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Re: The Only Children (Reply to this comment)
by omophagia
Ryan!
Been meaning to pick this up since I first heard about it a couple months ago. Thanks for the reminder.
Definitely something I think would be to your liking-- it has a nice, diverse sound, and it really deserved better reviews than it was given. I wasn't familiar with The Anniversary's output-- I knew "of" them, but that was the extent of it-- but I'm sort of intrigued by what it might offer.
Curious as to how much overlap we'll have on that "Best of 2004" mix,
Jonathan
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Jan 17 '05
8:15 pm PST
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Re: I'm so in awe (Reply to this comment)
by omophagia
...of you at times, I can't even stand it. It's not only your knowledge of music that's off the "beaten path," but your ability to write about it with so much authority and conviction.
You are just entirely too kind. Though, to be honest, it isn't hard to get fired up over Toby Keith or Martina McBride. ;o)
If there was ever a man who hated women almost as much as he seems to love/hate himself, it is Toby Keith.
What I find most appalling is that no one ever seems to call him on his misogynist streak-- he's been (deservedly) taken to task for his liberal-baiting by several different sources-- because it's the far more dangerous element of his music... but he plays here at least once a year, and the majority of the people lined up to see him are women. Scary, isn't it?
And if ever anyone wasted their talent on more drivel than Martina McBride, I've yet to meet them. Oh wait, perhaps Sarah McLachlan. Concerning "God's Will," I don't know whether I want to shoot the writer or shoot Martina, although I lean towards the latter, as she's the one who recorded it and made us run for the Compazine!!
McLachlan's a strange case, really. Listening to Fumbling Toward Ecstacy, it's almost impossible to imagine how boring she'd turn out. I mean, that's one of the best pop albums of the 90s, as far as I'm concerned, and two albums later, she's dropping lines like, "I've messed up / Better, I should know."
Better, I should know? What, you're Yoda now, Sarah?
CMT ran a countdown of the "Best Debut Videos" a few weeks back, and they ran Martina's "The Time As Come" for the first time since around 1993. And what struck me most-- aside from the fact that she doesn't appear to have aged a day since then-- was remembering how, when that video was in heavy rotation, I expected such great things from her. That she's delivered what I would consider precisely one truly great single-- "Whatever You Say," the only time that her glorynote-belting tendencies have been in service of the song-- and maybe two good ones (though its legacy is cheapened by the rest of her career, you can't argue with "Independence Day" at the time, and "My Baby Loves Me" is still catchy as hell) in the twelve years since then is just stultifying.
Whitney Houston, another giant-voiced pop singer whose debut album is still the most artistically satisfying statement of her career, can at least blame her squandered potential on Clive Davis' meddling and Bobby Brown's having introduced her to drugs. Martina? Has nothing but her own bloated sense of self-importance to blame.
I'd gotten to the point that I just felt numb to Martina's "social conscience" act-- I didn't think she could dig up anything else that could really surprise me. But then she found "God's Will" floating in some backed-up septic tank. That song is a stunning piece of work that absolutely demeans the experiences of anyone who's ever had the first-hand tragedy of losing a child-- which, for the record but without going into any detail, is precisely the reason I get so worked up over her.
That Martina shrouds herself in a false humility is so profoundly reprehensible that I can scarcely articulate all of the different ways it's offensive-- there aren't many celebrities I genuinely despise, but she's on that short-list. Record one song to quote-unquote raise awareness about an issue, that's fine. Charitable, even. Make an entire career out of it (and she's released at least one "issue" single from each of her albums, so it's hard to argue to the contrary), and it's absolutely impossible to make the case that you aren't doing it for the money and the attention. And that? Is exploitative, cruel behavior.
As of "God's Will," I don't care how big her voice is-- she doesn't deserve to be famous.
Onto more pleasant matters:
Julie Roberts piece, and the near comparison to Trisha, in that the girl seems to have some musical integrity, which is sorely lacking in music of all genres, and in country music specifically -- perhaps the one place we tend to look when we can't find it anywhere else.
I swear, I will get those cds to you soon. I'm shocked-- in the best possible way-- by Mercury's decision to release "Wake Up Older," which is hands-down the best, riskiest song on her album, as her third single. And I hope to God that risk pays off in a big, big way. For all of the ink wasted on Gretchen Wilson's peculiar brand of feminism, that song and her delivery of it are so genuinely subversive of country's gender politics that I just can't believe Roberts would record it on her debut album or that the label would release it to radio. That doesn't just take integrity-- which this girl has in spades-- but, to be blunt about it, balls.
The album has its weak moments, and she doesn't have a huge vocal range, but I'm fully on her bandwagon.
Gretchen Wilson. Is she the female Toby Keith? God help us all.
Yep. She's a rough-and-tumble kind of gal who isn't afraid to say that she defines herself exclusively in terms of the men in her life. So, if not exactly the female Toby Keith, she's the personification of his "Whiskey Girl." Which is every bit as gross. I'm burning you a copy of her album, too, if only for the one interesting gospel-inflected song that suggests that she might be a better singer than she's letting on. Might be. But I doubt we'll ever know.
Allison Moorer, as always, piques my curiosity, but as I've always told you, I have yet to hear a song she's done that doesn't make me think that her sister could do it better. You might be able to change my mind with a burn (hint hint!), but I'm not sure.
Hmm... I don't know that Shelby couldn't sing anyone's songs either as well or better-- Beth Hart, Patty Griffin, and Neko Case spring immediately to mind, and no one else-- so that's quite the challenge you've issued! But I do think that Moorer's an incomparable singer in her own right-- I actually think she has a better "tone" than Shelby, though that's a purely subjective aesthetic call-- so I'll try to do her justice.
As for Loretta, I say you go girl. The woman is timeless, beautiful, and exemplifies everything that artists of her caliber used to, but rarely do anymore. And it seems only fitting that Patty Loveless and Loretta are blood, don't you think?
Yeah, you're totally getting that album, too. What I love about Loretta is that she just gets it. The fame, the celebrity, the impact she's had on popular music. She just gets it in a way that so few other artists get it-- Dolly Parton does, obviously, Shania Twain (witness her self-effacing cameo in I Heart Huckabees), The Dixie Chicks, Alanis Morissette, and of course Madonna gets it more than she's given credit for. Just a handful of men seem to-- Prince, Johnny Cash, Morrissey, Michael Stipe, Eminem-- which I think is an interesting by-product of the stereotypical male ego. But Loretta? She's the one who set the precedent for all of them.
And yeah. Patty's carrying on the Eastern Kentucky tradition awfully well.
Wow, that was a long comment. Not that I've come to expect any less at this point!
Will e-mail you (soon, hopefully) about the cds.
Best,
Jonathan
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Jan 17 '05
8:13 pm PST
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Re: The Sadies (Reply to this comment)
by omophagia
I don't much care for them. Just don't. I saw them with Neko, first they opened up for her, then they backed her. They sounded good behind her, but I don't like them on their own. They are copying the Byrds so hard, the singer even has the Clarence White B-bender on his guitar. Plus, when they did the McGuinn arrangement of Pretty Polly, they should have at least acknowledged it; people who didn't know that recording probably left the gig unduly impressed.
I actually saw them open for / back Neko Case just this past Saturday, and, if their own set didn't quite match hers, that really wasn't a comment on their weaknesses as much as how amazing a show Case puts on.
What I like about their new album is that it shows them starting to move away from what was previously a shameless aping of The Byrds. But you're absolutely right in calling them out on it, though, again, I do think (and hope, for their sake) that's a criticism that will grow increasingly irrelevant over their next few albums.
And I was at the bar during the "Pretty Polly" cover, though, so I wasn't really giving that one much attention.
Always appreciate a well-reasoned voice of dissent, so thanks for checking in here.
Best,
Jonathan
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Jan 17 '05
7:18 pm PST
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Re: Interesting Choices (Reply to this comment)
by omophagia
Patty,
I loved this! I really enjoy country music and you put together a killer list!
Glad to know the genre fans weren't turned off. Thanks for checking in!
Best,
Jonathan
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Jan 17 '05
7:11 pm PST
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The Only Children (Reply to this comment)
by Officer
Been meaning to pick this up since I first heard about it a couple months ago. Thanks for the reminder.
A great review as always.
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Jan 17 '05
11:19 am PST
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I'm so in awe (Reply to this comment)
by katmar
of you at times, I can't even stand it. It's not only your knowledge of music that's off the "beaten path," but your ability to write about it with so much authority and conviction.
Hats off, first of all, to the much deserved missiles launched at Toby Keith and Martina McBride. If there was ever a man who hated women almost as much as he seems to love/hate himself, it is Toby Keith. And if ever anyone wasted their talent on more drivel than Martina McBride, I've yet to meet them. Oh wait, perhaps Sarah McLachlan. Concerning "God's Will," I don't know whether I want to shoot the writer or shoot Martina, although I lean towards the latter, as she's the one who recorded it and made us run for the Compazine!!
As for the rest of your picks, I haven't heard of many of them, but enjoyed the read nonetheless. I especially enjoyed your Julie Roberts piece, and the near comparison to Trisha, in that the girl seems to have some musical integrity, which is sorely lacking in music of all genres, and in country music specifically -- perhaps the one place we tend to look when we can't find it anywhere else. I think this lack of integrity is personified by Gretchen Wilson, and I loved your little digs at her, as well. Is she the female Toby Keith? God help us all.
Allison Moorer, as always, piques my curiosity, but as I've always told you, I have yet to hear a song she's done that doesn't make me think that her sister could do it better. You might be able to change my mind with a burn (hint hint!), but I'm not sure.
As for Loretta, I say you go girl. The woman is timeless, beautiful, and exemplifies everything that artists of her caliber used to, but rarely do anymore. And it seems only fitting that Patty Loveless and Loretta are blood, don't you think?
Jonathan, what can I say? You're the man!! :)
Tremendous piece of writing, my friend.
Happy happy New Year.
Marsha
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Jan 15 '05
12:53 pm PST
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The Sadies (Reply to this comment)
by factotum
I don't much care for them. Just don't. I saw them with Neko, first they opened up for her, then they backed her. They sounded good behind her, but I don't like them on their own. They are copying the Byrds so hard, the singer even has the Clarence White B-bender on his guitar. Plus, when they did the McGuinn arrangement of Pretty Polly, they should have at least acknowledged it; people who didn't know that recording probably left the gig unduly impressed.
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Jan 14 '05
12:40 am PST
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Interesting Choices (Reply to this comment)
by PattyTherre
I loved this! I really enjoy country music and you put together a killer list!
Patty
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Jan 09 '05
7:35 pm PST
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