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Album Tue Nov 25 2008

Jay Bennett Releases Solo Album

whia.jpgYesterday former Wilco member, Jay Bennett, released an acoustic solo album, Whatever Happened I Apologize. Having read the liner notes on the website first about a former relationship with a girl in school, I was already put in the mindset that it was going to be a diary of sorts. The raw, stripped down recording is appropriate as it really captures the rawness of young love. You can't help but think, though, that revisiting these emotions as a more experienced adult brings with it some regret and a realization of naivety. This theme is prevalent throughout the album but was especially evident on "I Don't Have the Time," where he basically says he's too busy to show his love for the girl.

All I previously knew of Bennett was what I saw in I am Trying to Break Your Heart, a documentary about the making of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, where he quits/is fired from the band. While he is made out to be the bad guy in the documentary, it still shows that he can be a whiner, and this highly personal album affirms that. But, an album you'd want to have on repeat through a break-up, or while reminiscing about lost love, is the perfect mode for him to express himself.

You can download the album for free on rock proper.com, a Chicago based website that distributes album-length downloads for free (with legal consent of their creators, of course).

 
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tankboy / November 25, 2008 3:54 PM

I think it's a tad unfair to bring his portrayal in I am Trying to Break Your Heart into the review since its a famously skewed view of the man, especially if that's your only basis of review. But I see the point you're trying to make.

Jay Bennett / November 26, 2008 6:57 AM

Just thought I'd let you in on a little secret. The "blurb" to which you refer, about a former relationship with a girl, was assigned RANDOMLY to this "album" by rockproper. The label does a bunch of free writing, then throws it all in a box, and when they have a new release, they pull one out. So, I'm not really sure what this says about your interpretation of the theme of the record. It could still be perfectly valid, or not. I guess the real question, which you can now never answer, is, would I have interpreted this record the way I did had I not read that "blurb?" In a way, I disagree with the last comment, even though it was written, in part, to defend me, because, good writing is not so much a matter of trying to maintain a neutral point of view, but rather of admitting one's bias, as you do. However, admitting that one's bias comes from a lack of knowledge/experience with the subject, is not quite the same as a well informed admission of bias. In cases such as these, one should probably defer to someone with a wider and deeper base of knowledge, and frame of reference. In other words---if you haven't read all the books assigned for the class, you are probably not prepared to write the paper.

Jay Bennett / November 26, 2008 7:07 AM

Having said all of the that, I now realize that Tankboy's comment does address the issue of bringing only ONE piece of knowledge to the table, when MANY are readily available, so, sorry, Tankboy.

Jay Bennett / November 26, 2008 9:06 AM

But, an album you'd want to have on repeat through a break-up, or while reminiscing about lost love, is the perfect mode for him to express himself.---I'll buy that comment.

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Feature Thu Dec 31 2015

Our Final Transmission Days

By The Gapers Block Transmission Staff

Transmission staffers share their most cherished memories and moments while writing for Gapers Block.

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