Rolling Country 2006 Thread

i have sent gary bennett, have you nto gotten it ? :(

kenny chesney is not gay, but i cant read his beads sexually either, there is a peice to be written about the ambiguity of that presentation.

And I like the Haceinda Bros too - -both CDs, but the new one more since there's more covers hence more good songs. But yeah, I'm kind of a sucker for soul-country too. And yeah, album's far from great.

I'm not sure if I still have that Julie Roberts album around. I liked the title track; rest struck me as bleh; maybe I was wrong. (Also, I think I still have an early version of the album, and the track list changed, apparently. Same with Ashley Monroe as I recall.)

And speaking of Bill Friskics-Warren, I've been paging through his and David Cantwell's top 500 country singles book from a few years ago *Heartaches By Number* a lot while in the bathroom the past couple weeks, and I like it a lot; I'm impressed by their openness to pop-country (they even have Juice Newton in there), and the wide-openness of their genre-defining actually reminds me of *Stairway to Hell* in some ways. They tend to underrate *recent* pop-country, for the most part, but that's okay; they still like some of it. And I'm starting to think the *Urban Cowboy* disco-crossover era (though I have no idea how much country actually tried cross over in that direction) was a lot more interesting than they let on. And they keep mentioning Dave & Sugar as an example of lame crossover stars from that time, which is funny, because I don't think I'd ever even heard of Dave & Sugar til I opened their book. And they proabably fall back on "social consciousness" justifications too often. An enlightening read, nonetheless. (Actually, what it REALLY reminds me of Dave Marsh's Top 1001-or-however-many singles of all time book *Heart of Rock and Soul*, which I wish I still owned a copy of.)

And Edd and Frank, I guess I *could* still be emailing unknown bands to have 'em send you their CDs, but it takes time, and it's a little weird since I'm not actually editing a section where somebody else might write about the bands anymore. Also, I get *way* fewer duplicates to pass on these days, and I can't rely on a newspaper to pay the postage anymore, though it's possible I'll mail Frank my advance CD-R of Towers of London anyway. (And Frank, by the way, thanks for the mix CD, which will get played on my roadtrip upstate starting tomorrow muchly I'm sure, and Edd, thanks in advance for the Charlie Rich burning.) Anyway, what I suggest y'all start doing more is emailing the bands (at least the cdbaby and myspace bands) yourownself. And definitely start with the Victory Brothers, whose album is so far (1) my country album of the year (2) my overall album of the year (3) my Big N Rich album of the year and (4) my Texas Hold 'Em album of the year even though I haven't played poker since high school, and should be heard by one and all. It's getting reviewed in the first installment of a monthly roundup I'm writing for *Harp* magazine, and if I hear back from the band afterwards I'll try to remember to pass on some addresses, but meanwhile you might just wanna go to their webpage and email them directly; it's easy, I do it all the time, how d'you think I discover all these bands in the first place? Anyway, here's a list of other acts you might think of contacting who've put out records I've liked lately that I'm guessing you mostly haven't heard; the cdbaby ones you can email straight from their page, and the myspace ones frequently list a webpage with contact email addresses. Anyway, good luck (and I hope these links, which I'd been saving in a file for a while, work):

Victory Brothers, Big N Rich style dance/country/rock from L.A.:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=58969629

Big Dictator, early AC/DC-style metal from Long Island:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigdictator

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=48160709

Penny Dale, Stevie Nicks-inspired country from Nashville:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=8670245

Lucas McCain, Southern Rock from Georgia, better than the new Drive By Truckers CD:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/lucasmccain

Dirty Birds, garage rock from Portland:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/dirtybirds

Miko Marks, a black woman from Oakland via Flint, singing country:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/mikomarks

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=47331552

Savage, attempted hair-metal from Nevada; sounds more like Chrome-style art-punk:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/savagerocksyou2

Wolfgang Bang, snotty punk from L.A.:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/wolfgangbang

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=4151478

Joanna Martino, goth-influenced Christian teen-pop, from Tennessee:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/joannamartino

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=24911247

K. Wilder, triple-A alt-country with jazz overtones, from Florida via Virginia:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/kwilder3

Daj, '80s-style dance/pop/rock gal from Florida:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/dajmusic

Nell James, 17-year-old Long Island girl prog-rock-guitar/singer-songwriter:

http://www.myspace.com/nelljames

Matt O'Ree, heavy New Jersey blues-metal guitar dude:

http://www.myspace.com/mattoree

Riverside, middle-aged pot-bellied country metal band from Missouri:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/riverside

Some other ones you might wanna search:

Terry Lee Bolton
Becky Hobbs
Hot Rollers
Lucky 7
Secret society of the sonic six
Katie Neal
The Cool and Deadly
Alan Bros
Sonic orchid
Fat Matt McCourt

http://www.emusic.com/lists/showlist.html?lid=881317&p=1

Listening to it right now, and it sounds good. For one thing, it's DANCE MUSIC. For another thing, the title rhymes with "I hear the twins are back from Saginaw." Also he spells out "Yee-haw" at the end. And some of the rest of his CD sounds even better -- "startin' with me" is about all his fuckups in life, starting with a one-night stand with his best friend's little sister. "the bottle and me" is good i-drink-alone honkytonk. my favorite so far though is "eight minute ride", very hard-rocking biker country (with one guitar part that *might* be deserve to be called psychedelic), and a title that may or may not beat motley crue's premature ejaculation in "ten seconds to love" by two whole seconds, i'm not sure yet. also jake seems to be bragging about how big the rims on his truck are, or maybe that was just his tires; there's a difference, right? but also maybe the most blatant making-of-love in a major label country tune since a different song about riding (cowboys), by big n' rich. so what's jake owen's deal, anyway? he used to be a pro golfer or something? sure does look like a handsome devil in that cover photo.

I should have said "some of the rest of his CD sounds really good, too." "Yee Haw" may or may not be the best track; I'm leaning toward the eight-seconds one, but haven't decided yet. "The Bottle and Me" is actually fairly perfuntory, as hardguy drinking honkytonk laments-as-brags go. ("Whiskey's Got a Hold on Me," the alcoholism track that ends the somewhat subtler new Randy Rogers album, which sounds conistently good but not great so far, is better.) And the thanking-Dixie song (a duet with Randy Owen -- should I know who that is? is it Jake's brother?) works more as a post-Southern-rock power ballad than as a tribute to Southernness, if that makes sense. (I.e., it sounds better than it reads, because of its pretty guitar melody.)

(Ha ha, can you tell I'm procrastinating on packing for my roadtrip?)

I'm also liking jake's "places to run," about running out of escape hatches, sad and laid-back, with a real ease to the delivery, and some spanish guitar. both jake owen and randy rogers play the lazy country boy charlie daniels used to play in his much younger days, i'm noticing. and in "eight second ride," jake and the girl he picks up sing a charlie daniels song together in his truck. my three favorite cuts so far on the rogers album all have titles that start with the word "you" and end in the first person: "you could've left me," "you could change my mind," "you don't know me." i like his sound, especially his drums and guitar. his vocals are less in-your-face than you'd expect, but i have a feeling they'll sneak up on me.

okay, now i gotta run to the store for car supplies.

don

i will complie and email tomorrow or the day after

I have no compunctions about asking CD Baby vanity bands for promo copies. But I do take a halt on asking for free stuff when I know absolutely no one will accept a pitch on it. Taste wars, you know. We lost, they won.

ps) jake and his conquest in "eight seconds ride" sing "a country boy can survive," which is by hank jr not CDB, obviously. duh.
pss) i talked about tea leaf green a lot upthread, too! (first!)

(chuck, are you registered anywhere, or is this not elopement?)

Hah! I kept mine in the john for a couple months (hey, it's a long book)...

David's one of my best friends and I've said this before but everybody on this thread should own it. It's a great reference for one but also a provocative and inspiring read--in the sense that it'll send you hunting for a lot of country records you either never heard or had forgotten about.

http://www.lexjansen.com/marsh/index.htm

Very cool online database to the book, plus more lists including Heartaches, Hoskyns' Country Soul book, Doo-wop and R&B vocal groups. No Stairway though :(

My advice is 'don't bother.' Unless, of course, you actually care about an oral history of Slayer, one never actually quoted to any interesting extent, or the occasional "I like [this band that moves more promotional copies than it sells]" doggerel.

http://www.emusic.com/genre/feature/200606/286.html

or to put it another way, people want to fuck him but he doesnt want to fuck anyone, (but his desire not to fuck anyone isnt that elegant glacial, refusal, because that being in sixth gear schitck is, in addition to homosocalism, drinking, etc)

there was always a sublimated homoeroticism to the frat boy nonesense, but i never got anything sublimated in chesney...

that said every major male country performer has more of that beatlemania, audience/performer sexual frisson then chesney.

i dont think hes a bottom boy, and i dont think hes butch, i think that he is a really slippery sexual signifer, the binaries we use to talk about people (audience/performer, gay/straight, butch/femme, top/bottom) all fall down around kenny boy.

(how would he be in bed?)

and where would i send this essay if i was to write it

(Not that the two need be mutually exclusive.)

I'm doing stuff on Trent Willmon and the Duhks for the Scene, so I hope I'm getting their back catalog, which I gave away to a friend who's way into them and the Mammals and that sort of neograss.

I've talked to Friskics-Warren about the country singles book, and I think he'd admit that those '80s acts are problematic, in there. And Bill's a socially relevant kind of writer; it's not my take on country in some ways, but it's a really useful book. The thing is, there are probably 1000 country singles that are pretty great and essential.

hey Anthony, I got some tomatoes came in, want me to mail you a box of 'em? I am contemplating a crisp, tart BLT today. seriously, Anthony, ain't got the Bennett yet; seems like it takes a while thru customs and so forth.

and got the Rhino Willie Atlantic set; that is music I'm barely familiar with. Xgau rates "Phases and Stages" and "Shotgun" pretty high; so I guess I'll delve into it. I'm a nominal Willie Nelson fan; when he's on, he's on; I like what he tries to do; and even when I saw him as a guest star on "Monk," one of the few TV shows I really try to watch (still trying to decide if I think Traylor Howard is a better sidekick than Bitty Schram, the latter I found kinda sexy, OK, but Traylor has really grown on me), his offhand timing seems to me the whole point, the way his guitar phrases in between his vocals. I guess I wish it were more defined, a bit crazier, or something.

But I am a sucker for singers going to Alabama and sharing a joint with Jerry Wexler in the Tuscumbia Holiday Inn, so I got it up to play.

And I got the new Howard Tate record--his takes on Newman's "Louisiana 1927" and "I'll Be Home" are amazing. We'll see if he actually finds a label or if it's totally self-released. But it's a remarkable piece of work, and actually a song suite, and takes some work to listen to--more work than Joe Henry generally requires, and to my ears far more sophisticated.

and i ahe no idea where the bennett went, i ahve had so much trouble with the post, i sent something to brooklyn a month ago, and it was sent back, though the address was correct. apparently the building didnt exist according to canada post. i wonder if i am on some government watch lsit. (i feel bad, but scouts honour, i sent that cd)

also has everyone given up on los lonely boys? new album dont seem too horrible

and anthony, you know I'm pullin' your leg. about the tomatoes. man, this guy hit me in the head with some tomatoes! it hurt! shit, that don't sound like it would hurt so much. yeah, but them tomatoes was in a can.

and the bennett, anthony, it'll arrive; gotta go thru customs. no sweat.

man, just tired, kinda seeing everything thru a haze of exhaustion, as my mother enters into what are probably her final weeks if not days. gotta recharge, but it's gonna take awhile. i'm so behind on what I want and need to listen to, not behind on work, and it's real hard to concentrate. tomorrow I'm taking the time to make real good notes on Trent Willmon--doesn't he have a previous record, has anyone heard it?

and yeah, Bitty Schram--she looked like she had a past, one sexy woman. I was kinda hoping Monk and Traylor might, eh, make it, but that's too much to ask in that or any world. Sex is so dirty.

Also this Los Lonely Boys album is pretty countrified in many places and (despite the fact that they cannot write any kind of lyrics really) I like it. Nice vocal cameos from father Enrique Sr. and Willie on "Outlaws".

Which--at first weirdly--led me to think of the story of Dr. Winifred ‘Fred’ Burkle, the cute/brilliant physicist of Tim Minear and Joss Whedon’s ANGEL.

When we meet her, Fred, the daughter of a stable, middle class Texas family, has been trapped in a ‘demon dimension’ for five years, basically living as a slave to some horrid creatures. Angel aka The Heroic Vampire with a Soul, saves her from this nasty fate, and takes her back to LA, where she joins his investigative squad--which is also benefitting from/being corrupted by a transdimensional Evil Corporate Law Firm.

Anyway--Fred gets home. The firs thing she does?

Puts up a Dixie Chicks poster, which clearly gives her great pleasure.

When Fred thumb-tacked that poster of the Chicks on the wall as a way to imprint her identity on this blank new space, I went “Yes!” instinctively. It was such a great meta moment, was true to Fred the character and illuminating about both the Chicks and their fans.

Fred’s a little ‘country’ (the Texas accent, ‘good’ manners, etc.) and more than a little urban (her exemplary professionalism and don’t-fuck-with-me asskickiness when pushed) and because she’s both, she’d kind of neither--which is where the Dixie Chicks themselves find themselves on this CD--and hence Fred fitting both in metaphorical and dramaturgical terms in into an absurdist milieu that includes such other square pegs as a good-demon karaoke telepath, vampire-with-a-soul, both IS the Dixie Chicks--the cute/non-submissive sexuality

There’s a series of identity negations in Fred and the Dixie Chicks and their fans that creates a kind of amazing and delightful sense of being--like Fred--’outsiders’ deep inside a multimillion-dollar mass enterprise. But that this negation informs all of this is also kind of depressing and kind of accurate. That to be Fred/The Dixie Chicks, that is, to import all the humane stuff of country--the tales of suffering and (usually too neat) triumph, the super-pretty harmonies, the sense of smart and kindness--which runs against the Toby Keith-ian vein of ego-drunk bellicosity--you end up in this new nowhere land populated by tons of people.

And so it makes poetic sense that, as Frank pointed out, the new Chicks CD is both terrific and a bit of a letdown--because, in my take, it IS a letdown that these things can’t as yet be fused into one coherent whole.

or even if i pretend that they don't (because, uh, sometimes they DO, you know.)

incidentally when i got home home to queens monday night our front door had the extension cord for the landlord's son's big ass power generator running through it. power had been out here in sunnyside since wednesday, so we took an extra night before coming back; it got turned back on only two and a half hours after we got back in, which meant that all the emergency supplies we'd picked up in bucks county monday morning (battery-run fans and lanterns, candles, a stovetop coffee percolator, lots of backup batteries) will have to go into storage until the next con-ed fuckup. too bad the dry ice won't keep that long. but we only had maybe $50 of rotten groceries in the fridge when we got back, and we obviously picked the right week to out of the burough, even if we missed all the excitement.

anthony, edd, etc, thanks for the well wishes by the way. and edd, thanks again for the charlie rich burn, which came while i was gone, and which is in my CD changer now. (i also found a used copy of a 1974 comp of '60s charlie called *fully realized* for 50 cents in an antique barn in jeffersonville -- well, the second disc of the double LP anyway -- and brought that back with me. so these should at least help me start getting up to speed. inscription on the back of the comp says it was originally released in 1965 and 1966 as *the many new sides of charlie rich* and *fast talkin' slow walkin' good lookin' charlie rich,* both of which titles sound quite promising.)

also edd, keep your chin up. my thoughts are still with you.

brewer & shipley - the best of - double LP
dr hook - pleasure & pain LP (not disco-country enough, sounds like)
freddy fender - the best of LP
ian gomm - gomm with the wind LP (pub rock was kind of country, right? so maybe i should list the bram tchaicovsky album here too, but i won't...also won't list gap band's 1976 indie-label self-titled album despite their wearing of cowboy hats or bighorn despite bighorn sheep being rural beasts beloved by southern rockers)
charly mcclain - greatest hits LP (sounds surprsingly good so far)
charlie rich - fully realized LP (second disc only of two-disc set)
t.g. sheppard - i love 'em all LP (also not disco-country enough)
hank snow - the wreck on the old 97 double LP (badass train wreck on cover)
steeleye span - the steeleye span story: original masters double LP (somebody compared a montgomery gentry song to them once)
hank williams jr - whiskey bent and hellbound LP
*viennese waltzes* 10-inch compilation EP (probably influenced country dance music somehow, right?)

i'm also wondering if it's about time somebody came up with a theory about how country's current shoutout thing (trent willmon putting on some ray willie hubbard, jake owen putting on some hank jr, rodney atkins putting on lots of skynyrd in one song and some milsap in another song) should be considered a trend for the post--hop-hop age, but that's just silly since david allen coe and everybody like that did it all the time years ago, right? (but maybe the specific names dropped are getting more interesting? it's so fucking boring when eveybody's always listening to hank and merle all the time. though shooter replacing nugent with george jones was okay, i guess.)

haiku
you are also forgetting the faboulous chick version of hillbilly by reba/dolly/loretta--much better then the original