The 500 - #493 - Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 493

Album Title: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 
Artist: Wilco
Released: September, 2001
My age at release: 36
How familiar am I with it: Limited exposure
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Jesus etc.
Great Lyric:
"All I can be is a busy sea of
Spinning wheels and hands that feel
For stones to throw and feet that run but
They come back home, make no difference
Ever known, make no difference
Ever known to me."

My first exposure to Wilco came in the late 90's. I was friends with a number of local musicians who played gigs throughout the week in my town. We also skated together playing pick-up hockey or as a tournament team called The London Fog

I was in my mid-thirties and played hockey two to three nights a week. Most nights, we would head to the bar after our skate for a few beers. Our favourite spot for live music was The Hotel Brunswick - affectionately dubbed The 'Wick. 

Thinking back, I marvel at the fact I could teach all day, coach after-school, prepare my next day, play hockey until 11 o'clock and then go for a few beers before getting to bed well after midnight. These days, I'm usually in bed by 11:00 and playing hockey once a week is plenty.

Monday nights at The 'Wick featured a four piece Southern Rock/Classic Country outfit called Reverend Freddie & the Distillers They played the Uncle Tupelo song Give Back the Keys to My Heart. Their drummer, a friend and fellow hockey player Steve, was the first to tell me about both Uncle Tupelo & Wilco. He and I often talked music (and hockey) between sets and I always appreciated his perspective on both.

Another friend, and fellow skater, Vince featured California Stars by Billy Bragg & Wilco in his acoustic sets. I quickly realized it was a 3 chord song...so I hastily added it to my guitar repertoire. I just wished I could sing it as well as Vince. 

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot passed me by. I remember watching part of the documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart; but, Wilco really didn't land for me until Sky Blue Sky which I fell in love with on a trip to Jamaica (See my last post).

I'm glad that this exercise forced me to go back and give this record its due. There is a lot to unpack here in both the lyrics and the music. It certainly needs multiple listens. At times, it felt as if the choice to have some songs move toward discordant, cacophonous sound was an intentional effort to make the material less approachable. A friend once called this "employing the shallow shield": A calculated decision to dissuade the superficial spectator. Framed more positively, it is a way to reward the committed listener - whose investment is the discovery that rich treasure is buried in subtle choices.

• Is it Andy Kaufman-esque?
• Is it smug, hipster superiority?

I guess that depends on how you feel about it after multiple listens. Obviously, Rolling Stone puts it at #493 and this Ranker article currently puts Wilco at #15 on the Most Hipster Band scale.

What are your thoughts?

Things I learned

It was conceived & recorded and well before the events of 9/11...but, there are some haunting coincidences that might make you believe Jeff Tweedy is a mystical seer.  

• Twin towers, albeit from Chicago, appear on the cover.
• There are songs called War on War and Ashes of American Flags.
• A lyric is "Tall buildings shake, voices escape singing sad, sad songs."