So, what have you been listening to lately?

[uwe]

Very "real country", admittedly. Even a hapless Kraut like me notices.

[westen44]

Very "real country", admittedly. Even a hapless Kraut like me notices.

This is an example of Texas country as opposed to, of course, Nashville country.  It's the country genre I like the most by far, although because of the proximity of Nashville, I've heard Texas country way less through the years.  Texas country has more authenticity, emotion, steel guitars, meaningful lyrics, fiddles, etc.  Some of Nashville country has all that, too, but Dave would probably have to be the one to explain all that that involves.  I definitely cannot.   

[uwe]

Dave never explains anything to me, instead he's just dismissive.



And yet ... there is something to that TV Yellow story, just look what happened to Slade when they failed to heed it ...

[Dave W]

I know Bo Carter for his double entendre songs (Your Biscuits Are Big Enough For Me, etc.) but hadn't heard this one. I really like it.

[Dave W]

[Dave W]

[westen44]

[uwe]

Lord, he was born a ramblin' man if I have ever heard one. Obsessing about a tribute album of a singer of one genre to another genre. I haven't heard anyone claiming that Dolly constitutes the future of rock'n'roll, least of all her; the album is an appreciative wink, nothing more. But neither is she the death of rock'n'roll. At worst, she has "culturally appropriated" music - so what? And if she does an album of Australian indigenous music next, I'm fine with that as well.

I abhor tribalism not just in music (probably because I never found a tribe I would have wanted to be a member of). This guy laments about music segregationism, yet at the same time wants Dolly "to stay in her lane". Go figure.

And I'm not sure whether Chez Kane, whom he pushes constantly as an artist in his podcast and somehow seems to perceive as an antidote to what Dolly does, is the future of rock'n'roll either. Her music, dialed in from the 80ies, is at least as much a spoof as Dolly's rock'n'roll excursion if not more so.

[westen44]

What gets my attention from that guy is mostly the one-liners he comes up with.  Dolly Parton is in the RRHOF, but Steppenwolf isn't?  What I dislike most about him has to do with those music recommendations he makes.  So far, I've disagreed with every single one of them.  It has reached the point that I automatically know that whatever new music he recommends, I'm not going to like it.  He has been pushing Chez Kane forever.  I wasn't interested when he started pushing her music, and I'm not interested now.  I guess she has a good voice.  It has been a long time since I listened to her.  But whatever she is doing is all the result of what her record label is dictating to her.  It isn't natural or interesting.  But the point is it would make more sense to focus on her voice rather than her projecting a sexy image which seems contrived, IMO. 

[patman]

Steppenwolf isn't in the hall? That's not right. John Kay rocked.

[uwe]

One reason might be that Steppenwolf have successfully managed to manhandle their reputation through awful management decisions and zillion unoriginal line-ups pretending to be the band.

This whole RRHoF what-aboutism ("if this band is in, then why isn't my band ...") leads nowhere. I'm fine with most bands and artists inducted there (for me "RnRHoF" simply stands for "all popular music since the 50ies" and includes pop, blues, singer/songwriter, reggae, soul , funk, rap/hip-hop, country and what have you besides "real rock" and its sub-genres such as prog or metal), in one way or another most of them deserve their place. I scratch my head about some omissions but that doesn't take anything away from those artists already inducted. Yes, Steppenwolf should be featured too because a term from one of their lyrics, namely "heavy metal thunder" christened a whole genre and the movie Easy Rider and its soundtrack is a late 60ies cultural icon. They were also a prototype heavy rock band with their dominant guitar & organ sound and my countryman John Kay's tough vocal delivery.

[westen44]

Steppenwolf not being in the RRHOF is literally unforgivable. 

[uwe]

Heep in 1973, the line-up with Thain, live. This performance has only now seen the light of day on YouTube. Byron looks and acts like he has had more than a few, but back then he could still drink and sing. Still, it beckoned ill for the future.

[westen44]

Although it was written back in 2008, I keep seeing references to this book lately.  Of course, Gary Thain is in it.  It's the kind of book I can't ever be sure I would want to read, though.  It's most likely very informative, but I wouldn't expect it to be uplifting. 


https://books.google.com/books/about/The_27s.html?id=A5Bmkhs9_-4C

[gearHed289]

That first Chez video sounds like a leftover Dokken track or something. I shut it off at about 40 seconds. Frontiers Music puts out some terrible stuff. That is of course just my opinion. There is definitely still a market for AOR/melodic hard rock.