Wait - how many bars of the little drum kit?

Last night at The Guild we watched "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," Sam Jones' brilliant documentary that follows Chicago band Wilco through the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the self-produced album that lost them a record deal - and gained them a better one.

Discussion - dare I say debate? - came fast and thick afterwards. What does an artist owe their listeners? Their record label? What about Wilco's "write it normal, then destroy it" method of songwriting and arrangement? Is a band a democracy, a creative dictatorship, or something in between? Is there a place for music that demands something of it's listeners in a microwaveable, give-it-to-me-yesterday age? How do boundaries and limitations hurt us - and help us - as artists?

One of my favorite things about the Guild is discovering the different frames of reference we all bring to the table. Last night our discussion of Wilco somehow reminded people of Norah Jones, the Greatful Dead, U2, Nirvana, Madonna, and Rage Against the Machine - to name a few. You guys wear your influences on your sleeves. And what different sleeves they are...