To Maggie and RTO for the “Kolchak: Night Stalker” DVD set. Darren McGavin at his best—and the inspiration for the “X-Files.” Thanks also to BMoe for the Jayhawks and Gram Parson’s CDs. The music thread we had a while back—which turned into a California-rooted, “country”-flavored rock revival discussion (Parsons called the sound “Cosmic American”)—has really turned me on to some people I hadn’t listened to before, from Whiskeytown to The Flying Burrito Brothers to Kingfish.
It also has me breaking out my Kristofferson CDs again—to compare the folk country sounds he popularized to the sound Parsons was trying to create. If there’s a bridge between Johnny Cash and Parsons’ Fallen Angels, it could be Kristofferson, who notes of his “Me and Bobby McGee,” “if this sounds like a country song, that’s because it is.”
So thanks to all who participated in that thread.
Craig C. mentions J.J. Cale. Any other folks I missed last time around?
I’ve been listening to JD Souther’s Black Rose CD, which is excellent—but the Souther Hillman Furrey CD hasn’t arrived yet. This stuff must be so out of vogue that they are being burned to order.
The episode with the headless biker gave me the heebie-jeebies when I was a kid.
I missed the previous thread but I assume that someone brought up the alt-country genre. All of the artists you’ve listed above ‘fit’, though they all ‘fit’ in other genres too at various points in their careers (though the term alt-country is less than 20 years old Parsons is generally considered the ‘founder’
. The term came into being around the time of Uncle Tupelo, the ‘parent’ of Son Volt/Jay Farrar and Wilco/Jeff Tweedy, and less guitar heavy Whiskeytown. If you’ve got Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo makes a good bookend, though the single best CD is probably from Jay Farrar’s post Uncle Tupelo band, Son Volt, and called Trace. Another intersting band that derived from Uncle Tupelo’s sound is the now defunct, and always unfortunately named, Slobberbone. The relatively ‘clean’ Everything You Though Was Right Was Wrong Today is the most accessible but Barrel Chested and Crow Pot Pie have the career high points, I think.
Finally, though tangential to alt-country, I have to plug Matthew Ryan. Easily my favorite writer today. Here are two of my favorite couplets:
Me and My Lover:
Most things are meaningless,
the more you get to know them.
Down here love is the only gun I trust.
The Little Things:
Memory is just a flash flood
A thick and black sticky mud
And heartache it’s like a breaking bone
He’s a leftie but a principled one, I believe.
Thanks. More to check out!
Jeff- Check out the Old Crow Medicine Show. They’re sort-of off to the side from alt-Country. More along the lines of alt-Bluegrass. “We’re all In This Thing Together” is one of the most moving songs I’ve heard in the last few years.
Jeff, a big second on both Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, especially Trace. JJ Cale is a must, also.
A little more raucus fun from Old 97’s, Too Far to Care and Wreck Your Life will give you a taste. Buddy Miller is great stuff, a bit more country side of things. If you find yourself getting the Gram Parsons ouvre, be sure to pick up his record with the Byrds, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, it is truly timeless.
Neko Case. And get the new Ryan Adams, I love me some Jayhaws but they can get cloying. Uncle Tupelo and descendants are great, but watch out for side two of any Wilco record.
An aside, I got a bootleg of Wilco from Bittorrent and had the playlist working the iPod for about a month straight and one day I noticed that by God, they sound just like the Hudson Brothers. No really, you want I’ll send you an mp3 of California Stars . But I loved the Hudson Brothers as a kid and Wilco is really good live.
Big Star is a must.
The Little Willies are good and the Drive by Truckers. Lucinda Williams and the old 97’s. I love the old 97’s. Lucinda, well when I’m stuck in a hotel without a bar and I have to go to the liquor store and drink alone in the room, then I’ll listen to Lucinda.
Mix it all up with some psychobilly and you’ve got yourself a great time. Like the Cramps and the Rev. Horton Heat. IMHO the Cramps are one of the greatest bands of all time.
From Lucinda it’s a short hop to Mary Gauthier.
Jeff, you may know that JJ Cale wrote “Cocaine,” along with “After Midnight,” “Call Me the Breeze,” and some other tunes that became rock standards when other people covered them. If you’ve only heard Clapton’s version of “Cocaine,” Cale’s version will be a revelation.
thanks, LMC, I’ve had that stuck in my head all evening since you mentioned it. NTTAWWT.
Jeff,
By all means, The Drive By Truckers …they’re in a different world. The Cramps are nothing less than gods. But the direct link to me, from Gram Parsons to the Alt Country world is Jason and The Scorchers. None of these guys exist without Gram and The Scorchers.
I stopped watching the X-Files after the 3rd episode, wherein a man-beast-leech living in the sewers wrought terror upon those living near the sewage treatment plant….
I’d seen something essentially identical on Kolchak 20 years earlier, and saw no point in continuing with X-Files.
And as for McGavin – how’d you like to have met that fellow at the door when going to pick up his daughter for a date – weird!