07.17.09

Not exactly an interview or a review, but full of love

Posted in cricket spazzes, rumors, some albums we done liked others we ain't, talk to us - July 17th, 2009 at 1:27 pm by Cricket

A night that ends with Jon Snodgrass (of Drag the River) singing for you is a very good night indeed. Even better if he is actually singing live for you and not just playing on the old Ipod.

Jon had a quick layover on his way to Memphis to play with Cory Branan (a show that I could not attend, no I don’t want to talk about it, I might cry). [Seriously, we need to find a way to supplement our income so that we can pursue our rock star lifestyle because the day job thing is getting old. What gives, universe?—Daisy] We met up for drinks with a couple other friends. [Which I could not attend. No, I'm not at all bitter, why do you ask?—Daisy] There wasn’t time for a podcast or really even a formal interview but I did learn a few things about Jon, about myself and about the world. Here they are in no particular order:

06.18.09

Gone fishing

Posted in cricket spazzes, news, some albums we done liked others we ain't - June 18th, 2009 at 3:57 pm by Cricket

If you are feeling up to it, feel free to write a country song about me:  Living in the swampy, hot south, plagued by severe storms and tornadoes.  Lost a tooth (trust me it’s a story you don’t want to hear).  Lost my man.  Am all bruised up (related more to the tooth and not at all to the man).  I’m hanging it up for a while.  Sitting on the porch, sippin’ whiskey and watching the lightning and the fireflies until I’m calm and life doesn’t feel like a utter disaster.  Hiatus.  Summer vacation.  Mental health break.

In the meantime there’s some new albums you should be listening too:

DADDY, For a Second Time (Tommy Womack & Will Kimbrough, also on tour, check the dates, go see them and learn to love Tommy as much as I do)

04.09.09

Gleeful Willie love!

Posted in cricket spazzes, some albums we done liked others we ain't - April 9th, 2009 at 11:04 am by Cricket

On every blog like this one, my fellow twang geeks are all a-chatter about Naked Willie. I’ve been beating myself up all week, worrying about reviewing it, about what clever things I might say that would make you go buy the album. I mean who am I to judge these songs and review their quality? It’s Willie Nelson for Pete’s sake!

And then I realized…

Duh. You ‘re already either going to buy this album or you aren’t, whether I like it or not is irrelevant (although I do like it). I mean, it’s possible, but it seems unlikely that someone reading this has been thinking, “Gosh, I’ve sure heard a lot about this Willie Nelson fellow. I should get one of his albums. I wonder which one, oh, sure Naked Willie seems like a good place to start.” No. Just not happening.

04.07.09

There was some holy shaking indeed

Posted in cricket spazzes, east nashville, some albums we done liked others we ain't - April 7th, 2009 at 3:18 pm by Cricket

Two Irishmen walk into my bar – wait, this is not a joke! Or maybe it is in some surrealist way. So, two Irishmen walk into my bar and I end up in barn at 3 am, drinking grape soda and triple sec from a coffee cup. Yes, yes, my life is actually more like a circus than the average American dream. I know. But, the upshot is the fantastic music I get to hear, and let’s just ignore the painful downside of a grape soda and triple sec hangover.

Sipping fuzzy grape liquor in that barn, I heard some songs that made my knees weak. Songs that soared far above the barn, the crap drink, and the late night, to shower back down in a sound that was ramshackle good. Songs so new they will not be heard for a while yet. But do not drown in your envy just yet! All hope is not lost!! Because there was an album before which has been melting my heart and cleansing my soul and soothing my hideous grape soda induced headache (surely it was the soda and not the liquor). Gavin Glass and the Holy Shakers.

04.03.09

It includes porn, but not what you are expecting

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - April 3rd, 2009 at 4:21 pm by Mick

Wrinkle Neck Mules – The Wicks Have Met

Now this is how I like my country music. Despite the questionable band name, Wrinkle Neck Mules are a talented 5 piece from Richmond that, like most country bands I enjoy, dabble in folk, bluegrass, and rock. The entire album is littered with mandolin, pedal steel and banjo played amazingly well. The instrumentation here is full and detailed but never takes away from the whole of the songs themselves (even if “Black Skies for the High & Mighty” is the band’s self described ‘mando porn’).

03.28.09

Gravelly. Politics and/or drinking. You can choose.

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - March 28th, 2009 at 3:19 pm by Mick

Ryan Purcell – Kick The Dirt

This might sound stupid but when I go to a bar I want to hear songs about a bar. I want to hear whiskey and beer and screwin’ around with dangerous women. I want a soundtrack, really. On Kick The Dirt Ryan Purcell manages to give me some of that wrapped up in a lengthy nine tracks. Like I said, Purcell only gives me some of that. Half of these songs are about drinkin’ and women, the other half about politics.

The first song, “Guantanamo”, nearly put me off because of the sarcastic nature of the lyrics but I stuck around for the rest because of Purcell’s gravelly voice (nearly every singer I like sounds like emphysema amplified) and I’m glad I did. The second and third song here are sweaty, drunk, country blues bar band music. I swear I thought Faces were playing when I first heard “Palmer’s Pickup Blues”. Purcell himself even sounds like Rod Stewart momentarily. Another one I really enjoy, “Enough”, continues in the same vein with a little Neil Young influence. If I knew dick about chords and notes I could probably figure out if he was ripping off “Alabama” or not.

03.20.09

Somewhere in the middle of the cylone is a song

Posted in a little bit rock and roll, some albums we done liked others we ain't - March 20th, 2009 at 12:41 pm by Mick

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

I’m convinced Neko Case is a damn siren. She is one of the very few female artists I consider myself a fan of even though I don’t particularly like a good majority of her music. There is a confidence in her song writing you don’t often see among women (sorry, but it’s fucking true) and a voice that is equally unmatched. [Your links and comments in your last post directly contradict the previous two sentences. It's okay, it makes me love you more.—Cricket] I was discussing her sound with my friend and couldn’t quite verbalize it. We were sitting on my deck under the trees and a full moon and listening to a raccoon climbing somewhere and realized that that was it. There is something very closely tied to nature not only in her lyrics but in the grand and layered arrangements of her songs. Similarly, there is a uniquely haunting, almost magical element in her voice that conjures up some other unworldly, ethereal place.

03.17.09

The voice that launched a thousand ships

Posted in east nashville, some albums we done liked others we ain't - March 17th, 2009 at 12:34 pm by Mick

Amanda Shires – West Cross Timbers

I admit that I am a sucker for attractive female singers, and especially so when those singers’ voices cause them to sound like they could crumble into nothing at any second. Oh my god does Amanda Shires sound wounded. On West Cross Timbers she sings in such an emotionally fragile tone you could almost begin to feel bad for listening. Hell, even I started to feel bad about the way I’ve treated girls.

03.16.09

This afternoon I just got finished…

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - March 16th, 2009 at 7:36 pm by Cricket

D. S. Yancey’s album, Lonely Riders, has been the soundtrack to my life for the last two weeks. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve had the album for much longer than that, but finally just gave it a spin, and good goddamn, I cannot stop listening. More than that, I keep forcing everyone around me to listen as well. I suspect it’s super annoying when I prance around, making people stop what they are doing to listen, as I softly chant, “How good is this? For reals, so good!” but in this case everyone has agreed with me, so I will keep doing it.

Seriously, y’all, Lonely Riders is the album you didn’t yet know that you absolutely have to have. I know almost nothing about Yancey. He is, I believe, an honest-to-god trucker. He plays guitar. He writes good songs. I like the way he sings them. That sums up entirely the knowledge I have of him. Internet searches weren’t much help. All I have to go on is the music itself.

03.10.09

Sometimes it’s better if someone else does it, sometimes not so much

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - March 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am by Mick

[Because the least I can do, if I am not contributing as I should, is introduce you to our new (only) man about the place, Mick, and let him do some work.--Cricket]

Waylon And The .357’s – Waylon Forever

It’s hard for me to think about Waylon Jennings and not think about The Dukes of Hazzard. I grew up watching that show and the theme song, “The Good Ol’ Boys”, will forever be in my memory. Another song, “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”, was one that my father sang to me and my brothers as children dozens of times. Even though these songs had a prominent role in my youth I didn’t know who Waylon Jennings was. I only knew him as The Balladeer, the narrator for the Dukes. I have to admit (and this is total country blasphemy) that outside of the Dukes theme and a handful of other songs, I have never had a strong interest in Waylon Jennings’ music. His actions towards Nashville have always interested me more than his song writing.

10.08.08

The West Coast comes through for us again

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - October 8th, 2008 at 11:00 am by Cricket

There was a simpler musical time, say 50 years ago, before rock n’ roll and country split and become estranged brothers. Careless Hearts still straddles this divide, beating out twangy, folk-infused rock. The rhythm and the tune bore down into the heart of country, the guitar pulls it back into modern rock n’ roll, and the lyrics are folktastic (though entirely evoking the dusty rural country life of America, rather than some citified folk rock). The Hearts boys are out with their sophomore effort, Heart’s Delight, and I couldn’t be more delighted with the results.

10.02.08

Magpies’ album confirms rumors that Cleveland does, in fact, rock

Posted in daisy spazzes, some albums we done liked others we ain't - October 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 pm by Daisy

The Magpies website proclaims them to be indiefolkrockrevivalist in genre, and since I find that to be a pretty apt description, I’m not going to bother to think up another. True, these guys will rock your face off if given half a chance, but their musicality keeps them from being swept neatly into the “rock” category. More than anything, they are deft storytellers and as such, they neatly sidestep the cliché traps of the indie rock and singer/songwriter genres to create something wholly their own. Between the solid rhythm section, the maniacal genius of Justin Gorski’s piano playing, and the soulful, whiskey-rough edge of Roger Hoover’s vocals, you aren’t given much of a choice but to sit up and pay attention. The Magpies are one of those rare bands that are both musically and lyrically brilliant, and their newest album, Eastern Standard Time showcases this beautifully.

09.19.08

As seen from the inside out

Posted in east nashville, some albums we done liked others we ain't, talk to us - September 19th, 2008 at 11:56 am by Cricket

Under a magnificent, sprawling tree, there is an unusual house on a mysterious street in Nashville. On this funny little street the weather is never quite like it is in the surrounding neighborhood, sun shines through rain clouds and snow falls from the clear blue sky, sometimes only on the extraordinary little house. The light there, day, night or dawn, always seems slightly purple. The grass is scraggly and pathetic but gigantic flowers bloom all around. In this house lives a mysterious little family, The Joiners. Does the odd little house on the peculiar little street make the Joiners different from everyday people, or is it the Joiners that make the street strange?

09.18.08

Groove on down that county road

Posted in a little bit rock and roll, east nashville, some albums we done liked others we ain't - September 18th, 2008 at 10:06 am by Cricket

I’ve been resisting the Men of Action. The album has been gathering dust on my desk ever since I got a pre-pre-pre-release copy of it. You see, these boys are friends of mine. I like them, they are good guys and I respect them as musicians. I’ve seen them do some good rock n’ roll. I have confidence in their ability as songwriters. And yet, some part of me was worried that this album would suck. And then where would I be? If it sucked I couldn’t tell them and I’d have to go around making excuses to why I’d never reviewed it. Imagine my relief when I finally played Country for Groovers and discovered that it is awesomeness made manifest! Hurrah!

06.03.08

We had a bad break up but baby I loved you the most

Posted in back catalogue, some albums we done liked others we ain't - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:53 am by Mimi

You read HCT regularly, you’ve been an alt-country fan for years, you have all the Wilco, Jayhawks and Whiskeytown CDs already and you still listen to them. The double-disc re-release of Whiskeytown’s Strangers Almanac seems like a non-event to you. Or is it? Clearly, what you want to know is whether it’s worth it to buy this album for all the previously unreleased live tracks, alternate versions, b-sides, and demos.

But first let’s talk about Strangers Almanac itself.

01.22.08

High time for lowlifes: One more River to Drag

Posted in cricket spazzes, some albums we done liked others we ain't - January 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 pm by Cricket

Once upon a time I was much younger Cricket and I listened to punk rock and the alternative music of the day (which was more alternative than the stuff these kids today are making). Eventually I expanded out into alt-country and, by extension of that old country, Americana and roots music. One day my pal, Ethel Cannes, dropped Lucero in my lap and it was like everything came together. Punk rock and country music written like someone was reading my own heart. There must be more, I thought, and went a-searchin’.

11.01.07

Good ol’ country girl

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - November 1st, 2007 at 11:40 pm by Cricket

It’s the very end of October and I’m sitting outside on the porch in just jeans and a tank top. I love Tennessee.

I’ve been thinking a lot about country music lately. Given time, money and opportunity I’d think about little else, but as it stands I take the chance to dwell on it whenever I can. I’d like this site to be all country music, all the time. It’s not hard I think, as the genre is so very broad now with all the unnamable, indescribable subgenres under Americana, honky-tonk, bluegrass, old time, folk-country etc. but still we are lacking in real country. The modern music that inherits all the older genres. The music I wish pop country had become instead of slightly twangy easy-listening music or the joke it is.

10.13.07

The Wright time is now

Posted in hot live action, some albums we done liked others we ain't - October 13th, 2007 at 3:40 pm by Mimi

Music comes to us in a myriad of ways. Some people send us their CDs in the mail. Sometimes we stumble across MySpaces that blow us away. Our friends shove CDs into our hands and mp3s into our inboxes.

Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies came to me through a friend effusing over him.

“Who?” I said.

“What do you mean?” She said.

“I don’t know this dude.” I said.

“AHAHAHA! Awesome!” She said.

What she meant was “I know a band that you don’t!” People love to gloat over that, as you can well imagine. But I didn’t take it to heart since she immediately hooked me up and gave me detailed play-by-play about how totes awes he was and so on. (That’s me being funny, she’s actually quite articulate.)

09.26.07

White Muckled waiting (bands to go see, part two, Jason Isbell)

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - September 26th, 2007 at 4:50 pm by Cricket

Mucklewain somehow managed to creep up on me way faster than I expected. Seriously, September, where did you go? Didn’t you just start? Though, well played, September, for bringing me Lucero and Cory Branan shows both at the beginning and the end of the month.

I hear people talking about Mucklewain ’round these parts, and the usual refrain is, “OH! You were there?!?” Yeah, buddy, and why weren’t you? I mean, sure it’s hard for some people to get to Tennessee, but those of you already here or nearby have no excuse! Tons of great bands, good times laying in the grass, a chance to stand with Daisy while she watches Mimi and I make asses out of ourselves.

Jason Isbell – Sirens of the Ditch

09.25.07

It’s time to do that Muckle-thing (bands to go see, part one, Scott Miller)

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - September 25th, 2007 at 3:34 pm by Mimi

Mucklewain! She is upon us again. This year, the show isn’t, um, in Belize… it was in Belize last year, right? It seems like we were in the car for seven days. No? Well, all the same this year, the show’s in Pinewood, TN which is 45 miles from Nashville, according to the Official Mucklewain website. Since I drive as little as possible, to me that reads like “Mucklewain is a couple comic books and one stop to pee away from home.” [Indeed. Pinewood is about halfway to Bucksnort, TN, everyone's favorite vacation destination. If we drive fast enough and no one drinks in the car, we not even have to make the pee stop.—Cricket] [I make no such promises.—Daisy]

Unlike last year, the festival is two days–September 28 & 29. Shows start about 5pm on Friday and again at 11am on Saturday. It’s a rock show, so these times are approximate.

08.02.07

It’s a four for one special

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - August 2nd, 2007 at 5:10 pm by Cricket

It’s not just laziness that’s making me cut these down, but a desire to cover as much as possible when there so much music and so little time. [Well, to be fair, there’s time, but we’re killing it on the porch smoking and drinking.—Mimi] Some things to add to your list to pick up the next time you’re at your local record shop or killing time in iTunes when you should be working: The Avett Brothers, Amy LaVere, The Robber Barons and the Hackensaw Boys.

***

Avett Bros. – Emotionalism

Honestly, I’m sparing you with this short review. Or sparing Mimi anyway. We already know that I can completely spaz over this band. The new album, Emotionalism, is no exception.

Overall it’s less frenetic than Four Thieves Gone or any of their previous albums. Not mellowed exactly but a change for the good. If nothing else, please get “Die Die Die” off iTunes, but the whole album is well worth the investment of your time and money.

07.12.07

Toe-tapping while crying in my beer

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - July 12th, 2007 at 5:19 pm by Cricket

I have this massive stack of CDs sitting next to me, and I keep shuffling through them trying to decide what to review next. A more organized person would’ve made some system: alphabetical or chronological (in the order they arrived). But it’s more fun to shuffle them around like cards. Plus, mood plays a huge part. [And laziness.--Mimi] I can’t do justice to something sad when I’m gleeful and vice versa.

What we really need is to hire a Houseboy around here so someone else can do the house stuff and make decisions for us and generally be responsible when we are not. [And who also looks hot while doing all of the above?--Daisy] Someone call Matt Damon and tell him we’ve got a job open. [I’m telling you, Craigslist. I’ll write the ad tomorrow.--Mimi]

07.10.07

Where you’ll learn to shoot a gun

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - July 10th, 2007 at 10:28 pm by Cricket

As I write this, it’s overcast and about 87 degrees out, so humid I almost feel like I’m swimming. It’s also only 9 am. Oh, summer! How I longed for you, and now you do me like this? I can complain endlessly about the Southern summer, but the truth is, I love it when it’s like this in the mornings. [This is hardly even the South. Srly.--Mimi] If I could, I would sit on the porch, drinking iced coffee and watching the world go by for hours until the sun burned away the clouds, and it finally got too hot to sit outside. The swampy heat slows me down in a way that’s oddly pleasurable. Sure it sucks to stand up and realize you’re sweaty, even behind your knees, but if you’re lucky a breeze will kick up and make it all worth it. Plus, I’m not exactly cold-blooded, but I do want to wallow in the wet heat a little, as it makes me feel warm through to my bones, which is always excellent (expect perhaps when I’m trying to sleep–but who needs sleep, I’ll sleep when I’m old).

04.11.07

Three times the usual reviews in one small package

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - April 11th, 2007 at 3:14 pm by Mimi

I keep having this weird conversation with people, it goes like this:

Drunk Fool: What’s this we’re listening to?
Me: Joe Purdy
Drunk Fool: That a friend of yours?
Me: I WISH. *frowns*
Drunk Fool: This is good.
Me: *rolls eyes*

He’s had three records come out since I last talked about him here (yeah, wow, I know), You Can Tell Georgia, Paris in the Morning, and Canyon Joe. I think I’ll pick my favorite tracks from those records and just talk about them.

I first heard Joe Purdy a couple years ago because of a friend of mine in LA who has a very good ear for music I like (as friends tend to when they’ve had to hear you complain and rave for years). Right now, I’m eating dried figs and reading the CD Baby reviews of these records to amuse myself. Skip over there and check it out, because if you’re skeptical of what I have to say, you’ll see a page full of superlative reviews there written by the cynical, embittered indie-music, scenester crowd, and if I agree with them, then you know you’re dealing with someone special. [That, or the Apocalypse is nigh.—Daisy]

03.13.07

A tale of two…tales

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - March 13th, 2007 at 9:42 pm by Cricket

Among my favorite albums is Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger. I love a good concept album. Story songs are awesome, but when the whole album tells a story from beginning to end? Even better. Chuckanut Drive delivers completely with their recent re-release of The Crooked Mile Home.

These boys are from Bellingham, Washington, a stone’s throw from my own hometown. Oddly, it isn’t attention to local bands back home that led me to them. A friend in Boston helped me develop a nifty obsession with them and turned me on to their rockin’ alt-country. They twist together, with a heavy dose of twang, Johnny Cash, Hank Sr., Gram Parsons, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, and more traditional rock.

02.22.07

When you’re big Canada…

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - February 22nd, 2007 at 7:17 pm by Mimi

Since we started the site, I’ve been saying I was gonna talk about Joel Plaskett, because I love him in an unreasonable sort of way usually seen in Cricket when confronted with skinny boys with tattoos, [Hee! It’s funny ‘cause it’s true.—Daisy] and because I am random and sketchy, I never got around to it.

La De Da and Truthfully, Truthfully — The Joel Plaskett Emergency

Joel Plaskett is fairly famous in Canada. That’s not quite the same as being Big in Japan, but it might as well be for a non-border dwelling American audience (I am always shocked when people in the States know Canadian acts because most artists there never break through to the American mainstream, even big acts). He was in a band called Thrush Hermit that I always hated. So, I didn’t really want to give him a chance, but then, guess what? Yeah, I saw him live. [You're so easy that way. Hmm, Mimi doesn't like a band? Well, I'll just take her to a live show then...—Cricket]

02.19.07

The West Coast represents with the album I can’t stop listening to

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - February 19th, 2007 at 12:00 am by Cricket

Let’s get the basics, simple and easy, out of the way right up front, eh? If you like Wilco, The Jayhawks, the Old 97s, and/or Jason and the Scorchers then you will probably like Careless Hearts. If you are a boy rather than a girl, you might like them even more. [Why? Why boy? *lifts eyebrow*—Mimi] If that’s enough of a rec for you, then go buy it already, if you want to read my rambling love letter to the album, then read on, MacDuff. [The Crime Dog?—Mimi]

The self-titled debut CD from Careless Hearts is one of the few albums recently of a new band that has managed to remain on continuous repeat with me for a few weeks (with only a brief break to wallow in the new Lucinda Williams). I’d heard a few songs on their MySpace and liked it well enough. I wasn’t bowled over until I heard the whole album. Like going on a date and thinking that at least it didn’t suck, and then discovering on the second date that you have a real connection to this person that perhaps nervousness or disregard masked on your first meeting. [Sigh.—Mimi]

02.13.07

Ludicrously over the top, even for me

Posted in cricket spazzes, some albums we done liked others we ain't - February 13th, 2007 at 11:04 pm by Cricket

It’s no secret that I unrelentingly adore Lucinda Williams. She can pretty much do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. But then, I used to feel the same way about Allison Moorer and her last album left me feeling pretty uninspired, so the anticipation for the new Lucinda album has been killing me. The relief I feel over how much I love it is very nearly a physical sensation.

01.23.07

Sometimes we like things so much we can barely be objective

Posted in back catalogue, some albums we done liked others we ain't - January 23rd, 2007 at 10:36 am by Mimi

Sigh.

Matthew Ryan – Concussion and From a Late Night High Rise

Sometimes I just hate myself for missing out on the good stuff while I’m off reading books about math theory or comic books. (And here I will have to WARN for me talking in comic book metaphors and references for a while, since I’ve been on a comics-reading jag lately.)

These two albums are very different, which to some people would show depth of talent and interest and to others will be just annoying—

01.21.07

Best of the best “best-ofs”

Posted in back catalogue, some albums we done liked others we ain't - January 21st, 2007 at 7:30 pm by Cricket & Mimi

I sat down to write a sort of “compilations and ‘best-ofs’ that you must own.” But then I realized, really what do I know about what you should own? Nada. So, instead, here is a rambling excursion through compilations I own that feel necessary to my continued existence and Mimi’s as well, since I conscripted her to help me write this. Maybe they are to your continued existence, too, you just don’t know it yet.

GOLD Greatest Hits – Dolly Parton
It feels a little risky, starting right out with Miss Dolly. But really, who doesn’t love Dolly? She’s an insanely talented song-writer. Her singing may not be for everyone but is undeniably beautiful. She’s like a mad genius with the marketing and all. I mean what do you know about her personal life? Nothing! And yet she gives every appearance of being honest, open, friendly and forth-coming all the time. She has amusement parks! Seriously, that’s like my dream someday. Cricketworld! You’d have to be 21 to get in, and have a valid Valium prescription, but hey! We won’t kick you out for being drunk. [You get a theme park, I’m setting my ambitions slightly higher with a banana republic of my very own stocked with guys in grass skirts and no winter.--Mimi]

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