Reading how Jeff Tweedy listens is an interesting experience. Tweedy, of Wilco and other solo projects, is a thoughtful musician and music listener, and this book collection of small essays and observations, along with some reflections of his life as a musician, allows Tweedy’s mind to roam.
I appreciated learning about some bands I didn’t know about, and about Tweedy’s obsessiveness with music — sometimes, the more obscure, the better — as a kid who always felt a little out of place in his social circles because of that obsessiveness (which paid off as a musician leading bands like Wilco, and co-leading bands like Uncle Tupelo).
What comes through in a folksy but clearly authentic writing voice here in World Within A Song is Tweedy’s deep love and appreciation for the music of other artists, and how his own listening experiences shaped his life. I appreciated the stories, the observations, and even in places where I might have disagreed with him, I found myself, as a reader, almost in conversation with him.
And any book that celebrates all kinds of music, and provides some funny anecdotes about the world of a quirky rock band, is going to be OK with me.
Peace (and Sound),
Kevin