tagged w/ Alt-country
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You know what marketing music is – or rather, was. Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman explained the process to us some years ago in their classic, “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star”:
Then it’s time to go downtown
Where the agent man won’t let you down.
Sell your soul to the company
Who are waiting there to sell plastic ware.
These lyrics, of course, presume a world where gatekeepers representing powers with vast media resources and near complete hegemony over public interest, taste, and access can make stars. As I said, those days are over. Most of the artists in this review flirted with that world – as I, a musician myself, did. All came away (as I did) disillusioned in some way with “the business,” as that side of the musician life is called in the parlance. They could have, as I have done for long stretches, walked away and found something else to solace themselves with/find success of a sort in – as I did with writing fiction and teaching.
But these artists continue to fight the good fight and make music. Great music. To hell with marketers and silos and disappointments and distributed cultures. Let’s spend some time celebrating their love of music – and their great work.You know what marketing music is – or rather, was. Roger McGuinn and Chris... more
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IssueOriented.com's Ronen Kauffman on why the Gainesville, FL music festival known simply as The Fest is one of the best live music events of the year. Fans of indie, punk, alt-country and more, take note.IssueOriented.com's Ronen Kauffman on why the Gainesville, FL music festival... more
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Haley Bonar premieres a new unreleased song, Bad for You, exclusively for Current TV. Haley is an alt-country singer/songwriter who was born in Manitoba, but currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Haley is also featured on the 2007 Andrew Bird record, Armchair Apocrypha.Haley Bonar premieres a new unreleased song, Bad for You, exclusively for Current TV.... more
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Carl Ray, one of the unknown black artists of country music, speaks up about the color barrier and his experiences in the industry. Carl Ray, one of the unknown black artists of country music, speaks up about the color... more
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I am a black man, and a huge fan of country music. This article made me think- segregation has ended. But are there still certain cultural norms that will perpetually be slow to change? White people have come into hip hop, often scaling the heights of the genre (vanilla ice, eminem, rjd2). Black singers have been rather limited in their fortunes in country music. Apart from Charley Pride, there have been few serious black country musicians in the modern Music television era. There is of course Cowboy Troy, but who really thinks there's any vitality in country rap?
Anyway,I was wondering what people think about this lack of black performers? Is it on the demand side or supply side that we find the answer? Are there not enough people willing to listen to black singers, is the industry fearful of going against tradition? Mind you, country's blues-oriented origins were black-influenced. I am a black man, and a huge fan of country music. This article made me think-... more
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I gotta get a crew down south! I've been gone for a little bit though. A lot of you transplanted southerners and culturally envious yankees have the scoop on what's worth seeing in and around Nashville. If we're going to get it all, we've got to find an intersection of the music, the parties, the poverty, the politics, and the elusive notion of southern comfort and hospitality.No topic is off limits. Like a lot of things in this world, the south is a mixed bag of awesome, suck, and just plain ambiguous and difficult to explain. Let's get in there and crack open a range of commentary and compelling stories that will give everyone in our worldwide audience a second look at everything the south has to offer- for better or for worse.Share your southern stories, pictures, video, and web-links. I gotta get a crew down south! I've been gone for a little bit though. A lot of... more
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Fantastic Alt-Country artist. Much of her music is dark and brooding with some upbeat songs thrown in for variety. She likes her album covers to have pictures of herself under a car. Kooky.Fantastic Alt-Country artist. Much of her music is dark and brooding with some upbeat... more
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cwhite
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added this
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4 years ago
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