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Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Other Good Stuff


Seasick Sailor

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From the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/a-close-listen-to-rich-men-north-of-richmond

Anthony may very well be an industry plant sent to our social-media feeds to promote a nativist vision of this country, but, if a collection of right-wing Twitter accounts could boost any song to the top of the charts, Jack Posobiec would be the most powerful record executive in the country. There’s something else going on here that can’t be explained through some silly game in which you match the desires of a population with the words that appear in a song and then declare that a people—in this case the white working class—has found their anthem. Anthony might not be some “authentic” sensation, but that doesn’t mean he’s talentless. More than anything, he reminds me of the type of country singer who sings old songs to great acclaim on “American Idol,” but who may ultimately struggle when it comes time to cut a modern album. For the viewer, the delight comes in seeing someone make it but also in the reassurance that there are talented people all over this country who sing in anonymity and who do not bend themselves to fit every musical trend.

Much like “Idol” contestants, such as Bo Bice or Scotty McCreery, Anthony can really sing. His voice isn’t quite as smooth and virtuosic as the country star Chris Stapleton’s, but it carries a similar depth of tone and his screamy rasp never feels like the affectation of an amateur who is trying too hard, but rather does what it’s supposed to do: communicate emotion. What words are put to that voice are far less important than the nostalgia the music evokes, and, in Anthony’s case, the image of the authentic singer-songwriter.

“Authentic” is a loaded word in music, especially when it comes to country and the blues. It’s one of those things that you supposedly just know when you hear, but there’s a lot of image-making that goes into all that honesty. We commonly see it as a lone man with his guitar, preferably a strange one, standing in a field surrounded by the comforts of rural life. This vision is not only restricted to country. Les Blank’s short documentary, “The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins,” frames its titular subject in junk yards, on front porches, and in humble living rooms. When Blank’s camera is at its best, all this scenery gets blurred down into a pleasant, saturated bokeh. The video of Anthony performing “Rich Men North of Richmond” trades in these same motifs. We see Anthony standing at a microphone with a resonator guitar. There are three dogs of ambiguous breeds lying in the grass at his feet and, in the background, softly out of focus, we see the greenery of the rural South.

I should say here that I am not immune to these charms. When I first heard Townes Van Zandt, I felt that some truth had been revealed about how life can break and drag, but in a glamorous way. Lyrics like, “Well I used to wake and run with the moon / I lived like a rake and a young man” seemed to gesture toward some truth that sat deeper than most. The documentary “Heartworn Highways” captured Van Zandt in a kitchen with a beautiful woman and an old Black man in a cowboy hat who is reduced to tears when Van Zandt plays “Waitin’ Around to Die.” The markers of authenticity—the wood-panelled kitchen, the woman who alternates between cleaning dishes and smoking a cigarette, the grizzled Black man who, himself, also stands in for authenticity—could be pulled apart and declared problematic by any freshman in a critical-studies class. But they also work.

There are certainly better versions of the revanchist ethos found in “Rich Men North of Richmond,” but Anthony is neither the worst nor the most reactionary artist to sing about the plight of the common man. The pundits who may be trying to turn country music into gangster rap by fixating on a few, and in Anthony’s case, occasionally silly lyrics are vastly underestimating just how many country songs are about old-time feelings while also overestimating just how long a viral trend can last. In a year or two, Oliver Anthony may very well be playing to decent crowds and trying his best to distance himself from “Rich Men North of Richmond” so that he can play the types of folksy, “authentic” country songs that he seems to actually enjoy. I imagine this, ultimately, is what he might actually want. ♦

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1 hour ago, animaltobacco11 said:

 

.The documentary “Heartworn Highways” captured Van Zandt in a kitchen with a beautiful woman and an old Black man in a cowboy hat who is reduced to tears when Van Zandt plays “Waitin’ Around to Die.” The markers of authenticity—the wood-panelled kitchen, the woman who alternates between cleaning dishes and smoking a cigarette, the grizzled Black man who, himself, also stands in for authenticity—could be pulled apart and declared problematic by any freshman in a critical-studies class. But they also work.

 

Umm what?

that's also just called “the 70s in Austin”.

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Caught McMurtry in Archer City last weekend with his full band.  Fantastic show.  Played a great new song in his encore with Betty Soo.  The song started off talking about Pinocchio and Geppetto but as all McMurtry songs so, it quickly morphs.  

I had never been to a show at the sight of the old Royal Theater.  They have done a really good job of setting up the room next to the bombed out shell of old theater.  Song and lighting were fantastic.  

 

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On 8/27/2023 at 10:53 AM, BigOrange1 said:

surprised there hasn't been any mention of the new zach bryan album.  i am greatly enjoying it this weekend.  early on, i think this one is the stand out:

 

Spent a lot of my weekend listening to it and the new Turnpike. I’m a fan of Jake’s Piano, El Dorado, I Remember Everything, Tradesman, and Oklahoma Son. 

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surprised there hasn't been any mention of the new zach bryan album.  i am greatly enjoying it this weekend.  early on, i think this one is the stand out:
 
I like all the duets. Started listening to a few The War and Treaty songs after hearing them on Hey Driver.

Agree East Side of Sorrow is really good.

I really like Tourniquet

"If you need a tourniquet, or if you wanna turn and quit know I will be by your side"


That fucking bird on Smaller Acts man wtf lol


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11 hours ago, bluto said:

I’ll be damned Isbell (with a hand from ZB) is big enough for stadium shows. Wild

I mean, it still blows my mind that Turnpike Troubadours sell out arenas and headline festivals.

The first few times I saw them were at Mercury Lounge. I remember being all excited when they got big enough to play Cain's. 

Now they sell out shows at Red Rocks and shit. Unbelievable. 

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I've seen TT once.  They were playing outside at one of those restaurants on South 1st in Austin that has a big open area with a playground, picnic tables, etc.  I thought they were OK, they seemed a little contrived, and it seems they shifted to a more original, less affected style over the years.

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39 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've seen TT once.  They were playing outside at one of those restaurants on South 1st in Austin that has a big open area with a playground, picnic tables, etc.  I thought they were OK, they seemed a little contrived, and it seems they shifted to a more original, less affected style over the years.

Their actual first album "Bossier City" which is no longer in print, had a much more standard "Red Dirt" sound that came off more like some of those hokier acts that spend their entire career playing in Texas (Casey Donahew comes to mind, and I legit like a few of his songs).  They played up the accents to sound more Southern and shit like that, and used more standard tropes in their songwriting.

They found their own voice pretty quickly after that.  There's a reason that they've absolutely exploded, and their front man is regarded as one of the best modern songwriters.

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5 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

for someone who has mostly ignored the troubadours, where would you recommend starting?

I would start with the self-titled album.  Then Goodbye Normal Street or Diamonds and Gasoline.  There are some great songs on all of the albums, so hard to go wrong. 

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53 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

for someone who has mostly ignored the troubadours, where would you recommend starting?

IMO they have some great songs but none of their albums are great. If I was giving someone a starter kit it would be a few from each album. My faves:

Every Girl, 7&7, Whole Damn Town, Gin Smoke Lies, Before the Devil Knows We’re Dead, House Fire, Tornado Warning, The Hard Way, Pay No Rent, Down Here, Mean Old Sun

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1 hour ago, Celery Man said:

for someone who has mostly ignored the troubadours, where would you recommend starting?

I think "A Long Ways From Your Heart" is their best album.  All of their 5 proper albums are A- to A levels for me, personally.  There are probably less than 5 songs in their whole catalog I skip, and I can't say that about anyone.  They've maintained a remarkably consistent and high quality output.

Prior to the current album, I made the following 12 song playlist for a friend that had never really "got" Turnpike:

Winding Star Mountain Blues

Good Lord Lorrie

Tornado Warning

Ringing In the Year

Long Drive Home

Morgan Street

The Funeral

Whole Damn Town

Pay No Rent

Diamonds & Gasoline

The Bird Hunters

The Housefire

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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On 8/27/2023 at 10:21 PM, UTexasFight said:

Go on…..

 

 

 

seeing her reminds me I should have been a musician 

Saw them Thursday night, she may as well have just come out naked because there wasn’t much left to the imagination. They did a couple of songs together including Landslide which was pretty good, but the visual of them side by side is the most entertaining part.

Signing up for the Foxborough presale, daughter wants to see Zach Bryan and I’m always up for Isbell.

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Forgive me if this has been posted, I don't keep up with this thread but sporadically.  I love Elle King's cover of Tyler Childer's "Jersey Giant".  Her voice is perfect for the song.  She's a really interesting artist, totally genre-bending, almost moreso that gals like Miley or Kacey.

 

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1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Forgive me if this has been posted, I don't keep up with this thread but sporadically.  I love Elle King's cover of Tyler Childer's "Jersey Giant".  Her voice is perfect for the song.  She's a really interesting artist, totally genre-bending, almost moreso that gals like Miley or Kacey.

 

When that came out last fall, I listened to it for nearly a week straight.

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7 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

When that came out last fall, I listened to it for nearly a week straight.

It's totally captivating.  She was mostly raised in southern Ohio, so it's not like she's faking the country music thing, but it shocked me when I first heard it.  I mostly knew her for "Ex's and Oh's".

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