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| From | shawn campbell <thursdayinjune@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: Wilco & 9/11 (was An Audacious Challenge) |
| Date | Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:32:25 -0700 (PDT) |
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Interesting comment from Dan about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and its connection to 9/11. When the controversy was raging over Reprise dropping the band, I was producing the music talk show 'Sound Opinions' (then a two-hour live local show on WXRT in Chicago, now a one-hour taped public radio show distributed by American Public Media). We'd booked Wilco to come in to play live and talk about the record, which they'd started streaming on their own website. The session happened to be September 18, 2001, a week after 9/11. It was really spooky and affecting to hear them play tracks that seemed so relevant like 'Jesus Etc.' and 'Ashes of American Flags' in that environment. The interview portion of the show was extremely subdued as you would expect (Wilco interviews in the best of circumstances aren't particularly lively affairs), but the performances were great - intimate and somehow comforting, even as the lyrics were weirdly prescient.
I had a similar experience just a day or two after 9/11 when PJ Harvey played the Riv in support of Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. That record is so heavy with New York references, and particularly with the duet with Thom Yorke, 'This Mess We're In' ("the helicopters are in New York...I don't think that we'll meet again...") also really spooky, but also very cathartic. I remember her saying they'd considered canceling the show, but decided the best thing they could do for people was continue the tour.
--Shawn
>
> When "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" came out, I was living in a
> suburb of Chicago near O'Hare. I know the album was written
> & recorded before 9/11, but the songs have tons of
> creepy foreshadowing. From the obvious "Ashes of American
> Flags" and "War On War" to "Jesus, Etc."
>
> "Tall buildings shake
> Voices escape singing sad sad songs
> tuned to chords
> Strung down your cheeks
> Bitter melodies turning your orbit around
>
> Voices whine
> Skyscrapers are scraping together
> Your voice is smoking
> Last cigarettes are all you can get
> Turning your orbit around"
>
> Standing outside of work with the empty sky from the planes
> being grounded at O'Hare was extremely weird. The silence
> was a constant reminder of what was happening - Not that
> there weren't thousands of other reminders everyday. That
> album really pulled me through.
>
> The album also has a similar vibe as "Soft Bulletin" -
> love, humanity, compassion, & hope.
>
> "Oh I`ve got reservations
> about so many things
> but not about you"
>
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