Chicago's Finest

I spent some quality time on headphones recently, listening to all kinds of music. One disc that totally re-asserted itself in my consciousness is Wilco's "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel." It has rightly been hailed as a great record. It also has a great back-story in that the record company originally rejected it. No good reason given. It sat in limbo for almost a year, and then Nonesuch released it. It was considered one of Wilco's best, and propelled them into the forefront of great, edgy bands.

It really is a superb collection of music. Jeff Tweedy sort of reminds me of a Midwest American version of Ray Davies. Less flamboyant, less whimsical, but intelligent, sensitive, with a good melodic sense. On headphones it really zings you with all kinds of unique sounds. Wilco takes a song then deconstructs it. It lets some of that deconstruction serve as a counterpoint to good basic rock and roll.

I know a million discs have come and gone since then, and Wilco has released a couple of great discs since. But "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel," really does stand up as a great disc for the ages.

This is a clip from the documentary, "I am trying to break your heart," filmed during the making of the record. It's got some great shots of Chicago as well as the first cut from the disc.