time traveling with [wilco]

i don't go to wilco concerts to listen to the music...

i go to time travel.

i discovered wilco in the fall of 2002 with their album "yankee hotel foxtrot."  i was twenty one, in college and had just switched majors into architecture.  i was at an age where i started to feel like i was thinking for myself. my tastes, style and preferences on everything were changing.  in a way, i felt i was shedding the shell of my youth and looking ahead to a whole new adult life in front of me.  it was new, it was confusing, it was exciting and a little scary.  yhf couldn't have been a more perfect album to discover during this time.  i've been a fan of wilco ever since hearing the opening song to that album "i'm trying to break your heart" and they've been a huge part of my life soundtrack since.

when i go to a wilco concert and they start playing my favorite songs, i'm immediately transported in time and taken back to different spots along my adulthood timeline.

when i hear "jesus etc." i'm taken back to late nights in studio working on architecture projects with my best friends.

when i hear "heavy metal drummer" i think of my friend beth when she lived in chicago, talking to her on the phone about relationships and getting her female perspective on any crazy situation i was dealing with.

when i hear "humming bird" and "handshake drugs" i think about living in san diego away from friends and family.  i think of my co-worker scott and how after discovering i liked wilco as well, he gave me a bunch of old wilco albums and other bands like uncle tupelo, golden smog and loose fur to listen to.

when i hear "either way" i think of my first break-up.

when i hear "impossible germany" i think of living in my very own apartment by myself.

when i hear "sky blue sky" i think about walking in downtown wichita.

when i hear "one wing" i'm taken back to friday nights hanging with friends at lucky's.

when i hear "art of almost" i think of taking one last trip to kansas city before moving away from the midwest.

when i hear "if i ever was a child" i think about planning my wedding and picking music for the reception.

i realize none of these memories mean anything to you and they're not suppose to; they're mine, but maybe you have different songs from different bands that take you back in time...and that's what makes music absolutely magical. it really is the best form of time travel i know.  all you have to do is put on headphones and press play.

thank you wilco for being the doc brown to my marty and helping me go back in time whenever i hear your music.