Wilco put out a new record today, “Sky Blue Sky.” It’s been 12 years since the release of their first, “AM” on Mar 28, 1995. With one click, Apple depleted $9.99 from my checking account and with props to Bob Metcalfe, the music is flowing. It’s a “mood” record that sounds like it was recorded in the pre-dawn still. It’s warming my soul like sitting in one of two matching bathtubs overlooking a stunning valley sunset touching fingertips with my woman while the drugs kick in. Yeah, something like that. Upon first listen, it’s got me. It’s nice to listen to new Wilco. It doesn’t have any baggage.
Wilco is on Letterman tonight and will bring it June 28 at the Bank of American Pavilion. I’ve got my tickets.
There’s a light, white light
There’s a light, one light
There’s a light, what light, inside of you.
– Jeff Tweedy “What Light” from Sky Blue Sky
In Tweedy’s own words (from the recent Phoenix article), the music doesn’t necessarily need lyrics to be meaningful: “The truth is, I started to mistrust the idea of lyrics saying everything around the time of A Ghost Is Born. I started to embrace the idea of the guitar saying a lot of things I was struggling to express at the time. I can read more into that now. The guitar gave me a way of letting the music deal with issues I was having in my life — like addiction and feeling distanced from the people I love — without having to put them into words, which I just couldn’t do. But it was also liberating to open up as a player and discover just what I could say on the guitar, and Nels has continued to encourage me to do that.”