Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy returned to Late Night With Seth Meyers for an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of the NBC talk show. Tweedy sat for an interview with host Seth Meyers to talk about his new book, his delayed apprecation of an ABBA classic, his first trip to New York City and more.
Jeff Tweedy’s third book, World Within A Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music, arrived yesterday. The 56-year-old musician started the tome by downplaying his skills informing readers, “I don’t know what I’m doing and I probably don’t have any business writing another book. Much less one as conceptually conceived and philosophical as this one aims to be.” Meyers queried Tweedy on why he began the book that way to which Jeff responded simply, “It’s honest.”
The book includes Tweedy’s recollection of how his appreciation for certain songs has changed over the years. One song he didn’t like originally was ABBA’s 1976 hit “Dancing Queen.” The Wilco frontman said he started enjoying the song more as he became older, especially after one specific incident. “I was just standing in the grocery store one day and it was playing on the speaker right about me, and I was just like ‘what is this message from heaven?’,” Tweedy remembered. “It was so glorious, so beautiful,” Jeff added. He also mentioned the context had changed for him and “all the barriers” fell away.
The Belleville, Illinois native also spoke about visiting NYC as a youngster for the first time. “All of the musicians I’d see on the street were a million times better than I am now,” Tweedy recalled. He picked up on their fashion and had his mom buy him a beret. “I made it home with the beret and I made it out of my mom’s car with the beret,” the guitarist/vocalist said. “I locked eyes with somebody and realized the colossal mistake I was making. That I was never going to be able to pull this off.”
Jeff Tweedy went on to discuss interacting with fans who have taken special meaning from his songs. His World Within A Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music book tour continues tonight in Washington D.C. Additional stops follow in Cincinnati, Ann Arbor (Michigan), Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
See Tweedy’s latest appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers below:
