Star Wars (album)

Star Wars
Studio album by Wilco
Released	July 16, 2015
Genre	Alternative rock[1] indie rock[1] space rock[2] experimental rock[3]
Length	33:47
Label	dBpm
Producer	Tom Schick Jeff Tweedy
Wilco chronology
Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions (2012) Star Wars (2015)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Chicago Tribune	[6]
Consequence of Sound	B+[7]
Drowned in Sound	9/10 [8]
FLOOD	(8/10)
The Guardian	[9]
The Independent	[10]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Slant Magazine	[13]
Spin	7/10[14]

Star Wars is the ninth studio album by American alternative rock group Wilco. It was self-released for free on July 16, 2015 through wilcoworld.net.^[15][16] It is the second Wilco album that was released on their own label dBpm. A CD version of the album was released on August 21 and a vinyl version was released on October 13.^[16]

Cover art

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jeff Tweedy explained the cover art and album title.^[17]

It's kind of an extension of the thought process behind, I don't know, staying in touch with some sort of wild energy as much as possible and some sort of an irreverence. But that painting of that cat hangs in the kitchen at the [Wilco] loft, and every day I'd look at it and go, "You know, that should just be the album cover." Then I started thinking about the phrase "Star Wars" recontextualized against that painting — it was beautiful and jarring. The album has nothing to do with Star Wars. It just makes me feel good. It makes me feel limitless and like there's still possibilities and still surprise in the world, you know?

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
The AV Club	The 15 Best Albums of 2015	2015	14[18]
FLOOD Magazine	FLOOD's Best of 2015	2015	6[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Tweedy, except for "You Satellite" co-written by Tweedy, Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline, "Taste the Ceiling" by Tweedy and Scott McCaughey, and "Magnetized" by Tweedy and Mikael Jorgensen.^[20]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"EKG"	1:15
2.	"More..."	2:44
3.	"Random Name Generator"	3:49
4.	"The Joke Explained"	2:33
5.	"You Satellite"	5:16
6.	"Taste the Ceiling"	3:15
7.	"Pickled Ginger"	2:29
8.	"Where Do I Begin"	2:54
9.	"Cold Slope"	3:11
10.	"King of You"	2:41
11.	"Magnetized"	3:40
Total length:		33:47

Personnel

• Jeff Tweedy - vocals, guitar
• John Stiratt - bass
• Glenn Kotche - drums
• Mikael Jorgensen - keyboards
• Nels Cline - guitar
• Patrick Sansone - guitar, keyboards
• Spencer Tweedy - additional percussion
• Scott McCaughey - mellotron and piano on Taste the Ceiling

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21]	60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22]	46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23]	80
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[24]	14
Irish Albums (IRMA)[25]	69
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26]	30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27]	52
UK Albums (OCC)[28]	83
US Billboard 200[29]	105
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[30]	10
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[31]	8
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[32]	18

References

1. "Wilco release free 'Star Wars' album". Telegraph.co.uk. July 17, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
2. "Review: Wilco". The Austin Chronicle. August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
3. "Wilco – Star Wars". mxdwn.com.
4. "Star Wars - Wilco". Metacritic. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
5. Deming, Mark (July 27, 2015). "Star Wars - Wilco". AllMusic. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
6. Kot, Greg (July 16, 2015). "Wilco 'Star Wars' review". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
7. Bray, Ryan (20 July 2015). "Wilco – Star Wars". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
8. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18914/reviews/4149218. Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. Simpson, Dave (July 17, 2015). "Wilco: Star Wars first listen review – an absolute blast". The Guardian. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
10. "Wilco, Star Wars - album review: Jeff Tweedy throws down the gauntlet with a radical take on Americana". The Independent.
11. "Wilco". Pitchfork.
12. "Wilco's New Album: Star Wars". Rolling Stone.
13. "Slant review".
14. Bernstein, Jonathan (July 16, 2015). "Review: Wilco, 'Star Wars'". Spin. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
15. "Wilco on Facebook: "Star Wars: a new Wilco album featuring 11 original songs is available now. Free to download at wilcoworld.net"". Retrieved 16 July 2015.
16. Buchanan, Molly (July 16, 2015). "Wilco Drop Surprise New Album Star Wars For Free". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
17. Doyle, Patrick. "Jeff Tweedy on 'Star Wars,' Bob Dylan and Wilco's Next LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
18. "The 15 Best Albums Of 2015". The AV Club. The Onion. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
19. "FLOOD’s Best of 2015: Music (#25–5)". FLOOD Magazine. Anthemic Agency. December 7, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
20. https://www.dropbox.com/s/k70e8t81e334e3i/STAR%20WARS%20PR%20FINAL.docx?dl=0
21. Ryan, Gavin (August 29, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Disturbed Debuts At No 1 In Australia". Noise11. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
22. "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Star Wars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
23. "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Star Wars" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
24. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wilco – Star Wars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
25. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 35, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
26. "Charts.org.nz – Wilco – Star Wars". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
27. "Swisscharts.com – Wilco – Star Wars". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
29. "Wilco – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Wilco. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
30. "Wilco – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Wilco. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
31. "Wilco – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Wilco. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
32. "Wilco – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Wilco. Retrieved September 1, 2015.