Wilco went more than four years without a releasing a new studio album, and then promptly dropped Star Wars on Thursday, creating a sensation for alt-rock fans similar to what Drake did with If You're Reading This It's Too Late for hip-hop fans. Even better, the new set is available for free download at the band's website, or for streaming (which you can do at the bottom of this page).
"Why release an album this way and why make it free?" frontman Jeff Tweedy posted on the band's Facebook page. "Well, the biggest reason, and I'm not sure we even need any others, is that it felt like it would be fun. What's more fun than a surprise?"
That's valid, but we have another good reason for releasing it gratis: The only thing more in the galaxy (both ours and one far, far away) with more closely guarded copyrights than the Star Wars series is The Beatles' song catalogue. If Wilco gives its product away, it doesn't have to worry about lawsuits from Disney—similar to how Danger Mouse got away with The Gray Album, his mashup of Jay Z's The Black Album and The Beatles "white" album.
Another enticing feature of the new album: The "cover art" features fluffy house cat sitting on a pillow regally. Just saying.
Tweedy was last heard from when he and his son, Spencer, teamed up for the one-off album Sukierae under the alias "Tweedy" last year. It was plenty good. But it wasn't Wilco. And we're needy.
Check out the tracklist below and give Star Wars a listen at the bottom. For fun, let us know how much you would theoretically pay for it in the comment section.
01. EKG
02. More...
03. Random Name Generator
04. The Joke Explained
05. You Satellite
06. Taste the Ceiling
07. Pickled Ginger
08. Where Do I Begin
09. Cold Slope
10. King of you
11. Magnetized
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