1) That capitalisation thing has been a Personal Stylistic Tic of mine for many a long year now. The awful thing is: I have a habit of doing the same thing in speech, when I’m trying to be vaguely ironic. It makes for rather Disjointed Diction…
2) Roots of alt.country? I’d point first to Gram Parsons, who first took things in a whole new direction. Then to Neil Young, a constant influence. Then to the mid-80s wave of US bands like the Long Ryders, Jason & The Scorchers, and even early REM to some extent. Next, to the “New Country” brigade: Roseanne Cash, early k.d.lang, early Nanci Griffith. Then to folks like Jeff Tweedy of Wilco (Wilco are seen as the godfathers of “alt.country” to many), and definitely to the Jayhawks as well (their 1997 “Sound Of Lies” album is an early classic of the genre).
In this country, Uncut magazine’s occasional cover-mounted “Sounds Of The New West” CDs have been seen as landmarks in the popularisation of the genre – and Uncut magazine remains its unofficial house magazine. The king of alt.country these days is probably Ryan Adams, though more for “Heartbreaker” and his stuff with Whiskeytown than for “Gold”. NB – if you only own one alt.country album, then it has to be Ryan Adams’ “Heartbreaker”, no contest.
Mike – I’ve used the capitalisation thing occasionally for a long while, but I noticed my usage increasing recently. So it’s official: it’s All Your Fault.
Great summary of alt.country, thanks. I did some more reading last night and realised just how little I knew about it, but with my vast, gaping lack of knowledge it seemed pointless to go back and edit my post. Chris has now recommended Wilco to me twice, so they’re already on the “must check” list. Your further recommendation is helpful.
I saw Ryan Adams on TOTP a few months ago and he did nothing for me but I really love his voice on Beth Orton’s new one, so that hint is helpful to.
Oh God. This is gonna be like when I finally “got” R&B last year and went out and spent a fortune on CDs, isn’t it?
A parade?
A collaboration? (?)
A troupe?
1) That capitalisation thing has been a Personal Stylistic Tic of mine for many a long year now. The awful thing is: I have a habit of doing the same thing in speech, when I’m trying to be vaguely ironic. It makes for rather Disjointed Diction…
2) Roots of alt.country? I’d point first to Gram Parsons, who first took things in a whole new direction. Then to Neil Young, a constant influence. Then to the mid-80s wave of US bands like the Long Ryders, Jason & The Scorchers, and even early REM to some extent. Next, to the “New Country” brigade: Roseanne Cash, early k.d.lang, early Nanci Griffith. Then to folks like Jeff Tweedy of Wilco (Wilco are seen as the godfathers of “alt.country” to many), and definitely to the Jayhawks as well (their 1997 “Sound Of Lies” album is an early classic of the genre).
In this country, Uncut magazine’s occasional cover-mounted “Sounds Of The New West” CDs have been seen as landmarks in the popularisation of the genre – and Uncut magazine remains its unofficial house magazine. The king of alt.country these days is probably Ryan Adams, though more for “Heartbreaker” and his stuff with Whiskeytown than for “Gold”. NB – if you only own one alt.country album, then it has to be Ryan Adams’ “Heartbreaker”, no contest.
Mike – I’ve used the capitalisation thing occasionally for a long while, but I noticed my usage increasing recently. So it’s official: it’s All Your Fault.
Great summary of alt.country, thanks. I did some more reading last night and realised just how little I knew about it, but with my vast, gaping lack of knowledge it seemed pointless to go back and edit my post.
Chris has now recommended Wilco to me twice, so they’re already on the “must check” list. Your further recommendation is helpful.
I saw Ryan Adams on TOTP a few months ago and he did nothing for me but I really love his voice on Beth Orton’s new one, so that hint is helpful to.
Oh God. This is gonna be like when I finally “got” R&B last year and went out and spent a fortune on CDs, isn’t it?
McLaren and Wilson had one thing in common; they were both exceptional people but ultimately twats! Sorry for using such language but well…it’s true