I thought the Joel Reese quote in re Joe Henry that Todd Larson posted:
>There's nothing wrong with moving on
>from the confining alt.country scene. This movement is known for its
>zealous fans, quick to accuse a band of selling out if it doesn't
>meet their exacting purist standards. (Just ask The Jayhawks and
>Wilco, which have both evolved from their country-rock roots.)"
was more disturbing than Tweedy's comments (after all, Tweedy does say "If
it's something they don't like then I don't expect them to buy it"; it's his
complaint that the "purists" are talking about how they don't like it
because it's not "pure" that's off-the-wall). "Selling out" is, in my
opinion, a fairly serious charge to make, and I don't believe I have *ever*
seen Wilco or The Jayhawks characterized that way here or in ND; Carl's
point about the limited value of P2/ND as representative of the "No
Depression movement" is valid, but even so, one would think that just about
any view that's at all widely held in said "movement" would find some
reflection in one or both of those places.
I'm inclined to think of these things as analogous to the way that McCarthy
era ex-lefties were required to get themselves out of trouble by denouncing
their former associations; ex-twangers seeking to move into the mainstream
(not that there's anything wrong with that per se) are supposed to
demonstrate their sincere interest in it by dismissing their earlier fans
and critical supporters as unable to discern the virtues of Real - i.e.,
pop/rock - Art. That idea at least accounts for the persistence pop/rock
writers seem to exhibit in pursuing the matter.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
