Contemporary Rootsy Americana-y Type Stuff

[AllenLowe]

I think you two, Medjuck and Seeline, are equating a strong and serious and sarcastic dislike with feeling superior. Not true. I dislike many kinds of music for specific and numerous reasons, but I realize audiences always have their reasons. I think you are representing a false kind of populism.

Do you dislike certain political candidates because you feel superior to them, or to the people who support them?

or because you have a specific intellectual disagreement with them?

there's a difference.

and in a way, you are telling us that your method of disagreement is superior to mine. Which it may indeed be.

so this is complicated.

Edited April 1, 2010 by AllenLowe

[seeline]

nope. i just don't think sarcasm is a very productive way to talk with people - it's a way of belittling who/whatever's being spoken or written about.

Like I said, nasty.

[Quincy]

Spent some of today digging around some CDs I bought five years or so ago.

This one really worked for me - good songs, a gentle folky approach:

And to tie in the old with the new, for a time she had a program on the listener supported station WFMU. She's very familiar with the Mosaic box sets that feature music from the '20s and '30s.

A link to her playlists and archived shows.

[seeline]

Spent some of today digging around some CDs I bought five years or so ago.

This one really worked for me - good songs, a gentle folky approach:

And to tie in the old with the new, for a time she had a program on the listener supported station WFMU. She's very familiar with the Mosaic box sets that feature music from the '20s and '30s.

A link to her playlists and archived shows.

Thanks for this, Quincy - I thought her name was familiar re. radio, but i couldn't quite place her...

[JSngry]

Is she by any chance related to Lana Cantrell?

Serious question.

[A Lark Ascending]

I was very late to the party with Laura Cantrell. She won lots of praise over here from people you might not have expected - the late John Peel for one. I heard her on the radio and she didn't jump out but chancing that album it wormed its way in.

The bio of Cantrell at AMG is interesting...she clearly wasn't the last of 18 children living in a chicken shack in the Appalachians who learned it all from her grandpappy...BIO

The UK has a strange relationship with the country/bluegrass/Old Time thing. I'm not sure when it first began to get an audience here - certainly via the Skiffle boom of the 50s but how much was heard before, I'm not sure. By the mid 60s the sugary Nashville thing had caught on but was always associated with a middle-aged to older audience. Yet it kept seeping through. There were a whole bunch of country rock bands in the 70s who seemed to take their inspiration from the Byrds, Burritos etc. The early 80s saw another burst of left-field interest - Andy Kershaw and John Peel would play it alongside dub and punky stuff. And then the whole Americana/Alt.Country thing got an audience too in the 90s - lots of places in London who have this sort of music regularly. Meanwhile, the rather 'square' country scene carries on with Jim Reeves imitators alongside rather tepid British imitators of the Nashvile pop-country types (just like in rock'n roll days).

I think we hear it differently. Like rhythm and blues and blues when it arrived in the 50s (or jazz just before that) it has that 'something from another planet' feel to it. We might be much more sceptical about 'things American' than we were in 50s (well, maybe not, given the success of Starbucks, MacDonalds, the film industry, the pop world....) but this music still has the ability to take you somewhere other than Wolverhampton. And it still has the advantage over most World Music (a competitor now in the 'something from another planet' stakes) that you can understand (some of) what they are singing about.

**************

I hated the whole country thing as a teenager but was gradually pulled in via Emmylou, Neil, especially the bluegrassy things on the Manassas album - that one cured me of my aversion to pedal steel! I find the country/blues/bluegrass/Old Time/'whatever you want to cal it' has a different texture to what I mainly listen to - jazz and 20th C classical - with a little overlap with British folk. Always refreshes the aural palate.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Bev Stapleton

[JSngry]

nope. i just don't think sarcasm is a very productive way to talk with people - it's a way of belittling who/whatever's being spoken or written about.

Like I said, nasty.

Not always...sometimes it's nothing but recognizing the total absurdity of a given situation and mocking one's impotence to make it anything either than absurd,

Like any other form of expression, there's a pallate to it...

[JSngry]

he UK has a strange relationship with the country/bluegrass/Old Time thing...I think we hear it differently. Like rhythm and blues and blues when it arrived in the 50s (or jazz just before that) it has that 'something from another planet' feel to it.

That's interesting, given all the Scotch-Irish flavor in all of it...no "familiar ring to any of it? R&B I can understand being "different"...then again, maybe Scoth-Irish and "England" are two different things? Lord knows we've long had different parts of America that still haven't been properly introduced to each other yet, so I can easily see how that could happen

[A Lark Ascending]

That's interesting, given all the Scotch-Irish flavor in all of it...no "familiar ring to any of it? R&B I can understand being "different"...then again, maybe Scotch-Irish and "England" are two different things? Lord knows we've long had different parts of America that still haven't been properly introduced to each other yet, so I can easily see how that could happen

Oh, much more than familiar. Much of the 50s/60s folk revival here was based around reclaiming songs from the Appalachians and such and dressing them back up as authentic English/Irish/Scottish folk music. Ballads were probably more likely to be learnt off a Joan Baez record than by rooting around in Cecil Sharpe House. Though the rooting about did take place both in the archives and in the field and lots of native things were found.

There's some marvellous interviews with Irish fiddlers and the like who are considered the 'real thing', who, when asked where did they learn a particular tune, reply 'off a record that Uncle Declan brought back from Chicago'. In the Ireland my mother grew up in there was virtually no sign of 'traditional' music apart from the state-approved music (she still recalls my grandmother talking about 'that auld IRA crowd with their come-all-yees'). It seems the revival that kicked off around the 50s began with people hearing records emigrants had made in the early 20thC in the States. Who knows what had changed in the performance techniques by the time they got to record.

Scotch-Irish and England are very different. The revival from the 50s through to the 90s was mainly Scots-Irish. Look at the heavily popularised music of the folk-rock bands like Steeleye Span and Fairport and its almost totally Scots-Irish or Scots-Irish-via-Tennessee (even though the players came from London and Birmingham). A very forceful pure English revival started in the 70s (Seeline has already mentioned Gauleiter Stradling) but has only recently burst into full, popular flower. You are still more likely to hear jigs and reels in an English 'trad' pub, but there is now a major English-conscious folk scene with its own stars.

Fits in with much broader social changes here - absorbing a large multi-ethnic population, Euro-scepticism, the very strong regional identity of the Welsh and Scottish especially since devolution. When the English ran everything we didn't worry very much about our identity. Everyone from the Prime Minister downwards is now worrying about constructing an English identity.

I'm in the front line of this - with a change of government likely in the next month, we're likely to be presented with new diktats on what the authorised version of English/British history is.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Bev Stapleton

[JSngry]

Wow...we brought "your music" back to you, and with the "British Invasion" (or some of it, anyway) y'all brought "our music" back to us...kinda fucked up that it got lost (in the "general" sense anyway) in the first place, any of it, but stuff like that happens, right?

I love it how the first thing so may people do to "progress" is lose stuff, then once they've progressed enough, they go back looking for it...crazy how that goes too.

Then again, I worked this gig last night: http://www.rubyrevue.com/ All the entrepreneurs involved here were young-ish Dallas women, and they were (or seemed to be) very well informed about the history of "burlesque" in Dallas & are determined to re-invent it with a female power structure...they actually look at Jack Ruby as a Dallas cultural icon of sorts, w/o anything to do with the Lee Harvey Oswald shooting...so...wow...life gets interesting sometimes!

Edited April 2, 2010 by JSngry

[AllenLowe]

truth is, Seeline, if I am completely serious I get attacked - "bourgeois posturing" was it, as I recall; if I use parody I get attacked, so it really matters nil. People dislike the tactic of parody unless it's a parody of something that they dislike - and looking back at my posts the only thing I did that might be construed as offensive was to call the group The Chocolate Drips - so out of 25 posts of intellectual enlightenment I make one little remark that offends and the emphasis is only, of course, on that. Not really fair. Unless there's some other sarcasm that I can't recall.

[Tom Storer]

I've recently been listening to Chris Smither, a finger-picking singer/songwriter with a folk blues flavor who writes memorable lyrics, often wry. Also John Prine--just ordered a CD of his where he does duets with a variety of female country singers. One at least is very amusing.

[AllenLowe]

Mike Bloomfield, If You Love These Blues Play 'Em as you Please - a fascinating and reissued CD of his own historical observations and re-creations.

also, Big Brother and Janis Joplin Live at Winterland - avant garde guitar playing at the root, taking the blues someplace else.

[Neal Pomea]

Has anyone mentioned The Gourds? Tift Merritt?

[AllenLowe]

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen - the original group, which included Andy Stein, the best jazz fiddler in the world (he's now on Prairie Home Companion). Also had Bill Kirchen, a great guitarist. How could you not love a band that sang a song called Mama Hated Diesels?

Edited April 2, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Hot Ptah]

Mike Bloomfield, If You Love These Blues Play 'Em as you Please - a fascinating and reissued CD of his own historical observations and re-creations.

also, Big Brother and Janis Joplin Live at Winterland - avant garde guitar playing at the root, taking the blues someplace else.

I love that Bloomfield album. He plays several different blues styles and shows how good he could be. It is too bad that he did not reach that peak very often in his later years. However, this album is very satisfying.

[Hot Ptah]

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen - the original group, which included Andy Stein, the best jazz fiddler in the world (he's now on Prairie Home Companion). Also had Bill Kirchen, a great guitarist. How could you not love a band that sang a song called Mama Hated Diesels?

The good Commander's first string of albums, culminating with "Live From Deep In the Heart of Texas", were very strong, in my opinion. Tight, swinging playing, with some good soloists, and a fun time vibe without becoming too corny. They took the music seriously but did not take themselves too seriously.

[AllenLowe]

Bloomfield was a monster - Al Kooper told me that Columbia is sitting on a huge trove of various solo recordings Bloomfield made, including some amazing acoustic things in which he did some Travis picking (I've heard one incredible example). I was talking with Kooper at the time (about 5 years ago) about working on the notes for a Columbia release of some of the stuff , but nothing ever came of it, at least so far.

Edited April 2, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Hot Ptah]

Bloomfield was a monster - Al Kooper told me that Columbia is sitting on a huge trove of various solo recordings Bloomfield made, including some amazing acoustic things in which he did some Travis picking (I've heard one incredible example). I was talking with Kooper at the time (about 5 years ago) about working on the notes for a Columbia release of some of the stuff , but nothing ever came of it, at least so far.

That would be wonderful if it could be released. I would buy it in a heartbeat. I think that in some ways Bloomfield was the best rock guitarist ever.

[six string]

Bev,

Since your enjoying the Saides and Buddy Miller maybe try:

Neko Case - Fox Confessor, Middle Cyclone

Ryan Adams - Cold Roses, Heartbreaker, Whiskytown-Strangers Almanac

The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall, Music From The North Country - The Jayhawks Anthology

Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

Son Volt - Trace

Thanks for those.

I have a few Neko Case from e-music and like them very much. The Jayhawks I need to dig out again. Really enjoyed them a few years back (especially 'Tomorrow the Green Grass'). Strangers Almanac and Heartbreaker I really liked but what I subsequently heard of Adams lost me. Hazeldine's 'Digging You Up' was another favourite.

I think I stumbled on bands like Calexico, Golden Smog, Lambchop, Freakwater who seemed to promise more than I actually heard. A bit too rock for me. Will play those again.

It can be a bit hard to hear this sort of thing in the UK. Tends to turn up on programmes mixed in with a lot of more conventional guitar rock - Dave Matthews Band and the like - I used to try listening but would normally give up after 20 minutes.

Will keep Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt in mind. I know the names, if not the music.

Spotify might help.

I read through most of the pages here so far and this is the one that came closest to some of the music I would have recomended. So having said that I'll recomend a few others that I don't think I've seen.

Dave Alvin - I'll recomend two studio albums.

Public Domaine - all of the songs are as the title states so new versions of some old songs that you don't hear much anymore.

Blackjack David - Possibly my favorite studio album by him.

If you like live albums his Out in California is a good example of his live sets. It's a bit more rockin' than the other two here but he does bring the volume down on some of the songs.

Alejandro Escovedo is my favorite non jazz musician and has been for about ten years.

My favorite album of his A Man Under the Influence. It's not a song about drinking btw.

Jim Lauderdale I have many of his albums and it's going to be hard to narrow down the pick. He's done a few bluegrass albums but most are more in the country/americana vein.

Honey Songs is from 2008 so should be pretty easy to find. It's got most of Elvis' last band playing with him and the songs are really great.

The Bluegrass Diaries is just that, songs he has written or co-written and played in a bluegrass style

Buddy and Julie Miller - Buddy is plays on some of Lauderdale's albums and I think he is also one of the better writers of this type of music out there today.

Poison Love, Cruel Moon or the album he did with his wife simply titles Buddy and Julie Miller are all worthy purchases imo. Julie's albums are great too but this post is getting long already.

[Neal Pomea]

Two Bill Kirchen albums to recommend: Tombstone Every Mile, and Have Love Will Travel. I am sure his others are also good. I was lucky to hear him many, many times when he was headquartered a few years in Maryland.

[A Lark Ascending]

Thanks, Six String.

The Dave Alvin and Buddy/Julie Miller albums you mention I know - marvellous records all.

I don't know Jim Lauderdale's music and Alejandro Escovedo is a completely unknown name to me. Thanks for the recs.

Someone I like very much - even though she is in many ways living in the heart of the Nashville Beast - is Patty Loveless. Was enjoying the second of her two more bluegrassy albums this afternoon:

And as the definition of 'contemporary' has become wondefully elastic, a word for Norman Blake. This one was fun earlier today:

On the purely instrumental front, I've always loved this one:

Jerry Douglas' albums can get a bit overproduced, but this one is joy from start to finish.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Bev Stapleton

[Neal Pomea]

Yes, I agree about Patty Loveless. Her version of Busted is great! In fact, much closer to the spirit of the tune and lyrics than Ray Charles' overproduced version, imo. For Norman Blake, Blind Dog has the songs I enjoy most.

Edited April 2, 2010 by It Should be You

[medjuck]

Saw Buddy Miller twice as a backing musician: with Emmy Lou Harris and with Alisson Krause/Robert Plant in what seemed to really be a T-Bone Burnett band. My wife (the guitar player) liked him enough to buy a couple of his cds. I like them but don't think of them as anything but contemporary. Maybe I don 't hear enough contemporary music go know what it is anymore. (Most of the music I listen to is by dead people. )

[AllenLowe]

now your talkin.' And speaking of dead people, let's not forget about one of the eclectic roots greats, Dave Van Ronk.

and hey, how about Charles Ives? Mr. Americana.

Edited April 2, 2010 by AllenLowe