RE: Townes Van Zandt birthday and my show birthday ! Invitation for all !!!
Freakwater, "Jesus Year" (It's the only birthday song I can think of off the top of my head) Yo, Linda, try "Next Sunday, Darling, Is My Birthday," the Stanley Brothers. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: A Question
At 12:11 PM -0800 on 3/5/99, Cheryl Cline wrote: If they're not "alt country" or "alternative country" according to the UT/No Depression revisionism, er, I mean yardstick, then, we're back to the original problem being batted around back then (and when *did* this start, btw? Bob Soron?) [...] I had *nothing* to do with it. Ask Gracey, who was there whenever something good happened. Or someone old, like Barry or Wyatt. g np - Stubb's Blues Cookbook. Come to think of it, you probably had a finger or two in this, Joe? Bob
Re: Tweedy quote/alt.country (LONG and IRRITATED)
At 5:34 PM -0500 on 3/5/99, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Guess they didn't know about Joe Ely's tour with the Clash. UT was a decade too late. Yeah but, can't a decade too late also mean brand new to a new generation? Well, sure, if they've got no perspective. Asleep at the Wheel invented western swing, too. Bob
Whatever happened to Madeleine Peyroux?
Anyone got some dope? Bob
Slobberbone/Split Lip
Hey, I'll spare you all my usual ramble about how great Slobberbone is, and how they're my favorite band. Both are true, and we all know it. I'll get to the point: They played three new songs for us this evening, and all of them were top-notch. The songwriting is some of the best Brent has offered up, and that's really saying something. The next album should be quite a treat. Oh, and Jess Barr played some dynamite banjo, too, which I didn't even know he could do. Slobberbone's SxSW show will be one to watch, since they're planning on playing almost all new material. Also, this was my first Split Lip Rayfield experience, and damn, do they have energy and musicianship. If anyone out there is sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to buy their album, NOW is the time. First of all, it's cool. Second of all, they're going to need the cash, since their van pretty much blew up today (yikes!). Time for bed now! --Jamie S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.wavetech.net/~swedberg http://www.usinternet.com/users/ndteegarden/bheaters
new Old 97's/new Wilco
I love the new Old 97's FIGHT SONGS! A great pop album but alt.country it is not. The weakest song, "Crash on the Barrellhead," is the most alt.country (and not a Rhett Miller song). I'm pretty well convinced that Rhett is the best pop lyricist of the past 5 years. Sometimes it's just great lines and sometimes, like "One Brown Shoe," its a great composition. The new Wilco is cool but not as immediately accessible as the Old 97's. Sure does sound like the Beach Boys. I admire Jeff Tweedy for being willing to risk failure and opening himself up to a lot of criticism. I work with someone who used to work in a record store with Jeff and I can already hear him making fun of a lot of aspects of SUMMERTEETH. Getting back to Old 97's, I've been trying to put together a best-of compilation but I'm having a dickens of a time sequencing it. I'd love to get some suggestions (and when I'm not falling asleep at the keyboard I'll post a couple of mine). Tony
Re: Tweedy quote
I don't think I was asserting a simplistic summation of twentieth century music inasmuch as I was trying to say that successful music from any generation seems to be tied to the 16-30 crowd. "Successful" meaning that it sold well and helped to define a particular generation for the history books etc;. You spoke of Elvis and his influences - I agree; certainly we are all products of and influenced by that which preceeded us. To say that the youth are only impressed or stimulated by "suggestive" rhythms and lyrics would not be accurate in total context on my part and I only served this up as an example as to why "new country" sells big and "alt.country" does not. Alt.country does not seem to glamorize sex, fashion and beauty and the beginning phase of independence which would "speak" to young people. Basically, each member of a generation has to struggle with not only their own individual identities, but find a common ground with which to belong or identify with their peers. I do not believe that what we call alternative country (in general and there are exceptions) supports or relates to issues broadly concerning the youth. There aren't any wars right now such that the Vietnam War acted as catalyst for the hippie movement of the sixties and was further solidified in music and there aren't any great rebellions at present. I would have said something about rap here, but isn't that becoming culturally accepted as mainstream more and more? The alt.country part of music seems to speak to moods, experiences, emotional/intellectual decisions and memories such that we as grown-ups begin to categorize, filter, extract and absorb in honing ourselves as mature beings. I find it hard to believe that the general youth populace would have enough patience to understand and relate to the music of say, Gillian Welch, Dave Alvin, Cheri Knight, Lucinda Williams, Mike Ireland...etc; Well, enough about that. Your last two sentences regarding commercialism: I suspect that what you say is true to the extent that it appears as though many record companies are trying to find the next "big" thing and may be trying to singlehandedly "construct" a genre which defies a decidedly "country" or "rock" labeling and that at this point, many of the contemporary engineers of this left-of-middle styling (of which Tweedy is one) would find such labeling - pigeonholing if you will, very limiting and restricting as if to say that their product yields to the dollar signs dancing around in the heads of company executives. Yep, you have a good point, Lance. Tera Lance said: Though I found myself nodding along with most of your assertions, Tera, I would insert one caveat. While Elvis Presley would certainly win a lot of votes as this century's most influential performer, and his music was certainly frantic AND highly-charged sexually, it wasn't quite so simple. He also took his cues from non-frantics like Dean Martin and the "White" hit parade, and his example is repeated often, for even the most "suggestive" musicians. The pop charts have been something that has affected even the most marginal of musics--in one way or another--and in some cases it was good, in others not. Thus, some alt.country musicians may be struggling with this very punk sense of "How commercial is too commercial?" Or from the record company's/financial investor's side: "How country can alt.country be and still make a decisive commercial impact?" Lance . . .
Re: Coltrane book?
Hey, Neal, I'm probably past your gift-buying deadline, and I'm not even exactly on-topic, but the jazz gem I've been enjoying lately is "Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now" ed. by Robert Gottlieb. It's a chunky monkey, weighing in at 1000+ pages, but the contemporaneous writing and autobiographical material brings the stuff to life by stripping away the intervening years of revisionist hooha. This puppy offers years of reading pleasure. Kelly
Re: new Old 97's/new Wilco
I'm pretty well convinced that Rhett is the best pop lyricist of the past 5 years. Joe Pernice has more songwriting talent. So there.
Re: Tweedy quote /generations
At 12:06 PM 3/5/99 -0500, you wrote: Tera wrote: - alt.country seems to be music for we aging baby boomers as opposed to alt.rock or new country which seems to target the teen to twenties crowd. Just a quick note as I gather breath to respond to Jake's epic call'n'response from yesterday - I think if you look at the P2 Survey you'll see the untruth of this. I'm convinced that alt-country is a (as Monsieur London puts it) "tailbust" and "gen-x" phenomenon. A glance around the audience at any alt-country show I'd disagree with this. Bands like Whiskeytown, Son Volt, and Wilco skew younger. I recognize the collecting passion in the voices of the customers that is one of you. That is, the "I must have EVERYTHING Whiskeytown released," passion. Same one I had for REM 15 years ago. The older folks, the ones with jobs and largely without .EDU at the end of the e-mail account, are more into the music. These are the 30-somethings and 40-somethings. At least, where I work this is how it shakes out. Jeff Miles of Music mail order http://www.milesofmusic.com FREE printed Catalog: (818) 883-9975 fax: (818) 992-8302, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt-Country, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, power pop and tons more.
Re: Tweedy quote /generations
In a message dated 3/6/99 9:18:32 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The older folks, the ones with jobs and largely without .EDU at the end of the e-mail account, are more into the music. and less into the bands? wait. . .I'm confused. This often happens at the brink of a cosmic insight. Please keep going with this train of thought until I can catch up. Seriously. Linda
Townes
Can anyone tell me about this Charly comp? Does it have any non-LP tracks, outtakes, demos, and that sort of thing, or is it a collection of previously released material? And since I'm on the subject, does anyone know what the status is of the Townes boxed-set. Is it a career-spanner? How many CDs? And does there figure to be overlap with the Charly comp? That's more than enough questions for now. Thanks. Lance . . .
PLAYLIST KOOP New American Roots Music 3/5/99
The New American Roots Music Show is heard Fridays from 9 to 10 AM on KOOP, Austin, Texas 91.7FM. It focuses on new releases and recent re-issues in country, bluegrass,folk, blues, cajun, zydeco and whatever else fits. SXSW seems to get everybody to release albums at the same time making it impossible to get all the good stuff in this week. That and my record budget is out of control again. That said, don't miss the Meat Purveyors new 7" (vinyl, what a concept) and Pete Krebs sure is sweet (thanks Jenni). Any questions? Jim Artist/Song/Album Bill Matte/Restless Night/Zydeco, Blues Boogie (intro) Shaver/Live Forever/Victory Bocephus King/A Small Good Thing/A Small Good Thing Terry Allen/Salvation/Salvation Houndog/Down Time/Houndog Cesar Rosas/Struck/Soul Disguise Iguanas/Captured/Sugar Town Little Sue/Down To You/Crow Meat Purveyors/Madonna Trilogy/7" Steve Earle the Del McCoury Band/Long, Lonesome Highway Blues/The Mountain Damnations TX/Half Mad Moon/Half Mad Moon Pete Krebs/Sweet Ona Rose/Sweet Ona Rose Old Joe Clarks/Thirsty/Metal Shed Blues Kelly Willis/Wrapped/What I Deserve Clarence Gatemouth Brown/Up Jumped The Devil/Blackjack Biller Wakefield/Guitars On Fire/The Hot Guitars Of... Foster Lloyd/Whoa/Version Of The Truth (outro) Confirmed guests for my annual SXSW live in the studio performances are Hillbilly Idol, Kate Jacobs and Dave Schramm. Y'all wake early and tune in, ok?
The V-roys Hit the Road
The van's loaded and the V-roys are too. They're headin' to: 03/12/99 The Hide Out 1354 W. Wabansia Street Chicago, Illinois 03/13/99 Fitzgerald's 6615 W. Roosevelt Road Berwyn, Illinois 03/15/99 Magic Stick 4140 Woodward Ave. Detroit, Michigan 03/16/99 Horseshoe Tavern 370 Queen Street, West Toronto, Ontario, Canada 03/17/99 Grog Shop Cleveland Heights, Ohio 03/18/99 Rosebud 1650 Smallman Street Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 03/19/99 Iota Cafe 2832 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Virgina 03/27/99 Exit/In 2208 Ellison Place Nashville, Tennessee 04/08/99 Sing-Sing 221 Market Street Chattanooga, Tennessee The V-roys Music and News at http://vroys.com
Re: Scorchers
Don't forget Andy McLenon, who was right there with Jack at the late lamented Praxis Records...Remember the Satellites? The Questionnaires? Tim Krekel and the Sluggers? All Praxis...all good. Where are ya' Andy? Not online, I'm sure of that...Tucker Hanspeter Eggenberger wrote: BTW: The career of Jason The Scorchers was launched by Jack Emerson. Emerson ist, with Steve Earle, co-founder of E-Squared Records. Jack was also the band's original bassist. Dave
sxsw bbq
Here's the roster of P2ers who will be at SXSW thus far. I'm omitting information on where people are staying for the moment, but I'll include it in my final list. Begging the question... does everyone coming have a P2 SXSW BBQ invite/direction thingy? It's on Thursday afternoon at my house. Anyone needing directions just mail me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and I'll send it out pronto! cherilyn.
Re: Tweedy quote /generations
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The older folks, the ones with jobs and largely without .EDU at the end of the e-mail account, are more into the music. and less into the bands? wait. . .I'm confused. This often happens at the brink of a cosmic insight. Please keep going with this train of thought until I can catch up. Seriously. Linda Jeff's on a roll today, Linda (on the fluff list too)..and I think he IS getting at something true here too..as only somebody able to track actual record buyers responses would be! To those who for the latest thing is the First Fire, there is that throwing themselves into the thing they've heard, and they want to just breath in every ounce of it..(this accidental metaphor has got to go!)..But as wee get to having been around a little, and been through, uh, repeated incidents, the ol perspective starts to kick in, inevitably...and you get careful in a way that would only seem "tired" to the spanking new...careful to look for what's live and lasting in that music, wherever and from whenever you find it. For most listeners, life, omey and this tendency is going to rule out the full musical "perv" on anybody brand new in particular. I think that;s what Jeff's talking about--but I'd just add one special case asterisk here: for anybody crazed enoigh to be on P2 for long, these rules don't apply--.exactly. See, as WE get older, we do look around more broadly--but then termite right in obsessively on whoever turns out to grab us anyway. Lotsa times. Good for discussions--and good for record company and mail order sales, if w pay cash and don't still happen to be well-known working reviewer weasel types. Barry M.
Re: Townes
Tthe famous alleged Townes box (assuming you mean the one in which he performs duets with lots and lots of people) has still not been given any release date I've ever heard...The Charley 2-CD set is all culled from his albums, but it happens to have more of his cuts in their original form on it than anything previously, and makes a good intro, IMHO. (I do vaguely recall friends of Mrs. Van Zandt pointing out that the family isgetting no royalties from the Charley rereleases however, so unless I'm corrected about that, you can take that info for what it is and isn't worth. I picked up the new Charley 2-CD "Live at the Old Quarter" while I was over in London recebtly, anyway, cause I ust hadda have it.) Barry Can anyone tell me about this Charly comp? Does it have any non-LP tracks, outtakes, demos, and that sort of thing, or is it a collection of previously released material? And since I'm on the subject, does anyone know what the status is of the Townes boxed-set. Is it a career-spanner? How many CDs? And does there figure to be overlap with the Charly comp? That's more than enough questions for now. Thanks. Lance . . .
Re: Tweedy thing, deep thoughts, alt.country
Regarding alt. country: "Sometimes you have to be careful when selecting a new nickname for yourself. For instance, let's say you have chosen the nickname, "Fly Head." Normally you would think that "Fly Head" would mean a person who has beautiful swept-back features, as if flying through the air. But think again. Couldn't it also mean "having a head like a fly" ? I'm afraid some people might actually think that." from Deepest Thoughts, Jack Handey Now doesn't that just about sum it up? Miss Stephanie back from the netherworld, hi ya'll!
Re: A Question [Extremely LONG]
Bob Soron wrote: If they're not "alt country" or "alternative country" according to the UT/No Depression revisionism, er, I mean yardstick, then, we're back to the original problem being batted around back then (and when *did* this start, btw? Bob Soron?) [...] I had *nothing* to do with it. Ask Gracey, who was there whenever something good happened. Or someone old, like Barry or Wyatt. g I'm askin' you! g. Of course Gracey is the one to ask, as he goes back To The Beginning of Time, what a maroon I am. It's just that back when I first got on the Net, reading rec.music.country.western, I remember you as being the one with the knowledge of all things Flatlanders. So I wanted to pick your brains a bit about the search for a name for the music around the late 80s and early 90s. When I started seeking out like-minded twangsters, about this time, through Twangin', and later the Internet, the search for a name for the "what we mean when we point to it" music was already underway, and it referred to people like Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Nanci Griffith, Tish Hinojosa, Rosie Flores, Dave Alvin and other, uh, "pre No Depression" musicians. Kevin Welch and Jimmie Dale Gilmore came up with "western beat," which Welch used for an album (and which Billy Block had been using for some time in L.A. for his showcases). That didn't take. Didn't Gavin start up the Americana charts about this time? Or was that a bit later? That name didn't stick either. What I'm getting at is that before UT, before No Depression, folks were wondering what to call this stuff. To my mind, if it doesn't make a "genre," it makes a "scene"-- a gathering (virtual or in real-time) of like-minded folks who want to play, discuss, find, write about a kind of music that, while the borders may be vague and shift, is enough of a piece for a group of like-minded people to want to play, discuss, find, and write about it. And even though (this to Jim Roll) bluegrass, old time, folk, rockabilly, etc. existed as separate genres, the fans and musicians -- the far-flung (with a hotbed in Austin) "scene" -- was a place where these generes intersected. Not everybody liked every kind of music, but if you found yourself in a gathering of fans and musicians of "this kind of music," you'd hear talk about all of them. This is why the "Big Tent" definition is still popular -- bluegrass and rockabilly and folk were not "suddenly" added to alternative country; they were there all along. This is why I prefer thinking about it as "an alternative way of looking at country music," because that was what was happening when I got hooked into the loose network of country/roots music people. They were people who were actively seeking out *all kinds* of different country and "roots" music. And they were not all coming from punk backgrounds either; the age range, and the range of experience, was wide. Was, I said. Still is, I mean. That's the "alternative country" that IS STILL FUCKIN' (sorry Tera) HERE and will be here forever and ever amen, whether No Depression music disappears OR becomes the Next Big Thing. No Depression-UT focused attention on the music, true; but it focuses attention *away* from a large chunk of alternative country music as well. It's being "disappeared" from country/rock history even as we speak. Boy this is getting long. But another thing... g This is how I came to be on Postcard2. I had started the Twangin' e-zine (ascii plain text!) and as part of that, searched for mailing lists newsgroups of interest. So I'd sub to them for a while to see what they were like before I listed them in Twangin'. I subbed to the rockabilly list, I subbed to Country-L, I subbed to single-artist lists, I read rec.music.country.western and, later, rec.music.country.old-time. (I'd subbed to BGRASS-L the minute I found the Internet.) I subbed to Postcard in the same spirit. As I wasn't terribly interested in UT/Wilco/Son Volt, I would have unsubbed after sampling the list, except that the definition of "bands like UT" kept widening. I was especially impressed by the wholesale leap into old-time music by a fellow named Steve Gardner g. So I hung on until the Great Crash, when Postcard went down and Laura started up Postcard2 as an emergency back-up. When she decided to keep it going as the place to talk about the "Bands Like UT" -- which by this time included people like Merle Haggard and Doc Watson -- I stayed. And over time, this list became a refuge for people who wanted to look at country music from an alternative point of view, and were dissatisfied (to say the least) with Country-L or r.m.c.w. The thing is, Postcard, and then Postcard2, was the only place where you could really get into ALL kinds of country music without seriously getting off-topic. The country lists and newsgroups were (are?) openly antagonistic towards older and non-charting country music. This list is open to discussion of country music in all its forms, though sometimes
Re: Cheryl's answer to Question [Extremely LONG]
Amen. It's keep on coming and it keeps on coming back. Witn the health of the music that exactly fits the "tiny tent" alt.country definition at least questionable now--the bigger picture ought to feel like good news to anybody who's really connected with ALL THIS. What Cheryl said was the five-ring circus Big Tent truth... Put as only Ms. Cline can put it--whenever she happens to get so in-Clined. Barry Who kinda stepped into the pool as a small kid in the rockabilly 50s..appreciated the positive side of the folk scare..and has been in whole hog thgru the twists and turns since the Byrd-in-the-Burrito country rock non-boomlet. (Also trying to figure how Mr. Cantwell's new "what you hgeard at age ten" rule applies to me--cause 1960 was kind of a slimn year between some fat periods!)
Re: A Question [Extremely LONG]
Cheryl -- just please please don't ever find better things to do with your time. thank you, Linda
Re: Old 97s blurb
benperry clipped: But he was concerned enough to call the band's new manager, Chris Blake (who once handled Toad the Wet Sprocket, poor guy), wasn't the former drummer from Killbilly the Old 97s manager? What happened to him? Paul
Re: Townes
I picked up the new Charley 2-CD "Live at the Old Quarter" while I was over in London recently, anyway, cause I just hadda have it. Barry Yeah, what's the deal with this one? Is the second disc really just the CD-version of the double vinyl with the extra songs? Or is there a whole 'nother 60 minutes or so? And why, in the name of Allah, is this show of shows not available in America? Lance . . .
Re: Townes
I picked up the new Charley 2-CD "Live at the Old Quarter" while I was over in London recently, anyway, cause I just hadda have it. Barry Yeah, what's the deal with this one? Is the second disc really just the CD-version of the double vinyl with the extra songs? Or is there a whole 'nother 60 minutes or so? Lance It's exactly the same as the complete vinyl album...and sounds good. Barry
Just saw Tweedy solo
Hi everybody, I'll de-lurk for the first time in forever to say: I just saw Jeff Tweedy play solo acoustic at Lounge Axe in Chicago last Sunday. It was an important night, and it helped me make a decision...I think I like Son Volt better than Wilco now. Before, I liked them equally. Son Volt always sounded great to me in the Fall and Winter, and Wilco was my Summer and Spring preference, but I liked 'em the same. I haven't heard "Summerteeth" yet, and I don't own "Wide Swing Tremelo" either, but judging from what Jeff played off of the new Wilco album, it didn't do much for me. Yeah, Brian Wilson pop is cool and whatever, but Jeff's new music has taken on a "labored" feeling to it. Like too many chords, too trippy lyrics, too deliberately in-your-face ideas like that song about killing his wife last night. And then his inter-song banter about Jay, drugs, and his wife...it's like he's got all sorts of baggage in his music now. It's like he's got something to prove. There's none of the effortlessness that made "Casino Queen" or "I got you" or "Acuff-Rose" or "Far far away" or "New Madrid" so delightful. Now it's like work work work work. So I guess I can say I now prefer Son Volt. I always felt like Jay would be making his music whether I was listening or not...but these days Jeff's songs sorta depend on me hearing them. You know? I like the thought that Jay doesn't need us. I guess it's like "If Jeff sang in a forest and there was nobody there to hear him, would he make a sound?" .I'm thinking the answer would be "No". But if it was Jay and nobody was there to hear him, he'd still sound great. -Jonathan R
Re: A Question [Extremely LONG]
At 11:42 AM -0800 on 3/6/99, Cheryl Cline wrote: I'm askin' you! g. Of course Gracey is the one to ask, as he goes back To The Beginning of Time, what a maroon I am. It's just that back when I first got on the Net, reading rec.music.country.western, I remember you as being the one with the knowledge of all things Flatlanders. I reckon Joe could probably outdo me there too. g When I started seeking out like-minded twangsters, about this time, through Twangin', and later the Internet, the search for a name for the "what we mean when we point to it" music was already underway, and it referred to people like Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Nanci Griffith, Tish Hinojosa, Rosie Flores, Dave Alvin and other, uh, "pre No Depression" musicians. Kevin Welch and Jimmie Dale Gilmore came up with "western beat," which Welch used for an album (and which Billy Block had been using for some time in L.A. for his showcases). That didn't take. Didn't Gavin start up the Americana charts about this time? Or was that a bit later? That name didn't stick either. I remember the Name Problem, but I didn't much pay attention at the time. I use pretty tightly defined nomenclatures, so that no matter what people might think I'm saying, I always know. And as a non-Big Tent-er, I don't use alt.country, No Depression, Americana, and other titles synonymously. So I'm probably much less help than you'd hoped. (I haven't got a clue as to chronology, either.) The thing is, there's this... reservoir of "alternative country" that has existed at least since bluegrass, the Original Alt.Country (TM) was invented. Well, not being a Big Tent adherent, I disagree that either of these are alternative in any way, but I think you're thinking of Western swing. g Bob
Re: Townes Van Zandt birthday and my show birthday ! Invitation for all !!!
$1000 Wedding - "Birthday"
bad news concerning George Jones
March 6, 1999 Singer George Jones Hurt in Crash A.P. INDEXES: TOP STORIES | NEWS | SPORTS | BUSINESS | TECHNOLOGY | ENTERTAINMENT Filed at 5:38 p.m. EST By The Associated Press FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Country singer George Jones was in critical condition Saturday after being involved in a car accident near his home. Jones, 67, was injured at about 3 p.m. when his sport-utility vehicle smashed into a bridge abutment on Highway 96. He was taken by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in nearby Nashville. Hospital spokesman Wayne Wood said Jones was being evaluated by doctors. He said he did not know if the injuries were life-threatening. Jones, famous for hits like ``He Stopped Loving Her Today'' and ``The Race is On,'' is generally considered one of the finest country singers ever. He was married for six years to the late singer Tammy Wynette. The pair were known as ``The King and Queen of Country Music'' in the 1970s. Since 1983, Jones has been married to Nancy Jones, his manager. Jones's latest album was due to be released next month by Asylum Records, his new record label after leaving MCA Records last year.
Re: Dusty Springfield
At 01:48 AM 3/4/99 -0800, you wrote: On top of the original album, it includes some great singles (like the swamp-poppish "Laura Willie Mae Jones") A Tony Joe White tune. yaww yaww yaww, gator got your granny Jeff Wall http://www.twangzine.com The Webs least sucky music magazine 3421 Daisy Crescent - Va Beach, Va - 23456
Re: bad news concerning George Jones
Carl, Thank you for the info, sad as it is. Filed at 5:38 p.m. EST By The Associated Press FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Country singer George Jones was in critical condition Saturday after being involved in a car accident near his home.
Clip: Lucinda Williams at the Fillmore
A Joyride with Lucinda Williams Grammy-winner radiates star power at intimate Fillmore show Neva Chonin, Chronicle Staff Critic Saturday, March 6, 1999 ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/06/DD105451.DTLtype=music Lucinda Williams is a diplomat of cool. Thursday night at the Fillmore, a front-row fan presented her with a sincere but problematic gift -- a bootleg CD of one of her own shows. The unruffled star laughed it off. ``Wouldn't you know it? I come to San Francisco and somebody hands me a bootleg,'' she cracked. ``This is Bootleg City. It's OK. I don't mind.'' Williams has good reason to feel indulgent. Last week her fifth album, ``Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,'' was voted best album of 1998 in the Village Voice's authoritative ``Pazz Jop'' poll, besting the nearly invincible Lauryn Hill by a hair. Last week Williams won a Grammy -- her second -- for best contemporary folk album. Fans, critics and musicians have been doting on the 45-year-old Louisiana-born singer-songwriter for decades. Her songs have been covered by everyone from Tom Petty to Emmylou Harris. What's different is that at long last the masses are starting to dote, too. Thursday the Fillmore was packed tight as a tin of sardines for the first of Williams' three San Francisco concerts, which conclude tonight, at the Warfield. Lucky fans who managed to get near the stage shared their space diplomatically. Young cowboy lesbians in tattoos and dreadlocks boogied; older country folk swung their partners. Many simply stood bobbing their heads in bliss. Williams, in a sensible mini-dress, black tights and biker boots, played acoustic guitar and kicked off with the Southern gothic ``Pineola'' from 1992's ``Sweet Old World'' before barreling into the present with ``Metal Firecracker.'' ``Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'' naturally ruled the night, with standouts like the title track and ``2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten.'' But in the course of her 100-minute set, Williams also took care to include earlier material for her veteran fans, who roared with recognition at the opening notes of favorites such as ``Side of the Road,'' ``Passionate Kisses'' and ``Something About What Happens When We Talk.'' The warm, interactive chemistry between Williams and her audience stood in balmy contrast to the current state-of-siege atmosphere of most rock (and that would include country rock -- new country, No Depression or otherwise) and hip- hop concerts. There just aren't many Grammy-winning musicians who let fans drape themselves over the front of their stage. This easy attitude and lack of bouncers doesn't translate into a lack of star presence. Williams is as mesmeric delivering a melancholy song such as ``Jackson'' as she is jamming out a steamy cover of Howlin' Wolf's ``Come to Me Baby.'' In performance, her expressive vocals are much like the woman herself -- beautiful, a little ragged and exquisitely, poetically possessed. The members of Williams' backup band shone in their own right. Rhythm guitarist Kenny Vaughan, looking like a cross between Buddy Holly and one of Herman's nerdier Hermits, twitched and twisted with aplomb. Lead guitarist John Jackson, formerly a Bob Dylan sideman, played suave and subtle lead guitar. Bassist Richard ``Hombre'' Price and drummer Fran Breen ably held down the fort while organist-accordionist Randy Leago supplied melodic atmosphere. Opening act Patty Griffin, who won over the audience with a delivery as lushly stylized as her tendriled red hair, joined Williams to supply counter-harmonies on ``Greenville.'' Every concert has its epiphany, and Thursday's came with the final pre-encore number. After dedicating songs to late friends and heroes such as Dusty Springfield (``Still I Long for Your Kiss'') and Williams' longtime drummer, Donald Lindley, who recently died of lung cancer, the singer paused to fiddle with her guitar strings and ponder. Then, with a shrug, she simply offered, ``I guess all we can do is rock on.'' Which she did, in a rousing, extended jam session capping one of her newer songs, fittingly titled ``Joy.''
Clip: Plastic People of the Universe
Plastic People Power Czech band that helped spawn revolution comes to San Francisco Dan Ouellette Sunday, March 7, 1999 ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/07/PK80634.DTLtype=music Thirty years ago a group of young Czechoslovakian musicians formed a rock band. An innocent act by American standards, it was profoundly subversive in a country held hostage by the Soviet Union. Named after a Frank Zappa tune they smuggled behind the Iron Curtain, the Plastic People of the Universe proved to be much more than a bunch of upstarts out for a rowdy time. With their propulsive beat and dour- comic-sardonic lyrics, the group not only became a provocateur but, ultimately, a catalyst for the Czech revolution. ``Yes, we're still very famous back in Czechoslovakia,'' says Plastic People alto saxophonist Vratislav Brabenec by telephone from New York City. The band's first-ever U.S. tour stops at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill this Friday. ``The band continues to be seen as a symbol of the fight against communist oppression.'' Speaking with a heavy accent, Brabenec says he sometimes feels as if the band's role in the fight against Soviet oppression has been overblown. After all, the tunes themselves weren't blatant calls to revolution. But the Plastics vigorously bucked the status quo by delivering thought-provoking lyrics wrapped in power-packed rock. Brabenec notes that the band's biggest contribution to the uprising was its refusal to make concessions. ``We did not compromise, which was rare at that time,'' he says. ``It really is a miracle that we survived. The Communists did not like us. They wanted us to emigrate, but we held out. ``That's why today it's very important for a lot of young people that the Plastic People exist.'' RESPONSE TO SOVIET TANKS In 1968 in the United States, rock 'n' roll provided the soundtrack for the protest against the Vietnam War. In Czechoslovakia, music became a response to Soviet tanks rolling through the streets of Prague -- the outward sign of sociopolitical clampdown. Born a few months after the invasion, the Plastic People started out as a cover band, drawing material from the Doors, the Fugs and the Velvet Underground. They gradually integrated their own material into the psychedelic mix, inspired by the likes of Captain Beefheart and Zappa's Mothers of Invention. ``We were playing music that was influenced by the feeling of freedom that was in the air at the time,'' Brabenec says. ``It was the same everywhere, but because of the Communists we had a harder time expressing it.'' In 1973, the Czech government revoked the Plastic People's license to perform, which forced the band underground. It played unannounced concerts in abandoned buildings and countryside venues and in 1974 secretly recorded its first album. Titled ``Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned'' in an obvious allusion to the Beatles' ``Sgt. Pepper,'' it was a hard-driving collection of crass poems about such topics as constipation and toxic chemicals. Two years later, the secret police raided one of the group's concerts and arrested the band for ``organized disturbance of the peace.'' The raid sparked a response by Czech dissidents, including future President Vaclav Havel, who published the human rights manifesto Charter 77 (which paved the way for the Velvet Revolution in 1989). After a public trial, the band's manager and artistic director Ivan Jirous and Brabenec were jailed -- the former for nine years, the latter for eight months. ``I still don't know why I was the only musician in the band to be imprisoned,'' Brabenec says. ``One of the theories is that they singled out people who had a university education and were considered intellectuals.'' The Plastic People kept performing and recording secretly, and the government con tinued to harass the band. A landscape architect by profession, Brabenec couldn't find work after he was released from jail and eventually was forced to move to Canada in 1982. The rest of the band finally called it quits in 1987, with three members forming the post- punk groove group Pulnoc. The Plastics didn't re-form until January 1997, when at the request of President Havel they played at the Czech Republic's 20th anniversary celebration of Charter 77. Pleased by the response, the band began to perform sporadically, playing concerts in Slovakia and the Czech Republic and last July staging a show in New York. The most recent Plastics recording is ``1997,'' a live show performed in Prague and released on the Globus International imprint. Available here as an import, the CD captures the band playing its old material from the 1970s and '80s. The tunes are hard-edged, crunching rockers with a metallic throb and pile-driving beat. The numbers are also characterized by a jamming vibe, with young guitarist Joe Kararfiat (a new
Jones update 8pm
After dealing with car wreck injuries for over a year, Please wear your seat belt. Singer George Jones Hurt in Crash By JIM PATTERSON Associated Press Writer FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Country singer George Jones was in critical condition Saturday after he smashed his sport-utility vehicle into a bridge near his home while talking on a cell phone to his stepdaughter. Jones, 67, lost control of his Lexus while rounding a curve on Highway 96, a curvy heavily-traveled two-lane road, and hit the bridge abutment, state police said. Police said Jones was not wearing a seat belt. It took rescuers about two hours to free him following the 1:30 p.m. accident, and he was taken by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in nearby Nashville. Doctors said Jones suffered a collapsed lung, ruptured his liver and had internal bleeding. He was placed on a ventilator to aid in his breathing. Jones was unconscious when he was brought in and doctors gave him medication to keep him that way, Dr. John Morris said. ``The body responds to this kind of injury much better if we can control the pain and the blood pressure and so on,'' he said. Morris offered no prognosis but said he expects Jones will remain in critical condition for at least one or two days. Jones, famous for hits like ``He Stopped Loving Her Today'' and ``The Race is On,'' is generally considered one of the finest country singers ever. He was married for six years to the late singer Tammy Wynette. The pair were known as ``The King and Queen of Country Music'' in the 1970s. Since 1983, Jones has been married to Nancy Jones, his manager. Nicknamed ``Possum,'' Jones was born near Saratoga, Texas. At 16, he landed his first job as a musician, being paid $17.50 a week to play guitar with a husband-and-wife singing team in bars and dance halls. After two years in the Marines, he returned to Texas and began a recording career that has spanned 40 years, making him one of country music's top stars. Jones has battled alcoholism and drug abuse during much of his life. He was given the nickname ``No Show Jones'' for failing to appear at so many concerts and later recorded a song by that name. Jones was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992. That same year, country fans and the media voted ``He Stopped Loving Her Today'' the most popular country song of all time. The 1980 weeper was about a man whose love for a woman died only when he did. Jones has been working on a new album for Asylum Records and is also host of ``The George Jones Show'' on television's The Nashville Network. Evelyn Shriver, head of Asylum Records, Jones' record label, said Jones called her from his car five or 10 minutes before the crash. He was listening to seven new songs he had recorded and was so excited he wanted to play them for her over the phone but could not get his cassette player to work, she said. She said his stepdaughter, Adina Estes, later told her she was talking to him when the crash happened. He's pulled through before, I hope he gets through this. Stick
Re: A Question [Extremely LONG]
Bob "Ask Joe" Soron wrote: I remember the Name Problem, but I didn't much pay attention at the time. I use pretty tightly defined nomenclatures, so that no matter what people might think I'm saying, I always know. And as a non-Big Tent-er, I don't use alt.country, No Depression, Americana, and other titles synonymously. So I'm probably much less help than you'd hoped. (I haven't got a clue as to chronology, either.) Well, YOU'RE no help! I'm still curious about how far back this "we gotta get a name for this stuff" goes. Anyone else remember? Uh, Joe? g The thing is, there's this... reservoir of "alternative country" that has existed at least since bluegrass, the Original Alt.Country (TM) was invented. Well, not being a Big Tent adherent, I disagree that either of these are alternative in any way, but I think you're thinking of Western swing. g We'll let Jon and Don duke that one out! I know you're not a Big Tent person. Aren't you the one defying the Bluegrass Borg? g I was delirious on coffee this morning, and I'm not sure I got all my point across. Let's see, another 2,000 words? Okay, not. g But aside from, in addition to, alongside, or existing independently of, genres such as rockabilly, bluegrass, and etc., there seems to also to be a bunch of music at any given time that doesn't fit any clear genre, and is more-or-less "roots" and more-or-less "country" -- like the ex-Flatlanders. It *was* called "roots music" in the 70s and early 80s, wasn't it? Hmmm Maybe I need more coffee. I'm unpacking boxes of books and magazines (and clippings) though, so maybe I can find some clues. (Never move into a place with a garage. You NEVER get your stuff unpacked.) --Cheryl Cline
Re: Jones update 8pm
In a message dated 3/6/99 7:24:56 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Country singer George Jones was in critical condition Saturday after he smashed his sport-utility vehicle into a bridge near his home while talking on a cell phone to his stepdaughter. When cell phones are outlawed...blah blah blah. Goddamit. Slim
Roger Miller/hamster dance
This site - www.hamsterdance.com -is probably too fluffy (or furry) for the fluff site. I laugh just thinking about it. Twang content: I swear to God that's Roger Miller sped up or digitized or midi-ized or something. Can anybody set me straight? Kelly K
