Adult Head

by Jeff Tweedy

"Adult Head" is the first book of poetry by Jeff Tweedy, the songwriting genius behind the band Wilco. In turns surreal and concrete, playful and serious, urgent and whimsical, "Adult Head" rewards readers with a unique prosody and deep wisdom. Culled from the same mind responsible for some of the best lyrics and music made in the past decade, this volume displays Tweedy's prodigious talent for poetry on the page. Jeff Tweedy has devoted the last twenty years of his life to songwriting and music making. As a member of the band Wilco and formerly of the band Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy and his band mates have garnered respect and praise from "Rolling Stone", "Spin", the "New Yorker", the "New York Times", and the "Chicago Tribune". Tweedy lives in Chicago with his wife and two sons.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Fiction

53 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

apparently I like his poems better as songs

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm generally a big fan of Tweedy's work but much of this collection felt a bit more like a glimpse into his notebooks than a finished collection of poetry to me. Maybe I should have looked at it as such...as a glimpse into his notebooks, I actually found it quite fascinating. Anyone familiar with his songs will instantly recognize some of the seeds. I'd still consider it a good read for fans of Tweedy...but not so much for someone looking for a solid collection of poetic work.

[Brooke Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great look into Tweedy's writing process. Several lines are featured, usually slightly tweaked, in Wilco songs; specifically the album "A Ghost is Born."

[Jehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It just needed to be longer!

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't love every poem in this book, but there are several that really hit me hard.

[Brody Schenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be biased as a lifelong Wilco fan however Adult Head is one of, if not, my favorite poetry book i’ve read to date. Some of my favorites from the book were, “Laughs”, “I’m a Wheel”, “Study”, “Muzzle”, “Doris”, and “Hell”.

While many artists, musicians, and writers treat the creation process as a way to pass the time or make their lives a little easier, it seems to me that everything Tweedy writes and sings is essentially a direct conduit of god, passing through his body. Reading this book has only furthered my fascination with his mind!

A few of the poems such as, “Muzzle”, “Unlikely Japan”, and “Pure Bug Beauty” offered a unique insight into the writing process into Wilco songs, “Muzzle of Bees”, “Impossible Germany”, and “Company In My Back” which were released in 2004 (A Ghost is Born) and 2007 (Sky Blue Sky). This book was published in 2004.

Adult Head is no longer being printed however, the book is available on Wilco’s store and I bought mine at the merch stand on Tweedy’s current tour.

Definitely recommend for any Wilco/Jeff Tweedy fan.

[Casey Nielsen (thebeerreader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

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It feels a bit unfair to try to give a rating to a book of poetry. I'm giving this one 5 stars because: Wilco is my favorite band. Jeff Tweedy has a lovely way with words. Some of these poems were really moving. Some of them made me think. Some of them made me laugh. This is a book I will pick up again and again.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this book for years. I bought it at a Wilco concert. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read it. None of the poems really resonated with me. I liked discovering lines that appear in some of Wilco's songs, and there were some other beautifully written lines in here as well. But I rate books based on how much I enjoyed reading them, and sadly, I didn't feel much enjoyment with this.

[Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/5 as a Wilco, Tweedy, and his various projects fan. Love seeing how poems shaped songs. Interesting to see how he processes life and memories.

3.5/5 as a poetry fan. There is a lack of consistency in theme and quality in the collection. It’s quite hodgepodge in its assortment and assembly of his works.

[Connor Wilson]

elope to finer cuts of grass
steal away to softer skin
hold tighter those objects
charged and bleeding

the path greater loves have hardened
walk slowly and persist

let's wear momentum
how honor pulverizes this now
like nothing else
it's happening
so loosen your body
to me

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeff Tweedy is a talented rock song lyricist.
He should leave it at that.
OTOH, I do enjoy his other, non-fiction/memoir books.
And an additional OTOH, a required text for all Wilco fans - which I am.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked JT's book of poetry up at a Wilco concert... both were lovely... now i just want for the author to sign it :)

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slim collection of poems that has some nice lines in it. If you are a Wilco fan, you may recognise some of them from the "A Ghost is Born" album.

[Damian Konopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six stars. An amazing musician, great author, great poet, great person.

[Andy P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird stuff. Tweedy completists will likely enjoy it.

[David Ray Allen]

the best laughs
never leave your lungs
and the best life
is art
never made

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Amazon review: (Disclaimer: I think I have been pretty objective here but you should know that I am a huge Wilco fan.)

I am not sure how I would have felt about the poems in Jeff Tweedy's Adult Head had I read it prior to the release of Wilco's album "A Ghost is Born". Several of the poems, or at least some of their individual stanzas, have since appeared in song format on that album and changes, somewhat, the idea that the writing in Adult Head is poetry in a traditional sense. Lyrics for "Company in my Back", "Muzzle of Bees", "At Least That's What You Said", "Hell is Chrome", "I'm a Wheel", and probably some that I've missed, all appear in infant form within these poems making "Adult Head" more like an intimate portrait of Tweedy's songwriting process than a book of poetry.

Imagery and ideas are occasionally repeated ("Prayer #2"/"Muzzle", "Sister Invention"/"I'm a Wheel", "At Night"/"Blueheart Chrome") as if they are being polished until fit just right. Other times the "inital draft" feel is clear and a few pieces feel as if they have been meshed from several different thoughts. Often in the same poem a stanza will resonate all on its own but feel off kilter in context of the entire piece. "First This" is a strong example of the order (or disorder) of some of these works. The first two stanzas of "First This" hold together well but the third takes the reader just off base. However, if the poem is read with the last stanza first, the cohesiveness of the piece seems to come together and progress more readily. Of course, this may have been Tweedy's intention (especially in this case - the poem IS titled "First This"...) but the technique proves more of a distraction than a pause to consider. It seems Tweedy may even be aware of this weakness as he broke down the piece "Muzzle" into two separate songs on "Ghost is Born" - the first three stanzas becoming "Muzzle of Bees" and the last two becoming "At Least That's What You Said".

All of that said, there is still plenty of fresh material. "Way of Light (Christmas, 1978)" and its companion piece "Christmas, 1978, Later" catch the enormous emotional charge of coming of age - the pain of learning that childhood's magic is often just mundane trickery. "Doris" and "The Bench-Warmers Daughter" create such crystal clear character studies Tweedy might as well have pasted down photos as soon as words. "Easy Bake Oven" is innocently seething with its final line, "...and I've never been too sad to eat."

And there are, of course, those pieces that are just waiting to burst into song - "Temper, Temper", "Poison Color", "Blueheart Chrome".

Overall, an interesting body of work that should definately be revisited in light of "A Ghost is Born". A great companion piece to the cd but also a stand-alone book of unorthodox and highly personal poetry.

[Rob Harvilla]

the best laughs
never leave your lungs
and the best life
is art
never made

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this. For the most part at least.
It was really an odd experience, reading what amounted to Wilco lyrics without the music. It's nonsensical at times, and if you think too hard about the words and the cadence these poems will fall apart. BUT if you just read them and let your mind wander around in them, its got something special you can feel.
I know I'm coming off as a crystal-gripping-hippie for all that, but it is something I like about Tweedy's lyrics... The are more about how they -sound- and how that makes you feel than what the exact words are. These poems are quite a bit like his lyrics, in fact some bits and pieces of them have ended up in songs on albums.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much of a poetry reader, which is funny and inconsistent of me when considering how much I love song lyrics. So I suppose it took Jeff Tweedy, author of such great lines as "The ashtray says you were up all night" to get me to read a volume of verse. Sorry to say the aforementioned lyric is not featured in this book, but you do get that great line from "I'm a wheel" that goes, "Once in Germany someone said nein." I'll admit that maybe I'm not quite as deep and profound a thinker to totally "get" all of these poems, but it was certainly fun to read a book of verse from one of America's great modern-day lyricists.

[Jared Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Tweedy is not a Great Poet. He is however an amazing songwriter. Many of these poems evolved into some of the best Wilco songs--specifically the A Ghost is Born period. When I say Tweedy is not a Great Poet, I do not mean that he is not a really good poet, and I think he is. One of the many reasons that Wilco's songs will never be heard on the radio is that Tweedy's lyrics are often more poetry than anything else. He is not, however, what anyone would mistake for a schooled poet, and songwriters are so very often dismissed as poets--regardless of how unfairly, but I think that this collection is a strong argument for Tweedy's legitimacy in the field.

[Tiago Decker medeiros · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edição muito bonitona: capa, papel, encadernação, etc. A tradução é péssima, contudo. Pavorosa. Sem falar nuns dois erros de digitação que encontrei.
Um alívio ser um livro bilíngue, com o original sempre às páginas da esquerda.

Sobre as poesias em si: bastante medianas. Duas ou três são realmente boas. O resto é esquecível. Para quem gosta de Wilco é bacana por ter elementos que evoluíram e se espalharam pelas músicas da banda. Pros que não gostam deles ou do Tweedy, é completamente passável.

Jeff é compositor: escreve letra e melodia. As poesias parecem aleijadas. Falta alguma coisa. As músicas são melhores. Mas não desgosto absolutamente do livro.

[Sara Kearns · Rating 3 out of 5]

His song lyrics are among the most literate, poetic, and powerful of the past several decades of music, but his poetry?... hmmm... I looove Jeff Tweedy, so I am biased and am having a hard time being objective as I rate this book. The editor in me might have given it a lesser rating. Then again, three stars is stated as intended to mean, "I like it," not "actually solid, well-crafted poems," so, yeah, three stars, justified. So there.

[Mark Robson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I just had too high of expectations. I think there are very few songwriters whose words can stand alone as poetry, but (I thought as I ordered it) Tweedy has his moments, maybe he is good enough...but without the music behind it, his words seem lifeless.

If you are going to read poetry, I'd recommend reading some by a poet rather than a pop star.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of the poems here are interesting, but meaning often gets lost in an exploration of sound, and too often, the poems seem to be jotted off and unpolished. There are a few (maybe three or four) that I enjoyed enough to pass on or revisit, but for the most part, this isn't a collection I'll remember or recommend.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The collection includes poems for _A Ghost Is Born_. I love Tweedy, but c'mon!

[T. J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this a little disappointing. I thought the poetry was merely tuned up or down versions of Tweedy's lyrics. Some of the non-song-based poems were interesting with nice abstract images.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for fans, you can see where some of Tweedy's song lyrics came from, and their older iterations, but otherwise its not that remarkable of poetry.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the poetry in an of itself says nothing, the alliteration is remarkable. Each time I read this short collection I am impressed with how beautiful nothing at all can sound.

[Jeff]

This is a collection of poems by the lead singer of the band Wilco. Any time I am looking for inspiration I pick up this book.