What does Wilco have to do with Blake? Not a whole lot. Wilco’s music isn’t anything close to what I’m expecting out of Blake. Yet Blake likes to pimp his local music scene and I thought I’d take a crack at it, too. My local scene is the great city of Chicago, and while I suppose I could pimp Kanye West, his album “Graduation” just scored the number 15 spot of debut albums in Soundscan history and needs no introduction.
Instead, I’d like to start with Wilco. I love the story of their most successful album so far, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Their label didn’t care for it and pretty much fired the band, giving them the rights to the album for free. Wilco then turned around and sold it to another division of the same umbrella company (Warner). Not only that, it went gold. Way to stick it to the man!
Here’s a great clip (I’m pretty sure it’s from the documentary “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” about the whole Yankee Hotel Foxtrot fiasco) set to “Jesus, Etc”. Pretty song and some great shots of Chicago.
More after the jump.
Of course, I also feel like I’m BFF with their lead singer, Jeff Tweedy, because I had taken a friend to Ravenswood Hospital’s emergency room one Sunday in the mid 1990s and he was there being treated for bronchitis. Yes, I have delusions, but now that I’ve committed that story to writing, perhaps I will quit boring friends with it. Nah.
This year, Wilco released Sky Blue Sky. Sadly, I bought the album and misplaced it after only a couple of listens. I liked what I heard, however, and will pick up another copy if it doesn’t reappear. I’m not sure anything they’ve done has topped Yankee Hotel Foxtrot for me. If you buy one Wilco album, that would be the one I suggest. Some people call them alternative rock and some call them alt country. Pick up a copy and judge for yourself.
I recently caught a sold-out show they played at the fabulous Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. The venue accommodates 11K and Wilco donated all the proceeds to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. The organization’s web site describes this as an “unsolicited act of generosity.” Way to give back!
Jeff Tweedy was featured recently in American Way magazine. It’s the throwaway magazine in the pockets of all American Airlines seats. Usually they feature a celebrity who gives advice to travelers on where to go and what to see in a particular city. I usually cringe at the Chicago answers. Shop on Magnificent Mile! Lunch at the Four Seasons! Well, trust Jeff Tweedy to keep it real.
http://www.americanwaymag.com/tabid/2855/tabidext/3031/default.aspx
Wow, he actually talks about what locals would do!
I like this pj! Reminds me of Ryan Adams. Cool “brush with celebrity” story too!
I liked it too. Thanks PJ!
Thanks pj I really enjoyed that. I’m from Illinois and I love Chicago:)
Glad you liked it, y’all. I threw it together quickly last night and realized I needed to tweak it a bit this morning. For example, I left out the name of the song in the video and hadn’t even linked to Wilco’s website. LOL.
Anyway, here’s a review of the concert I attended. The funniest thing is the comment section. It’s either, “Wilco is an overrated snoozefest” or “Wilco is the best band evah!” Ah, fan wars. LOL.
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2007/09/wilco-turns-int.html
Anne, do you live near the city?
pj,I grew up about 1 1/2 hr south of Chicago, small farm town. Most of my family still lives there.
ETA Figured too much personal info. so went back and cleaned it up:)
Cool, Anne. I grew up in the south, but have lived in Chicago for many years. :)
I grew up 40 miles from Chicago, in the NW suburbs. It was rural, but you could see the skyline over the treetops of Kemper’s property.
I didn’t think that was wierd then, but nowadays, I think it’s a bit of irony. Million dollar homes sit in the cornfields where I roamed, and Kemper is no more.
Urban sprawl chased us down to KY, but my heart still is in the Northern stateline…and I still talk like a Wisconsin/Michiganner! LOL.
Just random…nothing to do with Blake, but of course, I think of how lucky he is to still be in his hometown alot. Lucky.
Pitchfork had a news blurb on Wilco playing some dates–
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/45691-andrew-bird-adds-shows-with-wilco-bright-eyes
For those interested, linkage above!
Bully, sorry you were pushed out by urban spraw. :(
Thanks for the link. Andrew Bird headlined at the Hideout Block Party a couple of weeks ago, but we left after The Frames, so missed him. My legs were sore from standing for 6 hours! LOL.