“Laminated Cat” – Loose Fur
(Words: Jeff Tweedy, Music: Loose Fur, available on Loose Fur, Drag City 2003)

I’m always fascinated by the way that songs change over time, whether through a rebirth through someone else’s interpretation or through the natural evolution from its humble beginnings to a final, recorded project.  In the case of “Laminated Cat,” the song lives a double life, existing in the Wilco world as “Not for the Season.” While Jeff Tweedy recorded this version, dubbed “Laminated Cat” for some strange reason, with Jim O’Rourke and future Wilco percussionist Glenn Kotche in 2000, the trio’s collaboration sat on the shelf until 2003.  In the meantime, “Not for the Season” appeared on the leaked demos for the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album as a straightforward rocker (to be fair, I don’t know when these demos were recorded and if they predate the Loose Fur record).  “Not for the Season” was my introduction to Wilco as an incendiary live band, as they opened their show in Providence the day after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s release.  By this point, “Not for the Season” sounded a lot like “Laminated Cat,” as the arrangement stretched out with feedback and guitar loops.

Still, despite a shared melody and lyrics, these feel like two different songs, and it’s difficult to declare one as the “superior” version.  Some days, the demo version feels right.  On those days, “Not for the Season” feels right as a song that captures the band’s transition from Summerteeth’s focused pop to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s rougher experimentation.  Other days, the stretched out drone in “Laminated Cat” captures Tweedy’s song about detachment and feeling out of place.  The hum of the guitars and the repetitive nature (like the seasons) make it seem shorter than its seven minute running length.  Still, the final tipping point towards the Loose Fur version is Kotche’s drumming.  At some moments, Kotche plays rhythms complex enough that his parts sound like two or three percussionists working together.  In a song where the guitars build atmosphere rather than create melody, Kotche’s drumming stands out as a featured player.  He feeds into the looping feel of the song yet constantly embellishes, making his loops build on prior beats.  It’s a fascinating both through a close listen (well, a close listen to the drums at least) or as background music, letting the song slide into your subconscious only to crave hearing it again later.

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