VH1 doesn’t normally produce “Behind the Music” episodes about little-known cult bands, especially those who haven’t had their share of various drug addictions and sexual promiscuousness, but rest assured that if they did, Wilco and Jeff Tweedy would be first on the list.
At the mere age of 22, Tweedy found himself as the co-frontman of Uncle Tupelo, a now-legendary band on the indie circuit, famous for penning the “alt-country” genre, morphing the band members’ punk interests with their country upbringing.
After four years and four critically acclaimed albums which placed Tweedy forever in the pages of rock history, he and Tupelo co-founder Jay Farrar split up in a Lennon/McCartneyesque parting of ways that would leave both young songwriters looking for a new band.
Farrar would found Son Volt and Tweedy would find a home in his new brainchild, Wilco, who typically sound neither “alt””nor “country” and tend to fall somewhere between folk and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll.
They’ve since released three studio albums as well as two collaborations with English rock star Billy Bragg, all of which have also found critical acclaim and significant attention from the artistic world. Like Tupelo, however, most of Wilco’s success and influence was only evident in the underworld; they seldom stuck their head out into the mainstream community.
Everything seemed to be going well for Tweedy until Wilco fell victim to what so many artistically minded musicians do when trying to make it in the modern-day record industry. When they submitted their new record, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, to Reprise Record (a division of Warner Bros.) in early 2001, they received little support from the label who asked the band to revise the album in order to make it more radio-friendly and similar to the “alt-country” label with which Tweedy has been branded.
The incident resulted in Wilco and Warner Bros. parting ways in July, sending Wilco shopping for a place to release the finished record. The story has since become one of the most cited and publicized examples of the corporate takeover of rock. If it weren’t enough, the ensuing melee over the following months would see the departure of two of Wilco’s original members.
Now, nearly a year after completing the album, the weathered musician has put the pieces back together and sees himself amid a busy time.
In March, Uncle Tupelo began a project to restore their partially out-of-print catalog, releasing “89/93: An Anthology,” a 21-song collection of Tupelo’s best work and plan to re-master and re-release all four of their original albums later this year.
Meanwhile, Wilco’s much awaited, now several-times-delayed new album will be released on April 23 through their new label, Nonesuch Records, a division of Atlantic.
If it weren’t enough, a documentary about the band, which chronicles the making of the album and the split with Warner Bros., “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart,” will be released this summer. Finally, amongst all of this, Tweedy and his boys from Wilco find themselves on the road touring and will travel through Columbus and the Promowest Pavilion on Friday.
Tweedy has been through a lot so far. In just 15 years, he’s gone from a simple kid from rural Illinois to indie-rock legend to rejected artist and poster-boy for anti-corporate rock. He may not be VH1 material, but he’s good enough for us.
Jeff Walcoff is a junior in communication. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
