Episode 017: Wilco w/ Josh Carver
In Episode 017, we deep-dive into the history of one of our favorite bands, Wilco. To do so, we brought one of our good friends, and longtime Wilco fan, Josh Carver (Twitter: @nolasox) to help us out. Approaching the band’s history chronologically, we explore how Wilco went from the archetypical Alt-Country group, to Indie Rock’s Art-Rock gateway drug, to modern rock mainstays and revivalists. We also pose the question: Is Wilco on the brink of another creative peak?
Emerging from the ashes of the Jeff Tweedy & Jay Farrar-led Uncle Tupelo, in 1995 Wilco released their first LP, AM. A foundational record that sounded more like another Uncle Tupelo record than anything Wilco would make in years to come, they responded a year later with the diverse, somewhat experimental, double album, Being There. In 1999, the band began the process of dismantling their folk foundations, infusing noise, sonic experimentation, and disjointed melodies into their overall sound, resulting in a three-album peak: Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and A Ghost Is Born (2004). Having taken their sound as far as they could, combined with the fact that lead-singer/songwriter, Jeff Tweedy, was in a battle with a pain killer addiction, the band retreated, and essentially reemerged in 2007 with a renewed foundational approach.
Line-up changes were almost as regular as album releases during the first ten years of Wilco, and it wasn’t until 2005 that the band was able to settle on their current six-piece group that has defined their entire creative approach to this point. Armed with two keyboardists — Mikael Jorgensen & Pat Sansone — a lead-guitar extrordinaire — Nels Cline — along with non-traditional rock drummer Glenn Kotche, as well as the two formative members of Wilco, Tweedy & bassist John Stirratt, the band released two back-to-basics LPs: the long-lasting grower, Sky Blue Sky (2007), and the inessential Wilco (The Album) (2009). Starting around this time, the band began intentionally constructing their live shows in a way that made them must-see. Bustouts, covers, full-album performances, guests, festivals, along with an overall tightness that could only come from stability and longevity; since 2009, Wilco has become a paramount live band on par with Phish, Pearl Jam, and The National. Complimenting this was the release of their 8th album in 2011, the mostly-great, sometimes-excellent, The Whole Love.
The most recent period in Wilco’s history has been marked by Tweedy’s desire to push the band deeper into the sounds that marked their strongest periods, thus seeking rediscovery and renewal. Beginning in earnest with his 2014 side-project with his son, Sukierae, the band has released two albums in the past three years that hint at yet another peak moment. 2015’s noise-induced, often funny, surprise-release, Star Wars, and 2016’s subdued and nuanced, Schmilco, perhaps foreshadow a band on the brink of another creative peak.
Whatever direction the band moves in, it’s clear more than 20 years into their career, that they’ve been a consistently influential creatively ingenuitive band that has evolved with equal-parts necessitative survival instincts, and intentional directional growth.
Songs featured in this episode are:
“Passenger Side” AM (1995)
“Misunderstood” Being There (1996)
“I’m Always In Love” Summerteeth (1999)
“I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
“Spiders (Kidsmoke)” A Ghost Is Born (2004)
“Impossible Germany” Sky Blue Sky (2007)
“Bull Black Nova” Wilco (The Album) (2009)
“One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)” The Whole Love (2011)
“Random Name Generator” Star Wars (2015)
“If I Ever Was A Child” Schmilco (2016)
In addition, we discuss three shows from Phish’s 1997 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of the most revered years in Phish’s history: Dallas, TX: 07/25/1997, Hartford, CT: 11/26/1997, and Worcester, MA: 11/28/1997.
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We’ll be back on Tuesday, November 14 with Episode 018!
Until then, we’ll see you beyond the pond…
