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My Morning Jacket Won't Cover Wilco

My Morning Jacket's Pat HallahanMy Morning Jacket showed their penchant for interesting cover choices during their epic Bonnaroo show two years ago, but one band they probably won't cover any time soon is Wilco, the indie rockers often compared to MMJ.

It's not that the guys from MMJ don't like Wilco -- they do. They just have certain guidelines for the covers they do. "Were trying to find amazing songs that people don't really listen to anymore, who would hear them and go, 'Oh, my god -- why haven't I listened to this forever?" drummer Patrick Hallahan tells Spinner.

The 2008 Bonnaroo performance, which lasted nearly four hours, included covers of James Brown, Bobby Womack, Sly and the Family Stone, Erykah Badu, Motley Crue and Kool and the Gang -- all recognizable acts but not exactly current, which is why Wilco, still riding a wave of popularity, won't be covered by MMJ.

"They have to be out of rotation for a little while before we pick them up," Hallahan says. "We don't really do too many new covers."

Critics love to compare and contrast Chicago-based Wilco to Louisville's MMJ, so much that you'd think the two bands were rivals. But, Hallahan says, the bands are friendly and have even toured together.

"Those guys are so great as people and as musicians," he says. "The last few times I've seen them have been the band at their best. They are hitting on all cylinders. It's incredible. Just to watch them -- everybody's in a good mood, they're all firing off each other. It's really something to see."

Now that My Morning Jacket is preparing to hit the road again, you can expect more surprising covers. And if the past is any indication, the band will find inspiration in funk and soul.

"We're just trying to make a mix tape for a dance party or a celebration of sorts," Hallahan says.

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Mpeel

I admit, I am not a music critic but I do listen and follow a wide variety. From the Dead to Black Flag. Having seen both Wilco and MMJ a few times each, I never really compared them. Early MMJ live was hair and fury and extended jams. Early Wilco was kinda Uncle Tupelo-esq and now are sort of artsy space jams mixed in.

February 26 2010 at 3:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply