That awful C word

[Colin Black]

Wow! I'm a little hesitant to enter this fray, but this seemed like a good topic to bring this up in . . .

Any of you folks out there listen to so-called "No Depression" or "alt country"? Now, I'm not the oldest guy on the forum, and my background is bound to be a little different than some others here. I was raised listening to Emmylou Harris and others in my mom's workshop and I can listen to classic country all day and all night too. But then when I was in high school and college there were some great rock bands such as Pearl Jam and a few others that were just really good, and I listened to them alot, at about the same time that I was learning Bob Dylan songs on the acoustic. This is not even to mention such "Southern rock" bands as the Allman Brothers and others. Oh yeah, and did I mention that I listen to Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, and those wonderful Texan songwriters as much as anything else? You can start to see the range of influences. Anyhow, now a whole bunch of us whose first garage bands might have been some kind of rock/punk/something or other are now returning to our country music roots. Especially those of us who fancy ourselves to be songwriters (or at least songwriter wannabe's), and who realize the wealth of the American songwriting tradition. The product (or I guess, one of the products) is what is variously referred to as "alt country" or "No Depression" or even "Americana" music, with bands like the former Uncle Tupelo and its offspring (particularly Son Volt) and Whiskeytown and others leading the way. What they're playing is American music that rocks, with lyrics about the classic American themes--the road, the river, love and the accompanying loneliness. Electric guitars and fiddles and steel guitars and mandolins and harmonica and whatever else we've learned to play over the years of mixing acoustic folk sessions one night with amps and effects pedals the next--all together and sounding like it was meant to be there all along! This is NOT Garth Brooks or similar made-for-TV music, mind you. This is real music, this is the music that spews forth from those of us who grew up on equal parts Willie Nelson and (cringe) Bon Jovi. It's honest and it's good.

Two points, I guess, after all that rambling:
1) Here's a "new" offshoot of country music that is dynamic and honest and that we can all be proud of, and 2) there's so much lap and pedal steel on some of these records that only now, after listening to them, have I decided to pick up steel guitar after years of listening to traditional country music. . . the music (and the instrument) lives on?

Thanks for indulging my little tirade. I'd love to know if anyone else on this forum sees what I see in this music. And whether you agree with my music tastes or not, I'm sure you'll agree that it is a blessing to be passionate about music and to feel that special connection that sinks into your bones and stirs up your past and points to your future.

Peace,

Colin<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Colin Black on 12 April 2000 at 11:54 AM.]</p></FONT>