The Wilco Songs on TV Shows Watch
So, let me preface this entire thing by saying two things: 1) I l-u-v love Wilco, and I have since the first album, and expect to for the rest of my life and 2) Given that their music seems not to fit the narrow parameters of any current radio format, I have no issues with Jeff Tweedy getting as much of his amazing music out there in any way, shape or form possible.
That said, is it just me, or are TV shows currently flooded with Wilco music? And I’m not even talking about the Volkswagen commercials — which I’m fine with but fast-forward through — but in the actual shows themselves.
I’ve noticed it three times in the last week. One time is a novelty; two times is a coincidence; but three times is a trend! Therefore, I’ve decided to start The Wilco Songs on TV Shows Watch, which will be dedicated to cataloging the instances Wilco music shows up in a TV show.
Here’s what I’ve got so far.
- Bionic Woman: Season 1, Episode 1, “Paradise Lost.” This was the novelty: at the end of the episode, “What Light” from Sky Blue Sky is played over the last scene of the episode, where Jamie is trying to make up for being a bad sister/surrogate mom by going to her sister’s talent show. Thank gods that she was able to help solve the Problem Of The Week in time!!
- Friday Night Lights: Season 2, Episode 1, “Last Days of Summer.” This was the coincidence: Friday Night Lights is a completely different type of show than Bionic Woman, and yet the entire episode was framed by a pair of (awesomely heartbreaking) montages scored by “Muzzle of Bees,” from A Ghost is Born. Like everything else (except for that whole Tyra/Landry thing) that makes FNL great, it was a weird, but fitting choice.
- How I Met Your Mother: Season 3, Episode 3, “The Third Wheel.” This marks the trend: on last night’s HIMYM, not only was Wilco music used, but “listening to a Wilco CD” was used as an excuse to have a threesome. Sigh. If only.
There are several things wrong with how this played out, BTW. Without spoiling anything, it seems that a) people young and hip enough to have an iPhone would also have an iPod docked into their speakers and b) the assumption was that the Wilco CD was the new one, Sky Blue Sky (otherwise, where would the interest be?), but the actual song used in the episode was “Passenger Side,” from A.M. Great song, no context whatsoever.
That’s all I’ve got. What I want to know is, what have I missed? Here’s where you can help: put any instances of Wilco music in TV shows that you discover over the rest of the season in the comments section of this post!
Especially since we’ve begun “impress or die” week around our house: where the freshman crop of shows need to start showing us something or they are removed from the Season Pass with extreme prejudice. So, buh-bye, Chuck! Don’t fear yourself, Reaper!
This means that there very well be future instances of Wilco songs on TV shows that I will totally miss. So any help that y’all can give would be awesome. I would love to have a full compendium of Wilco songs used in TV shows here at the end of the season.
Technorati Tags: Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, Bionic Woman, How I Met Your Mother, Friday Night Lights
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4 Comment(s) so far
1. Jeff wrote on October 11th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
I noticed it as well. A pretty random thing, I didn’t even watch much TV that week. Was Sky Blue Sky also played earlier in the Bionic episode?
2. The (Bi-)Weekly ‘Loper - October 21, 2007 | Medialoper wrote on October 21st, 2007 at 1:41 pm
[…] The Wilco Songs on TV Shows Watch - Well, that was a bust. What we thought was a trend turned out to be just a coincidence, after all. […]
3. Jan wrote on November 2nd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
How to Fight Loneliness - Nov 1 ER
4. Jim wrote on November 2nd, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Jan,
Totally awesome.
Thanks!!