Scott Dolan

Wow! That place looks incredible, HP! We have an excellent German restaurant here in Jeff, but it's seemingly only open ten minutes a day like twice a week. Kelly and I love it, too. I'm going to show this place to her. We may have to bump BRGR Bar off the itinerary.

Cool! I'll look it up. Thanks, brother.

Wow. That's cool, but almost everyone else that has eaten there and posted online about it disagrees. I think Zagat even ranked it the fourth best restaurant in Kansas City. Different strokes, I guess. I'm definitely not a fan of the Drunken Fish franchise. Kona is better, IMO. We are going to try the BRGR Bar while we're there this time. Probably hit it for dinner before the concert. I think it's basically the same place they used to have at the Lumiere in St. Louis, which was quite good. My top restaurants in KC would be Bristol Seafood, Blue Stem, M&S Grill, Plaza III (though I've heard that Capital Grill has overtaken it for best steaks), Fiorella's Jack Stack, and The American. Oh, and I love the pizza they have at d'Bronx!

Yeah, really. The city itself can't decide whether it's in Missouri or Kansas, so they figured why not build the airport in Iowa.

Yeah, I'll never understand why they built KCI approximately 150 miles outside of town. I don't even consider that to still be Kansas City out there. I'd be singing the praises of St. Louis as well were I holed up out there. Actually, St. Louis is a fine city. KC is too, but not quite as visitor friendly.

Really? What other places downtown do you like? We usually hit Westport or the Plaza when it comes time to eat. But, we'll be staying at the Hilton President July 16th for the Paul McCartney show. We were going to hit Bristol just because it's right there. Any other suggestions?

If you're staying near the P&L, make sure you stop in for a bite at Bristol Seafood. Having lived on the southwest Florida coast most of my life, I can report that it isn't the best seafood in the world, but it's pretty good for the Midwest. And they have many other fine options on the menu. Other than that, there aren't really any great food offerings downtown. The Philips Chop House was outstanding, but closed many years ago.

I still like them, but social media has really taken a bite out of the old fashion message board. And I don't use any social media, so I guess it all makes sense.

Looks like it. Forums are a dying breed, unfortunately.

Hope it has been a wonderful B-Day for you, CJ!!!!

I'm obviously too forgiving for my own good...

When you get to it I'm really interested in hearing your take on the genre. Now, you have expressed almost universal dismay with every Alt Country act we've discussed so far, so I have to ask, what Alt Country acts do you appreciate? It just seems like you're hostile to the genre in general, which makes it seem odd that you'd want to even bother with it as an artist. Or do you simply think everyone else has just gotten it wrong?

BTW, not that it's particularly important, I do readily acknowledge that Alt Country was basically a term coined in the 90's as a reaction to the crossover Nashville sound pioneered by cats like Garth Brooks/Brooks & Dunn/Confederate Railwood. The Nashville sound was, and is, the complete antithesis of things like the Lubbock and Bakersfield sounds. Nashville represents the glitz and polish of manufactured stars who don't even write their own material, and the overly processed sound of their studio recordings. "Airbrushed" to perfection. Alt Country took the opposite tack, embracing the low-fi and dirty sounds that they choose to emulate. But in the process, Alt Country became a big tent that adopted all of those that came before. Hank Williams Sr. would be considered Alt Country these days. As would Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. Unlike any other genre, Alt Country has this weird retroactive inclusion thing going on.

I think you and MG are making equally salient points, but I have to ask exactly what you're getting at? Swing essentially had a popularity shelf life of what, 20-25 years? Then it was overtaken by Bebop. The main difference being that Alt Country has never enjoyed any substantial level of popularity. At least not on par with Swing. Taking that into consideration, how could it possibly "hang with its own rope"? It really has no level of popularity to retain/maintain, as it has a built-in niche audience. Yet, I still think you're not looking at the bigger picture. That being that No Depression actually DID usher in a replenishment of the genre. Can you point out any acts prior to Uncle Tupelo who brought Punk/Garage Rock into the equation? They certainly broadened the genre as a whole, and to the point where it became almost impossible to accurately pinpoint what, exactly, Alt Country is. Is it Terry Allen and Joe Ely with the Lubbock sound? Is it Gram Parsons and Buck Owens with the Bakersfield sound? Uncle Tupelo with the Punk/Garage sound? Perhaps Drive-by Truckers and Steve Earle with the Southern Rock hybrid? The answer to all of those is "yes". If you could give me an example of what this whole new instrumental approach is, I'd really appreciate hearing it. I mean, didn't you mention before that others had tried with poor results? It has somehow stayed relevant to its small but fierce fan base for the past 5 decades. Even you have to admit, that's a pretty impressive shelf life. The fact that you feel the genre was created by the neo-classicists (Uncle Tupelo splitting off into Son Volt and Wilco) may be the very thing that is tripping you up here? I dunno...

Yeah, but Allen Country Rock falls under the umbrella of Alt Country. Alt Country is the primary genre. Like Jazz, or Rock. And like those two it has a ton of sub genres. Hell, most Alt Country today IS Country Rock. And if you take the examples of Son Volt and early Wilco, how do you classify them? You pretty much have to do it song by song.

I said that I did not agree with the people who said this. What they meant, is that to them, a musical work of art should be thoroughly composed, and contain a compelling, somewhat complicated melody, and interesting lyrics. To them, someone improvising off of chord changes, or a mode, is not really trying very hard to complete a total piece of music, and is taking a lazy way out, exhibiting some instrumental skill which is not particularly interesting or meritorious. To them, an improvised instrumental work is akin to a movie script which has not been filmed yet--there are so many aspects to the completed film which still need to be worked on. As I said in my original post, I do not agree with this. I bring it up only to comment that the view of some jazz lovers, that a jazz instrumental improvisation is the absolute pinnacle of all music, is not a universally shared view. Well, of course not. Is there such a thing as a universally shared view? At the end of the day I don't expect anyone to agree with me on any subject. If they do, hey, bonus! Kinda reminds me of a time I played Coltrane's First Meditation for a buddy of mine. When it was over he asked, "can we listen to some real music now?" BTW, are the folks you've been referencing Stanley and Wynton?

Which is completely absurd, IMO. And really, what does "stop before completing their musical work of art" even mean? Is that what happens if Coltrane "take his damn horn out of his mouth" as Miles once instructed?

Allen, Uncle Tupelo did create a revival of sorts, I suppose. But it has been around and fairly constant since the 60's when Parsons introduced it to a more mainstream audience via his stint with The Byrds. I guess you could throw The Flying Burrito Brothers in there as well. I don't really understand what you find musically lacking about it, though. It's a neo genre, but how much further can it be pushed musically before it becomes something else entirely? It's like European improv. Some call it Jazz, but I hear no Jazz in it at all. It pushed things so far that it's really no longer part of the genre that helped influence it, IMO. Besides, Alt Country draws from so many elements that it has moved the genre "forward"(?). Just give No Depression a listen. That's considered the Bible of modern Alt Country, but it more a Punk/Garage Rock album aside from the title track. And let's not forget about the Lubbock and Bakersfield sounds. Those were, and are, a huge component of Alt Country. And those have been kicking since the 50's.

It's semantics really, isn't it? Perhaps people could find softer words, but what's the sense? The sentiment is the same. I've been told by many that things I like are garbage, or crap, or worthless. Whatever. I personally prefer the most non-ambiguous language one can muster. I'm not sure you can call Alt. Country a "movement" really. It's been around in acknowledged fashion since the 60's, and many argue it goes all the way back to the Carter Family in the 20's and 30's.

On a related note, anyone who somehow read that Britney Spears was being held up as a prime example of pop complexity is also showing the shallowness of their intellect. Or at least horrendous reading comprehension. Though, if someone did, I'd be overjoyed if you could quote it, or direct to the particular post. It was Hot Ptah, mentioning some people he knows but doesn't agree with: "I know some very intelligent people who know theater, literature and visual arts at a sophisticated level far above mine, who totally disagree with this. I have had discussions with them about this subject. They believe that the artistry required to produce compelling vocal pop hits far exceeds the ability to improvise instrumentally, at any level of improvisational skill. To them, improvised instrumental music is "half-music", an easy out in which the musical artist does not try particularly hard, and stops before completing their musical work of art. To them, a Spears hit, or a Beatles hit, or a Motown hit from 1965, or a Frank Sinatra hit from 1955, is a far greater artistic achievement than any jazz instrumental ever. They speak articulately and intelligently about this. "I don't agree with them, but it is another point of view, which jazz lovers typically do not even consider." Not sure that's correct, as nothing was mentioned there about complexity. But, I could be wrong. There's a first for everything.

Well, that's easy. Jazz afficiandos almost always consider themselves marginalized and interested in the counter-culture, whereas mainstream country music is, with very few exceptions, steeped in patriotism. The few tolerable exceptions, like Johnny Cash, are the figures who glorify outlaws. In its own way, this is as silly as the Mods and the Rockers or the Hot Jazz vs. Moldy Figs back in the day. Actually, there are lots and lots of artists in the Johnny Cash/Woody Guthrie mold these days. They just don't get airplay cuz they ain't purdy and don't sing about god and country and beer and trucks in phony accents. And most of them are very liberal politically. Hell, Jay Farrar started out Son Volt's third album, Okemah And The Melody Of Riot, with several songs just excoriating the policies of the Bush administration. Not from that album, but one of my faves of theirs:

Well, it's easy to do because it's shit. I personally think you can get used to listening to just about anything. And that's not a bad thing, mind you. Any time you find pleasure in listening that's a very good thing. But, a guy I work with listens to it, and it's just awful, IMO. I think the worst part being the phony "cowboy" voice and accent nearly all the male artists use. And I'm not down on all Country music, just the modern garbage oozing out of Nashville. I listened to it a bit back in the 90's when the big crossover thing was starting to happen, and still have CD's from several artists from back then. But it has gone horribly awry since then. Give me old school Country, Alt. Country, Outlaw, Lubbock, whathaveyou. Love that stuff quite a bit. Uncle Tupelo, early Wilco, Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Son Volt...

QUOTE OF THE YEAR! I know some very intelligent people who know theater, literature and visual arts at a sophisticated level far above mine, who totally disagree with this. I have had discussions with them about this subject. They believe that the artistry required to produce compelling vocal pop hits far exceeds the ability to improvise instrumentally, at any level of improvisational skill. To them, improvised instrumental music is "half-music", an easy out in which the musical artist does not try particularly hard, and stops before completing their musical work of art. To them, a Spears hit, or a Beatles hit, or a Motown hit from 1965, or a Frank Sinatra hit from 1955, is a far greater artistic achievement than any jazz instrumental ever. They speak articulately and intelligently about this. I don't agree with them, but it is another point of view, which jazz lovers typically do not even consider. The problem I have is the assembly line way in which modern popular music is manufactured. The overwhelming majority of boy bands and pop starlets are completely manufactured, and rarely even write any of their music or lyrics. Even worse, there's Nashville. While I can't stomach one second of the garbage that comes out of Nashville, there are at least enjoyable albums that come out of the Pop music world. Last year I thought both Lorde and the incredibly talented Haim sisters pput out two fantastic albums. But, true talent in that genre seems to be a very small minority. Good god, did any see the first (and hopefully only) time Taylor Swift was on Saturday Night Live. It wasn't long after Ashley Simpson broke the fourth wall with her lip-syncing shuck and jive, so all subsequent artists were very mindful not to get caught up in that. Poor Taylor really needed to, though. Her voice cracked several times, and she was as pitchy as I am. I suppose walking into Walmart and seeing rows of plastic disposable shit lining the shelves is somewhat impressive, but I'd prefer something hand-crafted. And most modern Pop IS that plastic disposable shit. And that's why so many of them have to lip-sync when they're out live. What they do can only be properly created and processed in the factory.

On a related note, anyone who somehow read that Britney Spears was being held up as a prime example of pop complexity is also showing the shallowness of their intellect. Or at least horrendous reading comprehension. Though, if someone did, I'd be overjoyed if you could quote it, or direct to the particular post.

Hahahaha... Stalemate...