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| North Clear Creek swimming hole at the Obed |
At my mother's behest, I played "Country Roads" at my very first guitar recital. When you grow up in a house where Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and The Statler Brothers fight for stereo time, you don't have much choice in the matter. Shortly after that recital, I began to take my guitar to the basement of our church where on Tuesday nights, old men with aged stringed instruments sat in an enormous circle pickin' and grinnin' music from the mountains. They were called the Skillet Lickers. I struggled to keep up.
But I came of age rebelling against the music of my mother. The discovery of Sham 69, Minor Threat, and The Buzzcocks set my ears on a path that lasted well over a decade of my young life. The effects were deep and lasting. These days though, if I listen to music in my truck at all, I'm more prone to listen to Doc Watson or Uncle Tupelo than Reagan Youth. Like circles, we end up where we began, "but only in leaving can they ever come back round."
This summer's mixtape pays homage to the music of my roots. It opens with a blazing fury of Appalachian fiddle that will set the feet to tapping on even the most jaded urban ears. Acts like Benjamin Booker and Lee Bains III successfully cross the streams of Chuck Berry and Creedence Clearwater Revival with the likes of Bad Brains and Black Flag, respectively. But it all remains heavily anchored by country purist revivalists like Melissa Payne, Nick Ferrio, and Sturgill Simpson. In a time when country radio has not only neglected but totally turned its back on traditional country music, what could be more punk? Listen to it HERE.
Enjoy!
- Possessed By Paul James - There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely Intro (TWBNWIL)
- Possessed By Paul James - There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely (TWBNWIL)
- Diarrhea Planet - Heat Wave (Aliens in the Outfield)
- Nick Ferrio and His Feelings - Night Garden (Nick Ferrio and His Feelings)
- Melissa Payne - High and Dry (High and Dry)
- Sera Cahoone - Shakin' Hands (Deer Creek Canyon)
- Jason Isbell - Different Days (Southeastern)
- John Moreland - Heart's Too Heavy (High On Tulsa Heat)
- Brandi Carlisle - Wherever is Your Heart (The Firewatcher)
- Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires - The Kudzu and the Concrete (Dereconstructed)
- Sturgill Simpson - Just Let Go (Metamodern Sounds in Country Music)
- The Drive-By Truckers - Mama Bake a Pie, Daddy Kill a Chicken (The Fine Print)
- Benjamin Booker - Violent Shiver (Benjamin Booker)
- Dresses - Blew My Mind (Sun Shy)
- Manchester Orchestra - I Can Feel a Hot One (Mean Everything to Nothing)