Wilco are actually unbelievably gifted songwriters and creators.
It took me a while to get that but I get it now. I always found a
certain level of pretension within their music (mostly within the
people I knew who loved and embodied their work) but now, I
find peace there. Jeff Tweedy's minimalist yet grandeur form
is something that resounds deeply within me. For eons, I put
up with people who told me 'Buy Yankee Hotel Foxtrot! This
album will change your life!' and I spit back curses of 'Stop
preaching Wilco to me'...but now, I am converted.
A few years back, my friend Laura came to visit me and my wife
and left a copy of 'Sky Blue Sky' in our car. I ripped the disc to
my computer and let it stew for a while. I didn't know what to
think at first. I wanted to understand what everyone else was
talking about...but I still found their music to be very basic
and uninspired.
Then, that same year, I was up late while Sarah was asleep
and SNL came on. I watched a lot of TV while we lived in St.
Catharines (mostly because of the free cable we had living at
the private school). Wilco was the musical guest. With
intrigue, I waited for their performance. They played 'Hate It
Here'. I had heard that song many times (thanks to my friend
Laura's leaving of the album in our car)...but I had never
really 'heard' the song. That night, with the volume on low
while my wife slept, I saw Wilco. The laidback bluesy feel
mixed with the bouncy, big band/rock riffs woke me up
to the sleeping genius of Jeff Tweedy and his crew.
I listened to that song many times on many runs around my
St Catharines neighbourhood on many occasions after that.
I always remembered their night. The sound was new in
my ears - although familiar at the same time.
I was converted.
