Jeff-
Ok, this is probably going to come out of the blue. No, you don’t know me. Honestly, I’ve never even been to one of your shows, which might make what follows even harder to accept/comprehend. But it’s become painfully clear to me that we simply could never work out. When I say ‘we’, I’m really referring to your current musical endeavor, Wilco.
This must feel abrupt. To be telling you it’s over before it even started; it seems a little unfair. But I can explain. I know what you must be thinking: There’s somebody else. Well…
Listen Jeff, I know this is difficult for you, and that you (among many others) don’t like to hear this. But a couple weeks ago I discovered a band… Son Volt. I know, I know. It’s not an easy topic for any of us. And I’m ready for you to ask the oh-so-obvious question: How could I have gone so long without hearing Son Volt? Well, you’re right in thinking that way. It is 2008, 13 years since their debut album.
I have to plead a small, insy-winsy bit of ignorance. I’m not a hardcore alt-country person. Here’s where I might lose you: I’ve never even listened to Uncle Tupelo! Shocking, I know. Bear with me.
Jeff, I’m twenty-two years old. In case you don’t know, my peers are among your supreme supporters. And, mostly due to that piece of reality, I was, quite a while back, introduced to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And it’s pretty good. You should be proud. After exposure to, and some enjoyment of, some (granted, not all) of your back catalogue, I was surprised to find myself slightly charmed by your most recent release, Sky Blue Sky.
As an admitted rock-music elitist, I felt pretty comfortable on the Wilco-listening path I was headed down. But, every now and then, I admit there was some hesitation. I would never say this in front of your fans, but sometimes your voice starts to get to me. Are you reaching way down inside yourself to find those hoarse moments, or is it as contrived as it sometimes feels? And you know, it all can get a little too cute sometimes. And I’ll save you the rant about the lyrics (impossible Germany, unlikely Japan… I mean, really?).
Ok, so these are maybe mixed messages. But here I will get to the point. I got my hands on the first two Son Volt albums, Trace and Straightaways. Look, as I said, I don’t know what Uncle Tupelo was like. But I hope it was rooted in the sound of Jay Farrar. I understand that Jay isn’t exactly the greatest singer of all-time. But can we all admit that he is real about it? No trace of pretension there, which you, Jeff, might want to learn something from.
I read somewhere that Jay got pretty fed up with what he thought was your burgeoning smugness and big-headedness. After hearing both of your cases (musically, at least), I can understand how he might have seen that.
And, here’s where you might have to really bear-down: Jay writes really good songs. Has his sound “evolved” (In Wilco’s case, I think that means adding non-traditional instruments, and funky arrangements)? Some might say it’s been a slow evolution. But the songs are good, Jeff. The lyrics actually mean something beyond easy rhymes; and for straight ahead rock ‘n roll, Jay actually has a pretty nonstandard vocal approach.
Am I acting a little hastily here? Perhaps. I mean, I didn’t even ask you how you felt about all this. But you know, the music does the talking sometimes. This doesn’t have to be the very end. Let me know when you write something that isn’t so self-consciously cute-for-cutes-sake, or pretentious-for-pretensions-sake. Until then, I’ll put your CDs safely in the back of my closet, with the wiffleball bat and that storm window that comes off in May every year.
—BT
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