“Take off your band-aid ‘cause I don’t believe in touchdowns.” What does that even mean? The best guess I have after become a devoted, even obsessed at times, Wilco fan is that Jeff Tweedy is trying to convey that there will be no reconciliation for the broken relationship he is singing about in this song, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” off of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Yet, when I first paid attention to this line it came by way of an away message. More specifically, for weeks on end Mike used this as his go to message and somehow it crazily hooked me into my love affair with Wilco and Jeff Tweedy.
I must confess that I should have listened to Wilco sooner than I did. I remember hearing about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot while still in high school when the release of album became a noteworthy event in the Chicago area. Also, I put that album and a few more Wilco albums on my iPod during the great file sharing extravaganza that was OurTunes during freshman and sophomore year of college. I even saw Wilco play at Lollapalooza in 2006 and, while I enjoyed hearing “Heavy Metal Drummer,” I played cards during the entire set. So, it took a crazy away message and my third year of college to turn me into the rabid fan I have become.
Things clicked into place for my junior year of college. I started studying a subject that I love, history, and began to really feel like I had found my place on campus through the music program and my love of playing trumpet and in my personal relationships. And then, while Mike proudly proclaimed to not believe in touchdowns, I discovered how gorgeous Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was after a chance viewing of the Wilco documentary with the guys. From that point on I could not get enough of Tweedy’s songs.
Two other moments stand out as significant in the building of my love for Wilco. The day after Thanksgiving concert in Chicago that same year gave me my first live experience with the band since becoming familiar with more than just a few singles and, combined that with perfect seats and great company, stands out as one of the best concerts I have attended. Second, I took a long road trip by myself over Christmas break that year and I listened to the entire Wilco catalog of albums from start to finish with no distractions.
Mike asked me to write this summary of why I loved Wilco just before graduation and I never got around to it because of the timing of his request and because I did not know what I would write. There is no one song that speaks to me and there is no one album that I can consistently call my favorite. I even enjoy most of A.M.! Wilco just became synonymous with my college experience, much as I imagine that the Beatles and Bob Dylan were to previous generations. I cherish the fact that listening to Wilco will always bring me back to my college memories and I would bet that their music will continue to provide a soundtrack to my life moving forward.
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