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A review by jonscott9
World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music by Jeff Tweedy
3.0
Jeff Tweedy's writing is, for me, a lot like Wilco's discography: There are entire-album runs and bursts of brilliance, and there are slivers of surefire filler. How to Write One Song (read whilst pandemic-quarantining) was the same for me. I'm eager to delve into his third read later this year, and into Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast), who offered a blurb for this book.
So it goes, but what initially piqued my interest here is Tweedy's delicious conceit: sharing backstories from his life while speaking to specific songs that have changed him or changed *for* him (flipped in his discerning mind) over the course of time. It's interspersed with vignettes from growing up, family life, and various relationships (mostly with pals and his now-wife). One vignette in particularly, pulling in Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and deftly weaving it through a story of friend-and-family health issues, is just beautiful.
One of those about which his POV changed is ABBA's "Dancing Queen." That's one of the most fun entries (and one placed in the New York Times as this book emerged) in this set of two- to five-page essays across 50 tracks. The songs represent a wonderfully wide swath of artists and genres.
Tweedy is generous about other musicians' and artists' work, to no one's surprise who knows he's Midwestern and/or is Midwestern themself. (He speaks poorly of one band and two songs here, and rather hilariously. See my list below.) He's got a great work ethic and centered sensibility about most everything, based on this book, his interviews for it in NPR and other places, and his Substack newsletters. (Yes, I'm a TweedyBird. Or whatever he'd have akin to lambs/monsters/beyhivers/et al.).
The Wilco frontman idolizes Bob Dylan (not a shocker), as to most similarly singing, similarly playing artists of his kind. As happily expected, I enjoyed his takes on Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers most of all here. Tweedy produced Mavis's 8th studio record, You're Not Alone, which came out in 2010 and features a title track that everyone everywhere should listen to all winter long. It's soup for the soul seeping into one's ears. He finishes these 50 entries with thoughts on the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There." So, so apropos.
Marking them digitally here for posterity, and so that I may return to them again over time, here are some my favorite entries in this set (in no order):
- I'm Not in Love (10cc)
- Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down (Frank Proffitt)
- Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Carole King)
- (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding, my b'day twin)
- I Will Always Love You (Dolly)
- The Weight (The Band, specifically their Last Waltz docufilm version with the Staple Singers)
- Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
- The Star-Spangled Banner (everyone; Tweedy says we need a new, nonviolent one, and that Stevie Wonder should craft it; it's hard to disagree!)
- Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi; note: Tweedy *loathes* this ish)
So it goes, but what initially piqued my interest here is Tweedy's delicious conceit: sharing backstories from his life while speaking to specific songs that have changed him or changed *for* him (flipped in his discerning mind) over the course of time. It's interspersed with vignettes from growing up, family life, and various relationships (mostly with pals and his now-wife). One vignette in particularly, pulling in Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and deftly weaving it through a story of friend-and-family health issues, is just beautiful.
One of those about which his POV changed is ABBA's "Dancing Queen." That's one of the most fun entries (and one placed in the New York Times as this book emerged) in this set of two- to five-page essays across 50 tracks. The songs represent a wonderfully wide swath of artists and genres.
Tweedy is generous about other musicians' and artists' work, to no one's surprise who knows he's Midwestern and/or is Midwestern themself. (He speaks poorly of one band and two songs here, and rather hilariously. See my list below.) He's got a great work ethic and centered sensibility about most everything, based on this book, his interviews for it in NPR and other places, and his Substack newsletters. (Yes, I'm a TweedyBird. Or whatever he'd have akin to lambs/monsters/beyhivers/et al.).
The Wilco frontman idolizes Bob Dylan (not a shocker), as to most similarly singing, similarly playing artists of his kind. As happily expected, I enjoyed his takes on Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers most of all here. Tweedy produced Mavis's 8th studio record, You're Not Alone, which came out in 2010 and features a title track that everyone everywhere should listen to all winter long. It's soup for the soul seeping into one's ears. He finishes these 50 entries with thoughts on the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There." So, so apropos.
Marking them digitally here for posterity, and so that I may return to them again over time, here are some my favorite entries in this set (in no order):
- I'm Not in Love (10cc)
- Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down (Frank Proffitt)
- Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Carole King)
- (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding, my b'day twin)
- I Will Always Love You (Dolly)
- The Weight (The Band, specifically their Last Waltz docufilm version with the Staple Singers)
- Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
- The Star-Spangled Banner (everyone; Tweedy says we need a new, nonviolent one, and that Stevie Wonder should craft it; it's hard to disagree!)
- Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi; note: Tweedy *loathes* this ish)