Star Wars (Wilco album)
2015 studio album by Wilco
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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]
| Star Wars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 16, 2015 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:47 | |||
| Label | dBpm | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Wilco chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[3] |
| Metacritic | 83/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The A.V. Club | B+[6] |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[8] |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| Mojo | |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[12] |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 7/10[14] |
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 (though he no longer owned the franchise by that time). 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
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. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
- Jeff Tweedy – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- John Stirratt – bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Glenn Kotche – drums, percussion
- Mikael Jorgensen – keyboards
- Nels Cline – electric guitar, loops
- Patrick Sansone – electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
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 |