Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I really want to see this film. If it’s as good as AJ Schnack’s GIGANTIC: A TALE OF TWO JOHNS, then it’s an uncommonly good year for music documentaries already.
Call me Cheb Hutley. Or don't.
I was lucky enough to be invited to the New York premiere of the new documentary by Sam Jones, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart". Fans of the band Wilco probably already know about this film, but for the rest of you (and why the Hell aren't you guys fans of Wilco?), this movie tells one of the most fascinating and hilarious Cinderella stories in music history. In a nutshell, here's the gist:
Wilco, a Chicago band fronted by ex-co-Uncle Tupelo frontman Jeff Tweedy, was under contract with Reprise Records. They delivered their finished album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" two days after the retirement of Reprise's president. The former executive was a big Wilco fan. His replacement? Not so much. After hearing the album (which Reprise paid around $80,000 for already), Jeff was told that many changes needed to be made. He said no. Reprise told him that they didn't want to release the album. In fact, the only thing they wanted to release was Wilco. From their contract with Reprise. But, in a bizarre twist, the record company gave Wilco their album. They had so little faith in "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" that they gave it to the band free and clear. Wilco now owned their completed album.
Unfortunately, this left Wilco without a label and no real way of releasing the album to the general public. So, they toured. And they loaded the album onto their website so that their fans could hear it. Months after the album's completion, Nonesuch Records finally made Wilco an offer for "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (beating out the other 20 bidders) that Wilco was happy with. So, Nonesuch Records (a label owned by Time Warner/AOL) bought the album from Wilco, after Reprise Records (a label owned by Time Warner/AOL) paid Wilco for it and gave it to them. Rolling Stone magazine called the album (which was finally released in May of this year) "the first great album of the year". The album debuted on the charts at number 3 (I think. Forgive me if I'm wrong. Or don't.) and has been Wilco's biggest success to date.
The documentary "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" chronicles all of these events and tons more. Wilco gave Sam Jones total access and he knew just what to do with it. Images still swirl in my head from this beautiful black and white gem. Jeff Tweedy and his very young son on Wilco's tour bus playing the drumbeat of "Heavy Metal Drummer" in perfect synchronicity on their laps. Jay Bennett's ridiculously verbose apology for a misunderstanding that only he seemed to have (and Mr. Tweedy's patient humoring of Mr. Bennett, which should earn him the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize). The phone call that informed Wilco that they were label-less. And there are TONS of incredible live performances of songs that span Wilco's entire career, all sounding like you are standing in the club as they play.
Now, for Wilco fans, this movie is a wet dream. For everyone else (again, what is wrong with the rest of you?), the movie may require a little more patience than your average documentary, but I still think anyone can be won over. Case in point: while talking to Sam Jones after the premiere, I told him that the movie seemed to mirror the "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" album itself. When I first heard the album, it was so "left field" that I needed to hear it again right away. The movie inspired similar feelings. It starts out with shaky camerawork, awkward zooms, here one second/gone the next focusing… but it patiently converges after a while and becomes an incredibly touching and personal story that anyone with a "root for the underdog" gland will enjoy. And the fact that this is all true just leaves the viewers with a sense of feel-good justice we haven't seen in America since before O.J. Simpson (Johnny Walker Yellow getting 20 years only added to our collective misery… but this is a movie review. Check The Nation's website for my treatise on American politics. Or don't.). According to Sam, the similarities to Wilco's album were intentional. The movie serves as a perfect companion piece to the record (I can only hope that the DVD has bonus concert footage… maybe an entire live concert? Please?).
Yes, this fairy tale come true sure seems perfect. Almost TOO perfect. Since both of the record companies are owned by the same parent company, some have suggested that the whole thing was faked. That Reprise figured out that they could attract tons of free publicity by letting Wilco go (when, in fact, they were really just sent to a sister company) and create a cultural anticipation that Wilco wouldn't normally be capable of creating on their own. Personally, I'd be amazed if such were the case. And besides, I know that there is no Batman. I know that there is no Santa Claus. Please let me keep this. A record executive (whose job it is to LISTEN TO MUSIC and to judge it) heard "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and actually thought it was "unsellable". Come-uppance doesn't get any sweeter than the kind that Wilco is currently enjoying. Let me believe that this textbook example of karma is all bona fide. It's all I have left.
And before anyone starts calling this a commercial for "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" it should be pointed out that the film had no studio financing. It was a labor of love financed entirely by Sam Jones and the band. This is an independent feature in every sense of the word. And while I'm sure that you'll want to buy "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" after seeing the movie, that is not what the purpose of the movie is. It's an in-depth look at a band with a sizeable fan-base that has been doing consistently great work for years. It shows that in the record industry today, the mentality seems to be that if it doesn't outsell Ricky Martin, then it's not worth selling. Watching the magic that Wilco creates in the face of adversity immediately dispels any feeling of cynicism that one might bring to the theater with them. Hell, I'm not even a musician and I left the screening with renewed confidence in my band. Now THAT'S entertainment.
So, to recap, this is a low-budget, black and white backstage pass into the lives of one of the most talented and creative bands that have come out of the U.S. in the last 25 years. If you like their music, you'll love this film. If you've never heard their music, you'll enjoy a perfect introduction to the critically acclaimed career of these 5 musicians (although, halfway through, they become 4… but I don't want to spoil it for you). And if you can't stand Wilco and couldn't care less about the genesis of their new album and the subsequent problems they faced, then truly you are a moron. Seriously.
Excellent review, man. Thanks.
"Moriarty" out.
