Longish interview with JT in The Quietus

[Albert Tatlock]

http://thequietus.com/articles/16312-jeff-tweedy-wilco-interview

 

Some more interesting discussion on the songwriting process.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

 

 

Has making the solo record changed your relationship to Wilco?

JT: No, I don't know if it's changed my relationship, it's definitely inspired, it's done what it's supposed to do, it's done what I think everyone else's projects outside of Wilco do for them. That is, I feel more energised, I feel more inspired and eager to find some new territory for Wilco and just bring some new energy to it. That's the goal.

I like the new record and all, and would love to catch the TWEEDY band, but this might just be the best news I've read all day. I confess, I was a little worried.

[SarahC]

All these interviews are great! 

[Albert Tatlock]

Perhaps a bit more here:-

 

"Jeff And Spencer Tweedy On Making Songs Together"

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/25/349038144/jeff-and-spencer-tweedy-on-making-songs-together

 

"Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approximately 9:00 a.m. ET." - so I haven't listedn yet.

 

Back to the general issue of the songwriting process.

 

Whilst I find it very interesting, and am not complaining about the results, there is something I find a bit unsettling about all the discussion of word excersises, fitting words to sounds, etc. I can't believe it's happening for anything but a minority of the songs, as many conform to what I would consider a more typical lyrical structure and I cannot imagine them being written in a 'random' fashion - e.g. Wait For Love?. It's all still art, but seems to me to be like comparing Pollock versus an Impressionist - I can appreciate the former but there's still the belief that I could have done it myself which takes away the awe and a degree of appreciation - whereas I could never have matched the latter. If it's a way to keep the creative juices flowing after 30 years then the results justify the means, and perhaps there is a large amount of honing of the initial songs that I think JT has alluded to. There's always the wonderful melodies of course and I hope JT continues to talk about the whole process - I don't want to keep thinking that there's a room full of monkeys with typewriters in a house in Chicago.

 

That may sound damning, but I love the album. Just sharing some subconscious thoughts for discussion.

[lost highway]

I think it has more intention than you might think.  This kind of process usually goes through a couple stages, first smashing language together in different ways, and second looking over the big mess and selecting pieces that work towards your purpose/ linking them together etc.