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228 reviews for:
Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc.
Jeff Tweedy
4.38 AVERAGE
228 reviews for:
Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc.
Jeff Tweedy
4.38 AVERAGE
I like to believe most people's natural state is to be creative. It definitely was when we were kids, when being spontaneously and joyfully creative was just our default setting.
As we grow, we learn to evaluate and judge, to navigate the world with some discretion, and then we turn on ourselves – creating can't just be for the sake of creating anymore. It has to be good, or it has to mean something. We get scared out of our wits by the possibility of someone rejecting our creation.
It bugs me that we get this way. It bugs me a lot. I think just making stuff is important. It doesn't have to be art. Making something out of your imagination, that wasn't there before you thought it up and plopped it out in your notebook or your tape recorder, puts you squarely on the side of creation. You're closer to god, or at least to the concept of a creator.
A moving, funny and enlightening biography from one of my favourite artists, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. Very much "warts and all", Tweedy recalls the foundations of his career in music and the bumps, pitfalls and some self-inflicted challenges along the way.
There is also a surprising amount of solid and practical advice for anyone exploring their creative urges.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
There is also a surprising amount of solid and practical advice for anyone exploring their creative urges.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I read this so quickly! I really enjoyed the anecdotes and background of J-Tweeds. He did a great job.
I really enjoyed this big-hearted book. Jeff Tweedy is quirky and generous, and he is a huge part of the Chicago music scene. He is humble about his problems with prescription pain-killers, and his exploration of suffering, when he initially wants to discount his own problems after listening to other people's, is very wise. A much abused fellow addict tells him to honor his own struggles, not compare them to anyone else's: "Yours ain't about mine, and mine ain't about yours." That validation that pain is pain, regardless of its origin or severity, is part of the wisdom Tweedy shares as he narrates his life.
He leavens his chapters with interviews with family members talking about how they see his writing process. It's pretty funny, and he shows us how wonderful his kids, Spencer and Sammy, are. In fact, even people with whom he had infamous feuds come off well. He is forthright about the work involved in any so-called creative endeavor, noting that inspiration favors those who already have their tools out. About being a musician, he writes, "As long as it's something that makes you feel better and you wake up every morning wanting to get back to the studio to make something else, then there's not much anyone can do to fucking ruin it. You can find an audience. You can take your time. You can find your voice. You can find new ways to express yourself. You can explore it. You can get better at it. If you keep it close, no one can take that fro you. It exists. The beautiful part has existed and it will continue to exist."
He leavens his chapters with interviews with family members talking about how they see his writing process. It's pretty funny, and he shows us how wonderful his kids, Spencer and Sammy, are. In fact, even people with whom he had infamous feuds come off well. He is forthright about the work involved in any so-called creative endeavor, noting that inspiration favors those who already have their tools out. About being a musician, he writes, "As long as it's something that makes you feel better and you wake up every morning wanting to get back to the studio to make something else, then there's not much anyone can do to fucking ruin it. You can find an audience. You can take your time. You can find your voice. You can find new ways to express yourself. You can explore it. You can get better at it. If you keep it close, no one can take that fro you. It exists. The beautiful part has existed and it will continue to exist."
While I find Tweedy charming in interviews, parts of this book came off like he's got a chip on his shoulder.
The End.
The End.
I agree with Marcia that this is a less polished book than the How to Write One Song. I give it 4 stars bc I’m a sucker for a thoughtful memoir. Could it have been edited down a bit? Yes. But I enjoyed Jeff Tweedy reading to me for so many hours (I listened to it) and hearing Susie and Spencer and the musical interludes.
I've enjoyed Jeff Tweedy's music for along time. This book is well written and provides some insightful looks at Jeff's private life and dealings with band mates. I appreciated his candor when talking about his addiction to painkillers, his depression and related mental health concerns. He comes across as someone who's really got things together and his new music seems to reflect that too. Thanks Mr. Tweedy.
I am a huge Wilco fan, so I'm admittedly partial. But this book is everything I hoped it would be, and then some. I feel like I know Jeff Tweedy and his life so intimately now, and I have entirely new insight into Wilco's and Uncle Tupelo's music, and a new liking and respect for albums I've previously dismissed. I read the book with my headphones on and my phone open to iTunes music so I could play the different songs as he mentioned them.
Learning about Tweedy's musical process was so fascinating, and I enjoyed getting the lowdown (well, from his perspective at least) of what really happened with Jay Farrar and Jay Bennett. His sense of humor throughout, even during the darkest parts of his life, was so refreshing and made the book immensely readable and entertaining. I chuckled out loud many times!
My book was gifted to me, along with tickets to see Jeff perform, and now I'll enjoy seeing him even more!
Learning about Tweedy's musical process was so fascinating, and I enjoyed getting the lowdown (well, from his perspective at least) of what really happened with Jay Farrar and Jay Bennett. His sense of humor throughout, even during the darkest parts of his life, was so refreshing and made the book immensely readable and entertaining. I chuckled out loud many times!
My book was gifted to me, along with tickets to see Jeff perform, and now I'll enjoy seeing him even more!
If Jeff Tweedy read the phone book, I would buy the audio version. Even though I am a massive fan, this book exceeded my expectations. Tweedy is incredibly open about his falling out with jay Farrar and Jay Bennett as well as his problems with addiction. The audio book is excellent--there are guest appearances.