History Music / Wilco

* NotChristianRock: "Christ for President", "Airline to Heaven"

Wilco is an American AlternativeRock band from UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, formed from the ashes of Music/UncleTupelo. (After that pioneering AlternativeCountry outfit broke up in 1994, its two principal singer-songwriters moved on to form their own bands: Jay Farrar started Music/SonVolt, while Jeff Tweedy and the other remaining members started Wilco.)

[[caption-width-right:350:''Wilco, Wilco / Wilco will love you, baby'' [[note]] Wilco's current (and longest-running) lineup. Left to right: Mikael Jorgensen, Pat Sansone, Nels Cline, John Stirratt, Jeff Tweedy, and Glenn Kotche.[[/note]]]]

** "I Might" contains a sample of Music/IggyPop screaming "Brother!" from the song "[[Music/FunHouse T.V. Eye]]" by Music/TheStooges.

* HiddenTrack: The original CD version of ''Summerteeth'' featured a 23 second gap after "In a Future Age", followed by two hidden tracks: "Candyfloss" and a remix of "A Shot in the Arm". The gap (later dubbed "23 Seconds of Silence") and both hidden tracks were later made visible on download and streaming services.

While their debut album, ''A.M.'', showed a heavy alt-country influence in its own right, Wilco soon evolved their sound in a more eclectic direction on subsequent releases, becoming one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '90s and '00s in the process even as their lineup changed dramatically over time, with multiple members (including Ken Coomer, Max Johnston, Leroy Bach, Bob Egan, and most prominently the late Jay Bennett) shuffling in and out between 1995 and 2004. Besides with their original work, Wilco has also recorded the ''Mermaid Avenue'' series of albums in collaboration with English singer-songwriter Music/BillyBragg, in which they took unpublished Music/WoodyGuthrie lyrics and set them to music.

** ''Cruel Country'' is the band's longest album to date at 77 minutes, barely surpassing ''Being There'' as their longest album to date. The second disc starts with a track surpassing six minutes, "Many Worlds". (7:52)

* TitleTrack: "Summer Teeth" (from ''Summerteeth''), "Sky Blue Sky", and "Whole Love" (from ''The Whole Love'').

** Jeff Tweedy formed a side project with his son Spencer (a drummer) called Tweedy, releasing one album, ''Sukierae''. Additionally, Jeff has released ''Together at Last'' (an album made up of solo acoustic reinterpretations of his old material), ''Chelsea Walls'' (his original soundtrack for the 2001 film of the same name), and three solo albums' worth of original material, ''WARM'', ''WARMER'', and ''Love is the King''.

While their debut album, ''A.M.'', showed a heavy alt-country influence in its own right, Wilco soon evolved their sound in a more eclectic direction on subsequent releases, becoming one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '90s and '00s in the process even as their lineup changed dramatically over time, with multiple members (including Ken Coomer, Max Johnston, Leroy Bach, Bob Egan, and most prominently Jay Bennett) shuffling in and out between 1995 and 2004. Besides their original work, Wilco also released the ''Mermaid Avenue'' series of albums in collaboration with English singer-songwriter Music/BillyBragg, in which they took unpublished Music/WoodyGuthrie lyrics and set them to music.

* ShoutOut: ''Being There'', to [[Film/BeingThere the film of the same name]].
** And the song "Heavy Metal Drummer", which name-drops Music/{{Kiss}}.

** Jeff Tweedy formed a side project with his son Spencer (a drummer) called Tweedy, releasing one album, ''Sukierae''. Additionally, Jeff has released ''Together at Last'' (an album made up of solo acoustic reinterpretations of his old material), ''Chelsea Walls'' (an album of his original soundtrack for the 2001 film of the same name), and three solo albums' worth of original material, ''WARM'', ''WARMER'', and ''Love is the King''.

* SoloSideProject: Jeff Tweedy formed a side project with his son Spencer (a drummer) called Tweedy, releasing one album, ''Sukierae''. Additionally, Jeff has released ''Together At Last'' (an album made up of solo acoustic reinterpretations of his old material), and three solo albums' worth of original material, ''WARM'', ''WARMER'', and ''Love is the King''.

* NonindicativeName: Invoked with the cover and name of their album ''Star Wars'', as a painting of a cat doesn't match up with ''Franchise/StarWars''.
** Also invoked by ''Ode To Joy'': the album has nothing to do with Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's 9th Symphony or the poem it was based on.

+ Music/WoodyGuthrie, Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheBand, Music/NeilYoung, Music/{{Television}}, Music/FairportConvention, Music/BrianWilson, Music/JohnCale, Music/NickDrake, Music/BigStar, Music/TheReplacements, Music/TheByrds, Music/{{Minutemen}}]

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: John Stirratt sings lead vocals on "It's Just That Simple" from ''A.M.'', which he wrote; it is the only Wilco song to not be co-written or sung by Jeff Tweedy.

While their debut album, ''A.M.'', showed a heavy alt-country influence in its own right, Wilco evolved their sound in a more eclectic direction on subsequent releases, becoming one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '90s and '00s in the process even as their lineup changed dramatically over time, with multiple members (including Ken Coomer, Max Johnston, Leroy Bach, Bob Egan, and most prominently Jay Bennett) shuffling in and out between 1995 and 2004. Besides their original work, Wilco also released the ''Mermaid Avenue'' series of albums in collaboration with English singer-songwriter Music/BillyBragg, in which they took unpublished Music/WoodyGuthrie lyrics and set them to music.

* PrecisionFStrike
--> ''"I wonder why we listen to poets when nobody gives a fuck."''
---> '''--Ashes Of American Flags'''

* RevolvingDoorBand: Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt have been the only constants in Wilco's history, with multiple members entering and leaving the band during its first decade. Since 2004, however, the band's lineup has been static.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt have been the only constants in Wilco's two-decade-plus history, with multiple members entering and leaving the band until 2004. Since then, however, the band's lineup has been static.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt have been the only constants in Wilco's two-decade-plus history, with multiple members entering and leaving the band until 2004. Since 2004, the band's lineup has been static, however.

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilco__winter_3079.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''Wilco, Wilco / Wilco will love you, baby'' [[note]] Wilco's current (and longest-running) lineup. L-R: Nels Cline, Glenn Kotche, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Mikael Jorgenson, and Pat Sansone. [[/note]]]]

Wilco is an American alternative/indie rock band from UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, formed from the ashes of Music/UncleTupelo. (After that pioneering AlternativeCountry outfit broke up in 1994, its two principal singer-songwriters moved on to form their own bands: Jay Farrar started Music/SonVolt, while Jeff Tweedy and the other remaining members started Wilco.)

While their debut album, ''A.M.'', showed a heavy alt-country influence in its own right, Wilco evolved their sound in a more eclectic direction on subsequent releases, in the process becoming one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '90s and '00s. At the same time, their lineup changed dramatically over time, with multiple members (including Max Johnston, Ken Coomer, Leroy Bach, Bob Egan, and most prominently, Jay Bennett) entering and leaving the band from 1995 to 2004. In addition to their original work, they also released the ''Mermaid Avenue'' series of albums in collaboration with English singer-songwriter Music/BillyBragg, in which they took unpublished Music/WoodyGuthrie lyrics and set them to music.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt have been the only constants in Wilco's two-decade-plus history, with multiple members entering and leaving the band until 2004.

* LocalReference: The line "Kiss and ride on the CTA" is a reference to "Kiss and Ride" signs located on UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}'s rapid transit system, the UsefulNotes/ChicagoL. The signs are meant to provide locations where customers can pull up their cars and drop off passengers.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Their work mostly spans from 1-4, occasionally going into a 5 with hard-rock influenced songs like "Random Name Generator" or "Let's Not Get Carried Away". Some of the songs on ''Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' and ''A Ghost is Born'' contain sections of feedback and static that bring the otherwise gentle songs up to a 9 or 10.