Friday, March 28, 2008

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy...

The following is the opinion of the author only. It should not interpreted as a view represented in any way by The Wilders or it's members (except for me that is...)

I got an email a couple of weeks ago from the advertising department of No Depression Magazine. Seems that the flagship publication of the alternative country genre (as they said, "whatever that means"), is ceasing publication next month due to declining ad revenue. This can only mean one thing- alternative country is officially dead. And there's a part of me that says, "good riddance".

I mean, who came up with the bright idea that we NEEDED an alternative to country anyway? Wasn't COUNTRY good enough on it's own?
Well, I guess it wasn't.

As early as 1985, just as the first baby boomers moved into their forties, the sound of commercial country music started to take on a strange dissonance- it began sounding more like rock and roll. Twangy telecasters gave way to distorted Les Pauls. Outlandish sequin-studded suits and stacks of huge hairspray-solidified hair, gave way to scrubby tight-fitting stone-washed jeans, six-pack abs and the ubiquitous oversize black cowboy hat and omnipresent goatee. As the years progressed, the quaintly-old, brightly-lit stages featuring backdrops of rural simplicity, gave way to full-on rock and roll stage shows. Towers of Marshall stacks lit by dizzying laser lights and exploding smoke bombs painted a new backdrop of excess and self-indulgence. And, at the forefront, there was good old Garth Brooks swinging on a rope above the crowd with a shit-eating grin on his face and a wad of $1000 bills in his back pocket. By 1994, things had worsened to the point that the Country Music Association's Best Album of the year was "Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles". sigh...

At the time that No Depression began publishing in September of 1995, the country music industry had pretty much wrung all of the GOOD out of good old country music.

I guess it isn't that surprising that a magazine proclaiming an alternative to this, so called "new country", would find a willing audience. This alternative to country music was spearheaded by a young and resourceful contingency of disenfranchised punk rockers- kids who grew up with commercial rock forced down their throats, who were looking for something with more substance to hang their trucker hats on. Already sick to death of mainstream rock, this wayward generation looked backward for new musical inspiration. They found it in the true sounds of 1960's country icons like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. They found it in the "don't take no shit" attitudes of the 70's outlaws like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., and Waylon Jennings. And they especially found it in" God's singer of songs", Graham Parsons, who 20 years before, had stuck his dirty hippie thumb directly into the eye of the overproduced ultra-conservative Nashville establishment of the late 60's. These artists were embraced, celebrated and imitated by hundreds of new bands- formed in garages and dorm rooms across the nation. Combat boots and flannel shirts were readily traded in for cowboy boots and fine western snap shirts; solid-body multi-pointed rock and roll guitars were swapped for simple acoustics and banjos. And new songs about drinking and fighting, fighting and loving, and loving and losing, were added to the existing mountains of old country standards- just ripe for the picking.

It was a good run. But 23 years later, alternative country is dead. No Depression is shutting it's doors for good. And WHY IS THAT A GOOD THING?

Because for 23+ years, the corporate interests in Nashville have essentially been given a free pass to promote whatever bullshit makes money the easiest. In this model, substance is the last thing in anyone's mind. Just check out CMT sometime.

I think its time for a return to a country music that actually acknowledges there is sadness and heartbreak in the world- not just sexy trucks and bloated myspace profiles.

The "alternative country" movement was a shining example that this music is still very much alive. Now that "alternative country" is dead, can we please have our country music back?

32 comments:

  1. Wow, Phil, that post blew me away... Lots of thoughts to digest...

    Funny you chose that headline, because the new CD, "Somebody's Got To Pay," reminded me a lot of The Beatles, with its diversity and story-telling quality. I thought the snippets were wonderful, and can't wait to hear the whole thing!

    For those of you who haven't yet, please check it out. You've never heard The Wilders like this! From Ike's soulful piano to electric guitar and drums... it really shows off your/their uniqueness and talents.

    I'm interested in other fans' takes on it.

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  2. (That's "Someone's," in case you're looking for it under "Somebody's." Sorry.)

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  3. Phil, another excellent article and again you hit the nail on the head. Your final question, is alt country dead is intriging. I certanly hope so. I was flipping thru the channels this morning looking for Star Trek, Green Acres, anything, and caught 30 seconds of CMT. What a pile of hammered dog poop. You know, you pick up a fresh dog turd with your dad's shovel, flip it on the sidewalk and gently hammer it into another CMT song. Your dad didn't necessarily like the stinking results either. You'd be better off getting your Dad's sledge hammer and giving it a good smack.

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  4. I don't know that I have anything profound to add. My thoughts on the topic tend toward one-liners or two hours and a pint of whiskey conversations, not much in the middle. To some degree, the death of No Depression could be due to the general decline of dead trees as a medium of communication. There may be about as much alt. country as ever, but all the conversation is on line.
    As to where the music is going, who knows. There will always be performers and audiences, and there will always be folks in between trying to get the two together and make a buck in the process. Nothing wrong with any of it.
    I am certainly not going to tell anybody that their music sucks and they should stop. I may tell them it sucks then run someplace where I can't hear it as fast as possible.
    I still like Woody Guthrie's advice on how to tell if your music is any good. He said put your butt up against a wall somewhere and start playing. If anybody stops and listens, you are good.

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  5. Yes, but will anyone actually PAY to hear you singing with your butt up against a wall?!? You could end up with a very skinny butt this way.

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  6. and empty pockets.

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  7. Real country music lives on every Labor Day weekend at Bob Everhart's National Traditional Country Music Association festival in Iowa.

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  8. Hey ya'll, you can get on the Wilders website and order the new CD.

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  9. I saw a group of young country players get kicked off a stage for playing the exact type of instrumentation Hank Williams used. They finished with Mind Your Own Business and they left it to the 'real country musicians', never to return.

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  10. That is, kicked off the stage at the National Traditional Country Music Festival run by Mr. Everhart.

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  11. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT...(ANONYMOUS)???

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  12. Let's keep it friendly, folks...

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  13. Hey brophil, this is Wilders country we're all friendly. Love the new CD, glad you still have the siren sound effects in the "Jury"!

    Take care and best wishes to ya, now how many get to go to the Crosstown Station show Thursday nigh? LV?

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  14. Check out the FYI section of the K.C.Star today. The Wilder's are featured in the header section on page F3. They will be in the Star Preview magazine Thursday.

    We are going to Olathe on the 12TH.

    We love the new CD. It has a lot of diversity, is very professional, something for everyone..excellent.

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  15. Hey Ya'll, Melissa here, (that's Nate's better half or GiGi's Mommy to most of you.)
    Anyway,consider yourselves invited to hear Nate and Ike play our Honky Tonk Party at my store, NINE LIVES, Reincarnated Style in downtown Parkville on Friday, April 11th from 6:00-9:00pm. Nate and I are really proud of our funky little shoppe and historic building. Stop by for a beer and a bargain. We would love to have ya! call us for directions 587-2220

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  16. Hey Melissa, why don't you just post the directions as well as hours you are open? I can't make it Friday, but will get there eventually. Also, I'm gonna' make the Thursday and Saturday shows and will continue my quest to prove that dancing can be for the lame and halt. Come one, come all. (Actually, if all come, one can't very well stay home, so apologies for the redundency.

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  17. The Wilder's made the K.C.Star big time today with a big header on page one of the FYI section, and a two page story in the Preview!! Check it out...very impressive!!

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  18. Hey, anyone want to read it on line..Here's the link, Or put in google search

    The Kansas City Star, FYI, The Wilders

    http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/music/story/568152.html

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  19. Great article--thanks!

    Congratulations on your new shoppe, Melissa and Nate! Wish we could be there for the Honky Tonk Party, but we will get up to see you sometime in the future.

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  20. Hi. 11:15 P.M. The Wilders new sound didn't chase me away. Wow. I bought the CD and listened to it on the way home. I'm trying to find the words. Tonights show was killer. OK, I admit that I haven't been to one that wasn't. Too much fun, wild appreciative crowd, all that. But what really fires me up is this CD. It is personal. It is all laid on the line and it is killer. Hey, we all thought they were great musicians who could kick out the best of the old timey and honky tonks and fiddle tunes, but wait, they can write with the best of them. I would occassionaly break the velcro bond between ass and chair, venture out to a Wilders show, get blown away by a great song and I would ask which hall of famer wrote that one. Was it Tom T Hall, Buck Owens, The Skillet Lickers? No it was the best band on the planet. Oh well, 3 beers and I get stupid. See ya.

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  21. Addendum # 1

    Mr Tick put on a hell of show dancing the night away. The Wilders played one of my all time favorites - "Streamlined Cannonball". Love it. Been a couple of years. It was a great show. Again. As Expected. Who is going to be at the Olathe show on Saturday?

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  22. We are going to Olathe tonight...looking forward to seeing the Wilder's and need to take advantage of it when they are in the area.

    Great review LVJ sounded like a really good show.

    We went to Melissa & Nates's store last evening. It is very unique and filled with lots of interesting items. We enjoyed Nate and Ike's duets.

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  23. I just got back from tonights show. It was pretty crazy. Excellent sound. An excellent selection of songs. Dale, the Old ancient flatfooter. Girls flock to flatfooters. Must be the boots. We got to hear V8 Blues, Shine Shower Shave, Country Boy, Going to Memphis, Honky Tonk Habit, 4th man in the fire, several fiddle tunes including Ragtime Annie, one of my favorites. And they played some of the new stuff including Hey Little Darling, My Final Plea. It is mind boggling that the Wilders know more songs than there are people in China. It was extreme fun. A lady sitting next to me asked me if it was my first show, I said yea. Later when Betse granted my request for Ragtime Annie and well this is embarassing, she pointed out to all those people that I requested this song. So the Lady next to me says theys seem to know you how many times have you seen them? Enough times to know that when they play, you go. I'd venture at least 50. I wonder if Dale will elaborate on the dancing, more specifically the flatfooting lap dancing. Where is them german girls?

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  24. My informal review of Ike and the Wilder's work in Someone's Got to Pay:

    It's smart with artist message; an album (CD) that is an entire composition from first song to last that speaks to a story–lived experience– and the perceptions of that lived story. All the band members write powerful music in this album, revealing much about themselves as individuals. Love songs take a creepy turn when juxtaposed with the premiss of a murder trial setting. You truly get to hear the content of an old country murder ballad, but in a contemporary indie music style. Why do I think it is powerful? The music is centered in ideas. Be sure to read the liner notes of the album (CD) for even greater impact from the music. Love makes us crazy.

    What the real critics say:

    Kansas City Star: (KC Metro area's main daily newspaper):
    http://www.kansascity.com/
    entertainment/music/story/568152.html

    The Pitch (KC Metro area's main alternative weekly (a la DC City Paper):
    http://www.pitch.com/2008-04-10/
    music/the-wilders-take-the-floor-
    with-a-murderous-new-sound-and-album

    Present Magazine (KC Metro area's main online magazine)
    http://www.presentmagazine.com/full_
    content.php?article_id=1155&full=yes
    &pbr=1

    Music Blog:
    http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/
    03/27/211827.php
    (I love this review because I always thought The Wilders were about a unique driving sound with a punk sensibility and finally this critic says it!... as well as compares The Wilders sound to early KD Lang!!!– what a huge recognition given her early years artsy approach...what happen to that punk in the music...)

    Sweetpea

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  25. Hey, Phil. I just read your Happy 2008 posting. Sorry, that I am not on the blog much anymore because the white type on black is almost impossible for me to read given a visual impairment that I have....anyways I want to agree with your last paragraph– Why does this album stand out from all the others?

    It does so because it is a collection of works that speak to each other- a body of work- a conceptual piece. To sum it up as a visual artist, the difference in this album compare to your other albums as well as MOST MUSIC ALBUMS THAT ARE OUT THERE is the difference between a work of visual art sitting on its own (like you would find in a group exhibition/show) and an artist's solo exhibiton where all the indiviudal works speak to a greater message. The juxtapositions make you wonder more about the album's big idea/concept. The individual pieces speak to each other and for each other creating a larger voice.

    Note: Hope this makes sense. The term "big idea" comes from the field of education...meaning that the learning task at hand is only a part of working toward a larger umbrella-like understanding... in other words, there's a conceptual framework that guides the participant to more indepth wondering, experience, and meaning making.

    What I am saying is that The Wilders give a similar conceptual framework to let the listners go further than they ever could before where they can wrestle with issues of life....if they choose to go that deep.

    I'm really proud of your artistry (creativity) with this one, Wilders.

    Sweetpea

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  26. Great to hear from you, Sweetpea! Loved your review of "Someone's Got to Pay"!

    I can't wait to listen to the whole thing in its entirety--I ordered it a week ago or so, so it should be arriving any time.

    Wish we could get to some live shows. Will The Wilders be at the Rock House again this year?

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  27. Norm and I also enjoyed the show last night. I can't elaborate more than what LVJ said..other than to say the Wilder's just keep getting better.
    I had never heard them play "Going to Memphis" or "Ring of Fire" totally blew me away especially "Going to Memphis."
    Nate's family was there, and he dedicated a song to his Grandma. Beautiful GG joined her Dad on the stage a few times. She was also dancing and singing and had the words to some of the songs down pat.
    What can I say about Tickmeister's skill of flatfoot dancing...he also just keeps getting better.
    It was fun sitting by LVJ...man can that man whistle!!

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  28. By the way, LVJ, tickmeister's "flatfooting lap dancing" sounds really painful.

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  29. Yea, we figured there would be some bruised shins. Dale asked me to go around and ask the crowd for $20.00 for a flatfotting lap dance. My cut would be 20% for being the asker. I didn't think it was a good idea without some kind of shin bruising insurance or hockey goal keeper shin gaurds. We will give this some more thought and try it at Tickfest. I am also assuming that Dale would only try this with the females in the crowd. Sweat Pea, you have hit the nail on the head, and like I said, this CD is personal. Can't wait for the next. Betty, thanks for letting me whistle, I'm not allowed to whistle around Connie. I also got a kick out of Setting the Woods on Fire, they know so many songs, it's like a box of choclates. Or was that exlax? Vieta, you better come back, I miss you.

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  30. Let me clarify this, there is no such thing as a flatfoot lap dance. The up close and personal style of flatfooting is indeed called a shin dance. It is derived from an obscure marital art that was developed in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the late 1890's. In another unusual twist, the dancer normally receives tips for NOT performing the dance. Alternately, the potential recipient sometimes signifies a lack of interest by striking the dancer sharply in the mouth with their fist. The whole thing doesn't translate well to those who are not of that culture.

    I apologize for this post to this point.

    As to the band, the shows last week were excellent. They are continuously getting better at what they do while evolving to doing more things. Biggest single change in the last year, probably the intensity of Ike's singing. Both he and Betse sometimes venture into the nether-world that lies between genius and insanity to bring back bits of treasure for us. Of equal value, Phil and Nate hold the other end of the catch ropes to keep the whole thing from disintegrating into chaos. It's fun to watch.

    My opinion, your mileage may vary.

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  31. Y'all need to come back to North Carolina (Charlotte). After all your Merlefest appearances you have a lot of fans here. We just heard your NPR interview and bought two of your CDS. Please come soon! Wilder deprivation is setting in.

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