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Wilco (The Album)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-campbell/wilco-the-album_b_222089.htmlby Chris CampbellJune 29, 2009From 1967-1972, The Rolling Stones released Between the Buttons, Flowers,Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St. Such a runcan only be matched by The Beatles, who released their entire catalog in onlyseven years, and Bob Dylan, whose output from 1963-1969, represents thegreatest run ever for a songwriter. Such consistent runs have been few-and-far-between over the past 35+ years. R.E.M. were great for a little over a decade,but a few records during that period (e.g. Green) were bumps in an otherwiseperfect ten-year run.When considering the premiere acts of today, critics and fans alike almost alwayspoint to Radiohead. But if you step back and look at the band's recorded materialover its 16 years in existence, there are numerous missteps, most notably their 1993 debut Pablo Honey and the 2001 snoozer Amnesiac. Very good band?Sure. Deserving of a slot in the paragraph above? No.And then's there's Wilco.No, they're not held in the regard that Radiohead are, but when considering their output over their 15 year-career, well, they're the one band in its prime that mightbe deserving of the company above. Formed in 1994 following the hasty demiseof the seminal alt.country outfit Uncle Tupelo, Wilco have now released sevenstudio records (nine if you count the Mermaid Avenue collaborations with BillyBragg), and every single one has been met with critical adoration. 2002's YankeeHotel Foxtrot is widely considered their best, but the balance of the catalog holdsup alongside this near masterpiece. From the Brian Wilson inspiredSummerteeth to the straightforward americana of Sky Blue Sky, Wilco havetouched on just about every imaginable sound and direction, and in so doing,have miraculously held onto its fans from its rootsy early days while picking uplisteners from many disparate worlds along their 15-year circuitous path.

This month brings the release of Wilco (The Album) (June 30th on Nonesuch), analbum that rounds out a solid trifecta following Foxtrot. No, it doesn't have theambition of Foxtrot or the bombast of 1996's Being There, but it's a beautifulcollection of songs. "One Wing" is one of the better songs frontman Jeff Tweedyhas penned in some time, while the pretty collaboration with iPod-star Feist "Youand I," is perfectly timed as the centerpiece of the record. As you move past themidpoint mark you're greeted with one of the best songs the band's ever recorded in "I'll Fight," a song that incorporates religion, love, devotion and war.Or at least that's what we hear on the surface. But like most of Wilco's bestworks, the songs leave plenty of space for the listener to surmise his or her ownmeaning, which has been one of many hallmarks of Wilco's career. The recordsand the songs within feel less a creation of the band, and more a part of us. AsTweedy sings on the opening track, "A sonic shoulder for you to cry on, Wilco,Wilco will love you baby." And with one great record after another, it's hard for usto not return the sentiment.

A Job Lost, An Identity Reshaped

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-campbell/a-job-lost-an-identity-re_b_178553.htmlby Chris CampbellMarch 26, 2009Turn on any of the three major cable news networks, and you're sure to begreeted by somewhat hysterical anchors frenzied over AIG, Bernie Madoff andTim Geithner, among many other soundbites to wrack our collective nerves. Andwhat follows is usually the maniacal calls from the right, especially Eric Cantor,Rush and a slew of others, nitpicking at every single move made by the WhiteHouse. When the New York Times' Thomas Friedman spoke recently of Republican House Leader Eric Cantor's exploitation of the AIG crisis, and asked,"Do you not have children?", that pretty much summed up my feelings on thebehavior of many of our elected officials, both republican and democrat. Thiscrisis, fiasco, collapse, end of the world, whatever you want to call it, is far too bigto be wasting our time on pedantic and sophomoric diatribes from the likes of Cantor. And on the cable news front, they're equally culpable (yes, that includesKeith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow) for doing everything imaginable toparalyze a nation for the sake of ratings. They scoff and howl at corporate greed,yet the end goal in what they're delivering falls right in line with what theycondemn. But lost in this all are the many aspects of this new reality that arenever covered. This past weekend, I was able to witness one firsthand; anexperience that I'm sure can be understood by millions of Americans.Early last week, while visiting my sister in New Jersey, I awoke to an e-mail frommy girlfriend with the subject line "bad news." Given the topic of this post, I'm

sure you can guess the content of that e-mail. Five months ago, I lost my job,and now, she had fallen victim as well. But her situation was different. Whereas Iwas with a company for a short period of time and hadn't felt my identity shapedby this employer, she had worked for this company for over twelve years.Although she graduated near the top of her class from a top west coastuniversity, she certainly didn't have your typical "drive for the top" mentality that,for better or worse, has been the American way, especially under #43. She wasproud of her work, but work was only a small part of her life, a personality traitthat played a large part in drawing me to her in first place. Unlike many overly-caffeinated Americans who constantly look to fast-track to the top, her interestsextended far beyond her work life. In the past year, she finished up another degree in floral design, a field in which she has won national awards and she'san incredibly talented photographer and jewelry designer. I'm sure that if givenfull "career" focus, she could excel in any of these areas. And with free time nowin front of her, she may do just that.This past Sunday, we drove downtown for one last visit to her office. After twelveyears, she had a lot of boxing up to do. It had now been six days since she'dbeen laid off and up to this point, she had been calm, clear-minded andaccepting. I figured that the trip to the office would be your run-of-the-mill filteringthrough files and drawers, copying of data to disc and the other stuff we quicklydo when our tenure at a company swiftly ends. As we turned the corner that ledto her office building she said that she wanted to do this alone. She asked if Icould drop her off and return later in the day to help her haul her stuff out.After dropping her off outside her office, I found parking and decided to pay her aquick visit before leaving for the day. As we rode up the elevator, I could tell thatsome reality was finally hitting. It wasn't the financial stresses that were nowbuilding in our lives or fear of not being able to find work in the near term.Whatever it was, she remained quiet. As we stepped into her office and movedtowards her work area, I saw the years of files, accomplishments, officeChristmas cards with her photos on the cover, and knick knacks that adorned her workspace. These were projects and memories built over a decade. And in just afew hours, they would all be swept away.She started to cry. It wasn't a flood of tears, but rather a slow release of a fewtears that seemed to be an acknowledgment of all that she'd experienced at this job. She'd made many friends, felt pride in her personal work and the work of theorganization as a whole and respected her colleagues immensely. And these fewhours would be her last.When the tears dried up, I thought it best to leave her for the day. As I headed for the door, I said, "By the way, you never even told me your exact title inmarketing. What are you going to put on your resume?" She turned and after considering the question for a second said, "I never cared about that."