Re: Hot Club Of Cowtown
On 4/27/99 at 1:15 PM -0400, Tom Stoodley writes: So who's going to the Johnny D's show? Anyone want to meet up for supper and get a table? I'll be there, although probably not early enough to make it for supper. Stuart Munro
Re: clip: Salon reviews Gourds...
Dave Purcell wrote: ...and there's a Postcard mention??? Of course, she got it wrong -- Postcard is the Tupelo family list, but nonetheless, it's weird to see it come up in a review. The Gourds "Ghosts of Hallelujah" ALLEGRO MUSIC BY MEREDITH OCHS | If you read Postcard, the alternative- country Internet discussion group, on the right day, you might walk away with the impression that the Gourds are the second coming of Christ, or at least the late Uncle Tupelo. . Has Ghosts been discussed on P2? I had never been able to make it through Dems good People, but listened to this a little at Borders and on a whim bought it (I mean Matt Cook can't be WRONG! about everything). It's quite a pleasant surprise and is getting a lot of play around here. Reminds me a little of Levon Helm, 6 String Drag and and a bunch of other stuff I can't put my finger on, but its damned interesting. Stuart
Interlochen
Just got the Interlochen summer schedule, and it's an amazingly good lineup this year, including Dwight, Del, Junior, Lyle, Nevilles, BR549, and Debbie Reynolds (for the perverse among you). Me or Nina will likely be up in the area most of the summer and have a place to crash if you're interested in a short northern Michigan vacation and seeing some shows. The web-site is: http://www.michiweb.com/interlochen/
Re: Solos Instruments
I always liked that first Argent album, that was more Zombies and less bombastic 70s rock band. My vinyl of it is shot. Did Koch reissue this one by any chance? Jerry Curry wrote: How about a 5 minute bass solo? How about a long long organ solo? That's currently on my mind as I listen to Koch's reissue of Argent's _All Together Now_. Man, what a comboRod Argent Russ Ballard. JC
Re: Beatniks?
and perfesser [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: hipsters slackers scenesters bohos playas post-grads middle-managers ... in the 90s there are no beatniks. ... in the 90s, everyone's a beatnik. carl w.
Re: Updates
Dave Purcell wrote: Mark Rubin spit: These "alt-country" showcases were packed with scenesters dressed up like they were going to a Hee-Haw theme party. Women in pig-tails and guys in spray painted straw hats that would surely get their asses kicked in an actual honky-tonk. Funny...I was at a real country bar out in the county on Saturday, and remarked to a bandmate that someone like Moonshine Willy or SCOTS would get their asses stomped if they got on stage. But would Buck Owens and the Hee Haw cast doing their thing have gotten stomped too?
RE: cereal wars/The Clash
Barry asks: And what about Naomi? Oh oh, obscure Carol Burnett references? Is that where we're going next? Lord help us... Stuart Munro
Re: Cool stuff on TV.....
Dan posted a bunch of upcoming TV stuff, but omitted Mandy Barnett's appearance on Letterman tonight (Wednesday). SM
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
Chad Hamilton says: Tar Hut Records wrote: That didn't stop Federov's team from slapping the Stars with a 3-0 drubbing today... Which gets them within 20 points. The Red Wings better be prepared for a whipping come playoff time if they can make it to the Conference finals. Careful now, Chad. Those Red Wings made some mighty fine additions at the trade deadline, they still have Scotty Bowman, and as the saying goes, to be the boss, you have to beat the boss. Not even a Deetroit fan, Stuart Munro
Re: What are the kids listening to today?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Then later that week there was one other song he jumped around too and loved it almost as much as Thousand dollar car - it was The BottleRockets Welfare Music. This kid knows what he likes so I finally bought him his first rock and roll cd There's something about the BoRox that's so damn simple, basic and catchy that kids love 'em. My two boys (8 4) go wild over 'em, so wild that I've sworn that if they ever do an instore or some other gig in Philly that's not a smoky bar at midnight, I'm going to take my 8-yr-old to see them. Every time he finds out I'm going to see them, he asks with a sad look on his face, "Is this another place you have to be 21 to get into?" So if any of you Doolittle folk on this list wanna schedule a Philly instore next time they're in town, there'll be at least 2 of us there. :) I caught em at an in-store and it was great. The place was full of kids in the 2-12 range and they loved em. Its the music of course, although the appearance of Henneman and Parr (especially) on the day after the big rock show of the night before is also probably pretty mezmerizing to a kid. g Stuart np: Earle/McCoury This might get to listening to bluegrass again. btw. anyone know what Buddy Miller is up to?
Re: NATO bombs
At the risk of incurring the wrath of the List-dad... In response to Rebecca Katic, Alex Lazarevic says: I see you're full of hate but try not to think about stupid politicians and their decisions. Sorry, but how does it follow from Rebecca's objecting to the wholesale slaughter of Bosnians and Kosovians that she's "full of hate?" And what in her post--which was quite civil, by my reading--suggested the same? Stuart Munro
Re: Ray's Tokin, obviously For the Good Times
Bob Soron wrote:
At 10:37 AM -0600 on 3/25/99, Joe Gracey wrote:
Mike Hays wrote:
Oh dear! From "People Online" 3/24/99:
* ARRESTED: Grammy Award-winning country singer Ray Price ("For the
Good
Times"), on a marijuana charge, near his Texas ranch. He was charged
with
possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and fined $700.
yeah boy, they got 'em another criminal that time. I can't believe I am
reading this in 1999.
The local paper yesterday noted that pot busts have been more numerous
under the Clinton administration than under the Nixon administration.
The "If you don't vote you can't complain" folks have themselves to
blame.
Bob
Could this possibly be partly due to the budgetary incentives the
prosecutorial machine now has in drug arrests.
Stuart
thinking about checking out the confiscated vehicle auction comin up here
soon
flatirons
I ended up sitting in a Target parking lot freezing while Radio Duff played 4 cuts from this band. And I just had to know who they were. Great great stuff. Finally he tells us who they are, also noting that 3 or 4 people called up the station demanding to know who it was as it such great stuff. The Flat Irons (?) from Portland Ore. Anybody know about them. Disc is called Prayer Bones, but I didn't catch the label. Is this available? Gotta have it. Stuart
Re: Ray's Tokin, obviously For the Good Times
First this: ``Country music is contemporary jazz,'' singer Ray Price declares. Then this: ARRESTED: Grammy Award-winning country singer Ray Price on a marijuana charge,. .Coincidence? I think not. It's like connected somehow man.. Really kind of cosmic really. wow. Plate of shrimp. Stuart imagining eggs in the frying pan
Re: The Blue Chip Radio Report 3/22/99
Jeff Wall wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Dwight Yoakam will appear in an upcoming TV commercial for Gap. He'll be singing Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". I think I saw this ad last night, although didn't notice Dwight in it, I suppose it was him singing. A weird bit of post-something marketing. Same dancers as in that swing ad for Gap, only this time they are boot scootin, thumbs in belt loops line dancing to a rockabilly number in Khakis!!!. Now wait just a dad blamed minute here! What on earth is this marketing strategy? I could see the swing/khaki connection: hip urban yupster clothes etc. But line dancing? to rockabilly? in kahkis? Slumming? I'm cornfused. But I'm stickin to jeans, thankyewverymuch. Stuart hey, I like these blue chip reports. Who's gonna post em while Jeff is off defending us?
Re: insipid SPIN on Wilco
Dave Purcell wrote: No wonder I cancelled my subscription to SPIN. Here's the first paragraph of their Wilco review, forwarded to me by a pal (and intended to piss me off, though it didn't because SPIN is such a joke). *** Jeff Tweedy is a big daddy in the alternative country movement, half the heart of original No Depressives Uncle Tupelo. While he's forged ahead with Wilco, his children have made mostly silly records, PBS country for people embarrassed by The Nashville Network. Wilco, meanwhile, managed to make the only masterpiece the genre's produced so far: Being There, which took Peter Laughner for a ride, picked up the Rolling Stones near Appalachia, and headed for a rendezvous with Neil Young in the Hotel Arizona. *** Oh Dave. See, they are so cool at Spin that they can write self-referential satire like this, knowing it will sail right over the heads of non-hipsters like yourself. It is satire, right? No one really writes this old disc jockey patter seriously, do they? Stuart NEW! IMPROVED!!
Re: Country Music Weekly (was: Shania Spam)
Ph. Barnard wrote: Junior Brown with the zinger: "I don't like to call it "alt-country" cause that sounds like you're *against* something. I'd rather call it "free-range" country." There we go. That's it!.
Re: Kelly Willis song comments
Hill, Christopher J wrote: If anyone's interested - I got these off the Ryko press promo for Kelly's new album. I find behind-the-scenes info extremely interesting. Heaven Bound (Damon Bramblett) Damon Bramblett has a very unique style and you should hear him sometime. I think I know what this song's about but he's not telling. Ive been wondering about this song myself. Anyone got any insights? I like it alot. Who is Damon Bramblett?
Re: (Fwd) controlling information
Don Yates wrote: On Wed, 10 Mar 1999, Ph. Barnard wrote: This House bill concerning internet access concerns us all on P2, lord knows It's a good moment to use email to write your Representatives and inveigh against this bill. More dangerous than SUVs and definitely a detriment to all things P2!! Well maybe, if it were only true. It's a hoax spam that's been passed around the internet for years.--don But that doesn't mean someone ain't thinkin about it. They did it with radio, they did it with cable. Eternal vigilance liberty.
Re: Kelly Willis song comments
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Wed, 10 Mar 1999 16:23:24 -0800 stuart said: Hill, Christopher J wrote: If anyone's interested - I got these off the Ryko press promo for Kelly's new album. I find behind-the-scenes info extremely interesting. Heaven Bound (Damon Bramblett) Damon Bramblett has a very unique style and you should hear him sometime. I think I know what this song's about but he's not telling. Ive been wondering about this song myself. Anyone got any insights? I like it alot. Who is Damon Bramblett? I've been trying to figure this song out too. Is the singer sympathetic to the protagonist of the song? Is it a putdown of an old flame? Come on, this list hasn't had a good debate about the meaning of a song since the infamous "Radar Gun" wars. Evan Cooper p.s. I saw Damon Bramblett last year at SXSW and thought he was right up there with sliced bread. Reminded me a lot of Johnny Cash. Same rumbling voice and a very compelling stage presence to boot. Well at first it reminded me of kind of a Band/Dylan/late Beatles kind of vibe about leaving the scene. Now I think its a kind of epitaph about someone who fatally overdosed. Maybe both
Re: Info on Black Beauty/Senor Smoke
vgs399 wrote: I am looking for some background on the Michigan group, Black Beauty (new LP, "Senor Smoke"). Any help on background, website etc: appreciated, on or off-list. Thank you, Tera Dont know about the band, but Senor Smoke is Auerelio Lopez, a hard throwing relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers back in the 80s glory days.
Re: RIP Stanley Kubrick
Ian Durkacz wrote: ."Paths Of Glory" "was banned in France until relatively recently because of its unflattering depiction of the French army". Amazing. As if! French thread anyone? Sorry, but theyre talking basketball on Twangfest. Which reminds me. Someone mentioned the Damnations appearing at Twangfest. Is this true? Is the lineup set? Stuart
Re: Shania Spam / and gossip
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: .Get this ya'll. A freind of mine who is setting up a tour for me in Canada this summer just got thru working production at the big rodeo in Houston, where many country acts played, including Shania. He said that most the show was taped (including vocals). Well that explains the reaction Nina had when she had that nasty backslide and saw Twain at the big state U basketball arena. How do artists plan to get away with this.. Spectacle! A little jiggle helps too. Oh well... Nancy flat is better than fraud Although what I heard about the show was it was both flat and fraudulent.
Re: Todd's UT rant
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: .Bravo Todd, for standing up for what you believe in. If it gets inside your soul, it gets inside your soul. So be it. That's what art's all about. Sometimes all this dissection and reactionary analysis and over- intellectualization and other stuff is just plain silly, and missing the mark. Do ya like the music or not? That's the question worth answering. . This is the "there's no accounting for taste" argument. Or the "Just" school of cultural economy. "Hey, it just is, man." While appealing (and to some extent true when it comes to that driving sexual beat g), the question seems hardly worth asking outside the context of whos being asked, whos askin, and all the whys. Oops, sorry, reactionary over-intellectualization there. But sometimes I would like to know why those twangy sounds are so damned appealing to me, and so annoying to most of my acquainteces (only twangsters get the friend designation).
Re: Robbie Fulks and Jet
Don Yates wrote: . the divine Neko Case (who's playing the Tractor Tavern on March 11).--don Also found this on the Mint site. When *is* this shaping up as a masterpiece gonna be out? NEKO CASE Furnace Room Lullaby! Neko Case is currently in the midst of putting the finishing touches on her new album, a record that has seen her hop between studios east and west. In November, Neko made tracks for Toronto, working on duets and recordings with all-star backing from Wilco's Bob Egan, Ron Sexsmith, Brian Connelly (formerly of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet), Dallas Good and Travis Good of Bloodshot Recording Artists The Sadies, Henry Sangalang, Matt Murphy of The Superfriendz, and the Rheostatics' Don Kerr at the Gas Station studio. Neko then returned to Vancouver to complete her follow-up to "The Virginian," tentatively titled "FURNACE ROOM LULLABY." The album is being produced by newsy Darryl Neudorf, and will feature an array of great musicians and vocalists, handpicked by Ms. Neko Case - including Evan Johns, Kelly Hogan, Carl Newman, Ford Pier, Linda MacRae, Carolyn Mark, Rose Melberg - as well as her established band-mates John Ramburg, Joel Trueblood and Scott Betts. By all reports, the new album is shaping up to be a masterpiece! Neko's next scheduled live performance will take place at this year's South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, March 17-21, 1999. Catch Neko wailin' out the hits at the Jazz Bon Temps Room, Saturday, March 20, at 11:00 p.m.
The London Stage
Terry A. Smith wrote: . Even tossing out a term like "over-intellectualize" is a Stalinist-type conversation-stopper. Send those damn professors out to the fields. Now. .Actually it's more Mao, and a damned good idea it might be too! Right after the industry weasels pull their shift. But first, middle managers in state government! Oh, P2. Gotta talk about music. Um. Gotta change the header. Well in London, I figured I had to see one of the great shows of the London Stage for that English experience. There were so many to choose from: Oklahoma, Grease, the Buddy Holley Story, West Side Story, Chicago the Musical. Well so much for the English angle. But wait. Here is a show called Shockheaded Peter (soon to be in Chicago I hear--heads up twangsters!). Billed as a musical about children's stories. Except in this one all the kids meet grisley bloody ends for failing to keep their nails cut and things like that. Already I like it as an antidote to the sentimental schmaltz. So we go. Holy moly, the next thing I see is a guy playing an accordian singing like a castrato about nastly little children, accommpanied by a skid roperish guy with a wheel around trap set, and a guy in a waxed moustache playing string base. Kind of twangy in a cabaret sort of way. And in one song, one of the puppet masters pops out of a window plucking on a banjo. Catch it when it gets here.
Sheffield
Caught this band called the Hillbilly Cats in a wonderful working class pub in Sheffield, and was regaled by Iain Noble on the underground country/roots scene as it has historically existed in England. This place was great. Reminded me of the Rose Bowl tap here in Urbana. The band was terrific, playing Elvis, Holley and such as well as some Buck Owens and country classics. (I was heartily disappointed when my ride dragged me out before they played Cryin Time Again. Iain stayed, giving hearty support to what he called just a bunch of Sheffield good ole boys. It was strange to hear these great American songs from the 50s and 60s (and later--they did a bang up job of an Eagles tune--much better than the the Eagles), and then hear these strong north country accents. So differnetnt but so familiar. It struck me just how many pockets of this stuff there are around the world. It was a reassuring after my first day there when I had a quick course in the rise of English civilization. First was Stonehenge, then a trip to the magnificent medieval cathederal in Salisbury, and then to Buffalo Bills Trading Shack (51 Winchester St., Salisbury, Wiltshire) where they have some of the tackiest western clothes this side of Garth. Whew! I did manage to pick up a copy of the double magazine: Line Dance UK/Country Music News and Routes. Strange country. Everyone wears black leather, and they all laughed heartily as they passed the shop. Ok. thats it for the travelogue. So Iain, arent you going to write up all that stuff about the Presley book?
Re: The Eradication Game (Re: Grammyszzzzzzzzz....)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Neil writes: Not even close. Seger made some great great music way back when. GAG! Great compared to what, REO Speedwagon? g When you look in the rock dictionary under "over hyped, bombastic and silly" there's a picture of Seger and nothing else. Next! Jim, smilin'like a rock I dunno. Not a big Seger fan, but I remember cruising around Pontiac with my cousin in his souped up Firebird when there was nothing but Seger on the radio. I mean you heard it everywhere. There was something strange about all that nostaligia tint to his stuff. This was when the Detroit area auto industry was in free fall, and all the juniors of the folks who went to sleep in Detroit City were getting in their cars with the black Michigan plates (remember southerners calling em the black tag people?), and heading back to the ancestral homes looking for work. Which is why my cousins now live in Tennessee. Segers music always struck me as kind of dirge like. Stuart jet lagged
Re: Grammyszzzzzzzzz....
Matt Benz wrote: Which weren't really being played, i don't think: they were just held by the back up singers. That was truly a terrible performance, awful song (we ran the close captioning, so we could catch the lyrics: one of the lines is about changing hair color: now *that's* empowerment!). The Bottlerockets sound more like a country band than she does. Made me long for Garth B. I think I realize who the true enemy is. .Cause the Bottle Rockets are a country band, just like the Stones. Did anyone post over there that P1 comment from Henneman about how Earle was a bad ass and should have a bunch of bikers backing him up? Too funny. So I get back from England, where I saw nothing about the grammies, although they had just awarded a bunch of Brits awards to musicians (?) I'd never heard of, and I find a gazillion posts about the grammies. What the hell is wrong witch you all? Does anybody take this industry crap seriously?
Re: Ringo
Iain Noble wrote: Looks like I have a good chance on interviewing Ringo and trying to get ready. Anyone have any ideas on "different" questions to ask him other than the same old crap? Thanks in advance for any tips, I have a feeling I will have to remind myself to not drool, so I want to be really prepared. Nancy Is it true he took tins of baked beans with him when they went to stay with the Maharishi in India? And did he realy say that the M's place was just like Butlin's? .One of the more interesting discoveries of my first trip there is that the English eat beans on toast for breakfast, put them on baked potatoes, and god knows what else. Other than that the English food was not bad. Sturdy stuff. As John Cleese once said to the question of why English food sucked: "We had an empire to run, we didn't have time to develop a cuisine!" The beer looked great and made me miss it terribly. Twang content: had a lovely time in a Sheffield pub with Iain listening to the Hillybilly Cats. Reviews to follow, but must get to work. Stuart semi-conscious
re: Rodney
Smilin' Jim asks: Hey I'm listening to Life Is Messy, Rodney Crowell's record from 1992 and IMO one of the best of the decade. g Anyway, haven't heard from him in a while, have we? anybody know what's up with him? I know he's been producing some lately but I was wondering about his recording career. You must have been reading my mind, Jim. I did some backfilling of the Crowell catalog by picking up *Life Is Messy* and *Jewel of the South* at a going-out-of-business sale last week, and every time I play 'em, I ask the same question: why doesn't this man have a record contract? As far as I know, he's still without one, unless he's still engaged as a member of the Cicadas. Stuart Munro
PHILCLIP: Elmore and the band
From the Boston Globe, 2/19/99 Leonard's 'Cool' collaboration with Coyotes By Joan Anderman, Globe Correspondent, 02/19/99 Fact and fiction have rarely merged in quite such a strange and supple way as when crime novelist Elmore Leonard and Greenfield, Mass., rock band the Stone Coyotes discovered each other in a small Los Angeles nightclub. It was 1997, and Leonard was searching for a muse. He was plotting the sequel to his 1990 book (and subsequent film) ''Get Shorty,'' about loan-shark-turned-Hollywood-producer Chili Palmer. Leonard had decided that in the new novel Palmer would be the manager of a band, one with a female lead singer, but beyond that, the 73-year-old writer hadn't a clue. ''I was listening to Sinatra, and jazz. I had a lot to learn about rock 'n' roll. I listened to Alanis Morissette and Fiona Apple. I liked Gwen Stefani from that band No Doubt. I heard a lot of female singers. You know there's a big pile of them out there now,'' Leonard says on the phone from his home in suburban Detroit. Although he confesses he had no idea what he was looking for, none of the well-known women in rock struck Leonard as the model he was hoping to find. Then one late-summer night, on the advice of an industry acquaintance, Leonard went to the famed Troubadour on the Sunset Strip to hear the Stone Coyotes. ''Right away I thought, `Yeah, that's the music I want.' There was a story to the songs, and it had sort of a country thing to it,'' says Leonard. ''I liked the fact that the drummer uses marching sticks and a weird little set, and that his son plays bass on a barstool. Someone said the band is like AC/DC meets Patsy Cline. And I thought Chili could understand it.'' Author and rock band began their unusual collaboration that night, and over the next several months Leonard concocted the fictional Texas band Odessa based on the Stone Coyotes' look, their struggles in the business, and the band's stripped-down, rock 'n' twang sound [poster's note: There's yer twang content]. He commissioned songs from the band to use in the book, songs that also appear on the Stone Coyotes' new CD, ''The Church of the Falling Rain.'' In a truly novel configuration of frontman and backup band, Leonard and the Stone Coyotes are now on tour together; he reads, they play. So far they've hit hot spots like LA's Viper Room and the Mercury Lounge in New York. Tonight, Leonard and the Stone Coyotes will appear at the Lansdowne Street Music Hall. The collaboration marks something of a career boost for the Stone Coyotes, an all-in-the-family rock band composed of singer/songwriter/guitarist Barbara Keith; her husband, Doug Tibbles, on drums; and Doug's son from a previous marriage, bassist John Tibbles. They've spent the past 10 years writing, practicing, and making home recordings in the basement of their house in Greenfield, near where Keith grew up. But the small-town garage band image is deceptive. Before they escaped Los Angeles for the quiet comforts of Western Massachussetts, Doug Tibbles was a successful writer of TV scripts, and Keith, who came up in the Greenwich Village folk scene, wrote songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, and Tanya Tucker. She had also signed a three-record deal with Warner Bros., but walked away from it - returning the advance money - after concluding that she was moving in the wrong musical direction. She went underground, and resurfaced a few years later with a screaming electric guitar. Leonard was so taken by Keith's declaration of independence, he included it in his new book, ''Be Cool.'' ''I think he was looking for a certain power. He definitely liked the idea of staying true to your school, and musically sticking to your guns,'' Keith says on the phone from Greenfield. In a business where artists are more often compensated for selling out rather than pursuing a vision, the Stone Coyotes are an exception to the rule - and at an unlikely time of life: Doug and Barbara are both in their 50s. ''If we had really thought about it, we never would have predicted this,'' says Keith. ''We didn't have a master plan or a career strategy. We thought if we just kept improving, getting the groove down ... It's so much fun to play a song, and play it well, that's almost satisfaction enough. But you want security, too. We just weren't sure if it would come from the music business.'' Suddenly catapulted into the spotlight via the back door, other doors are opening as fast as you can say ''major-label interest.'' ''I don't know exactly what it means yet,'' Keith says. ''It's not like some AR guy was sitting in the audience and liked us. We don't sound exactly like something else. And we're not easily swept into any new trend. But there is a stir. I think this is a really unique chance to get up and show what we can do,'' Barbara says. ''The Church of the Falling Rain'' is now available only at the band's Web site, www.thestonecoytes.com, which Leonard - a loyal fan, to say the least -
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: . Look: SXSW sells a dream. That's why all those bands make the drive (well, that and it can be fun to hear all the great music, depending on how superhuman you're feeling that week, as Junior Barnard once said). And let's not forgot there's a group of people making an *enormous* amount of money off that dream. The actual musicians are not among this group, for the most part. .Sounds like big time college football and basketball. Another arena of riduculously uneven exchange due to the star-struck nature of spectacle. Stuart off to England tomorrow. Church and King ah, the majesty of it all!
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
Ross Whitwam wrote: If this is the case, and I have no reason to dispute it, why should poor old Garth get such a ragging around here for all *his* efforts at self-marketing? It's just a difference of scale, isn't it? .Well sure. But its also the same difference of scale that gives the rich and poor equal rights to sleep under the bridge. Or for Wal-Mart and "the little man" in Newman GA to sell records. Scale matters. Plus it's the damn spectacle of Lord Garth that I find so annoying.
twangthevote
Just got my first ballot from the ratethemusic folks. I urge all of you 30ish women out there (and that means *all* of you who want the vote to count when you sign up, heh heh), to sign up and vote. You get to tell the consultants what you think of Shania and the rest, and what you think of country radio in general. Here's the url: http://www.ratethemusic.com/
Re: Austin city Limits/ Knoxville Girl
lance davis wrote: 2) Is there a version of "Knoxville Girl" which would be considered "definitive?" If so, who? If not, who are the candidates? I'd say Louvin Bros. Avaiable on Tragic Songs of Life, on cd from Capitol
Re: Elvis query
BARNARD wrote: Can some explain to me what the initials "TCB" mean with regard to Elvis? I'm asking about a sort of insignia with a lightning bolt in the middle and the letters TCB above it. many thanks, --jnyah takin care of business Thankyewverymuch
Re: Elvis query
BARNARD wrote: Can some explain to me what the initials "TCB" mean with regard to Elvis? I'm asking about a sort of insignia with a lightning bolt in the middle and the letters TCB above it. many thanks, --jnyah Get ye to Memphis, lad, and witness the TCB on the jets and damn near everywhere else. I think one of the jets is called the tcb.
Re: Garth's Field Of Dreams
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 2/14/99 4:54:02 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Vaughn's replacement in San Diego, Garth Brooks, isn't just going to spring training, he has told the Padres that he wants to play the entire season in the minor leagues, at age 37. While many of us have expressed shock, pathos, and other mixed emotions about Garth's folly, if I had his money and clout I would love to spend a year driving a stock car. Why is he doing this? Because he can. Fireball Slim Yah, except Stock Car racing is booming, while the Pods are in deep doo doo financiallly and with the fans (my brothers in SD both said fuck em after the first fire sale). Garth can do it because its good pr for the club owners. Plus hes not likely to kill anyone out there. Stuart recalling when Steve Garvey got traded to the Pods, put on that old uniform and said, "I look like a chili dog" Oh twang: np: Howlin Wolf Chess masters: Don't get no better than this.
Re: Clip: First country music and now *this*?
Iain Noble wrote: Joe Gracey writes: [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From today's MSNBC website. C'mon, don't tell me y'all never *suspected*?" Falwell suspects Teletubby is gay Hell, we've all known this for years. Where has Jerry been? 'Fraid Joe is right. It's just another example of the insidious tactics us Brits will stoop to to undermine your republic, along with laughing at Dolly (even naming that cloned sheep after her), abusing your Western Swing bands and conning you into thinking that artists like Siouxsie and Adam Ant are serious cultural phenomena. In fact the whole impeachment thing was set up by MI6 as part of a plot to persuade you into reapplying for colonial status so you can enjoy really wholesome leadership once more under that nice Mr Blair. Special Relationship? Don't make me laugh - we're going to tax your tea and make you eat Caribbean bananas. If the Norwegian end of this works out it'll be compulsory lutefisk and rockabilly for breakfast. Be afraid, be very afraid. .Well up to that point about lutefisk I figured what the hell; might as well try out that old Imperial coat again. But now I think I'm gonna hafta get me up on that ridge with Jeff Wall and the rest of the Militia.
Re: Hankdogs?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Anyone every considered how ridiculous many of the alt-country/ND band names are? They're like cliches at this point. Cripes. .Cripes? havent heard of them. Is this Purcell's new band?
Re: THE HOT 100 // THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN MUSIC //
Phil Connor wrote: THE HOT 100 // THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN MUSIC // Blacks in music: 100 years of 100 high notes //HISTORY: Looking back on the century's most important African-Americans in the field. BEN WENER; STEVE EDDY;TIMOTHY MANGAN: The Orange County Register * 02/07/99 The Orange County Register Well these exercises serve only to rile of course, but what the hell is Michael Jackson doing perched on top of Robert Johnson and Bird Parker? I suppose it depnds on what "important" means. Anyone else surprised that Charley Pride earns not even an honorable mention? And why is the Orange County paper doing this, of all places in the country?
Re: Emmylou
Phil Connor wrote: Emmylou Harris carries on crusade against music categories "If it sells, it's country," she said laughing. "If it doesn't, it's folk." Good way to define it. Can we all agree to this? Jon? Don? Stuart n.p. Chris Wall: Tainted Angel I like this honky tonk stuff. I vaugly rememberd the name from amongst the hundreds that get mentioned here that I know I'll never see in a store around here, and will probably never here cause I never get around to buying stuff on the net, only when I stumble into stores. Anyway, it was on the listening station at Borders. Now how did that happen?
Re: Emmylou
Phil Connor wrote: Emmylou Harris carries on crusade against music categories Like so many who have idealized American roots music, Harris understands that her yearning for a richer culture might be hopelessly romantic in the face of commercial demands. Yah, Emmylou and Herman Melville. But never say hopeless!
Re: Alejandro Escovedo/Buddy Miller/Railroad Jerk
The Buddy Miller disc, Your Love and Other Lies, is one great country/soul disc. Alejandro gives great shows but his discs bore me to tears. Stuart tossin in 2 cents
Re: WOW! (from Alex)
This has been an interesting and enjoyable thread. Since the Alex in the subject line is my teenaged son, and since Im going to London to visit him and the rest of the crew next week, I want to ask the British P2 squadron if there is any good music happening between the 19th and 28th. And I'm actually quite curious about one of the clubs Louise talks about with the quite mad cowboy patrons. Stuart
Re: K.D. Lang
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Not that I believe in polls exactly, but there was an interesting survey showing last year showing that homophobia truly is the last bastion of open intolerance in America. The authors did in-depth interviews with hundreds of very average middle-class people across the country, found them much more open-minded about race than anyone expected (tons of them brought up family members who were in interracial couples as a factor that made them reevaluate prejudice), but quite virulent in opposition to homosexuality. I find this quite hard to believe. In fact it seems from my vantage point to be quite the opposite, in terms of having family, friends, co-workers or whomever who are gay than having such in interacial relationships. I wonder what this very average sample is. There are certainly large and virulent pockets of anti-gay sentiment, most notably conservative religious sorts who see purple gay teletubbies behind every bush., Though most of them stopped short of hate-mongering, or even saying it should be a crime etc, they did honestly think it a sin. And disgusting too of course. That'd pretty much be the soccer-mom demographic country radio aims for, and I'd be pretty surprised if a gay or lesbian country star can break through before this changes. Deanna Carter is a lesbian. Well, I have no idea. But if we start spreading the rumor, will she go away? But there is a complex set of issues behind this so-called soccer mom issue and potentially gay country performers (or I should say, gay country potential performers?). One is the urge for normalcy, complacency, and the rest of the suburban fantasy of middle landscape clean white idyll that so much of corporate radio is programmed to. The other is the disruption alternative sexualities pose to this constructed weltanschauung. So, no, I don't expect a big push from the big labels/radio in breaking a gay country star. The idea is to sedate and comfort, manufacture the audience, and sell it to Wal-Mart or Applebees Neighborhood Bar and Grill. (Which I foolishly imagine it will by the time today's late-adolescents are grown, because no reasonably educated kids I meet now seem to be shocked by homosexuality anymore. But y'never know.) I meet those kids too. But I also run itno those shitless about it and will replicate in some way the fear-world of their parents (join the local suburban christian coalition church perhaps--hell, not perhaps, that's where I bump into them) All in all, I'd agree with Jon's assessment that it's still a lot better than it was in terms of outright hostility and violence. But I have my doubts about thinking it's progress rather than mutation into yet another virulant form.
Re: WOW! (from Alex)
Louise Kyme wrote: Following on from what Don said about the class barriers, this is true in the UK too, but I also think the big problem for the general public is the fact that cowboys aren't our history, and nor is country music. You get pockets of people who have been brought up on country music (as I have) and have never known any different, but the vast majority don't relate to the history/geography/accents at all. As you say, there are no doggies/corrals in Cheshire. But there arent any in New Yawk City either. It's always been more myth than fact, but I wonder why the British are not as caught up in it as the Germans are. When I was in American Studies at Kansas, we had a steady stream of German students and the first thing they wanted to study was cowboys and indians (that and Bruce Springsteen and cars). Can't remember any into country music though. I do know Kansas tourism is selling hard in Germany for them to come see the real Dodge City. (Which is a stinking place of feeder lots and gruesome packing houses worked by low paid exploited Vietnamese and Mexicans, who face the riot police in full gear when there is the slightest whiff of trouble). Stuart rambling on tonight
Re: New label! New goods! (long, sorry..)
Jon Weisberger wrote: Why, I'm so excited about these releases that I'm willing to overlook g the characterization of the WLS Barn Dance as "a radio show that surpassed the Grand Old Opry in influence well into the 1960Â’s..." Influence in Chicago, maybe g, but I don't think that by the 50s, let alone the 60s, the WLS show had the influence of the Opry, the Wheeling Jamboree, SoCal's Town Hall Party and maybe some others. When did the WLS Barn Dance cease? I was listening to WLS in the early mid 60s and it was top 40. Dick Biondi anyone? I sure don't remember the Barn Dance, but I was a wee child then.
Re: Ray Price - Roy Acuff
Don Yates wrote: On Mon, 8 Feb 1999, Steve Gardner wrote: For those of you who like the Ray Price Essentials CD I'd recommend going out and getting the Roy Acuff Essentials CD. They aren't exactly the same, Roy is a little more oldtime and a little less honky tonk when compared to Ray Price. I seem to think though that if you like one, you'll like the other. I, at least, do. "A little more oldtime and a little less honky tonk"? How about a *lot* more oldtime and a *lot* less honky tonk. There ain't a lot of similarities between the two, near as I can tell. I'd recommend Acuff to folks who were checkin' out the roots of Hank Williams though -- Acuff was one of his biggest singin' influences.--don Well I'm not sure *lots* is the right level of difference. Sure different, but a lot of similarities too, particularlly in voice. Whiskey and Blood on the Highway comes to mind, or Night Train to Memphis. But I was trying to remember this novelty nonsense song he did, I would guess in the 40s, with the line "What's the use of counting like Caesar when Caesar is dead" Help me out here somebody. And where can I find it? Stuart who's gonna start looking for that essentials disc
Re: GrooveGrass
Don Yates wrote: All right, I finally got a chance to hear the GrooveGrass album (which is now being released by Warner Bros), and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. I'm open to odd musical fusions, but this attempt to fuse bluegrass and funk falls mostly flat. It just sounds like two disparate kinds of music were rammed together with no apparent purpose in mind. I've heard Chili Peppers ripoffs that were more funky, and it sure doesn't make for satisfying bluegrass either. Unimaginative beats, and a fella singin' (GrooveGrass creator Scott Rouse) who sounds like he should be frontin' some earnest '70s boogie-rock band. He's about as far from funky *and* high lonesome as you can get. Compare this album to Greg Garing's Alone, and you'll see how unimaginative and just plain lame this album is. Garing has the musical and vocal chops to get away with his audacious fusion of electronic dance music with country, bluegrass and rock. Despite the big names helping him out, Rouse just doesn't seem to have what it takes to pull it off.--don So, you don't like it, is what you're saying? Sounds bad enough to me, being no big fan of fusion stuff usually, but I'm not listening to Parlor James, Old Dreams, which I just picked up. This is the future of alt. country. Well, maybe not. But it is a very very interesting disc. Electronica (which normally I loathe) mixed with banjer? And more weird shit. But it works. At least so far.
Re: GrooveGrass
stuart wrote: . but I'm not listening to Parlor James, Old Dreams, which I just picked up. This is the future of alt. country. Well, maybe not. . That's *now* listening too. I'm really digging this. Have they been raked over the P2 coals yet? For those who havent heard of them, it consists of Amy Allison (Mose's daughter), who has a, um, unusual voice, and Ryan Hedgecock, late of Lone Justice. Don Heffington (also Lone Justice) does nice drum work on this too. Very intriguing stuff.
Re: Bottle Rockets
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The group was dropped by TAG/Atlantic after releasing its 1996 album, "24 Hours A Day," which has sold 16,000 units, according to SoundScan. That is just a laughably stupid number. Proof positive that big money, or the lack of it, can make or break an artist. I realize that the 'rockets aren't the most marketable band, but Black Oak Arkansas, a band even uglier and far worse than Henneman Co. had 3 gold records in the 70's, at least according to that recent Oxford American. Dan Well the solution to this is of course for Henneman to strip off his shirt, and stick a cucumber down his skin tight white pants. ehh. or maybe not.
Re: Ray Price recommendations
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: . Probably the best single-disc Price collection that I know of is Sony's 1991 collection "The Essential Ray Price: 1951-1962," which one can usually find in the U.S. for ten bucks or so. . Amen. This, one of the Columbia Classics series, gets about twice as much play around here as all of the rest of that generations discs put together. Price is the best. And note the dates on this collection. Before his body was invaded by silk-suited aliens. h. I think I see the glimmre of a theory for why music takes the turns it does.... Stuart is the x-files on yet?
Re: Heather Myles Injustice
Jon Weisberger wrote: If things were like they used to be, the odds are pretty good that at least *some* of the more straightforwardly country acts and releases that get discussed here - whether it's Myles or the Derailers or Dale Watson or whomever - would be in the door, The gatekeeper role of radio these days (is there any doubt it's more important than it used to be?), combined with the Consultants From Hell, has stifled the artist development pattern of a couple of decades ago, and the Americana/alt.country scene is not a very satisfactory substitute, at least not yet. This observation--the nub of the problem IMO--brings to mind the rise of happy talk news in the 70s. Actually the consultant from hell comment reminds me of Frank Magid and Associates, the consulatants from Cedar Rapids Iowa who pioneered the change in local TV news. It worked and it's been downhill ever since. Not to make too close an analogy here, but I don't see any change on the horizon for local TV news, nor for Radio, now heading down similar programmed channels. And while the Americana/alt secne is indeed not a very satisfactory subsititue yet, it looks like some sort of alternative institutions will have to suffice, cause the big money boys are not likely to change, What to do?
Re: k.d. lang (was Re: Heather Myles Injustice)
Jon Weisberger wrote: New Hampshire Jon says: As I remember it, there had been some rumors about her sexuality here and there before she came out, but I don't think that was what caused Nashville to turn its back on her. I really don't recall the fact that she was a lesbian as being a huge surprise to anyone. More than anything else, it was her fight with western cattle ranchers that did in her country career, which happened shortly before she came out. That accords with my recollection a. Mine too. I lived in Topeka Kansas then and there were several outraged columns in the newspaper and the local stations of course banned her. Kansas of course is the state when you enter you see a large billboard of a steak, with the simple command "Eat Beef!" This slogan is apparantly also required to be displayed on all pick up trucks in the state. I've seen lesbians at Kansas rodeos, but never an "out" vegetarian. Some things are just beyond the pale. Stuart steak sounds good for dinner
Re: Neko + Kelly x Loretta = Pure Joy
Don Yates wrote: Or somethin' like that. Both sides of Bloodshot's tribute 7" to Loretta Lynn are winners for me. Kelly Hogan delivers a rather suave version of "Hanky Panky Woman," and Neko just flat-out torches "Rated X." I had to go splash some cold water on my face after listening. It'd be nice to see Bloodshot expand this to a full-length tribute to Loretta, who's always been my very favorite female country vocalist.--don What are these 7" crap things? I aint got a 45 spindle in my cd player. Wheres the new Neko album? Dammit. And when is this oft-mentioned but still unknown to me Kelly Hogan gonna have an album. Or does she? Splashing cold water on you? whew. Sounds like potent stuff. Not sure I can handle it.
TwangCast and Macs (was Re: Hay Check this out!)
Chad Cosper asked: This may have been covered at some point in time, but is there any way for us Mac users to access this? Any plans for Microsoft to release a Mac version of their player or is there one out there that I just haven't seen? There is a beta version of Media Player for the Mac. It works fine, at least on the streams I've checked, but it does not yet work with TwangCast (sniff, sniff). I don't know if this is due to the Mac Media Player, or Mac Netscape (which I use), or both. I do believe (or hope) the TwangCast folks are working on the problem. Stuart Munro
Re: TwangCast for Macs
TwangCast Mike wrote: Hang Tight Mac users, we're going to get this thing de-bugged for ya'll. I only know two Mac users and both bring up the player and then type in the following address, mms://media.gemlink.com/TwangCast I hate to tell you this, Mike, but directly pasting the link into Media Player doesn't work either. And then, Personally, I know exactly 2 people with Macs in a non workplace environment, hundreds with PC's. Better start checking those monthly iMac sales figures, Mike g. Other matter re Mac, Microsoft, etc.: Bill Silvers raises a good point: I'm pretty sure that Media Player was built to play Real Audio streams; in fact, the Real Audio people complained when MP first came out that it disabled Real Player on any computer on which it was installed. It's quite possible that the latest Real Audio Player (G2 I think, also in early beta on the Mac side) will play Media Player streams. As well, aren't there a few alternatives to these two that you TwangCast boys might consider? Shockwave, Audioative (both of which Carl Z's station use, if I'm not mistaken), Streamworks, etc.? Stuart Munro
Re: Death of the Twangzine
Jeff Wall wrote: Looks like I'm going to have to shut the Twangzine down.. N!! I hate shutting this down, but I have no choice. we'll be back in the fall, God Willing, but until then. Stick a fork in me, I'm done Hiatus, Jeff,... hiatus. Restructering. Reorganization. Temporary suspension of our usual distribution schedule. There. In the fall then.
Re: Blodwyn Pig
Ph. Barnard wrote: Ooooh!!! I don't have it with me, but i think it's a UK import that I found used for cheap. Sound quality is fair, but I thought it was an interesting pick up for the price. A Head Rings Out was definitely one of my faves of the 70's and not just cos of the pig's head on the cover. g Oh man, I *loved* Blodwyn Pig!! Alas, last I heard, the great Mick Abrahams was driving a bread truck g. Such is glory A Head Rings out was a very cool album indeed. I'd love to hear it again. You can see Mick Abrahams, of course, in the Stones' Rock n' Roll Circus video, back when he was the first guitarist for the dreaded Jethro Tull (yuck!). He was only on their very first album, but that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth thinking about it!! Phew, what a blast from the past! --junior Yes yes yes. I've been looking for a head rings out for years, since my original disappeared (I blame a certain Carbondale junkie). I loved Abrahams mixed with that guy who played two saxaphones at once. The first Tull album is actually pretty good, mainly because of Abrahams doing a kind of blues meets Wes Montgomery thing as I recall. Havent heard it in years. I recall finding an aritcle about Abrahams somewhere on the web. He apparantly has some newer stuff out on some little indy lable in England or something. Cant remember exactly, but I was probably searching for Blodwyn Pig records. Stuart
Re: Blodwyn Pig
Twang content: second sentence of the Beat Instrumental quote..
The link at the bottom is:
http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8904593/blodwyn.pig.html
the page is outdated, but is shows him and the pig still playing around
England as late as last December.
Mick Abrahams:
Blodwyn Pig bossman!
Quote from "Beat Instrumental", February 1971:
"Unlike most guitarists, Mick Abrahams'
playing, blending
sophisticated chord work with dazzling
single-string breaks,
goes beyond the distinction between lead and
rhythm
playing. You can hear echoes of many forms -
Mick has a
wide-ranging style drawing from jazz, country
and western,
rock'n'roll (ancient and modern) and he is also
one of the
most imaginative and sensitive exponents of
bottlenecking.
Mick made his decision to go professional at the fitting age of 21, when his
mother asked him
whether he wanted a big party or a guitar to launch him into manhood; he chose
the guitar, a Gibson
SG that he still uses six years later, and shortly after formed his own band,
the Original Hustlers, who
played mostly Chuck Berry and Little Richard songs and what Mick laughingly
refers to as "our own
arrangements of Beatles' numbers".
His step into a national group came when he joined Neil Christian's Crusaders,
who had just lost
Jimmy Page, but he left after a three-month stint. "We had to dress up in
orange shirts, tight black
trousers and white boots and wiggle our asses. If you saw how fat I was then
you'd know why I
didn't fancy it", he admits. But after an ill-fated venture with a band called
the Goodtimers with,
amongst others, Graham Waller, Dave Cakebread and Bernie Etherington - "We
rehearsed
every night for five months and folded after six gigs. It wasn't a bad band,
either. We had a big fat,
bluesy sound" - Mick found himself back with the Crusaders, and, having played
"a few gigs" with
the magnificient Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages, went on to join a Luton group
called Jensen's
Moods, where he played with Clive Bunker and Andy Pyle.
His next band was McGregor's Engine with Clive (on drums), Pete Benson (or
Fensome? on
vocals) and Andy (on bass. Ex-Victor Brox's Blues Train) again."
Referring to McGregor's Engine, Pete Frame says in his "Rock Family Trees,
Vol. 2".
"Jan '67 to Nov. '67. A Luton Supergroup; all had played around the area since
Beatles days. This
was a power blues band, Cream inspired. Hot locally."
Back to "Beat Instrumental":
Rehearsing in an adjoining room at Caesar's Palace one day, however, was a
band called the John
Evans Smash who had been told by their managers to get "a blues guitarist".
Mick joined, and
managed to persuade Clive to go with him rather than work for Commer Motors;
the new group
included Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick and was called Ian Anderson'sBag of
Blues. Agent
Dave Robson suggested Jethro Tull for a name, and their first record, one of
Mick's songs, came
out on MGM; "Sunshine Day", by Jethro Tull. Some time later, after Jethro's
triumphant appearance
at the Kempton festival of 1968, he was at last in a successful band."
Mick left Jethro Tull after one album ("This Was") and formed Blodwyn Pig.
Made two albums
with them - and then established Mick Abrahams Band (initially called Mick
Abraham's Pig or
Wommet). And swore to never play "Cat's Squirrel" again.
Mick Abrahams Band issued two albums: "Mick Abrahams" CHRYSALIS ILPS 9147
(1971)
and "At Last" CHRYSALIS CHR 1005 (1972). Jack Lancaster returns on sax on
number two.
In 1975 he recorded "Learning Guitar With" on SRT SRTM 73313. He should
know...
Cover above from "Mick's Back" album - still another one.
Mick keeps on recording infrequent comeback albums. Check out eminent link
below.
You can't keep a good man down, can you?
Links:
The Blodwyn Pig Fan Page
BARNARD wrote:
You mean how can you tell stylistically, or how can you tell by their
respective haircuts?? g
Oboy, I'm gonna rent a video and worry about whether the guitarist is Tony
Iommi or Mick Abrahams g,
--junior
NP: buck sings harlan howard (Mick A. didn't play on this disc...)
Re: Blodwyn Pig
http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8904593/albums.html The liner notes for A Head Rings Out, written my Mick. Check it out. .A sample: "SING ME A SONG THAT I KNOW" - Has the quality of hard rock and blues with heavy accentuation on drums and bass from "vulture" Ron Berg and "budgerigar" Andy Pyle. Vocal from yours truly who thought he was Elvis Presley at the time. (A song to squash budgies by). Jerry Curry wrote: Man, to hear some Blodwyn Pig playing country tunes while in my car taking a "Slow Ride". Man, life couldn't get much better... Jer NP: Stonewall Jackson - All The Best On Wed, 3 Feb 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: .who cannot *wait* to hear the original Blodwyn Pig playing "Six Days on the Road" Talk about ALT-country g I dunno. It *could* sound like Foghat, not that should bother Jerry. g JC As soon as you find this 6 days one, let us know. A must have. As soon as I get that CD release of a Head.
Re: Today in History
Jon Weisberger wrote: Porter Wagoner - . "Country music is actually pretty close to disco or rock," he told a local reporter. "Hell, you can sing 'Y'all Come' to disco." Now *that* is muddying the waters Yah, well, I guess ol' Porter's not one of the cognoscenti. .But of course he is. and you too. Maybe the right term was illuminati. Or elect? The better sort? Men of wealth and taste? All it meant was people who paid attention to such things more or less. Stuart less than careful .
Sunday's digest
Can anyone out there email me Sunday's digest? My copy didn't show up in ye olde emailbox. Thanks in advance, Stuart Munro
mermaid ave.
Copied from the Postcard 1 digest: Man in the Sand, the film about the making of Mermaid Ave. was shown today at a music related film festival in Portland. Supposedly this was a pre-release video version - I don't know when it is to be formally released. Anyway - don't miss this movie. The film focuses on Bragg and Nora Guthrie but includes lots of footage of the practice and recording sessions with Wilco. It provides some Woody history which offers a great context for the Mermaid songs - gave me a new perspective on "At my window sad and lonely." There is some interesting footage of Bragg and Tweedy going over song writing credits and a hint of the conflict that went on when selecting songs for the album. There is a really funny sequence where the mixing/editing process is haunting Bragg and his young son walks in - I won't give it away here. Also some really funny stuff with Bragg and Natalie Merchant. Throughout the film Nora Guthrie provides narration about her dad and his life. The film provides interesting insights on the special relationship that Nora and Bragg develop through the project. Musical highlights include fragments of California Stars, Way over Yonder, She Came Along to Me, Ingrid Bergman, At My Window..., and an unreleased Merchant sung children's song. We got great full versions of Hoodoo Voodoo and the unreleased When the Roses Bloom Again - I'm not sure about that title. I spoke with some folks who attended and had never heard the album or Wilco who greatly enjoyed the film. It is put together very well and wonderfully weaves the story of Woody's life into the story of the recording. Don't miss it. There was a very brief segment with Arlo talking about This Land is Your Land. Does anybody know if Arlo was involved in the Woody archives project or how he feels about the music on Mermaid Ave.? Why hasn't Arlo tried what Bragg and Wilco have done?
Re: California harmonies (was: Soul)
Barry Mazor wrote: Post-Byrds California style--and I can only say that LOTS of ol' rockers were fairly turned off by the "new"Crosby-dominated sound notions of CSN at the time, for the "blanding down" reasons raised . If you were a hardcore fan of the Band and Dylan and the Burrito Brothers and Let It Bleed Stones in 1968/69, you certainly were NOT necessarily in love with these developments at all! No shit. Now there's some stone countryrock. What promise!! Band/Dylan Burritos Stones. What the hell happened? The next thing I know, Im in some girl's dorm room with frangipani, patchouli, candles, indian prints and listening to CSN, Carol King, James Taylor and shudderThe Moody Blues. Then a bunch of mopey stuff by (I think I'll restrain myself here) certain popular f*lk singers. No wonder I wound up . (well that's another story). So let's get that straight--there was a real dividing line between 60s and 70s rock in that moment--and the lovers of the emerging 70s sound, younger than the likes of me nd tneding toward a sort of willed stoned sweetness, would support most of the blandest sounds of that decade many around here find as dull as I do. It was enough to carry you into hard core country and blues until the late 70s first punk arrvgal/revival! But that really doesn't mean the history of California country rock harmony is all sweetness and light. Barry testifies to the truth. I think I only listened to early Ray Price, Hank Williams and Muddy Waters etc. until well hell, 1996. Oh yah, and the Allmans etc. Rhythm Aces. Well there were some bright spots. Stuart npimh: Have you heard about the Midnight Rambler
Re: Today in History
Porter Wagoner - . "Country music is actually pretty close to disco or rock," he told a local reporter. "Hell, you can sing 'Y'all Come' to disco." Now *that* is muddying the waters
Re: WOW! (from Alex)
Oh, and the other thing is, we found this great CD shop today... as in they're Alt Country section was about the size of their Pop music section. Anyway, we came across that Lucinda williams CD that was stolen for cheep. I got this email from the boy, who is in London. Alt.country the size of Pop? Can this be true? You English P2ers know?. Is it only outside the U.S that one can find this stuff in retail shops? Stuart thinking about the British Invasion of the 60s
Re: Dixie Chicks and other voices
vgs399 wrote: I would be interested in knowing how much a voice, quality, tone and so forth influences you in your likeability quotient of any cd. For example - Although I acknowledge the musicianship on the Dixie Chicks "debut" cd, I totally dislike Natalie Maines' voice. For me, her voice is grating; similar to a mid-pitched meat grinder. Sara Evans - Absolutely piercing alto quality. Never modulates and sings from the back of her throat. I get a total kick out of any reviewer who has labeled her the next coming of Patsy Cline. Not a bad voice, but I wish she'd tone it down considerably. Trisha Yearwood - a dramatic soprano who shoves the Wagnerian principle down our throats. A wonderful voice hampered by an inability to sing from her head.Influence? Linda Ronstadt - another great voice, full of quivering vibratto, but devoid of sincerity and emotion. A voice means a lot to me in liking/disliking a recording. I would be interested in any of your thoughts regarding vocal performance. Who do you like or dislike and why?Tera Interesting obeservations. Two singer who pop to mind are Heather Myles and Tracy Nelson. I like them both, but find Myles to be rather limited in terms of range or emotional impact. There is a kind of flatness there that bothers me. Nelson is at another extreme. Too much voice. It starts to sound like opera. I wish she'd tone it down and make another straight country record. Trisha Yearwood I like some, but hearing her sing in an awful duet of I Fall To Pieces with Aaron Neville (who I'm not crazy about, but also like) on the Rhythm country and Blues disc, makes her sound really tepid and emotionless. Maybe they should have asked Patsy Cline to sing with Neville. Nice to see you back Tera Stuart
Re: real country [was re: old 97s in Toronto]
Jon Weisberger wrote: let me commend to your attention the fine essay on "Country Music As Music" by Bill Evans, "So where is the 'country' in country music? To borrow a well-worn advertising phrase, it might be more a state of mind than any specific set of unique musical characteristics. Country musicians seem to share certain assumptions about melody, harmony, form, and performance technique that together help to shape ideas about the nature of the country sound, its boundaries and its possibilities." Interesting, but it how does one get to be called a country musician? And how does one differentiate between specific set of unique musical characteristics on one hand, and certain shared assumptions about melody, etc., on the other. Likewise the pairing of boundaries and possibilities is curious. It all seems sort of circular to me. One thing I like about that is that it nudges the reader in the direction of considering not only what those "certain assumptions" are, but how they're transmitted. And who is in authority to name what is and what is not country. But I don't quite understand this transmission thing. Especially in the age of mass media. Care to elucidate?
Re: Outlaw Blues
Ph. Barnard wrote: Joe! Good to see you back... However, the live scene is still cool. And with Seagrams (!) owning half of the world now, I don't think banking on major labels will get any of us very far... In light of the current situation, what *do* you bank on? Anything strike you as a viable approach to the situation as it stands now?? Indies aren't getting people very far financially either, in most cases. What to do, what to do Curious, --junior Good question. Organize? A populist moment? A movement culture? Underground networks? P2 empire? Seems to me the bottleneck is in the distribution systems. That's where the big boys power lies, cause of capital barriers. I.e. Radio, record chains, high cost main stream media and advertising, etc. So what's needed is alternative, flexible, uncontrollable (in the sense of being widely owned or even unowned) easy entry and access distribution systems linked across all the various sites of production: recording, clubs, bookings, news and information, swag, etc etc. Gotta think some more about this. Let a thousand flowers bloom or something like that. Stuart also glad to see Joe G. back
Re: old 97s in Toronto
lance davis wrote: .At the risk of sounding like a moron, what is "HNC?" Hot New Country. i.e. "not your parents old twangy country" Promo slogan for denatured country music designed to appeal to a particular primo demographic. Soft and 70s rock crap with a fiddle buried way way back. And do I need to wash my hands after using it? It's better to just not use it, hear?.
Re: 2 queries
Jon Weisberger wrote: .Second, do you suppose that the persistent misattribution of "Wild And Blue" is an effort to cover up the fact that writer John Scott Sherrill gets cuts with the likes of Brooks Dunn? Damn. Jon's onto the conspiracy. OK. ..Plan B
Re: favorite song
Slim np - Allison Moorer "Call My Name" (my new favorite song) oh yah. mine too. Does your appreciation of it have anything to do with working in the Thorazine mines? She sure can write a spooky song.
Re: Review
.* 01/22/99 The Guardian Copyright (C) 1999 The Guardian; Source: World Reporter (TM) New Highway Return To Viva Americana . Canada's Neko Case could well be one of the voices of the millennium. It's the antidote to Garth. Indeed. When is the new Neko being released? Last I heard was Feb, which is just around the corner. Inquiring and obsessed minds must know.
Re: I got a day job too
Nicholas Petti wrote: It looks as though at long last my new restaurant, Mendo Bistro, will get to open. Where is this bistro? What's on the menu? (I know this is P2 and not twangfest, but isn't having a restaurant part of the P2 Empire?). Twang content- none except one of my pantry workers is a young HNC country fan that I've been showing the light. Now this is the kind of missionary work we need to see more of. Maybe we need guys on street corners testifying and handing out miniature cds. Good luck with the restaurant. Stuart
Re: Elvis in Viva Babylon
Tom Smith wrote: This just in from the NY Times: FINN MAKES ELVIS KING OF "SUMERIAN ROCK" A Finnish academic known for recording Elvis Presley songs in Latin is planning a new record of eternal hits - in the ancient Sumerian language.. So where would you file this - under "Oldies"? . Stone Country, dude.
Re: Line Dancing
. nudist camps. You ain't seen nothing till you've seen a 70 year old Granny line dancing in nothing but her white fringe cowboy boots. .owwwheee. Now *that's* Country!
Re: Americana guesswork/line-d@#*@
Lianne McNeil wrote: .Sorry Jeff, joking or not, you are just wrong about this. Reading all these anti-line dance rants reminds me of our parents (or grandparents, for some of you) who claimed that rock music was the devil's music. Well, yah. And they were RIGHT! You're sounding like a bunch of narrow-minded fuddy-duddies... well maybe fuddy duddy. Is that so wrong?! Republican, even. Whoa! That's over the line! Although I would now like to take a lot unrelated incidents and weave a complex theory of the line dance conspiracy foisted on an asleep public (WAKE UP, AMERICA!), and why it must be impeached. There are many forms of dance, and only a few of them involve cuddling with your partner or flirting. Those who define dance as only being those dance forms that require a partner have a very limited (and ignorant) view of dancing. Line dancing is similar to Broadway choreography, but whether or not you dance on Broadway has no bearing on the goodness or "badness" of line dance. It's also similar to ethnic folk dance. I suppose you think that those guys dancing in "Fiddler on the Roof" aren't really dancing?! Yes it is similar to ethnic folk dance. In fact it *is* ethnic f*lk dance. And to avoid irritating Jon W., I'll refrain from describing some of the other mores of this particular ethnicity. If you don't see any individual expression/interpretation in line dancing then you need to get out more, or else need to start paying more attention. I'm sure there are some clubs where the dancers perform like robots. But most dancers who have progressed beyond beginner's level tend to dance with "character." This is true, although its pale pale pale (in the polyvalent sense) compared to a bunch a lit up oldsters doin a polka. No matter how advanced they become, the mechanisms still remind of something more appropriate for half-time at the big game vs. State U. The truth about LineDancing ...Is that it became very popular with people who got tired of waiting for partners to ask them to dance. (What a bunch of lamers, those "cowboys" bellied up to the bar!) Now this is true! And it's the real culprit. Stuart remembering being the only--ONLY!--person (except for Nina) dancing in a roomful of hipsters and college students at a Derailers show.
Re: Line-d@#*@
Lianne McNeil wrote: .
.
men have a hard time learning to dance. And not only do they have to
learn how to coordinate their own movements, but then they have to
"steer" (lead) the woman, too, and coordinate all her "tricks" (turns)
to the right beat. It is a pretty complex maneuver. For some reason
learning to dance comes fairly easily to most women. So I suppose,
ideally, it would work better if the roles were reversed, and the woman leads. But
that's not how it's done in couple dance. So my
interpretation of the situation is that a lot of guys give up, rather
than look a fool on the dance floor. And the women get tired of sitting around.
Interesting theorizing here Lianne. Although I think we have to unpack the
essentializing about men innately having two left feet and
women being genetically predisposed to grace and elegance on the dance floor. In fact
these are socially constructed behaviors and are
first implanted during one ot the more traumatic stages of life: junior high school.
(Although many childern--boys especially--suffered
square-dance syndrome while in elementary school) In this period of the first budding
of noticing that just maybe the other sex doesn't
in fact have cooties, tremendous psychic conflict ensues. Girls,
perceiving--correctly-- that boys their own age are still dorks,
retreat to their bedrooms en masse and exchange secret information on how to dance
that they have gleaned from older sisters, or
watching American Bandstand. They take on both roles, in a kind of transgendered
ambidextrousness. This sort of behavior eventually
leads to women wearning pants to school (and oh yes, you youngsters out there, there
was time not so long ago when this was verboten).
Conversely, during this period, boys spend much time playing games or sports, punching
each other in the arm, and ridiculing each other
when one strays from the pack and actually tries to dance, a skill of course that they
have not learned, both because it would interfere
with sports or watching the three stooges after school and because the slightest
movement in this direction would cause a tightening of
the circle as the transgressor would be charged with dorkery. In this liminal period
we see the patterns embedded within a milieu of
shifting and uncertain social roles (girls *know* how to lead, but can't, because that
would upset the proper heirarchy of gender roles
and might lead to girls wearing pants to school and piercing their nose) {for this
insight, I'm indebted to Hyde and Starr, 1998} None
of this, it might be added, can lead to boys wearing dresses to school, although the
secret knowledge of girls "lead"-ership skills
causes them to have horrifying nightmares of appearning in school in just such garb,
if any garb at all! The rest of this dismal story
is well known, of course, and needs no elucidation here, except to note that (cf
L.McNeil, 1999) line dancing is clearly the result.
That, and UHI's leaning on the bar or in the back.
One thing I admire about the teenagers of today is that dancing seems
to be an "in" thing with them. Just a few years ago the dance classes
my husband and I attended would be mostly people around 40-ish. Now most
of the class is teenagers and young 20's (though all ages are there).
The kids are growing up dancing. I like that! (These are ballroom
dance classes, not country.) Another thing I admire about the young
dancers is that they aren't so rigid in their dance roles. Sometimes
same gender partners will dance together in couple dances. And some of
them are trying to learn both the lead and the follow parts.
When my 16 yr old boy was at an urban camp this summer, a bunch of the boys decided to
go get some beer and drink. He decided to go to
the dance and dance. Girls were coming up to him and telling him how cool he was for
bucking the trend and dancing instead of
drinking. OH If I had only known then what I know now. Well, at least daddy dint
raise no fool
Stuart
who promised the missus he'd start on the taxes tonight
Re: I GOT A DAY JOB!
.heh heh. I love tales of justice.
Re: Americana guesswork
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I would just like to say that I do not understand what everybody has against line dancing. I think it's a lot of fun. Disco. Crappy music from records, and it looks dopey. Stuart who confesses to getting suckered by the dancin fool into line dance lessons. I had a hard enough time with counting to four with the two-step, let alone counting to 17 or 29 or however of those silly steps there are. I ended up out in the parking lot at the Knights of Columbus Hall smoking cigs with the other line-dance challenged guys.
Re: Reivers of Song
Tucker Eskew wrote: But I'm struck by the whole concept...the River. Is it relevant or coincidental? At first I wasn't sure if it was actually the Bottle Rockets. ...Brian Henneman talked about the importance of the river on their lives and their music. Well Henneman is a musician of uncommon historical sensibility and sense of place. Living in the area, the River is a large part of ones sense of where you are. And kids do go down to the river to drink beer or whatever. It's kind of like the opening scene of Moby Dick where Ishmael notes everybody on the walk overlooking the sea, and wondering what it is about the water that draws them. Water-watchers. And Rivers are deeply implanted in our culture as sources of life. I give the show's writers and producers credit for not overplaying the whole River thing. Until Henneman's comments, I'd come to the conclusion that the River is not especially inspirational or even necessary to the creation or the location of the music featured thus far in this series, St. Louis riverboat ride notwithstanding. It occurred to me that the Minneapolis rock and Indian music and the polka and the Swedish folk music of episode one could all have been found, in better and worse incarnations, elsewhere in the heartland, hundreds of miles from the Mississippi. Same could be said for the St. Louis gospel and RB. Well not really. Minneapolis rock would not exist if not for the falls of St. Anthony, where the river became unavigable and where power for flour milling existed. Likewise, St. Paul sits on the only place in the region where the grade up from the River is gradual enough that a road reacing to the Red River and through the rich plains could be made for ox-drawn wagons. And these geologic factors set the conditions for drawing the people into the place where innovation generally takes place, at least before the radio, the metropolis. And the river is the reason for the main metropolises (metropoli?) and their hinterlands of this series that focus the music. St. Paul/Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans. (Can someone say Jay Farrar? g--UT content!) Come to think of it, even *after* Henneman's comments, I'm not sure the Mississippi is all that central (figuratively, not literally) to the music featured. *Not that there's anything wrong with that.* Sure, the Mississippi River (and most especially its Delta) richly imbues the lives and culture that rise up around it. But if, as it seems to me, it happens to be a convenient framework for highlighting some great roots music, then fine. If you think there's more to it than that, enlighten me. Well its the drain of the whole contintent between the Rockies and the Alleghenies, and it served as the source of commerce and settlement for so long it developed these related but distinch creole cultures up and down its banks, and that's the source of this music.
Re: AC/DC meets Patsy Cline? Yeee-haw
Shane S. Rhyne wrote: Howdy, Tucker talks about an author I've always meant to investigate further. I seem to enjoy movies and television shows based on Elmore Leonard's writings (Maximum Bob on ABC was brilliant fun and I hope it comes back someday.) Strangely enough, I haven't read any of Leonard's actual writings, though. I'll have to rectify that. .Yep. They are all great. A friend of mine who is a personal injury and former legal aide lawyer in Minneapolis turned me onto them claiming their absolute veracity when it comes to depicting low-lifes, riff-raff and schemers. Check out The Switch, or the Big Switch. It's the one that precedes the one the movie Jackie Brown was based on. I guarantee you, you will have a shit-eating grin on your face at the end. The guy is the best American writer since Raymond Chandler, or maybe Jim Thompson.
Re: River of Song
. Brian Henneman talked about the importance of the river on their lives and their music. (accompanied by a heartwarming shot of the BoRox strolling along the river while drinking cans of beer. g) Henneman also said that audiences on the coasts seem to be more intrigued with the BoRox because they are from the Midwest. He described the band as "little reporters from the heartland". It made me laugh. Henneman strikes me as such a great guy. He has the UHI kind of ironic distance, but it's like he's appropriated it and inverted it to say serious things in a straightforward manner. Like the quote Marie cites. His self-effacing humor linked with powerful songwriting is a nice combo too. It was nice to have them on last, capping off a great episode on the St. Louis segment of the river. . Stuart Brox still America's #1 rocknroll band
Re: Query:Archive this list?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 1/13/99 9:56:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I would prefer not to have my e-mail address out there on a buncha web pages. I have to agree with CK on this one. I get enough mail from nuts as it is. Deb Hey! I haven't sent you any mail in months now. And my therapist said I'm making remarkable progress. But... This is one reason for multiple e-mail accounts. The other is that it allows one's alternative personalities to also vote for Mike Ireland. Stuart among others
Re: Query:Archive this list?
Bob Soron wrote: At 8:21 PM -0600 on 1/13/99, Christopher M Knaus wrote: I would prefer not to have my e-mail address out there on a buncha web pages. So if you can strip that off, or slap a password on the front of the whole thing that would be cool. Also remember that there is a web site or two out there (cant remember the URL) that has p2 postings (you can read them, but cannot actually post) but I dont know how far back they go. I'm with Chris -- I don't mind being in the archives, but I don't want my email address exposed. (I'm paying for two email accounts, and this is the private one.) It's essential that whoever's volunteering for this effort understand that. As far as I know, the archives are all still available from the listproc at U Washington, so this should all be moot. List members who want them can retrieve them from there. (And that includes the current month, too.) Bob You can get free email accounts all over the place now of course, which is one solution to this. And I can see where spam might be a problem, although to date, I've really never had much of problem. Once in a while something comes through. And since I'm not at all cautious about leaving my email address around the planet, I don't understand why I don't get more, while Mark Wyatt is apparently on every porn mailer in the U.S. and Denmark. But the original question was is there a searchable archive. Can the archive at U.Washington be easily searched by topic or key word or some combination of key words? Stuart
Re: If you ran into Garth with a used CD in a dark alley.....
Don Yates wrote: . Still, I'd have to agree with Jon that the Garthman's primary motivation seems to be the fame of record-breaking numbers, rather than making every possible dollar that he can. With his level of popularity, he could be making much more if he were so inclined.--don Maybe. Although I'm not convinced it would be significantly larger over the long term. I don't know what the elasticities are for superstar products, but my guess is volume still goes down as price rises. In addition, goodwill is an economic value, calculated in money terms when accounting business worth, and Garth has especially cultivated this--hell its practically the whole product IMHO. In addition, we see someone with enormous market power leveraging it able to command venues unavailable to others (like the Wal-Mart concert/sale), and to essentially direct a record company to serve his interests among other things. That Garth flexes these muscles is actually pretty impressive from a business point of view. I agree a lot of it is ego. Back in Minnesota Carl (no matter how rich you are, you can't buy a personality) Pohlad, and Somebody (I forget his first name) Carlson were by far the two richest men in the state, but competed fiercely to be the richest, even though each has more money than several generations can consume. But Im digressing. In sum, I think Garth, being a businessman, is looking at fame yes, but his eye is on maximizing income too. And I think he's got a winning strategy right now for doing just that.
