Wilco agreed to remix "Can't Stand It" with David Kahne to cater to radio markets, but the single failed to attract substantial airplay.

Wilco released Being There in 1996 to a higher level of commercial success than its first album, A.M., selling 300,000 copies (nearly double the number of its first record).

Lead singer Jeff Tweedy was particularly emotional during the sessions because he was upset that he was unable to spend time with his wife and son because of the constant touring schedule.

Miller was reluctantly willing to give Tweedy the creative license to write songs, but was concerned about lyrics such as "she begs me not to hit her" from "She's a Jar".

[10] Once the Mermaid Avenue sessions were completed, Wilco entered Chicago's Kingsize Soundlabs with engineers Dave Trumfio and Mike Hagler to finish Summerteeth.

[11] To complement the "bold, but depressing" lyrics, Tweedy relied more heavily on the production skills of the multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, who played a variety of instruments besides his usual lead guitar and keyboard work, including Mellotron, tambourine and synthesizers.

[15] "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over from adult album alternative to modern rock radio stations.

[30][31] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic gave the album five stars, lauding its "lush string arrangements and gorgeous harmonies".

[22] Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention, calling it "old-fashioned tunecraft lacking not pedal steel, who cares, but the concreteness modern popcraft eschews".