Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy has started Starship Casual, a new newsletter on the Substack platform. Paid subscribers will be able to read posts from Tweedy about the songwriting process, stories from the road, record and book recommendations, an advice column and more.
The launch of Starship Casual comes after Jeff previously published two books, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) and How To Write One Song. Jeff aims to continue the “sense of connection and community” fostered by his The Tweedy Show livestream series on Instagram. Tweedy will also share unreleased music and other “perks” through Starship Casual.
An introductory post is available here and includes Jeff’s explanation of why the newsletter is behind a paywall. “I’d like to point out that at least half of what I’ll be doing here will be free,” Tweedy wrote. “However, after a year and a half with no shows and close to 200 totally free live streams, we’ve come to the conclusion that I should in fact get paid for what I do occasionally. I really think it’s gonna be worth it if you have the spare cash.”
Jeff also shared an article detailing the types of posts coming to Starship Casual. Read a statement from Tweedy about his new venture:
“I know I’ve shared a lot — been pretty prolific for a scary long time now. But a couple of things happened this past year (which I’ll get to in a sec) that have me craving a bit more of a direct experience with my collaborators (you). Social media has never quite met these needs for me. Occasionally I’ve dabbled with tweets and whatnot, but I’ve never been able to quite put my finger on the reason for the emptiness I feel trying to engage with all of you while using those formats.
I really want this newsletter to be an extension of that experience, and to put into practice some of the insight I’ve gained about my past attempts to make social media feel worthwhile and honest to me. It’s the community I’ve always missed. Blue checks or not I’m not sure anyone is really themself — really who they say they are in that climate over there. I’m going to settle in here and share all kinds of things with an added emphasis on a feeling of direct interaction. Mostly, I just want to be here where you can find me. If you need me. Because I like you. Let’s spend some time together.”
Wilco returns to the stage tomorrow night for the first time since the pandemic began to kick off a tour with Sleater-Kinney in Spokane, Washington. A new entry will be published on Starship Casual in time for the tour opener.
