The Wilco Book [Hardcover]

Boris Mikhailov (Photographer), Michael Schmelling (Photographer), Fred Tomaselli (Author), Wilco (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

This is a book about Wilco and the pictorial, literary and musical world it conjures up on record and in performance. Created in collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, Wilco and Tony Margherita, this primarily visual book explores what Wilco does, how it does it, and where it all comes together. The band narrates the book in the form of long captions accompanying a variety of images: a Korean postcard, a Stratocaster, a backstage practice session, and so on. Along the way, central topics such as instruments, touring and recording are covered both in general (i.e., what happens, physically, when a guitar string breaks) and specific to Wilco. Just as the band assembles its disparate talents and inspirations to make music, this book coheres in the end to reveal a 40-minute CD of original, unreleased songs. Just as Wilco experiments with music by turning convention on its head, this book is an utterly new take on the old genre of the rock 'n' roll book. The Wilco Book will look and read like a Wilco record sounds; it's a translation of the band's sensibility from sound into print.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Between all the critical acclaim, Greg Kot's book on the band, and the introspective I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documentary, you'd think that pretty much everything has already been said about Wilco. But The Wilco Book--the influential rock band's own scrapbook of photos, observations, and random notes--has more than a few revelations for fans. Here we get beautiful photographs of musical instruments (taken apart, being fixed and played) interspersed with quotes about their studio, their performance and recording habits, and their songwriting. Some may think a close-up of a Gibson guitar is a mundane affair, but to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, that tool of the trade is an important element in the music-making process, worthy of plenty of attention. In addition, there are numerous shots of the band, random images by Fred Tomaselli, a new essay on the ensemble by Rick Moody, and "The Angel Is My Watermark," a piece by Henry Miller that resonates with the group. The enclosed 12-track CD contains previously unheard tracks from the A Ghost Is Born sessions. A couple tunes ("Diamond Claw," "What Good Am I") rank with Wilco's best work, while the rest show the band in the midst of the creative process, making aural sketches. All-told, the poignant randomness of The Wilco Book unfolds like a great Wilco album: it's a wonderful mix of compelling experimentation and heartfelt sentiment. A must-have for Wilco lovers. --Jason Verlinde

Tweedy Talks
Amazon.com Music Editor Jason Verlinde talks with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy about the book, the band's music, and more in our special audio interview:

Jeff Tweedy on The Wilco Book

Jeff Tweedy on Wilco's fame and status

Wilco on Record
Looking for more Wilco? Check out Amazon.com's complete list of Wilco on CD.

From Publishers Weekly

In case fans of alt-country turned art-rock band Wilco didn't get enough pertinent reading material this year—including front man Jeff Tweedy's poetry collection, Adult Head, and rock critic Greg Kot's affectionate band bio, Wilco: Learning How to Die—there's this lavishly designed and gorgeously printed collaboration between band members and the New York design company PictureBox. Meant to capture the soulful, rockin', poetically inscrutable essence of Wilco's art, it collects essays, drawings and random comments by Wilco members, organized by their collective interests, including "The Loft" where they rehearse, "The Instruments" they use and the process of "Making a Record." Accompanied by a CD of unreleased material and generously illustrated with beautiful color photographs by Michael Schmelling, it also features Henry Miller's classic essay on creativity, "The Angel Is My Watermark"; an often tortured look at five Wilco songs by Rick Moody; and a section on how the band's soundman prepares for a live concert that gives a fascinating look at the workday of professional musicians. While the book's beauty can't mask its lack of context—biographical or musical—for anyone with a casual interest in the band, there are plenty of hardcore fans out there who'll find it required reading.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: PictureBox, Inc. (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971367035
• ISBN-13: 978-0971367036
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in NYC and raised in the CT suburbs. One of my grandfathers was a newspaper publisher and the other a small-town GM dealer. I figure this is a good lineage for a writer. I went to school in Rhode Island, where I worked with some really interesting people, like Angela Carter and John Hawkes. And then I got my MFA from Columbia University in NYC. After school I worked in book publishing in New York, during some lean times. My first novel came out in 1992. Since then, I've been writing mostly. I teach now and then. I got married in 2003, to my girlfriend of many years, Amy. She's working on her MA in decorative arts history. We split our time between Brooklyn and a little island off the coast of CT.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coffee Table Art, December 27, 2004

By 

Nathan Skinner "laissez-faire" (rochester, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wilco Book (Hardcover)

The Wilco Book is a great book if you enjoy the creative process. This book is less about the band and more about how they record, why they do it, and what the environment around them looks or feels like while they are doing it. It's an open-minded look at a process most of us don't enjoy on the same scale, but that we can all relate to in our own creative lives.

The accusations of pretense are understandable. But if you are someone who loves the process as much as the finished product this will be an inspiring piece. The cd and the book fit perfectly together in creating a mood of idea exploration. I found this book insightful and a very nice addition to a progressingly great body of work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For any Wilco Fan, August 22, 2006

By 

John Doe "John" (CT, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wilco Book (Hardcover)

Great book for any Wilco fan. Just finished the book today. It also comes with a nice CD of unreleased songs! That was a nice little surprise. Very high quality book with alot of pictures. Good read.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars jeff as a team player, October 22, 2004

By 

David J. Balcer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wilco Book (Hardcover)

Much has been made of jeff being the "boss" of Wilco. I'm sure he has the final say on most of the goings on but this book proves without a doubt what a collaborative effort the Wilco team really is! The book is funny, fun, interesting, exciting, inciteful... It can be browsed, read in chunks or read in one giant sitting. I have had the most fun opening it randomly and letting my eyes and head wander. It is intellectually and emotionally stimulating. Cool. I'm not trying to be pretentious or anything. If you get yr hands on the book you gotta know what to expect, at least a little bit. The disc is...interesting. that's an adjective used when reviewers can't find a polite way of saying they don't totally like the music but in this instance the music really is interesting. It does sound like outtakes but listened to straight thru gives a wonderful overview of the "Wilco process". And there are some structured songs too that are awesome like the alternate version of "Hummingbird". Anyway, lovers of art, culture, literature and music will be satisfied to the fullest. There's something there for everyone. It's truely worth the $ and effort.