My First Time...

[nwgeek]

The first time I bought a Wilco CD, it was "Being There". It was six years ago on my honeymoon in Yellowstone. I had heard the story of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and picked up "Being There" by mistake because I could not remember the title to YHF. We listened to it and a Towns Van Zandt CD as we drove around Yellowstone for a week. I quickly picked up the rest of catalog & explored Uncle Tupelo & Sun Volt as well.

 

The first time I heard Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I was intrigued and kept it in rotation for quite a while. It's funny to me that the songs I liked at first are not the ones I would pick as my favorites from the cd now. The ones I didn't like, I would now consider my favorites.

 

The first time I heard A Ghost is Born, I did not like it much at all. I shelved it and did not listen to it again for a long time. I heard Jeff doing Theologians solo and heard Muzzle of Bees on a TV show within a week of each other. I put the disc back on and gained a new appreciation for it.

 

The first time I heard Summerteeth I liked what I heard but did not truly listen closer to it until much later. Hearing the evolution of Via Chicago from the demo sessions to the CD to the live versions is a facinating listen.

 

The first time I heard Sky Blue Sky, I was hooked. I streamed it for a couple of weeks & pre-ordered it as soon as I could. It's been in rotation on my iPod since it's release. It is one of my favorite CD's of all time.

 

The first time I saw Wilco live, I realized I was seeing an amazing experience and smiled the whole time...

 

Care to share your first time?

[froggie]

> Care to share your first time?

 

i prefer not to say

 

 

but with wilco,

 

hearing about billy bragg and some american back-up band covering unrecorded guthrie tunes, i was curious because i'm a big Dylan fan. i loved the album. it was labelled as billy bragg's new album, and wilco were shoved off as his back-up band. BUT, california stars is what got played on radio. i loved it, and worked backwards. loved it all and moved forward as time went on. first live show was in Jan 2003 which was a 29-song monster show in a small venue. the rest is history.

[Doug C]

The first time I bought a wilco CD it was AM. I had been a Uncle tupelo fan since No Depression and was excited to hear what the band sounded like with basically Tweedy at the helm. I totally dug it and have loved every Wilco album and Tweedy project ever since.

 

The first time that I saw Wilco was the 22nd of July 1995 at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, FL. They opened for the Jayhawks. It was a fantastic show. I'd love to have a recording or at least have the set list. It isn't at wilcobase. Jannus is an outdoor courtyard and an excellent little venue. They played what we hoped to hear, including UT. Some great covers too. The Jayhawks were excellent. It was the Tomorrow the Green Grass tour. They rocked. My wife and I swear that they both played together but my buddy says no. Maybe we are confusing the 2nd Wilco show when they opened for Sheryl Crow in Sept. of 1997 (no recording or setlist either). Wilco and Crow/Crow band definitely ended the night with a smiling cover of No Matter What.

 

nwgeek and froggie's story are much better than mine. re: nwgeek smiling the whole time during a Wilco show. My wife and I do the same thing. (smile emoticon)

 

Important edit!! I forgot to mention that after the Jannus show, Will Quinlan, a local musical genius and Tupelo acolyte and his band, played a show inside the Jannus bar. Tweedy sang Screen door with Will. This was especially cool for me because hearing Will cover Screen Door during an acoustic set years prior is what caused me to pick up No Depression. I was blown by the song and asked a pal and Will friend what the name of that song was. He said, "It's a cover by this new band Uncle Tupelo. Will totally digs them". So I have Will to thank for starting me on my most fulfilling musical journey. Thank you again, Will.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

when i was in college, i bought YHF after reading a glowing review in Rolling Stone...this would have been in 2002. listened to a few tracks and only really liked "Heavy Metal Drummer." shelved it and didn't listen again for a long time. then, i remember being at a party with a good friend the summer of 2003 and he had a copy and i remember liking "Jesus, etc." then, in 2004, i got into them in a big way. no looking back since then. i've seen them live 3 times and Tweedy solo once and even met the man twice. funny, i really can't stand "Heavy Metal Drummer" now!

 

-justin

[lamradio]

Even though I saw Wilco at a Minor-League Baseball park in Greenville, SC in 1996, I didn't become a huge fan until about three years ago. I mostly listened to random songs from all of their albums at first. I think the first song that really caught my ear was "Passenger Side". The first full CD I bought was YHF. Then Summerteeth shortly after, then AM, then AGIB, Being there.. I was sort of listening to all of them at the same time. To this day I don't know why I wasn't hooked after seeing them in 96 (they were amazing, and blew all of the other bands off of the stage).. But again, I am a relatively new hardcore Wilco fan.

[HungryHippo]

when i was in college, i bought YHF after reading a glowing review in Rolling Stone...this would have been in 2002. listened to a few tracks and only really liked "Heavy Metal Drummer." shelved it and didn't listen again for a long time. then, i remember being at a party with a good friend the summer of 2003 and he had a copy and i remember liking "Jesus, etc." then, in 2004, i got into them in a big way. no looking back since then. i've seen them live 3 times and Tweedy solo once and even met the man twice. funny, i really can't stand "Heavy Metal Drummer" now!

 

-justin

same here! I was 17 at the time I read that review during the summer of '02. right after I put that RS issue down, I was downloading IATTBYH. I didn't really get into them that much until I picked up Adult Head at a local book store in '04 and seeing them live like a month later. it was then that everything fell into place.

 

ps: anyone know where I can find that Rolling Stone review of YHF? all I know is that it came out around the summer of '02...

[aricandover]

ps: anyone know where I can find that Rolling Stone review of YHF? all I know is that it came out around the summer of '02...

 

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/...keehotelfoxtrot

[mfwahl]

I heard "Summer Teeth" on a college radio station. I picked up Summerteerh, liked it and have been paying attention since.

[Moe_Syzlak]

I had heard (and had friends that were big fans) of UT going back to college in the early '90s, but they never grabbed me. One friend, in particular, kept trying to turn me on to UT, then Son Volt/Farrar and Wilco, but despite appreciating the solid songwriting, it never much interested me. There was just too much out there that I perceived as fresher/more innovative to occupy my listening time. It wasn't until I heard YHF (yeah, I'm one of them) that I became a fan. This was something different than I had heard before. Something that challenged my ear and struck a chord with my soul.

[mpolak21]

I saw them on Austin City Limits in 2002, it was the 1999 show on repeat. I liked Christ for President a lot and so I picked up Summerteeth from the library a few days later. I listened to that record nonstop for about two weeks and then found out about YHF and got that in May of 2002 and the rest as they say is history. I picked up the Mermaid Discs in 2003-2004 and bought Being There a few days before I graduated from high school in 2004. I got A Ghost is Born the day it came out.

 

First reactions on the albums

 

AM: I got this after I already had Being There, Summerteeth, YHF, and AGIB, and thus was a little underwhelmed with it compared to the other albums. It has some good songs on it though and it's a fun little record.

 

Being There: Loved this one on first listen. Misunderstood seemed so perfect when I first heard it. Every song on it seemed to work.

 

Summerteeth: I only really liked Can't Stand It at first, the darker lyrics kind of put me off, but I really grew to love the album.

 

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: I have probably told this story a million times... When, I first got it I spent the first night just listening to I am Trying To Break Your Heart. I was almost scared of listening to the rest of the album because I thought there was no way it'd be that good, thankfully I turned off the repeat button. I thought this one was perfect on the first listen.

 

A Ghost is Born: This one really floored on me on the first listen as well. It was stranger and not as easily accessible as YHF, but the songs were there. My appreciation grew even more for it over time.

 

Sky Blue Sky: I liked it on first listen, but after repeated listens my fondness for it as a whole kind of dimmed. I don't think I've been compelled to listen it to the entire way through for about a year, and I only do, when I'm participating in a discussion about it here and want to make sure my feelings are similar.

 

I saw them live for the first time in Pittsburgh June of 2003, great show, great setlist, and a fun era of the band.

 

--Mike

[standenup]

my cousin is really into wilco and i saw them on his ipod and i guess they're name interested me so i played hummingbird and liked it..which was like 2 years ago..then downloaded some random songs and just got into them from there and now have their complete discography, BAitUSA and some tweedy stuff, and i can't get enough. Frist time i saw them was earlier this february, cause they took forever to come back to philly

[uncool2pillow]

I read or heard about the UT split up and formation of Wilco and SV. At that point, I'd heard of UT, but didn't know much about them. The Jayhawks were the only altcountry band I followed. I bought both AM and Trace. Liked 'em both fairly equally. Then I bought Being There and had one of those transcendent experiences. Didn't get to see them live until 2003. Huge fan ever since, esp. after being luck enough to see the 2nd residency show this year. That's when I started paying attention to VC.

[SarahC]

I was 13, and my history teacher had some Wilco CD's that he would play us in class. I liked the record cover of AM so he let me borrow that, Being There, Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne and Son Volt's Straight Ways.

 

I spent that weekend (it was a Friday in March), making tapes of the CD's and then for my 14th birthday my mom bought me all those CDs plus Summerteeth.

 

I heard YHF for the first time in the winter of 02 via a nice person on the postcard list, and i remember loving Jesus Etc at first because the "fiddle" sound was so different. This was before my major calssical training. Bought the record the day it came out and loved the cover art.

 

I got AGIB early via here, I think it was sometime early Sping 04 because it was still a bit cold out. "Spiders" and "ALTWYS" blew me away!

 

SBS was earlier than street date too because of here, even though I tried to hold out til the 15th of May. I remember listening to it with my then-boyfriend for the 1st time. Some songs on there are hard to listen to because of him.

 

I think that's it.

 

1st live show was 10/14/05 and it is and was one of the best nights of my life.

[Doug C]

SarahC,

I was at that 0ct. '05 Asheville show. It remains one of my favorites out of many. What a set. I'll never forget Tweedy saying, "I'd like to say hello to Sarah C. I'm glad that you finally made it to a Wilco show" (or something like that) and thinking that's pretty cool. I wonder who she is.

 

I am a high school teacher and have also turned a few students on to Wilco. Thank you for sharing a cool story and solving a mystery.

[uncool2pillow]

I was 13, and my history teacher had some Wilco CD's that he would play us in class. I liked the record cover of AM so he let me borrow that,

Wow! A cool teacher. I would never loan a CD to a student. Also, I wouldn't want a parent hearing "Passenger Side" then asking, "Where'd you get that CD?"

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I stumble across AM in a Best Buy Store shortly after it came out. They had it priced at a ridiculously low price (promotional item) and I snapped it up.

 

I had heard of Uncle Tupelo but had never checked them out.

 

I became a Wilco fanatic shortly after I the first listen. Been on the train ever since.

 

Took my then 13-year old to see Wilco last year about this time.

[theashtraysays]

YHF started making a few of the "best of this year" lists in late 2002. I saw it and decided to give it a try. I bought it at a Wal-Mart in Austin, TX on a business trip. Funny how you remember these things... I listened to it on the plane ride home on a portable CD player (pre-mp3 for me), and I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever heard from the first listen to IATTBYH all the way through the outro of Reservations. I saw them live for the first time in 05 at the end of the AGIB tour. 6 of the last 7 concerts I've been to have been Wilco...

[HungryHippo]

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/...keehotelfoxtrot

thanks!

[junkiesmile]

Right after Being There came out a friend of mine suggested I pick up a copy. I bought it, listened to it and thought it was just okay. I was heavy into Pearl Jam at the time and thought the music was lacking in ripping guitar solos. When Summerteeth came out I was blown away. I was trying out for an alt country band at the time and they asked me if I liked Wilco. I said yes, Being There was alright but Summerteeth was awesome. I remember them saying they hated Summerteeth and were disappointed by the direction the band was taking. Needless to say I didn't fit in with that group. I started my own band. After that it was all things Jeff Tweedy. I bought all of the UT stuff and that led me to SonVolt. My band took on what I like to think was a Wilco/UT/SonVolt/Steve Earleish sound (I wish). Anyway I love everything Tweedy has ever done but in retrospect I would have to choose Being There as my favorite. I go back to it more than any of the others.

 

An interesting footnote to this story is that the friend who introduced me to Wilco lost interest after Summerteeth. When YHF came out he was going through a "I'm to cool to listen to critically acclaimed albums" phase. He said to me, " That album is so overrated, Jeff Tweedy could record himself taking a sh*t in somebody's front lawn and people would fawn all over it". His words not mine.

[froggie]

"I'm to cool to listen to critically acclaimed albums" phase. He said to me, " That album is so overrated, Jeff Tweedy could record himself taking a sh*t in somebody's front lawn and people would fawn all over it"

 

 

 

 

 

oi, dont touch that shit... it came from jeff

[damo]

my first time was ...my dad read a review of yhf and went and bought it while i went and bought an album by nofx and on the way home we listend to wilco and then i stole hte cd from the car and dad hasnt listend to it since then...probably a year or so latter i found AM and summerteeth in a 10 dollar bin at a cd store and dindt know which came first but i just grabbed summerteeth and then the rest is history, all i can say is thank you dad

[conezone1963]

hi guys. first post.. ive been lurking for a while though.

i guess this is an appropriate topic to write my first post on.

i was wayyyyy late to find wilco. though, to be fair, i was about 6 or 7 when AM came out. i first heard wilco when they did "theologians" on conan. i remember conan said "these guys, for my money, are making the best music out there right now".. and being the conan freak that i was/am i decided pay a little extra attention. i'm so glad i did. i loved mike on that song... i loved the lyrics... so i went online and started looking around. i found the first concert they did for NPR from the 9:30 club and i was HOOKED. that was it. i remember becoming obsessed with the performances of jesus, etc., poor places, reservations, hummingbird, misunderstood, and shot in the arm. i saved the concert and played it non stop until my computer crashed and lost it a year later haha. (P.S. if anyone still has this i would owe them LIFE if they got it back to me).

i wanted to hear their studio work though... in the beginning i downloaded much of a ghost is born and became infatuated with ALTWYS, hell is chrome, the late greats, etc. at this time my friend who was going through a really obnoxious indie snob phase told me that she hated AGIB because it was "so mainstream". so this made me get more curious about wilco, out of passive aggressive rebellion, i guess.

seeing my obsession, a friend of mine bought me A.M. and though i wasnt into so called "alt-country" sound back then.. i loved the album. i must be high sounded so familiar. i was convinced i'd heard it before; and dash 7 was just one of the most beautiful things i'd heard. passenger side, too far apart, all those songs were intense for me to listen to. i went back to my journal recently and found that when i FIRST listened to wilco i wrote in there "i don't know who these guys are but i feel they're going to be a huge part of my life". so cool.

i quickly moved on to YHF though... and that's the album that sealed the deal for me. i know it's not the coolest thing to get into wilco because of yhf, haha, but i just connected with it so much. ashes of american flags literally hurt. and i came to find that 90% of the songs that i was obsessed with from the NPR concert were yhf tracks. i got being there next and it became my second favorite album of theirs, then summerteeth... and by the time kicking television and sky blue sky came out i got them on their release date.

since then it's been full on obsession. i thought i couldnt get as obsessed with another band as i was with the beatles, and wilco proved me wrong. i got all the documentaries, the books, the loose fur albums, the solo stuff, you guys know the drill. got really into jeff's and glenn's other projects especially.

finally, after 4 years of waiting, i saw wilco exactly a month ago today and got to meet all the guys! and im still not over it. i got to tell glenn that i loved mobile and he kinda flipped out. it was awesome. jeff signed adult head for me while wearing a bob dylan/george harrison tshirt: it felt like a dream. i wasted my entire zune battery the other day listening to spiders (kidsmoke) on repeat for 2 or 3 days just to somewhat relive the concert. and "it's just that simple" may now be my favortite AM cut.

one cool thing about that concert (among way too many) was that my best friend came along just to tag along and walked out a HUGE wilco fan. she's going down the rabbit hole, too.

i'm really downplaying my excitement telling this story so as not to sound as fangirly... but i'm not sure it worked. haha

[Sparky speaks]

The first time I listened to Wilco was right after AM came out.....The family was taking a vacation trip to Atlanta to visit friends and relatives and I listened to it several times in the car on the way down and home from Connecticut....Loved it.....Also bought a couple of Uncle Tupelo CDs in South Carolina on that trip as well......That AM CD brings back fine memories whenever I listen to it.....

[Beltmann]

Wow! A cool teacher. I would never loan a CD to a student.

I loan CDs to students all the time. I almost always have music playing in the classroom, and teenagers will always ask about something that appeals to their ears. Just this last week I've had great conversations about Wilco, Voxtrot, and Beulah. Perhaps the coolest thing is when, years after students graduate, I run into them at concerts by artists that they first discovered in my room. That's happened with Wilco, M. Ward, Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, The National, Jenny Lewis... I could go on and on.

[Luna Moona]

My friend has always been into Wilco. I absolutely hated them at first. He had me me listen to a few songs, and I just couldn't stand them. I think I was given aGiB for my birthday two years ago, and I was going to shitcan it, but I decided to listen to it before hand. I fell in love with it and listened to it intimately. I slowly got into everything else they put out, and enjoyed them more and more, especially with the current lineup. I saw Jeff solo and absolutely loved the band afterwards and only recently saw them live. I adore Kicking Television and Sky Blue Sky. A Ghost Is Born is still my favorite album of their's, and probably always will be. YHF is somewhat low on my list, really.