Deep Dive: Wilco Song Ranking
Wilco isn’t my favorite band of all time, but they’re my favorite active band. Coming back to their discography repeatedly feels like putting on a weighted blanket in the fall. There are only a few bands I feel qualified enough to do this exercise with, but they are certainly one of them.
***A quick note: I’m just choosing songs from the band’s 11 studio albums. No EPs, no one-off singles, no solo or side project stuff and, perhaps controversially, none of the Billy Bragg collab Mermaid Ave. songs. Sorry “California Stars,” your placement wouldn’t have been high anyway.
140. 23 Seconds of Silence — Summerteeth
139. It’s Just That Simple — A.M.
138. EKG — Star Wars
137. That’s Not the Issue — A.M.
136. Dash 7 — A.M.
135. One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend) — The Whole Love
134. Quarters — Schmilco
133. We Aren’t the World (Safety Girl) — Schmilco
132. White Wooden Cross — Ode to Joy
131. We Were Lucky — Ode to Joy
Every band has to have their “worst songs,” even Wilco. We have here complete silence in “23 Seconds of Silence” (I prefer my music to have noise IMHO), a short and skronky instrumental in “EKG,” the only song in the band’s studio album discography not sung by Jeff Tweedy (John Stirratt’s voice is good in his solo stuff, not my favorite here) with “It’s Just That Simple,” and a mix of recent stuff that would have fit better on a Tweedy solo album and stuff from A.M., their debut album, when they are still shaking the breakup of Uncle Tupelo off. Not bad songs, just not ones I tend to come back to frequently, other than when running through the discography.
130. Someday Soon — Being There
129. Why Would You Want to Live — Being There
128. Everlasting Everything — Wilco
127. Normal American Kids — Schmilco
126. (Was I) In Your Dreams — Being There
125. Someone Else’s Song — Being There
124. Common Sense — Schmilco
123. Cry All Day — Schmilco
122. Pickled Ginger — Star Wars
121. Where Do I Begin — Star Wars
This might seem like a lot of songs from Being There at this point of the list, for an album held in as high esteem as it is. Which is fair, it’s just the nature of double-albums, for me. Being There, as a whole, is a much better album than Schmilco (my least favorite by the band), but there are songs of the 19 track album that are in the same tier as Schmilco tracks. The Star Wars tracks here are fun, and “Pickled Ginger” and “Where Do I Begin” are where, respectively by the band’s standards, we start to move from “Bad Wilco Songs” to “Sub-par Wilco Songs.” Leveling up!
120. Should’ve Been in Love — A.M.
119. Rising Red Lung — The Whole Love
118. What’s the World Got in Store — Being There
117. Solitaire — Wilco
116. Capitol City — The Whole Love
115. Shouldn’t Be Ashamed — A.M.
114. Sonny Feeling — Wilco
113. Shrug and Destroy — Schmilco
112. When You Wake Up Feeling Old — Summerteeth
111. Born Alone — The Whole Love
Not the most interesting group of songs here. Better than the groups before, but less to latch onto. “Sonny Feeling” feels like the closest to Big Star pastiche that Wilco has come to. Tweedy is reaching in his range to Alex Chilton territories and the odd chord progression screams of Radio City. “When You Wake Up Feeling Old” is the one that felt the most slighted of this group, and could very well be 20 spots higher if I did this exercise in a different week.
110. I Thought I Held You — A.M.
109. Red-Eyed and Blue — Being There
108. Open Mind — The Whole Love
107. Deeper Down — Wilco
106. Black Moon — The Whole Love
105. Sunloathe — The Whole Love
104. We’re Just Friends — Summerteeth
103. One and a Half Stars — Ode to Joy
102. Just Say Goodbye — Schmilco
101. I’m Always in Love — Summerteeth
A few songs here that I feel horrible placing so low. “I Thought I Held You,” was once called the band’s worse song by Tweedy. I kinda like it! The melody is really pleasant, especially for the early era of the band, when Tweedy was still leaning in the atonal punk stuff from Uncle Tupelo at times. “Deeper Down” features some nice pedal steel from Nels Cline. I’m going to get eaten alive for “I’m Always in Love.” What the absolute hell. At times, it feels like it weighs too heavy on the side of schmaltz, at others, it feels like power-pop perfection? Much to ponder.
100. Summer Teeth — Summerteeth
99. Whole Love — The Whole Love
98. Leave Me (Like You Found Me) — Sky Blue Sky
97. Standing O — The Whole Love
96. Far, Far Away — Being There
95. Monday — Being There
94. Wishful Thinking — A Ghost is Born
93. Too Far Apart — A.M.
92. Happiness — Schmilco
91. Citizens — Ode to Joy
We’re moving solidly into “these are Decent Wilco Songs” territory. I’m sure Far, Far Away being this low will be a bummer for all the Jay Bennett heads but make your own stupid lists. I have a lot of love for “Citizens.” I mentioned earlier how some of the songs on the last few records can feel like Tweedy’s solo songs but under the Wilco name. Part of what I like so much about Ode to Joy was it took that songwriting but Cline, Glenn Kotche on drums, and the rest of the band kinda freak the simple songs with their wacky touches. Cline’s lead on “Citizens” is a great example of that. Not my favorite song off the album, but one of the more interesting ones.
90. Bright Leaves — Ode to Joy
89. Pick Up the Change — A.M.
88. I’m a Wheel — A Ghost is Born
87. Dreamer in My Dreams — Being There
86. Box Full of Letters — A.M.
85. Hold Me Anyway — Ode to Joy
84. Someone to Lose — Schmilco
83. Casino Queen — A.M.
82. Quiet Amplifier — Ode to Joy
81. Poor Places — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
I might similarly get some flak for putting a Yankee Hotel Foxtrot song on the wrong side of the top 50. Again, buzz off. It should be an indicator of how much I like the song that the “worst” song off of the album is better than all but three songs off of the debut, which isn’t even my least favorite album by the band. Strangely enough, the ending of “Poor Places,” when it devolves into less of a song and more of a sound collage, is when I like it the best. Also, shout out to “Quiet Amplifier.” What a great soundscape. I also love when all the noise cuts immediately without a fade-out to Tweedy’s acoustic on its own. Great shit. More hard cuts, fewer fade-outs.
80. The Lonely 1 — Being There
79. ELT — Summerteeth
78. Less Than You Think — A Ghost is Born
77. Dawned on Me — The Whole Love
76. Passenger Side — A.M.
75. In a Future Age — Summerteeth
74. You and I — Wilco
73. Nope — Schmilco
72. The Joke Explained — Star Wars
71. If I Ever Was a Child — Schmilco
Another example here of newer Wilco occasionally sounding like solo Tweedy material with “If I Ever Was a Child.” In fact, this might be the most solo Tweedy Wilco song there is. However, while I spoke about it as potentially a hindrance on prior songs, it’s done expertly here. It helps that it is probably Tweedy’s best melody off of Schmilco, making up for the lack of typical flourishes for the band from Cline, Kotche and Mikael Jorgensen.
70. Blue-Eyed Soul — A.M.
69. Forget the Flowers — Being There
68. Outta Mind (Outta Sight) — Being There
67. Shake it Off — Sky Blue Sky
66. I Must Be High — A.M.
65. Wilco — Wilco
64. Sky Blue Sky — Sky Blue Sky
63. Heavy Metal Drummer — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
62. Before Us — Ode to Joy
61. On and On and On — Sky Blue Sky
What the absolute hell, man. We are firmly in “these songs are Good,” territory here. Some of the band’s best efforts from the early two albums (I feel particularly bad about the “Forget the Flowers” placement), a song that I waffle on constantly between being mildly annoyed by and absolutely loving with “Heavy Metal Drummer,” and two of the band’s best introspective slow-burn songs in “Before Us” and “On and On and On.” This is an exercise in pain.
60. The Late Greats — A Ghost is Born
59. War on War — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
58. I Might — The Whole Love
57. Outtasite (Outta Mind) — Being There
56. Cold Slope — Star Wars
55. Locator — Schmilco
54. You Never Know — Wilco
53. You Satellite — Star Wars
52. I’ll Fight — Wilco
51. King of You — Star Wars
History lesson time: “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” was the first Wilco song I ever heard. I did not hear it when it was released, as I was seven when Being There was released and the only music I was listening to was The Eagles’ Greatest Hits, Garth Brooks, The Wallflowers, and whatever was on the radio. As I am typing this, I am realizing that Being There might be a perfect middle of the Venn diagram of The Eagles, Garth Brooks and The Wallflowers. Neat. Anyways, “Outtasite (Outta Mind). This song rules. The band kinda leaned into the Black Crowes/apeing The Rolling Stones territory on early songs (especially “Casino Queen”), but this track is probably their best attempt at that sound. Extreme Keith Richard vibes. You have to love it.
50. Hotel Arizona — Being There
49. Taste the Ceiling — Star Wars
48. Everyone Hides — Ode to Joy
47. Say You Miss Me — Being There
46. What Light — Sky Blue Sky
45. More — Star Wars
44. Art of Almost — The Whole Love
43. Side With the Seeds — Sky Blue Sky
42. Company in My Back — A Ghost is Born
41. One Wing — Wilco
A murderers’ row. Great song territory. It only will get more miserable typing this from here on out. Okay, let’s talk about “Dad Rock.” Wait, stop, don’t close your tab. Here’s the thing: Dad Rock fucking rules. It’s great. If Sky Blue Sky and Nels fucking Cline ripping whatever batshit solo he is ripping at the end of “Side With the Seeds,” or the song that’s closest to actually leaning into the American Radiohead tag in “Art of Almost” are Dad Rock, strap a baby to my fucking chest right now because I want to be a dad. Holy shit these songs are great. Also, flowers for “One Wing.” There is a group of acoustic-leaning but odd songs on the band’s self-titled album and this track is one of, but not thee, best of them. The intro doesn’t seem to fit at all and then that off-kilter drum groove kicks off and the song hits the stratosphere. Wonderful. Also, I’ve made it this far without copy-pasting lyrics, because you can all pull up Genius too, but “one wing will never ever fly, dear. Neither yours nor mine. I fear we can only wave goodbye,” is pretty powerful shit.
40. Love is Everywhere (Beware) — Ode to Joy
39. Theologians — A Ghost is Born
38. Handshake Drugs — A Ghost is Born
37. I’m the Man Who Loves You — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
36. Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again) — Summerteeth
35. Country Disappeared — Wilco
34. Candyfloss — Summerteeth
33. Radio Cure — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
32. An Empty Corner — Ode to Joy
31. Hate it Here — Sky Blue Sky
I’m going to keep it brief: There is a scene from the motion picture Boyhood, in which Ethan Hawke’s character interrupts “Hate it Here” repeatedly to explain the song to his son. Well, reader, this scene is a horror film. I feel like this much of a buffoon every time I annoy my wife with painstaking detail about various instruments and how the production “sounds a little like Abbey Road,” about a variety of Wilco songs and songs by other recording artists. It’s a character flaw. I’m trying to own up to it and just actually listen to, and be present with, the music more. It’s, uhh, a work in progress.
30. Sunken Treasure — Being There
Take a bow, Jay Bennett. Wilco is firmly Jeff Tweedy’s band now, with Nels Cline being the main dude for the ‘heads. But from Being There to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the band is at least half Bennett’s, and his piano on this track is one of his career highlights. It will shock none of you readers to find I empathize with Bennett’s meticulous attention to detail in Sam Jones’ documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. He made the songs better because of it!
29. Please Be Patient With Me — Sky Blue Sky
Not going to belabor the point: this is the prettiest song in the band’s discography. Lyrically, melodically, the whole shebang. Just gorgeous. Also, it feels like Tweedy is the only band member featured on this track? Deleted all the dumb stuff I said earlier.
28. My Darling — Summerteeth
I mentioned above how Ethan Hawke’s character in Boyhood compared Wilco to The Beatles. He isn’t talking about this song, but this feels like the most Beatlesque tune by the Chicago band. From Tweedy’s double-tracked vocals, the drum fills from former member Ken Coomer, the piano and chord changes from Bennett, and, of course, the backing vocals that feel ripped directly from “Hey Jude.” More bands should rip off The Beatles imho.
27. I Got You (At the End of the Century) — Being There
This is the moment where the Tweedy-Farrar rivalry that went back to Uncle Tupelo would be forever put to rest. Just a perfect power-pop gem. The moment around 1:40 where the clapping percussion comes in. Inject it in me forever.
26. You Are My Face — Sky Blue Sky
I’m going to be honest: the first minute-and-a-half or so of this song isn’t my favorite. It feels slightly plodding, which Wilco songs almost never feel. And then Nels goes all Nels on you. Seemingly trying to match his energy, Tweedy gives one of his best vocal performances in that little middle reprise section, sounding raw and broken in a way his voice doesn’t often sound.
25. A Shot in the Arm — Summerteeth
I’m very mad about Aaron Rodgers not being vaccinated. Get the fucking shot, you fucking dork. Has Joe Biden considered putting this song in a pro-vax ad? Get it done.
24. Kingpin — Being There
I’m from the part of the country that Jeff Tweedy is from. This song features some of the more glaring examples of Tweedy putting on a bit of a southern accent that you don’t seem to hear ever again from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on. If this sounds like a dig and you’re wondering why I have “Kingpin” ranked so high, I would tell you that it’s more pointing out an oddity than a dig and to consider listening to Bennett’s organ playing again. Holy shit.
23. Random Name Generator — Star Wars
On a lot of days, this is my favorite Wilco song to throw on. For as much as newer Wilco is dominated by softer and more acoustic songs than their earlier material, it’s also equally dominated by fuzz-dominated skronky songs. Is skronky a word? Is Nels Cline’s face shown in the dictionary next to it, if so? What an odd riff.
22. Muzzle of Bees — A Ghost is Born
This might actually be 21 spots too low. Whom can say. While I don’t think it’s their “best,” A Ghost is Born is my favorite Wilco album. I love what Tweedy did without a foil in Bennett or Cline to bounce ideas and arrangements off of. Not to diminish Jim O’Rourke’s contributions, but it always seemed like he was in more of a producer role than a songwriting contributor. “Muzzle of Bees” isn’t my favorite song off this album, but it is hard to argue against the build in the song from 3:15 on. Real career-defining stuff.
21. Can’t Stand It — Summerteeth
“No love’s as random as God’s love, I can’t stand it” might be thee quintessential Wilco lyric. Song would be top 5 if not for the “speaking in code” part, which is the “Round Here” bridge of Wilco moments. Like, why.
20. Bull Black Nova — Wilco
John Stirratt is underrated. The only founding member of the band left alongside Tweedy. Listen to the bass groove Stirratt creates in the verses. The pocket’s depth cannot be defined. Just endlessly sinking into it.
19. Hummingbird — A Ghost is Born
Primo Beatles worship here as well. The final thirty seconds of this song might be the most infectious part of any song in the band’s catalog. Those strings did work.
18. Pot Kettle Black — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
The squall of feedback that repeats occasionally through this song is the kind of thing that made me fall in love with this band. The song could function, and often does at solo Tweedy shows, as a relatively upbeat acoustic folk-pop type number. But the drums and the feedback completely transform the song into something bigger that makes the lasting impact that much more.
17. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
There’s a certain aspect to this seven-minute song that feels completely improvisational: instruments start seemingly in the middle of measures and then fade out just as you begin to notice they’re there. Is that a xylophone I’m hearing, wait, nope, it’s gone now, oh okay we’re playing piano again, what is happening. That’s my daily experience listening to this song.
16. Magnetized — Star Wars
This might seem like an odd choice for this high on the list. Get over it. “I sleep underneath a picture that I keep of you next to me. I realize we’re magnetized,” is pretty good love-song type stuff from a guy who once wrote “I dreamed about killing you again last night and it felt alright to me.”
15. Jesus Etc. — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
A perfect song. I once argued with a friend that, if 100 years all of rock music is viewed as essentially one page in a book, Tweedy’s name would be on that page with Lennon-McCartney and Jagger-Richards. I would like to submit this song to the jury.
14. She’s a Jar — Summerteeth
As poppy as Wilco can be and as sunshine-y a lot of Tweedy’s new material can be, it’s easy to forget how dark some of the early songs were. I’d rather not discuss the last line. Goodbye.
13. Walken — Sky Blue Sky
Wilco has toured in the past with My Morning Jacket, a band I love, and “Walken” feels like Tweedy reaching across the table, grabbing Jim James’ lunchbox, and eating everything inside of it. From the guitar tone, to the keys, to Tweedy reaching into his higher falsetto register, just completely dominating MMJ at their own game.
12. Pieholden Suite — Summerteeth
Maybe the most intriguing Wilco song. Essentially three distinctly different songs, down to the time signatures of each part, held together with a cohesive theme, melody, and lyrics. It shouldn’t work at all but it does, tremendously so.
11. Misunderstood — Being There
The best song from their transitional days. Still alt-country, still reeling from Uncle Tupelo’s disintegration. Listening to the coda of the studio version doesn’t come close to what this song achieves live, where Tweedy often carries out the “I’d like to thank you all for nothing at all,” section for minutes, plural. It’s also the closest he comes to “screaming” and it sounds good. Do it again, Jeff!
10. Via Chicago — Summerteeth
Perhaps the quintessential Wilco song. It contains all the elements you expect to get from the band’s sound, at pretty high levels. I opted to include a live video here, as opposed to the studio cuts for all the other songs, because the band plays this song differently live than on the record ever since Cline and Kotche joined the band, with the spastic instrumental freakouts contrasting with Tweedy carrying on with his steady strumming and soft vocals at the 2:00 and 3:13 marks. The first time I heard it, as a 16 or 17-year-old, it broke my brain. I haven’t been the same since. I prefer the oddities in songs now, throw in a random noise portion. Do all that you can to fuck up perfection.
9. Either Way — Sky Blue Sky
Maybe the closest to living up to whatever it seems the “dad rock” tag was going for, pejorative or not. Again, I could not give less of a shit. If Nels’ solo around 1:50 is dad rock, I’m signing adoption papers today.
8. How to Fight Loneliness — Summerteeth
Whoof.
7. Kamera — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
This has, at times, been my favorite Wilco song. I think I waffle on its placement so much because there are so many different versions of this song. My personal favorite, as of this moment and subject to change by this evening, is the version included in the aforementioned I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documentary. The studio version captures a bit of the weirdness of the doc’s version, but the doc version is the Chad to the studio’s Virgin, with the heavier drums and fuzzed-out guitar. I also like Tweedy’s higher, strained vocals in the doc’s version, compared to the slightly lazier take on the studio version.
6. At Least That’s What You Said — A Ghost is Born
Jeff Tweedy has described the guitar solo as “a musical transcription” of one of his panic attacks. As someone who has had anxiety attacks most of my adult life, uhh, Yes. I do not wish more of them on Jeff. However, I do think him playing lead guitar like he's having one works incredibly. Too many people love the pentatonic scale. Fuck that. Lose your mind on the fretboard.
5. Reservations — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
This is not my favorite song off the band’s groundbreaking album, but I think it’s the one that is responsible for the legacy that the album currently has. I can only think of a few bands across history that could have pulled this off. Most of them are full of dudes now in their 80s and none of them are American. Wilco is the best.
4. Spiders (Kidsmoke) — A Ghost is Born
Wilco turned me onto the band Television, who is responsible for one of my favorite albums, with their live cover of said album’s title track. “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” feels like the closest Wilco has come to an original take on the same kind of song, down to the motorik-drum beat and the harmonized guitar solo at the 7:41 mark.
3. Impossible Germany — Sky Blue Sky
Is it possible to fall in love with a guitar solo? If so, I’m smitten. My favorite guitar solo of the century. Every note of it is perfect, even the “wrong” notes. That’s Nels’ charm.
2. Hell is Chrome — A Ghost is Born
If it’s possible to fall in love with a guitar solo, I would also like to admit I’m in love with the guitar tone, specifically, of the “Hell is Chrome” solo at 2:51. It sounds like equal parts guitar, synth, and laser. Guitar pedals rule. The Prunes and Custard specifically rules. Guitar has never sounded like this and probably won’t ever again. It’s singular.
- Ashes of American Flags — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
This album came out one week after the September 11th attacks. It very obviously was written months before the attacks but it seems intrinsically related to that event. I cannot hear this song without thinking, in part, of that time period. This might seem like a morbid way to think about the best song by my favorite band, but alas, I cannot control brain chemistry. “We want a good life with a nose for things. The fresh wind and bright sky to enjoy my suffering. A hole without a key, if I break my tongue. Speaking of tomorrow, how will it ever come?” The vast majority of bands throughout the history of recorded music go their entire careers without dropping something this poignant and it’s just one section of one song in Jeff Tweedy’s career. A living legend.
