Two Thousand and One's Yankee Hotel

Few lyricists have Jeff Tweedy's ability to fluidly shift between plainspoken emotion and abstract imagery. The Wilco frontman has been writing beautiful, beguiling songs for more than three decades, and there is no way to pin down what any of them "means." There's only what they mean to you, right then, in the moment, as you listen to them. 

That's certainly true of "Jesus, Etc." one of many standout tracks off of Wilco's groundbreaking 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. On this episode, Kirk explores some of the writing and arrangement techniques that help make this song, and all of Tweedy's songs, so special.

Lyrics by: Jeff Tweedy

Music by: Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett

Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2001

Listen/Buy via Songwhip

Also Featured/Discussed:

• "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," "War on War," and "The Ashes of American Flags"  from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• "She's a Jar" and "A Shot in the Arm" by Wilco from Summerteeth, 1999
• Audio from Jeff Tweedy's 2021 interview on The Ezra Klein Show
• Excerpts from Tweedy's 2020 book How To Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back
• Audio of a pedal steel guitar demonstration by Steve Fishell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrbSL92Kz1Y

This episode has been updated to better identify one of the chords in the chorus.

OUTRO SOLOIST: Dan Nervo

This episode's outro soloist is the fantastic Dan Nervo. Dan plays guitar in the San Francisco Bay Area in bands like Neon Velvet, and also teaches private guitar lessons. Hit him up if you want to get good at guitar: https://www.facebook.com/DanNervoGuitarLessons/

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! 
Patreon | Paypal

 🏠 HOMEPAGE
strongsongspodcast.com

 👚 MERCH
strongsongspodcast.com/store

 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER
newsletter.kirkhamilton.com

📷 SOCIAL MEDIA 
Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton
Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com

💬 STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER 
strongsongspodcast.com/discord

🎧 STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS 
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 
kirkhamilton.com/gear

🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 
kirkhamilton.com/music

🎨 SHOW ART 
Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics

--------------------

SEPTEMBER 2022 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

Jay Swartz
Miriam Joy
Ronjan
SEAN D WINNIE
Rush
Daniel Hannon-Barry
RR
Elliot Rosen
Ashley Hoag
Mark and Michelle
Donald Mackie
Melissa Osborne
Christopher Miller
Jamie White
Christopher McConnell
David Mascetti
Joshua Jarvis
Niko
Joe Laska
Ken Hirsh
Jez
Melanie Andrich
Jenness Gardner
Simon Cammell
Guinevere Boostrom
Narelle Horn
Bill Rosinger
Erin
Aidan Coughlan
Jeanneret Manning Family Four
Dave Sharpe
Sami Samhuri
AccessViolation
Ryan Torvik
Glenn
Jim Chokey
Andre Bremer
Mark Schechter
Dave Florey

SEPTEMBER 2022 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

John Bauman
Dax and Dane Huddleston
Martín Salías
Tim Howes
Steve Martino
Dr Arthur A Gray
Carolina
Gary Pierce
Matt Baxter
GiantPredatoryMollusk
Casey Faubion
Luigi Boccia
Rob Albright
E Margaret Warton
Daniel Mosier
Catherine Clause
Owain Hunt
Renee Downing
KenIsWearingAHat
Tony
Jordan Block
Aaron Wade
Chad Hivner
Travis Pollard
Jeff Ulm

Jamie
Deebs
Portland Eye Care
Adam Ray
Anupama Raghavan
Demetri Detsaridis
Carrie Schneider
Alenka Grealish
Anne Gerry
Richard Sneddon
David Judson
Julian Roleff
Janice Berry
Doreen Carlson
David McDarby
Abigail Duffield
Raphadavid
Wendy Gilchrist
Lisa Turner
Paul Wayper
Dennis M Edwards
Jeffrey Ferris
Bruno Gaeta
Kenneth Jung
ben
Adam Stofsky
Zak Remer
Rishi Sahay
Jason Reitman
Greg Burgess
Ailie Fraser
Von
Paul McGreal
Karen Arnold
NATALIE MISTILIS
Josh Singer
Phino DeLeon
Schloss Edward J. MD
Amy Lynn Thornsen
Adam W
Kelli Brockington
Stephen Rawlings
Ben Machta
Victoria Yu
Kevin Rivers
Brad Clark
Michael J. Cunningham
Mark Boggs
mino capossela
Steve Paquin
Sarah
David Joske
Emma Sklar
Bernard Khoo
Robert Heuer
Matthew Golden
David Noah
Geraldine Butler
Richard Cambier
Madeleine Mader
Timothy Dougherty
Jason Pratt
Stewart Oak
Abbie Berg
Sam Norton
Doug Belew
Dermot Crowley
Achint Srivastava
Ryan Rairigh
Michael Berman
Olivia Bishop
John Gisselquist
Elaine Martin
Linda Duffy
Kouroth
Sharon Tree
Belinda Mcgrath-steer
Liz Seger
Eoin de Burca
Kevin Potter
M Shane Borders
Pete Simm
Susan Plein
Dallas Hockley
Jason Gerry
Nathan Gouwens
Will Dwyer Alethea Lee
Lauren Reay
Eric Prestemon
Cookies250
Damian Brady
Angela Livingstone
JeffyThanadros
David Friedman
Sarah Sulan
Diane Hughes
Kenneth Tiong
Jo Sutherland
Michael Casner
Derek Bender
Jen Small
Lowell Meyer
Etele Illes
Stephen Tsoneff
Lorenz Schwarz
Wen
Jack Sjogren
Geoff Golden
Robyn Fraser
Pascal Rueger
Randy Souza
JC
Clare Holberton
Diane Turner
Tom Coleman
Tijs Soete
Mark Perry
Dhu Wik
Mel
Eric Helm
Jake Roberts
Jonathan Daniels
Steven Maron
Michael Flaherty
Jarrod Schindler
Caro Field
michael bochner
Naomi Watson
David Cushman
Alexander
Chris K
Gavin Doig
Sam Fenn
Tanner Morton
AJ Schuster
Jennifer Bush
David Stroud
Amanda Furlotti
Andrew Baker
Matt Gaskell
Jules Bailey
Andrew Fair
Bill Thornton
Brian Amoebas
Brett Douville
Jeffrey Olson
Matt Betzel
Mueller
Nate from Kalamazoo
Melanie Stivers
Richard Toller
Alexander Polson
Earl Lozada
Jon O’Keefe
Justin McElroy
Arjun Sharma
James Johnson
Kevin Morrell
Kevin Pennyfeather
Emily Williams