FRESH BAKED
Wilco
Wilco (the album)
2009 | Nonesuch
C

Wilco used to seem to me to the be epitome of cool. Jeff Tweedy spun anesthetized tales of despondence and woe, made pretty through the cleverest/most absurd wordplay, and Jay Bennett layered orchestras of sonic dissonance over the top, simultaneously burying and magnifying the dark subject matter of the lyrics. Summerteeth, which eschewed the last remaining threads of Wilco’s (and earlier, Uncle Tupelo’s) country rock roots, sounds like an updated White Album: as if everything down to the tambourine had been so meticulously considered that the album’s mix was truly perfect. Ken Coomer and John Stirratt hold down the rhythm a la Paul and Ringo: simple and tight as fuck. Summerteeth was the closest thing to a perfect album I’d heard yet, and the promise within the hype surrounding Yankee Hotel Foxtrot made me truly believe that the rest of the world was about to get on the bandwagon, and Wilco was about to be elevated to legit household name status.

And Yankee Hotel Foxtrot finally came out, and it did blow its predecessors out of the water, and it did elevate the band to greater fame, and the whole story is documented in the tepid book Learning How to Die and the killer documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. But Wilco wasn’t my Wilco anymore. Ken Coomer and Jay Bennett were ousted from the band, replaced by Glenn Kotche (arguably the most outside-of-the-box drummer since Stewart Copeland) and a series of other ringers, including former Geraldine Fibbers member, Nels Cline. Cline’s idiosyncratic, jazzy approach to electric guitar helped to make 2007′s Sky Blue Sky an improvement upon the boring, self-indulgent A Ghost Is Born, sure. But, for all their idiosyncrasies, Cline, Kotche, Stirratt (the band’s only remaining founding member, Tweedy excepted), et al., are still yes men, and without the turmoil involved in making YHF and Summerteeth, the last few Wilco albums have sounded to me like Jeff Tweedy solo albums, wrapped up in a pretty package.
More on Wilco | Wilco (the album)

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compiled by Elana Jacobs

Need a ride to the Wilco show at McCarren Pool on August 13? Well, thanks to Jeff Tweedy and company, you now have options. The newly created “Passenger Side” program allows fans to go on to Wilco’s website to find or share rides to the band’s shows. According to their site, the message board was established to help with rising gas prices and temperatures, and, of course, to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint. It’s also a unique way to connect Wilco fans…that hopefully doesn’t end in any mishaps. Check out wilcoworld.net/roadcase/passengerside.php for more info if you’re looking for a ride.

by Jeff Goncalves