Beware of the Wilco book (Jay, please don't look back)

countryBoy
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Post by countryBoy »

I think that they haven't talked this millennium is a little strange considering the Uncle Tupelo remasters were just released a while back and I'm sure both had input on the anthology. I suppose thats what lawyers are for when you are a rock star.

tillotson505
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Post by tillotson505 »

Geez countryboy - I suppose it's good that Kot's name wasn't Hunt?

BoogieMan
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Post by BoogieMan »

That sounds reasonable. I'm new to the Uncle Tupelo story so I didn't know much about them really before reading those chapters in the book. Having read the book recently and about the very dramatic breakup, I was surprised to read this little bit in the Jay interview that was posted the other day:

Do you ever talk with Jeff (Tweedy) nowadays
Not in the new millennium, no. Actually, after Uncle Tupelo ended, we kept in contact for a couple of years. But now we primarily travel in different circles, so we don't really talk.

Had stuff like this been used in the book, some of the drama would have disappeared for sure, because in many ways there's more about the drama than about the music.

Still, my biggest problem with the book is that I think it is a book about Jeff Tweedy and not about Wilco. While there's no doubt Jeff is the center of the band, there's still a bunch of guys whose roles are really downplayed in the book.

countryBoy
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Post by countryBoy »

If Kot is guilty of anything it's rushing to release the book without checking facts to put out a book to coincide with release of AGIB to sell more copies. I'm sure he juiced up the breakup part a bit but I didn't read anything too damning to Jay. It is a little ass kissy but what rock bio written by a fan wouldn't be. Kot is a twat.

tillotson505
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Post by tillotson505 »

Well now that we have this whole Wilco book thing sorted out, I think Brian and Bob Undertow owe us an explaination on this whole Faye Lynn/Atlanta/cigarette thing (since it was introdruced in a public forum).

And I'm thinking you NEED five hours of coffee (read: caffine) to drink 24 ouncers for the next 20 hours. Obviously Mr. Tweedy didn't have a cut off time for drinking - good man.

While I'm at it, I'll be more than happy to offer my services for a 'favorable' book about Brian and the Bottlerockets. Heck, I'll even take information out of context to make Jay Farrar look like someone who was trying to repress you in the early years. My experience is . . . well . . . ok, no book writing experience, but I do have about 110 posts on the Jay Farrar message board.

And finally, my favorite quote from Mr. Farrar in the book as recalled by Mike Heidron (I can only hope it's true), "You can call me an ass, but don't take it out on the music. Never mess with the music."

Ok, I'm done for a while - you folks have been great.
Last edited by tillotson505 on Wed Aug 04, 2004 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Neverwonagrammy
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Post by Neverwonagrammy »

Let me set this, somewhat, straight.
The Wilco book, is NOT fiction, by any means. I think Greg Kot did the best he could, with what he had.
The inaccuracies, in the chapters I knew about, are trivial, and, meaningless to the story. I can't comment on the later chapters, 'cause I wasn't there.
There DOES seem to be a "Jay bashing" taking place in the story though, which I found unenjoyable.
I'd have rather had it be ALL "pro-Jeff", and, have no Jay in it at all.
It looks, to me, like Jeff was made out to be a bit more "cool", and "heroic" than he really was, and Jay was made out to be some kind of oppressive "bad guy", which, really, isn't exactly true.
What I don't like, is the fact that Jay was not given the chance to tell his side of the story (not that he'd really WANT to, in a Wilco book...).
What you get, is a bunch of Jay's friends, talkin' about Wilco, and more of their quotes, than ANY of us would have ever imagined, being used, VERY discriminately, to paint a picture of Jay, as something I'm sure NONE of us ever dreamed would be included, in a Wilco book, AND in a way, that if we KNEW the context they'd be used in, we'd have made our points clearer.
I'd say Jay was about 20% of what I talked about with Greg Kot, but, about 90% of THAT was used in the book.
Jeff's not a bad guy.
Jay's not a bad guy.
Greg Kot's not a bad guy.
I can only hope that somebody would "favor" me, the same way, as Greg did Jeff, in a Bottle Rockets book.
I'd also hope they wouldn't "tear down" people I've worked with along the way.
I'm not down with the "Negative Jay" vibe, not when painted by soundbytes, from second-hand stories.
Kinda gives it a "tabloid" aura...
Overall, I'd say the book gives the "essence" of what went down. I guess somebody's gonna lose, in any "break up" story.
I think Jay lost a little "harder" than he should have in this one though.
Brian

BoogieMan
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Post by BoogieMan »

I always drink for a least 20 hours! I don't need sleep at all

I'm expecting that this next Wilco book will tell me a hell of a lot more about the band: http://www.thewilcobook.com/

All these posts about inaccuracies in the book are great, keep this thread going for a while and there will enough material for another Wilco book, and yeah the Bottle Rockets rules!

Bigb
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Post by Bigb »

20 hours of drinking is perfectly normal as long as it's preceded with 5 hours of coffee drinking. Great to see Brian's input on this board. This place is definitely picking up! The Bottlerockets are one of the greats and their live act is unbeatable.

Thanks for posting. Now if I can just get a copy of that Hennemann/Bob Tweedy boot....

Neverwonagrammy
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Post by Neverwonagrammy »

I didn't really "drink" with Bob Tweedy for 25 hours.
Well, technically, I was "drinking", but, the first 5 hours we were drinking coffee.
It was only booze, for 20 hours. That's pretty normal, right?
Mr. Tweedy had a rule: No beer 'til noon.
At exactly noon, he turned off the coffee pot, and got out the beer.
There IS a recording of that night. The ULTIMATE bootleg. Good luck finding a copy! Me playin' guitar, Mr. Tweedy singin' Neil Young songs.
I remember one thing about that day. It was the first day, any of us had seen a 24 oz. beer can. They had just come out with those.
I remember Mr. Tweedy sayin', This is stupid, half of it sticks out of your coozie..."
Ah, the good ol' days...
Brian

tillotson505
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Post by tillotson505 »

Holy cow - we're being invaded by the Bennett board!! Next thing you know, Burch and the Eggman will be on here raising all sorts of hell.

Personally, the most amazing thing I got out of the Wilco book was the fact that Brian played and drank with Tweedy's dad for 25 FREAKIN' HOURS!!! (or something like that) Now that's impressive, my hats off to you.

undertow
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Post by undertow »

Brian,

ah, that's right. i think she switched brands a lot though. so that can't count against you. your batting avgerage is 1000 in my record book.

sorry i keep missing y'all in chicago. i have been on the road every freakin' time you come to town. missed y'all by a day at the Fine Line in Minneapolis.

hope you are well.

Bob

Neverwonagrammy
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Post by Neverwonagrammy »

Bob,
THAT'S WHAT I SAID! The true Wilco story, is laying on the cutting room floor!
Brian
P.S. Faye Lynn, in Atlanta. The ONLY one I got stumped on with the "cigarette thing"...

undertow
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Post by undertow »

i agree with Brian. the things i know about first hand seem very slanted in favor of Jeff in the book. i can say that Brian has one of the best memories of anyone i've ever met. He can tell you the brand of cigarettes that anyone he's ever met smokes.

i was around from the release of Anodyne to the last UT show and for the first year or so of Wilco. Most of that part of the book seems off from how i remember things.

i was quoted earlier in this thread disputing the UT meeting in the motel where Michael Prayor was reported to have hit his head. Well, that story is totally wrong in the book. and i have a pretty good memory too.

i e-mailed Kot as soon as i read it and pointed out the huge mistake and he said Coomer confirmed it... well, how could Coomer confirm it when i never said it in the first place? Coomer was just as surprised as i was to see that in the book. Don't you think Kot would have called me back to ask why i would leave out such a huge thing like someone passing out and hitting their head? or maybe he would have called Michael Praytor to ask him about it? Michael is not hard to find... he's had the same phone number for 10 years.

maybe Kot should release the tapes/notes of the unedited interviews he did for the book? i'd be curious to see exactly what was left out or combined for dramatic effect.

bummer.

Bob Andrews.

Antelope850
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Post by Antelope850 »

Wow - you never know who's reading this board on a Sunday morning do you?

I've been reading the book in bits and pieces, jumping around a lot. All the while assuming - and lately, from reading a bunch of comments from the inside players like Henneman - knowing that you need to take the stories and especially the perspective with a grain of salt. Kot's a respected music journalist from what I know but he's a huge fan of Tweedy and he writes from that point of view. It reminds me a little of the book about Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets - that goes out it's way to pump up David Gilmour and put down Roger Waters in a way that makes it laughable by the end.

I find myself not liking the "dirt" sections (about the UT breakup, about not getting along with Billy Bragg, about the various Wilco members leaving/getting fired) as much as I thought I might. Some of the stories make me want to think less of Tweedy (his knocks on Billy Bragg seem petty and just plain wrong in my opinion). And I just don't need that much information, analysis and innermost thoughts about an artist, even one I really like and respect.

The book's a good bathroom reader though.

saratoga jay
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Post by saratoga jay »

brian, thanks for checking in. i haven't read it yet, but your analysis is pretty much what i figured this book would be....in regards to the truth.

good luck with everything and don't be a stranger.

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