Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, Daniel Johnston "dBpm 15" (2025 Record Store Day Black Friday LP)
For Record Store Day Black Friday 2025, the dBpm music label -- founded by the band Wilco in 2011 -- issued an LP titled dBpm 15, to mark the 15th year of the label's operation. The LP was limited to 3,400 copies, and was pressed in red vinyl. The LP contained 12 tracks, mostly rarities from the label's history, some of them previously unreleased. Seven of the tracks were recorded by Wilco, while four were Jeff Tweedy solo recordings. Also, it included a track which Tweedy recorded with the late Daniel Johnston.
This compilation is not likely to make a household name of the dBpm label, but it certainly does Wilco proud. Their seven tracks are good ones, including a newfangled Neil Young-like ballad recorded in 2010 ("Art of Almost"), a dreamy retro-'60's folk-rocker ("Tell Your Friends"), a gentle country-rock Beatles cover ("Don't Let Me Down"), a quirky Sleater-Kinney cover ("Modern Girl"), and a live alt-country track recorded at a Chicago dive bar ("Falling Apart (Right Now)"). Their rendition of Nick Lowe's classic "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding" has a jangly Tom Petty vibe; the Tweedy composition "I'm Trying" finds a moodier setting for Byrds-like guitar jangle.
Tweedy's solo tracks are almost as good. Aside from his full-band cover of The Band's "Christmas Must Be Tonight" (recorded for a 2025 movie soundtrack), his tracks logically have a more scaled-back aesthetic, offering two folk originals (the ambient "Everyone Hides" and the Feelies-like "Susquehanna River"), and a solo acoustic rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Love Me" (which was previously only available to subscribers of Tweedy's Substack).
The only non-Wilco artist featured on dBpm 15 is Daniel Johnston, the mentally ill outsider musician who died in 2019. Johnston's posthumous live album Chicago 2017 was released on the dBpm imprint in 2020. Johnston was assisted by Jeff Tweedy for that album's documented concert, which took place at the Vic Theater in Chicago on October 20, 2017. That album also included tracks from an additional session with Johnston recorded at the Wilco Loft studio. dBpm 15 contained another track from the Loft session: "Casper The Friendly Ghost" was a live-in-the-studio performance of Johnston's 1983 song about the cartoon character that Daniel always said he identified with, sometimes to a psychotic degree. May he now rest in peace and be forever freed from his mental troubles.
Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, Daniel Johnston "dBpm 15" (DBPM 001-25 LP) 2025
Track Listing:
1. Art of Almost -- Wilco (2010) -- outtake from The Whole Love
2. Everyone Hides -- Jeff Tweedy (2018) -- recorded during the Sukierae sessions
3. Casper The Friendly Ghost -- Daniel Johnston & Jeff Tweedy (2017) -- rehearsal track recorded before the Chicago 2017 concert
4. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding -- Wilco (2017) -- recorded live at Spotify Studios NYC
5. Susquehanna River -- Jeff Tweedy (2020) -- previously issued on exclusive 7-inch single
6. Tell Your Friends -- Wilco (2020) -- recorded during the 2020 COVID lockdown
7. Don't Let Me Down -- Wilco (2021) -- Beatles cover recorded for cross-promotion of Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary
8. Modern Girl -- Wilco (2021) -- previously issued on 7-inch split single sold on the 2021 tour with Sleater-Kinney
9. Falling Apart (Right Now) -- Wilco (2022) -- recorded live at Carol's Pub in Chicago
10. Say You Love Me -- Jeff Tweedy (2022) -- solo acoustic Fleetwood Mac cover recorded on phone, for Tweedy's Substack subscribers
11. I'm Trying -- Wilco (2021) -- outtake from Cousin
12. Christmas Must Be Tonight -- Jeff Tweedy (2025) -- recorded for the Oh. What. Fun. soundtrack
This compilation is not likely to make a household name of the dBpm label, but it certainly does Wilco proud. Their seven tracks are good ones, including a newfangled Neil Young-like ballad recorded in 2010 ("Art of Almost"), a dreamy retro-'60's folk-rocker ("Tell Your Friends"), a gentle country-rock Beatles cover ("Don't Let Me Down"), a quirky Sleater-Kinney cover ("Modern Girl"), and a live alt-country track recorded at a Chicago dive bar ("Falling Apart (Right Now)"). Their rendition of Nick Lowe's classic "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding" has a jangly Tom Petty vibe; the Tweedy composition "I'm Trying" finds a moodier setting for Byrds-like guitar jangle.
Tweedy's solo tracks are almost as good. Aside from his full-band cover of The Band's "Christmas Must Be Tonight" (recorded for a 2025 movie soundtrack), his tracks logically have a more scaled-back aesthetic, offering two folk originals (the ambient "Everyone Hides" and the Feelies-like "Susquehanna River"), and a solo acoustic rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Love Me" (which was previously only available to subscribers of Tweedy's Substack).
The only non-Wilco artist featured on dBpm 15 is Daniel Johnston, the mentally ill outsider musician who died in 2019. Johnston's posthumous live album Chicago 2017 was released on the dBpm imprint in 2020. Johnston was assisted by Jeff Tweedy for that album's documented concert, which took place at the Vic Theater in Chicago on October 20, 2017. That album also included tracks from an additional session with Johnston recorded at the Wilco Loft studio. dBpm 15 contained another track from the Loft session: "Casper The Friendly Ghost" was a live-in-the-studio performance of Johnston's 1983 song about the cartoon character that Daniel always said he identified with, sometimes to a psychotic degree. May he now rest in peace and be forever freed from his mental troubles.
Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, Daniel Johnston "dBpm 15" (DBPM 001-25 LP) 2025
Track Listing:
1. Art of Almost -- Wilco (2010) -- outtake from The Whole Love
2. Everyone Hides -- Jeff Tweedy (2018) -- recorded during the Sukierae sessions
3. Casper The Friendly Ghost -- Daniel Johnston & Jeff Tweedy (2017) -- rehearsal track recorded before the Chicago 2017 concert
4. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding -- Wilco (2017) -- recorded live at Spotify Studios NYC
5. Susquehanna River -- Jeff Tweedy (2020) -- previously issued on exclusive 7-inch single
6. Tell Your Friends -- Wilco (2020) -- recorded during the 2020 COVID lockdown
7. Don't Let Me Down -- Wilco (2021) -- Beatles cover recorded for cross-promotion of Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary
8. Modern Girl -- Wilco (2021) -- previously issued on 7-inch split single sold on the 2021 tour with Sleater-Kinney
9. Falling Apart (Right Now) -- Wilco (2022) -- recorded live at Carol's Pub in Chicago
10. Say You Love Me -- Jeff Tweedy (2022) -- solo acoustic Fleetwood Mac cover recorded on phone, for Tweedy's Substack subscribers
11. I'm Trying -- Wilco (2021) -- outtake from Cousin
12. Christmas Must Be Tonight -- Jeff Tweedy (2025) -- recorded for the Oh. What. Fun. soundtrack
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