Episode Information

From the Archive: Jeff Tweedy of Wilco
Where We Live - with John Dankosky
Aired:
08/12/2008

In this episode:

Wilco plays at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA Tuesday August 12


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22:06 minutes (10.61 MB)
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The band Wilco has gone through countless personnel changes over the years - but now the band's leader says - they finally have it right. 

The Chicago-based rock band was started more than a decade ago by singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy after the breakup of his first band, the critically-acclaimed Uncle Tupelo.  

What started as an "alternative country" band slowly morphed into experimental territory - mixing guitar ballads with feedback and distortion...featuring lyrics that range from simple and heartbreaking to literate....and frankly, confusing.

After a publicized addiction and rehab - Tweedy has remade the band, and their sound, and has delivered a record that critics, long-time fans, and newcomers have already widely praised.  Last year, when they played in Northampton, MA, Where We Live talked to Tweedy.  Now, he's brought the band back to the area, playing Tanglewood on August 12. 

Wilco has been through a lot, since they came together in the mid 90s.  They were formed when Tweedy's first band - the critically acclaimed Uncle Tupelo - dissolved.  Their early records blended parts of the trademark "alternative country" sound that Uncle Tupelo helped to develop...but they began to add, subtract, change, and blow-up that sound - as the band's personnel changed with each new record.  

By the 2002 album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" - Wilco had devised a unique sound - straight ahead pop, lyrics filled with dense imagery, and experimental noise.  

The making of that record was chronicled in the documentary "I am trying to break your heart."  At times, it resembles "This is Spinal Tap" in it's cliches of a rock band in disarray.

The result of that turmoil was a new record contract - another series of personnel changes, and a well-publicized stint in rehab for Tweedy.

When Wilco hit the road again - it was with a tight, six-piece, veteran band...that included the jazz Guitarist Nels Cline - called a "new guitar god" by Rolling Stone.  

Tweedy says it's the best version of Wilco yet...and they've put their new sound onto a brand new album, "Sky Blue Sky."  This past weekend, they played at the Pines Theater - a beautiful outdoor ampitheatre in Massachusetts.

Where We Live talked to Jeff Tweedy backstage...which was really a grassy field, under a canopy of pines, and....well...a blue sky.  


 
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