Watch Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Sing Stephen Colbert a Lullaby
Many of Wilco‘s folkier, dreamier tunes already feel like alt-rock lullabies, so frontman Jeff Tweedy seemed comfortable singing Stephen Colbert to sleep during Thursday’s The Late Show.
“Sometimes you’re scared, and then you’re not scared / Sometimes you worry, and then you don’t care,” Tweedy sang in his gentle rasp, strumming an acoustic guitar as the host clutched his teddy bear and stuffed giraffe. “Sometimes you cry and then you’re OK / Tomorrow’s gonna be a great day.” The pair finished the bit by whistling together, often in accidental harmony.
Tweedy and Wilco were also on-hand as musical guests, performing a revved-up version of “Random Name Generator,” a guitar-heavy highlight from their latest LP, 2015’s Star Wars. The clip finds the sextet recreating the track’s wall of distortion, as spacey 1970s video effects give the performance a psychedelic edge. “Generator” climaxes with some explosive, newly developed guitar solo interplay between Tweedy and Nels Cline.
Tweedy recently announced he’s working on a revealing memoir that will trace his journey from being a young Clash fan to developing into one of rock’s signature voices. “I have stories to tell, and I’d like for this book to be a combination of those stories about my experiences, and maybe a window into one person’s creative process, as well as some of what I’ve seen working with other artists in my current and former bands, in the studio, on the road, in my basement with my sons and more,” he wrote in a statement.