Day 297: There are probably a lot of labels that people could use to describe me (and I am sure that some of them are nicer than others…) but deep down, I am basically just a country boy from rural Ingham County (Thank God!) Back in the day, this was a special time of year filled with softball games and 4-H projects which would eventually lead up to the biggest week of my social calendar: the Ingham County Fair. Looking back, I guess I don't have too many musical memories associated with the fair, but let's face it, you don't get much more country than a County Fair. When it comes to country music, I can't exactly say that I am a fan, but there are certainly a lot of tracks in my collection with a bit of country flavor. So, as we run up to the 2015 version of the Fair, I thought that would show just a little bit of my country side. When it comes to music, do you know who else seems to be a bunch of country boys deep down inside? Athens Georgia's R.E.M., that who. If you don't believe me, well, I recommend that you check out one of their first singles, today's song, "Don't Go Back to Rockville" from the 1984 album "Reckoning"" You can certainly here a little bit of deep south twang in Michael Stipe's voice on this one, as well as in Peter Buck's guitar. It is one of those older R.E.M. songs that in hard not to revisit every once in while. I guess Michael Stipe was correct, "I know it might sound strange, but I believe you'll be coming back before too long."
07/25/2015
Day 298: I honestly can't remember exactly when or where I came across folk-rock singer songwritter John Welsey Harding. I don’t think it was 120 Minutes, or Dawn, or Leo, or any of the usually suspects. I may have just heard one of his songs on the Impact and then possibly found a cassette of his for a few dollars in a bargain bin. But, somewhere along the way I picked up a copy of his 1990 album "Here Comes The Groom." Considering that John is originally from England, his tracks are remarkably alt-country folky in feeling. One of my favorite tracks from that album is today's song, "Spaced Cowgirl." If there ever was a light and cheerful song about a woman with a drug problem that may even ends with an overdose, well, this would be it: "Spaced cowgirl, lock up the medicine chest. This wild wild woman is way out west." If you don't think about it too hard, this song is just so dog-on cute! I think that I even included this track on a mix tape for Jen back in the day, as she was always fond of the space cowboy line in the Steve Miller Band song. In retrospect that might have been slightly weird considering the apparent subject of the song, but I guess it all worked out, now didn't it?
07/26/2015
Day 299: Way, way back on Day 3 of this project, I decided at the last minute to change to an R.E.M. song, but my original idea for that day was to feature a song from today's artist, the alt-country godfathers know as Uncle Tupelo. When traveling in Japan, I am often drawn to American roots music, but theme of course plays very well into our current chapter as well. I was first introduced to in grad school (by the likes of Jenn Baldwin's husband Brett). But, it wasn't until my first year at Toyota that I really got familiar with the band thorough the influence of my first co-op student that I mentored. (He was oddly a grad student in something like political science from UC Davis and I think he may have even been older than me). As a "parting gift" for his semester in Ann Arbor, he gave me a copy of the Uncle Tupelo Anthology, which among other things contains today's song, "Chickamauga." The song is a great little slice of what makes Uncle Tupelo so compelling. It has a grungy, yet slightly country feel that builds to a chorus with a lovely harmony: "Chickamauga's where I've been. Solitude is where I'm bound. I don't ever wanna taste these tears again." "Rock" On!
07/27/2015
Day 300: Another alt-country act that have carved a place into my CD collection is the Minneapolis based and perhaps geographically challenged band The Jayhawks. When I think about the concept of "alt-country" I think that The Jayhawks might just be the protypically example. Jen was also fond of the band, so much so that today's song, "Settled Down Like Rain," from the 1992 album Hollywood Town Hall made the cut for our wedding CD. The cornerstone of the band's sound is lead singer Mark Olsen's voice, which is highlighted beautifully on this track. As I look back at the lyrics, it might actually be a break-up song: "You packed up your bags and belongings. And crept out through the back. The sound of footprints on the ground," which I suppose made it an odd choice for our wedding CD, but I guess I will just hold onto the opening line instead, "You came and you gave without taking. The best was yet to come." Yeah. that settles it.
07/28/2015
Day 301: As I mentioned, I am not a big country music fan, especially when it comes to commercial country music. (Classic country and bluegrass is another story. Some of that stuff is pretty awesome.) But, just as in life, there are exceptions to almost every rule, and today's song, "Need You Now," by Lady Antebellum is one of them. I certainly did not start off wanting to like this song, and I am also relatively sure that at first I did not even recognize it as "country music." I just heard the hook of the song a few times, "And I wonder if I ever cross your mind? For me it happens almost all the time. It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now." It has some beautiful harmonies, and it is just so darn catchy. I am sure that when I actually looked up who performed the song my reaction was "really? Wow. OK." But, you know what, sometimes it is the middle of the night and you just need a good song now (perhaps it doesn't happen *all* the time). It doesn't matter how we choose to classify it. A good song is just a good song.
07/29/2015
Day 302: When I opened this chapter with the comment that I really didn't have too many musical memories that were strictly tied to the Ingham Country Fair (with the exception of the time that Jovon and I convinced the DJ at the Friday night dance to play "The Timewarp," which *shockingly* did not go over well with the crowd.) When you think about it, there just aren't that many songs that seem to talk about fairs. But, there is an exception to this rule as well, and that exception is today's song, "Rusholme Ruffians" from The Smith's 1985 album "Meat Is Murder." In my late high school days (and beyond) I would often get this song in my head when walking around the fair grounds. And, why not? The song has a fantastic bass line and contains lines like, "this is the last night of the fair, and the grease in the hair of a speedway operator is all a tremulous heart requires" and "scratch my name on your arm with a fountain pen. This means you really love me." It also talks about carnival rides, teenagers falling in and out love, pick-pockets, people getting beaten up. With the exception of the last item, that pretty much sums up my teenage memories of Fair Week, and my faith in it is still devout.
07/30/2015
Day 303: R.E.M. is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and their 1991 album "Out of Time" is one of their greatest album. But unless you are a big fan of the album specifically, you may have missed one of my favorite Hidden Gems from them or any other bands: the slightly twangy, slow burn jewel called "Country Feedback." The song is just 4 minutes of awesomeness, and demonstrates not only R.E.M. more country side, but also how to write an intense song without increasing the tempo. Like many of my favorite songs, it seems to be about love turned bad and Michael Stipe delivers the lyrics with an edge that you usually don't hear, "You come to me with excuses ducked out in a row. You wear me out... I was central, I had control, I lost my head. I need this, I need this... It's crazy what you could've had." This ain't no Shinny Happy People, folks, and if I had to give my honest feedback, this is one of my favorite R.E.M. songs.
07/31/2015
Day 304: As I close this chapter of my respect for some of the world's more twangy music, I thought it would only be fair to highlight one more "real" country music song. I was never really into the Dixie Chicks for a long, long time. In fact, probably at some point would have absolutely refused to listen to them on principle. But, a contestant on American Idol once performed a version of their song "Sin Wagon" during one of the early (actually good) seasons, and that kind of piqued my interest. A short time later, Jen acquired their 2001 CD "Fly" and at some point I head today's song, "Goodbye Earl" It was at that point that I thought to myself, "These Chicks are OK in my book." After all the songs tells the story of two girls that grew up in a small town and knew each other through 4-H. Yeah, I'm down with that. As the story continues, one of the girls gets caught up in an abusive marriage, and when things come to a head, she calls up her old friend who came back into town to help her friend, "And it didn't take them long to decide, that Earl had to die." To say that this was an unexpected twist would be a bit of an understatement. I suppose I won't comment on whether I approve of the women's actions or not, but suffice it to say that when it comes to songs about vigilante justice and murder, I would be hard pressed to find one that is more fun.
Songs like "Goodbye Earl" are fun primarily because they tell a story. In other words, they are ballads. Like most people, I love a good story, and there just so happen to be a handful of songs on my list of favorites that I believe tell a particularly good or interesting story. So, as we enter the final 2 months of this musical journal, it is time to sit by the campfire and listen to a few yarns.
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