So I have a first date tomorrow night with a self-proclaimed fan of Wilco. I’d sure like to impress her, but I know nothing about the band. Where should I start? What should I listen to (on youtube) in the next 24 hours?
Thanks in advance,
E.
Wikipedia.
Actually just say to her “Uncle Tupelo-- man that stuff was genius,” while longingly looking off into the distance, and then leave it at that. Bite your lip as you ponder. She’ll think you’re really deep and a hardcore fan.
And you won’t have to waste any time getting to know the band in the next 24 hours.
May I suggest you’ll create more tension if you are honest about your lack of knowledge - and rag on her for liking the band, then allow her to educate you.
This strategy certainly worked extremely successfully in my past with a girl who is totally crazy for Manic Street Preachers. Ah, memories…
Any relation to Taco or Falco?
I’m not a connoisseur of Wilco’s oeuvre, but the “Summerteeth,” “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” and “Being There” albums would be a pretty good representation of their work. If you want to dig a little further back, you can go to the band Uncle Tupelo, from whose ashes Wilco (and Son Volt) emerged.
Heavy Metal Drummer is the song that probably got the most airplay around here (in their home base, the Chicago area.) I know you’re not going to try to fake being a Wilco fan or anything like that from listening to a couple of songs, but my not-asked-for-two-cents in your situation would be to admit a relative ignorance to them to her and ask for her recommendations. But for an introduction to their work, check out those three albums.
On edit: I see that jjiimm has suggested a similar strategy to mine.
ETA2: And I see Happy Lendervedder has got the Uncle Tupelo angle. Man, got ninja’d twice. I’ll link to one of their harder rocking numbers Graveyard Shift, although this may not be completely representative of their work.
Uncle Tupelo is worth knowing, as Jeff Tweedy (funny name, remember it) was one of the creative forces in it and then went on to form Wilco. Song titles probably won’t be important. If they are, and things don’t work out with this girl… anyway, more on Wilco:
Their first album is largely forgettable, a band finding itself, however you want to put it.
Being There was next, and it’s where the awesome began. It veers from rock to country, slow and quiet to loud and fast. But I guess if you’ve never listened, it might be fair to say you could play the whole thing at a family picnic. Many of these tracks are favorites of Wilco fans, but I don’t know if they grab right away; there is an almost dated sound to the 1996 alt-country/rock whatever album.
Summerteeth is the psychedelic album. The Sgt. Peppers, you may say. The title comes from the old hockey joke: “I’ll give you summerteeth; sum’er here, sum’er there”. Something like that. On this album, the roots rockers start adding interesting sonic elements to their sound: How to Fight Loneliness goes from being a campfire folk-song to being a panty dropper. On the rockier end of things, 'm Always in Love has a cool synth line.
Then shit gets real. They started experimenting with their sounds, deconstructing things, seeing what they could do. The album you need to know is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This is the mama-jahamba. An incredible studio album by a top-tier performing band, it was the best of all worlds. You need to listen to I am Trying to Break Your Heart to get an idea of what’s going on. This would be the album I would focus on, although I’m terribly biased because it’s probably my favorite. “I am Trying to Break Your Heart” is also the title of a sweet documentary about the band’s making the album that could provide a good hour and a half cram session for you.
A Ghost is Born continues the weirdness into more difficult territory, but has some standouts like Hummingbird.
After that, I got nothing. Good luck.
Say, “Wilco. Aahhhh, Wilco.” Then respond to whatever she says with “that’s very significant.”
Say something like “everybody says he gets his best ideas from guys named Jay.” Then if she nods, say “am I right!!?” If she frowns, say “how dumb is that, right? Jeff Tweedy is a chain-smoking, migraine-suffering genius!”
For bonus points, say “I’m not completely familiar with the band, but there’s this song ‘Magazine Called Sunset’ that knocks me out.”
Seriously. That will be a lot of bonus points.
You only have a day? Presuming you’re working today, you don’t really have time to listen to albums, do you? Here, borrow some of my favorite Wilco songs.
Jesus, etc
How To Fight Loneliness
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Good morning, everyone…and thanks! I appreciate the responses (the helpful ones and the funny ones alike). I’ll listen to as much as I can at work today.
Once there was a girl who worked in my office for a short time. She was dating a guy from Wilco, and one time he came by our office and I saw him.
Hope that helps!
If she is a full on Tweedy fan, do not talk to her during performance. You will be shushed.
Every track on YHF is good. That’s quite a feat.
Wilco is alright, but the best band is the Kay-Settes starring Butchers Blind. Can’t hear 'em on the radio.
So I’ve listened to every youtube track linked in this thread. My favorite Wilco cut is “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” but Uncle Tupelo’s “Graveyard Shift” takes the prize for me. Cool stuff.
No plans to pretend I know more about Wilco than I do. On early dates, I always enjoy confessing a harmless failure or two (the harmful failures can wait until later…), so I’m sure I’ll just admit I knew nothing until today…if the topic comes up at all.
But now I have a couple of bands to add to my iTunes repertoire and eventually learn about, and for that I thank you all.
There’s some great backstory on YHF as well.
They were dropped by their label (Reprise) once they heard the direction the album was going, fearing it wouldn’t sell well. They toured the album and were eventually picked up by Nonesuch Records - a subsidiary of Reprise!. Reprise bought the album twice!
It was all chronicled in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, which is pretty great and maybe worth a view if you have time before your date. Saying, “I just watched I am Trying to Break Your Heart!” would probably be a great ice breaker.
Good luck!
I see what you did there. 
Huge Wilco fan here. Quite envious that you’re meeting a girl who is too.
They started alt-country with Uncle Tupelo and the early albums, moved gradually more towards alt, culminating in YHF and A Ghost is Born, which together with Summerteeth is their golden trilogy. Their next three albums are softer and not as interesting, although still good, as they haven’t put out a bad album.
Even though the later albums are not as good, they got Nels Cline who is the best guitarist they had. You get the benifits from this on their live album Kicking Television, which has the definitive versions of “The Late Greats” (including their best guitar solo) and “Handshake Drugs”.
Also take a listen to I “Am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “Jesus Etc” and “Can’t Stand It” on youtube, so you can get excited about them too.
Their best albums, while genious, are also wilfully difficult, which is probably why they were dropped by their record company at the time of YHF. (Although I can’t fathom any executive listening to Jesus etc, and not seeing the potential.) The worst offender is “Less Than What You Think”, which it certainly is, whatever your expectations.
For a great cut off their latest album, “The Whole Love,” check YouTube for the first track, “Art of Almost.” Awesome stuff. Everyone else got to the other recommendations I’d have made.
Oh, and another factoid about YHF - during the interval between record labels, they streamed the whole album for free off their website. Once it was finally released, it sold nearly 600,000 copies; they were originally dropped because the new exec thought it wouldn’t sell very well.