So, long after most people have moved on, Jay Farrar finally has decided to tell his side of the Uncle Tupelo split. In a new interview with Relix magazine of all places (Home of "Music for the Mind"... I'll leave that one alone) he talks candidly about what he sees as reasons for the break-up. Sure, there was an artistic divergence that were leading Farrar and Jeff Tweedy apart, and it was clear that Tweedy had loftier commercial ambitions, but what really did it, Farrar says, is the fact that Tweedy hit on his then girlfriend/now wife. Huh? I liked it better when it could be chalked up to "creative differences." Ten years on, the juicy story finally can be told, and it's more "Real World" than anything. I was expecting some sort of George Harrison-Eric Clapton-Patti Boyd thing, not a drunken pass in a tour van.

Why now? Well, despite the fact that all but the most myopic fans are well past caring about this, Farrar still must answer questions on a routine basis. He has been interviewed quite a lot as he makes his way cross country touring in support of the new disc by the latest version of Son Volt, and he likely got tired of dealing with it. Also, almost since the beginning he was blamed for the split, something made easier by the fact that Tweedy formed Wilco by simply keeping the band together after Farrar exited.

At this point, does anyone truly lament the passing of Uncle Tupelo? At best we'd have seen five studio albums over the past decade, not the five from Wilco (seven if you count the Mermaid Avenue discs) and six from Farrar and Son Volt (seven including The Slaughter Rule soundtrack), and it's guaranteed that neither Farrar nor Tweedy would have pushed the envelope near as much together as they have apart. Sure, each has stumbled in ways they might not have had they only been responsible for five or six tunes every couple of years, but those failures -- including parts of A.M., some of Being There, a lot of Wide Swing Tremolo and Sebastopol -- are a fair trade-off for the better music that followed, music that wouldn't have happened in Uncle Tupelo.

If nothing else, this at least should put an end to the speculation about the break-up and the near-constant questions about a possible reunion. It probably won't, but if that was at least part of Farrar's motivation, you can't fault him for trying. Better to put the focus back on the music, where it belongs. Okemah and the Melody of Riot is the best thing Farrar has done in years.