Wilco's 'Ode To Joy'
2015’s Star Wars and its 2016 follow up Schmilco delivered a shot in the arm to one of indie-rock’s most lauded and revered acts: Wilco. Both were shaggier affairs then what had come before — 2011’s The Whole Love, while it had its moments, was a more near-miss-than-hit power-pop extravaganza. And both showed that, at least for Wilco, smaller albums necessarily meant better albums as the band pushed into its second decade with the current, and most stable lineup in Wilco’s history.
Enter Ode To Joy.
Wilco's 'Summerteeth' at 20
Twenty years ago, riding high off of the dual successes of their second album Being There and Billy Bragg collaboration Mermaid Ave, Wilco was still 2 years away from becoming one of the most revered band’s of their generation. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would propel Jeff Tweedy and crew into the stratosphere, but it was on 1999’s Summerteeth that they truly found their voice. Experimental, lush, and heartbreaking to its core, Summerteeth is a record that captured the soul of Wilco like nothing they have created before or since.
Tune in as guests Casey Rae and Eduardo Nunes join us in celebrating twenty years of the album that changed Wilco, and arguably modern music, forever.
Episode 325: If All I Was Was Black - Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples, one of the greatest voices of this generation, or any, is back with a powerful new LP If All I Was Was Black. Continuing in her collaboration with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in the production chair, the civil-rights icon is going back to her Chicago blues roots and delivering a powerful statement on racism in America in 2017.
PLUS! Robert Ellis and Courtney Hartman have teamed up for an album celebrating the music of John Hartford, and the iconic first single is just as exquisite as you would expect.
Episode 217: Wilco - Schmilco
It's official, the headphone jack is no more...at least according to Apple. We're parsing the pro's and con's and abusing the word "dongle" excessively in the process.
WILCO'S BACK MOTHER F@#@ERS! But you knew that. 3 lifelong fans of the band weigh in on the alt-country fixture's latest, Schmilco.
The Flat Five (feat. Kelly Hogan) are from Chicago. The Flat Five are groovier than you, or anyone you know. We have proof. Put it in your ears.
Episode 81: Tweedy - Sukierae
In our latest episode: We review the new album Sukierae from Tweedy. Wilco front-man Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer may have the most appropriate band name ever, but does that familial familiarity translate to record? Is it nepotism, genius or somewhere in between? PLUS! Rawk feuds, U2 proposes a new music format that will “save the industry” and snacks - oh so many snacks - on Episode 81 of ChunkyGlasses: The Podcast!