I think that the bottom line is that Alt-Country is the commercial kiss of
death. Nobody has really broken thru (Lucinda not excepted), and the
radio format is a complete commercial wasteland. When you consider that
these people (Wilco, etc.) are on major labels, and have been at this a
long time, and want to keep their jobs, it shouldn't be such a mystery
that they are very defensive when they seemingly cannot distance
themselves from their past.
Even more so when the music itself is different and people don't seem to
notice. 'Being There' had more Brian Wilson in it than it did any outlaw
country act. Yet it must be frustrating to have the press/fans act as if
they are still Uncle Tupelo.
That said, I don't really think that they would alter their style just to
distance themselves . . . but rather they are in new musical territory and
want new fans (hopefully without losing the old stallworts). But like Rick
Nelson sang: . . . "you can't please everyone, so you got to please
yourself."
Well, anyway that's my take on it.
-jim
On Thu, 4 Mar 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Yes yes, no one likes to be pidgeon-holed and many want the
> freedom to re-invent themselves from time to time musically. All well and
> good. But methinks Mr. Tweedy protests too much that
>
>
