es will be remembering when I
criticized Chet Atkins' production of Bobby Bare's 60s stuff, because of
the dissonance between the "smooth" production and the grittier vocals and
subject matter. Um, that's different. -- Terry Smith
in western Montana, and also has fewer
egotistical movie stars and more secluded hot springs. -- Terry Smith
np The Best of Guitar Slim on Specialty Records. Rough guitar player,
but he could sing, and with Mr. Ray Charles hitting the ivories and
arranging, well, I gotta say...
around 1990, give or take, or whether I just
imagined the whole thing. She did write some wonderful road and relative
tunes, though, not unlike some of Lucinda's real personal songs. -- Terry
Smith
understand the power of marketing. When they
pour millions of dollars... Hey, where you going?
-- Terry Smith
to be a surprising pairing. Anybody know? -- Terry Smith, who
realizes that this has probably been mentioned on the list, but can't be held
accountable for remembering every damn thing
Doug Sahm, I think
By cracky, that's it. Sounds like a very interesting pairing; I wonder
what the material's going to be. -- Terry
that's been thrust into the
public right-of-way, and saying they shouldn't be allowed to do it. I
don't even know whom we're talking about. -- Terry Smith
with. I can't count the times that I've gotten
excited about hearing a record, based on overblown bullshit spewed forth
by the label or the band, and then listen, and think, Jesus, they play OK
for having just stumbled upon their instruments four or five days ago. --
Terry Smith
ush,
big-band pop past. Does anyone have a handle on the writers, Russell Brown
and Pat McLaughlin? Great songs, and the only defect is that tendency to
put bothersome parentheticals in the song titles. -- Terry Smith
Just wanted Roy to feel at home. Welcome back, buster. -- Terry Smith
On Wed, 21 Apr 1999, Terry A. Smith wrote:
pps it's been a great week; discovered via the library, Solomon Burke and
Lloyd Price. How'd I ripen into my 40s without having heard these guys?
Mysteries of life.
Then Don:
Yeah, right -- it's 'cuz you live in that cultural backwater
Dammit, you all aren't allowed to have this country radio/Nashville fracas
without me. If there's gonna be any geographical knee-jerking -- what an
image! -- around here, then I'm gonna do it! -- Terry Smith
ps seriously, I'm holding out hope that Mandy Barnett's record will chart
on country
ded some more
examples, you're vulnerable to the "exception that proves the rule" argument.
-- Terry Smith, a normal music fan
dic turns, doesn't automatically find its way onto radio
playlists. I'm sure there's an easy answer, though I hope it's more
complicated than "commercial radio programmers are all assholes."
Again, though, I can't say enough about this record. Thanks all for the
recommendation. -- Terry
aycheck's hit, "Take This
Job and Shove It." Other than that, he's basically a big -- aw, never
mind, my mama always said if you can't say something nice, don't say
anything at all. -- terry smith
r
brothers would agree to ride their bikes to the "city limits," and the
biggest sandbox in the world, across the street at the Herrera's. -- Terry
Smith
ps watched the Johnny Cash tribute last night; once again realized what a
great man and musician Cash was and is. Couldn't make heads
speculate,
because it's such an obvious choice? If we're talking about rock, in my
subjective, fallible, hazy-assed estimation, the Beatles have no rival. --
Terry Smith
ps my local library just got stocked up on a bunch of classic pop and
soul, 50s era, plus a copy of Johnny Cash, Live at Folsom
to this time around g. But what I really wanted to suggest is
get PGE, or whoever turns on your lights, to trim the damn trees. And if
there aren't any power lines near 'em, go out on some dark night and move
the power lines closer to the trees. See, that's not hard. -- Terry Smith
np Danny
of dumbasses in
America. We'll trade you, ours for yours, straight up. -- Terry Smith
np George Barnes and Joe Venuti -- man, now that I've got a cassette in
the car, exploring old, dusty tapes is great fun. And thanks, Jon, for the
word up about the Danny Gatton tape. I listened some more
, until I had to
make the switch to AE's incredible mini-series based on C.S. Forester's
Hornblower books. -- Terry Smith
np Doug Sahm's "Jukebox Music."
lists from Jenni in April, though! :^)
Steve, my Music Choice doesn't have an Americana channel -- is that
something new? -- Terry Smith (who's anxiously awaiting a visit from Mandy
Barnett(her record) while watching his mono-stricken 9-year-old. Man,
mono's a bitch, ain't it?)
Hey, Don, since you're the listmeister, I thought I'd direct this little
complaint your way... That pesky Terry Smith has been sticking all kinds of
non-twang-related stuff in PS's to his ostensibly twang posts; he's been
doing it for years, and I'm sick and tired of it. I think you oughta
sical rock, therego "Summerteeth" = Crappy,
pretentious classical rock. Or maybe it's called art rock. I forget. And
Jerry, I will be checking my mailbox for letter bombs, so don't try
anything! -- Terry Smith
ps just saw "American History X" last night. Great film -- does any
hour I was listening, the station played such
classics as 80s vintage Oak Ridge Boys, Gary Morris, Ronny McDowell, and
Alabama. So my dreams of a station that only plays Tammy, George, Buck,
Loretta, Merle -- or Hank, Ray, Johnny, and Hank -- went up in smoke. I
switched to the blues station, which was
And Chrissie's a Cuyahoga Falls gal -- and longtime Cleveland Indians fan
-- factors that should be considered in her favor! -- Terry Smith, who
grew up in adjacent Stow, Ohio
ps go tribe -- World Series 99
rder Radio,
Romeo's whatever, a few others. I'll try to think of some other artists
who did this sort of thing. -- Terry Smith
ps so when's mandy barnett's new one coming out?
ake sure I haven't made any
agregious blunders, or however you spell it. -- Terry Smith
ps I just read that over, and editing's a bitch with this program, so let
me rephrase it here -- Miller's arrangements never get in the way of the
strong singing and songwriting. And some of those ballads grab y
to
shop elsewhere. Anyhow, any insights from you worldly folks would be
appreciated. -- Terry Smith
s might be following
Universal's example.
Anyhow, maybe somebody can post this to the list, since it has a lot of
relevance to that article Neal posted yesterday. -- Terry Smith
ps so who's been dissing Bocephus? I'm with the folks who remember how
vital old Hank Jr. was in the old days, putting out a se
Me:
The reflex to say so and so
"sucks" is always so much more tempting than settling for saying, "that's
not my cup of tea." -- Terry Smith
Jeff Wall:
I don't see the difference. If I am reviewing a disc, and I can find
absolutely no redeeming value, and
human beings decide whether it sucks or not. -- Terry Smith
ps I'll vouch for the LA Weekly, too. A good paper, which I'm hoping would
double and triple-check the veracity of the reporter's tale. This thing
looks so much like it could be a hoax that any responsible (and observant)
editor would mak
, "that's
not my cup of tea." -- Terry Smith
of my favorite obscure bands? I tried to score their second record and
never succeeded; they must have sold out of what they had. But love that
first one -- with it's subtle, but stick-with-you pop ballads. -- Terry Smith
se to pour).
And to really ruin this analogy, the last place you'd ever catch me would
be in a stadium for a rock concert -- or country show, for that matter --
fending with 100,000 sweaty morons. I could handle it as a youth; of
course, back then most of the challenge was figuring out how to score.--
Terry Smith
sons" or go see a
movie, or have a job, or eat food? -- Terry Smith
ps I did have the time to read all the entertaining posts about SXSW --
I'm glad you all posted them, rather than shoving them over to the
Wangfest list.
like that. -- Terry Smith, whose mom's name
is Eula -- a good ol' fashioned Texas name
The X is about the only good thing I've ever heard about Oxford, Ohio (the
home of Miami of Ohio). Of course, here at Ohio U, the motto has long been
"Muck Fiami." -- Terry Smith, who got tossed out of a Miami dorm at curfew
on a memorable road trip many years ago, and who's not
the button, hold his dixie cup under the mouth
of the hose, and get a shot. You've got to give the geezer extra credit
for ingenuity. -- Terry Smith
ps So what's the dope on Patty Page? Good pop or bad pop? My work
colleague has a greatest hits CD that I've been thinking about borrowing.
rella." But, on the other hand, he should say whatever comes
into his head, because he's just yapping, and who gives a shit. If I really
cared, I'd write 16 more paragraphs! -- Terry Smith
other than
a bunch of vagaries about the feel, versus the sound, of Willis' voice. --
Terry Smith
bet my
bottom dollar that the tunes of Kris Kristofferson and Outlaw era Willie
will be around when Shania's been long forgotten.
As I said before, there's rock influences and then there's rock
influences, and they're not all floating around on the same, precise
relativist plain. -- Terry Smith
ng punk country as my example of good rock
influences I'll let my tag-team partners take over for that. -- Terry
Smith
/smartassiness from Time
magazine's Joel Stein, who copped HIS from...
-- Terry Smith, who's sick of snow
, and in between uproarious laughter,
declared, "Ha, you fellers are wearing cowboy boots, you must be from
Ohio." That's around the time I learned the word, "apocryphal." -- Terry Smith
s idea of Camelot.
Also, I know that Jon's rhetorical chops, with regard to rock, aren't
nearly as sharp as they are with country. g --
Terry Smith
np a review copy of Steve Wynn's new one. I'll report back.
laylist just to piss me off. - Terry Smith
e's "Train a Comin'." -- Terry Smith
sound and he got it. I'm just not that thrilled by it. -- Terry Smith
ps so Patrick Carr is known to some of you all. That CMF book I quoted from
had the singular deficiency of excluding any capsule bios of the essay
authors.
And here's an interesting contrast to the overly polite and artsy "roots
rock" types: Terry Allen's an arty Texas singer-songwriter who also just
happens to be thoroughly immersed in various roots styles. He does more
than just name-check roots music greats in his publicity sheets (a la
onetheless, if Froom was involved with Rumour and Sign, or the double
record from a couple years ago, or the followup to Rumour and Sigh, then
what's the problem? -- Terry Smith
ing, and the folkier type of bluegrass,
which has a bit more appeal to my ears. I'll qualify that judgment,
however, by admitting that I still haven't listened to "The Mountain"
enough times to form any lasting conclusions. -- Terry Smith
ps later today, if I get a chance, I'm gonna attem
ks tend to remember music from
"the old days." You repress the bad stuff, and generally mainly remember
the good. If I could only learn to exert this sort of repression with
modern country music. -- Terry Smith
gotten past the third or fourth song. A little slow, but I'm still
planning to give it a chance. -- Terry Smith (who caught the biography
thing of SRV on VH-1 the other night. That was way entertaining, and sad,
too.)
sing, the necessity
of country musicians to go outside their "natural boundaries" in order to
make a living, yet he slams one period -- the Nashville Sound -- on the
same basis. The thing is, I agree with him, even with the seeming
contradictions -- and that stems from an arbitrary but no less valid
preference, for me, for simple, stripped-down, rural, gutty musical sounds
and statements.
-- Terry Smith
Randall lives in Athens -- are you talking about him?
Deb
Yep. Sorry about the mispelling. Just saving my typographer a little time
by deleting the L. g -- Terry Smith
it. I love that song, even when
Johnette N., from Concrete Blonde, is singing it along with Steve Wynn et
al. -- Terry Smith
Hellcasters records. And
then all those early David Grisman Quartet/Quintet records. Hot
Dawwwwg -- Terry Smith
Lucinda, Dave Alvin, Neil Young, Doug Sahm, where
alternative forms of country music are concerned -- is just pissiness
brought on by having to stay home with the kids on -- yet another -- snow
day. Now I've got to go out and intellectualize with a snow shovel. -- Terry
Smith
n
allowing the "country side" have the field. Me, of course, I'm on the
polka side of the tracks! -- Terry Smith
nr(reading): Robert Harris' "Archangel" about the modern-day discovery of
Stalin's secret heir, living like a hermit in the woods near the White
Sea. Great novel. So, was J. Stalin worse than Hitler?
, Stalin reportedly enjoyed listening to orchestrated music with
"dogs" doing the vocals. He'd force his generals and aides to dance until
the early morning hours to this stuff. -- Terry Smith (who's sincerely
sorry he threw this utterly non-musical issue out for comment -- is there
a purge coming?)
e for many people who are shit-sick of hearing about UT, Wilco,
etc. With me, I hopped on Postcard, briefly, at the recommendation of my
youngest brother, a UT fan, and then hopped off as soon as I heard about
P-2. I'm not saying I'm typical in that respect; but I'm sure as hell not
unique. -- Terry Smith
Neal, you jump in plenty already (g). -- Terry Smith
np Paul Kelly's "Words and Music." Criminy, the tune "Gutless Wonder" has
a sort of Richard Thompson-esque nasty freaking attitude about it, doesn't it?
en
writing it letters where it's been interned, on some outre gulag on the
eastern edge of Siberia.Let me know when it's safe to bring it back. -- Terry
Smith
this stuff before
Jeff Tweedy was out of short pants. -- Terry Smith
ps enjoyed reading the transcripts of the A-list Nashville session
musicians, from the 50s to early 70s, in the Journal of Country Music. I
was wondering how much of those guys' nostalgicizing about the way things
used to be, and
f? They're the media, right? If they see Uncle
Tupelo as big influential innovator, that's fine. But it doesn't
necessarily prove anything. -- Terry Smith
ps I think Jim might have taken my post a little bit wrong, because, I'll
admit, it didn't have a great deal to do with Tera's post that
-- etc. So
if you tune in and expect to be blown away, best be prepared to wait a
while. And maybe pre-set nine or ten stations, just to be safe. -- Terry Smith
* of course, this applies to most commercial radio, no matter the genre.
On Fri, 5 Mar 1999, Terry A. Smith wrote:
And how does "No Depression" as a name for a magazine prove anything about
Uncle Tupe's music itself? They're the media, right? If they see Uncle
Tupelo as big influential innovator, that's fine. But it doesn't
necessarily prov
-country act in quite some time.--don
Yeah, but what do you like about it, Don? -- Terry Smith
ps that was a joke. Oh yeah, welcome back, Mr. Purcell. You've got some
catching up to do, mister.
sly plea for a modern alt.country band to
cover "Don't Walk Away Renee." -- Terry Smith
ps does Lee Ann Womack have a new song out, where she talks about doing a
lot of nasty things to a female rival, who's "a small target, that skinny
little thing" or something like that? It's a great tune, what I heard of
it on the radio.
lane.."
Well, there's a sampling. No pretense toward objectivity, plenty to rile
up just about anybody, and some factual errors that even I noticed. I
suspect that this book has been discussed here before, but since I lack
an encyclopaedic memory, forgive me if I don't recall it. -- Terry Smith
music. Every time he mentions it, nearly, he adds some snide
adjective or comment. The fellow apparently comes from a roots-oriented
perspective, and has a disdain for the "phoney" sounds of pop. Me, I like
pop just fine, as long as it's old pop and not new pop. Picky, picky. --
Terry Smith
wasting untold
fortunes on Twang Devil, and Barbed Heart, and Cowboy Ear, and Dudley
Doright and the Mounties, and, aw, you know what I mean. So, buck up, son
and get back to work. There's another dozen pieces of twang shit to listen
to, in order to find that one diamond. -- Terry Smith (now, who
did a lot for that
country boy. There's a sizable segment of the North American population
who are genetically unable to resist a sizzling banjo/fiddle breakdown.
Of course, the mandolin is an acquired taste, which explains why it's
better but... -- Terry Smith
On Mon, 1 Mar 1999, Terry A. Smith wrote:
three living human beings who actually treasured DF's first two
singer-songwriter records.
Then Jerry:
Remember this statement whenever you all begin to abuse my music
tastes. Yet another contender for the ummost eclectic music tastes
impossibly
beautiful bass part on that record.
Besides, Blue is a fabulous album.
Blue is an incredible record. It still moves me today the way it did 20
years ago. Every song is good, and some of them are spine-tinglingly so.
Oops, gotta strap my skates on and head down that river. - Terry
that hail from this
his region, right?
Neal Weiss
Um, yeah, sure, Neal. Uh-huh, right. -- Terry Smith
s my sense
of how the record came to be is fabricated in my own head, molded with my
own preconceptions and dispositions. -- Terry Smith
np Bobby Bare/Chet Atkins again. "The Game of Triangles" is a killer song.
I'm wondering how it would go over here in the late 90s. It has one line
that
ifferently, have different attitudes
about production, so, I'm curious, was Atkins slick production really the
"normal" way folks expected to hear country tunes produced in the 60s? I
just have to think that it still bothered a lot of folks back then. Of
course, I'm just guessing. -- Te
al to as many people as
possible at that time, which, in so doing, snaps its fingers and
transports me away from that factory and that loneliness. It pisses me
off. Though I'll confess, I need to move on. After arguing about this, I
think I've copped a worse attitude about the Nashville Sound than
uot;occasionally" drop out of later
discussions of issues? I do it, too, but then I'm old and weary, and
brain-dead from listening to too much Bobby Bare/Chet Atkins. -- Terry Smith
arents
died when she was young. I sputtered a bit and then grumped out of the
room. Cool. -- Terry Smith
Just got back from the record store where my daughter and I picked up new
ones by Earle and Spears. Can't wait to put it on. -- Terry Smith
ps actually, I hate to admit it, but that video by young Britney is catchy
as hell, as is the song. I usually hate that sort of stuff. Another
musical
ving "The Streets of Baltimore" another listen, I'll concede
that this one is pretty damn good. All for today (thankfully) -- Terry Smith
songs, and stand by my reasons,
notwithstanding the looney notion that a rural, working-class tune might work
just dandy with the Cleveland Orchestra providing the sonic backdrop, and
the Vienna Boys Choir doing the doo-waps. I don't find that a distressing
judgment, just common sense. -- Terry Smith
target and into rough waters. Dive, dive,
dive. -- Terry Smith
re a sound aesthetic
argument for arranging "gritty" songs in a "gritty" fashion, and giving
urbane lyricizing a glossier finish? Jesus, the way they arranged Miller's
Cave, they may as well had Perry Como singing it. -- Terry Smith
arranged
with background singers, strings, etc? I'd really like to know. I've heard
a lot of that stuff that sounds dandy, but also some that doesn't. To my
short list of Bobby Bare, I'd add what one of Hank Thompson's later labels
did to his best work.
-- terry smith, embattled again and enjoying
arden," is a T.S. classic. And that "Cowboys to Indians," or whatever
it's called, is a great cover, as Matt said. It doesn't hurt when Lucinda
is pitching in. -- Terry Smith
ps so what, specifically, is the Damnations TX's song "Kansas" about?
There's no lyrics in the record, so
o song, and doesn't hew
to any preconceptions about sparely produced roots music. He can get away
with that, and succeed at it, because he's already paid his dues, I
suppose. Yet, when someone like Mike Ireland does some "revolutionary"
things production-wise, it turns into a big discussion point in
Hey there,
If nobody has mentioned Faith Hill, I will. This is going to sound
weird, but she is just so damn gorgeous and (seemingly) friendly
That did sound weird Terry. And I'm picturing a Faith Hill poster up on
your bedroom wall for some reason.
Later...
CK
Faith's got a
, and Freakwater, all harmonizing like
sick dogs in some delirious record reviewer's head. -- Terry Smith
le, chunky sound. I love the bass. -- Terry Smith
they're gonna be there. Anybody wanna bet? -- Terry Smith,
who has no inside knowledge (about anything)
If nobody has mentioned Faith Hill, I will. This is going to sound weird,
but she is just so damn gorgeous and (seemingly) friendly, and her songs
don't make me gag like Shania's do. So there it is. Faith Hill's the queen
of country music. -- Terry Smith, who actually prefers Lee Ann Womack
e of strings
doesn't necessarily say much, one way or another, about the production ethic
that's going into a record. Oh, yeah, DW's record has more strings, used
less delicately, than the Holler record. -- Terry Smith
I saw a lot of this (German tourists) out west, too. But not only German
tourists (usually IDed by their sandals and thick socks, even in rough
desert terrain) but a lot of Japanese, other European peoples. We lived
near Four Corners Monument (about 35 miles away), and you'd go to Four
Corners
usticity to "Spit and
Tears" and "Kansas." The punked-up twang may give this Austin, Texas, trio
its attitude, but ultimately those harmonies are the Damnations' saving
grace. 30
The record's out today so I guess I'll judge for myself what a band sounds
like that cops its harmonies off of Ira, Charlie, Exene and Doe. -- Terry
Smith
the neck, a
la Homer and Bart, and started wringing him out like a sopped washrag. To
make a long story short, the police showed up, hauled my ass to jail, and
now hear I am writing this sad story, in between mournful harmonica solos
from my cellmate, a kicker from Bakersfield by the name of Merle... --
d now I've gotta add the Damnations TX to my wanna buy list,
too. Terry Smith
ps I was wondering whether there's much in country music lyricizing about
doing your taxes. Somebody's gotta have done "The 1040 Blues," right?
Terry Smith wrote:
"If I remember correctly, when Mike Ireland and Holler came out with their
debut last year, Ireland repeatedly mentioned Charlie Rich's work from the
mid-60s as a major influence, specifically noting the sophisticated
arrangements, with strings, horns
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