Have you ever had one of those musical breakthroughs whe you finally get into an artist? It’s like when you’re young and everyone talks about how great Dylan and The Beatles are but it just doesn’t jive with you. And then on your 20th time trying to make it through The White Album there’s a snap, and suddenly Bungalow Bill is on repeat for a week.
Today I had that moment with Wilco. Having been labeled an indie nut (well, an indieb0i to be specific), it’s somewhat surprising that I’ve never really been into the alt-country darlings that seem to top almost every hipster and wannabe hipster’s playlist. Sure, Summerteeth had a spot in my collection, but it’s been years since I’ve given it a real listen. They remained a band that I had only casual interest in - pleasant enough, but nothing to queue up with intent.
But today that changed. For some reason when I started up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I was captivated from the first track. So A Ghost Is Born quickly followed (a tad overindulgent, but still pretty good) and then onto Sky Blue Sky (low key, but still engaging). Why did I not hear this before? Great Americana-influenced, modern music - that’s right up my alley.
Sometimes missing out on the “next big thing” can be disappointing. There are no shared stories of looking forward to any of these classic releases or heading out to see Tweedy perform live. Nevertheless, the music is the most important part. And even if it takes you 20 years to finally “get” a band or an album or even just a song, it’s still worth it in the end. Because you’re still left with even more great music to get you through the day.
If you paid attention to my listening stats over the past few weeks, you would have noticed a couple artists staking a claim in the weekly top 10. One of those would be the absolutely delightful