You know, I've never been one for thinking I like country music.
I decided I probably had a pretty bad association with it, and that real country
music is pretty fucking important and awesome. Yes, eloquence, my strong suit.
So I've been reading Lost Highway- Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians, by Peter Guralnick (1971, 1979). Perfect-length chronicles on the lives (more than the music) of American roots musicians. Nothing too heavy, but each story leaves you with a footprint and a memory. After I'm done I'm going to make a playlist of some of the main tracks listed in this book. Hank Snow, Merle Haggard, Elvis, Charlie Rich, Sleepy LaBeef, Cowboy Jack Clement (I'm particularly intrigued by this man), Bobby Bland, Hank Williams, Jr... the list goes on.
Here are some quotes that I really enjoyed in the book so far.
"You can't sing a three-minute song in a minute and a half. You'd be amazed at how many people try." -Jack Clement
"I quit being nostalgic a long time ago. I decided I was ready for the space age." -Jack Clement
"We need clarity and simplicity today more than ever. People are so fucking afraid of simplicity, but it seems to me that's part of the reason we're in the middle of an identity crisis in this country. It seems as if people have just lost their roots. And you know, when a person's lost his roots, he's just adrift without an anchor." -James Talley
"The only thing that I regret- and this is something that's kind of hard to explain- is that I never did call anybody Mama, I never called anybody Daddy. I called my Daddy Bub, and my mother Red...Some damn things you just can't explain. How can you have feeling for people like that?" -Stoney Edwards
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Listening to Dan Melchior und das Menace's new LP, Visionary Pangs (S-S Records). Loving it!
xoshani
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