaughey
for an album release by The Minus 5
. They scheduled a recording session for September 11, 2001, but were distraught about the 9/11 terrorist attacks that day. Later that day, Wilco and McCaughey agreed to "create something good in the world right now" and record some material. Influenced by Bill Fay
's Time of the Last Persecution
, The Minus 5's Down with Wilco
was released in 2003. Keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen
, who had engineered Down with Wilco, joined Wilco in 2002 as they toured in support of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
In November 2003, Wilco traveled to New York City to record their fifth album. The album was produced by Jim O'Rourke, who mixed Foxtrot and was a member of Wilco side project Loose Fur. Unlike Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born
featured songs that were created with Pro Tools before ever performing them live. The album featured the song "Less Than You Think", which included a fifteen-minute track of electronic noises and synthesizers, which Tweedy called "the track that everyone will hate". Tweedy justified the inclusion of the song:
Leroy Bach left the band immediately after the album's completion to join a music theatre operation in Chicago. Like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco streamed the album online before its commercial release. Instead of using their own web page, the band streamed it in MPEG-4
form on Apple's website. Wilco sought to substantially change their lineup after Bach's departure, and added Pat Sansone
of The Autumn Defense
, and avant-garde
guitarist Nels Cline
to the lineup. Just as the band was about to tour to promote the album, Tweedy checked himself in to a rehabilitation
clinic in Chicago for an addiction to painkillers. As a result, tour plans for Europe were canceled, and the release date for the album was set back several weeks. A Ghost Is Born was released on June 22, 2004, and became Wilco's first top ten album in the U.S. The album earned Wilco Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. It also placed thirteenth on 2004's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
In 2004, the band released The Wilco Book
, a picture book detailing the creation of A Ghost Is Born. The book also contains writings and drawings from band members, as well as a CD with demos from the A Ghost Is Born recording sessions. Also that year, Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot
released a biography of the band entitled Wilco: Learning How to Die
. The new six-piece Wilco lineup debuted on Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
, a two disc live album recorded at The Vic Theater
in Chicago. Released on November 15, 2005, the album received high accolades from Spin
, Billboard, and Entertainment Weekly
. As of 2007, it has sold over 114,000 copies.
and Fairport Convention
, the band considered Sky Blue Sky
to be less experimental than previous releases. Also unlike previous albums, the songs were created as collaborations.
Wilco streamed the album online on March 3, 2007, and offered the song "What Light" as a free MP3 download. To further publicize the album, Wilco licensed several songs from the Sky Blue Sky recording sessions for use in a Volkswagen
advertising campaign. The move was criticized by both critics and fans; Wilco responded by noting that they had previously done advertising campaigns with Apple Inc. and Telefónica Móviles (Movistar)
. The album was released on May 15, 2007, and was a commercial success: it sold over 87,000 copies in its first week and peaked in the top five in the U.S. album charts. It also was a top forty hit in seven other countries.
Reviewer James Brubaker states that Wilco "shine[s] on a handful of the songs" on Sky Blue Sky, such as the "light, and straightforward" songs. While he calls the album "great traditional rock and folk album at times", he states that "once you get past the handful of masterful and lovely performances... the rest of the record comes off at times as dull, and forced." The allaboutjazz review also had mixed comments. While praising the album as "deceptively insinuating, almost intoxicating to listen to” and noting its "impeccable sound quality," the reviewer claimed that "Sky Blue Sky becomes the first Wilco album that sounds too careful for its own good."
Pabs Hernandez, a reviewer for Lost at Sea praised the album's "breezy atmosphere and pacing," and noted that it is not "easily judged upon first listen." Overall, Hernandez stated that it "may be no masterpiece, but at worst it's a more than worthy entry into Wilco's laudable catalogue.”
Reviewer Greg Locke praised the record as "one of the best albums of the year," calling it a "timeless record, full of sweet, hopeful sophistication and class" and "a lean, mean, soulful album." Like Hernandez, Locke acknowledged that the album could not be properly judged just on the first listening. The NPR review also had a positive take on the record. While the NPR reviewer stated that the recording "isn't groundbreaking," they praised its "coherent musical expression" and emphasis on "solid songcraft without pretense" which created a "satisfying and melodically sound album."
In anticipation of the 2008 US presidential election
, Wilco released a downloadable version of Bob Dylan
's "I Shall Be Released
" that they performed with Fleet Foxes
. The MP3 was available as a free download from the band's website in exchange for a promise to vote in the election. The band also made an appearance on The Colbert Report to support presidential candidate Barack Obama
. Wilco released a live performance DVD, Ashes of American Flags
, on April 18, 2009, to celebrate Record Store Day
.
In December 2008, Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, Glenn Kotche and John Stirratt traveled to Auckland, New Zealand to participate in Neil Finn
's 7 Worlds Collide
sequel project, The Sun Came Out
, joined by Ed O'Brien
, Phil Selway
, Johnny Marr
, KT Tunstall
, Liam Finn
, and Lisa Germano
. They wrote and recorded several new tracks for the Oxfam
-benefiting album including "You Never Know", "What Could Have Been", "Over and Done" and "Don't Forget Me". Jeff Tweedy co-wrote "Too Blue" with Johnny Marr, and Glenn, John and Pat play on most tracks on the album.
Having enjoyed their time in New Zealand and the vibe of Finn's own Roundhead Studios
, the four members stayed in Auckland through January to record the foundation tracks for their next album. Jim Scott, who acted as engineer and mixer for the Neil Finn project, stayed on in the same capacity for the Wilco sessions. Nels Cline and Mikael Jorgensen would later add overdubs to these tracks at the band's Chicago Loft.
, on June 30, 2009. In March 2009, it was announced that singer-songwriter Feist would make a guest appearance on the new album, on the track "You and I". Like their previous three albums, Wilco streamed the entirety of the album on its website prior to release. The album hit the charts at a career-high #4 with sales of 99,000 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart as well as the #2 spot on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. It marked Wilco's third top 10 album on the U.S. pop chart. The album's first single "You Never Know" reached the #1 spot on the AAA Chart, their first #1 in twelve years.
On April 30, Wilco freely distributed a cover of the Woody Guthrie song, "The Jolly Banker", recorded at the Wilco loft in February 2009 at the suggestion of Nora Guthrie
Downloaders were encouraged to make donations to the Woody Guthrie Foundation
. Feist guest appears on the track playing a garden weasel.
On May 25, 2009, former band member Jay Bennett
died in his home in Urbana, Illinois
. In a prepared statement, Jeff Tweedy remarked that he was "deeply saddened" by Bennett's death.
Feist and Wilco performed "You and I" on Late Show with David Letterman
on July 14, 2009. In June during their West Coast tour, Wilco joined Beck
, Feist, Jamie Lidell
and James Gadson
in the studio to take part in Beck's Record Club
project, covering Skip Spence's
Oar
album. The first song "Little Hands" was posted on Beck's website on November 12, 2009. Wilco has also performed the theme song for Adventure Time with Finn & Jake.
On April 6, 2010, Wilco announced during their Boston performance that they would be headlining and curating a festival in North Adams, Massachusetts
, dubbed Solid Sound Festival. The event ran at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
from August 13–15, and featured various Wilco side projects, including The Autumn Defense, Pronto, The Nels Cline Singers, and Jeff Tweedy solo. Other bands who appeared included Mavis Staples
, Avi Buffalo
, Outrageous Cherry
, Richard Bishop, The Books
, and Vetiver
. It also featured non-musical media, such as the Bread and Puppet Theater
and comedians Todd Barry
, Kristen Schaal
, John Mulaney
, and Hannibal Buress
as well as interactive musical installations by Cline and Kotche.
Wilco's contract with Nonesuch ended in 2010 and they formed their own label. Wilco announced via their web site and Twitter page on January 27, 2011 that the new label will be called dBpm Records (Decibels per Minute) and will be run out of the offices of their manager, Tony Margherita, in Easthampton, MA.
, was released on September 27, 2011. The first single off the album is titled "I Might". The B-Side to "I Might" is a cover of Nick Lowe's 1977 song "I Love My Label
". The single was shown at the Wilco's 2011 Solid Sound Festival at MassMoca and was met by positive reviews. The entire album was streamed live on Wilco's official website for 24 hours between September 3 and 4, 2011.
Wilco's music is typically categorized as alternative rock
and alternative country
. Despite their career-long association with a major record label, they are generally associated with indie rock
. Wilco draws influence from bands from a variety of musical genres, but primarily from music created between 1966 and 1974. John Cale
's Paris 1919
was credited by the band as providing a musical parallel. According to Tweedy, "It was eye-opening that I wasn't the only person that felt like these worlds had a lot more in common than they'd been given credit for—that experimentation and avant-garde theory was not directly opposed to beauty, y'know?"
Other recording artists from that timespan appreciated by the band include John Lennon
, Neil Young
, and Brian Wilson
. For his thirty-fourth birthday, Tweedy received a private guitar lesson from Richard Lloyd of Television
; Tweedy was a big fan of the group and was particularly fond of the guitar work, which he wanted to incorporate into his music. Uncle Tupelo was inspired by bands such as Jason & the Scorchers
and The Minutemen, influencing the recording of Wilco's A.M.. Tweedy and O'Rourke enjoyed free jazz
artists such as Ornette Coleman
, Albert Ayler
, and Derek Bailey; they also listen to mainstream jazz by artists such as Miles Davis
and John Coltrane
. The lyrical structure of Wilco's songs was dictated by classic literature and cadavre exquis
—an exercise where band members take turns writing lines on a typewriter, but are only allowed to see the previously written line. Among the books that the band has cited as being stylistically influential include William H. Gass
's In the Heart of the Heart of the Country, Henry Miller
's Tropic of Cancer
, and Harold Bloom
's The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry.
Some critics have dubbed Wilco the "American Radiohead
", due to their stylistically diverse catalog. A critic from the New York Times argues that Wilco has a "roots-rock
...[sound which] reached back to proven materials: the twang of country, the steady chug of 1960s rock, the undulating sheen of the Beach Boys, the honky-tonk hymns of the Band
and the melodic symmetries of pop."
Rolling Stone described Wilco as "one of America's most consistently interesting bands" and "America's foremost rock impressionists." Bands that have been influenced by Wilco include Derek Webb
(of Caedmon's Call
), The National
, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
. English indie rock band Cherry Ghost
took its name from a lyric from the Wilco song "Theologians" (from A Ghost Is Born)—lead singer Simon Aldred is a self-proclaimed "massive Wilco fan". Other notable artists who have covered Wilco live include Norah Jones
performing "Jesus, Etc." which took place at the 2008 Bridge School Benefit
where they both performed, a version of which was released as a bonus track on her 2009 release The Fall, and Counting Crows
and the Wallflowers performing "California Stars."
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band based in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
group Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
following singer Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...
's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
and bassist John Stirratt
John Stirratt
John Stirratt is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, and The Autumn Defense.Stirratt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 26, 1967 and grew up in nearby Mandeville. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi...
remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004, the other current members are guitarist Nels Cline
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone is a multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense.Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi...
and Mikael Jorgensen
Mikael Jorgensen
Mikael Jorgensen is lead pianist and keyboardist for the band Wilco as well as a member of the band Pronto. He first appeared on Wilco's 2004 release, A Ghost Is Born. On that album, he received songwriting credit for "Hell is Chrome" and "Theologians"...
, and drummer Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
. Wilco has released eight studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, and one with The Minus 5
The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American rock band, headed by musician Scott McCaughey and featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.-Band history:Formed in 1993, McCaughey designed the Minus 5 as a pop collective, with each record the group put out featuring a new lineup...
.
Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay
Bill Fay
Bill Fay is an English singer, pianist and songwriter.-Biography:His first single, "Some Good Advice" / "Screams in my Ears", was issued on the Deram label in 1967, and was followed by two albums, Bill Fay in 1970 and Time of the Last Persecution in 1971. The recordings did not sell well, and Fay...
and Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
, and has in turn influenced music by a number of modern alternative rock acts. The band continued in the alternative country of Uncle Tupelo on its debut album A.M.
A.M. (album)
A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco...
(1995), but has since introduced more experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
aspects to their music, including elements of alternative rock and classic pop.
Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
(2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, leading one critic to say the album showed "how screwed up the music business is in the early twenty-first century." Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 670,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born
A Ghost Is Born
A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album...
, including Best Alternative Music Album. Wilco's most recent studio album, The Whole Love
The Whole Love
The Whole Love is the eighth album by American alternative rock group Wilco, released on September 27, 2011. It is their first album on their own label dBpm. Attendees at Wilco's 2011 Solid Sound Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art from June 24 to 26 could purchase the first...
, was released on September 27, 2011.
Formation
Wilco was formed following the breakup of the influential alternative country music group Uncle TupeloUncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
. Singer Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...
quit the band in 1994 supposedly because of a soured relationship with co-singer Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
. Both Tweedy and Farrar sought to form bands immediately after the breakup. Tweedy was able to keep the entire Uncle Tupelo lineup sans Farrar, including bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
John Stirratt, drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Ken Coomer
Ken Coomer
Ken Coomer was the last drummer for the band Uncle Tupelo as well as the drummer for Chicago based-band Wilco until Yankee Hotel Foxtrot...
, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston
Max Johnston
Max Johnston is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work on fiddle, Dobro, banjo, and mandolin with the bands Uncle Tupelo, Wilco and more recently, The Gourds...
. He even enlisted Uncle Tupelo guest guitarist Brian Henneman
Brian Henneman
Brian Henneman is an alt-country/roots rock musician best known as the frontman for the Bottle Rockets, as a songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist. Artists such as John Prine, Neil Young and Merle Haggard have influenced his songwriting style. Henneman began his musical career in the mid-1980s...
of the Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets are an American rock band formed in 1992, currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. The founding members are Brian Henneman , Mark Ortmann , Tom Parr and Tom Ray . Current members are Henneman, Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele...
, who performed on many of the tracks for Wilco's debut album, A.M.
A.M. (album)
A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco...
. The band was tempted to keep the Uncle Tupelo name, but ultimately decided to rename the band. The group named itself "Wilco" after the military and commercial aviation radio voice acronym for "Will Comply", a choice which Tweedy has called "fairly ironic for a rock band to name themselves."
A.M. and Being There
After collaborating with Syd StrawSyd Straw
Syd Straw is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw , she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined the Golden Palominos...
on a cover version of the Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
song "The T.B. is Whipping Me" (released in September 1994 on the Red Hot + Country
Red Hot + Country
Red Hot + Country was the follow-up to No Alternative in the Red Hot Series of compilation albums, a series produced to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues...
compilation produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
), Wilco began recording tracks for A.M.
A.M. (album)
A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco...
, their first studio album, at Easley studio in June 1994. A demo tape from these recordings was sent to executives at Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, and the label signed Tweedy to a contract. Although Tweedy stated that he wanted a more collaborative project than Uncle Tupelo, only his name appeared on the Reprise contract. Tweedy requested songwriting submissions from other members, but only one submission—John Stirratt's "It's Just That Simple"—appeared on A.M.. It was the last song Wilco ever released that was lyrically solely written by a member besides Tweedy.
Stylistically similar to Uncle Tupelo, the music on A.M. was considered to be straightforward alternative country rock in what Tweedy later described as "trying to tread some water with a perceived audience." A.M. peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart, considerably lower than the debut album of Jay Farrar's new band, Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
. The album was met with modest reviews though it would rank thirty-fourth in the Village Voices 1995 Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics poll. Critically and commercially paling in comparison to the reception of Son Volt's album, the Wilco members perceived A.M. to be a failure. Shortly after the release of the album, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Jay Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
joined the band, providing the band with a keyboardist
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and another guitarist.
Wilco made its live debut on November 17, 1994 to a capacity crowd at Cicero's Basement Bar in St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
(the band was billed for the occasion as "Black Shampoo
Black Shampoo
Black Shampoo is an American 1976 blaxploitation drama film directed by Greydon Clark and starring John Daniels.-Plot:John Daniels plays Jonathan Knight, the owner of "Mr. Jonathan's", the most successful hair salon for women on the Sunset Strip...
").
During the two hundred-date tour supporting A.M., Tweedy began to write songs for a second album. The lyrical theme of the songs reflected a relationship between musical artist and a listener; Tweedy chose this topic because he sought to eschew the alternative country fan base. Ken Coomer elaborated:
The whole No DepressionNo Depression (periodical)No Depression was a bi-monthly magazine that covered a broad range of roots music, including alternative country and Americana.-History:...
thing was funny to us because people seemed to forget that Jeff was a bigger punk-rock fan than a country fan. It led to things like us all switching instruments on "Misunderstood," where I'm playing guitar.
A number of songs were recorded with this theme, including "Sunken Treasure" and "Hotel Arizona", however, Wilco also recorded a number of songs in the style of A.M. Wilco named the album Being There
Being There (album)
Being There is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. Despite its release as a nineteen-song double album, Being There was sold at a single album price due to a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Reprise Records...
after a Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
film of the same name
Being There
Being There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A...
. The band went through some personnel changes during the recording sessions. Max Johnston left the band because he felt that his role in the band had diminished in favor of Bennett; he had also been replaced by violinist Jesse Greene on one track because the band felt that Johnston was unable to play the part. Bob Egan of Freakwater
Freakwater
-Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...
briefly joined the band in the studio, playing pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
on "Far, Far Away" and "Dreamer in My Dreams", and then became an official member in September 1996.
Unlike the A.M. recording sessions, the band had no vocation for producing a hit song from their second effort. The recording sessions produced nineteen songs, too many for a single album release. Tweedy was concerned about the high retail price that a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
would be sold for (at least $30), so he asked Reprise Records to release it as a double album at a single album price ($17.98 or less). Reprise agreed to this on the terms that they received Wilco's share of the album royalties. It was estimated in 2003 that the band lost almost $600,000 on the deal, but Tweedy was satisfied. Being There was well-received by critics from several major media outlets, including Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. The album reached #73 on the Billboard album charts, a significant improvement from A.M., and placed fourteenth on the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1996.
Summerteeth and the Mermaid Avenue sessions
In November 1997, Wilco entered Willie NelsonWillie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
's recording studio in Spicewood, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to record a third studio album. The album was lyrically inspired by the marital problems of Tweedy and his wife, as well as by twentieth-century literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. Tweedy relied heavily on Bennett to provide music for the singer's "bold, but depressing" lyrics. Wilco recorded several songs, including "Via Chicago" and "She's a Jar," but began working on another project before assembling the tracks into an album.
Nora Guthrie
Nora Lee Guthrie is the daughter of American folk musician and singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie and his second wife Marjorie Guthrie, sister of singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie, and granddaughter of renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt...
contacted singer-songwriter Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singer Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie's life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments of Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...
. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a "relic" to the MTV generation
MTV Generation
The MTV Generation is a term sometimes used to refer to youth of the late 20th century. The term can mean different things to different people, and is sometimes used synonymously with the terms Generation X or Generation Y.- History :...
, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was "the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody." Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.
Bragg contacted Tweedy and Bennett about co-recording the album while Wilco was on the European segment of their Being There tour. Bragg was particularly fond of Being There because their influences extended farther back than the 1950s. Although Tweedy was indifferent to the offer, Bennett was enthused about recording songs of one of his idols—Bennett's previous band Titanic Love Affair was named after a Billy Bragg lyric. A recording contract between Bragg and Wilco was signed after a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Bragg mostly recorded the politically-charged lyrics, while Tweedy preferred to record lyrics that showcased Guthrie as a "freak weirdo". The recording of Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. Mermaid Avenue was released on the...
began on December 12, 1997, and was the topic of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Man in the Sand
Man in the Sand
Man in the Sand is a 1999 music documentary that chronicles the collaboration between Billy Bragg and Wilco, which involved the musicians creating new music to accompany lyrics that were written decades earlier by folk singer Woody Guthrie. The project, which was organized by Woody's daughter...
documentary film.
Tempers flared between Bragg and Wilco after the album was completed. Bennett believed that Bragg was overproducing his songs, a sharp contrast to Wilco's sparser contributions. Bennett called Bragg about the possibility of remixing Bragg's songs, to which Bragg responded "you make your record, and I'll make mine, fucker." Eventually Bragg sent copies of his recordings to Chicago for Bennett to remix, but Bragg refused to use the new mixes on the album. The two parties were unable to establish a promotional tour and quarreled over royalties and guest musician fees.
Despite these conflicts, the album was released on June 23, 1998, and sold over 277,000 copies. The album received rave reviews from Robert Christgau and Rolling Stone, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album...
. It also placed fourth on the Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1998. After the album was released, Bob Egan was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach
Leroy Bach
LeRoy Bach is an American musician, composer, and music producer. Bach is perhaps best known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Wilco from 1997 through 2004. He has also worked as a touring and/or studio musician for such notable acts as Liz Phair, Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, Andrew...
.
After the completion of the Mermaid Avenue sessions, Wilco returned to Spicewood to complete their third studio album, Summerteeth
Summerteeth
Summerteeth is the third studio album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco. Released through Reprise Records on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was...
. Unlike previous Wilco and Uncle Tupelo recordings, the album featured a lot of overdubbing with Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
. Stirratt and Coomer were concerned with the production, since it reduced their involvement in the music. According to Stirratt:
The story of Summerteeth is Jay bought a MellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
and he was going to use it, no matter what. It was lovely, but it was overdone. Once they got going on the overdubs, they didn't stop. And nobody in the band stepped up to stop the madness ... It reminds me of Heart of DarknessHeart of DarknessHeart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
, where you knowingly extend the creative process for the purpose of exploration or redemption, or whatever it is you're looking for.
During 1999, Warner Brothers was looking to help repay a $16 billion debt acquired during the recent merger of parent company Warner Communications with Time Inc.
Time Inc.
Time Inc. is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner, the company formed by the 1990 merger of the original Time Inc. and Warner Communications. It publishes 130 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time...
. As a result, Warner's imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
s were under pressure to produce musical acts that would yield hit records. The head of Reprise, Howie Klein
Howie Klein
Howie Klein is an American DJ, music producer, record label founder, record label executive, and political blogger, who was president of Reprise Records from 1989 to 2001....
, who had previously authorized the release of Being There as a double album, was willing to let Wilco produce Summerteeth without label input. When Klein played the album for Reprise's A&R department, however, they demanded a radio single for the album. Wilco agreed to do this "once and once only" and recorded a radio-friendly version of "Can't Stand It" at the request of David Kahne
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
, the head of the A&R department. The single version of "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over from Triple-A
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
radio to alternative rock stations. Consequently, the album sold only 200,000 copies, significantly less than Being There. This was despite critical acclaim; the album placed eighth on the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1999.
After the release of Summerteeth
Summerteeth
Summerteeth is the third studio album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco. Released through Reprise Records on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was...
, the band resumed the Mermaid Avenue sessions. Although they had recorded enough material for a second release in 1998, Wilco recorded a few new songs for Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is a 2000 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco...
. "Someday Some Morning Sometime," featuring a vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
filtered through a space echo, was identified by Tweedy as being the "piece to the puzzle" towards the creation of their fourth studio album. The album was released on May 30, 2000, and was the last release from the sessions.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Shortly after the recording sessions for Mermaid Avenue Vol. II, Wilco purchased a studio on Irving Park Road in Chicago, which they named the Wilco Loft. The band recorded some tracks in the studio in early 2000 for a fourth studio album. In May 2000, Jeff Tweedy requested to perform with Jim O'RourkeJim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
at a festival in Chicago; Tweedy was a fan of O'Rourke's Bad Timing. O'Rourke introduced Tweedy to drummer Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
, and the trio enjoyed working together so much that they decided to record an album as a side project named Loose Fur
Loose Fur
Loose Fur is an American rock band comprising Wilco members Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, and Wilco collaborator Jim O'Rourke. The trio first convened in May 2000 in preparation for a Tweedy performance at a festival in Chicago. Tweedy was offered the opportunity to collaborate with an artist of...
. Wilco had recorded an entire album of music at this point, but Tweedy was unhappy with the drum parts. He enjoyed Kotche's contributions to Loose Fur so much that Tweedy brought him into the studio to re-record some demos. Some believe that Tweedy sought to make Wilco sound like Loose Fur after officially replacing Ken Coomer with Kotche in January 2001.
Although Bennett sought to act as both mixer and engineer for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
, Tweedy was unsure of Bennett's abilities against those of O'Rourke. Tweedy and Bennett frequently argued over whether the album should be accessible to a general listener, or attempt to cover new musical ground. Unbeknownst to Bennett, Tweedy invited O'Rourke to remix "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", and the results impressed the other band members—even Bennett. Tensions grew between Bennett and O'Rourke because Bennett wanted to mix every song on the album. O'Rourke cut the contributions of other members on several of the songs; some songs, such as "Poor Places", only featured the Loose Fur trio. The album was completed in 2001, and Bennett was dismissed from the band immediately afterwards. The recording of the album was documented by Sam Jones and released in 2002 as the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.
Time Warner, which owned Warner Bros. Records, merged with America Online in 2001, leading to more pressure on Warner's record labels to cut costs. Over 600 employees of Warner Music Group were fired, including Howie Klein, the president of Reprise Records. In absence of Klein, David Kahne became the interim head of Reprise. Kahne assigned Mio Vukovic to monitor the progress of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and to offer suggestions. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that Vukovic disdained the album and was unhappy that Wilco ignored his suggestions. He brought the album to Kahne, who felt that there was no single on the album. In June 2001, the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was rejected by Reprise and Wilco was asked to leave the label.
Wilco managed to negotiate terms to a buy-out from Reprise. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that instead of financial compensation, the band agreed to leave the label with the master tapes of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The label was already receiving bad publicity for its treatment of the band and were willing to accommodate Wilco's request. However, Allmusic claims that Wilco "bought the finished studio tapes from Warner/Reprise
Reprise
Reprise is a fundamental device in the history of art. In literature, a reprise consists of the rewriting of another work; in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the...
for a reported $50,000 and left the label altogether" after Wilco was "[u]nwilling to change the album to make it more 'commercially viable'" To curb the negative publicity, Reprise began to invest more in bands such as The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
. Lead singer Wayne Coyne
Wayne Coyne
Wayne Michael Coyne is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter for the band The Flaming Lips.-Early life:...
once remarked:
We are benefiting from the label's regret over Wilco. We are living in the golden age of that being such a public mistake. The people on Warners said, "we'll never have a band like Wilco feel we don't believe in them again." They'd tell me that it would never happen to us. And what a great day for me!
As the band searched for a new label to release the album, they decided to stream it at their official website to discourage illegal trading of low-quality MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s. The band signed with Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
, another Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
subsidiary, and the album was released in the spring of 2002. When it was released, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
reached number thirteen on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, Wilco's highest chart position to that date. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
sold over 590,000 copies, and to date remains Wilco's best selling album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was met with wide critical acclaim: it topped 2002's Pazz & Jop critics' poll, was named one of the 100 greatest albums of all time by Q Magazine.
Down with Wilco, A Ghost Is Born, and Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
While waiting for the commercial release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco agreed to support R.E.M.R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
collaborator Scott McCaughey
Scott McCaughey
As a singer and songwriter, Scott McCaughey is the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5.He is also bassist for Robyn Hitchcock's most recent touring band, The Venus 3, along with Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck....
for an album release by The Minus 5
The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American rock band, headed by musician Scott McCaughey and featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.-Band history:Formed in 1993, McCaughey designed the Minus 5 as a pop collective, with each record the group put out featuring a new lineup...
. They scheduled a recording session for September 11, 2001, but were distraught about the 9/11 terrorist attacks that day. Later that day, Wilco and McCaughey agreed to "create something good in the world right now" and record some material. Influenced by Bill Fay
Bill Fay
Bill Fay is an English singer, pianist and songwriter.-Biography:His first single, "Some Good Advice" / "Screams in my Ears", was issued on the Deram label in 1967, and was followed by two albums, Bill Fay in 1970 and Time of the Last Persecution in 1971. The recordings did not sell well, and Fay...
's Time of the Last Persecution
Time of the Last Persecution
Time of the Last Persecution was the second album of progressive folk singer Bill Fay. Released in 1971, the album was influenced by the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation...
, The Minus 5's Down with Wilco
Down With Wilco
Down with Wilco is the fifth album by American rock band The Minus 5. Released on Yep Roc in 2003, it features Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies as well as contributions from Wilco, where the album derives its name.-Track listing:...
was released in 2003. Keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen
Mikael Jorgensen
Mikael Jorgensen is lead pianist and keyboardist for the band Wilco as well as a member of the band Pronto. He first appeared on Wilco's 2004 release, A Ghost Is Born. On that album, he received songwriting credit for "Hell is Chrome" and "Theologians"...
, who had engineered Down with Wilco, joined Wilco in 2002 as they toured in support of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
A Ghost Is Born
A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album...
featured songs that were created with Pro Tools before ever performing them live. The album featured the song "Less Than You Think", which included a fifteen-minute track of electronic noises and synthesizers, which Tweedy called "the track that everyone will hate". Tweedy justified the inclusion of the song:
Leroy Bach left the band immediately after the album's completion to join a music theatre operation in Chicago. Like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco streamed the album online before its commercial release. Instead of using their own web page, the band streamed it in MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
form on Apple's website. Wilco sought to substantially change their lineup after Bach's departure, and added Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone is a multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense.Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi...
of The Autumn Defense
The Autumn Defense
The Autumn Defense is an indie band composed of multi-instrumentalists John Stirratt and Pat Sansone.-History:The Autumn Defense began as a side project for John Stirratt, best known for his work as bassist for alt-country bands Wilco and Uncle Tupelo...
, and avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
guitarist Nels Cline
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
to the lineup. Just as the band was about to tour to promote the album, Tweedy checked himself in to a rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
clinic in Chicago for an addiction to painkillers. As a result, tour plans for Europe were canceled, and the release date for the album was set back several weeks. A Ghost Is Born was released on June 22, 2004, and became Wilco's first top ten album in the U.S. The album earned Wilco Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. It also placed thirteenth on 2004's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
In 2004, the band released The Wilco Book
The Wilco Book
The Wilco Book is an exploration of the artistic statement presented by the band Wilco. Artwork created by the band, photographer Michael Schmelling, and mixed media artist Fred Tomaselli is interspersed with comments from the band, technicians, and managers, as well as essays by Henry Miller and...
, a picture book detailing the creation of A Ghost Is Born. The book also contains writings and drawings from band members, as well as a CD with demos from the A Ghost Is Born recording sessions. Also that year, Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
released a biography of the band entitled Wilco: Learning How to Die
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Wilco: Learning How to Die is a book by Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot. The book was written with the cooperation of Wilco band members past and present. It covers the time period from when Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy was born, through the formation and breakup of Uncle Tupelo, and the career...
. The new six-piece Wilco lineup debuted on Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
Kicking Television: Live in Chicago is a live album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco, released on November 15, 2005 by Nonesuch Records. The album consists of material from four live shows at Chicago's Vic Theater recorded May 4, 2005 to May 7, 2005. Although the band filmed the concerts,...
, a two disc live album recorded at The Vic Theater
The Vic Theater
The Victoria Theatre, best known as The Vic Theatre is a musical venue located in Chicago, Illinois. The Vic Theatre can easily accommodate 1,400 people, with seating for 1,000....
in Chicago. Released on November 15, 2005, the album received high accolades from Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Billboard, and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. As of 2007, it has sold over 114,000 copies.
Sky Blue Sky
Wilco returned to their loft in Chicago to record a sixth studio album in 2006. Influenced by The ByrdsThe Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
and Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, the band considered Sky Blue Sky
Sky Blue Sky
Sky Blue Sky is the sixth studio album by Chicago rock band Wilco, released on May 15, 2007 by Nonesuch Records. Originally announced on January 17, 2007 at a show in Nashville, Tennessee, it was the band's first studio album with guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone...
to be less experimental than previous releases. Also unlike previous albums, the songs were created as collaborations.
Wilco streamed the album online on March 3, 2007, and offered the song "What Light" as a free MP3 download. To further publicize the album, Wilco licensed several songs from the Sky Blue Sky recording sessions for use in a Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
advertising campaign. The move was criticized by both critics and fans; Wilco responded by noting that they had previously done advertising campaigns with Apple Inc. and Telefónica Móviles (Movistar)
Movistar
Movistar is a major Spanish mobile phone operator owned by Telefónica Móviles. It operates in Spain and in many Latin American countries. It is the largest carrier in Spain with 22 million customers and 41.58% of market share. Its principal competitor in Latin America is America Movil...
. The album was released on May 15, 2007, and was a commercial success: it sold over 87,000 copies in its first week and peaked in the top five in the U.S. album charts. It also was a top forty hit in seven other countries.
Reviewer James Brubaker states that Wilco "shine[s] on a handful of the songs" on Sky Blue Sky, such as the "light, and straightforward" songs. While he calls the album "great traditional rock and folk album at times", he states that "once you get past the handful of masterful and lovely performances... the rest of the record comes off at times as dull, and forced." The allaboutjazz review also had mixed comments. While praising the album as "deceptively insinuating, almost intoxicating to listen to” and noting its "impeccable sound quality," the reviewer claimed that "Sky Blue Sky becomes the first Wilco album that sounds too careful for its own good."
Pabs Hernandez, a reviewer for Lost at Sea praised the album's "breezy atmosphere and pacing," and noted that it is not "easily judged upon first listen." Overall, Hernandez stated that it "may be no masterpiece, but at worst it's a more than worthy entry into Wilco's laudable catalogue.”
Reviewer Greg Locke praised the record as "one of the best albums of the year," calling it a "timeless record, full of sweet, hopeful sophistication and class" and "a lean, mean, soulful album." Like Hernandez, Locke acknowledged that the album could not be properly judged just on the first listening. The NPR review also had a positive take on the record. While the NPR reviewer stated that the recording "isn't groundbreaking," they praised its "coherent musical expression" and emphasis on "solid songcraft without pretense" which created a "satisfying and melodically sound album."
In anticipation of the 2008 US presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, Wilco released a downloadable version of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "I Shall Be Released
I Shall Be Released
"I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.The Band played it on their debut album, Music from Big Pink , with Richard Manuel singing lead vocals, and Rick Danko and Levon Helm harmonizing in the chorus...
" that they performed with Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes are a folk rock band which formed in Seattle, Washington. They are signed to the Sub Pop and Bella Union record labels. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes...
. The MP3 was available as a free download from the band's website in exchange for a promise to vote in the election. The band also made an appearance on The Colbert Report to support presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Wilco released a live performance DVD, Ashes of American Flags
Ashes of American Flags
Wilco Live: Ashes of American Flags is a live performance DVD by the American alternative rock band Wilco. The film was released exclusively to independent record stores through Nonesuch Records on April 18, 2009, in coordination with Record Store Day. The wide-scale release of the DVD was April...
, on April 18, 2009, to celebrate Record Store Day
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music...
.
In December 2008, Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, Glenn Kotche and John Stirratt traveled to Auckland, New Zealand to participate in Neil Finn
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
's 7 Worlds Collide
7 Worlds Collide
7 Worlds Collide is a musical project by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn. The project brings together Finn and other musicians in support of charity....
sequel project, The Sun Came Out
The Sun Came Out
The Sun Came Out is a charity studio album released on 31 August 2009 by New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn for the benefit of Oxfam. The album was recorded at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios and is a follow up to the 7 Worlds Collide live album of 2001...
, joined by Ed O'Brien
Ed O'Brien
Edward John O'Brien is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Radiohead. He is also responsible for harmony vocals during live concerts and on many tracks from the band's albums...
, Phil Selway
Phil Selway
Philip James "Phil" "The Graf" Selway is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of English rock group Radiohead. He also drums and provides backing vocals, along with occasional guitar and lead vocals, for 7 Worlds Collide...
, Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
, KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, Liam Finn
Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
, and Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released seven albums featuring her often-hushed vocal style, confessional lyrics, and distinctive violin. Her 1994 album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim, including being featured as a top album of...
. They wrote and recorded several new tracks for the Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
-benefiting album including "You Never Know", "What Could Have Been", "Over and Done" and "Don't Forget Me". Jeff Tweedy co-wrote "Too Blue" with Johnny Marr, and Glenn, John and Pat play on most tracks on the album.
Having enjoyed their time in New Zealand and the vibe of Finn's own Roundhead Studios
Roundhead Studios
Roundhead Studios is an Auckland-based sound recording studio owned by singer-songwriter Neil Finn. It was officially opened in June 2007, however by the time of its opening, several international artists had already used it whilst the studio was either in construction or receiving finishing...
, the four members stayed in Auckland through January to record the foundation tracks for their next album. Jim Scott, who acted as engineer and mixer for the Neil Finn project, stayed on in the same capacity for the Wilco sessions. Nels Cline and Mikael Jorgensen would later add overdubs to these tracks at the band's Chicago Loft.
Wilco (The Album)
Wilco released their seventh album, Wilco (The Album)Wilco (The Album)
Wilco is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock group Wilco which was released June 30, 2009. Prior to release, Wilco streamed the album on their website...
, on June 30, 2009. In March 2009, it was announced that singer-songwriter Feist would make a guest appearance on the new album, on the track "You and I". Like their previous three albums, Wilco streamed the entirety of the album on its website prior to release. The album hit the charts at a career-high #4 with sales of 99,000 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart as well as the #2 spot on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. It marked Wilco's third top 10 album on the U.S. pop chart. The album's first single "You Never Know" reached the #1 spot on the AAA Chart, their first #1 in twelve years.
On April 30, Wilco freely distributed a cover of the Woody Guthrie song, "The Jolly Banker", recorded at the Wilco loft in February 2009 at the suggestion of Nora Guthrie
Nora Guthrie
Nora Lee Guthrie is the daughter of American folk musician and singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie and his second wife Marjorie Guthrie, sister of singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie, and granddaughter of renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt...
Downloaders were encouraged to make donations to the Woody Guthrie Foundation
Woody Guthrie Foundation
The Woody Guthrie Foundation, founded in 1972, is a non-profit organization that serves as administrator and caretaker of the Woody Guthrie Archives...
. Feist guest appears on the track playing a garden weasel.
On May 25, 2009, former band member Jay Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
died in his home in Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
. In a prepared statement, Jeff Tweedy remarked that he was "deeply saddened" by Bennett's death.
Feist and Wilco performed "You and I" on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on July 14, 2009. In June during their West Coast tour, Wilco joined Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Feist, Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, United States...
and James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
in the studio to take part in Beck's Record Club
Record Club
Record Club is a musical project initiated by Beck Hansen in June 2009.The purpose of the project is to cover an entire album by another artist in one day, using an informal and fluid collective of musicians...
project, covering Skip Spence's
Skip Spence
Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...
Oar
Oar (Skip Spence album)
Oar is a 1969 album by the late Skip Spence. It is Spence's only solo album, recorded over seven days in Nashville, on which Spence plays all of the instruments.- History :...
album. The first song "Little Hands" was posted on Beck's website on November 12, 2009. Wilco has also performed the theme song for Adventure Time with Finn & Jake.
On April 6, 2010, Wilco announced during their Boston performance that they would be headlining and curating a festival in North Adams, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, dubbed Solid Sound Festival. The event ran at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, commonly referred to as MASS MoCA, is a museum in a converted factory building located in North Adams, Massachusetts, USA. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing arts in the country.MASS MoCA opened with 19...
from August 13–15, and featured various Wilco side projects, including The Autumn Defense, Pronto, The Nels Cline Singers, and Jeff Tweedy solo. Other bands who appeared included Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
, Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo is an indie-pop band based in Long Beach, California founded by singer/songwriter and guitarist, Avi Zahner-Isenberg. Their self-titled debut album was released on the 27th of April, 2010, and was given positive reviews by The Onion A.V. Club, NME, Filter, Drowned in Sound and numerous...
, Outrageous Cherry
Outrageous Cherry
-History:Outrageous Cherry formed in 1992 as a solo project for Matthew Smith, but soon expanded to a four-piece after he began performing live in 1993...
, Richard Bishop, The Books
The Books
The Books are an American duo, formed in New York City in 1999, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong. Their releases typically incorporate samples of obscure sounds and speech...
, and Vetiver
Vetiver (band)
Vetiver are an American folk band headed by songwriter Andy Cabic.- History :Cabic was a member of the Greensboro, North Carolina indie rock band The Raymond Brake who released some records on the now defunct Simple Machines label. He formed Vetiver after moving to San Francisco. The band...
. It also featured non-musical media, such as the Bread and Puppet Theater
Bread and Puppet Theater
The Bread and Puppet Theater is a politically radical puppet theater, active since the 1960s, currently based in Glover, Vermont...
and comedians Todd Barry
Todd Barry
-Biography:Barry was born in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in Florida. In 1999, his Comedy Central Presents aired. He wrote, directed and starred in the short film Borrowing Saffron , which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin. He has made a variety of guest appearances on shows like Dr...
, Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...
, John Mulaney
John Mulaney
John Mulaney is an American comedian and writer for Saturday Night Live .In addition to writing for SNL, Mulaney has appeared on the show's "Weekend Update" segment. Mulaney also previously made regular appearances on Best Week Ever on VH1. Mulaney appeared multiple times on Late Night with Conan...
, and Hannibal Buress
Hannibal Buress
Hannibal Buress is an American stand-up comedian and television writer currently living in New York City.Buress was featured in "The Awkward Comedy Show" special on Comedy Central, alongside comics Baron Vaughn, Eric André, Marina Franklin, and Victor Varnado, and on the FX sitcom Louie...
as well as interactive musical installations by Cline and Kotche.
Wilco's contract with Nonesuch ended in 2010 and they formed their own label. Wilco announced via their web site and Twitter page on January 27, 2011 that the new label will be called dBpm Records (Decibels per Minute) and will be run out of the offices of their manager, Tony Margherita, in Easthampton, MA.
The Whole Love
Wilco's eighth studio album, The Whole LoveThe Whole Love
The Whole Love is the eighth album by American alternative rock group Wilco, released on September 27, 2011. It is their first album on their own label dBpm. Attendees at Wilco's 2011 Solid Sound Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art from June 24 to 26 could purchase the first...
, was released on September 27, 2011. The first single off the album is titled "I Might". The B-Side to "I Might" is a cover of Nick Lowe's 1977 song "I Love My Label
A Bunch of Stiff Records
A Bunch of Stiff Records, also known as A Bunch of Stiffs, is a various artists album to promote some of the first acts to be signed by Stiff Records....
". The single was shown at the Wilco's 2011 Solid Sound Festival at MassMoca and was met by positive reviews. The entire album was streamed live on Wilco's official website for 24 hours between September 3 and 4, 2011.
Musical style and influence
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
. Despite their career-long association with a major record label, they are generally associated with indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
. Wilco draws influence from bands from a variety of musical genres, but primarily from music created between 1966 and 1974. John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
's Paris 1919
Paris 1919 (album)
Paris 1919 is a 1973 album by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. It was produced by Chris Thomas and features a backing band consisting largely of members of Little Feat. It is the most accessible and traditional of Cale's albums, and the most well-known of his work as a solo artist.A...
was credited by the band as providing a musical parallel. According to Tweedy, "It was eye-opening that I wasn't the only person that felt like these worlds had a lot more in common than they'd been given credit for—that experimentation and avant-garde theory was not directly opposed to beauty, y'know?"
Other recording artists from that timespan appreciated by the band include John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, and Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
. For his thirty-fourth birthday, Tweedy received a private guitar lesson from Richard Lloyd of Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
; Tweedy was a big fan of the group and was particularly fond of the guitar work, which he wanted to incorporate into his music. Uncle Tupelo was inspired by bands such as Jason & the Scorchers
Jason & the Scorchers
Jason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a Cowpunk / Country rock band formed in 1981 and led by singer/songwriter Jason Ringenberg....
and The Minutemen, influencing the recording of Wilco's A.M.. Tweedy and O'Rourke enjoyed free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
artists such as Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
, and Derek Bailey; they also listen to mainstream jazz by artists such as Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
. The lyrical structure of Wilco's songs was dictated by classic literature and cadavre exquis
Exquisite corpse
Exquisite corpse, also known as exquisite cadaver or rotating corpse, is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule Exquisite corpse, also known as exquisite cadaver (from the original...
—an exercise where band members take turns writing lines on a typewriter, but are only allowed to see the previously written line. Among the books that the band has cited as being stylistically influential include William H. Gass
William H. Gass
William Howard Gass is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, critic, and former philosophy professor. He has written two novels, three collections of short stories, a collection of novellas, and seven volumes of essays, three of which have won National Book Critics Circle Award...
's In the Heart of the Heart of the Country, Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
's Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer (novel)
Tropic of Cancer is a novel by Henry Miller which has been described as "notorious for its candid sexuality" and as responsible for the "free speech that we now take for granted in literature." It was first published in 1934 by the Obelisk Press in Paris, France, but this edition was banned in the...
, and Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
's The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry.
Some critics have dubbed Wilco the "American Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
", due to their stylistically diverse catalog. A critic from the New York Times argues that Wilco has a "roots-rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
...[sound which] reached back to proven materials: the twang of country, the steady chug of 1960s rock, the undulating sheen of the Beach Boys, the honky-tonk hymns of the Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
and the melodic symmetries of pop."
Rolling Stone described Wilco as "one of America's most consistently interesting bands" and "America's foremost rock impressionists." Bands that have been influenced by Wilco include Derek Webb
Derek Webb
Derek Walsh Webb is an American singer-songwriter who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career....
(of Caedmon's Call
Caedmon's Call
Caedmon's Call is a Contemporary Christian band which fuses traditional folk with world music and alternative rock. They are composed of Cliff Young , Danielle Young , Derek Webb , Andrew Osenga , Garett Buell , Jeff Miller , Todd Bragg , and...
), The National
The National (band)
The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...
, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is an American rock band from Waitsfield, Vermont.-Career:Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' lead vocalist is multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter, who attended St. Lawrence University for two years before pursuing music professionally...
. English indie rock band Cherry Ghost
Cherry Ghost
Cherry Ghost is an indie rock band from Bolton, England. Their debut album, Thirst for Romance, was released in July 2007 and entered the UK Album Charts at #7...
took its name from a lyric from the Wilco song "Theologians" (from A Ghost Is Born)—lead singer Simon Aldred is a self-proclaimed "massive Wilco fan". Other notable artists who have covered Wilco live include Norah Jones
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
performing "Jesus, Etc." which took place at the 2008 Bridge School Benefit
Bridge School Benefit
The Bridge School Benefit is an annual non-profit charity concert held in Mountain View, California, every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The concerts are all organized by musician Neil Young and his wife, Pegi....
where they both performed, a version of which was released as a bonus track on her 2009 release The Fall, and Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
and the Wallflowers performing "California Stars."
Discography
- A.M.A.M. (album)A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco...
(March 28, 1995) - Being ThereBeing There (album)Being There is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. Despite its release as a nineteen-song double album, Being There was sold at a single album price due to a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Reprise Records...
(October 29, 1996) - SummerteethSummerteethSummerteeth is the third studio album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco. Released through Reprise Records on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was...
(March 9, 1999) - Yankee Hotel FoxtrotYankee Hotel FoxtrotYankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
(April 23, 2002) - A Ghost Is BornA Ghost Is BornA Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album...
(June 22, 2004) - Kicking Television: Live in ChicagoKicking Television: Live in ChicagoKicking Television: Live in Chicago is a live album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco, released on November 15, 2005 by Nonesuch Records. The album consists of material from four live shows at Chicago's Vic Theater recorded May 4, 2005 to May 7, 2005. Although the band filmed the concerts,...
(November 15, 2005) - Sky Blue SkySky Blue SkySky Blue Sky is the sixth studio album by Chicago rock band Wilco, released on May 15, 2007 by Nonesuch Records. Originally announced on January 17, 2007 at a show in Nashville, Tennessee, it was the band's first studio album with guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone...
(May 15, 2007) - Wilco (The Album)Wilco (The Album)Wilco is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock group Wilco which was released June 30, 2009. Prior to release, Wilco streamed the album on their website...
(June 30, 2009) - The Whole LoveThe Whole LoveThe Whole Love is the eighth album by American alternative rock group Wilco, released on September 27, 2011. It is their first album on their own label dBpm. Attendees at Wilco's 2011 Solid Sound Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art from June 24 to 26 could purchase the first...
(September 27, 2011)
Grammy Awards
| Year | Award | Work/Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album... |
Mermaid Avenue | Nominated |
| 2005 | Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative rock genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards... |
A Ghost Is Born | Won |
| Grammy Award for Best Recording Package Grammy Award for Best Recording Package The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director.... |
Won | ||
| 2008 | Grammy Award for Best Rock Album Grammy Award for Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre... |
Sky Blue Sky | Nominated |
| 2009 | Grammy Award for Best Americana Album Grammy Award for Best Americana Album The Grammy Award for Best Americana Album is an honor presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Americana music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards... |
Wilco (The Album) | Nominated |
Shortlist Music Prizes
| Year | Award | Work/Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Shortlist Music Prize Shortlist Music Prize The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as , was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination... |
A Ghost Is Born | Nominated |
| 2007 | Shortlist Music Prize | Sky Blue Sky | Nominated |
Wired Rave Awards
| Year | Award | Work/Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Wired Wired (magazine) Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics... Rave Award |
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | Won |
External links
- Official website
- Wilco at Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...