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Underground > Radio & Music >

Country music

00:08 / 10.01.05

So, I've decided that I want to start a country music band, the problem being that I don't really know how to write country music, or any music that doesn't consist of riffs and stuff, at the moment. To correct this problem I've decided that I'm only going to be buying country music for a spell. Now, I don't want any recommendations for any of that outlaw country stuff, I already have that cuz I'm cool and all, I already know that Hank Williams Sr. is a great songwriter and Patty Duke is wonderful. I jsut picked up a Loretta Lynn album yesterday (Back To the Country, in case you were wondering; it rules, the first song is all about how she's on the pill now and she's gonna throw away her maternity dresses and start living and not taking her man's shit anymore, totally fucking awesome). So, I was wondering if the good people of Barbelith had any good country music recommendations, possibly honky-tonk type stuff, maybe even bluegrass, but not country rock, ala anything with Gram Parsons and the like, or alt-country -- not even Sunbolt -- just good ol' fashioned country music.

Hattie's Kitchen

13:05 / 10.01.05

Gillian Welch. Gillian Welch. Gillian Welch.

She rocks, in a country music way.

Hattie's Kitchen

13:09 / 10.01.05

Sorry, to add - although she's one of the newer stand-out stars, it'd be hard to peg her as alt-country. For sheer melancholy tales of pain and angst, in the tradition of woe-is-me country music, she's ace.

13:37 / 10.01.05

I think I've probably said this before in one of the older Country threads, but you might want to head over to WFMU and check out the archives of Laura Cantrell's show. They're not exclusively country-themed - they're probably about 75:25 country: big band dancehall jazz stuff - but they're still a real treasure trove for yr old-timey songs.

13:51 / 10.01.05

I second Gillian Welch, 'specially Time (The Revelator).

16:08 / 10.01.05

Garth Brookes ( sic, possibly. )

Wouldn't it be a bit more innaresting if you played country music without listening to any of it though ? To be a country band with no real clue about the heritage, to just play your idea of country, perhaps drug-sick cowboys in a surreal Western landscape, worrying about what's going to happen to the well, and the wedding and so on, set to suitably gloomy, psychedlic melodies, with bits of euphoria.

It has been done, but as with anything, there's a lot to e said for doing it better !

17:22 / 10.01.05

i'm quite partial to the handsome family, as new-ish country goes.

21:13 / 10.01.05

Or there's always Ryan Adams, who certain people on this board who don't know Gervase Morrissey anything like as well as they'd have you believe would be inclined to " pooh pooh. "

Heartbreaker, by RA, was the closest £50 man got to feeeling anything that year - personally, I very nearly crashed the Golf on the way back from Birmingham.

23:27 / 11.01.05

Go and download Camouflage by Stan Ridgway.

16:49 / 12.01.05

Kris Kristofferson.

15:59 / 13.01.05

I'd heartily recommend going out immediately and picking up the Rough Trade Shops: Country compilation, because every song on it rocks pretty much.

And that's speaking as someone who normally operates pretty heavy quality control in regard to alt-country/americana/whatever.

When it's good, it's real good, but there's an awful lot of it these days, and a lot is just... yawn.

The Rough Trade comp is 100% real good.

m

19:27 / 24.01.06

I'm gonna revive the country music thread since I've been listening to alot lately.

Just got Waylon Jennings' expanded live record the other day, and it does indeed rock. The songs just chug along like a huge freight train, and Waylon's voice has a great ragged and almost strained quality that fans of old punk rock would appreciate.

Dunno if people are still looking for recomendations, but I can't believe that noone ever mentioned Hank Williams. You can't go wrong! The more tracks the better! It's all good!

20:40 / 24.01.06

Country music filecard: It used to be called folk music until the McCarthy Red-Hunts started up, and the down-home musicians & DJs wanted to distance themselves from the Wobblies and pro-labor types like Woody Guthrie.

Confusion still abounds: Gillian Welch is marketed as "new folk" and as "old-timey" (which is a name I hate, although I love the music).

That out of the way, I've just heard a new Dolly Parton track (with Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, Keith Urban & Mindy Smith) on a Paste magazine sampler that's really good. An old bluegrass song that tells the old old folk music story of the woman who follows her man into the war (whatever war) by disguising herself as a boy. Dolly Parton is turning into a fun old lady -- I like this stuff a lot better than the Grand Ol' Opry stuff from when she was a superstar. I guess she still is.

Psi-L is working in hell

22:43 / 24.01.06

I just came into this forum to look for a thread on bluegrass...and reckon this will do nicely.

I've found myself straying from the more traditional folk music I listen too into what i guess would be called country territory. Particularly like bluegrass at the moment, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and older stuff by Earl Scruggs or Ricky Skaggs. Can anyone recommend me some more bluegrass specifically?

And where do people like Hem come into the country genre? Are they alt-country, or is that more indie-tinged? Pretty clueless in this area I've realised....though am not interested in the new country power pop stuff, would love any recommendations of older more traditional finger pickin' goodness.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

00:37 / 25.01.06

Johnny Russell, cowboy.

"Some Day I'll Sober Up" and "Red Neck, White Socks And Blue Ribbon Beer" being his finest moments.

16:05 / 25.01.06

I love Robert Earl Keen, who considers himself bluegrass, but only is part of the time.

He used to live with Lyle Lovett, and they played & wrote songs together on the porch.

21:16 / 26.01.06

I unfortunately have a sonic virus problem with The Gourds, because they did a bluegrass cover of "Gin and Juice," and honestly, how can one resist?

It's nearly perfect -- they seem to love the mandolin and drinking, and songs that involve drinking and the mandolin. You'd be shocked at how well the song adapts to the genre.

The, uh, link there has videos I haven't dared watch yet of Snoop Dogg's reaction to the song.

m

05:58 / 27.01.06

I love George Jones' earlier stuff, although some people are of the opinion that he tended to ape Hank Sr. a little too much back then. There's a great double disk called Cup of Loneliness that's got some of his earliest work for MCA and the Starday label on it. It also features George's brief foray into the rockabilly market, "White Lightnin'", which is a fun song that spawned a really cool Nudie suit.

lonely as a cloud...

08:20 / 27.01.06

I'd recommend Josh Ritter. Paricularly Golden Age Of Radio, which is my favourite. American "alt-country" type, pretty popular in Ireland, dunno if he's famous elsewhere...

10:19 / 27.01.06

It's nearly perfect -- they seem to love the mandolin and drinking, and songs that involve drinking and the mandolin. You'd be shocked at how well the song adapts to the genre.

Yes. It's kind of wrong on all levels, but just irresistably infectous and enjoyable. Which is as good a definition of a fine pop record as any I suppose.

As a staunch supporter of drinking and mandolins, I approve.

The, uh, link there has videos I haven't dared watch yet of Snoop Dogg's reaction to the song.

That ought to be amusing, given the traditional emnity between hip-hop and country.

Regrettable Juvenilia

10:29 / 27.01.06

I think the relationship between the two is more complicated than that, Riz. Country & western has had an enormous influence on hip hop in the last decade, in ways both obvious (Bubba Sparxxx, Nelly, the whole use of "country" as an adjective of pride for Southern rappers - country boys, country grammar etc) and less obvious (the whole concept of the outlaw musician). In fact I could have sworn that Snoop in particular once said something along these lines, but the closest Google takes me is him eulogising Johnny Cash.

lord nuneaton savage

11:02 / 27.01.06

Or the Gourds' cover of "Gin and Juice", which is particularly fine.

"Wouldn't it be a bit more innaresting if you played country music without listening to any of it though ? To be a country band with no real clue about the heritage"

This is my problem with a lot of new country-esque acts. They get the sound down, they get the look down and then they stick a load of cliched guff about dusty roads, graveyard vigils, strong silent types in black and red red roses. I always end up wondering whether it would be better if they performed numbers about waking up in their maisonette, brushing their teeth and having a crap.

OK, probably not, but I hope you get my drift...

lord nuneaton savage

11:04 / 27.01.06

Oh for fuck's sake Savage, just 'cos your on a lunch break doesn't mean you can't read the rest of the thread.

14:22 / 27.01.06

What interests me about the Gourds' cover, actually, is that it doesn't sound forced -- they're using the same motifs you find in straight-up bluegrass: syncopated vocals and "hollers" (aw, yeah) being the two that first come to mind as also being part of hip-hop's vocabulary. If you track both genres back far enough, you're going to find a West African farmer singing rhythmically while hoeing a field of pigeon peas or whatever.

14:38 / 27.01.06

I think the relationship between the two is more complicated than that, Riz.

Fair 'nuff... I'm probably just basing my thesis on a few scattered examples of (primarily East Coast?) rappers ridiculing country singers and stuff.

Suffice to say though, probably not a big audience crossover between the modern mainstream branches of the two genres, and in many ways they do stand as polar opposites (or at least, the stereotypical perceptions of them do); black/urban/young vs. white/rural/old etc.

m

17:14 / 27.01.06

Ha! I just got around (what a knucklehead) to reading the first post to the thread, and finally noticed the word 'outside' in the summary. Doesn't seem like Mr.Killer is kicking around these parts anymore anyway. Oh well, that's OK, because I would really like someone to recommend me a good Merle Haggard record. It's been kind of hit or miss with the stuff of his that I've heard, and I was wondering if anyone's got any suggestions for a good full length record to check out.

A friend of mine hipped me onto Wynn Stewart a couple of weeks ago, and I've been enjoying his Complete Challenge Masters disk immensely. Wynn came out of the Bakersfield scene in California that Buck Owens and Merle Haggard were a part of, and he put out a bunch of singles that were only ever hits for other people. He was robbed! He should have been huge!

18:23 / 27.01.06

I've been listening to (well, watching) a lot of Gene Autry stuff from the 30s and 40s, lately, and I can neither get enough nor recommend it too highly. He may not have been the first Singing Cowboy, but he exemplified the type. Lonesome trail songs, rollicking barn dances, sly love songs, and laments for the Old West.

I have to admit that my initial interest in Autry was largely novelty/ironic, but it's grown into a genuine love for his music (and movies). For some stand-out songs, look for "Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," "Guns & Guitars," "Ghost Riders in the Sky," and, of course, "Back in the Saddle Again." There are dozens of "Best Of" compilations with overlapping track lists, but if you have a choice I would personally suggest going for the earlier recordings.

If you like Autry, also check out The Sons of the Pioneers, a great group that play back-up to Gene in several of his movies, in addition to their own very successful recording career (incidentally, founding member Leonard Slye went on to become Roy Rogers).

19:16 / 27.01.06

The Beyond Nashville series is pretty good if you're looking for some decent country music. There's a number of them, and they're each 2 CD compilations of both traditional and modern country, but as the name suggests, going beyond the Nashville stereotypes. They were pretty easy to find in the UK a coouple of years ago, but I haven't seen any recently.

m

17:29 / 02.02.06

Suggestions for Merle Haggard anyone?

23:53 / 07.02.06

There's a multi-disc greatest set for Haggard that's quite nice. And can often be located far below it's normal price.

And, since no one else apparently's going to... Neko Case. Mostly covers, but they're good covers, which validates them. "Rated X" doesn't get covered enough, frankly.

And you can't go wrong with Patsy Cline. Well... you can, but just ignore that and go for it, regardless.

03:01 / 08.02.06

My hometown is suprisingly well known for its metal scene and its hip-hip scene (Fresh I.E. from Winnipeg is nominated for a Grammy! And he's super independent! 2nd Grammy Nom!) Anyway, in the past two years, we have seen a very strong emergence of a country scene in Winnipeg, and it is amazing. Some of these bands are "alt-country" and some of these are "rockabilly" and some of them are "country-punk" (whatever you kids call it). I'm glad for this. Maybe this will happen in your town.

17:15 / 08.02.06

Has Lucinda Williams been mentioned yet? She is wonderful, she sounds so raw and almost too emotional. Car wheels on a gravel road, I envy the wind and Essence are very good songs of her.

And with these artists, I don´t know if they count as country, I have them filed as country in my winamp folders:

The Jayhawks - my favourite country band, they remind me of the farm of my aunt (inside town itself!, with doves, cats, bunnies and goats). Soothing music.

Laura Cantrell and Gillian Welch have already been mentioned, so I second them. My favourite song by LC is What you said. Very sad and beautiful, great rhythm.

And Alabama 3! They got their own country music going on. Ain't Goin' To Goa, Peace In The Valley and Woke Up This Morning are awesome.

22:49 / 19.02.06

Not really sure how to sell him to you, but I'm surprised that John Prine hasn't been mentioned yet. Ditto Iris DeMent. Also, Mike Ireland is well worth checking out and not nearly as well known as he ought to be.

All good "real" country stuff - none of that charty Garth Brooks rubbish.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

11:59 / 01.05.07

Reviving this thread because I've been listening to a lot of Richard Buckner lately. The Hill is staggering -- a selection of poems from Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology just... sung. With guitar. Since is also fantastic; Dents and Shells good but not as inspired as some of his other stuff.