And while I'm not saying that life in a factory is/was just a
>life of grimness, I can't see how a stark and depressing arrangement
>would appeal to a factory guy, even if he could identify with the song's
>theme. No matter the artistic merits of such an arrangement. That's
>evidently not what Bare was shooting for.
>
Worth mentioning in all this is that "sparce" and "basic" and "plain" are
in many ways cuturally (and commercially) contructed choices just like
"pop," "lush," and "polished." Seems pretty sketchy to suggest that a
stripped-down, bare-bones aesthetic is necessarily a more natural (speaking
of cultural constructs) way to express a particular rural (or working
class) subject matter than snazzy string arrangements and
commercially-associated background singers.
BTW, I've been listening this afternoon to the Classic Country channel at
spinner.com. In the last hour, they've played Tammy Wynette, the Louvins,
Hank Thompson, Grandpa Jones, Merle Haggard, Merle Travis, and a few other
gems. They also list the song title, album title and performer for each
song they play, which many of these net providers don't do.
np: Mel Tillis, Tall Drink of Water
