‘I ALWAYS THINK WITH
LYRICS THAT YOU'RE
' ONTO SOMETHING
f GOOD WHEN YOU FEEL
; A BIT UNCOMFORTABLE ; WITH THEM'
maybe wouldn’t have followed before.’
These days, Wilco’s status as festival headliners seems pretty secure and is definitely warranted. but things weren’t nearly so certain a few years back. After three albums of relatively conventional country rock. the band embarked in 2001 on a radical departure with the mind-boggling Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. a record which mixed everything from Krautrock to 70s AOR to country, electronica and radio static. When they delivered the album to Reprise. it was rejected for being too obscure.
Undeterred. Wilco bought themselves out of their contract and began streaming the album on their website. giving it away for free. A buzz of public and critical enthusiasm led record companies to their door with the band signing to Nonesuch. a label which. ironically
enough is yet another arm of the same major
label. Warners, who had dumped them.
‘We just really wanted to get the music out there.’ says Stirratt. ‘We basically toured off the back of a Quicktime file. you know? At the time it was born of necessity, but little did we know we were ahead of the game on the whole internet streaming thing. It’s still the same principle for us. it’s still ultimately about letting people hear the music.’
Contrary to industry wisdom, the album went on to sell by the truckload. despite this free gift. and topped many end of year polls. A similar strategy of openness has marked everything Wilco have done since. from streaming live concerts to giving away unused session tracks. alternative versions of songs and artwork. This openness has led to every utterance by the band being minutely scrutinised by a rapacious fan base.
‘My theory is that the band has always been
very open and willing to share our music, and at the same time we’ve been pretty ambiguous about what type of music we’re trying to make.‘ says Tweedy. ‘I think there’s room for people to pour a lot of themselves into that gap.’ Sky Blue Sky is evidence that the myth of having to suffer for your art is groundless. Wilco’s last two records saw Tweedy in a dark place, but then so is the new record. which finds him in rude mental health.
‘I don’t think anybody’s ever going to debunk that myth.’ says Tweedy laughing. ‘The fact is that people suffer. sometimes people create when they’re suffering. sometimes people create when they’re not suffering. But people are always going to be more intrigued by the idea that something is born out of fire. as opposed to being born out of some pleasant
1 experience. Everybody has struggles they’ll
encounter; you’re really lucky if you‘re not faced with a lot of serious challenges in your life. So the idea that it’s just artists who suffer. that’s the bigger part of the myth for me.’
Wilco headline Indian Summer, Victoria Park, Glasgow, Sat 14 Jul
UNNATURAI. SELECTON
If you’re going to trust anyone in Glasgow to pick your day’s musical entertainment for you, Twitch and Wilkes of fabled Ieftfield club night Optimo (Espacio) would have to be near the head of the list. Luckily enough they’re curating the line-up of their very own stage at this year’s Indian Summer. Here, Twitch gives us a sample of who and why
MODBELEKTOH ‘All of the people on the bill we chose because we had seen them play live before. and we knew they were going to be good. In Modeselektor's case. we saw them in Frankfurt. I think. and the show they put on just blew us away. We'll be closing the stage that day. but it's a great. high-energy set for a Saturday night.’
PRIHS THOMAS “He’s a good friend of ours. and we've played several gigs around Europe with him. We just really like what he does; he's a great DJ who plays interesting music and knows how to get people dancing. He'll play records you've never heard before. or records you know but never thought would work in a club environment.’
MOUSE ON MARS ‘Originally they were going to be bringing their Von Sudenfed project with Mark E Smith. but as everyone knows. he's one of the most awkward buggers on the planet. He was yaying and naying, and eventually we just went for Mouse On Mars themselves — still. their last show for us in Glasgow was one of the best live electronic performances we'd heard.’
THE PRESE'I’S ‘They played at Optimo a couple of years ago. They're at the popiest end of what we do. We liked a couple of their songs and invited them along. and then they absolutely took the roof off the club. We were quite taken aback by how good they were live.’
MICHAEL OIRA ‘The Saturday is very dance-orientated. then we thought for the Sunday — like the club itself — we'd start off with something more laid-back. So we have a Glasgow choir called The Parsonage and then Michael Gira. I was a massive Swans fan from way back. and when I last saw him in Tut's I thought it was one of the most powerful. emotional sets ever.’ (David Pollock)
5—19 Jul 2007 TH‘ LIST ‘I 1