I’ve just finished “World Within A Song” by Jeff Tweedy. Jeff is, as some of you may know (but probably not) the lead vocalist and songwriter of the American alt-country band WILCO.
I’m not sure that Wilco have a truly massive following in the UK, but those who do love, truly love them. They are one of those bands that are difficult to really classify stylistically, other than to say that they are an album band, in the old fashioned musical sense, and hit singles have never been a consideration, other than when a record company attempted to squeeze one out of them.
Jeff had a middle America, working class musical upbringing. Late night radio, obscure vinyl, dodgy gigs, four blokes in a van, drugs, depression…it’s really the story of how many great bands get started, on the road, working their socks off. If they could even afford socks. What I particularly love about Jeff is that he has a very honest way of sharing his knowledge, music and enthusiasm. He is in many ways, an anti-rock star. He knows he’s lucky to be alive and get to do what he does, but realistically luck is only part of it. He works hard at being creative, and it’s work that he clearly loves. I’m going to hit you with a quick bit of music, and then I’m going to talk briefly about the book.
If I had to choose one Wilco song to listen to forever, it would probably be “Impossible Germany”. I don’t know what it’s about particularly. I understand the actual words, but what it means or why it speaks to me, I can’t really tell you. It’s beautiful, dynamic and emotional. The guitar solo (from about 2:40) played by Nels Cline is epic. As a guitarist you might assume that I’m totally into every monster guitar solo I can wrap my ears around, absolutely not so. Guitar solos can be nothing more than padding, and shouldn’t be the default. Everything, always, in service to the song, as is the case here, as the three guitars swirl and build towards the song’s climax. I’m going to shut up now and let you listen…
Anyway, now that you have an inkling as to why I’m interested in Jeff Tweedy as a ‘creator’, back to the book…
I’d guess you might consider “World Within A Song” the ultimate coffee table read. I’ve been reading it in spare moments (serious reading time is still being devoted to ‘Tunesmith’) as each segment is rarely more than two or three short pages long. It’s kind of a distant relation to ‘Desert Island Discs’ - the radio show where famous celebrities divulge their must-have records if they were to be cast away on an imaginary island, by way of being a collection of important musical moments.
It’s an exploration that, if we were each placed in that ‘Desert Island Discs’ conundrum we might choose epic tunes like “Impossible Germany”, but that really the songs that actually make us who we are, are often no way near as cool. “Smoke On The Water” for example, might be the most incorrectly overplayed guitar riff in history, but it’s the first stop for many guitarists. Wouldn’t it have been amazing if “The Power Of Love” had been playing when you met your life partner, but it could have just as easily been “Agadoo”...which one is more significant?
The book, like all books, isn’t for everyone, and certainly if you’ve read Jeff’s first book, the autobiography “Let’s Go, (So We Can Get Back)” it’ll make more sense. “World Within A Song” is interspersed with other little stories and memories, some hilarious, some troubling (like most people’s lives), but for a small book it does help you to think about music, not in terms of what’s popular or commercially successful (which is a yardstick applied all too often), but in terms of what’s important to you, regardless of how uncool it might be.
With almost perfect timing, my completion of the book, and subsequent reporting to you, fit quite nicely with something that’s coming up soon (fingers crossed). I realised some time ago that the ‘Desert Island Discs’ concept might make for a good occasional blog, IF, I could find the right people to interview. I’m pleased to say I’ll be meeting for a long overdue catchup with my first choice in just a few weeks time. I wonder if his, or her, choices will simply be epic tunes, or very personal ones? I have my suspicions…
Record Time
"Impossible Germany" is taken from Wilco's 2007 'Sky Blue Sky' LP, an album I love so much I managed to get my band of the time named after it. I love records that twist and turn, and doing so within the songs themselves, with those twists still sounding natural, rather than some kind of forced affectation is a rare thing. "Hate It Here", "Side With The Seeds" and "Walken" are all highlights to this end.
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