Every now and then, I’ll crank up the stereo in the car and listen to this song 20 times in a row. It may be perfect.
Lucinda Williams always reminds me of a pet peeve. What the hell is “alt country”? How could we have allowed that name to stick anyway? It bugs me almost as much as “Indy Rock”. Is that rock from Indiana or something?
27th Street 
Well, we let marketing executives at music companies to label and segregate music. Death to purists! Then…all music will be valued for it’s narrating the human condition. As long as we turn up our noses at pop music versus country versus rock the CEOs win.
Great interview with Prince in Ebony this month. He talks about music…
“The most important thing right now is 2 take advantage of the changing landscape of America. The long-standing monopoly of white ownership of black music should b abolished. We need 2 get back 2 localized music distribution on all levels. In a world fast headed towards globalization we need 2 free the art from the gatekeepers that all c black culture as monochromatic. We come in all colors and it should b reflected that way everywhere around the globe”…
You know I think Mr. Prince is one smart cat. I don’t quite understand the point you’re making about pop music vs country vs rock and the CEOs. They mostly don’t care what you spend your coin on as long as they get a piece of the action. In my little brain, the way to stop the CEOs from winning is to make lots of home-made jam. If you just keep on making home-made jam, as Michelle Shocked said, those corporate jam factories will have to close their doors. I personally like all flavours of home-made jam, some of course more than others.
Big Red Sun Blues always gets me all emotional.
What a powerful singer.
A gem.
Alt country is the form of country music that it’s okay for the hipsters to listen to, innit?
I saw Lucinda Williams a couple of years ago, and while I was there more as support for the spousal unit, I was struck by what a great time she was having on stage. She seems genuinely humbled by our presence.
You mean that hipsters aren’t allowed to listen to Lefty Frizzell and Earnest Tubb and Loretta Lynn? Rats. Now I’ll never get to be a hipster.
She has a gorgeous voice!
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is one of my favourite albums
As it happens, it’s one of my favourites too. The songs and the performances are all fantastic.