Take the 50 top artists in your musical profile, and create a cloud of the similar artists that are not in your top 50. The result is a collection of highly recommended artists for your personal profile. You can generate your own cloud (in BBCode) at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/recommend.php
First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.
Last.fm Top Artists
A slew of additions has The 9513 group up to 135 members, we’ve sent a familiar face back to the top of the Top Artists chart. George Strait is at #1 with 31 listeners and is the only artist with more than 30 this week. Brad Paisley drops from #1 to a #5 tie with Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack and Carrie Underwood, all with 23 listeners. Sugarland isn’t getting much of a boost from its Christmas album, as the former perennial #1 artist sits at #9 with 22 listeners. Coming in at #10 is Sara Evans, who had 21 listeners, along with Dwight Yoakam. Evans has normally ranged between 14 and 18 listeners. Ryan Adams had 15 listeners to lead the Americana artists. For those looking for a little more traditional country, Jamey Johnson had 15 as well, putting him between Jennings (14) and Jones (also 15) — and Rascal Flatts (15), which definitely doesn’t fit with the song.
Last.fm Top Albums Miranda Lambert managed the top two albums on the chart, with Revolution having 20 listeners and Kerosene having 13, along with Underwood’s Play On. Evans charted very well here also, with Born to Fly landing at #7 with 11 listeners, tied with Paisley’s Time Well Wasted. Evans’ four other albums had 8 listeners each, so her fans in the group had an all-out listening party last week. Womack also fared well, as Call Me Crazy had 12 listeners, I Hope You Dance had 10 and There’s More Where That Came From had 9. Of course, Underwood managed to get 100 percent of her discography in the Top 10, so I guess she wins. Let’s see her try that when she’s 10 or 20 albums into her career, though.
Last.fm Top Tracks
Of the 11 songs in the Top 10, only three are by Lambert, which is low for her. Of course, “White Liar” and “Dead Flowers” were #1 and #2 with 10 and 9 listeners, respectively. Lady Antebellum also had 9 listeners for “Need You Now.” Three of Womack’s finest songs, “Ashes By Now,” “Last Call” and “I May Hate Myself In The Morning,” all had 7 listeners. Maybe people needed a change of pace after hearing “There Is A God” or something. Trisha Yearwood’s “This Is Me You’re Talking To” had 7 listeners who can tolerate poor grammar when it’s sung well. Just outside of the Top 10 sits Lady GaGa with “Bad Romance” and its 6 listeners. Look, it’s bad enough “Cowboy Casanova” is #4 with 8 listeners; I don’t want to have to start writing about too many pop divas at once.
Billboard Country Songs Reba McEntire moves up to #3 with “Consider Me Gone,” and she’s going to have to bump “Need You Now” and Luke Bryan’s “Do I” off to get her 23rd #1 single. David Nail moved up a couple spots to #8 with “Red Light,” and it looks like the country stylings of Dave Matthews couldn’t give Kenny Chesney a chart-topper, as “I’m Alive” slips from #6 to #9. “White Liar” keeps climbing the right way, making it to #11. Unfortunately, so does “That’s How Country Boys Roll” by Billy Currington, which enters the Top 20 at #18. The big gainer for the week was Paisley’s “American Saturday Night,” already at #21 after five weeks. Underwood’s new single, “Temporary Home,” starts its climb to the top by debuting at #48.
Billboard Country Albums Taylor Swift and her legion of Grammy nominations moved back to the top spot and was in fact the sales gainer for the week… meaning there were still some people who hadn’t owned Fearless. Now that’s been remedied and we all have a copy or two, it can drop off the charts, right? Her self-titled album also had a bump from #10 to #7 after 162 weeks on the chart. Underwood’s Play On falls to #2 after a three-week run at #1, and Sugarland continues to see its Green and Gold album move up the charts, entering the Top 5 this week. Diamond Rio, who’s still on the country charts for some reason, saw The Reason take a big jump from #56 to #42, just one spot behind its peak position. The big debut of the week was Jimmy Wayne’s Sara Smile, which showed up at #32. First Dave Matthews can’t score a #1 hit, and now an album with a Hall and Oates lead single can’t debut inside the Top 30. So much for star power.
Americana Music Association Chart
Last week’s Top 4 is this week’s Top 4, with The Avett Brothers moving into the Top 5 with I And Love And You. Rosanne Cash’s The List had an add this week, meaning that we’ve found the world’s slowest Americana program director. It had 454 spins overall, giving it nearly 4,000 plays to date. New to the Top 10 is Yonkers NY by Chip Taylor, in at #8 from #14, and Circles Around Me by Sam Bush, from #13 to #10. Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo) and Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) debut at #33 with One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, the music for a Jack Kerouac documentary. The lyrics are taken from Kerouac’s Big Sur novel.
Freebie of the Week
Talented folk/Americana singer/songwriter Mando Saenz is giving away his 2008 album, Bucket… provided you help him gain some new fans. Go to www.mandosaenz.com and submit your e-mail address, as well as the e-mail addresses of three friends, and you can download the album for free. If you’re feeling generous, you can download a digital copy by paying what you want, starting at $1. This strategy worked pretty well for Radiohead, so it would be nice to see Saenz do well with it. Two of the songs from Bucket, “Come Out Tonight” and “Candy Red,” are also available for download on his Reverb Nation page.
Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) und Jay Farrar (Son Volt) haben sich zusammen getan, um im Rahmen des Dokumentationsfilms um das Leben und Werk des amerikanischen Schriftstellers und Poeten Jack Kerouac, 12 tiefgreifende Songs zu schreiben. Die Texte aller Songs entspringen aus Kerouacs letztem Buch von 1961 "Big Sur".
Jack Kerouac, Mitbegründer der Beat Generation, gehörte zu den wichtigsten literarischen Einflussgebern in der Alternative Szene. Schon 1997 gab es ein Spoken Word Tribute mit vielen bekannten Vorlesern, wie zum Beispiel Michael Stipe, Steven Tyler, Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp oder Patti Smith. "Kerouac – Kicks Joy Darkness" wurde damals, genauso wie jetzt "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur", von Jim Sampas produziert. Diesmal steht aber nicht das Spoken Word im Vordergrund...
So I was listening to NPR on my way to way to work. And they did another piece on No Depression closing its doors and even played the Uncle Tupelo tune in the story.
Now, the funny thing is they could have gone into the rising costs of publishing well anything. That is one of the things killing the comic book business if it was not for margins off the movies. But nope that was not the focus.
They could have talked about ever lowering numbers of people subscribing and buying magazines but No Depression's numbers were as steady as a rock.
The thing they attributed to the death of the magazine was the lowering ad revenue from music labels who simply did not advertise in magazines anymore.
Bigger mags with more diverse ad revenue of course can survive but niche publications take it hard and go under.
The fall of the record industry has been done to death and forgive any immediate puns from this. But the path to sales and money is pretty clear. Its the way the record industry especially in the 30's on to the 50's made all their money. Its selling the singles.
Its not like I am some sort of genius and its certainly not like I am the first person to say this. But look at places where record labels continue to advertise. They focus on the CDs the whole record and they need to get the ClearChannel whores in the radio business and the up-n-comers in satellite radio to wake up and focus again like they did in the early years of the industry on the songs the individual songs and selling those songs online.
The whole record focus of the industry is falling apart but the dumb fucks have a model. Look back at the 50's and early 60's where records made up only a niche part of sales and the 45 was king. In terms of online sales this should be there model. Find the song, the kickass wonderful gem out of every record they produce and push it like mad. Its not like cutting back on ad money is going to help them sell more whole CDs. Bullshit, its only going to throw them deeper in the shits.
On a different tangent, I thought it was absolutely funny as hell to here this lady from No Depression about moving from print to a completely online community portal. I find this funny because the magazine maintains one of the most spartan devoid of content web sites known to modern man. Outside of a few precious web downloads for music and two good opinion columns from the magazines editors its pretty much a worthless site.
The idea of them being able to turn that around into a pitchforkmedia for the alt-country Americana set is enough to make me chuckle. It was nice to hear them mention Jay Farrar and Son Volt on the radio.
And it was nice to see the passing of the magazine marked in the media in a caring fashion.
The idea is to go to the page of your number one artist, and follow the link of it's number one similar artist, then repeating that for this artist and so on, noting down each artist as you go. Do this until you've got to 50 artists (not including your number one). If you get any repeats, just go to the second similar artist or the nearest one that you haven't already had.
This album grabbed me and never let go. Lead singer/songwriter Will Sheff writes and sings about the perils of becoming (relatively) famous, how to keep the band going when the tour becomes a drag, how weird it is to have groupies, and what happens when your creativity or songwriting ability dries up. The wonderful part of this album is the diversity of the songs (from rockUnless Its Kicks to suicide balladSavannah Smiles to obvious motown influence You Can’t Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man) and the array of instrumentation used (from coronet to pedal steel to rock piano). You can tell Sheff put a lot of time, thought, and effort into the songwriting, and his voice has really matured over the last few years. I actually had to ban myself from listening to this at about mid-October lest I burn out of it. I will love this album for a long, long time.
Standout Tracks: Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe (A kickass rock song about how life, unlike a movie, is actually quite boring), Plus Ones (what does happen to the 97th tear, or 100th luftballon?), A Girl in Port (beautiful love song), John Allyn Smith Sails (Sheff turns the west indies folk tune “Sloop John B” into a suicide note from poet John Berryman. Brilliant!)
The only song I am not nuts about is Title Track. Its not a bad track by any means, but it prevents this album from being a perfect 5 stars.
Although this album was released March, I stupidly didn’t hear it until early December. And when I did it immediately captured me and blew me away. In fact, I had a hard time NOT making this my number one album of 2007, and I am repeatedly kicking myself for having missed them this year when they toured through Toronto. TWICE! Lead singer/songwriter Matt Berninger sings in a baritone voice, which almost always sounds either sad or desperate. He works with the themes of white collar angst - the constant grind of the big city (Mistake For Strangers), climbing the corporate ladder (Racing Like A Pro), losing touch with your old friends (Green Gloves), and general disillusionment. The music is deep and lush, and some songs are supplemented with horns and keyboards.
For me, this was the perfect soundtrack for getting into the airport at 1:00 a.m. after Christmas seven hours later than expected due to a snow storm, having United Airlines lose my luggage, taking a bus from the airport to downtown, walking home from the bus stop in the pouring rain through the club district of Toronto with all of the super young kids getting soaked in their mini skirts and heals and their hair gel running all over, and finally getting home at 2:30 a.m. so physically and emotionally exhausted that I couldn’t sleep.
The Sadies are my favorite Canadian band, and although they are mostly known for putting on kick butt live shows, which they do (I saw them twice this year), their albums aren’t bad either. Its nearly impossible to classify this band. They area incredibly talented musicians who are smart enough not to limit their music to one genre. Their previous releases have been parts country, rock, gospel, alt country, folk, bluegrass, surf rock and psychedelic. They are quintessentially americana, (or Canadiana, I guess).
New Seasons is another great release. It starts with a bluegrass instrumental Introduction, and launches into a slightly psychedelic rock song. The variety on this album is immense. This album sees the lead singers, brothers Dallas and Travis Good, doing a lot more harmonizing than on previous releases, and it really works. The frantic dual guitar work and country twangs that Sadies fans know and love are still included on the album, but this recoding also showcases some of the Sadies softer sides, with beautiful tracks such as My Heart Of Wood and the instrumental Wolf Tones. The album drags a little at the end, but otherwise its another wonderful release from a superb band.
4. For the Sake of His Songs: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt by Various Artists from the AltCountryTab.ca forum
This tribute album is all that is good about the internet. It was put out by a group of people who have never met each other who all post and discuss music on the http://www.altcountrytab.ca forum. Eric Rhame, from Duluth, Minnesota, coordinated the project. People electronically submitted their home recorded tracks as MP3s to Mr. Rhame from locations as diverse as Tustin, California, to Denton, Texas, to Oxford, United Kingdom. The artists range from professional musicians, to law students, to stay at home dads, to civil servants. Some were singing for the first time, and others had never recorded before. It turned out so well that Mr. Rhame contacted Townes Van Zandt’s widow, and she accepted a copy of it, and thanked the group for keeping Van Zandt’s memory alive! Morgan King of The Popehawks and owner/operator of Yer Bird Records did the cover art.
I was only a passing Townes Van Zandt fan before I heard this album. Since then I have gone out and purchased three Van Zandt CDs and become a true believer. That is the point of projects like this. To keep the memory of a wonderful artist alive, and to encourage people to dig into his vast catalog. Amazing album.
If I learned one thing in 2007, its that I am a Jay Farrar chick instead of a Jeff Tweedy person. For the longest time I have been denying it, but after comparing Son Volt’s The Search with Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky (or, Sky Snooze Sky, as I have dubbed it), there is now no question. Although The Search is not a perfect album, and some of the lyrics are quite esoteric, I think that it’s the best thing Farrar has done since Trace. Farrar is still the lyrical master of the blue collar plight. A good example of this is the second track The Picture, and if you search the internet a little bit, you can find a version of it without the Miami Sound Machine influenced horns. (Seriously Jay, horns?) But this and other minor blunders are forgiven by what is, in my opinion, the song of the year, Methamphetamine. You can feel the desperation of the recovering addict in this song, trying to make it though the night without giving in to his demons. A must have album for all alt country fans.
Chris Knight is the most underrated songwriter in North America. Knight recorded these tracks by himself in his singlewide trailer near Slaughter, Kentucky, back in 1996. Bootlegs and outtakes of these tracks have been floating around ever since. They are stripped down, emotional, and very raw. Knight is a master of storytelling – recalling lost love and broken hearts, hating the dead-end job, the bank foreclosing on the farm, and disillusion with city life.
My person favorite track, Rita’s Only Fault, tells the story of unrequited high school love – of course she marries the high school quarterback. But will anyone believe Rita when Mr. QB isn’t very nice to her?
Knight has been picked up and dropped by the major labels all through his career. I had the privilege to see him perform and to meet him this year, and he was very humble and soft spoken. I'll take raw emotion and brilliant songwriting in a Kentucky trailer over Nashville radio bombastic hair gel, fake smile pop-crap like Rascal Flatts any day.
7. Folk Music for the End of the World – Various Artists – Yer Bird Records
This compilation from Yer Bird Records is a rough concept album about things that will ruin the world – such as greed, war, violence, death, losing faith, and even global warming. All of the tracks are previously unreleased. What I love about this album, in addition to the vast number of extraordinarily talented artists, is their ability to tell stories through song. And each artist does things his/her own way, leading to a really challenging and remarkable record.
I bought this early in 2007, and it was a huge grower.
My favorite track is Mississippi Sea by Hezekiah Jones. He tells the story of the aftermath of some big unstated catastrophe (maybe the melting of the polar ice caps or a big earthquake?), then hiding for 17 years and emerging in 2043. Now he vacations at his condo near the Mississippi Sea. And with only 16,080 people left on earth, they spend all day making babies. Not a bad life.
The extraordinarily talented Ryan Adams gets back to what he does best on this album: roots-rock americana. There is not a bad track on this album. However, there are no real standout tracks either. His backing band, The Cardinals, superbly fills in the accompaniment. What really got me was seeing him on Letterman – for the first time in years Adams looked happy, like he was actually enjoying himself. I really love the consistency of this album.
If Paul Westerberg of the Replacements and Ben Nichols of Lucero had a kid, it would be Two Cow Garage’s lead singer and guitarist Micah Schnabel. Schnabel sings his heart out on 9 of the 13 tracks, with bassist Shane Sweeney stepping in on lead vocals for four tracks. Sweeney’s lower voice is a nice contrast to Schnabel’s wailing, and makes for great variety on the record. This album is practically an alt country super-group, with Slobberbone/The DramsBrent Best producing and playing guitar on four tracks, and Scott Danbom of Centro-matic rocking the piano and organ.
This record is more rock than alt country, but I don’t think that Two Cow Garage is too concerned about labels. They rock as hard as anything the Drive-By Truckers have done, and yet can dial it down when needed. This albums also has the best opening line of 2007, from Come Back To Shelby. “I still smell the smoke from the bridges that I burned.” Turn it up. Loud.
I wish I could remember who turned me on to this trio from Toronto. It’s a very mellow, mid to low tempo record, perfect for a rainy or snowy Sunday afternoon. The opening track, Your Rocky Spine, displays beautiful banjo picking, along with backing vocals from Sarah Harmer. There's a feeling of deep longing and melancholy throughout this record, but there is also a feeling of hope. The songs are recorded using minimal instrumentation - mostly acoustic guitar, banjo, double bass, and drums played with brushes. People categorize this as indie pop and compare it a lot to the work of Elliott Smith and Iron & Wine, but I believe that, like the other two artists, this record has large crossover appeal to many genres and age groups. Very consistently gorgeous throughout the record.
Well I know its early to review the best records of 2007 since its still got about a month and a half left, but No Depression was collecting votes, so I did on. Here it is (as a disclaimer: these are MY favorite records, not necessarily the 10 Best for everyone, that being said, comments, suggestions, and insults are appreciated)
1. Sam Baker- Pretty World
- this record is awesome, if anyone has not heard it, i heavily recommend you do. Baker has a rough voice, but he may just be the best songwriter out there today. He plays acoustic guitar and harmonica, Mike Daly (Whiskeytown) produces and plays on it, along with a host of other phenomenal artists. It is mainly acoustic based with flourished of electric guitar, pedal steel, violin, and other awesomeness. Lots of people think his first record Mercy was better, but I think you should buy both of them and decide from there. RIYL: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, John Prine roots singer-songwriters
2. Josh Roberts & the Hinges- [album]My War Cry Is Amor[/album]
- easily the best self-released record of the year, Josh Roberts and Co.'s sophomore effort is one great rock n' roll record. More expansive and powerful than their excellent debut The Sugarbird Test, My War Cry Is Amor has excellent songs throughout, some of my favorites are the R&B tinged "If Its Not One Thine, Its My Lover", the poignant 'Hand of Man" (check out the banjo on this one), the harmonies on "B1 and B", and the atmosphere of songs like "The Hardest Part of Winter". The album has its share of slower songs the aforementioned "Hardest Part of Winter" and "Curly Bell", but the majority of songs are Crazy Horse-esque rockers displaying Roberts ridiculous guitar god skills. RIYL: Neil Young, Crazy Horse, My Morning Jacket, Rock N Roll
joshrobertsmusic.com or myspace.com/joshrobertsandthehingesrock
check out this article written by Aftermath USA DJ Kyle www.dailygamecock.com/news/2007/10/16/TheMix/Local.Band.Creates.Epic-3033835.shtml
3. Jason Isbell- [album]Sirens in the Ditch[/album]
Isbell's long delayed, but much appreciated solo album was released on the hills of his departure from southern rock heroes the Drive-By Truckers. I've already written a fairly extensive blog about this record (along with DBT's Dirt Underneath Tour). So it is suffice to say, this record is also quite good. Its got rockers, acoustic songs, and "Dress Blues". So hell yeah. RIYL: Drive-By Truckers, Son Volt, Ryan Adams
4. Mark Olson- [album]The Salvation Blues[/album]
This is probably the most hauntingly beautiful album of 2007. Greg Leisz (Bill Frisell, Dave Alvin, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Peter Case, Joni Mitchell, Whiskeytown, to name a few) plays pedal steel throughout and it is gorgeous. I've the record described as dark, but not dark in the sense of no hope. I think its Olson's best record since leaving the Jayhawks (incidentally Gary Louris co-writes and does some guest harmonies here). The packing is also cool (book like form w/pictures).
RIYL: The Jayhawks, Gram Parsons, awesomeness
5. Wilco- [album]Sky Blue Sky[/album]
Tweedy and Co. don't disappoint here (actually I think a lot of people were disappointed, but at this point the only way Wilco could actually defy expectations would be to make a record that actually sounded like their last record). This will probably never be my favorite Wilco record, but its still pretty good. Laid back in a way that Wilco hasn't seen since the A.M. days, Sky Blue Sky is a smooth record that never truly rocks out, despite guitarist Nels Clines ebullient solos throughout. Post critics have either panned it or heralded it as a masterpiece for the same reasons (sounds like 70's pop circa Jackson Brown). I don't have much to say about the record except a) I like it, b) compared to Ryan Adams similar slick effort Easy Tiger, I think Sky Blue Sky is better, and c) its Wilco and all reviews point to these songs being great in concert.
6. Caleb Caudle- Red Bank Road
Caleb Caudle is based out of Winston Salem, NC and is currently touring with a band under the name Caleb Caudle and The Bayonets. That band has already surpassed the rustic acoustic nature of this debut, but the songwriting and production on his record is excellent (particular props to multi-instumentalist Megan McCormick). All originals written by Caleb or his brother Kyle (member of the Bayonets, plays bass), the songs permeate through the room and recall Jay Farrar's more acoustic work or a less ostentatious Whiskeytown.
7. Sunshone Still-[album]Ten Cent American Novels[/album]
God what do I say about this record? A folk rock opera about Kit Carson, Sunshone Still's (aka Chris Smith) follow up to the excellent Dead Letters is both more ambitious and more everything than its predecessor. The list of artists who contribute and play on the record is long and extensive, but Smith is certainly at the center of the chaos. Think the heavy production of Sufjan Stevens with the vocals nuances and guitar playing of Nick Drake. You will really have to just listen for yourself.
SunshoneStill.com or myspace.com/sunshonestill
favorite song "Chapter 1- Winning of Wa'anei Bay"
8. Jesse Malin- [album]Glitter in the Gutter[/album]
Ryan Adams protege puts together another fine album of rockers, ballads, and everything else. Bruce Springsteen pops in for a duet on "Broken Radio" and Jakob Dylan on "Black Haired Girl", but Malin is the the star throughout. Check out the bare piano rendition of the Westerberg classic "Bastards of Young".
RIYL: Ryan Adams, The Replacements, Bruce Springsteen
9. Uncle Earl- [album]Waterloo, Tennessee[/album]
4 girls playing bluegrass, writing songs, and hanging out with John Paul Jones, who didn't think this was going to be a great record? This is the supergroup's (kind of all the members have other successful projects) second full length and they are still the fiddle led, banjo, guitar, foot stomps combo that turned heads with 2005's She Waits for the Night. I tend to like the songs better on this record. Check out "The Last Goodbye", "One True", "Bony Isle of St. Helena", and "I May Never".
10. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals- [album]This Is Somewhere[/album]
This Burlington, VT based band has been picking up a lot of press since the indie release of Nothing But the Water back in 2005 and rightfully so. This Is Somewhere is far slicker than NBTW's rugged bluesy, R&B sound, but it doesn't suffer for it. This is what Rock and Roll in 2007 should sound like. From the uproarious singe "Ah Mary" to the gospel tinged closer "Big White Gate", GP and the Nocturnals run through pop, rock, soul, R&B, country, and back without missing a beat. The Rolling Stones, The Band, Lucinda Williams are all present in this sound. Lead guitarist Scott Tournet is crisp and clean throughout and doesn't overplay, Potter herself is quit a dynamo. A great lyricist for someone so young, her B3 organ is a cornerstone of the Nocturnals sound that distinguishes them from other bands of similar sound, but its her voice that Lucinda Williams meets Janis Joplin powerhouse of a voice that will win her new fans. Check these guys out live, especially if you think this record is too slick, they are awesome.
Favorite songs include "Apologies" (piano ballad), "Stop the Bus", "Aint No Time", "Big White Gate", and "You May See Me".
Looking Forward
also in 2007 Hannah Miller is going to release her full length debut, Miller is a great singer songwriter from the Columbia area, who has expanded her sound on Into The Black (i think thats the title)
myspace.com/hannahmiller
Ryan Adams Box Set 20:20
-should be awesome and include tons of unreleased albums and songs
2008 American Gun- The Means and the Machine
this albums is looking like the best of 2008 to these eyes (and ears)
-sheer awesomeness
americangun.net or myspace.com/americangun
Drive-By Truckers- Brighter Than Creations Dark
19 Songs, 7 from Cooley, 3 from Tucker, and 9 from Hood, i might wet myself
American Aquarium- Untitled
I've heard the unmastered, unmixed stuff from this album and its sounds superb, look out for it on Yep Roc next year.Pretty World
Uncle Tupelo is the fulcrum of my ROOTS music universe. All things good, bad and ugly; happy, melancholy and sad, flow thru the music and the people and the places of the boys from Southern Illinois.
The melancholy is mine--youth is wasted on the young they say. While I was navel-gazing up at Urbana, potential contemporaries Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy were finding their way with a guitar just a stone's throw across Midwestern cornfields. If I would have got off my lazy, hair-metal-addled, butt and explored something off mainstream country/rock radio I coulda found these guys when they coulda saved my wasted youth. I took a move to Denver and a long drawn-out journey thru Rocky Mountain Bluegrass for me to find my musical Roots.
It just kinda hit me this week, listening to the Compadre Records podcast. They were bought out by an L.A. R&B outfit. The deal looks good on paper, I thought, more cashflow & distribution for Billy Joe Shaver & company. Then the podcast turns to shit this week. It's all Beyonce, whose daddy pays the bills. It's their choice to push that, but I don't want no part of it. Don't say you're still ROOTS then pull that stuff.
Then again, who am I to say what "ROOTS" music is.... Where for me, I seem to thru a fairly wide lasso around the term. It's likely ROOTS to me if it's somehow connected, back or forth, through UNCLE TUPELO
Most obvious example: Carter Family's No Depression In Heaven was the inspiration for a favorite genre tag, magazine, etc. UT brought the Carter Family music to a new generation, both faithful to the original and making it their own. Similar ex. can be found for Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. UT's music is modern, grounded in the roots of original folk and country.
Less obvious example: Take the flip side, I've been arguing lately with teenage stepdaughter why Shania Twain & such are more a POP star than a TRUE COUNTRY (ie. ROOTS Country) star. I can argue song structure, songwriting, instrumentation, marketing, till I'm blue in the face, ain't going to change her mind. There's no context there. It's not that I don't like her Shania (much preferable to the above Beyonce ilk). She walked a hard road, but she's a master of bubble gum and empty anthems, not the meat & potatoes and heartfelt gospel of the boys in Uncle Tupelo. They're both masters of their craft, they just do different thangs.
*********
Notes on one other artist in the 'U' section:
If you haven't heard Uncle Earl yet, go now to iTunes or your favorite .mp3 shop and pick a track at random. These girls have no bad tunes, a little bit stringband, little bit bluegrass, little bit college folk, little bit modern Americana. It may be added cred that John Paul Jones did their new album for Rounder Records. It's a rare treat to pack so much talent into one band.
KC Groves is a long-time Boulder musician and driver of the g'Earles. Jo Serrapere from Ann Arbor was in the lineup early on (look her up for her own "Jesus Wears Red" tune). Abigail Washburn has a worthy effort out on her own. Santa Fe Sharon Gilcrest has sat in since her own Mary & Mars stringband went their own ways. It's all good Roots music.
Jay Farrar
