Series: Why "Anything but country music" is not an acceptable answer to "what kind of music do you like?": Vol.1

Growing up in Texas, I heard this phrase more than any other. You wouldn't think. But to be entirely honest, I did use it myself on occasion. I'm sure every single one of you has, as well.

"So... what kind of music do you listen to?"

It's probably the most important social question of our generation, the question that determines whether the conversation is going to go any further. So you certainly want to answer it with the best possible answer. You don't want to make any bad impressions. But you don't want to seem really close-minded. So what do you say?

"Oh, anything really. Except country. I don't listen to that. ~nervous snicker~ What about you?"

So after hearing it a couple million times, I started asking folks if they had actually heard any country music. Almost across the board, the answer was a resounding "no WAY!" Well, if that's the case, how do you know you don't like country? I think it's mostly that it's just not cool to like country, or even to listen to it long enough to actually make that decision in a valid manner.

I remember in eighth grade, I had to do a project for English class. We had to 'interview' a character from any of the short stories we had read and tape it. The catch was that the replies to the questions were supposed to be in the form of music, a clip from some song with relevant lyrics. Well, I didn't have any music to use. I didn't really listen to music. So I asked my dad what to do (I was in eighth grade, I really should have known better), and he found me some old country stuff that he used to listen to way back in the day. Well, I did my interview and I thought I did a great job, and I played it in class for everyone. Bad news. My teacher - not my classmates, my teacher - responded with "What the hell kind of music do you listen to?" Needless to say, I was mortified and started saying "Oh, I can't stand country music" if anyone ever asked.

The fact is, though, I actually liked that stuff. I know I'm not the only non-hillbilly who does. And I'm going to set people straight. It is cool to like country, as long as it's the cool kind of country. And I plan to show you people exactly what that is.

A short series of posts on great country, bluegrass and americana artists is coming up for your reading pleasure and of course for the edification of the general public. Hit me up with some recommendations and I promise I'll get on it. Keep your eyes peeled for the first of the series, on The Be Good Tanyas, coming up soon.

(Re)discovering Joni Mitchell

Writing a review about Joni Mitchell is like trying to rewrite Beauty and the Beast, but I just recently 'discovered' her. I figured there's no harm in sharing my opinion. Actually my first encounter with Mitchell's music was in the movie Love Actually, where Mitchell's music provides the 'emotional education' of one of the main characters. The song Both Sides Now provides the backdrop for a highly emotional sequence in the movie, lending an earthy touch to the otherwise sparse scene with Mitchell's round, space-filling voice.
Around the same time of my life, a friend told me that Blue was a must-hear album. I immediately got my hands on the album, excited for it, but - don't hate me for this - I couldn't really appreciate the album. Mitchell's voice was almost too heavy for me; I felt like I was being borne down under the weight of the music. But I gave her a chance again recently, after hearing a cover of Blue by Cat Power. I have to say, this time around she's managed to capture my fancy the way I expected her to the first time. Listening to her album, I'm realizing how many of her songs I've actually heard before, covered by other people. I had no idea. Of course there's Blue, But there are more. I've been listening to A Case of You sung by Cristina Branco for so long now, but never once realized that it was a cover of Mitchell's song. I heard Ritchie Havens' version of Woodstock, too, with no idea of where it came from. Now that I've 'discovered' Joni Mitchell, though, I haven't been able to change the album and listen to something else. Mitchell's voice, her lyrics, the instrumentation, the arrangement, everything has kind of captured my attention and entranced me.
I do have to say I'm not a huge fan of some of the more upbeat songs, like All I Want on Blue. I think Mitchell's style of singing as well as the timbre of her voice are better suited to the slow, melodic, pensive type of song. I do appreciate her versatility in singing, but I can't personally enjoy the more bouncy songs.
Both Sides Now and Blue are probably my favorite songs of Mitchell's right now. It might change, but the fullness of her voice and the depth of the emotion it convey are really worth listening to at least in recognition of the influence Mitchell's music has had on folk and pop music of today.
Mitchell also managed to deal with issues that women of her time could not really tackle on a general basis, like sexual freedoms. 'My Old Man' tells of the joys of cohabitation without marriage. 'We don't need no piece of paper from the City Hall,' she sings. She also deals openly with themes of solitude and loneliness. I think Mitchell's songs will definitely play a part in my own 'emotional education'.

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans

i posted this a while back in another blog. i thought it might be nice to revisit and share it with this community of readers.

in an odd coincidental sequence of events, (i realize that's a bit of an oxymoron), I read a story by Flannery O'Connor called A Good Man is Hard to Find, and then heard a Sufjan Stevens song with the same title. I'm not quite sure if the song is based on the story, but i'm pretty sure it is. O'Connor's stories have a gruesomely realistic tone to them, where the worst that could happen happens, in the worst way it could have happened. Her language is dark, her themes are dark, her characters are self-righteously despicable. And yet, her stories are somehow appealing, gripping in an incomprehensible way. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a quintessential prototype of the blandly horrific stories O'Connor writes, a feeling-less story about a serial killer and his victims. When i read the story, it left me with a hollow feeling inside, neither pity nor sorrow. Just hollowness, emptiness. Revulsion of sorts, I suppose one could call it. But it seems that that is not what Stevens found in the story.
Stevens' song gives an impression of delicacy, a mellow retrospective fraught with pleasant nostalgia. He starts off with his usual harmonious guitar chords with a sweet rhythm. His breathy voice joins in, with not even a hint of murder or hatred or rancor. But on a closer listen, the phrase "when I killed them" rolls into the air, an insidious reminder of the repulsive, self-righteous amorality in the society O'Connor writes about.
This has been a sort of multi-dimensional experience of a story that made an impact on me through its complete lack of impact and its inability to produce emotion in me, turning into a song that moves me, a song about hell and remorse.
The experience is odd for me because I've heard the song many times before and never paid much mind to it. But now that I've read the story, the song has a new meaning, creates new images in my mind.
In the end, I suppose a good man is hard to find, but a good song - not so hard.

If you're interested, read the story and then hear the song.

Last Night I Dreamt of Mississippi - Nicolai Dunger - Late Nights with Turin Brakes

I came across Last Night I Dreamt of Mississippi by Nicolai Dunger on the compilation Late Nights with Turin Brakes. A pleasantly careworn song, sung with a nonchalant, sleepy attitude, it quickly ended up on my list of compulsively repeated songs. It starts off with a generally incomprehensible voice-over of an air hostess speaking right before takeoff, which actually has nothing to do with the rest of the song, it seems. The whole tone of the piece quickly changes with bluesy guitar chords and a catchy rhythm, which sound slightly hazy and drunk. Some unexpected notes here and there keep your attention until the fiddle starts up, with some lazy slides. The whole ensemble, even after the vocals start, has an almost trancelike cohesiveness, with very little countermelody or counterpoint. All the instrumentals follow almost the same trajectory, with Dunger's cigarette-and-Jack-Daniels-filled voice joining right in, making the whole thing sound smooth and round. Pictures of moonless nights in the rocking chair on the porch almost fill my head but then some vague sense of desperation kicks in. It could be a much more run-of-the-mill song but somehow manages to amaze with its transparency. I haven't heard anything else by Dunger, but I bet there's incredible stuff out there.

listen to the song here.

x-posted here and here.

and so it begins.

hi everyone-

this little project has been in the works for almost a year now - albeit only in my head. I think I was waiting for some sort of magnificent inspiration to strike, that was going to make me into a fabulous music blogger, an all-in-one last.fm/pitchfork/hype machine or something. I guess after waiting for so long, I've realized that this is more about my personal reflections on what a particular piece of music has been doing for me, rather than my ability to form a cult following or fan club, either for myself or for the music being discussed. So I'm going to dive straight into it, without careful consideration for whether or not I'm doing it the "right" way.

I think that talking about a particular artist or a particular album probably isn't the best way for me to express my thoughts about the music I enjoy. So I'll just talk about one song at a time, about what it says to me and how it makes me feel. I hope I'll be able to convey at least a little bit of the expanse of what goes inside my head when I hear a great piece of music.

I hope that you will all enjoy reading what I write, and I also hope that the music I love will find a few more fans. If I go delinquent on this at any point, feel free to harass me into writing again. And if anyone has any suggestions about music you've heard me rave about before, be sure to remind me that I have something good to write about.

Thanks and let's see where this goes!

Still in Progress.

Hi, thanks for stopping by. Sorry, I haven't gotten to posting yet.
Check back in July for updates!