I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film about Wilco (Single...

Buy This Item I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film about Wilco (Single... by Plexifilm  Available from Amazon  $17.99  on 11-16-2008     This is the single disc DVD version of I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART - A FILM ABOUT WILCO. <P>First time director Sam Jones documents the making of Wilco's fourth studio Album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Named after the Wilco song that is featured on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, an album that strays from the Alt-country that made them famous. Jones' desire was to document the creative work of YHF's production, he seems to have found a bit more, including band members departing and a conflict with Reprise record company. This is a true documentry of art versus money-driven media conglomerates. Reader Reviews Although Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has been among my top-ten records of all time since I picked up a copy shortly after its initial release, I waited almost 5 years to see this documentary film about the album (released in 2003). Why? For one thing, the album speaks very loudly and boldly for itself. When I heard about the documentary I was resistant to add any more information to the process of understanding this album for fear of detracting from the experience. However this week I finally caved. The album has grown with me so much over time I really wanted to learn more about its creation. I am hardly an objective viewer and I think I would have enjoyed any film containing the music from the album, but there were some elements that really stood out to make the viewing experience impactful. First was the footage of the band's creative process, developing the material as a unit. I was surprised in fact how well the band interacted as a group (at least at first), when I had always thought of Tweedy as more of a type-A. Additionally, live footage abounded, and there were some very nice performances of "Being There"-era material that reminded me why that album was so much fun. Despite the new emphasis on deconstructionism, the band never lost its ability to "rock" in a more conventional sense. I think this speaks highly for their versatility. Further, David Fricke (of Rolling Stone) and others contributed some very thought-provoking discussion of the clash between art and commerce in the modern music industry. The struggles surrounding this album can in fact be seen as a microcosm of a larger problem impacting artistically ambitious musicians in an era where the public's attention span for such things is shrinking. This in fact points the way towards the rise of indie labels devoted to "career artists" which seems to be occurring right now. Finally, the film had a distinct plot with obstacles to overcome (the band being dropped by its label) and a happy ending (owning creative rights to an album funded by a large label and essentially selling it back to them at a higher cost). In true rock n roll fashion, Wilco "stuck it to the man." The drawbacks? The main one was the focus on the falling out between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett. It was hilarious to see Bennett's explanation of the ouster (a defensive statement boiling down to: "Tweedy was threatened by my brilliance") yet it also cast him in the worst light possible, lampooning his arrogance to make it seem almost cartoonish. I am sure there was more to the story than we were shown. Additionally, Jeff and Jay's discussion over the details of the sounds coming through the mixing boards was excruciating (and fortunately pretty short). It reminded me of watching my parents argue when I was a kid - they obviously both saw the world from a different perspective and it seemed like they just weren't going to see eye-to-eye on certain things. I can see why Jeff had to throw up after that discussion, I wanted to as well. This part was a little too close to reality TV drama for my liking. However this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and the film did achieve its purpose - to help the viewer gain more perspective on the album and the process of its development. It also cast the band in a very human light, as fundamentally regular people working together to create a significant artistic statement. I learned a lot about Jeff Tweedy and crew but not so much so as to make me feel like some kind of voyeur - in other words, the band's personal life was largely left untouched and the focus was placed where it should have been - squarely on the music. And what music it was.

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film about Wilco (Single... Available from Amazon Price: $17.99 Updated on 11-16-2008.

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