Americana Music – The Roots of Some (But Not All) Evil?

 

For THE WAYBACK MACHINE I'm reclaiming posts that have appeared elsewhere on the internets. Maybe, for the sake of keeping things interesting, I'll update the post with additional commentary or a summary of some of the reactions it generated.

 

Americana Music – The Roots of Some (But Not All) Evil?  

Do you want to know how to make somebody from New York City really mad?

A very happy ?uestlove.

Just accuse them of not having the best museum or delis or pizza, or not being at the center of something. I had this unfortunate experience with a tongue-in-cheek piece I posted on my blog a while back. (It was way more ‘tongue’ than ‘cheek.’) I accused New York City (I’m told you can just say ‘New York’) of not being at the center of the New Wave of Americana. (Sorry if you thought this was an article about THE ROOTS. I don’t want to make ?uestlove mad too.)

Take a second to pick up your hats and calm your womenfolk down.

So what had me so riled up? It was this little article in SPIN magazine. Something about somebody giving washboard lessons in Red Hook for $20 a pop. (I know, right? I laughed when I read it too.) I’m going to blame Mumford and Sons for this phenomenon. Not because they’re disingenuous or making crappy music, but because they made it acceptable for Blue States to like banjos. Almost overnight those five-stringed nightmares went from being an instrument of ridicule (How many banjo players does it take to eat a possum? Two, one to eat it and one to watch for cars.) to a symbol of tolerance and understanding. Like white people had been given their very own pan flute or bongos or didjeridu. And Mumford gave them a way to do it without having to acknowledge Skoal or NASCAR.

Johnny and friend.

To be fair, Nashville may have inadvertently shoved a lot of listeners into Americana when Columbia Records let Johnny Cash out of his contract, which forced Rick Rubin to record Johnny’s version of “Hurt.” A bunch of folks probably ran out and bought the record expecting to hear Cash’s take on other modern things, and instead got “Sam Hall,” a traditional English ballad about an old school death row prisoner, “Streets of Laredo” which recounts a dying cowboy’s last words, and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” which, of course, is a Hank Williams’ number about being lonely and crying.

So, besides Johnny Cash and Mumford and Sons, who should you all be listening to if you want to make it in the New Wave of Americana? Here’s a primer:

MIDDLE BROTHER combines jangly Nashville guitars with songs about booze and curse words. But the trio of Deer Tick’s John J. McCauley III, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith and Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez know how to turn a phrase. “…regrets, Tourette’s, I guess it’s the same.” And there’s a song about Portland.

MIDDLE BROTHER “Middle Brother”:



AVETT BROTHERS is a guitar/banjo/bass trio for the traditionalists in the group. They even come from North Carolina. How’s that for cred? But they aren’t really all that traditional. Check out “Kick Drum Heart” if you want to hear what I’m talking about. And hooking up with Rick Rubin isn’t really a traditional move either.

AVETT BROTHERS “Matrimony”:



GILLIAN WELCH and DAVE RAWLINGS Gillian Welch is the Fairy Godmother of Roots music. Her appearance in O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? pretty much confirms it. As a revivalist, Gillian has done as much as anybody to keep Roots and Americana alive during the pre-O BROTHER, pre-Johnny Cash HURT, Nineties. Bleak times for a revival.

GILLIAN WELCH AND DAVID RAWLINGS “Caleb Meyer”:



WILCO’s inclusion on this list doesn’t come easy, considering Wilco is a little more Radiohead than Hank Williams nowadays. But there’s no denying Jeff Tweedy’s contributions to Americana. No Depression, the now-defunct Americana, Roots and Alt-country magazine– took its name from Tweedy’s previous band’s first album (and a Carter Family song, “No Depression in Heaven.”) Don’t let the robonoise fool you, Tweedy still keeps it real.

WILCO NPR Tiny Desk Concert:



Here's some old school Uncle Tupelo for contrast AND because one day somebody will want to know exactly what 1989 looked like:



This list should be just enough to get you started. Talk to twenty different people and you’ll get as many different definitions of Americana and Roots. After all, it is the music of the people…

Whatever that means. Even the term ‘Americana’ suggests a hodgepodge of styles and influences. So consider this an apology, New York (City). As long as you’re part of America, you’re part of Americana.

Extra credit:

DR. RALPH STANLEY AND HIS CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS because he has a doctorate in BANJO.



THE CIVIL WARS. Remember that post-Grammy bump I told you about? (Is that a HATCH SHOW PRINT poster in the background? Why, yes it is.)




CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS because nothing says ‘Americana’ like resonators and pork pie hats.



TIM O’BRIEN Best Virginia represent!



Yonder Mountain String Band! These are the guys that started it all for me. Yonder showed me how  The Beatles, The Misfits, Pink Floyd and guys like Ralph Stanley could all get along in the same setlist. (All videos were filmed on either February 24 or 25 at the Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio. Heidi and I attended both shows, but none of the videos belong to us.)

Wilco-The Whole Love live stream

WHAT NOT TO WEAR (to a Social D concert) Guest Commentary by Mikey Rega

Since Jeremy Piven didn't really get into great detail, I had to bring in an expert to sort this concert t-shirt mess out. Mike Rega's statement stands as the final rule regarding all future concert t-shirt disputes.

Here's the question that got the ball rolling:

Heidi wants to know the rule on wearing t-shirts to concerts within genres--specifically, wearing a Dropkick Murphys shirt to a Flogging Molly concert. Both Irish--what's the rule?

Sam and I had an argument over if it was okay to wear a Beatles shirt to the Beatles fest. . . I went with 'yes' because you weren't seeing the Beatles and it was an overall celebration of the Beatles. However, a solo Beatle shirt would be preferred. Also, you couldn't wear any of the Beatles' tribute band's t-shirts if they did indeed have a shirt. You could however wear a shirt of a Beatles tribute band that had appeared at a previous years festival, or a non-festival participating tribute band such as Rain.

There are of course caveats and exceptions to the "don't wear the shirt of the band you are going to see" rule. I believe it is acceptable to wear the shirt of the band you came to support if the band is one of many in a festival lineup. Example, a Rage shirt at Coachella, a Blues Traveler shirt at HOARD, or a Jane's Addiction shirt at Lollapalooza.

I think wearing a DKM shirt to Molly would be acceptable, unless the bands have some sort of rivalry that I'm not aware of (WILCO shirt at a Son Volt show). Might be a little obvious though. I think a Pogues shirt, a 101ers shirt, or a Street Dogs would impress more. Kind of like wearing a Styx shirt to a Kansas concert but overall same musical families.

My whole logic about bands and T-shirts comes from a scene in the movie PCU. My friend Tony violated the rule and we let him have it for like 10 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgFcl3BrJpU

Also, I found this:

http://www.eachnotesecure.com/the-concert-t-shirt-etiquette-guide/

The comments are pretty funny.

Q: When, besides festivals, is it okay to wear a band's shirt to their concert? What if it's a vintage T? what if it is a tour shirt purchased on an older tour?

A: I believe wearing a vintage T of the band or an older tour shirt is still being "that guy" . . . It's being "that guy" to a lesser degree, but still counts. There are plenty of other T-shirt options out there and no matter how tattered with credibility your original appears, you would still be a form of "that guy".
At festivals I would have to say 5 bands or more have to be in the lineup. If you went to see Mastodon, Alice N Chains, and the Deftones (who toured together last year), it’s not appropriate to wear any of their shirts. You would wear a related Tee of the band you were there to see. If 5 or more bands with multiple/rotational headliners (outdoor venues only) are in place, go ahead and rock your Tee.

Q: Also, are there any bands that are the exception to this rule (thinking Grateful Dead for some reason) and, if yes, why?

A: I think the exceptions to this rule would be on the small scale show circuit. If you bought a shirt at a concert from a member of the band, an obvious gf or wife of a band member, or a member of the crew who has additional duties within the show, it would be appropriate to wear that t shirt to a show at a later date (you can NEVER put on the shirt you just bought . . . that’s why there are cargo pockets).

EXAMPLE: I saw the Buzz Poets at Pitt-Johnstown in the late 90’s and I bought a shirt before the show. The guy who was selling the shirts was also running sound (from the same location). It would be a judgment call to wear that shirt if you ever saw the Buzz Poets again.

Also, Back In Time Band is a perfect example. Their shirts are made in such a limited number that wearing one is showing membership to an exclusive inner circle.

Q: Also, and this the last one, what about movies or TV shows associated with a band--YELLOW SUBMARINE(supposing the Beatles were still around), THE WALL, etc? Is this a loophole?

A: I think THE WALL is too obvious, YELLOW SUBMARINE is a non-applicable perfect world scenario that would mean the Beatles are still together, and movie shirts in general are hard to find. A proper band related film could be acceptable though. If the film Tee is a concert DVD, such as PJ’s IMMAGINE IN CORNICE or Dave’s LISTENER SUPPORTED, then I’d have to go with no. If you were to wear a SINGLES shirt to PJ, or a BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE shirt to Dave, you would get mad props from the crowd for your amazingly obscure Tee. John Howard has a Citizen Dick shirt he has worn to see PJ and he always gets big ups and fist bumps from strangers.
A related record label or a geographically relevant to the band record store or bar would be a better choice of attire. One of my old neighbors in Pittsburgh was able to meet Mike McCready because he was wearing an Easy Street Records t-shirt.

Some random thoughts and specific examples:

-The T shirt rule does not apply to opening acts. It’s acceptable to wear the T shirt of the opening act if the opening act is considered obscure. You can wear a Band of Horses Tee if they are opening up for someone much larger, but not a Band of Horses Tee if they are the main act.

-It is completely acceptable to wear a Joe Grushecky shirt to see the Boss, but would be considered a slap in the face if you wore a Boss shirt to go see Grushecky.

-It is also considered acceptable to wear a Donnie Iris shirt at anytime including a Donnie Iris show; bonus points if you pull it off on the Gateway Clipper.

-I think Jay Farrar would get mad at you if you wore a WILCO shirt to see him, but Tweedy would think it’s funny if you wore a Son Volt shirt to see him. He might even rant about it.

After some research, I may have 2 exceptions to concerts where you are supposed to wear the T shirt of the band. Kiss and Iron Maiden see to be the exceptions. Unwritten rule is you are supposed to wear your oldest, most obscure, vintage band shirt to see Kiss or Maiden. Old tour shirts will gain you crowd cred while a shirt you got a Hot Topic last week will have people calling you a fag in no time.

I guess you do wear you Steeler jersey to Heinz Field . . .

Why Indies (and WILCO) Rule!

Tony Margherita, Manager of Wilco & dBpm Records sent this to Wilco's mailing list regarding the release of the band's new album, THE WHOLE LOVE. One of the coolest things about the record, to me, at least, is they they released it themselves on their own label. I love what this world's coming to.

Greetings everyone,

Well, we made it. Wilco's The Whole Love is officially out and available in the U.S., Canada, Europe & U.K., Australia, NZ and beyond. Soon we'll be popping a cork here at HQ because that alone feels like a hell of an accomplishment.

That celebratory feeling brings with it a moment of introspection, because really, what would accomplishment be without it? We were talking this morning and thinking back a few years to the first discussions of starting our own label. It took a while for circumstances to line up in a way that let us pull it off, but today, as we release our first full-length recording on dBpm, I remembered a list of reasons, both pro and con, that I'd written in a notebook when we were debating it. There were a lot of obvious pros and some pretty heavy cons, but the one "pro" that was in big BOLD letters at the top of my list was our confidence in you, the band's fans or the "community," as they call it now. Just like when all that stuff went down way back when (you've probably seen the movie) -- the reason we felt confident that we could persevere, stream YHF, and keep on touring was because we had faith in you. We believed that you'd understand that we needed you to participate when the record finally did come out, and vote with your feet and, yeah, with your dollars. We needed you to buy that record despite the fact that it had been kicking around for a while and to support the band, regardless of what label appeared on the back of the album cover. And of course, you did, in droves.

Things are obviously a lot different now, but it's still because of your support (yeah, we're blaming you) that we felt confident enough to go out and try to prove something yet again (as much to ourselves as to the world outside) -- that we can pull this off on our own terms. In an era where the corporate giant seems to reign supreme pretty much across the board, thanks for enabling us to give this a shot.

So, to summarize: we need you to get out there today, tomorrow or soon and support Wilco, support the new label venture, and support music retail. You can do it all in one fell swoop, here. We promise we'll be pretty much back to normal correspondence -- gig announcements, free streams, etc. very soon.

In the meantime, thanks to all of you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting the band for the 15-plus years you have. Here's to many more.

Cheers & happy Wilco release day.

Sincerely,

Tony Margherita, Manager
Wilco & dBpm Records

Check out Wilco at wilcoworld.net.

THE WHOLE LOVE on CD or VINYL.

WILCO Via Chicago, Austin City Limits, September 15, 2007

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OPEN LETTER EDITOR AT MCSWEENEY’S ONLINE

Dear Open Letter editor at McSweeney’s Online,

Thank you for taking the time to read my recent submission, AN OPEN LETTER TO SOME OF MY FORMER STUDENTS, written on a whim after a less-than-inspiring day in the classroom. No, there were no riots and I didn't have to disarm a rogue gunmen. For me, it was just another day--rapping about theropod evolution and why John Boehner is the devil.

Since I usually don’t have content for my blog, I posted the letter and shared it on Facebook. Some people left inspirational comments even though that really wasn’t my intent--I wasn't fishing for attention or anything. Maybe they were just being nice or looking for something to keep them out of Farmville. And next morning the letter kind of went away like a Shamrock Shake in April.

A few days later I got a tweet with a link to McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND and thought, 'I didn't know such a thing existed,' and ‘Heck, I have an open letter’ and decided to send it in like I would any other submission. Then I patted myself on the back and celebrated with a few PBRs while shopping for artisanal jeans online.

Since submitting that letter--and receiving its subsequent rejection--I’ve taken the time to peruse the open letters that McSweeney’s has published and quickly noticed several differences between those letters and my rejected letter. Now I see, albeit a little too late (and much to my own embarrassment,) why my letter was rejected.

First and foremost, my open letter lacked any references to The Shins, Seven Jeans, fixies or any other culture tag that would let readers know I’m a devout follower of Stuff White People Like without having to show them my ironic Goonies tattoo. I now know that culture tags like these let people see the difference between serious subject matter and an ironic one. Since my open letter was about education, I could’ve referenced Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, or Dangerous Minds, which would’ve let me make a funny Coolio aside.

In my letter I also failed to make any obvious nods to pumpkin spice lattes or Big Macs or any other consumerist icon that hipsters openly hate but secretly purchase. In an H&M dressing room I overheard a rumor that there’s an online list of things that are universally loathed by hipsters that’s updated pretty regularly, but nobody will send me a link. I'll just have to use my best judgement and hope I get a few right. And I'll also bring up Wilco, and how I went to see them in Pittsburgh back in April to establish my cred, and how going to a Wilco show is superior to going to a Dave Matthews Band show, unless it's to mock them in some way. If anybody questions Wilco's legitimacy, I'll just mention Nels Cline effects rack and they'll be like, Yeah, you're right."

If I do ever get the courage to submit again, I plan on writing several tangential observations about drunken Dollar Store purchases and microbrews, and using lots of italics à-la your unofficial style guide. And before I forget--you thought I’d forgotten to interact with the reader, right?

Speaking of non sequiturs, I have to name-drop my boy, Carnegie. He plays dobro in a string band that gigs at the bowling alley up in Brentwood where they have the duckpins on Thursdays.

To be honest, I really just want to get into McSweeney’s so I can call myself a real writer, and this is the easiest way I know how. Maybe you can give me Dave Eggers email address?

Sincerely,

Jason Jack Miller

WILCO, 2009.05.29 Festival Territorios, Sevilla, Spain

This is a little Christmas present for everybody I didn't get anything for. The show is one I listen to a lot because of the good sound quality, and it's a nice sampler of one of my favorite bands.

Wilco has been called an American Radiohead, but I'm not sure that label fits. Radiohead is Oxford, Wilco is community college. And I think Wilco doesn't take themselves so seriously. They started back in the 90s as an alt-country band--another label that doesn't apply to the band in 2010. At best, Jeff Tweedy's a songwriter who isn't afraid to put a little too much of himself out there, Neil Young for those of us who graduated high school to the sounds of NEVERMIND and BADMOTORFINGER. His lyrics are full of clever cynicism and muffled optimism--things aren't great but at least I'm not dead. He's the kind of guy who'll yell at people in the audience for talking during a song--which I think is awesome.

The band takes liberties with our conceptions of what a rock band should be. Even though we don't hear a lot of it in this show (probably because it's a short set to a foreign audience) the band let a song build layer by layer. Acoustic, rock, alt-country, electronica, traditional... Guitarist Nels Cline isn't afraid to let a squeal of electronic jibberish wail over a delicately strumming acoustic guitar. (see: I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART) Somehow it fits.

Wilco, to me, is a lot like Gorgonzola. I couldn't conceive of liking it ten years ago. Now I can't get enough of it.

Only criticism of this show--the DJs are annoying as poop on your shoe.

Check them out at http://www.wilcoworld.net/

DOWNLOAD

WILCO

www.wilcoweb.com

Live 2009.05.29
Festival Territorios
Sevilla, Spain

RNE3 FM Broadcast


___________
LINEAGE

Analog FM >> [PC >>] Goldwave (WAV) >> dBpowerAMP (FLAC - lowest compression, level 0) >> DIME

As usual with RNE3, this broadcast includes annoying comments from DJs that don't stop even when Jeff has started singing (i.e. "Walken") - I've kept those comments as separate tracks.
The sound is better than the Black Crowes' show I uploaded a couple of weeks ago. Sample included (see comments)


___________
SETLIST

Wilco (The Song)
Handshake Drugs
One Wing
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
You Are My Face
Bull Black Nova
Jesus, etc
Impossible Germany
You Never Know
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
T.R.T.: 1h. 22' 28" (WinAMP)
31 Tracks - 15 songs

Tracks 01, 03, 05...= DJ comments

1. Wilco - TS01 (0:04)
2. Wilco - TS02 - Wilco (The Song) (2:58)
3. Wilco - TS03 (0:26)
4. Wilco - TS04 - Handshake Drugs (5:35)
5. Wilco - TS05 (0:45)
6. Wilco - TS06 - One Wing (3:28)
7. Wilco - TS07 (0:31)
8. Wilco - TS08 - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (5:51)
9. Wilco - TS09 (0:22)
10. Wilco - TS10 - A Shot in the Arm (4:19)
11. Wilco - TS11 (0:31)
12. Wilco - TS12 - At Least That's What You Said (4:57)
13. Wilco - TS13 (0:46)
14. Wilco - TS14 - You Are My Face (4:11)
15. Wilco - TS15 (0:28)
16. Wilco - TS16 - Bull Black Nova (5:40)
17. Wilco - TS17 (0:35)
18. Wilco - TS18 - Jesus, etc (3:50)
19. Wilco - TS19 (0:28)
20. Wilco - TS20 - Impossible Germany (5:53)
21. Wilco - TS21 (0:32)
22. Wilco - TS22 - You Never Know (4:03)
23. Wilco - TS23 (0:39)
24. Wilco - TS24 - Hate It Here (4:18)
25. Wilco - TS25 (0:41)
26. Wilco - TS26 - Walken (4:20)
27. Wilco - TS27 (0:42)
28. Wilco - TS28 - I'm the Man Who Loves You (3:49)
29. Wilco - TS29 (0:26)
30. Wilco - TS30 - Spiders (Kidsmoke) (10:54)
31. Wilco - TS31 (0:26)


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¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

SLOW UPLOAD ~28kBs


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Please:
NEVER SELL
DON'T DISTRIBUTE THIS AS MP3 or ~
TRADE FREELY - Anyone can upload this on a different tracker, you don't need to ask me for permission, but I'd appreciate it if you let me know.

Enjoy!


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