Star Wars (Wilco album)

Star Wars
A painting of a white cat and roses
Studio album by
Wilco
ReleasedJuly 16, 2015 (2015-07-16)
Genre
Length33:47
LabeldBpm
Producer
Wilco chronology
Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
(2012) 		Star Wars
(2015) 		Schmilco
(2016)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[3]
Metacritic83/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. ClubB+[6]
Chicago Tribune[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[8]
The Guardian[9]
The Independent[10]
Mojo[11]
Pitchfork7.7/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Spin7/10[14]

Star Wars is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Wilco. It was self-released for free on July 16, 2015, through wilcoworld.net.[15][16] It is the second Wilco album that was released on their own label dBpm. A CD version of the album was released on August 21 and a vinyl version was released on October 13.[16] The album emerged from Wilco recording sessions at The Loft that also resulted in their 2016 album Schmilco.[17]

Cover art

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy explained the cover art and album title.[18]

It's kind of an extension of the thought process behind, I don't know, staying in touch with some sort of wild energy as much as possible and some sort of an irreverence. But that painting of that cat hangs in the kitchen at the [Wilco] loft, and every day I'd look at it and go, "You know, that should just be the album cover." Then I started thinking about the phrase "Star Wars" recontextualized against that painting—it was beautiful and jarring. The album has nothing to do with Star Wars. It just makes me feel good. It makes me feel limitless and like there's still possibilities and still surprise in the world, you know?

In a November 2018 interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Jeff Tweedy stated that they were prepared to rename and redistribute the album as 'Cease and Desist' as they assumed they would be sued by George Lucas. They allegedly also prepared album artwork featuring McDonald's Golden Arches upside-down as the W in Wilco.[19]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
The A.V. Club The 15 Best Albums of 2015 2015
14[20]
FLOOD Magazine FLOOD's Best of 2015 2015
6[21]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 105 on Billboard 200,[22] and No. 18 on Top Rock Albums for charts dated September 12, 2015,[23] selling 6,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 21,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[24]

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Tweedy, except for "You Satellite" co-written by Tweedy, Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline, "Taste the Ceiling" by Tweedy and Scott McCaughey, and "Magnetized" by Tweedy and Mikael Jorgensen.[25]

No.TitleLength
1."EKG"1:15
2."More..."2:44
3."Random Name Generator"3:50
4."The Joke Explained"2:33
5."You Satellite"5:16
6."Taste the Ceiling"3:15
7."Pickled Ginger"2:30
8."Where Do I Begin"2:54
9."Cold Slope"3:10
10."King of You"2:40
11."Magnetized"3:40
Total length:33:47

Personnel

Wilco

Additional musicians

  • Spencer Tweedy – additional percussion
  • Scott McCaughey – Mellotron and piano on "Taste the Ceiling"

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26] 60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[28] 80
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 83
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 69
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 30
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[33] 65
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 52
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 83
US Billboard 200[36] 105
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37] 8
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[38] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[39] 18

References

  1. ^ Margasak, Peter (July 17, 2015). "Wilco drops unexpected new album on the eve of its headlining slot at Pitchfork Music Fest". Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Wilco release free 'Star Wars' album". The Daily Telegraph. July 17, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  3. ^ "Star Wars by Wilco reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "Reviews for Star Wars by Wilco". Metacritic. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Deming, Mark. "Star Wars – Wilco". AllMusic. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  6. ^ Zaleski, Annie (July 20, 2015). "Wilco's Star Wars is a roughhewn, fuzzed-out blast". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  7. ^ Kot, Greg (July 16, 2015). "Wilco's new 'Star Wars' out for free". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  8. ^ Anderson, Kyle (July 29, 2015). "'Star Wars' by Wilco: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Simpson, Dave (July 17, 2015). "Wilco: Star Wars first listen review – an absolute blast". The Guardian. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  10. ^ Gill, Andy (July 17, 2015). "Wilco, Star Wars – album review: Jeff Tweedy throws down the gauntlet with a radical take on Americana". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  11. ^ Nelson, Chris (July 21, 2015). "Wilco – Star Wars". Mojo. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Cohen, Ian (July 23, 2015). "Wilco: Star Wars". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  13. ^ Dolan, Jon (July 24, 2015). "Star Wars". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  14. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (July 16, 2015). "Review: Wilco Do Without Trying on 'Star Wars'". Spin. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  15. ^ "Wilco on Facebook: "Star Wars: a new Wilco album featuring 11 original songs is available now. Free to download at wilcoworld.net"". Facebook. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  16. ^ a b Buchanan, Molly (July 16, 2015). "Wilco Drop Surprise New Album Star Wars For Free". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  17. ^ Modell, Josh. "Wilco goes quiet". Music. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  18. ^ Doyle, Patrick (August 19, 2015). "Jeff Tweedy on 'Star Wars,' Bob Dylan and Wilco's Next LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  19. ^ "Jeff Tweedy Floods 'Late Show' With Good Feelings in Noah's Ark-Themed 'Let's Go Rain': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  20. ^ "The 15 Best Albums Of 2015". The A.V. Club. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  21. ^ "FLOOD's Best of 2015: Music (#25–5)". FLOOD Magazine. Anthemic Agency. December 7, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  22. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. September 12, 2015.
  23. ^ "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. September 12, 2015.
  24. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016.
  25. ^ "STAR WARS PR FINAL.docx". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  26. ^ Ryan, Gavin (August 29, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Disturbed Debuts At No 1 In Australia". Noise11. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  27. ^ "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Star Wars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  28. ^ "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Star Wars" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  29. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wilco – Star Wars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wilco – Star Wars" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  31. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 35, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  32. ^ "Charts.nz – Wilco – Star Wars". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  33. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Wilco – Star Wars". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  34. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Wilco – Star Wars". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  35. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  36. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  37. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  38. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  39. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2015.