Publishers Weekly
09/04/2023
Tweedy (Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)), cofounder of the rock band Wilco and alt-country group Uncle Tupelo, delivers a spirited memoir centered on his relationships to such songs as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” and Judy Collins’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” In short sections organized by song, Tweedy holds forth on the ways these tunes—which he often loves, sometimes hates, and occasionally feels indifference toward—have shaped his life and relationships, delving into his own creative process along the way (“When you hear the occasional whistled refrain in my own songs,” he writes, “it’s only there because Otis let me sit down on the dock beside him” in “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”). “Shotgun” by Junior Walker and the All-Stars stirs up memories of marrying his wife, Susie (a tongue-in-cheek selection, as she was pregnant at the time); “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five convinced him, at 15, that hip-hop was “a vitally important new form of musical expression” rather than “some pop music anomaly.” Tweedy’s snappy prose (“I reflexively reject everything Bon Jovi does”) and dry wit elevate the proceedings. This entertaining and enlightening survey hits the right note. Agent: Josh Grier, Ember Lab. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Is it possible that the whole time Jeff Tweedy was impressing us as one of his generation’s most consistently moving songwriters, he was only warming up for his role as an equally insightful essayist? The Wilco frontman’s third bestseller is an extraordinary memoir disguised as a collection of music criticism.”—Rolling Stone, The Best Music Books of 2023
"The Wilco frontman delves into his inspiring relationship with music through 50 songs (from "Gloria" to "Free Bird") and adds heart-wrenching memories of childhood friendship, gun-wielding tour bus drivers and more. If life's a movie, Tweedy's has a pretty great soundtrack." —People
“A beautiful, effervescent, and introspective journey.” —Shelf Awareness
“Tweedy’s storytelling skills are as sharp as his songcraft…a joy to read.” —Performer Magazine
“It’s the chance to see the master at work if you will, even though World Within a Song is entirely about other people’s songs.” —American Songwriter
"Tweedy is a smart, witty and empathetic writer. His unabashed joy in introducing readers to the music that delights him is infectious and will unleash a flood of associations and memories for anyone who shares that passion." —BookPage
"Tweedy’s way with words shine with shimmering eloquence." —Grammys
"Tweedy hits the page with approachable, almost-conversational prose (what’s the opposite of a music snob?) while still providing the reader with tight, evocative sentences sprinkled with silly witticisms, heartfelt anecdotes, pop-culture references and, of course, music history...Tweedy’s writing helps readers relive their own little flashbacks, as if they were listening to an old, cherished tune." —Brooklyn Magazine
“Every chapter of World Within a Song is a little gem, offering insights not only on the song on which it focuses and the reasons it sang and continues to sing — or not — to Tweedy, but also more depth on what it means to write a song that continues shape listeners’ lives.” —Henry Carrigan, No Depression
"You won’t even have to already love Wilco to find joy in the experience of reading Jeff Tweedy’s new book... Full of anecdotal pleasures that get at more universal truths about how we’re shaped by art." —Variety
"A disarming, beautiful, and inspirational book about why we listen to music, why we love songs, and how music can connect us to each other and to ourselves... this book is a mix of the musical, the emotional, and the inspirational in the best possible way." —Rough Trade
"World Within a Song... is something like a book-length version of Pitchfork’s own 5-10-15-20 interview series, where stray memories become reflexively intertwined with certain lyrics or melodies...Tweedy writes like he talks—direct, enthusiastic, relatable, self-aware when he’s corny—and it’s a quick and enjoyable read." —Pitchfork
"In his inimitable voice, [Tweedy] digs into the ways that songs invite us into the worlds within them, illustrating how music connects us to each other. He reveals how the sonic structure of a song can make us fall in love with it and how it lives within us, shaping and reshaping our experience of music and life whenever we hear it." —No Depression
“Mr. Tweedy’s navigation of these songs is an entertaining and intimate read that gives us the opportunity to spend quality time with him.” —Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"Here we’ve got humor merged with memoir; snippets of his life that feel so messy and real that you can’t help but be drawn in." —Fatherly
"Notorious hilarious grump and frontman of Wilco shares his thoughts on songs by the Replacements, Mavis Staples, the Velvet Underground, Joni Mitchell, Otis Redding, Dolly Parton, and Billie Eilish." —All Music
“Following the generosity of the best-selling How to Write One Song (2020), Tweedy extends his largesse and candor in this delightfully inspiring blend of memoir and guidance.” —Booklist
"A deeply personal, Dylan-esque, “philosophical” take on the works that have influenced him as a songwriter and a person… thoroughly entertaining.” —Kirkus
"This entertaining and enlightening survey hits the right note." —Publishers Weekly
“In the same way that Jeff Tweedy is just miraculously there in every line he sings, he’s here in these pages: disarmingly frank, relentlessly exploratory; funny, earnest, wide-open, and brilliant. Like his songs, this book felt like a gesture of warm reassurance, an inspiring reminder of the role art can play in keeping a person alert to life and moving forward. Tweedy is a generous, insanely gifted national treasure.” —George Saunders, New York Times bestselling author of A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
“World Within a Song is a treasure trove, a crate of LPs left behind by a cooler sibling. It reveals the DNA of influence of a brilliant artist while feeling like a cherished mixtape gifted to you by an old friend. It’s equally an ode to music from one of the greatest songwriters of our time, punctuated by hilarious memories of a life spent in the music industry with its unique capacity for both sublime glamor and devastating humility. Jeff Tweedy’s reverence for great songwriting...is infectious. Songs are our companions, bands are human scale miracles, and we should never forget it.” —Michelle Zauner, New York Times bestselling author of Crying in H Mart
Library Journal
10/23/2023
With three solid books under his belt, Grammy winner and Wilco front man Tweedy (How To Write One Song) may become as famous for his authorship as his musicianship. After writing about his own life and process in previous books, he has chosen this time to look at the songs of others through the lens of how they can absorb, enhance, and store listeners' experiences and memories. In doing so, there is a fair amount of autobiography, along with the wonderful caveat that everyone's choice of life-changing songs will be different. Tweedy himself states that he could have selected completely different tunes than these, and that's part of the book's magic. Music is love (and joy and sorrow and empathy and connection), and although there is a lot of inspiring music—perhaps readers will make some new discoveries—the choice of songs analyzed in this book matters less than what Tweedy has to say about them and the way the most beloved songs touch people. VERDICT Another excellent work from an American treasure. Tweedy's enthusiasm and exuberance does for readers what the best songs do for listeners: inspire, delight, connect, linger, and drive people back for more.—Bill Baars
Kirkus Reviews
2023-08-29
The Wilco front man muses on 50 favorite songs.
Describing his latest as a “weird little book of love letters to songs,” Tweedy offers a deeply personal, Dylan-esque, “philosophical” take on the works that have influenced him as a songwriter and a person. Woven in and out of his diverse choices are Rememories, “dreamlike passages recounting specific events” in his life. A “bong-bruised, coughed-up lung of a song,” Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” made the “first dent in my musical mind.” Next, the author writes about how Leo Sayer’s “Long Tall Glasses” makes him think about his father. Bob Dylan is Tweedy’s favorite artist, and he chooses “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” because it’s the first of Dylan’s songs he fell for. Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” feels “like it’s been a part of me for as long as I’ve had a me to feel,” and Patti Smith’s “Horses” is a “shard of poetry sung with the spirit and cadence of a taunt.” At age 12, Tweedy was blown away by “My Sharona”—and still is. Whenever he thinks about Volcano Suns’ “Balancing Act,” he feels “frozen forever in the amber of my youth.” The New Lost City Rambler’s “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down” helped the miserable teenaged author feel better, and the Minutemen’s “History Lesson—Part II” is the “ground on which I stand.” The song “Little Johnny Jewel,” by Television, “simultaneously ripped me apart and held me together.” Tweedy adores the Ramones and “The Weight,” especially the version with Mavis Staples from The Last Waltz. In the early days of Wilco, he often sang Carole King’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” as an encore. He wishes he had written Souled American’s “Before Tonight,” and his jog down memory lanes closes with the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.”
Easygoing and thoroughly entertaining.
