Wilco is a very good thing to have come from the breakup of the alternative-country group Uncle Tupelo – originating in 1994 with the members who remained following the departure of singer Jay Farrar. Although the band gets their name from the radio voice procedure term "wilco", meaning "will comply", this Chicago-based alternative-rock band seems to do everything but comply within the confines of the music industry.

Wilco earned quite a bit of attention with their fourth album in 2002, especially with the controversy which surrounded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Once Wilco had finished this recording, Reprise Records rejected it, dismissed Wilco from the label, and gave them the album rights for free as part of the buy-out agreement. After Wilco had streamed Foxtrot on their website, they sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002; confusing many in the record business, since Reprise Records and Nonesuch Records are both subsidiaries of the Warner Music Group, and leaving most to point out just how screwy up the music business has become in this day and age. Having sold more than 590,000 copies, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date.

Wilco has seen numerous lineup changes since their debut in 1994, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bass player John Stirratt remaining from the original band, but since early 2004 the group has seen the others remain the same as well, with Nels Cline on guitar, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche.