Get up and start what needs to be done
It's winding down, there's much you missed
Working on that graveyard shift"
Uncle Tupelo was an American Alternative Country band from Belleville, Illinois active from 1987 to 1994 and initially consisting of guitarist Jay Farrar, bassist Jeff Tweedy, and drummer Mike Heidorn. First starting out as a Punk Rock group called The Plebes and later The Primitives before acquiring their eventual name, the band developed itself into the Trope Codifier for Alternative Country, taking influence both from noisy alternative bands like Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr. and country acts like Hank Williams, Gram Parsons, the Louvin Brothers, and the Carter Family.
They signed with independent label Rockville Records and released two albums, No Depression and Still Feel Gone; in spite of this, the label refused to pay the band royalties, and for their third album, instructed them to emulate acts like Nirvana, who had reached mainstream success the year before. The band refused, recording an acoustic album made of country and folk songs, March 16-20, 1992. Although it sold more copies than their first two records, the label still refused to pay the band, so Uncle Tupelo left the label and signed with Sire Records.
Heidorn left the band after March was completed, and since Tweedy wanted to play rhythm guitar on the songs he wrote, Tupelo expanded its lineup to a five piece, adding new bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston along with new drummer Ken Coomer. Their debut album for Sire, Anodyne, was their biggest-seller up to that point. Unfortunately, tensions between Farrar and Tweedy had been building since the sessions for March, and Farrar decided to quit the band (while reluctantly agreeing to do one last tour with them, as a favor to their manager). Farrar subsequently went on to form a new band, Son Volt, while Tweedy and the other remaining members regrouped under a new name: Wilco.
Discography:
- No Depression (1990)
- Still Feel Gone (1991)
- March 16-20, 1992 (1992)
- Anodyne (1993)
Every trope that shines in the back of your mind is just waiting for its cover to be blown:
- Alternative Country: Generally considered to be the Trope Codifier; their first album's title, "No Depression", became a nickname for the movement and was used by a popular magazine that covered alt-country.
- Cover Version: Several, including "No Depression" by the Carter Family, "Give Back the Key to My Heart" by Doug Sahm, "Effigy" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "I Wanna Destroy You" by The Soft Boys, and "Sin City" by The Flying Burrito Brothers.
- March 16-20, 1992 contains cover versions of several traditional folk songs, including "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down", "Coalminers", and "Moonshiner", as well as a cover of "Atomic Power" by The Louvin Brothers.
- Conscription: "Train" is about a young man who watches military vehicles pass by on a train; having recently been drafted into The Vietnam War, he is contemplating his fate:I'm 21, and I'm scared as hell
I quit school, I was healthy as a horse
Because of all that, I'll be the first one to die in a war - Drowning My Sorrows: Common theme, especially in "I Got Drunk":Well I took a fifth, and I poured me a shot
And I thought about all the things that I haven't got
And I drank that down, and I poured me some more
Kept drinking and pouring till I felt the floor
I got drunk and I fell down
I got drunk and I fell down - Everyone Went to School Together: Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar met each other in high school during English class after they both discovered that they liked Punk Rock. Farrar, who was already in a band (The Plebes) with his brothers, Wade and Dade, brought Tweedy into the group, originally as the rhythm guitarist, since they needed another member. Dade later introduced them to Mike Heidorn, another classmate of Jay and Jeff's that they had previously never spoken to. After Dade and (later) Wade eventually left the group, the classic lineup of Uncle Tupelo was born.
- Greatest Hits Album: 89/93: An Anthology
- In the Style of: The album cover for No Depression is done in the style of albums released on Folkways Records, a record label that released thousands of recordings of folk musicians, such as Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly.
- Instrumental: March has "Sandusky", which was the only song on the album written by both Farrar and Tweedy.
- "Take My Word", which was the B-side to "Sauget Wind", is also instrumental and credited to all three members of the band.
- Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar: Lead guitarist Jay Farrar shared lead vocals with Jeff Tweedy.
- Lyrical Cold Open: "Before I Break", "Grindstone", "I Wish My Baby Was Born", "Fifteen Keys"
- Meaningful Name: March 16-20, 1992. The name was chosen because those were the five days that the band spent recording the album. Still Feel Gone was recorded not long after the band were touring their previous album - the title refers to being on a tour for so long that even when you return home you still feel like you're traveling.
- Miniscule Rocking: Three songs on March qualify: "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" (1:53), "I Wish My Baby Was Born" (1:38), and "Atomic Power" (1:52). A 2003 reissue of the album adds a Cover Version of "The Waltons (Theme)" (1:13) as a Hidden Track.
- New Sound Album: March 16-20, 1992, which was almost entirely acoustic and made up of folk and country songs.
- Rock Trio: The original lineup is an example.
- Shout-Out: "D. Boon" is a shout-out to Minutemen guitarist D. Boon, who was killed in an accident while the band was on tour in 1985.
- "Train" references The Byrds' 1965 hit "Turn! Turn! Turn!":Radio was playing, Roger McGuinn singing "To each and everything, there is a time and a season"
- "Acuff-Rose" references the Acuff-Rose Music publishing company, one of the most famous music publishing companies in Nashville history.
- "Train" references The Byrds' 1965 hit "Turn! Turn! Turn!":
- Special Guest: Doug Sahm provides vocals on their cover of "Give Back the Key to My Heart" (which he wrote).
- Title Track: No Depression and Anodyne both contain their own title track.
- Vocal Tag Team: Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy both sang lead on their own songs.
- We Used to Be Friends: Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar. By the time they recorded March, the two men had begun fighting over control over the band; Tweedy claimed that Farrar (originally their primary songwriter) became intimidated when Tweedy began to write more songs, while Farrar interpreted Tweedy as being arrogant (and also claimed that Tweedy attempted to hit on his girlfriend). The two have since communicated only a handful of times (mostly for business-related affairs), and all three members of the original lineup have shot down any ideas of a reunion.
