Hillbilly Blue                               Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch

Skinny Love                                Bon Iver

The Blue Trees                           Gorky's

Catch Me Now I'm Falling           The Kinks

E. M.P T.Y.                                  The Clientele

Rivers of Babylon                        Steve Earle

Sunflower River Blues                 Jack Rose

It Will Pass                                  The Twin Atlas

Stepping Stones                         Bert Jansch and John Renbourn

The Fancy Dance...                    5ive Style

These Stones Will Shout            The Raconteurs

Furthermore: Said paper does a Q&A with Spearhead's Michael Franti, who says, "I want to share my music with Republicans, Democrats, black, white, anyone who wants to hear what I have to say."

1) Did the Strib really need to cut this interview into multiple pages? They didn't. And it was a bad decision to do so.

2) I once did security at a Spearhead concert. I was positioned directly in front of the stage, and before the concert started, some sage old stagehand gave me this piece of advice: "If the crowd surges, go over the stage or go under the stage. Don't try to hold them back." And that advice is as relevant now, to the Star Tribune, as it was back in the day, to me.

Additionally (and as mentioned previously), on September 2 at the Fitzgerald Theater, the ProVention Concert will feature a lot of local and quasi-local musicians singing for Peace, the Planet and some other "P" I can't remember. Acts include The Honeydogs, Haley Bonar, and Dan Wilson.

1. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
2. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
3. Rollin' And Tumblin'
4. Desolation Row
5. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
6. Million Miles
7. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
8. Highway 61 Revisited
9. I Believe In You
10. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
11. When the Deal Goes Down
12. Thunder On The Mountain
13. Ballad Of A Thin Man
14. Like A Rolling Stone
15. Blowin' In The Wind

My son and I pretty much agreed on our reaction to Dylan's show -- this after seeing him perform twice in Philadelphia in recent years: He's still great, he's still Bob Dylan...but probably one-third of his performances were fair-to-poor, in part because he's singing songs he just can't and shouldn't sing anymore, in part because someone needs to figure out how to tweak arena sound systems to tone down and smooth out Dylan's vocals, and in part because the black pants with the white stripes on the side and black Zorro hat are starting to lose their charm...

Anyway, "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,"  "Million Miles," "I Believe in You," "When the Deal Goes Down," "Thunder on the Mountain" and "Ballad of a Thin Man" were pretty good. All of the other songs were either pretty much just OK or pretty much really sucked ("It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" was especially hard to endure).

An old friend, as it happens, went to see Mr. Dylan perform a few days earlier, at the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut. The set list for that show sounds a little more inspiring and intriguing:

1. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
2. The Times They Are A-Changin'
3. Things Have Changed
4. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
5. Can't Wait
6. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
7. High Water (for Charlie Patton)
8. Chimes Of Freedom
9. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
10. I Believe In You
11. Honest With Me
12. Just Like A Woman
13. 'Til I Fell In Love With You
14. Nettie Moore
15. Thunder On The Mountain
16. Like A Rolling Stone
17. All Along The Watchtower

In any event, she describes her experience with a little more charity: Nice concert. He still can sing, but not a lot of interaction with the audience. It was hard to hear the words. Could have been how loud the music was or because we were in front of massive speakers. It was a spur of the moment tickets, but an enjoyable evening.

Another thing working against Dylan at Saratoga Springs: He walked out on stage eight hours into a festival that had already featured good performances by Steve Earle, Raul Malo and Gillian Welch, very impressive and very memorable performances by Conor Oberst and his Mystic Valley Band and Glen Hansard and The Swell Season, and an absolutely transcendent performance by Levon Helm and his band.

In the interest of fairness, though, here are links to mostly complimentary reviews that appeared next day in a couple of local newspapers:

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/18/bands-keep-songs-coming-fast-spac-music-festival/ 

and

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080818/ENT04/80818006
 

A final note: The reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal writes very entertainingly about how the performers all hung out near the stage and interacted with the audience. Very true and very accurate: Gillian Welch was right out there in a side aisle after her show, chatting with fans, and so was Glen Hansard. And Conor Oberst and friends were indeed hanging out right near where we were sitting for most of the performances by Helm and Dylan, clearly enthralled. AND I did indeed see Dylan's tour bus pull up and thought I spotted the man himself -- but not a clear and confirmed sighting (right down to the sidestripes on the pants!) like the one reported by John W. Barry.

-Christy

"I’ve been runnin’ nearly all of my life
Far and as fast as I can
It may sound funny but I’m thinkin’ this might
Be about right where I came in
Well I don’t know maybe I’m comin’ around
Got a ways to go but maybe I’m comin’ around
Finally layin’ my burden down"

It seems to me that there's money to be made for some young, enterprising, conservative musician. There aren't really any conservative indie/alternative bands, but there are plenty of conservatives who like that kind of music. Can you imagine how they'd rally around a band who was outwardly conservative. And if Rush Limbaugh told his listeners about that band? They'd be millionaires overnight.

Same, though less so, for a liberal country band. By the nature of the art form, there are more liberal musicians, in general, than conservative. But country still doesn't have too many successful liberal acts (minus the Dixie Chicks, of course). I would imagine there's a similarly good opportunity for a good liberal country band to come out and take that genre by storm.

So? Why hasn't anyone seized on these opportunities?

I started doing a little looking, and I came across an article by John Miller written for National Review. He offered up his top 50 conservative rock songs. Surprisingly, there were quite a few songs by real indie bands on the list. That doesn't mean they were/are conservative bands. But the songs (by virtue of being libertarian, actually) are arguably conservative. Here's his list of top 50 (there are 50 more, if you want to check those out, too).

[If you want detailed justifications for each, click through to the entire articles above...]

1. “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by The Who.
2. “Taxman,” by The Beatles.
3. “Sympathy for the Devil,” by The Rolling Stones.
4. “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
5. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” by The Beach Boys.
6. “Gloria,” by U2.
7. “Revolution,” by The Beatles.
8. “Bodies,” by The Sex Pistols.
9. “Don’t Tread on Me,” by Metallica.
10. “20th Century Man,” by The Kinks.
11. “The Trees,” by Rush.
12. “Neighborhood Bully,” by Bob Dylan.
13. “My City Was Gone,” by The Pretenders.
14. “Right Here, Right Now,” by Jesus Jones.
15. “I Fought the Law,” by The Crickets.
16. “Get Over It,” by The Eagles.
17. “Stay Together for the Kids,” by Blink 182.
18. “Cult of Personality,” by Living Colour.
19. “Kicks,” by Paul Revere and the Raiders.
20. “Rock the Casbah,” by The Clash.
21. “Heroes,” by David Bowie.
22. “Red Barchetta,” by Rush.
23. “Brick,” by Ben Folds Five.
24. “Der Kommissar,” by After the Fire.
25. “The Battle of Evermore,” by Led Zeppelin.
26. “Capitalism,” by Oingo Boingo.
27. “Obvious Song,” by Joe Jackson.
28. “Janie’s Got a Gun,” by Aerosmith.
29. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Iron Maiden.
30. “You Can’t Be Too Strong,” by Graham Parker.
31. “Small Town,” by John Mellencamp.
32. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” by The Georgia Satellites.
33. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” by The Rolling Stones.
34. “Godzilla,” by Blue öyster Cult.
35. “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
36. “Government Cheese,” by The Rainmakers.
37. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” by The Band.
38. “I Can’t Drive 55,” by Sammy Hagar.
39. “Property Line,” by The Marshall Tucker Band.
40. “Wake Up Little Susie,” by The Everly Brothers.
41. “The Icicle Melts,” by The Cranberries.
42. “Everybody’s a Victim,” by The Proclaimers.
43. “Wonderful,” by Everclear.
44. “Two Sisters,” by The Kinks.
45. “Taxman, Mr. Thief,” by Cheap Trick.
46. “Wind of Change,” by The Scorpions.
47. “One,” by Creed.
48. “Why Don’t You Get a Job,” by The Offspring.
49. “Abortion,” by Kid Rock.
50. “Stand By Your Man,” by Tammy Wynette.

Eric Kirk at SoHum Parlance saw this article and decided (with some incentive from Miller) to take on the task of finding the top 50 liberal country songs. Here's his list below (follow this link to see the justifications)...

1. Man in Black - Johnny Cash
2. The Pill - Loretta Lynn
3. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
4. We Shall be Free - Garth Brooks
5. Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie Riley (and others)
6. Take this Job and Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
7. Devil's Right Hand - Steve Earle
8. Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Earnest Ford
9. Rainbow Stew - Merle Haggard
10. Trouble in the Fields - Nancy Griffith
11. Abraham, Martin, and John (It's a Hard Life) - Emmy Lou Harris
12. They Ain't Makin Jews like Jesus Anymore - Kinky Friedman
13. San Quentin - Johnny Cash
14. America - Waylon Jennings
15. Heartland - Willie Nelson
16. Jesus, the Missing Years - John Prine
17. Okie from Muskogee - Merle Haggard
18. Conversations with the Devil - Ray Wylie Hubbard
19. Travelin' Soldier - Dixie Chicks
20. 40 hour week - Alabama
21. My Uncle - Flying Burrito Brothers
22. Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
23. Ballad for a soldier - Leon Russell, aka Hank Wilson
24. Fishing - Richard Shindell
25. I Washed my Face in the Morning Dew - Tom T. Hall
26. One Hundred Children - Tom T. Hall
27. Aragon Mill - Dry Branch Fire Squads
28. Workin Band - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
29. Right or Left at Oak Street - Roy Clark
30. Two Story House - Tammy Wynette
31. Church - Lyle Lovett
32. Devil Take the Farmer - Dry Branch Fire Squads
33. Blame it on the Stones - Kris Kristofferson
34. Skip a Rope - Henson Cargill
35. That's the News - Merle Haggard
36. A Week in Country Jail - Tom T. Hall
37. Common Man - John Conlee
38. Kids of the Baby Boom - The Bellamy Brothers
39. Mississipi on my Mind - Jesse Winchester written, Jerry Jeff Walker performance
40. Hank Williams Said It Best - Guy Clark
41. Billy B. Damned - Billy Joe Shaver
42. Don't you think this outlaw bit's done got out of hand?- Waylon Jennings
43. Lights went out in Georgia - Reba McEntire
44. Peace on Earth - Willie Nelson
45. High Cotton - Alabama
46. Why can't we all just get a long neck? - Hank Williams
47. White House Blues - Vassar Clements
48. Saginaw, Michigan - Lefty Frizzell
49. Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
50. Hobo's Meditation - Dolly Parton

In most of the cases in the rock section, the songs are written by artists who are generally liberal, but have swerved into the conservative side of an issue. The country side largely includes artists who are generally liberal.

Thus, my curiosity still stands: Could a "good" indie/alternative band who was conservative gather a critical mass of fans? I think it goes deeper than that. I think the question really is "do people like songs because of the lyrics, melody, instrumentation, vocals, etc. (obviously, "all of the above" is an option, too)?

Can you love a song which endorses a philosophy to which you are vehemently opposed?

Na estrada desde 2004 fazendo rock com referências country e folk, o Los Alamos ganhou os palcos da Argentina, da América do Sul e agora se prepara para uma grande turnê na Europa. Extremamente competentes em apresentações ao vivo e no estúdio, o grupo conta ao Subsom como foi sair do mais completo anonimato para grandes festivais em apenas três anos, fala sobre a cena argentina atual e comenta o acidentado mercado da música, além das maiores dificuldades que enfrentaram.

Para muita gente, a produção musical dos nossos vizinhos é quase alienígena, mas a verdade é que o País vem, com alguma freqüência (não tão grande como a nossa) produzindo bandas com muita qualidade sendo o Los Alamos um dos maiores expoentes. Com músicas em inglês e catellano, a banda de Buenos Aires tem elementos de Dylan e Velvet Underground, abusando dos bandolins, guitarras lisérgicas e violões. Me surpreende a visão e a maturidade do grupo – que agora conta com 8 músicos – principalmente no que diz respeito a sua opinião quanto a atual cena sul-americana.

Muito sóbrios, eles ainda não conseguem se sustentar somente com as apresentações (todos ainda mantém seus empregos tradicionais) e criticam a indústria da música no processo de vendagem de discos. Tive a oportunidade de assisti-los no Abril Pro Rock e confesso que foi o show mais arrebatador da noite. E isso numa edição que contou com Mutantes, Nação Zumbi, Lee “Scratch” Perry e The Film, da França. Durante a entrevista, o grupo revelou a intenção de voltar ao Brasil “assim que forem convidados”.

Vocês são uma das bandas mais comentados da música argentina atual. Em 2005, com o debut “No se menciona la soga em casa del ahorcado”, ganharam destaque, saindo inclusive em edições da Rolling Stone. Com o EP “Emboscada”, com versões de Neil Young e Spaceman 3, fizeram diversas apresentações, incluindo shows no Brasil. Agora, um novo disco. Foi tudo muito rápido?

É verdade é que sim, foi tudo muito rápido e estamos muito felizes com tudo o que aconteceu conosco. Ainda mais tendo em conta que muitos grupos demoram bastante para poder ganhar alguma repercussão, como a que conseguimos alcançar e ainda, tendo o apoio de gravadoras. Realizamos tudo sem a ajuda de absolutamente ninguém (somente de nós mesmos e de um trabalho de equipe). Então, me parece que o mérito é ainda maior.

Muitos falam em “narco-country”, bluegrass, folk e space-rock. Agora, como vocês explicam o som do Los Alamos? E sobre o “narco-country”? Há alguma definição para ele?

Los Alamos é uma banda de rock, com várias influências. Tem coisas da música country, folk, algo um pouco mais psicodélico. É basicamente o resultado da união de pessoas que escutam “muita” música. O narco-country é um rótulo que nós mesmos inventamos (um pouco de brincadeira...) para denominar o nosso estilo. A música do Los Alamos é bastante difícil de rotular, então, antes que os jornalistas venham e “inventem” estilos com os quais não estamos de acordo, preferimos inventar um nós mesmos. E a verdade é que deu resultado, porque todos resolveram utilizá-lo e ainda hoje continuam mencionando-o.

Satan Dealers, Tormentos, El Robot Bajo el Água, Coiffer e outras. Como vocês observam a cena argentina de hoje e especialmente o rock tocado no País? O momento é bom? Há lugares acessíveis na Argentina para shows? Creio de deve haver alguma relação com a situação de uma banda que começa no Brasil e não encontra onde tocar...

Com relação às bandas, a cena está crescendo a cada dia. Continuamente aparecem novas bandas. Mas a verdade é que a estrutura (espaços para tocar, gravadoras, governo etc.) não acompanham como deveriam esse crescimento. Cada vez há menos lugares para tocar e as restrições das autoridades são cada vez mais insólitas. Mas dentro dessa situação as bandas se viram como podem para organizar seus shows. Acho que há uma diferença muito grande da nossa situação com a que vimos no Brasil quando fomos para aí, onde há grandes festivais caminhando junto a uma rede de festivais independentes, com patrocinadores importantes e uma grande organização para todo evento relacionado com cultura.

E quanto à música na América do Sul?

Temos contato com gente do Brasil, Chile e Uruguai, e é bastante gratificante saber que há gente igual a nós, trabalhando da mesma maneira e com quem compartilhamos uma grande amizade. Com alguns países o intercâmbio já vem a alguns anos, como no caso do Chile e do Uruguai. Costumamos tocar bastante em cidades dos dois países. Esperamos que comece a acontecer da mesma forma com o Brasil para que possamos fazer shows com mais freqüência por aí. Além disso, na América do Sul temos uma grande desvantagem: tudo demora anos para chegar. Falo de recursos, discos, instrumentos, equipamento, etc. Mas fora essa situação, acredito que essa carência incentiva muito mais a criatividade dos artistas que precisam se virar com o que têm em mãos e creio que as bandas sul-americanas não tem absolutamente nada a dever às bandas da Europa e dos Estados Unidos.

Quanto tempo vocês levaram para fazer “El fino arte de la venganza” e quais são as diferenças dele para o primeiro disco? Mudou algo no comportamento do grupo?

Demoramos quase um ano para terminarmos o último CD. Foi tanto tempo porque fizemos uma pré-produção de dois meses e ficamos bastante tranqüilos e relaxados quanto a todo o processo de gravação. Além disso, nos dedicamos a experimentar bastante dentro do estúdio e cremos que houve um grande avanço no que diz respeito aos vocais. Nesse último disco há muitos coros gravados, coisa que não ocorreu no primeiro trabalho. Fora isso, gravamos faixas “ao vivo”, como as três músicas acústicas, mas ainda acreditamos que há muita coisa para ser melhorada. Houve uma mudança na formação da banda, Joaquin Ferrer (baterista) e Andrés Barlesi (Baixo, Bandolim) começaram a tocar conosco no começo de 2007, portanto, a primeira participação deles foi com “El fino arte de la venganza”.

Além de Neil Young, Spaceman 3, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, quem mais influenciou o som do Los Alamos e o que vocês costumam escutar?

Escutamos vários estilos muito diferentes entre si... punk rock, hardcore, dub, reaggae, música africana, jazz, bluegrass...

Qual foi a banda que mais gostaram de dividir os palcos? E com quem gostariam de tocar junto?

Alguns grupos que mais gostamos de tocar foram Lee Scratch Perry, Calexico e Patti Smith. E nos encantaria dividir um show com alguém que lamentavelmente não nos acompanha mais... Fela Kuti (multiinstrumentista e gênio da música vindo da Nigéria. Faleceu em 1997).

O country é um estilo que já obteve bastante êxito, mas que há algum tempo não o mantém. Apesar de ser muito comum em países como os Estados Unidos, acaba sendo esquecido em grande parte do mundo. Como vocês observam o country hoje? É música datada como muita gente (inclusive críticos) fala?

É verdade que não é um tipo de música muito “moderna” e que teve sua origem no começo do século 20. Hoje existem grupos que adaptaram esse estilo, mas a verdade é que se trata de música do passado e que acaba sendo muito comum nos Estados Unidos por causa do tradicionalismo, do folclore local. Dentro do estilo, ouvimos Doc. Watson, Norman Blake, Earl Scruggs, John Fahey, Steve Earle, Elizabeth Cotten e outros.

Vocês tocaram nos mais diversos lugares. Qual é o próximo desafio para o Los Alamos? Poderemos ter algum show de vocês este ano no Brasil?

Nosso desafio é seguir gravando discos que durem um bom tempo e que dentro de alguns anos poderemos ouvir e nos orgulhar. Fazer discos bons que nos abram portas e nos permitam tocar nos lugares dos mais diferentes... que é uma das melhores coisas que pode acontecer com um músico. Esperamos poder ir ao Brasil sempre que pudermos, adoramos tocar aí. Sempre que fomos, nos trataram a mil maravilhas, tanto o público quanto os produtores dos festivais. Assim que nos convidarem, iremos na hora!! Quanto ao nosso grande desafio, será a turnê européia que vamos começar em breve, vai ser a nossa primeira naquele continente e temos ótimas expectativas. Agora estamos fazendo shows por Buenos Aires e pelo interior do País.

Voltando a falar de Brasil, me marcou muito a apresentação do Abril pro Rock, no Recife, o público estava bem animado...

Esse show foi a nossa primeira visita no Brasil, então estávamos um pouco nervosos pela reação do público, mas a verdade é que tudo correu muito bem. A recepção da platéia foi excelente e nós fomos muito bem em cima do palco, não estávamos acostumados a tocar emm lugares tão grandes, mas tudo foi realmente muito bom, cheio de adrenalina.

Vocês comentaram em uma entrevista que não é fácil vender discos nas lojas e que a solução seria vendê-los durante os shows, saída que muitas bandas também vêm adotando há algum tempo. Como vocês, com três anos de estrada, encaram a indústria da música?

Os discos do grupo são vendidos. Creio que com esse comentário, feito há algum tempo, apontamos a tendência mundial que estamos vivendo agora. No geral não fazemos grandes prensagens (fabricamos 2.000 discos de quando em quando) porque não contamos com recursos para maiores tiragens e a venda de CDs já não é mais um negócio rentável, principalmente porque a maioria das pessoas prefere baixá-los gratuitamente. Nós continuamos editando discos porque gostamos de fazer todo o processo “artesanal” de gravar, fazer a arte da capa e adoramos ver o trabalho terminado. Mas a realidade que não fazemos isso para ganhar dinheiro, sobrevivemos graças a nossos “outros trabalhos” paralelos. Ainda.

Por causa disso, a internet acaba sendo a principal maneira de “driblar” essas dificuldades?

Assim como a internet acabou com a indústria da música, abriu muitíssimas portas para muitas bandas. A informação chega com grande velocidade a todas as partes do mundo e isso permite que se conheça inúmeros grupos que de outra maneira seria impossível. A internet, sem duvida, nos ajudou muito para entrar em contato com gente como vocês que tem interesse em nosso trabalho, por exemplo. Hoje todo o nosso booking é feito por e-mails, pelo yousendit e o myspace.

Cross posted on flickr

Following their near-riot-inducing performance at this weekend’s Rage Against the Machine Schedule Show Near Republican Convention Lollapalooza, Rage Against the Machine have scheduled another concert they probably hope has similar results. The band announced that they’ll perform in Minneapolis’ Target Center on September 3rd, which is significant because that’s the same week the Republican National Convention rolls into the Twin City of St. Paul. In 2000, the band played an outdoor show in Los Angeles during the Democratic National Convention, and that show ended with police using tear gas and pepper spray. In the announcement of the Minneapolis show, Rage made no mention of the political overtones their show will carry, but Tom Morello has already revealed he will play a union rally with Steve Earle in St. Paul on September 1st, the first day of the RNC. Protest isn’t free, though: tickets for Rage’s show in Prince’s hometown are $60 and go on sale Saturday.

Kudos to those who speak out and never back down, cave to pressure or let anyone silence their views...except Toby Keith. Toby you should shut up and play. Maybe not so much with the playing either...

"Rage Against The Machine have scheduled yet another show, this time in Minneapolis in conjunction with the Republican National Convention. The band will perform at Minneapolis’ Target Center on September 3 while the convention is going on across the river from September 1 to 4. In addition to the Rage show, guitarist Tom Morello also will hook up with singer/songwriter and fellow social activist Steve Earle to perform a show at a union rally on September 1 in St. Paul."

I don't particularly enjoy the music I play at work. Over the years however, I have learned to like some of the slick, over-modulated pap more than the rest. The great danger in my profession is that occasionally I will realize that I am singing softly to myself the words of some thoroughly embarassing modern "country" song. Carrie Underwood's "All American Girl" is especially infectious. Not to mention the vocal stylings of barely legal Nashville songstress Taylor Swift. Basically, after ten years of toiling away in the country format I have come to say things like, "That new Keith Urban single is great!" Now hold on, I don't mean that I'm gonna be buying his latest album. In fact I get it for free and still won't listen to it. (I feel kind of bad about saying that. I've met the man and he gave me my only bonafide, Australian "Good-on-ya!") What I mean by "great" is that it fits a hole in our format that I've been looking to fill. You know, the cliche of the three minute, positive, not too country, up-tempo love song. (Thanks to Larry Cordle for that line.)

That being said, enough is enough! Jessica Simpson? Why? "Well she's from Texas, why not?", some would say. By that logic, we should play Pantera. Simpson's country debut has come to us in the form of the unholy, ear-raping "Come on Over". She sings "Leave the dishes in the sink/Leave the aahhs-cubes in your drink/Just Come on Over". I feel dirty after introducing this song. Since when does she have a thick Texas drawl? And what moron told her to pick a song with the title "Come on Over" for her first single? That was the title to Shania Twain's late nineties album that sold a bazillion copies. It had twelve oft-played radio singles on it for pete's sake! That's about the same as if Hoobastank decided to relase a single called "Kill Em' All" that somehow wasn't about the Metallica album of the same name.

Jessica is the worst offender of the four pop interlopers but only barely. There is a special place in hell for Kid Rock now that he has released "All Summer Long". Hot damn thats bad! The song starts by ripping off Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and ends by ripping off "Sweet Home Alabama." Yes thats exactly what the world needed: a reworking of "Sweet Home Alabama". Christ. I'm getting worked up just thinking about this abomination which, by the way, the listeners just love.

Jewel sucks too. The only good thing she ever did (besides wearing a tight tee-shirt) was covering the Steve Poltz song "You Were Meant For Me". And she didn't even do that right. Its "I break the yolks with my goddamn fork/I can't believe you're taking me to court", not whatever the hell she yodels in her mega-hit version.

That brings us to Hootie. "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" is his country debut and compared to the other singles in this post, it's phenomenal. Besides, its fun to say "Hootie". Still he would have been better off releasing, as a single, the BK jingle he did.

To sum up, pop country sucks but should be left to the pros; people like Craig Morgan who at least seem authentic when they sing songs with titles like "International Harvester". I'm just glad that we seem to be done with the jingoistic, willfully ignorant crap like "Have You Forgotten" from noted sadist Darryl Worley which excoriates pointy headed liberals for not realizing that the war in Iraq is somehow about 9-11. I often fantasize about putting Toby Keith, Charlie Daniels, and Darryl Worley into a rocket and shooting it into the blazing heart of the sun. Steve Earle could have the honor of pressing the button.

I would like to say, to those who ask how I can put up with my job: It's damn easy. I talk for a living. It beats the hell out of real work. Also, once a week I host an alt-country show where I can play whatever I want. It's Monday night from six to eight. Check it out here.

Jim James At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

The solo sets of Jim James have become somewhat of a hushed spectacle, the kind that leaves a person spellbound for days afterward. Performing with just an acoustic guitar and a little help from M. Ward, the bearded singer practically hypnotized his audience with his stunning voice.

She & Him At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

Technical difficulties didn't deter M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel from plugging on ahead, even if that meant plugging in an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar. And then Newport's infamous rain came down... hard. But that didn't stop them either with special guest appearances from Jim James and Becky Stark.

Steve Earle At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

Right from the beginning, Steve Earle called out the spirit of Woody Guthrie, realizing that we need him now more than ever. Out of all the artists at the Newport Folk Festival, Earle's invocation is the most appropriate — he would have fit in best at the festival's inception.

Jakob Dyan At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

With a small backing band, Jakob Dylan came to the Newport Folk Festival not only with songs from his debut album, Seeing Things, but with music from the entire Wallflowers catalog.

On Sunday sets by: Gillian Welch, Trey Anastasio, Calexico & Brandi Carlisle will be streamed live and archived for later availability.

all streams are available @

hopefully we will be getting a full report from friend and previous contributor, keith bergendorff who will be attending the festival along with several cowboy junkies and over the rhine shows in the region.

The Newport Folk Festival is a multi-day, multi-stage music festival held at the historic Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island.

Saturday, August 2
Doors: 10:00 AM - Show: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM

Cowboy Junkies 11:30 - 12:20
Young @ Heart Chorus 11:30 - 12:10
Sydney Wayser 11:30 - 12:00
Red Rooster 12:25 - 1:15
Jakob Dylan 12:30 - 1:20
Richie Havens 12:40 - 1:30
Jesca Hoop 1:35 - 2:15
Steve Earle & Allison Moorer 1:40 - 2:30
Trey Anastasio 2:00 - 3:00
American Babies 2:35 - 3:05
She & Him (feat. Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward) 2:50 - 3:40
Willy Mason 3:30 - 4:10
Stephen & Damian Marley 3:30 - 4:45
Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) 4:00 - 5:00
The Felice Brothers 4:35 - 5:35
The Black Crowes 5:15 - 6:45
Cat Power 5:30 - 6:30

Sunday, August 3rd
Doors: 10:00 AM - Show: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM

Ryan Fitzsimmons 11:30 - 11:50
The Honors (OurStage Winners) 12:10 - 12:55
Brandi Carlile 12:15 - 1:00
Over The Rhine 1:15 - 2:10
Richard Julian 1:20 - 2:10
Calexico 1:20 - 2:20
Kaki King 2:30 - 3:20
Jake Shimabukuro 2:30 - 3:30
Gillian Welch 2:40 - 3:40
Son Volt 3:40 - 4:40
One Flew South 4:00 - 5:00
Levon Helm 4:10 - 5:10
The Avett Brothers 5:00 - 6:00
Jimmy Buffett 5:40 - 7:15

Schedule subject to change
* "official" postings/articles note brian wilson as a performer, i have yet to find his name/time slot on a schedule.

[audio http://www.box.net/shared/static/mf8avscaow.mp3]

From: Transcendental Blues (Artemis, 2000)

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A Pandora user can create his or her own "radio" stations, seeding the stations with particular artists or songs that the user chooses for a theme of preference. The seeds are then used by Pandora to select other music for streaming, based on musical DNA similarities, like "Major Key Tonality" or "Dynamic Lead Vocal."

For example, I've created a station I call "Heartbreaker Guitar Town." The goal of this station is to produce a kind of Alt-Country sound that has lots of soul, led by sort of a raw guitar feel, etc. It is currently seeded with the following artists:

• Ryan Adams
• Son Volt
• Steve Earle
• Whiskeytown

Anyway, here's some Steve Earle. See ya.

It starts here, and it makes sense to at least take a quick look at the graphs before delving too deep into my comments, so that you'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about.

"You listen to these modern records, they’re atrocious, they have sound all over them. There’s no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like — static."

-Bob Dylan

"Loudness is killing music, and I'm not talking about the 80s Japanese Heavy Metal band." You've probably heard some audiophool, musician or music geek say something like that over the past couple years. But what are they talking about, and what exactly is wrong with loudness?

Loudness is actually a somewhat misleading term.... What is actually going on is that most contemporary pop music is getting all of the dynamic range squashed out of it by means of dynamic range compression. Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest possible undistorted sound and quietest sound that is audible above the noise floor of the recording. Dynamic range compression limits the difference between the loudest and the quietest sounds. Subjectively, compression makes for a louder sounding recording. It is also a practice that is currently being taken to absurd extremes.

The net effect of this is to strip subtlety out and make the music exhausting to listen to, in a manner similar to how some cheaply-recorded albums can be exhausting to listen to--your eardrums just get tired.

While I don't claim to be an audiophile or anything close, I like to think I've got a pretty good ear, and I've noticed this, too, without necessarily being aware of the reason. Based on a good review, I bought the Cold War Kids' self-titled debut. I think I made it all the way through twice, both times in my car with stops along the way. I never made it through uninterrupted. I can't make cool graphs like Pete's because I don't have the right software, but I suspect that if I ran songs from that album through Rip Edit Burn or something similar, I would find that they bore a great resemblance to Pete's examples. To me, it never sounds like the music ever gets a chance to breathe.

I think one of the best-sounding albums I've heard in the past few years is (don't laugh) Pink's I'm Not Dead. The single "Who Knew" opens with guitar, then vocal and drums, then bass, each element distinct--they have been allowed to breathe. The song has a soft-loud-soft structure, but it isn't so ridiculous that you have to turn down the stereo when it hits the loud parts. I wonder how that one would look graphed out? I've listened to it straight through many times, and it didn't exhaust my ears. Maybe I'm way off base, as this is precisely the type of album where one would expect to find a lot of compression. Is this a rare example of sonic restraint in recent pop music? Or just an exceptional production job that overcomes the limitations of excessive dynamic range compression? I'd be interested to find out from someone who knows more on the subject than I do.

If you're at all interested in this geek stuff, check out the series. It's quickly getting longer, so if time is limited, start with the inaugural post, followed by the one on Mudcrutch. If you want more, read the piece on Born to Run and proceed from there.

I was thinking about buying the deluxe re-release of Steve Earle's Copperhead Road. After reading about Born to Run, I'm nervous about doing so. Maybe I'll just keep my old copy and spend my twenty-five bucks on other albums.