Wilco seems like a band destined for greatness and success. Sam Jones' documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," based on the making of their album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and the battles to release it (fought both inside and outside the band) makes the point that the band already has the greatness part down. Watching the band perform and record makes it undeniable. The band seems to be teetering on the brink of success. As lead singer Jeff Tweedy points out "every album I've put out people have said 'this is gonna be the one'."

Reprise Records, part of Time-Warner, is portrayed as a faceless, tasteless entity but it doesn't always act the way you'd expect. The company puts up hundreds of thousands of dollars for the album and decides not to put it out...HUH? To top it off, it lets Wilco out of their contract scott-free. Well it isn't really the band's fault that the company hates their record so much that it refuses to release it. Having Wilco's beautiful music saturated throughout the film only makes their case much stronger..."how could anyone hate this music?" I kept thinking to myself.

The conflict within the band is also fascinating to watch. Right from the start it is evident that Jay Bennett, the keyboardist, will be the one to go. His argument with Tweedy on how they should re-mix the song "Heavy Metal Drummer," is like something right out of "Spinal Tap." Bennett really wants Tweedy to "understand" him, but Tweedy just tries to placate him which of course pisses him off even more. It's both frustrating and hilarious to watch. Also Bennett's post-Wilco interview as he rants about how he "was gaining too much power" and that Tweedy was "threatened" by him, is priceless.

In between these conflicts is various commentary by rock journalists, managers, lawyers, and execs. I took delight in seeing David Fricke (not just because he looks like Roger Waters with better teeth), a Rolling Stone music critic, talk about how corporations didn't "get" music like Wilco's. He talks like an indy rock crusader, does he remember who he works for? The real star of the film is Tweedy. I got a kick out his constant bed-head, five o'clock shadow, chain-smoking presence. Watching Tweedy showing up to sign the contract is absolutely hysterical. He shows up in a ski jacket looking like he just rolled out of bed while he's amongst people in suits and cardigans. His completely unpretentious and unassuming demeanor is not characteristic of a rock star. He does not exude sexuality, but intelligence.

The stongest thing about the film is the music. Watching Wilco launch into different takes (i.e. an electric version of "Kamera") is great fun. The ultimate irony is achieved when Wilco signs with Nonesuch records, which is also a subsidiary of Time-Warner. Yet even now the success of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," in terms of sales, is minimal. Though Wilco is not hellbent on making money, the music actually does seem more important to them. They simply want the music to be heard. The album has garnered much praise from critics, recently it was put on Rolling Stone's "Best Albums of the Year" list. Yet they still are not a household name. I didn't even know who they were until this year. The first album that I heard was Foxtrot and I immediately fell in love with it. Seeing this film made me appreciate the music even more. As far as I'm concerned, they have already succeeded.

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