Guest Memoirs of an Invisible Chevy Posted April 7, 2003 Report Posted April 7, 2003 I am but I'm not. I've always been a huge fan of Evan Dando's...then I started listening to Gram Parsons, now I have moved onto Ryan Adams, Wilco, and others? What else out there is any good? Anyone a fan?
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Posted April 7, 2003 Report Posted April 7, 2003 Well, Wilco is godly. Ryan Adams...doesn't do it for me. Not his more recent stuff, at least, and I've not given myself a chance to get into his back catalogue. I look forward to the Uncle Tupelo reissues, though. It wouldn't hurt to pick up a copy of No Depression.
Guest goodhelmet Posted April 7, 2003 Report Posted April 7, 2003 i've never really considered the artists you have mentioned as any kind of country. when i think of alt. country, i think of steve earle and the like.
Guest Memoirs of an Invisible Chevy Posted April 7, 2003 Report Posted April 7, 2003 sounds alternatively lame That must be some of that Britney Spears humor coming out.
Guest Vitamin X Posted April 8, 2003 Report Posted April 8, 2003 sounds alternatively lame That must be some of that Britney Spears humor coming out. DUD. OMG THERE'S MY SCOTT KEITH HUMOR~! funny guy.
Guest Kinetic Posted April 8, 2003 Report Posted April 8, 2003 My official take on alt. country at this point is that it's a good idea in theory but ends up being dull in practice, more often than not. I base this solely on what little Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo, and Son Volt I've heard. Wilco had some good country-type songs early on--"Far, Far Away" and "Forget the Flowers" spring to mind, along with a lot of other stuff on Being There--but their best stuff has decidedly come post-alt.country. To whatever extent you're willing to consider Neko Case alt. country, I'm down with her. Other than that...
Guest Downhome Posted April 8, 2003 Report Posted April 8, 2003 Chris Knight, Charlie Robison, and Kasey Chambers are simply outstanding. There are many more I love, but that's all I'll name for now.
Guest Vitamin X Posted April 8, 2003 Report Posted April 8, 2003 What differentiates "alternative" country from regular country?
Guest Downhome Posted April 8, 2003 Report Posted April 8, 2003 What differentiates "alternative" country from regular country? The unofficial definition is... Umbrella term for a wide array of performers form the late 1960s to the present who, generally working outside the Nashville country mainstream, have reinterpreted and enhanced traditional country music styles and themes by incorporating a variety of modern musical and non musical influences. ...but many define it as something more. I like to think of Alt. County being something that isn't quite Country yet is not quite Rock. Something like Kid Rock/Sheryl Crow/Alison Moorer's (another huge Alt. Country star) song Picture can be, and is, considered Alt. Country. For anyone who has listened to all of the different types of music, they can easily pick out what can and can not be considered Alt. Country.
Guest iamsherm Posted April 9, 2003 Report Posted April 9, 2003 If Ben Kweller is considered Alt. Country, then count me in.
Guest Vyce Posted April 9, 2003 Report Posted April 9, 2003 I like Alison Moore. Alison's actually much better, IMO, than her sister Shelby Lynne. And I'm a big fan of Pete Yorn....but does he count as alt.country?
Guest Memoirs of an Invisible Chevy Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 If Ben Kweller is considered Alt. Country, then count me in. Ehhh, I dunno about that.
Guest iamsherm Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 If Ben Kweller is considered Alt. Country, then count me in. Ehhh, I dunno about that. I don't know if you're expressing your distaste for BK or saying he's not alternative country. I'll assume the latter and say "Family Tree" has a little twang to it and Kweller is from Texas. Not much of a defense, I know. I guess ultimately I don't consider him a part of that genre, but I saw it as a perfect opportunity to express my love for Ben.
Guest razazteca Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 What about Rev Horton Heat and Brian Setzer? Any fans of Rock-A-Billy? Would they be considered Alt Country?
Guest Incandenza Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 And I'm a big fan of Pete Yorn....but does he count as alt.country? Ehhh, I dunno about that.
Guest Incandenza Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 What about Rev Horton Heat and Brian Setzer? Any fans of Rock-A-Billy? Would they be considered Alt Country? Rock-a-billy is its own style; it has more in common with swing than country.
Guest Downhome Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 I like Alison Moore. Alison's actually much better, IMO, than her sister Shelby Lynne. Oh God, I think Alison is a LOT better than her sister, Shelby Lynne. Don't get me wrong, I love Shelby, but just not near as much.
Guest goodhelmet Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 What about Rev Horton Heat and Brian Setzer? Any fans of Rock-A-Billy? Would they be considered Alt Country? Rock-a-billy is its own style; it has more in common with swing than country. it is also more inspired by the surfing sounds of the pipelines and the chantays (at least in heat's case) with a punk attitude.
Guest Vitamin X Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 So then would Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers count?
Guest Downhome Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 So then would Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers count? I've always considered much of their stuff a sort of Alt. Country, but that's just me. Hell, it sounds like like a lot of other Alt. Country style wise, so I say yes.
Guest Incandenza Posted April 10, 2003 Report Posted April 10, 2003 Just go to a bookstore with a well-stocked magazine section and pick up a copy of No Depression. It's the authority on this genre, which, as this thread illustrates, can be somewhat confusing. Uncle Tupelo was mentioned. I think Anodyne--their final album--was overrated, but the 89/93 Anthology disc has A LOT of great stuff on it. They need to hurry up with those reissues.
Guest Anorak Posted April 11, 2003 Report Posted April 11, 2003 I love Anodyne but I reckon March 16-20 1992 is the best Uncle Tupelo album. It mixes a bunch of covers with original UT songs and it fits together seamlessly. Its a very stripped down acoustic based album which isn't easy to get into quickly if you haven't listened to much similar stuff. Personally I think there's countless great alt country albums out there and its selling the admittedly vague label way too short to say there's only 2-3 bands worth checking out. I'd recommend the following albums as a good overview of what kind of different stuff gets the labelled 'alt country'. The Jayhawks: Tomorrow The Green Grass Son Volt: Trace Wilco: Being There The Handsome Family: In The Air The Guthries: Off Windmill Gillian Welch: Hell Amongst The Yearlings Jim White: No Such Place Scud Mountain Boys: Massachusetts Red Star Belgrade: Telescope Golden Smog: Weird Tales Beachwood Sparks: When We Where Trees M Ward: End Of Amnesia Steve Earle: Guitar Town Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road Whiskeytown: Strangers Almanac Calexico: Feast Of Wire Alejandro Escovedo: Gravity Hazeldine: How Bees Fly Bonnie Prince Billy: I See A Darkness Lambchop: Nixon Noah John: Tadpoles This is just a rough guide to some modern examples from stuff I like. Older stuff which is credited with influencing what's known as 'alt country' is artists like The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Dylan, Neil Young and Johnny Cash. There's a lot of lesser known older artists as well.
Guest converge241 Posted April 12, 2003 Report Posted April 12, 2003 If you like Wilco you MUST see their summer tour with Sonic Youth they are planning on jamming together in between sets or at the end of the night I'm not into Wilco but figured I'd pass it along to those who are
Guest Krotchenjudge Posted April 12, 2003 Report Posted April 12, 2003 The Jayhawks: Tomorrow The Green Grass Blue is the greatest non-Kylie Minogue song ever. Toe Cheez Krotchenjudge
Guest saturnmark4life Posted April 15, 2003 Report Posted April 15, 2003 If it includes Tom Waits, Frank Black, supersuckers and Rev. Horton Heat, (it might not but that's the closest I come to it) then yes, yes indeed.
Guest Incandenza Posted April 16, 2003 Report Posted April 16, 2003 Waits? No. Anyway, I managed to snag free copies of the Uncle Tupelo reissues of No Depression and March 16-20, 1992 (I love working at a radio station). I have yet to listen to the latter, but HOL-EEE christ is No Depression good. While this album has country-twinges, it fucking ROCKS more than anything else. Anyone the slightest bit curious should download "Graveyard Shift" to hear what I mean.
Guest saturnmark4life Posted April 16, 2003 Report Posted April 16, 2003 Yeah, I thought Waits would just be too varied to slot into it. But yeah, I dig the others.
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