Back when Dylan was covering regionally-appropriate songs at many tour dates, I was looking for contenders for his Dallas shows and discovered this modern-country classic.
Great idea for an occasional series btw. Gonna take my time going through this to listen to the samples. (My vote for next genre among those you listed: Ambient)
Watched They Live with my 19-year-old son last week — we were about a third of the way through when he just started laughing and said "this is totally your shit."
Six years of living in Kansas for school made an indelible impression on me when it comes to country music (in a good way).
The Thing is my absolute favorite movie and getting to see it on the big screen at the Music Box was a highlight of last year. Being exposed to They Live and other 80s anti-capitalism horror movies like The Stuff as a child had a likely unintentionally profound effect on the politics I now have as an adult.
Great read as always - lots here I wasn't familiar with, which is always a treat. Would be curious to know your thoughts on HARDY, who, for me, walks the line between irony and sincerity perfectly, dipping copiously into unapologetically-dumb-as-rocks-but-fun-as-hell nu metal. He's a superstar in the right circles but I'd argue largely ignored by people who aren't mainstream country enthusiasts. Maybe not your thing, but I'm always wanting to read intelligent writing on stuff I see under-covered! Thanks for sharing, as always.
Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness would be right up your alley! Horror writer vs. existential terror.
Back when Dylan was covering regionally-appropriate songs at many tour dates, I was looking for contenders for his Dallas shows and discovered this modern-country classic.
(Sadly, Bob did not cover it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfrFY-uaupY
Great idea for an occasional series btw. Gonna take my time going through this to listen to the samples. (My vote for next genre among those you listed: Ambient)
Watched They Live with my 19-year-old son last week — we were about a third of the way through when he just started laughing and said "this is totally your shit."
Also come hang out on Bluesky a bit, buddy. It's picking up!
Six years of living in Kansas for school made an indelible impression on me when it comes to country music (in a good way).
The Thing is my absolute favorite movie and getting to see it on the big screen at the Music Box was a highlight of last year. Being exposed to They Live and other 80s anti-capitalism horror movies like The Stuff as a child had a likely unintentionally profound effect on the politics I now have as an adult.
Great read as always - lots here I wasn't familiar with, which is always a treat. Would be curious to know your thoughts on HARDY, who, for me, walks the line between irony and sincerity perfectly, dipping copiously into unapologetically-dumb-as-rocks-but-fun-as-hell nu metal. He's a superstar in the right circles but I'd argue largely ignored by people who aren't mainstream country enthusiasts. Maybe not your thing, but I'm always wanting to read intelligent writing on stuff I see under-covered! Thanks for sharing, as always.
Tried The Mockingbird & the Crow last year it didn't click. Will give the new one a go. Definitely seems like he'd be a blast live
Great read Josh, and love all of your picks! Looking forward to seeing more columns like this in the future
means the world to hear this especially coming from you, Matt!