Tweedy in the NY Times...

[Atticus]

Oblivious summed up the reasoning behind my post. It has nothing to do with Jeff worship - as anyone who was a member when I joined (and cares enough to remember) can attest, my entree to the board was to defend a guy whom Jeff tried to kick in the head at a concert in 2002.

 

why do you hate head-kickers?

[radiokills]

how could it have been written better? I'm not defending the guy, I just think it's funny you expect everyone to believe you're perfectly innocent, when your initial remarks are obviously aggressive to a degree and offer no thoughts on why you even thought it was a bad article. the article plots itself out very nicely and you can get a great sense of voice from the writing. you can really get a sense of how Jeff's head was working during some of those years. not to say you're not allowed to disagree, but I think you're just trying too hard to be contradictory.

 

aggressive would have been "jeffs a fucking pussy, and he cant even write"

 

i typed my initial reaction, thats all, now drop it.

[Atticus]

aggressive would have been "jeffs a fucking pussy, and he cant even write"

 

i typed my initial reaction, thats all, now drop it.

 

do you really not like Jeff's writing style or is it simply because he's in a jam band?

[entropy]

AM

BT

ST

YHF

AGIB

SBS

[John Smith]

Again, the kid can say whatever he wants, but he entered a thread about an informal, conversational article about Jeff's addictions and illnesses, written by an editor (using Jeff Tweedy's [presumably] spoken words) and his contribution was to whine about the writing style. He is the online version of Debbie Downer.

 

The byline is Jeff Tweedy, It is written in the first person, It is conversational in style (i.e. not a professional job) I would say he wrote the article. What would make you assume he did not write it?

[caliber66]

The byline is Jeff Tweedy, It is written in the first person, It is conversational in style (i.e. not a professional job) I would say he wrote the article. What would make you assume he did not write it?

 

http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/...-off/index.html

 

March 5, 2008, 4:34 pm

Shaking It Off

By Jeff Tweedy

 

Jeff Tweedy is primarily known as the lyricist, lead singer and guitarist of Wilco, one of America

[Sir Stewart]

It's also funny that most people are judging my entire character based on a few posts.

 

For what it's worth, I judge you on 95% of your posts.

I haven't read the article or most this thread - just wanted to mention that.

[John Smith]

Sounds like something edited from interviews to me.

 

Touche'

 

Selective editing on your part. If you follow the link or read past the part you posted it is obvious to all who the writer is. Everything prior to the heading "Boy meets pain" is simply back ground material on JT. In the original those two paragraph's are in italics and very obviously set off from the rest of the article. If that is the sole basis for your comment that the article was written by editors then that position does not hold water. I tend to agree with 65 days that it is not great writing. But writing long form is not what JT does for a living so it is entirely excusable. It is the content/message that is important not the delivery.

[mountain bed]

This thing started off with what I thought was a pretty damn good article, followed by some very personal, soulful responses. I hope this thread doesn't get too argumentative.

[plasticeyeball]

This thing started off with what I thought was a pretty damn good article, followed by some very personal, soulful responses. I hope this thread doesn't get too argumentative.

 

no, your wrong, again. do you even know what your talking about. christ.

[caliber66]

Touche'

 

Selective editing on your part. If you follow the link or read past the part you posted it is obvious to all who the writer is. Everything prior to the heading "Boy meets pain" is simply back ground material on JT. In the original those two paragraph's are in italics and very obviously set off from the rest of the article. If that is the sole basis for your comment that the article was written by editors then that position does not hold water. I tend to agree with 65 days that it is not great writing. But writing long form is not what JT does for a living so it is entirely excusable. It is the content/message that is important not the delivery.

Not selective editing on my part, and I'm not suggesting the article is in anyone's words but Jeff Tweedy's. I'm suggesting that Jeff didn't write anything, but that he had a spoken conversation with an editor, who transcribed Jeff's words. The first two paragraphs are clearly exposition on the article that follows, and the fact that the last sentence references a conversation with Jeff re: the subjects covered in the article, suggests to me that the article itself is a digest of the conversation referred to in the preceding paragraphs.

[bjorn_skurj]

OK. Jeff is not the essayist that Orwell was, but must he be? Is it not enough that he leads the best band in America? Fuck, you dudes are hard to please.

[mountain bed]

no, your wrong, again. do you even know what your talking about. christ.

When have I ever known what I was talking about?

[quarter23cd]

This thing started off with what I thought was a pretty damn good article, followed by some very personal, soulful responses. I hope this thread doesn't get too argumentative.

I think I had a few thoughtful comments to add after reading that, but I think I missed my window of opportunity. We seem to be onto a whole other discussion now. Give me a minute to switch my brain back into sarcasm mode.

 

Ok, I'm ready to roll...

[W(TF)]

Mods need to call bullshit on some people here. Here Tweedy puts his entire laundry out for the public in a current article, we try to discuss it, and we end up with 4 pages of garbage and preening about semantics?? Seriously, some people have no fucking shame.

 

[Preferred B]

Okay, then let's start talking about the article again. Pretty simple.

 

I thought it was very good, but I really loved reading the comments. Sounds like it reached a lot of people. Not to mention those who posted thoughtful responses here - I can honestly say I didn't realize anxiety/panic disorder and migraines were so common.

[quarter23cd]

I didn't realize anxiety/panic disorder and migraines were so common.

More common than you would think, and yet, I too am a little surprised at the number of people coming forward to talk about how Jeff's story touched them, personally. I've been through off/on battles with panic and depression for years. A few years back I went through an absolutely debilitating period of a panic disorder that I let go untreated until it was at the point that it had damn near destroyed me. It was about this time that I came back to Wilco's music after losing interest for a while--when YHF came out, I immediately zeroed into Radio Cure, not because it was my "favorite" song on the album, but it spoke most directly to where I was, and I sensed a kindred spirit. (I have a similar relationship with "Hell Is Chrome")

 

In recent weeks/months I have suffered my first significant recurrence of my general anxiety/panic in years. Upon reflection, I shouldn't be too surprised to see it rearing its head into my life again since, given certain circumstances in my life, I've been kind of running myself into the ground and not taking very good care of myself--so I've run into a number of ailments recently, both ones with physical roots and others that are products of the anxiety. And the bitch of it has been sorting out which is which. I'm a few years older and the symptoms of the anxiety manifest themselves in different ways and they react differently than they used to to treatment, so it can be pretty humbling to find yourself suddenly back at square one, freaked out and not knowing where to begin.

 

I'm not as anti-medication as some people you'll meet. I think it does have its place in treatment--if nothing else, it allows people to function in their daily lives (who otherwise maybe couldn't)--because who really has the luxury of dropping out of their lives and going to meditate on a mountaintop until they get their shit together? It buys time in which you can work on promoting healthier habits and working toward the goal of understanding your mind and body and eventually feeling confident in managing it without medication. That's always been my goal. I think as long as you understand that the meds themselves are not a cure (and can, themselves, have their own complications), they can be used effectively. I've been through it at least once before and was quite proud of myself when I reached that point where I was ready to "fly solo" off the meds and I did quite well for years (and expect to again, soon). Its just an ongoing learning process.

[John Smith]

I'm suggesting that Jeff didn't write anything, but that he had a spoken conversation with an editor,

 

I guess we have to disagree then as I see that this article in no way shape or form follows an interview/transcription format and is written, to my eyes only apparently, in the first person throughout its entirety. No obvious questions, no obvious answers all first person musings, as well as when you click the Jeff Tweedy Link on the original it lists Jeff Tweedy as the author. The byline alone should have been clue enough, but apparently I'll have to watch bylines more carefully from now on as it seems that in today's world the interviewee gets the byline. All of my simple observations are apparently wrong, I guess I grasped thhe obvious and it was obvious to me alone. Other than that it iis not really a point worth belaboring anymore. I learned something new today.

[konev1]

thanks poppy, for the crazymeds link!

It sounds like more people than I thought are aware of these issues, and are maybe brought closer to the music because of it. Maybe not so directly, but just knowing that one of the people responsible for the music I love has to deal with some of the same things I do is a bit of a comfort. I'm so grateful too that Jeff took such a positive path towards recovery and good health. I know its apples & oranges, but I remember how depressing it was when I heard about Elliott Smith, and as a fan looking up to him and his music, it was difficult to receive that news.

Many years of health and happiness to you Jeff!

 

ps. quarter, i just read your post, I really agree with a lot of your points. Especially the issue of meds, while I prefer natural treatments over medicating, sometimes its difficult to provide yourself with the necessary conditions for natural recovery. Especially if you have a high-stress lifestyle or lots of day to to day responsibility that follows you everywhere.

[Guest Jules]

I didn't suffer from migranes until reading this thread.

[gogo]

I guess we have to disagree then as I see that this article in no way shape or form follows an interview/transcription format and is written, to my eyes only apparently, in the first person throughout its entirety. No obvious questions, no obvious answers all first person musings, as well as when you click the Jeff Tweedy Link on the original it lists Jeff Tweedy as the author. The byline alone should have been clue enough, but apparently I'll have to watch bylines more carefully from now on as it seems that in today's world the interviewee gets the byline. All of my simple observations are apparently wrong, I guess I grasped thhe obvious and it was obvious to me alone. Other than that it iis not really a point worth belaboring anymore. I learned something new today.

I hate to even enter into this aspect of this conversation, but: I think currently, e-mail exchanges between interviewer/interviewee are also referred to "conversations". Which tends to put things in a half-way space between the subject writing the piece himself, and just speaking extemporaneously.

 

 

I'm not as anti-medication as some people you'll meet. I think it does have its place in treatment--if nothing else, it allows people to function in their daily lives (who otherwise maybe couldn't)--because who really has the luxury of dropping out of their lives and going to meditate on a mountaintop until they get their shit together? It buys time in which you can work on promoting healthier habits and working toward the goal of understanding your mind and body and eventually feeling confident in managing it without medication. That's always been my goal. I think as long as you understand that the meds themselves are not a cure (and can, themselves, have their own complications), they can be used effectively. I've been through it at least once before and was quite proud of myself when I reached that point where I was ready to "fly solo" off the meds and I did quite well for years (and expect to again, soon). Its just an ongoing learning process.

I think that's a great summation about how I feel about the use of meds, too.

[poppydawn]

All the editorial talk is giving me a panic attack.

 

Not to mention those who posted thoughtful responses here - I can honestly say I didn't realize anxiety/panic disorder and migraines were so common.

 

It's surprisingly common, but there's still some stigma that keeps a lot of people from talking about it. Anxiety and panic can make one feel crazy and stupid, so it's hard to come forward. There's also the cycle of fear - fear of coming forward about how much fear you feel.

 

Misdiagnosis is really common, too. The physical effects of panic and anxiety mimic so many other conditions. A lot of people wind up in the ER with panic attacks, thinking they're having a heart attack. That happened to me a few years ago, and recently happened to a good friend of mine.

 

 

In recent weeks/months I have suffered my first significant recurrence of my general anxiety/panic in years. Upon reflection, I shouldn't be too surprised to see it rearing its head into my life again since, given certain circumstances in my life, I've been kind of running myself into the ground and not taking very good care of myself--so I've run into a number of ailments recently, both ones with physical roots and others that are products of the anxiety. And the bitch of it has been sorting out which is which. I'm a few years older and the symptoms of the anxiety manifest themselves in different ways and they react differently than they used to to treatment, so it can be pretty humbling to find yourself suddenly back at square one, freaked out and not knowing where to begin.

 

I hope you're able to get back on track quickly. Relapses can be so scary and disappointing. Please take care of yourself.

 

I'm not as anti-medication as some people you'll meet. I think it does have its place in treatment--if nothing else, it allows people to function in their daily lives (who otherwise maybe couldn't)--because who really has the luxury of dropping out of their lives and going to meditate on a mountaintop until they get their shit together?

 

Exactly. I think it's also important to know if the panic and anxiety are based from external factors and learning techniques to cope with them, or if there is a chemical factor. In my case, there's a definite chemical link. I went through cognitive behavioral therapy to learn the coping techniques, and I'll probably be on medication (low doses of Prozac and Klonopin) until at least menopause since my conditions have been linked to a hormone imbalance. I'm really lucky to have a fantastic doctor who has been willing to find out why I have these problems, instead of simply writing a prescription and sending me on my way. That's what scares me - too many doctors are willing to treat the symptoms without digging deeper. Jeff's words about quack doctors ... too true. There are a lot of them, and when you're panicking, it's hard to take the time to find one who will provide proper treatment.

[W(TF)]

Ok.. since we're getting into group hug mode, I will share that I've been on Remeron for just over 3 yrs, and Effexor for almost 2.5 yrs, for depression and panic. I think I got a good diagnosis, and the meds have worked really well for me. Probably the biggest benefit is that I sleep like a baby on these happy pills. The psychiatrist I saw 3 yrs ago said start on Remeron, if necessary add Effexor later, and that's exactly how it played out. Except that he said I'd need them for a year, possibly two. It's been three, and I really would like to try going off the meds soon. I definitely have some s.a.d. symptoms too, so springtime seems logical as far as weaning...I just wasn't 'ready' last year or the year before. I think I am this year -- I've started a new role at work, it's my first really significant challenge in the last 4+ years, and I feel great about it. I'm going to be busy as hell this year, with some stress, but I am feeling as strong as I have in quite a long time. Still have my doubts about the meds tho...will it be back to the old insomnia, stress, can't concentrate, burnout, cycle as before.

 

Just wanted to share that. Btw, the only significant side effect I've had is the weight gain. I've put on 10-15 lbs., the carb cravings with remeron can be unreal (esp at night for me). Just as the crazymeds site noted.

[quarter23cd]

I'm really lucky to have a fantastic doctor who has been willing to find out why I have these problems, instead of simply writing a prescription and sending me on my way. That's what scares me - too many doctors are willing to treat the symptoms without digging deeper. Jeff's words about quack doctors ... too true. There are a lot of them, and when you're panicking, it's hard to take the time to find one who will provide proper treatment.

Yeah, when my symptoms popped up recently I was living in a new part of the country than where I had been during my last course of treatment and so I'm dealing with docs who are unfamiliar with my situation, but have been unwaveringly willing to give me whatever meds I ask for. (in my case, I'm trying to keep the meds to a minimum, so I just requested a low dose of Luvox and Klonopin, which is what I had been on previously and worked for me) But it was a weird feeling that I was basically writing my own prescription. I could have asked for something heavier and I bet they would have been happy to write the scrip.

[Edie]

to all sufferers!

 

I also found the comments in the blog interesting, as more than a few came from people who had no awareness of Wilco at all, but could strongly relate the problems that he faces and how he has gotten better.

 

Also, when I read the article, I hear it like Jeff is saying it out loud, so in my mind it is clearly transcripted conversations lightly edited.