The Chicago roots-rockers are gearing up to release a whopping 160-page tome, simply titled The Wilco Book, which is set to feature a collection of essays, quotes about the band, photos, and-- oh yes-- an exclusive CD packed with previously unreleased material. the announcement of this upcoming book/CD combo-- even sans tracklist and pre-Ghost-- already had fans eager for a taste of the new stuff. So, the bad news is that you'll have to wait until November for your pre-order to arrive, but a link on the band's website has finally given names to the 12 new tunes that constitute the accompanying 40-minute disc. Oh yes, it's a tracklist:

01 Pure Bug Beauty
02 This Is New
03 Diamond Claw
04 This Is New (The Explanation)
05 What Good Am I
06 Here Comes Everybody
07 Hummingbird (Soma version)
08 The High Heat
09 Doubt
10 Barnyard Pimp
11 Rottnest
12 Hamami
(This tracklisting came from Pitchforkmedia (as well as the article) It, to me, is not 100% official if this is a real tracklisting, due to the non humourous writers of pitchformedia
The exact history of each of these tracks is a bit vague, but the collection is reportedly culled from unissued material (both full songs and instrumental jams) recorded during the improvisational rehearsals for A Ghost Is Born, as well as other sessions held over the past two years. As most diehards know, Wilco has an abundance of demos and other rare tracks in the vault stemming from the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions and onward. A handful of these were officially released on last year's More Like the Moon EP, while other gems are floating around, unofficially, on various bootlegs.

Also, as reported numerous times since A Ghost Is Born's June release, the band is supporting the disc with a lengthy fall tour, which is finally scheduled to begin next week. Since we last reported, several new dates and more opening acts have been announced: Wilco will now be sharing the stage with The Fiery Furnaces, Calexico, and Deerhoof, among others. Do you have your tickets? Get on it, kidsmoke:

09-14 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note *
09-15 St. Louis, MO - The Fox Theatre *
09-17 Dallas, TX - The Granada *
09-18 Austin, TX - Stubbs BBQ *
09-19 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Music Festival)
09-22 Nashville, TN - The Uptown Mix (w/Joseph Arthur)
09-23 Atlanta, GA - The Fox Theatre (w/Joseph Arthur)
09-24 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
09-25 Raleigh, NC - Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (w/Joseph Arthur)
09-27 Norfolk, VA - The Norva #
09-28 Baltimore, MD - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall #
09-30 Burlington, VT - Memorial Auditorium #
10-01 Boston, MA - The Wang Center #
10-02 Waltham, MA - Brandeis University #
10-03 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre #
10-05 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall #
10-06 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall #
10-08 Saratoga Springs, NY - Skidmore College Sports Center Gym
10-09 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
10-10 Ann Arbor, MI - Hill Auditorium
10-25 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre +
10-26 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre +
10-27 Madison, WI - Orpheum Theatre +
10-29 Chicago, IL - The Auditorium Theatre +
10-30 Chicago, IL - The Auditorium Theatre +
10-31 Chicago, IL - The Auditorium Theatre
11-06 Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium
11-09 Vancouver, British Columbia
11-10 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre ^
11-11 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre ^
11-13 San Jose, CA - SJSU Events Center ^
11-14 Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre ^
11-18 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern Theatre ^
11-19 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern Theatre ^
11-22 Salt Lake City, UT - Kingsbury Hall

* with Calexico
# with Fiery Furnaces
+ with Deerhoof
^ with Carla Bozulich
[Edited 9/13/04 9:58am]