Song of the Day 5/3: Wilco, “Impossible Germany”
Donald Trump, in another fit of pique against another erstwhile NATO ally, abruptly announced that the U.S. will move 5,000 of its troops out of Germany, apparently because its prime minister pointed out that the U.S. is being humiliated by Iran. Naturally, Trump’s response is, “I can humiliate people too, better than they can!”
The move would be more symbolic than practical, but people in Congress, including some Republicans, are making concerned noises about it, so it might be yet another loud announcement without much follow-through. But with Trump, all things are possible, and the more pointless and damaging they are, the more likely they are to happen.
Before Wilco’s 2007 LP “Sky Blue Sky,” songwriter and frontman Jeff Tweedy had a history of falling out with his collaborators, first with Jay Farrar in Uncle Tupelo and later with Jay Bennett in Wilco. This LP was the first with guitarist Nels Cline, who has a long solo on this cut; he’s still in the band. The album got mixed reviews, dismissed as “dad rock” by many. As evidence, Philidelphia’s WXPN proclaimed it the No. 1 album, and this the No. 1 song, of 2007.
