Brian F. Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 It was thirty years ago today that Wilco released A.M. My first exposure to Wilco would have been on April 13, 1995. Tuning in to CNN's Showbiz Today to see its weekly Thursday reveal of the new top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 while home from college on Easter break, I saw a feature on that year's South by Southwest festival. There was a montage of artists performing that included a 15-to-30-second clip of Wilco doing something from A.M., presumably, and I was instantly hooked. When I got back to school, I asked the Music Director for the college radio station (where I was a DJ and eventually the Programming Director) if we had received the Wilco CD from the record company. He said we had but that he hadn't had a chance to check it out yet. He asked me if I wanted to listen to it and report back. I gladly agreed, took it home and completely fell in love with it. We put it into rotation (which encompassed about 150 albums at any given time), and then I proceeded to call just about every show to request songs from it. It was like payola without getting paid (and also with a vanishingly small audience as our signal strength was minimal at WCHC 88.1, Worcester's Only Alternative Source). So happy anniversary, A.M. You were my gateway drug to Wilco. Without my serendipitous discovery of you, I doubt I would have ever gotten to know the band or to have devoted as much time (and money) to it as I have for the past 30 years. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Happy anniversary! For some reason I worked backwards to A.M. I was into Uncle Tupelo, but missed this and wasn't turned on to Wilco until Being There came out. I'm going to give this a listen today, still love it to death. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Boss_Tweedy Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 I was doing a semester abroad in London 30 years ago, and I'd been unaware of Uncle Tupelo. I returned home in May of '95, and about a week later I started summer school. While moving into my dorm room I set up my TV first for background noise. I tuned into MTV and heard "Box Full of Letters." I've been a fan ever since. Happy 30th, A.M.! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian F. Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 18 hours ago, Boss_Tweedy said: I was doing a semester abroad in London 30 years ago, and I'd been unaware of Uncle Tupelo. I returned home in May of '95, and about a week later I started summer school. While moving into my dorm room I set up my TV first for background noise. I tuned into MTV and heard "Box Full of Letters." I've been a fan ever since. Happy 30th, A.M.! I'm guessing this must have been on 120 Minutes? The only time I ever saw Wilco on MTV was when they premiered the video for "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" on 120 Minutes. I still can't believe someone talked Jeff into skydiving. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Boss_Tweedy Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 1 hour ago, Brian F. said: I'm guessing this must have been on 120 Minutes? The only time I ever saw Wilco on MTV was when they premiered the video for "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" on 120 Minutes. I still can't believe someone talked Jeff into skydiving. Actually it was during the middle of the day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian F. Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 Really? Wow! I had no idea. I wonder how many times they played it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 What a time that was - The Derailers, Old 97's, Blue Mountain, The Jayhawks, Whiskeytown, Hazeldine, The Bottle Rockets, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, etc. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ViaNewOrleans Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 My favorite A.M. moment was seeing Beavis and Butthead watch the Box Full of Letters video and go on about how cool it was. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chez Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 My initial reaction to hearing A.M. (at the time WXRT played both "Casino Queen" and "Box Full of Letters" regularly) was that it was quite good, but not nearly as great as Son Volt's Trace or The Jayhawks' Hollywood Town Hall. Being There is what hooked me for life. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian F. Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 On 4/1/2025 at 9:20 AM, Chez said: My initial reaction to hearing A.M. (at the time WXRT played both "Casino Queen" and "Box Full of Letters" regularly) was that it was quite good, but not nearly as great as Son Volt's Trace or The Jayhawks' Hollywood Town Hall. Being There is what hooked me for life. I remember that being the prevailing opinion-- that Trace was superior-- although I was an adamant dissenter. I tried to turn a lot of my indie-rock-loving friends on to A.M., but only one-- the aforementioned Music Director of the radio station-- agreed with me. He declared it "rad." Everyone else dismissed it as country music. It wasn't until Being There that the scales fell from their eyes. I still remember listening to the CD of Being There when it came out, and my roommate (who had been one of the dismissers) hearing "Misunderstood" and saying, "What's that?" When I said Wilco, he couldn't believe it. He came to the next Wilco show with me and was blown away. I really wanted to say "I told you so," but I was just happy to add another convert. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 When I got into Wilco, I remember for a lot of people my age, AM wasn't cool. It was "country" and country music was the enemy. This was in the early 00s when country music was "I love America" and rock music was anti-Bush/war. At least that's how us youths viewed it. I recall talking to other teens who liked Wilco (this is the YHF -> AGIB era) and they would always specify "but not the early country stuff". I always secretly liked it though. I'm glad the kids today can listen to MJ Lenderman get as twangy as he wants without judgement. I still think AM is a solid album with a few clunkers. In hindsight including some of John's compositions in place of I Thought of Held You and That's Not The Issue might have made a stronger record. Those I'll Provide and Myrna Lee are good songs. I get the thought that Myrna Lee didn't exactly fit the vibe, but I would argue if you took Dash 7 on its own, it wouldn't fit the vibe either. Listen to Those I'll Provide and then Passenger Side, they sound great together. It's an album with a lot of charm. It's a ton of fun when the band pulls out these songs live, and with Pat doing his country guitars I think the songs sound better than on record. The end sequence of Passenger Side -> Dash 7 -> Blue Eyed Soul -> Too Far Apart is a great run of tracks and stronger than anything on Trace, IMHO. But I've never really been a Son Volt fan so, sue me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 AM was the first Wilco record I heard, though admittedly it wasn't until 2001. I was in eighth grade and very vividly remember begging the band teacher Ms. Brown to let me use the CD player in the band room to listen to the majority of it (having been lent AM, Being There, Anodyne, Trace and Straightaways from another teacher) during "home room". She let me play it super loud too, and didn't even flinch at the lyrical content of "Passenger Side" being played at school. I spent the rest of the afternoon when I got to my grandparent's making tapes of the CD's off my uncle's old silver stereo in the back room. Then I wore those the tapes out over and over until I got my own copies of the CD's for my birthday a month or two later. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 On 4/2/2025 at 12:49 PM, Brian F. said: I remember that being the prevailing opinion-- that Trace was superior-- although I was an adamant dissenter. I tried to turn a lot of my indie-rock-loving friends on to A.M., but only one-- the aforementioned Music Director of the radio station-- agreed with me. He declared it "rad." Everyone else dismissed it as country music. It wasn't until Being There that the scales fell from their eyes. I still remember listening to the CD of Being There when it came out, and my roommate (who had been one of the dismissers) hearing "Misunderstood" and saying, "What's that?" When I said Wilco, he couldn't believe it. He came to the next Wilco show with me and was blown away. I really wanted to say "I told you so," but I was just happy to add another convert. I liked A.M. more, but I think Windfall and Drown were the two best songs from either album. The rest of Trace is good, but those tracks are great. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chez Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 On 4/4/2025 at 7:47 AM, uncool2pillow said: I liked A.M. more, but I think Windfall and Drown were the two best songs from either album. The rest of Trace is good, but those tracks are great. "Route"? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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