'Music Is Anything': Jeff Tweedy Shares Stories From His New Memoir

By Talia Schlanger,

Published December 14, 2018 at 3:09 PM EST

Jeff Tweedy (left) with <em>World Cafe</em> Host Talia Schlanger (right) at the Free Library of Philadelphia. — Jeff Tweedy (left) with *World Cafe* Host Talia Schlanger (right) at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

On the night Jeff Tweedy was set to visit the Free Library of Philadelphia to talk about his new memoir, Let's Go (So We Can Get Back), in front of an audience of fans, the first snow storm of the season had caught the city off guard. Traffic was gnarly and Tweedy was genuinely concerned. "Somebody tweeted something about a car in a ditch coming to this event and I felt terrible," Tweedy said. "What a terrible way to die on your way to see a book event." (As far as we know everyone was OK, if a little chilly.)

Call it a kind coincidence that Tweedy's latest solo album, released shortly after his book, is named Warm.Tweedy and I talked about some of the stories from his book, including the complicated relationships he had with bandmates Jay Farrar in Uncle Tupelo and Jay Bennett in Wilco, his struggle to kick opioid addiction, and the conversations he had with his wife about how much of all of his stories to actually commit to paper. Listen in the player.

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Talia Schlanger

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.

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John Myers

Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

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