Wilco has taken to its official Web site to explain its partnership with Volkswagen, which is running a series of TV ads set to songs from the band's new album, "Sky Blue Sky."

So far, the spots feature "You Are My Face" and the "Sky Blue Sky" bonus track "The Thanks I Get," with three or four additional songs due to soundtrack upcoming ads, according to the band.

"This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement," the band says. "With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco), we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."

The Web posting goes on to explain that the deal is not a first for Wilco, despite claims to the contrary from Volkswagen. "Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide," the band says, adding that frontman Jeff Tweedy has also appeared in an Apple Computer campaign and that a song was previously utilized in a TV ad for Spain's Telefonica Mobile.

Wilco's decision to pact with Volkswagen has generated an avalanche of feedback on the Internet, some of it so negative that Tweedy's brother-in-law, Danny Miller, has weighed in on his own blog.

Wilco kicks off a summer North American tour June 13 in Davenport, Iowa.