I'm about halfway through and I too have found my preconceptions challenged a bit. Intellectually I know it's just a book, and that there's a built in bias, but some of the text has me scratching my head. The parts that dealt with the breakup were the most troubling. If what is said in the book is true, one could argue that Jay was a bit of an ass in the way he treated Jeff. However I still understand and respect Jay's apparent desire to do something else, the world be damned. I mean, sometimes you have to make hard decisions, ya know? My impression is that Jay kept a lot of stuff bottled up and it all came out like a flood during the breakup. The experience (so far) hasn't changed my love of UT or JF, or Wilco for that matter. As a matter of fact, if Jay was as unhappy as he said he was during the late UT years, then his sudden exit was the best thing that happened for both of them.
Just my $.02.
-gk-
Beware of the Wilco book (Jay, please don't look back)
-
Lawrence Fan
- Posts: 6677
- Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:36 pm
- Location: The corner of Awesome and What The Hell?!?!
I am deep into the book right now and have an odd sense of the book, but can't figure out what the oddness is towards it. Although I somewhat enjoy the story to a band, nothing wrong with not, I seem to like how they get there more than how it fell apart.
One good thing that stuck in my head is how they seem to note that it Jay's exit was oddly done. Although he was correct on how it should be in the end...two different bands/songwriters.
It seemed to die off after the "breakup", but I too prefer Jay over Jeff. Although they both are great.
I could go on for a bit about this, but just wanted to drop a brief note to the above post. I actually thougt there would be more discussion about "the book" than there is here.
-take care.
One good thing that stuck in my head is how they seem to note that it Jay's exit was oddly done. Although he was correct on how it should be in the end...two different bands/songwriters.
It seemed to die off after the "breakup", but I too prefer Jay over Jeff. Although they both are great.
I could go on for a bit about this, but just wanted to drop a brief note to the above post. I actually thougt there would be more discussion about "the book" than there is here.
-take care.
Beware of the Wilco book (Jay, please don't look back)
I just finished reading the Wilco book and must say that it is pretty interesting, but it left me feeling a bit wierd. I've been a Farrar fan (first and foremost) for about 10 years and I've followed Wilco fairly closely as well. I have reached the conclusion that I'm content to focus on the music rather than what is going on behind the scenes. I suppose there are just some things that I'd rather not know--the myth is always better than reality anyway. I don't know if any of you remember U2's movie "Rattle and Hum," but part of that film chronicles the band's trip to Graceland. Afterwards, Larry Mullen Jr. (drums) is interviewed and he talked about how he wished he hadn't gone there--especially to the grave. He goes on to say something really poignant--that he wished Elvis had been buried somewhere else; somewhere he COULDN'T have gone. You can really tell that seeing Elvis as a human being really had an impact on Mullen (you can say what you want about U2, but Larry was genuine on this particular issue)--and it appeared to leave him disappointed and somewhat depressed to have one of his heroes demystified like that (just watch the movie--this is really a noteworthy scene).
Well, I'm not going to go so far as to say that Jay is one of my "heroes" in the traditional sense--he's just an artist and I'm just a fan--but I hope he doesn't authorize anyone to do a conventional biography on him, his life, and his music. Considering the great lengths he's gone to in an effort to preserve his privacy and the integrity of his art, I doubt he will, but if he ever decides to open up (hey, we all have to pay the bills), I hope he finds a way to do it without wearing his soul on his sleeve. I don't want or need to know about Jay's relationship with his family or see a picture of him as a child in his damn jammies, for that matter. More importantly, I sure as hell don't need some punk from Rolling Stone or anywhere else breaking down each song Jay has ever written and comparing each lyric and guitar riff to other artists/songs that may or may not have influenced him. Jay's music has spoken for itself for a long time and (for many of us) only gets better over time. Enough said.
Anyway, I guess I just wanted to vent a little here and I thought some of you might have thoughts on this matter too. If you plan to read the Wilco book ("Learning to Die"), you should know what you're getting yourself into. Maybe I'm just a sentimental geek, but I'm not sure I'd read the book if I had to do it all over again. The music meant more to me before-- I haven't been able to enjoy it quite as much since. Maybe that will change over time, but I don't know...
Long Live Jay Farrar.
Well, I'm not going to go so far as to say that Jay is one of my "heroes" in the traditional sense--he's just an artist and I'm just a fan--but I hope he doesn't authorize anyone to do a conventional biography on him, his life, and his music. Considering the great lengths he's gone to in an effort to preserve his privacy and the integrity of his art, I doubt he will, but if he ever decides to open up (hey, we all have to pay the bills), I hope he finds a way to do it without wearing his soul on his sleeve. I don't want or need to know about Jay's relationship with his family or see a picture of him as a child in his damn jammies, for that matter. More importantly, I sure as hell don't need some punk from Rolling Stone or anywhere else breaking down each song Jay has ever written and comparing each lyric and guitar riff to other artists/songs that may or may not have influenced him. Jay's music has spoken for itself for a long time and (for many of us) only gets better over time. Enough said.
Anyway, I guess I just wanted to vent a little here and I thought some of you might have thoughts on this matter too. If you plan to read the Wilco book ("Learning to Die"), you should know what you're getting yourself into. Maybe I'm just a sentimental geek, but I'm not sure I'd read the book if I had to do it all over again. The music meant more to me before-- I haven't been able to enjoy it quite as much since. Maybe that will change over time, but I don't know...
Long Live Jay Farrar.