I’ve tried and tried to find something to like in Wilco’s music. I’ve listened to old stuff and new stuff at length (thank you Lala.com). So far I’ve found only one song worth more than a single listen: Heavy Metal Drummer.

I certainly appreciate the musicianship, their consistency, their proficiency in songwriting, Jeff Tweedy’s tenacity through the years, and their help in creating this new genre (which I think is now called Americana, but that may have changed in the last twenty or so minutes). And maybe that’s all it takes to be thought of as a good band. They are solid, if uninspiring.

But Tweedy’s singing just always seems so unspirited, and come to think of it, so does the guitar playing. The lyrics are okay but basically inoffensive and bland.

And I struggle to chalk this up to taste. For example, I don’t really like The Flaming Lips, but I totally see the appeal of this music.

Is there something wrong with me? I want to like Wilco. But I just don’t get it. In fact, I’ve talked to others about this and everybody seems to feel the same way. Can anyone tell me what’s so great about them? I’m serious. I want to know. I feel left out.

Stop cutting your wrists. Stop punching that baby. And the OTHER ONE.

I’m mad too. But these things happen when you poll readers, whose loyalties are easily exploited for profit, particularly the younger ones. It’s not all that meaningful. I mean, they have an Avril Lavigne album as #4 for the decade.

Put down the gun. Stop hitting your mother. It is a READER’S POLL, for fuck’s sake. 30-year-olds with jobs and a conscience don’t take this poll, 15-year-olds with nothing but free time and disposable income do. So relax, it’s not that big a deal, and nobody’s claiming it’s even as fair as a Florida election.

It’s still surprising, though, when you consider that a LOT of people voted in this, and unless some programmer designed a bot to vote automatically, this means that a LOT of people still like Green Day. I didn’t know that.

I saw Green Day in concert once. It was in 1994, right after Dookie came out. I was 15. It was the second concert I’d ever been to (the first was Soundgarden). It was a great show, and the first place I ever smelled pot. But it makes me wonder, wouldn’t Green Day be more appropriate on a list for LAST decade?

So let’s just all do our collective “Huh!” and get back to the real world where Green Day is shitty.