I have been thinking about this for a long time...it makes me crazy, but I
am gonna have to go with Jeff Tweedy on this one. 1/2 of the genius
behind Uncle Tupelo, prolific songwriter throughout the decade, I cant
think of a song I dont like...even the hokey ones are at the very least
clever and not forced, Wilco has evolved into one hell of a rock band.
Going from a pop-tinged Uncle Tupelo sound to this new direction of what I
would call post-pop. I hate to genre-ize, but with Beck, Joe Henry and
Wilco doing what they are doing, essentially taking folk/dark pop and
fusing it with electronics and adding an edge without becoming a cartoon
or a novelty, Wilco stands to be as much of an influence to this sound as
UT was to alt.country and that has a whole lot to do with Jeff Tweedy.
Outside of Wilco, Jeff has been outstanding as a member of Golden Smog as
a songwriter (Radio King being one of the finest songs he has written) and
as a performer. His solo shows are something that is more religious than
relatable to music, his catalog of songs cant really be matched through
the 90's and his quest to re-invent, discover and alter the norm are
unpresidented in this decade. Most importantly, I think people understate
the brilliance of Mermaid Avenue. Wilco and Billy Bragg put music to
Woody Guthrie's lyrics (just to have this idea and the balls to attempt
such an endeavor is worth noting) and did it so perfectly and so right
that the timeless lyrics became timeless songs.
Jeff hasnt sold a million records, he hasnt created "alternative music"
(which I think people give too much credit to Cobain for doing...I'll take
early Soundgarden over Nirvana any day for my grunge fix), he hasnt been
a glamorous heroin addict media whore, he hasnt dabbled in fads or the
quick radio friendly buck, and most importantly, he hasnt sold out.
I really cant think of who, in any genre, has really been as creative and
original, prolific, and of such high quality musically and socially as
Jeff Tweedy over the last 10 years.
Alex " I apologize about the choppiness of this diatribe as I am writing
it in unix mail and I didnt outline my thoughts well before I started
writing...If you all would like, I could do about 2 pages on each aspect
of Jeff's musical career as I have seen it and more reasons why he is the
artist of the decade, from UT through Summer Teeth...I will save you from
this thankfully, but will address all challenges if so requested" Millar
