At earlier times in Wilco’s long-spanning, impressive career, you might have thought Jeff Tweedy would have some sparring words to dish back at the Wilco Internet haters of the world. But now, he’s the ringleader of a band who called their last album Wilco (The Album) and makes jokes and smiles and stuff. Weird, huh?

Anyway, The A.V. Club gave Tweedy an open forum to respond to some hand-selected comments on the band, and he comes across as basically a pretty chill, but sage dude that’d be just dandy to grab a beer with. His response to a dude that called them “MOR dad rock” that’s not threatening in any fashion might serve as the highlight.

Tweedy: Well, the goal of all art is to be threatening in some fashion. [Laughs.] Obviously we’ve threatened this guy’s view of whatever it is he’s supposed to allow himself to like. If that’s not threatening, I don’t know what is, because he’s obviously being challenged. People really think narrowly when it comes to those types of challenges, and the idea that something has to be aggressive or avant grade, or atonal, even, to be a challenge. I’ve found it to be the exact opposite. We literally put 15 minutes of noise on a record that did not raise an eyebrow, but if you make a pop song with Feist on it, people are going to cry like the sky’s falling. It’s really going to hurt somebody. Our goal is to make some shit that we fucking like to play and feel good about, with the knowledge that that doesn’t hurt anybody. You’re basically doing something that you love to do, and you’re not really hurting anybody.

(Via: A.V. Club)

Though I’ve been a Meet the Press kind of guy since three or four, there’s always been something alluring about CBS’ Sunday Morning strangely relaxed vibe. Everything and everyone sounds like drinking chamomile tea feels. Wilco’s grizzled frontdude Jeff Tweedy was the centerpiece of an especially well-done feature on the aging/nascent band over the weekend, CBS even capturing a father-son jam session at Tweedy’s home in suburban Chicago. Watch the above video, get jealous.

Jay Bennett, the former guitarist and sound engineer for Wilco, passed away on May 24 at the age of 45. The latest reports are attributing his death to an accidental overdose on the drug fentanyl, usually prescribed to treat chronic pain. He was declared dead after being found in an unresponsive state in his home in Urbana, Illinois. Bennett worked with Wilco from 1994 to 2001, and had recently sued lead singer Jeff Tweedy for royalties from his contributions to the band. (via Billboard)

This week started off with the very sad news that ex-Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett passed away in the very early hours of Monday morning. Though still no cause of death has been identified, his family has issued their statement via his mailing list. Hoping to clear up some potential rumors and end things on a high note, they sent out a mass e-mail yesterday [May 27] morning.
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It was only three weeks ago we reported Jay Bennett’s claim against his former bandmates in Wilco for breach of contract and unpaid artist’s royalties. Now those claims and any disputes between him and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy seem like a distant and irrelevant side note in the story of Bennett’s life. Jay Bennett passed away Sunday morning in Urbana, Illinois. He was 45 years old.
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