26 Responses to “Guest Blog: Gimme a double shot of Farrar and hold the Tweedy please…”

On February 8th, 2008 at 10:51 am Brandon Said:

Hilarious I was literally ROFL after reading this… You said what so many people have been thinking for a long time! In short yes Wilco absolutely fucking sucks.. end of story…couldnt agree more.

On February 8th, 2008 at 11:42 am noyb Said:

Wow, being a little close-mindedly harsh there aren’t you? Especially since you admit you haven’t listened to Wilco since AM. That’s too bad because you don’t know what your ears are missing.

On February 8th, 2008 at 12:10 pm Ed Teach Said:

Yes sir you are absolutely correct!!! … I have even tried to give Wilco the benefit of the doubt, but they still come up short…

On February 8th, 2008 at 3:45 pm MILHOUSE44 Said:

AMEN….I give Wilco too many chances. Just because he was part of Uncle Tupelo doesn’t mean he doesn’t suck huge. I bought the disc ‘Summer Teeth’ and last I saw it, it was shimming an uneven table leg. I sure as hell wasn’t going to listen to it again. I have met people at shows and one of the first questions is ‘what side do you take on the Uncle Tupelo split?’ If you say ‘Tweedy’, I will end the conversation and let you return your head to your boyfriends lap. If the answer is Farrar then we can get a beer and I will tell you why I don’t think The Drive-By Truckers are very good but everybody thinks they invented music. Just so you don’t think that I think everything that Jay does is so great, I have not been a fan of the re-formation of Son-Volt. I feel he should have kept the Son Volt records and name untouched and just kept making solo albums with 30 tracks and 15 of them being him tuning his guitar, clearing his throat, scratching his balls, or making space ship noises for 20-30 seconds with the mics on….and on related subject (kinda) Whiskeytown was one of the benchmark bands of this genre and you don’t even want to get me started on what has become of Ryan Adams.
Thanks, JacksonDavis I will be cussing your name over a couple of beers tonight.

GOD BLESS THE RED, WHITE AND BLUEGRASS.

On February 8th, 2008 at 4:54 pm Paul Said:

I like your take. I was definitely in Farrar’s camp during the Uncle Tupelo years. But I have to say I have been a bit disappointed by Son Volt (compared to my expectations) and pleasantly surprised by Wilco (especially Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which really is worth listening to).

And I agree with the last commenter about Ryan Adams.

On February 8th, 2008 at 5:26 pm obamaforprez Said:

Jackson Davis is a loser.

On February 8th, 2008 at 9:17 pm JacksonDavis Said:

“If the answer is Farrar then we can get a beer and I will tell you why I don’t think The Drive-By Truckers are very good but everybody thinks they invented music”
— Ryan Adams, DBT and Wilco…perfect examples of overrated sacred cow acts. Do love me some Whiskeytown though…

“Especially since you admit you haven’t listened to Wilco since AM. That’s too bad because you don’t know what your ears are missing.”
– I’ve never claimed to be anything but close-minded about Jeff Tweedy and The Wilco Nation. I don’t like him at all. It doesn’t help that too many people claiming to be Wilco fans are totally fucking clueless about Uncle Tupelo or Jay Farrar. I can respect folks who enjoy both them both .

…and just for the record…I am not in love with Son Volt 2.0 as 1.0.. but even within Omekah or The Search are songs whose words kill me in the best possible way.

I do appreciate the feedback from everyone and that includes Tweedy’s boyfriend on the Obama Campaign.

On February 8th, 2008 at 10:23 pm Waylon III Said:

Props to JD for the article.

It seems like every six months I have to explain to some hipster that I love alt-country, but no… I don’t like Wilco. I have tried many times to listen to Wilco and have decided that I don’t dig 50% of the lyrics (think they are nonsensical and weak), and the bottom line is that most of the jams are just flat out rock. Where are the traces of country?

If you like Wilco great, but just accept the fact that you like a mainstream rock band, not an alt-country band.

PS. My wife rented Jeff T’s Sunken Treasure DVD off Netflicks, and I spent about 7 min watching that thing before I got bored with his ramblings. The only good tracks that he played were Black Eye, and Heavy Metal Drummer.

On February 9th, 2008 at 1:25 am Greg Said:

I am as big of a Farrar fan as anyone, but I have to point out some inaccuracies in your column.

After being silent on the subject of the UT breakup for over ten years it was Jay Farrar not Jeff Tweedy who brought up the girlfiend/wife incident. This was in the September/October 2005 issue of Relix. Here is what Jay Farrar said:

….things started to unravel after he saw Tweedy stroke the hair of his girlfriend of seven years, Monica Groth (now his wife), as she was sleeping. “I found out later that he was telling her stuff, like, he loves her,” says Farrar, who attempted to quit the band the next day. Tweedy was devastated. “[Tweedy's] parents called mine and said that Jeff ‘wanted to be me.’ I struggled with that…Then every other day for about a week he would call. After a week of sitting around with no prospects, I decided to continue.”

Also Jeff Tweedy has never admitted to this. Here is what he said to Jason Baron of Relix in July of 2007:

“Ultimately, I think a lot of things discussed in that article would be things I would not feel comfortable addressing in the press. I think it exploited Jay a little bit, to be honest with you.”

Tweedy goes on to ask why Jay is bringing this up now. That would be my question too.

On February 9th, 2008 at 1:55 pm JacksonDavis Said:

Well damn..Certainly appreciate your comment..next time I’ll probably stick to words like “alledged” and “rumored to be”…more blog commentary and less reporting…keep it simple…and forever a Farrar Loyalist.

See ya!

On February 9th, 2008 at 2:12 pm Doug Said:

I have been a Tupelo fan since No Depression came out. I ate it all up including demos and boots. When Wilco and Son Volt both rose from the ashes, I continued my love of both Farrar and Tweedy. Wilco have become my favorite band. I totally dig them. I have never been a scenester and never been mistaken for one. I still love Jay Farrar and SV, though Okemah… (not Omekah) and The Search, are to me, second class to all previous Jay-related albums. Greg has it right and I agree with his final statement.

On February 9th, 2008 at 3:30 pm JacksonDavis Said:

“Wilco have become my favorite band. I totally dig them. I have never been a scenester and never been mistaken for one.”

–Well HOT DAMN!! Running into you must be the equivalent of spotting Elvis crossing the street while riding on the back of a unicorn. Of course just as equally hard to confirm. Of course I can confirm that you obviously have a better typing skills.

Cheers buddy!

On February 9th, 2008 at 4:45 pm Greg Said:

You don’t have to use any certain words, just use facts. You said, ‘Mr. Tweedy admitted that the proverbial straw that broke the back of Uncle Tupelo was probably due to the fact that he was making advances on his bandmate’s girlfriend.’ He never said anything even close to that.

Also, don’t you find it really creepy as a Jay Farrar fan that he was tight lipped for over 10 years and then all of a sudden he brings this up in a magazine interview? That is weird man.

On February 9th, 2008 at 5:27 pm Lesley Said:

Yes, JacksonDavis IS a loser. I can confirm that. And while he’s getting all high and mighty, I think now is the time expose him for owning every album Sarah McLachlan ever put out.

On February 10th, 2008 at 11:03 am mb Said:

Well, uh, sorry, but listen… I was there back in the day, and they were both self-obsessed and self-important li’l fucktards who made a great album together — ND — and some scatterings and dicked everybody who ever got near ‘em. So if any evaluation of what the work is like is based on moral/ethical behavior — Jeesus, the two o ‘em would flunk the exam up and down the avenue. How ’bout the drummer that neither of ‘em ever talked to again once they discovered he didn’t share the same sexuality as them. Or all the many musicians they ripped.
Look, they were little record collectin’ goofballs — and frankly, as somebody who saw the LP collection in their old Honeycomb Hideout tree-fort rehearsal home, I’m still waiting for them — either one — to quit xeroxing.

On February 10th, 2008 at 5:02 pm Greg Said:

MB, sounds like you never got invited back to their tree fort and have been holding a grudge for 13 years. Move on, I’m sure Bill has by now.

On February 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm Doug Said:

mb, Tweedy has regretted the treatment of Bill in more than one interview. He admitted that it was immature and wrong to have the attitude that he did regarding Belzer’s short tenure in UT. As Greg said, let it go, man. And Jackson, I know several Wilco fans that have never been scenesters. It isn’t that rare. Get out more and experience life.

On February 11th, 2008 at 12:40 am chris czyryca Said:

I am confused by this post. It is not a piece of music criticism. It does not seek to convert Wilco fans into listeners of Son Volt 2.0, Jay Farrar, or any other band. It is not truly an attack on Wilco as a band just Jeff Tweedy. It is not even truly an attack on Wilco fans, as those fans are not reading this site.

So what exactly is your point and purpose for this post?

Well, I guess the point is clear enough. You don’t like Wilco. Fine. Beautiful. Your reasoning why makes up much of the remainder of the post.

Your purpose? I suppose it was to inflame the readers of Nine Bullets that follow both (or better yet all) branches of the Uncle Tupelo tree, because again straight-out Wilco fans ain’t here reading. Fans of both, apparently, we are scant in number.

I have been recently told that the practice of making a straw man proposition, supported by non-rational reasoning solely to generate angry or supportive responses is called flame-baiting. I don’t know if this is supposed to be a noun or verb, but I have 3 thoughts on this recent revelation. Who knew? Isn’t this particularly incongruous on an alt-country site? And, thank god for smart 13 y.o. boys keeping their parents semi-modern.

Returning to the point, you dislike JT and don’t listen to Wilco. Fine. You don’t even need a reason. I can’t stand The Who, and yeah I don’t get the DBT love either. I suppose that “I don’t listen to Wilco,” is too short and unassailable to be an effective blog post. So you expound with a two-fold reasoning; you do not like the Wilco fans that you have met and you do not like the reports of Tweedy’s personal conduct a decade ago.

But first you start out with a brief summary of the UT story, with the jibe of the young Tweedy providing an assist, so I will take this cue and begin there as well. First, they were both young. My recollection is that they were a year apart in school, so I doubt that the gap is much more than a year. More important, I do not see quite the mainly genius v. assist relationship that you do. I have always considered UT’s output to be one of those situations where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts – especially early on when the wrote together. I place Farrar/Tweedy in there with Strummer/Jones, Hart/Mould, hell I’ll say it, Lennon/McCartney and probably others that I missed where the together part blows away what came later. Not an accident; I think. But I have no support at all for this thinking, just 17 years (feeling old now, eh?) of listening, collecting scraps and 7 or 8 trips to see shows. It is just the way that I see it, I can’t argue it.

Ok, back to your reasons. So the reasoning goes - I do not listen to Wilco because I don’t like the Wilco fans I have met. So you are not allowed to agree with people you don’t like? You are actually saying that you base your preferences solely on what others think and you are saying it proudly. No free choice. Very Country. Very Punk.

I actually think this is partially true. I am much more likely to give something a listen if it is recommended by a cool UT fan, than by a Radiohead guy. I did not realize that alt-country fans, hell any music fan would take this to the extreme of automatically excluding content from un-trusted sources (like a new MS I.E. music filter?). Last year I was at a show with 3 friends when the inevitable SV/Wilco discussion popped up. J, M44 and A are all Wilco haters. I am the lone apologist. I largely share their musical tastes (although I really don’t get what A hears in Cary Hudson, anybody???). Anyway, it never occurred to me to give up listening to Wilco. I don’t think they were trying to convince me to do so.

But wait – that is not even your reasoning. It’s not that you are basing the exclusion on a trusted musical opinion, but on personal animosity. This position, by definition, gains you nothing and at worst gives you some sort of alt-country groupthink. Now I think it is time for my own march of the straw men.

If somebody that I feel a personal animosity towards, let’s for the sake of brevity call him… Sting, came out as a fan of one of my favorites, do I turn my back on them? Sting reveals his treasured collection of Weary Boys bootlegs! Do I now delete mine? So I am asking is your Wilco Transative Property (WTP) also Reflexsive? RWTP? Do you also extend the WTP to non-musical opinion, since it has nothing to do with music preference only personal animosity? Since Sting is a vegetarian, should I strictly be carnivorous? For the record, J, if you can brew a non-vegetarian beer, I am willing to give this a shot. So is your Wilco Transative Propety also Extensible? EWTP?

Now the biggie. What if the sea does dry and the sky does split and – Uncle Tupelo RE-UNITES – and Sting and the indie-avant-scenesters-that Millhouse44 is not drinking beer with because they are too busy crying on their boyfriends shoulder (do ya really, really want to go there?) – pricks all foam at the mouth and champ at the bit (O.R. credit). Sting and the Pricks are now lined up at Target to buy the CD. And they got their iPhones and Blackberries at the ready awaiting UT Tour tickets. You’re out, right? Automatically? Yes? Me too, probably. But I would have the added hassle of actually listening and making my mind up from personal experience. Ugh, It is so great that you have others to decide for you. Very Country. Very Punk.

Now for your second reason for not listening to Wilco – you do not like Tweedy’s personal conduct more than a decade ago, or as I like to refer to it as, The Great UT (Tweedy hit on Farrar’s girlfriend, maybe, and that’s jus not cool, man) Breakup Incident. I actually fully accept this reasoning. If you feel a personal animosity towards someone, it is tough to get over it. Again, Sting could somehow put out the most kick ass, vinyl only, alt-country EP ever and I wouldn’t be buying. I would however listen to the pair of tracks that Millhouse44 sends me as torture. You could have been a bit more accurate in attributing the Great UT Breakup Excuse and its timing but its not important. Not even the biggest Tweedy apologist can say that he has always been a good guy. But I tend to like a whole lot of music made by malcontents, scoundrels, egomaniacs, jackasses and out-right miserable human beings. That’s just me.

Some people need to go the other way on this issue. Country-country puts a lot of effort into the image of performers as upright, all-american, patriotic good guys and good gals. Or at least the have to be good ol’ boys with just a bit of a wild streak. The Young Pop Princess and Wholesome Boy Group archetypes have been around for decades for a reason. So to me not liking personal conduct, lyrics or cover graphic is a reason for a lot of people not to listen. WalMart still automatically censors and/or pulls the CD if the artist complains. Radio goes even farther and will pull artists from playlists for behavior they don’t like. The roster of artists that country-country radio has ostracized is impressive. Cash somehow was redeemed in death. Have they let the Dixie Chicks out of the penalty box yet? So feel free to not listen to Wilco because you don’t like what Tweedy may have done 10 years ago, Walmart and Country Radio have blazed that trail for you. They got your back. Very Country. Very Punk.

Hey, with the proliferation of Internet and HD radio you can get someone to start a station just for you approved artists – A-C101 “Alt-country by dudes that never hit on other dudes girlfriends.” A winner for sure.

So what is my point now that this missive is twice as long as the original? Work harder, damn it. There are plenty of UT, Farrar, Tweedy topics that are waiting for you to post on:
Woody Guthrie – Farrar and Tweedy have both put out an homage to WG. What was WG’s influence on UT? How did the treatments by JF and JT differ?

Solo/Collaboration: Tweedy’s embrace of (reliance on?) collaborators versus Farrar’s seeming need to be in charge or alone.

!Platitude warning! Music is hard. When it is easy it becomes Matchbox 20. It sucks. Writing is hard. When it is easy it sucks. Yours did. Not because you’re wrong, but because you didn’t even try. Work harder, damn it.

Now if you all will excuse me I have 45 minutes left on this flight and I need some sleep.

CC

On February 11th, 2008 at 7:46 am MILHOUSE44 Said:

I guess some Wilco fans aren’t all bad……some kick ass like my friend CC.

On February 11th, 2008 at 10:50 am Greg Said:

Jesus, CC! And I thought I put too much thought into music and especially UT. You must’ve had a lot of damn espresso on that flight.

On February 11th, 2008 at 5:43 pm Reggie Theus Said:

It’s 2008….time to get over the Tweedy vs. Farrar thing ya moron. Since UT broke up, Tweedy has put out great album after great album. Farrar put out a few good records, but since ‘99 has been ass.

On February 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm Pops Dupree Said:

Jay vs Jeff posts are so 1995. Live in the now and get the fuck over it.

Seriously.

On February 11th, 2008 at 6:04 pm Eli Grantham Said:

The writer of this article is a fucking idiot. They both have their shining points, and both make great albums. Period. anyone that doesnt recognize that is either brain dead or deaf. That Farrar/Tweedy dick wagging bullshit is old and tired, grow the fuck up, you silly slackjawed bitches.. Fucking children…

On February 13th, 2008 at 12:04 pm Anodyne33 Said:

Hmmm…. I have pretty much just the opposite impression. After Wide Swing Tremolo (when Son Volt was really still Son Volt) I began to be less impressed with Mr. Farrar’s output, while I think Wilco’s last three records have reached farther musically that I ever would have expected.

I too, site UT as one of my favorite acts, but in the words of Stan Doty, “get over it, they ain’t comin’ back”.

Oh well, I’ guess I’ll just be on my avant-hipster way.

On February 13th, 2008 at 1:11 pm Angelo Said:

I don’t like Jackson Davis’ writing because he looked at me funny. one. a long time ago.
Dooooooooooouuuuuuuuuche!

On February 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm Magpie Said:

I never even knew the story until Jackson Davis told it to me~mainly because I never put that much stock into what an artist says or does. Kinda bores me. I’ve always loved Farrar period, his voice and writing are specatacular and at his best he is earnest and utterly heartbreaking. I find an almost depressing lack of this in alot of bands including Wilco and Drive By Trucker’s and a laundry list of others. There was always a sonic disparity in Uncle Tupelo in mind. Must say that I don’t care for the Tweedy “tree” (HA HA) and “flame baiting”…really…are you serious? I thought that the great debate was the reason we talked about bands in the first place. Did anyone miss that this was a guest blog meant to entertain the regular readers and spark a debate in order to get to know eachother better? While the cat’s away…

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