Music Is My Savior.....14 Years w/Wilco

Posted by Campbell at Friday, February 22, 2008

It all started back in December of 1994. I'd recently discovered the band Uncle Tupelo and my love for music inflated ten-fold. I'd heard that after the split, UT co-founder Jeff Tweedy had quickly gathered up most of Tupelo and formed the band Wilco. I was a junior in college at the time and the Boston Phoenix reveled that Wilco were playing at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA. Although it was during finals, I had to go. I hopped into the Mazda on a freezing-cold Boston night and drove about 40 minutes to Somerville.

This is where it really all began. Music became my life. When Jeff Tweedy walked onstage for the encore and slowly strummed into "Gun", I literally felt like my life was changing before my eyes. Forget changing, it felt as if my life was *starting*. There was something about this music that hit me right at the core. It felt like home. It felt like life. It felt like poetry. It felt like everything I'd ever wanted out of life.

It's now almost 14 years later and Wilco remains my favorite band. I buy about 50-75 new records each year, yet Wilco still remains atop the fold. I've been somewhat disappointed in their last few records, yet, as a whole, no band compares. There's been a number of bands/acts to really hit home, namely Centro-matic, Josh Ritter, Josh Rouse and Slobberbone, yet none has dug as deep as Wilco.

Tonight I arrived home just in time to catch Wilco on Austin City Limits. After about ten minutes of watching, I became restless. I reached for the remote and then caught myself. Have I actually become bored with Wilco? Has the time finally come? I was enjoying the songs, but the passion and earnestness that's drawn me to Wilco seems to have evaporated a bit. This appeared to be a band going through the motions.

Bruce Springsteen was my true introduction to music. Then came Wilco and music became my life. I'm just not sure that they elicit that feeling anymore. And honestly, that is heartbreaking, especially since no one's taken their place. Hopefully it's just a phase. Fourteen years still seems too short.