''The Wilco Book'' (2004, ) is an exploration of the artistic statement presented by the band

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

. Artwork created by the band, photographer Michael Schmelling, and

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

artist

Fred Tomaselli Fred Tomaselli (born in Santa Monica, California, in 1956) is an American artist. He is best known for his highly detailed paintings on wood panels, combining an array of unorthodox materials suspended in a thick layer of clear, epoxy resin. Th ...

is interspersed with comments from the band, technicians, and managers, as well as essays by

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

and

Rick Moody Hiram Frederick Moody III (born October 18, 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel ''The Ice Storm'', a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 19 ...

, and poetry from

Bern Porter Bernard Harden Porter (born February 14, 1911, Porter Settlement in Houlton, Aroostook County, Maine – died June 7, 2004, in Belfast, Maine) was an American artist, writer, publisher, performer, and physicist. He was a representative of the avan ...

's collection ''

Found Poetry Found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them (a literary equivalent of a collage) by making changes in spacing and lines, or by adding or deleting text, thus ...

''. Interviews were conducted by

PictureBox PictureBox was an art, music, photography, and comics publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York directed by Dan Nadel. PictureBox published its own books and packages books and concepts for museums and galleries. The company began in 2002 ...

, who edited and designed the book (which is credited to Wilco and Picturebox with photography by Michael Schmelling). Packaged with the book is a CD of previously unreleased experimental music, which is discussed in the first appendix by

Mikael Jorgensen Mikael Jorgensen (born June 4, 1972) is an American musician known as the pianist and keyboardist for the band Wilco as well as a member of the bands Pronto and Quindar. Career Prior to his days in Chicago and with Wilco, Mikael honed his musical ...

, who produced and played on the sessions before he formally joined Wilco.

Bonus CD track listing

# "Pure Bug Beauty" – 7:31 # "This is New" – 4:26 # "Diamond Claw" – 3:12 # "This is New (The Explanation)" – 1:53 # "What Good Am I" – 1:23 # "Here Comes Everybody" – 2:56 # "Hummingbird" – 3:57 # "The High Heat" – 2:55 # "Doubt" – 1:27 # "Barnyard Pimp" – 5:13 # "Rottnest" – 1:24 # "Hamami" – 2:54 2004 non-fiction books Wilco {{music-publication-stub