Jeff Tweedy

On expensive guitars, listening to new music, Judaism, and staying sober

What is the best piece of advice anyone has given you?

Early on, we were touring with the Band. It was the Arkansas Traveler tour with Michelle Shocked and Uncle Tupelo. I was rehearsing, and Rick Danko stepped up onstage behind me, out of the blue, and said, “You sound desperate. You should always sound desperate. Don’t lose that.” It’s a weird way of saying something that I totally agree with. I think what he really meant is people have to hear that you care — that you’re desperate to communicate, desperate to connect. That’s why we sing.

In your new book, World Within a Song, you write about all kinds of new music that you love, from Billie Eilish to Rosalía. How have you kept your ears so open to new artists?

Even if it wasn’t something I’m naturally curious about, I think it’s the most important part of what I do. I want to feed the part of me that gets excited by something unpredictable. I mean, I would’ve killed for this scenario when I was a kid, that I could just dial up anything I was reading about and hear what it sounded like immediately. So it’s a way of honoring that kid in me.

What’s the most extravagant purchase you’ve ever made?

This is an obnoxious answer, but I have this habit of falling in love with a particular instrument and not feeling like I really have it unless I buy another one. So I have a lot of doubles of instruments that are all my favorites. It’s a certain insecurity from guitars getting broken or changing over time into something that I don’t like as much or whatever. That’s pretty frivolous.

You sound a little like Bob Odenkirk’s character on I Think You Should Leave: “Triples is best.”

Exactly. That’s me. I think I’ve got triples of the ’68 Gibson Dove.

You were skeptical of religion growing up, but you converted to Judaism as an adult. What role does Jewish tradition and belief play in your life these days?

We’re primarily secular in our family. We go to High Holy Days and things like that. We have Seders. It’s a community that we feel embraced by, and a congregation that has a warm feeling to it for our family. When we’ve gone through things like my wife’s cancer diagnosis, it’s important to mean something to the fabric of a community.

It’s one of the first things I noticed about my wife’s relationship with other people, especially when she ran a rock club. Anybody that was a Jewish person in a rock band that came through, automatically, they had a comfort level, and they could actually sing the same prayers. I was thinking, “What do I have like that? The Gilligan’s Island theme song?”

You’ve been in recovery for almost 20 years, since you went to rehab for an addiction to opioids in 2004. How much do you have to think about that these days?

It’s a daily thing. It’s not something you want to lose sight of. It’s not as intense; the feeling of being on a ledge has gone away considerably over the years. At this point, right now, I’m in an enormous amount of pain because I have really bad osteoarthritis in my hips, and I count my blessings every day that this isn’t the period in my life where I’m going to be introduced to opioids and find out how much power they have over me — and maybe not make it. I feel really, really fortunate to know what I’m up against.

You suggest in the book that Stevie Wonder should write a new national anthem to replace The Star-Spangled Banner. That’s a great idea, but why not you?

[ Laughs.] Well, who would you rather have write it: Me or Stevie Wonder?

Wilco’s 13th studio album, ‘Cousin,’ will be released on Sept. 29.