Synopses & Reviews
The intimate story of one of the great American bands of our time, creators of the controversial masterpiece Yankee Hotel FoxtrotWhen alt-country heroes-turned-rock-iconoclasts Wilco handed in their fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, to the bands label, Reprise, a division of Warner Brothers, fans looked forward to the release of another challenging, genre-bending departure from their previous work. The band aimed to build on previous sales and critical acclaim with its boldest and most ambitious album yet, but was instead urged by skittish Reprise execs to make the record more “radio friendly.” When Wilco wouldnt give, they found themselves without a label. Instead, they used the Internet to introduce the album to their fans, and eventually sold the record to Nonesuch, another division of Warner. Wilco was vindicated when the album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard charts and posted the bands strongest sales to date.
Wilco: Learning How to Die traces the bands story to its deepest origins in Southern Illinois, where Jeff Tweedy began growing into one of the best songwriters of his generation. As we witness how his music grew from its punk and alt-country origins, some of the key issues and questions in our culture are addressed: How is music of substance created while the gulf between art and commerce widens in the corporate consolidation era? How does the music industry make or break a hit? How do working musicians reconcile the rewards of artistic risk with the toll it exacts on their personal life?
This book was written with the cooperation of Wilco band members past and present. It is also fully up to date, covering the latest changes in personnel and the imminent release of the bands fifth album, A Ghost Is Born, sure to be one of the most talked-about albums of 2004.
Review
"[B]risk and entertaining....Tweedy is worth [the attention], for his failures as much as his successes....Greg Kot is the best sort of music writer: a modest one, who actually does reporting....[He] can make the Wilco sound come alive in words." Joe Klein, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Kot is a true believer here, cleaving this American tale straight down the middle, 'cause anything less topples into pretty and petty mystique, and he doesn't play that game, nor should he...kudos to Tweedy for letting him peek." Billy Corgan, former lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins
Review
"With vivid detail and sharp critical analysis, Greg Kot captures the inner workings the ambition and confusion, the pressures both internal and external, and ultimately the creative triumph of a great American band." Alan Light, Editor-in-Chief, Tracks magazine
Review
"Biographies of living artists are not typically associated with investigative research, but this is an exhaustive masterwork. The author interviews countless sources (many no longer linked to the band, and others whose pain reveals they wish they still were) in getting tough stories and complete perspectives, and doesn't spare anyone's feelings in the process. While his admiration of Tweedy is obvious, Kot exposes the singer's contradictions and demons with unflinching honesty. Recollections of concerts and descriptive accounts of how each Wilco album was recorded and mixed (including its latest, A Ghost is Born) provide fascinating insight. The articulate and poetic descriptions of music and concise, narrative prose are the icing on a rich layered cake a must read for Wilco fans and anyone interested in the corruption and lack of values ruling today's music industry. If you didn't care before, you will now." Bob Gendron, music editor, The Absolute Sound
Synopsis
By now the story has become music-industry lore--part cautionary tale, part barometer of the times. When alt-country-cum-experimental rock indie heroes Wilco turned in their 4th album (
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) to its label, Reprise, a division of Warner, fans looked forward to the release of another challenging, genre-bending departure from their previous work. The band hoped to build on their previous, modest sales and critical acclaim but was instead asked to compromise its artistic integrity for what the Reprise record execs promised would be "radio-friendly" success -- and higher record sales. When Wilco wouldn't give, they found themselves without a label. The ultimate irony? Nonesuch, another division of Warner, bought the record for three times the money and the album debuted at 13 on the
Billboard charts, posting its strongest sales to date.
Already the subject of I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, a music documentary released to glowing reviews at the L.A. Film Festival, Wilco is the band that critics have called both "the greatest band you've never heard" and "the greatest band of its generation." But its reputation is growing. Since the band's humble inception in southern Illinois over ten years ago, it has built a national following of underground followers—more reliant on word-of-mouth recommendations, the indie club scene, and free internet downloads. But their story is not just one of the David-and-Goliath struggle against corporate influence on musicians, it is also a compelling, intimate look at making music and the difficult but wonderful collaborative process of being in a band.
Synopsis
The intimate story of one of the great American bands of our time, creators of the controversial masterpiece
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
When alt-country heroes-turned-rock-iconoclasts Wilco handed in their fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, to the band's label, Reprise, a division of Warner Brothers, fans looked forward to the release of another challenging, genre-bending departure from their previous work. The band aimed to build on previous sales and critical acclaim with its boldest and most ambitious album yet, but was instead urged by skittish Reprise execs to make the record more "radio friendly." When Wilco wouldn't give, they found themselves without a label. Instead, they used the Internet to introduce the album to their fans, and eventually sold the record to Nonesuch, another division of Warner. Wilco was vindicated when the album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard charts and posted the band's strongest sales to date.
Wilco: Learning How to Die traces the band's story to its deepest origins in Southern Illinois, where Jeff Tweedy began growing into one of the best songwriters of his generation. As we witness how his music grew from its punk and alt-country origins, some of the key issues and questions in our culture are addressed: How is music of substance created while the gulf between art and commerce widens in the corporate consolidation era? How does the music industry make or break a hit? How do working musicians reconcile the rewards of artistic risk with the toll it exacts on their personal life?
This book was written with the cooperation of Wilco band members past and present. It is also fully up to date, covering the latest changes in personnel and the imminent release of the band's two-CD release, A Ghost Is Born, sure to be one of the most talked-about albums of 2004.
Synopsis
This story of a rock band fighting to maintain its artistic integrity is not just about a David-and-Goliath struggle against corporate labels, it is also a compelling, intimate look at making music and the difficult but wonderful collaborative process of being in a band.
About the Author
An award-winning author and influential music critic for the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot is credited with bringing multiple Chicago acts—including Wilco and Liz Phair—into the national spotlight. Kot also contributes to a wide array of national magazines, including Rolling Stone, Vibe, Blender, Request, and Details, while co-hosting the only rock talk show in the world, on WXRT/FM.