Before this year, I had been introduced to Wilco from several different sources. The first song that I'd listened to was "Hummingbird" from "A Ghost is Born," thanks to one of Jay's year compilation CD's. Last year, when I was still working at Virginia Tech, my work husband and partner in crime, Matt, brought in "Sky Blue Sky." I liked it.
Another friend, Ron, someone who I traded iPods with at work on a fairly regular basis, had "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" on his shuffle. I bought the CD within a few days of listening to it, and I kept it in my car for a few months. After Jay Bennett died, Jay and I were talking about Wilco's earlier sound, which I obviously didn't know that much about since I sort of went about their discography backwards. He sent me "Summerteeth," and I listened to that for a good section of the summer.
Wilco is not the kind of band that I can like every single song. I've never been a big fan of noise just for the sake of noise, and that's what most of "A Ghost is Born" is, with a few notable exceptions like "The Late Greats," "Hummingbird," or "Theologians." I like every single song on "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," even if lyrically Jeff is all over the map. Given a chance to reorder the songs on the four albums I've listened to with the most detail, they can either be classified as "Bubblegum Happy (even if only ironically)" OR "Pass Me the Bottle and the Straight Razor, We've Got Some Work to Do." "Kill me, Please Kill Me" could also work, as well. They can sound a bit too jam band-y at times, or a bit too much like John Lennon's leftovers,...
However, when things were at their worst this summer, I could listen to "nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(Again)" and it would make me smile. I love the sexy growl in his voice in "I'm a Wheel." I still haven't listened to the album they put out this year, but I probably will.
So, call me a fan.
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