Nashville or Bust

Anyone been reading this? It's a series by Nathan Rabin, hip hop writer for Onion AV Club.

"This year, I decided to stop dreaming about pursuing a super-intense yearlong crash course in country, and start doing it. Inspired by Noel Murray’s Popless series, I will, over the next year, immerse myself in the sum of country music, the good, the bad, and the creamy middle, and write a series of long, rambling, freeform essays about my musical odyssey deep into the heart of a vital, oft-maligned sector of American music."

He starts easy, with Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. I actually got into the series after reading Week 34: David Allan Coe the Self-Promoter.

"David Allan Coe is the closest thing to a hip-hop artist I’ve covered for this column. He spent many of his formative years in jail, then greatly exaggerated both the nature of his crimes and the severity of his prison sentence. He’s a shameless self-promoter who manages to insert his name into seemingly half his songs with a fervor that puts Mike Jones to shame. He’s piggybacked on the popularity of more popular artists by constantly associating himself with icons like Hank Williams (he’s written two songs about his ghost and one about his son), Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard."

I'm only a few entries in after going back to the beginning, but I like what I've read so far. Anyone else following?

DAC

he played at a tiny club here in muncie not too long ago

i was surprised

Was not on my radar, but I will bookmark it for those bored-to-tears Saturdays when the wife and kid are napping and Ol Gar's wide awake.

Ol' Doc's Music Hall...

did you book him??

I've read a few of the series and enjoyed them. I read most of what the AV Club does. Quality and thoughtful.

Haven't read this, but agree on AV Club's overall quality

No, I just got an e-mail from Doc's saying he was coming.

This has sucked me in. I like this guy's writing style, despite his deep immersion in horrible rap, I identify with a lot of what he says, and how he gained an appreciation for many of these artists.

Told you!

I honestly thought this thread was going to be about you had already tired of Austin and were now moving to Nash-Vegas.


Good find though. I've started from the beginning.

I'm not only rooted, but fucking domesticated. The Broad, two dogs and Whole Foods coming to the 'hood. *sips homemade cold-brewed iced coffee*

Welcome to the '10s, Welcome to Jail

Related to the thread title:

interview book by Marshall Chapman "They Came to Nashville"

RIYL: stories of why songwriters move to Nashville in pursuit of a dream

He plays here like 2x a year. People around here can't get enough of him...or Bret Michaels. *shudder*

So, now they're doing a Whatever Happened To Alternative Nation Series

Just saw that!

I enjoyed this. I couldn't have written a better story of my own childhood experience with music. Funny, how common the experience was. This quote in particular rang true.

I'm pretty disappointed that the 1990 one was all about Nirvana when they didn't really break until 1991. I would have rather reminisced about something like the video's for SY's "Kool Thing" or Janes' "Stop" that I remember getting a lot of play that summer.

Oh, my. Alternative Nation

Yeah, this guy appears to be my exact same age. I totally remember almost everything he writes about.

And Kurtz, the stuff you talk about was probably played on 120 Minutes or whatever, whereas dolts like me thought that was for y'all weird niggas, and only watched Yo Raps and whatever came on during the normal hours.

Fall of 1991 to be exact and I agree. I was more likely listening to Pretty Hate Machine, Nothings Shocking, or the Stone Roses. But, to be fair, I think I was also REALLY into Zepplin around then and "Ride The Lightning". I'm sure Eazy E, Beasties, and Public Enemy were in there too. I got lucky with this era as well (RE: not having a place to find new music outside of MTV) in that my buddy's bro went to Florida St the year after our freshman year and immediately started working at the campus radio station. I remember him bringing back all kinds of weird crap like Sebadoh and King Missle.

Couple things that came to mind while reading that article:

1) I'd take Poison over Nickelback any day. At least they were overtly superficial.

2) Alice In Chains "Dirt" might be the best of that whole era when all is said and done.

That's probably not a popular opinion in the fever swamps of Obner-land but I tend to agree: Dirt and Vs. are the winners in my book.

i tend to agree as well along with Nirvana Unplugged