Wilco: Learning How to Die [Paperback]

Greg Kot (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 15, 2004

The intimate story of one of the great American bands of our time, creators of the controversial masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

When alt-country heroes-turned-rock-iconoclasts Wilco handed in their fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, to the band’s label, Reprise, a division of Warner Brothers, fans looked forward to the release of another challenging, genre-bending departure from their previous work. The band aimed to build on previous sales and critical acclaim with its boldest and most ambitious album yet, but was instead urged by skittish Reprise execs to make the record more “radio friendly.” When Wilco wouldn’t give, they found themselves without a label. Instead, they used the Internet to introduce the album to their fans, and eventually sold the record to Nonesuch, another division of Warner. Wilco was vindicated when the album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard charts and posted the band’s strongest sales to date.

Wilco: Learning How to Die traces the band’s story to its deepest origins in Southern Illinois, where Jeff Tweedy began growing into one of the best songwriters of his generation. As we witness how his music grew from its punk and alt-country origins, some of the key issues and questions in our culture are addressed: How is music of substance created while the gulf between art and commerce widens in the corporate consolidation era? How does the music industry make or break a hit? How do working musicians reconcile the rewards of artistic risk with the toll it exacts on their personal life?

This book was written with the cooperation of Wilco band members past and present.  It is also fully up to date, covering the latest changes in personnel and the imminent release of the band’s fifth album, A Ghost Is Born, sure to be one of the most talked-about albums of 2004.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chicago Tribune writer Kot deftly explores the career, music and cult phenomenon of the '90s rootsy alt-country rock band Wilco. The Chicago-based Wilco has earned a loyal, passionate underground following through heavy touring and the honest, emotionally charged songwriting of front man Jeff Tweedy, who originally played bass in Uncle Tupelo. Despite Wilco's critical success and growing fan base, the histrionics of Tweedy's early career endured, culminating with the painful breakdown of communication between Tweedy and Wilco band mate Jay Bennett, which led to Bennett's firing and the bizarre circumstances surrounding the release of Yankee Foxtrot Hotel, in 2002. Unsatisfied with what it saw as an indulgent, hitless effort, Warner Bros.' subsidiary Reprise rejected the record upon delivery. Rather than re-record a more radio-friendly version, Wilco gave the record away on the Internet. That strategy led to a deal with another Warner Bros. subsidiary, Nonesuch, which released the record and sold over 400,000 copies, the band's biggest commercial success to date. Well researched and filled with primary interviews, Kot's book is probing and insightful. In chronicling Wilco, Kot also lays bare the stresses of the musician's life, the vagaries of the business, and the very essence of what makes for good music and a vibrant music scene. Wilco fans will love this book, but Kot's excellent work deserves an even wider audience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–A music critic explores the career and art of Wilco, an alt-country rock group that commands an impressive and loyal following. The focus is on lead singer Jeff Tweedy, positioning him as the band's primary creative force and sometimes tyrant. He began his musical career as a bass player for Uncle Tupelo, one of the groups that kicked off the punk-country-folk blend that Wilco continues to develop today. After a clash of egos with bandmate Jay Farrar, Uncle Tupelo dissolved in the early 1990s and Tweedy formed Wilco, pushing himself into a more heavily produced sound without losing the quality of songwriting that made Uncle Tupelo so popular. The release of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot serves as an endpoint, giving the book a sense of narrative drive that most other band biographies don't have. Including the story of battling labels, contracts, and artistic expression versus commercial potential, the book represents a unique and informative portrait of the music industry. Kot is guilty of occasional exaggeration or indulgence when describing the songs and the personalities, particularly concerning Tweedy's habit of firing bandmates. For the most part, though, he approaches the story from a balanced point of view. Filled with enough anecdotes to entertain informed fans, but with enough direction to appeal to those less familiar with the subject, Kot's book should please a broad audience.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (June 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767915585
• ISBN-13: 978-0767915588
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune since 1990. He has established a national reputation not just for his comprehensive coverage of popular music -- from hip-hop to rock -- but for enterprising reporting on music-related social, political and business issues. His Tribune-hosted blog, Turn it Up, is considered a must-read for music buffs and industry insiders alike. With his Chicago Sun-Times counterpart Jim DeRogatis, Kot cohosts Sound Opinions, "the world's only rock 'n' roll talk show," nationally syndicated in over twenty markets and avialable worldwide on the web. Kot has been a regular contributor to Rolling Stone since 1992, and has written for Details, Blender, Entertainment Weekly, Men's Journal, Guitar World, Vibe and Request. Kot's biography of Wilco, Learning How to Die, was published in June 2004. He lives on Chicago's Northwest Side with his wife, two daughters, and far too many records.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars dirt and all.... January 6, 2005

By Eric Hayes Patkowski

Format:Paperback

I'm about 10 pages from the end of this book, and I've got mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's a great behind-the-scenes look at one of my favorite bands, but on the other hand, it's like sausage and politics -- if you like either, you shouldn't see how they're made.

Same for this book.

Kot is clearly a Wilco fan, no secret there, and he's got a shine for Jeff Tweedy -- this has a way of excusing or justifying Tweedy's behavior towards fellow bandmates, covering Tweedy's rear by painting him as a musical genius, guilty of the same eccentricities as so many others -- inability to communicate with bandmates right up til the inevitable splits, excusing the inexcusable way Tweedy has dismissed bandmates with little or no warning by saying the ends justify the means.

I'm a fairly recent fan, being turned on to Wilco through their work with Billy Bragg -- I've since become a die-hard fan of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco and have all their albums. That said, the chapter on the Mermaid Avenue Sessions was depressing, because it paints a fairly negative picture, I'm sure accidental, of Bragg and Tweedy. They come across as spoiled, arrogant, dismissive of each other, and manipulative. I think this wasn't intentional, but it left a sour taste in my mouth.

I initially thought Kot spent a bit too much time on Uncle Tupelo, but it is a good basis for understanding the turmoil within Wilco and why Tweedy makes the kind of music he's made in and out of Wilco, and why the record industry can't quite figure out Wilco. The story of UT and the whole Farrar-Tweedy relationship paints well the future divisions and jealousies in Wilco.

All in all, a good book, and it's given me a look at Tweedy as more than a musical genius -- he's also a putz with little social graces when it comes to internal band politics, but clearly he's a talented genius and has surrounded himself with other equally talented geniuses, and doesn't care how many albums Wilco sells or how many songs, if any, make it to radio. Wilco's record sales are incredible given the lack of radio and MTV support, but the book doesn't really make this point.

It also shows how the industry treats artists, and how two different labels within the Warner umbrella treat artists differently. Record execs should read this book, if only to understand the long-term benefit of supporting heritage bands, rather than spending time and money on flash-in-the-pans.

I only gave three stars, because regardless of what other reviewers write, I think this reads too much like a die-hard fan writing giddily about their favorite band. He's got good sources, both within the band and within the industry, but he's a too little eager. I mean, really, this is what I would have written, being the star-struck goober I tend to be around famous folk.

Kot also spends as much time writing in great detail about singular events as Tweedy and Bennett did in producing YHF, and then glosses over months and years with little or no explanation of what happened during that time. Jay Bennett's 6 year stint in the band seems much shorter given this treatment.

As much as Kot excuses Tweedy's twists and turns, it's made him more human, more fallible. I know it's heresy, but the book has made me like Tweedy a little less, but like and appreciate Wilco a bit more.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars If you love Wilco . . . June 13, 2004

By "chrisbooth34"

Format:Paperback

Part biography of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and part story of the band, this is an eminently readable book, packed with interesting stories and enough detail to satisfy even the most ardent Wilco fan. Kot was able to get almost everyone involved with Tweedy's career to talk -- including Jay Farrar, his bandmate in Uncle Tupelo, and Jay Bennett, his key collaborator in Wilco, who was kicked out of the band just after "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was recorded -- and people are surprisingly honest. The book has a bit too much of a rock-journalism tone at times, and is almost painfully earnest. But if you love Wilco or Uncle Tupelo (or both), you'll find this a nice read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a great book about more than just wilco June 22, 2004

By "rslinn"

Format:Paperback

As someone who likes Wilco, but is not a die-hard fan, I really appreciate the book for what it is: It is not a critic's review, it is not a fan-oriented biography-it is simply a superbly written, well-researched book about all that goes into the loaded concept that is "making music." Through his elegant prose, Kot delves into human relationships, band dynamics, artistic struggles, and identity-both personal and public. If you like Wilco, read this book. If you like music, read this book. Or, if you admire those moments when the creative process manages to overcome life's obstacles, read this book.