stratoman Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 purple umbrella and a fifty cent hat misses cool rides out in her aged Cadillac Well, Jeff did steal his fried chicken, girlfriend, since of humour, dirty white shirt, hat, Sprite, snuff, and air conditioner. And Farrar's mail. Seriously, go to the Farrar board and do a search for comments that Brian Henneman (neverwonagrammy on the board) has said about the book, and about the Farrar-Tweedy relationship. Far more enlightening than the book, and funnier, too. Especially the stories of driving the green van cross country. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Seriously, go to the Farrar board and do a search for comments that Brian Henneman (neverwonagrammy on the board) has said about the book, and about the Farrar-Tweedy relationship. Far more enlightening than the book, and funnier, too. Especially the stories of driving the green van cross country.I'll second that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rghammo Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 To save others who are interested a few minutes, I've pasted Brian Henneman's two most telling posts from the Farrar board. Link is below. "Hello friends, TRUST ME. The Wilco book does NOT paint the picture accurately. I love Jeff, I love Jay, I was there in the early days. I didn't see any outright LIES, but, I did, swiftly, catch the fact that it is a "spun" telling of the tale. I did see some inaccurate information. Jeff is a great talent. Jay is a great talent. Neither one is "better" than the other. They're just different. Don't buy into the "character assasination" of Jay, that seems to flow through the book. My personal evaluation, as a guy who was there, is this: consider the "vibe" painted, in the Uncle Tupelo, through A.M. chapters, as being about 50% accurate. The other 50% is slanted in Jeff's favor, but hey, it's a WILCO book! I have no idea what the accuracy rate of the Wilco, post A.M. chapters are, I wasn't there, and that's too bad, 'cause I really wanted to know what happened, after I left. Judging by the part I DID know, and how the story was told, I'm afraid I'll never know the true story. The inaccuracies, and "slant", in the early chapters, actually made me lose interest in the upcoming parts, which were the ones I was most looking forward to. Think of the book, as a Wilco story, written from the perspective of a guy, who knows, and, REALLY admires Jeff Tweedy, and, who respects, but, doesn't really know Jay at all. From The Horse's Mouth, Brian Henneman" "Let me set this, somewhat, straight. The Wilco book, is NOT fiction, by any means. I think Greg Kot did the best he could, with what he had. The inaccuracies, in the chapters I knew about, are trivial, and, meaningless to the story. I can't comment on the later chapters, 'cause I wasn't there. There DOES seem to be a "Jay bashing" taking place in the story though, which I found unenjoyable. I'd have rather had it be ALL "pro-Jeff", and, have no Jay in it at all. It looks, to me, like Jeff was made out to be a bit more "cool", and "heroic" than he really was, and Jay was made out to be some kind of oppressive "bad guy", which, really, isn't exactly true. What I don't like, is the fact that Jay was not given the chance to tell his side of the story (not that he'd really WANT to, in a Wilco book...). What you get, is a bunch of Jay's friends, talkin' about Wilco, and more of their quotes, than ANY of us would have ever imagined, being used, VERY discriminately, to paint a picture of Jay, as something I'm sure NONE of us ever dreamed would be included, in a Wilco book, AND in a way, that if we KNEW the context they'd be used in, we'd have made our points clearer. I'd say Jay was about 20% of what I talked about with Greg Kot, but, about 90% of THAT was used in the book. Jeff's not a bad guy. Jay's not a bad guy. Greg Kot's not a bad guy. I can only hope that somebody would "favor" me, the same way, as Greg did Jeff, in a Bottle Rockets book. I'd also hope they wouldn't "tear down" people I've worked with along the way. I'm not down with the "Negative Jay" vibe, not when painted by soundbytes, from second-hand stories. Kinda gives it a "tabloid" aura... Overall, I'd say the book gives the "essence" of what went down. I guess somebody's gonna lose, in any "break up" story. I think Jay lost a little "harder" than he should have in this one though. Brian" Farrar board on the Wilco book Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I'm about to finish the book right now, and I think it's ridiculous to state that it is overly slanted against Jay. There is some glowing praise for Jay and his talents (playing ability, studio savvy, friendship and support between him and Jeff during some rough patches...) in the book--not to mention several accounts by others singing Jay's praises. The only negative impressions come about when things became a pressure cooker over the recording/mixing of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and anyone who's seen "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" can understand how freakin' annoying he had become at that point in time. The whole band felt that way apparently, as they had a band meeting (sans Jay) and all decided together that Jay should move on--at least according to the book. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I'm about to finish the book right now, and I think it's ridiculous to state that it is overly slanted against Jay. There is some glowing praise for Jay and his talents (playing ability, studio savvy, friendship and support between him and Jeff during some rough patches...) in the book--not to mention several accounts by others singing Jay's praises. The only negative impressions come about when things became a pressure cooker over the recording/mixing of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and anyone who's seen "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" can understand how freakin' annoying he had become at that point in time. The whole band felt that way apparently, as they had a band meeting (sans Jay) and all decided together that Jay should move on--at least according to the book. wrong Jay. Jay Farrar is from Uncle Tupelo. Jay Bennett (The one you refer to) is from Wilco. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 wrong Jay. Jay Farrar is from Uncle Tupelo. Jay Bennett (The one you refer to) is from Wilco. aaaahhhh. I wrote that after spending 14 hours in the hospital with my grandmother yesterday and was obviously not very coherent. but still, even with the different Jay, I didn't file like there was a "character assassination" going on--of anyone. The book basically describes how Jeff and Jay were heading in different directions, wanting different things out of the/a band. It's not as though the book paints Jeff only in a good light. The author clearly calls him out for the way Coomer was dismissed... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 To save others who are interested a few minutes, I've pasted Brian Henneman's two most telling posts from the Farrar board. Link is below. "Hello friends, TRUST ME. The Wilco book does NOT paint the picture accurately. I love Jeff, I love Jay, I was there in the early days. I didn't see any outright LIES, but, I did, swiftly, catch the fact that it is a "spun" telling of the tale. I did see some inaccurate information. ... I can't comment on the later chapters, 'cause I wasn't there. There DOES seem to be a "Jay bashing" taking place in the story though, which I found unenjoyable. but still, even with the different Jay, I didn't file like there was a "character assassination" going on--of anyone. The book basically describes how Jeff and Jay were heading in different directions, wanting different things out of the/a band. It's not as though the book paints Jeff only in a good light. The author clearly calls him out for the way Coomer was dismissed... Whether Kot calls out Jeff for firing Ken Coomer isn't exactly relevant to what Brian Henneman thinks of the way he presents Jeff's and Jay's relationship in Uncle Tupelo, is it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JUDE Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Whether Kot calls out Jeff for firing Ken Coomer isn't exactly relevant to what Brian Henneman thinks of the way he presents Jeff's and Jay's relationship in Uncle Tupelo, is it? You're such a Ken fanboy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I don't know whats true or not, but as far as slant goes. You can pretty much gather that Tweedy was not to comfortable by the way he handled things with Ken Coomer, and didn't look at it as one of the more admirable ways he handled himself. It seems like the only thing against Jay in the book is he decided he had something against Tweedy and wanted out and it was not well explained to Jeff. This is futher complicated by Farrar being interviewed by some magazine (Paste, or No Depression I dont remember) and saying that Tweedy was after his girl. That and what about the multi instrumentalist guy that was on Being There, that played Dobro, lapsteel etc. he never gets a thread like the Coomer does. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 You're such a Ken fanboy. I just really respect that he was able to juggle being in a rock and roll band with his committments to Mr. Show, which apparently caused Jeff to get jealous and make the first "circle has to have a center" firing of his career. Of course, he hired that guy from the Muppet Show, so I think that shows you where Jeff's head was at the time. Did that make it into Kot's book? You bet your ass it didn't. Bias? Oh hell yeah. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Whether Kot calls out Jeff for firing Ken Coomer isn't exactly relevant to what Brian Henneman thinks of the way he presents Jeff's and Jay's relationship in Uncle Tupelo, is it? some previous posts had to do with whether the author had a slant in favor of Jeff and against Jay. I was simply stating that the book didn't hide items which cast Jeff in a negative light. So yes, I think it's relevant... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 However, regarding the specific question of how the Jeff-Jay dynamic was presented, Brian Henneman, who knows Jeff and Jay very well, and was there in the midst of things while they were happening, does feel that Kot didn't get it right, and skewed things in Jeff's favor. Not having been there myself, I'm more inclined to believe Brian than someone else who wasn't there - regardless of whether or not he takes Jeff to task for firing Ken Coomer later in the book. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 and kot taking jeff to task for firing coomer the way he did really falls into the big woop category. you'd have to have your head stuck pretty far up your ass to defend that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
delmarkurt Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 It's an easy read. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 and kot taking jeff to task for firing coomer the way he did really falls into the big woop category. you'd have to have your head stuck pretty far up your ass to defend that. my point had nothing to do with the obviousness of that particular decision, it was one freakin' example of an inclusion in the book of- Actually, nevermind, posting in this particular thread is like talking to a wall. actually, it's more like this: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 my point had nothing to do with the obviousness of that particular decision, it was one freakin' example of an inclusion in the book of- Actually, nevermind, posting in this particular thread is like talking to a wall. actually, it's more like this: thats okay, I'm tired of it too. Lets let the thread get dusty and eat cookies and drink beer and not post until next year when the new record comes out. We ran out of stuff since the tour ended. I could start a controversy on which disc of Being There is superior, but..... nevermind I think I will. Damnit, but after that I am staying away until next album comes out and someone says its not as good as AM, and someone else says "where is the drone?" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sFolk Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 yeah, i thought it was interesting to read about how the band evolved, but i think you always have to take these things with a grain of salt. writers of nonfiction tend to walk that line between just presenting the facts and telling a compelling story. a compelling story usually needs a hero and a bad guy. a friend of mine had jeff sign his copy of the book. jeff signed it, "these are all lies." then he signed someone's poster with his name and just "bonanza!" so, who knows . . . . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 What's Brian's take on Jay's Inquirer type interview in Harp or Relix or whatever it was a while back? I think I may have just tossed the issue - as I jut threw away a whole stack of HARP and RELIX magazines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 What's Brian's take on Jay's Inquirer type interview in Harp or Relix or whatever it was a while back? I think I may have just tossed the issue - as I jut threw away a whole stack of HARP and RELIX magazines.Ya,that was really "Daze of Our Lives" type of stuff,but of course I hadda read it all A-Man,you threw out a stack of Relix? OUCH!! Scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Ya,that was really "Daze of Our Lives" type of stuff,but of course I hadda read it all A-Man,you threw out a stack of Relix? OUCH!! Scott Not old ones - just most of the ones after Toni sold it. I don't buy it anymore - it's became a magazine for rich hippies I do believe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I don't buy it anymore - it's became a magazine for rich hippies I do believe.Good thing I just bought a subscription. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 It has changed just like all the other rock mags - little short articles - maybe that is why I don't like it. I don't really listen to any of the bands they cover anyway. Nor am I likely to buy a 150 dollar pair of sandals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jhc Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 a friend of mine had jeff sign his copy of the book. jeff signed it, "these are all lies." I was trying to remember what he wrote! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Not old ones - just most of the ones after Toni sold it. I don't buy it anymore - it's became a magazine for rich hippies I do believe.That's good Other than the JG 10-year retrospective,I haven't bought one in many years. Not a rich hippie here... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Basil II Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 "rich hippie" an oxymoron! What world needs now is ......more COFFEE CREEK!!!!! -Robert. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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