Buckets of Rain – Episode 14 – Jeff Tweedy
With the ever emerging prominence of the singer-songwriter, it seems that critics are constantly searching for someone they can call “the next Bob Dylan.” Certainly there are some incredible song writers out there now, many of whom have had the now cliché expectation cast upon their music; Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams, Connor Oberst, James Mercer, Joe Pug, the Tallest Man on Earth, Sam Beam and Jim James all come to mind, and I’m certain that I’m forgetting a few others. But where critics most often fail in their eagerness to adorn some new or established talent with the “new Dylan” moniker is in their assumption that an acoustic guitar, a harmonica, and self involved or politically motivated lyrics are tantamount to the achievements of Bob Dylan. What they don’t seem to understand is that Dylan was not Dylan for aesthetic reasons, he was Dylan because of who he was as a person and because he was open to being that person, no matter the repercussions in the world he was living in, no matter what the social climate or musical conventions of the time might have called for otherwise. It is for this reason that we remember Bob Dylan, not as the young man once deemed the next Woody Guthrie, but simply as Bob Dylan. This is his greatest achievement as an artist.
If any songwriter today is deserving of the comparison it is most certainly Jeff Tweedy. His music always seems an extension of his personality, beyond the expectations of his audience, and beyond the expectations he may even hold for himself. His lyrics are open enough to represent any number of ideas; from happy go lucky drinking songs, to sad love songs that are deeply personal, he renders his experience in a way that allows us to re-imagine our own. This is the hardest test of a song writer and few have passed it so well and so consistently.
As far as influences go, I know that Jeff Tweedy is influenced by Bob Dylan, by Neil Young, by Nick Drake, John Prine and John Lennon, amongst others, but I don’t think about or hear these influences when I hear his music the way I do when I listen to other singer-songwriters, many of whom have written songs that equal Jeff’s genius but far less frequently. I will now submit that, like those critics I don’t like, I believe Jeff Tweedy is our generation’s Bob Dylan. Not because he can turn off the mic and belt out a folk song on a beat up Martin twelve string, not because he sounds like Bob Dylan, not because he is political, or poetic, or sings in a nasally voice. Jeff Tweedy is our generation’s Bob Dylan because he can’t help but be Jeff Tweedy.
Tonight’s show is from a benefit show that Tweedy has done several times throughout the years called “Letters to Santa.” The show was recorded live in a living room. It is insanely intimate and wonderful. Unfortunantly, I can not make this available for download as I have noticed that it has been requested taken down from other sites. But, if you search for Jeff Tweedy “Letters to Santa” you should be able to find it.
