Jay Bennett has passed away. This isn't huge news on a global level, but it is terrible news and of significance because it adds another (unfortunately sad) chapter to the story of Wilco (the band). Clearly this blog is a fan of Wilco, but Jay Bennett wasn't in Wilco anymore and hadn't been since 2001. The Wilco of today has very little in common with the Wilco of eight years ago, but Jay Bennett was always present, for better or worse.

A little background for the uninitiated. Jay Bennett was in Wilco when they recorded and released most of their earlier material, namely the albums Being There and Summerteeth. He wrote and recorded with the band during the creation of their critical breakthrough/career-defining album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Then he left/was forced to leave. All of this is documented in Sam Jones' excellent documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.

Since leaving the band, he continued making music and continued being at odds with Wilco and Jeff Tweedy specifically. Even as recently as a few weeks ago, he filed a lawsuit against Tweedy in hopes of recouping money he felt he was owed from royalties of Wilco's material, including the aforementioned documentary that climaxes with him leaving the band. These legal actions were probably tied to his financial troubles resulting from a combination of physical ailments and lacking health insurance. Maybe all would have been forgiven if Wilco's subsequent success could help pay for his hip replacement? The world will never know.

In the documentary, the viewer never gets any more of a negative impression of Bennett than they might of Jeff Tweedy, the obvious centerpiece/leader of the band. It is unfortunate that bands always seem to need a "frontman" and it is usually the singer, for better or worse. This is definitely the case for the Tweedy/Bennett era of Wilco. They made some amazing records, but ultimately the band just wasn't big enough for both of their egos. The same might be said for Tweedy and Jay Farrar in Uncle Tupelo. The problem isn't necessarily Tweedy, though. Since Bennett left Wilco, they have continued to make great records, although most would posit that the Being There/Summerteeth/Yankee Hotel Foxtrot trifecta far surpasses the subsequent A Ghost Is Born/Sky Blue Sky/Wilco (The Album) one. That may be true, but eight years have passed and the common members of the band (Tweedy and John Stirratt) are both eight years older and eight years further into their musical careers. Certainly it bears mentioning that Tweedy has also exorcised some of his addiction demons in that time and simply seems like a more grounded and happy (gasp!) person. The music was bound to change.

Regardless, this entry is about Bennett (for once). From a personal standpoint, he will always be a solid part of Wilco because he shared writing credits on the song "Can't Stand It", which is about as good as Wilco gets. The "personal" aspect becomes more glaring after waking up early this morning and spontaneously watching I Am Trying to Break Your Heart in full, without knowing anything of Bennett's demise. Being without cable television or internet service at the time meant that this viewing was made without any reaction from having heard the sad news. It was an unbiased observation of the dynamics of what went into the film, the record and the split. From a purely artistic standpoint, it also allowed for what is now an incredibly bittersweet viewing of Jay Bennett's solo rendition of "My Darling" from Summerteeth. If you have any chance to see this for yourself, please do. Today's news of Bennett's death will make it all the more poignant.

Perhaps even more poignant is the inclusion of a post-Bennett performance of "Outtasite (Outtamind)" at the end of I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. It almost seems a jagged send-off to Bennett, but if it makes people feel better, it could just as easily be giving the same farewell to Reprise Records and the difficulties examined in the film. Regardless, Jay Bennett will be missed by some more than others. However, unlike so many people, he created something that will continue to carry his legacy.


Other takes:
Bob Boilen
Greg Kot
Jim DeRogatis

How does this go unnoticed? Seriously, this is life-altering news and everyone just decided to keep it to themselves. Thank goodness the internet allows those who are behind the times to get their news 6 months late.

Ok, forget the link. You didn't click it anyway. Last season's winner of Survivor (which took place in Gabon) was...wait for it...Robert Crowley.

Nobody must watch this show anymore. Clearly they are too busy planning that week's Lost party. In related news, this season of Lost is almost over. Facebook executives are nervous because they're not sure if anyone will still find a use for their social networking website once people no longer need to use their Facebook status to do the following:

-Count down the seconds until the next Lost episode
-Compare their life to Lost
-Give a detailed breakdown of what they didn't do on a Wednesday night in order to watch Lost
-Complain about some other facet of life (including Presidential addresses) having the audacity to interfere with the broadcast of Lost
-Be the first person to post a spoiler from that night's episode of Lost
-Be the first to complain about other people posting spoilers from that night's episode of Lost
-Find a way to validate the results of a "Which Lost character are you?" quiz
-Express how great their friends are because they all enjoy Lost so much

Wilco is a great band. They make amazing albums. They sounds great live in concert. They tour regularly. They play cities like Meridian, Huntsville, Knoxville and Mobile...in addition to Birmingham, Nashville and Atlanta. They win Grammy Awards.

Perhaps more telling/important/respectable are things like the following statement from the band, in response to their upcoming album being leaked and their subsequent decision to stream the album for free on their website:

Well, we made it nearly a month with copies of Wilco (the album) floating around out there before it leaked. Pretty impressive restraint in this day and age. But the inevitable happened last night. Since we know you're curious and probably have better things to do than scour the internet for a download (though we do understand the attraction of the illicit), we've posted a stream of the full album at http://wilcoworld.net/records/thealbum/ . Feel free to refer to it as "wilco (the stream)" if you must.

We also have our usual guilt abatement plan for downloaders. If you have downloaded the record, we suggest you make a donation to one of the band's favorite charities, the Inspiration Corporation -- an organization we've supported in the past & who are doing great work in the city of Chicago. Information and donation button here: http://inspirationcorp.org/.

That's all. Enjoy the stream. Tickets for summer shows, etc. http://wilcoworld.net/tours/ Note that we'll be holding a free online midnight screening of the "Ashes of American Flags" film this Friday night (at both midnight US Central time and again at midnight Pacific). So get the popcorn or whatever together and be sure to log on and tune in on Friday.

Wilco HQ

So there it is. Further evidence that there is a right way to do things in life. As simple as that.

PS: Go listen. It's probably better than anything else you've heard today.

Oh internet, thank you for making life interesting and downright enjoyable for a moment, even on otherwise dull Mondays where a region-wide conference call is the day's highlight and this is lunch:

In another shocking sign of the difficulties being experienced by Detroit these days, Eminem has attempted to regain the momentum of his career by covering none other than Matchbox 20.

As told by Mr. Thomas:


As told by Mr. 'Nem (warning: sorta violent):

It is "May Day". Aside from proximity to a birthday, it just always has a certain feel to it. A feel of life being good and hope springing eternal. Maybe this is simply the result of something in elementary school called "The May Day Play Day", where basically there was no class and everyone walked from All Saints Episcopal Church/School to Homewood Park for a full day of fun and frivolity. There were inevitably water balloons and picnics, among much more. Yes, those were the simpler times.

If luck was truly shining down, the day would include a stop at the New Orleans Shaved Ice Company, which became Top Dog, which became Moneer's, which became Oasis (?), which is now Sam's Mediterranean Grill in the Edgewood shopping area. A similar kind of joy can be experienced these days right here in Nashville with the presence of Las Paletas popsicles. The only drawback is when Fido only has Pineapple and Honeydew in stock. Oh, if not for that pineapple popsicle, life would have been so much worse.

So yes, it is May Day, but it is certainly not a Play Day. To be more accurate to the 2009 version, it is May Day Sit At A Desk and Listen to the Torrential Rain Pelt the Aluminum Roof of Your Mid-Grade Suburban Office/Industrial Park Place of Employment Roof...Day.

Whenever you start thinking that you live in the wrong place or have the wrong friends, just remember, life is ALWAYS worse in Dull.


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This place must make Starkville look downright cosmopolitan.