Wilco - a roadtrip CD

I'm driving to Wagga Wagga, in regional NSW, on Friday with the wife and my parents. Well, my dad will drive and we'll enjoy the ride. It takes six hours. It's not the most enjoyable journey. You need distractions, and good driving tunes. Which is usually what I take care of. So tonight I'm pulling together some CDs for the trip.

It's hard to pick stuff that isn't obvious, already overplayed or polarizing. The Beatles, Traveling Wilburys, Neil Young and Crowded House usually get a heavy work out. But I like to sometimes slip in something the folks have never heard, something treasured by me, new to them.

If there was one band I think my parents should and could love as much as me is WILCO. So I've pulled together a playlist for an 80 minute CD we can listen to in the car, a bit of a "best of Wilco" ...but with my baby boomer parents in mind. Its an almost equal mix from all their records (with the exception of AM, which I don't own). See what you think, comments welcome...

Can't Stand it
You and I
War on War
Sky Blue Sky
Hell is Chrome
Outtaside (Outta Mind)
She's a Jar
I'll Fight
Kamera
Impossible Germany
Hummingbird
Far, Far Away
A Shot In The Arm
One Wing
Jesus, etc
Theologians
Red-Eyed and Blue
How To Fight Loneliness
On and On and On
Sunken Treasure

Wilco

Former Wilco member Jay Bennett (above, second from right) died in his sleep overnight at the age of 45. Details are trickling in slowly but Pitchfork have more. Jay was with the band from 1994 to 2001 as a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, and was fired after a falling out during the making of their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. According to reports earlier this month Bennett had been suing Wilco for money owed from his work with the band. He also released several of his own albums after leaving Wilco. His Jay Bennett myspace page mentions his recent hip replacement and has links to his recently released album, but of course no mention yet of his death. RIP Jay.

In Jay's honour I've been listening to Summerteeth as I write this, which I reckon is the high-water mark of Wilco's Jay-era records. But I started the day listening to the new Wilco album. Yes I know, its not out until late June or early July, but I know people, OK!? I have contacts in the right places... ahem... Anyway, its called, somewhat cheekily Wilco (The Album) and the opening cut is "Wilco (The Song)". Jeff even sings the word "Wilco" in the chorus... weird. The rest of the tracks, on first listen, don't quite stack up against the set on Sky Blue Sky which has quickly become one of my favourite Wilco records. A lot of people just didn't dig it, but songs like "Impossible Germany" and "On and On and On" are as good as anything else they've ever done. So anyway, the new album doesn't quite soar as high, but is still a well crafted collection of intelligent adult-pop tunes.

I've also got my winter mittens on Ashes of American Flags, their new tour/live movie. Check the trailer:



And guess what!? You can also get a Wilco iPhone app! I'm going to download it now...

I Shall Be Released

Wilco and Fleet Foxes team up for a stunning live version of this classic. Listen below or at Cause = Time, and with thanks to Boing Boing for the tipoff. Wilco are using the download as a way to get people to pledge to vote in the upcoming in the US elections, and also contributing to the "Feeding America" charity. All details at Wilcoworld.