#28 Wilco – Being There
Wilco – Being There
The opening sequence of Misunderstood should have informed anyone that had been paying attention to Wilco that its sound had morphed from the No Depression/Alt. Country darlings of their Uncle Tupelo roots to a band that was mixing The Replacements, Stones, Beatles and Dylan. By this time, Jeff Tweedy was teaming up with Jay Bennett and with Tweedy’s lyrics and Bennett’s pop sensibilities created a masterful album that if made today would probably be given a much better reception considering that Pitchfork (Ryan Schreiber for that matter) gave it a 6.8. In the same way that the Stones were growing during albums such as ‘Aftermath’, the Jeff Tweedy show blew the Alt. Country label out of the water. While there are some country moments, the honky tonky “Monday”, and “Forget the Flowers” there are also the serene beautiful moments such as “Far, Far Away” where Tweedy reminds all Chicagoans that the CTA can still be romantic. The brilliant moments are in many ways self-indulgence but isn’t most of rock about that?
Tweedy’s subjects over they years have typically been about relationships and or personal matters rather than subjects that are external such as politics, social issues and even religion (although he did touch on the subject matter briefly with both Uncle Tupelo as well as on the Mermaid Avenue project where he wrote songs based on selected lyrics from Woody Guthrie.) This was one of those personal albums that the dug a little deeper for a pop album and that was definitely why it always appealed to me so. I have always respected Tweedy as a folk singer, as a writer of material but taking those lyrics and turning them into an appropriate pop song is a different story. I can say that over the past decade there has been a level of disappointment but this album is not one those moments but rather is one of those pining moments that I realize this band was much better when there was a guy by the name of Jay in it.
Some of my greatest Wilco moments was watching two individuals talk during a solo rendition of “Sunken Treasure” only to have the woman in front of them politely ask those two individuals to keep it down, er “Shut the Fuck Up” which I believe would have received a ringing endorsement for Jefferson Starship Tweedy.
Outside of relationships, Tweedy’s other subject seemed to be that of the rockstar but also one of doubt. In “The Lonely One”, it’s Tweedy looking in on the rockstar that suggested both a level of envy as well as a relief that he was not in that role. (Realize that as of writing this material that Wilco were not one to be releasing Gold records).
On “Someone Else’s Song”, be plays the role of the rockstar speaking to his critics for whom have labeled his music as nothing different than what’s already been written and produced by others. (And btw, the way that they would perform this song earlier in their career always gave me goosebumps like in the video above, vs. the acoustic version on the album).
The epic moment is “Sunken Treasure”, where he utters, “Music is my savior, and I was maimed by rock and roll”. It’s that true “High Fidelity” moment where he indicates that music is his drug. “Wrapped inside my ribs in a sea black with ink”.
Tweedy hits these moments that are both depressing and inspiring He tells a story throughout the double length album that is both engaging but also very recognizable for his audience. He had the balls to release a double length album which is unheard of in today’s world and there is no moment that feels like filler.