Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Contexts of Listening

If you listen to Americana music, chances are you've picked up No Depression magazine at some point (if you haven't, track it down at your local bookstore or music shop). Run by Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock, it's probably the best resource for finding out what's happening in the Americana and alt-country music scene.

As an added bonus, the website contains blogs by both Alden and Blackstock. I've come to especially appreciate Grant Alden's blog because of the questions it has recently been making me ask about music, the history of music, and how we evaluate both as critics and/or listeners.

A couple of weeks ago, he wrote an entry about a question that had been posed to him:

If the Rolling Stones released Exile On Main Street today, as greybeards, and, say, Voodoo Lounge, back when they were rising lions, would Exile still be judged a great and landmark album. Would they still be judged one of the greatest bands of all time? "Take any '60s or '70s icon who is still making records (Dylan, Young, McCartney)," he asked, "and instead of judging their recent work against the greatest thing they've done (i.e., their most influential LP), just flip them. Take some time and really think about your answer; it's not as easy as you think, that is, if you are totally honest about it."


As he says, it's not an easy question and it's one I've been puzzling over since I read it. For Alden, it becomes a question of whether it is possible to make vital rock after 40. For me, however, it becomes a question about how we make judgments about music and about how much context matters in making those judgments. And context here is complex -- our own changing contexts as listeners, the contexts (both musical and social) in which the music was originally made, and the contexts (both musical and social) in which the listening is done. Change one or more of these contexts (as is implied in the original question) and the regard we have for that music, the very way we listen to it, changes drastically.

Of course, it's always hypothetical, a "mental gymnastics" as Alden calls it. The reason it's useful, I think, is that it makes us think about our contexts and about how we come to decisions about music. Context matters and we can't get around that. The problem lies when we pretend that we listen in a vacuum and make judgments on some kind of objective criteria. We can't and we don't.

Think about your reactions to any recent (or classic) album. What shapes the way you listen, your reactions, the way you talk about it with your friends? Why, for example, do I now have an appreciation for Bettye LaVette's new album, The Scene of the Crime, that I would not have had at twenty or if I had listened to it in the context of the kind of music that was coming out in the mid-1980s? Or, to go back to Alden's question, what if LaVette had not toiled for all those years, but had instead had immediate success? If this album were coming out at the beginning of her career, would it have the same resonance? What if Amy Winehouse's Back to Black came not at the beginning of her career, but at the end? My point is, change any of the musicians' contexts, any of my contexts, or any of the larger musical and/or social contexts, and the listening experience and the judgments to which we come also change.

Mental gymnastics? Yes, of course, but useful, I think, for people who care about music and consider themselves more than just casual listeners. Think about it the next time you listen.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Steel Belted Radio Playlist #137 (September 25, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

In My Hands
Square Root of Margaret
Teragram Photeur

Nice to Fit In
Josh Rouse
Country Mouse City House

Coward’s Serenade
Deromantic
S/T

Sunset to Dawn
The Sadies
New Seasons

Walk On
The Pack
Tintype

Long Ride Home
Ten Year Drought
Memoranda

Trapeze
Patty Griffin
Children Running Through

When the Deal Goes Down
Bob Dylan
Modern Times

Words
Lucinda Williams
West

Salina
The Avett Brothers
Emotionalism

Anna’s Smoke
The Locusts Have No King
S/T

The Rodeo’s Over
Corb Lund
Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer

Try Like You Mean It
The Canaries
Beauty Collides

Bitter-endless
Mark Davis
Don’t You Think We Should Be Closer

Don’t Ask Why
Shuyler Jansen
Today’s Remains

Years
Ron Leary
The Road in Between

Sunday, September 23, 2007

2007 Americana Music Association Awards

In case you missed it, the Americana Music Association Awards nominees were announced at the end of June and will be handed out on November 1 at the 2007 Americana Music Festival and Conference in Nashville. As expected there are some great nominees, but I want to focus your attention on the Album of the Year candidates. All of them received significant play on Steel Belted Radio and all of them are fine albums. Here they are:
Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers (Ramseur)
West - Lucinda Williams (Lost Highway)
Children Running Through - Patty Griffin (ATO)
Modern Times - Bob Dylan (Columbia)

Those of you who regularly listen to the program will know that I'm a big fan of the Avett Brothers and so I'm thrilled that they've been nominated for this award (along with their nominations for New and Emerging Artist and Duo/Group of the Year). The boys deserve it -- Emotionalism is a complex album that nicely follows their wonderful release, Four Thieves Gone. What I like about their music are the textures, layers of voices and instruments that make me pay attention to every note and every word. I saw them in Ann Arbor about a month ago and their live show is something to behold. If you don't know the Avett Brothers, check them out.

Although I saw some mediocre reviews for West, I think it's Lucinda Williams' strongest record since Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. It's a record about loss and healing that is both heartbreaking and redemptive. She's in fine voice here and shows what a fine songwriter she really is. Check out "Are You Alright?" and "Learning How to Live."

I'm also a big fan of Patty Griffin and have been since 1000 Kisses, one of my favourite albums from the 2000's. Seriously. If you don't know this record, order it online right now or run out tomorrow to your nearest record retailer. It features some of the best songs I have ever heard, especially the haunting "Long Ride Home" (a song that Ten Year Drought covers beautifully on their most recent album, Memoranda). Children Running Through doesn't approach the majesty of 1000 Kisses, but it has some amazing individual tracks, including "Heavenly Day" (which is currently playing on my cd player) which was nominated for the 2007 AMA Song of the Year Award. It's a beautiful, soaring song that makes me happy to be alive. Patty Griffin has, without a doubt, one of the best voices in all of Americana music.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not a big fan of Bob Dylan and never really have been (though I am considering grabbing tickets for Dylan and Elvis Costello at Eastern Michigan University). That said, I enjoyed Modern Times as much as I have any Dylan album and I appreciate the way he looks to the tradition he both created and to which he owes a debt of gratitude for his inspiration.

Four very deserving albums. Take a good listen to all of them over the next few weeks and make a decision for yourself as to which you think deserves to win the AMA Album of the Year. On the right hand side of this site, you will find a poll that will run until the winner is announced on November 1. So vote. Let's see what y'all think. And if you think an album (released between June 1, 2006 and May 31, 2007) should have been considered, leave a comment. Let's talk about what we think are the albums deserving consideration for Americana Album of the Year.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Steel Belted Radio Playlist #136 (September 18, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Walk On By
Leroy Van Dyke
Classic Country Gold

Swimming Like a Needle in the Haystack of the Sea
Nathan Lawr
A Sea of Tiny Lights

Whatever It Takes
Darrel Anderson
Places You Used to Go

The Last Time Again
The Bible All-Stars
S/T

Love Don’t Add Up
Alistair Christl
Unmarked Grave

Blue Wing
Dave Alvin
Wounded Heart of America (Songs of Tom Russell)

John Henry
John Dee Holeman and the Waifs Band
S/T

Snake Mountain Blues
Townes Van Zandt
A Far Cry from Dead

Jealousy
Bettye LaVette
The Scene of the Crime

Civil Twilight
The Weakerthans
Reunion Tour

Tournament of Hearts
The Weakerthans
Reunion Tour

Jericho Road
Steve Earle
Washington Square Blues

Versatile Heart
Linda Thompson
Versatile Heart

Itchy Feet
Hogwash
Dance

In the Gravel Yard
Dollar Store
Money Music

Ripe
Ben Lee
Ripe

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Harvesting the FAM, CJAM, and the Windsor Music Scene

On Friday, September 14 the second, highly successful Harvesting the FAM festival took place. Congratulations to Murad Erzinclioglu and all of the volunteers for an incredibly well organized day of film, art, and music, all from Windsor and Essex County and all free. The events were very well attended and showed off the tremendous amount of talent that exists in our area. It made me stop and think about how vibrant Windsor really is.

As you can guess, what most interested me about the festival was the music -- 32 acts on 3 stages over 12 hours, with much of it broadcast live on CJAM. By any reckoning, that's a massive logistical undertaking, both for the festival organizers and for the station. The sound was crystal clear and helped to showcase the diversity of music for the listeners who couldn't make it down in person. If you missed the programming on Friday or want to relive some of the musical highlights, go to the CJAM archives and have a listen.

As a campus-based community radio station, our mandate at CJAM is to provide music and information programming not offered by the mainstream media in the Windsor/Detroit area. That's why we broadcast live events such as this one and play local bands like Academy, The Locusts Have No King, and Citywide Vacuum, who all appeared at the FAM festival, as well as Square Root of Margaret, who are currently touring Western Canada. Excellent local music across diverse genres. All they need are the listeners and a way to get their music heard. That's where grassroots and volunteer efforts like Harvesting the FAM and CJAM (where all four of these bands are currently charting) come in.

To me, it's that ability and desire to search beyond what's offered on commercial radio that makes campus/community radio important and relevant. And that's what I hope makes Steel Belted Radio relevant to the listeners -- a place to listen to the kind of country and roots music that doesn't get played on commercial radio. There's so much good music out there and if I can guide you towards some of it, maybe introduce you to a new artist, then it's a program that's worth doing. Let me know what you think.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Migrating the Steel Belted Radio Blog

Since June I have been maintaining a blog, or more accutately a tumblelog, at tumblr.com. In many ways, the tumblr site has been excellent for the kinds of posts I most often make -- weekly playlists, links to the Americana Music Association Radio charts, and links to video and audio files by bands I've been playing on the show. However, the site has definite limitations and I, like many others, have become frustrated by the lack of any site development or improvement in the last 4 months or so. In other words, it's time to move on and embrace Blogger. Welcome to the new Steel Belted Radio show blog.

The weekly playlists will still form the core of the blog, but I also hope to take this opportunity to explore the music that makes Steel Belted Radio what it is. So, stay tuned for an exploration of Americana, roots rock, classic country, folk, and a little bit of blues.

Weekly Playlists June 19, 2007 to September 11, 2007

Steel Belted Radio Playlist #135 (September 11, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Never Got Her Number
Alistair Christl
Unmarked Grave

Rivals
Shuyler Jansen
Today’s Remains

Aeroplane
The Everybodyfields
Nothing is Okay

In a Razor Town
Jason Isbell
Sirens of the Ditch

12:59 Lullaby
Bedouin Soundclash
Street Gospels

My Heart Skips a Beat
The Derailers
Under the Influence of Buck

Act Naturally
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Sings Buck

You’re For Me
Buck Owens
Country Superstars Volume 3

Oh Lonesome Me
Southern Culture on the Skids
Countrypolitan Favorites

They Won’t Last Long
The Deep Dark Woods
Hang Me Oh Hang Me

Lay Me Down
Doug Andrew and The Circus in Flames
A Little Bit of Gasoline

Cupid’s Arrow
Greg Hobbs
Thunder and Dust

I am a Pilgrim
The Byrds
Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Somebody Pick Up My Pieces
Bettye LaVette
The Scene of the Crime

That’s How I Got to Memphis
Solomon Burke
Nashville

Please Tell My Brother
Golden Smog
Weird Tales


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #134 (August 28, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Sunshine and Roses
Greg Hobbs
Thunder and Dust

Cotton Candy
Grainne Ryan
All the Money

Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore
Kelly Willis
Translated from Love

Not a Love Like This
Kim Richey
Chinese Boxes

Marilyn Monroe
Dala
S/T

Dress Blues
Jason Isbell
Sirens of the Ditch

Wasted Time
The Everybodyfields
Nothing is Okay

Four Strong Winds
Blue Rodeo
The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson

Lifeline
Ben Harper
Lifeline

Excuse Me
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Sings Buck

You Can Call Me Baby
Olav Larsen and the Alabama Rodeo Stars
Love Comes to Town

Let’s Think about Living
Teddy Thompson
Upfront and Down Low

Oxycontin Blues
Steve Earle
Washington Square Serenade

Goodnight Rose
Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger

Frankie Lee
Mulehead
Putamayo Presents Americana

Little Margaret
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #133 (August 21, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Two Soldiers
The Cowboy Junkies
Early 21st Century Blues

Still Beating
Josh Ritter
The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

The Gift
Lucy Kaplansky
Over the Hills

World of Trouble
Norah Jones
The Hottest State Soundtrack

Give Me a Sad Song
Linda Thompson
Versatile Heart

In the Dark
Greg Hobbs
Thunder and Dust

Old Cheyenne
Tom Russell
The Gift: Tribute to Ian Tyson

Angeline
King Wilkie
Low Country Suite

John Paul’s Deliveries
Nathan
Key Principles

London Bridges
Josh Rouse
Country Mouse City House

Don’t Know Why
Kelly Willis
Translated from Love

Underneath the Stars
Peter Case
Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John

Try Like You Mean It
The Canaries
Beauty Collides

Distraction #74
The Avett Brothers
Four Thieves Gone


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #132 (August 14, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Ho-Down
The Lady Racers
Here and Now

Scarecrow
Nathan
Key Principles

Sis Draper
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
Brand New Strings

Shady Grove
Crooked Still
Hop High

Cluck Old Hen
Nobody’s Darlin’
This World is Not My Home

Four Strong Winds
Blue Rodeo
The Gift: Tribute to Ian Tyson

MC Horses
Corb Lund
The Gift: Tribute to Ian Tyson

Wagon Wheel
Old Crow Medicine Show
Putumayo Presents Americana

Pearls on a String
Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger

Beauty Way
Eliza Gilkyson
Your Town Tonight

Bare Necessities
Eliza Gilkyson
Your Town Tonight

May the Sun Always Shine
Olav Larsen and the Alabama Rodeo Stars
Love’s Come to Town

Like Diamonds
The Canaries
Beauty Collides

Hole in My Pocket
Ruthie Foster
Putumayo Presents Americana


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #131 (July 31, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Translated from Love
Kelly Willis
Translated from Love

Hoquiam
Damien Jurado
Now That I’m in Your Shadow

Catching a Slow Train on a Dead Man's Holiday
Dave Dubois
Live In Studio

Trench Song
Dave Dubois
Live In Studio

Last Ride
The Locusts Have No King
S/T

Fool Like Me
Porter Wagoner
Wagonmaster

I Would Be Sad
The Avett Brothers
Emotionalism

Pass You By
Gillian Welch
Revival

Walking the Floor Over You
Teddy Thompson
Upfront and Down Low

Learnin’ the Blues
Del McCoury Band
Del and the Boys

Milk Cow Blues
George Strait
Live at Texas Stadium

Get Along
Carolyn Mark
Nothing is Free

The Heart Bionic
Bobby Bare Jr.
The Longest Meow

Aftermath USA
Drive-By Truckers
A Blessing and a Curse

Halloween Head
Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger

Brand New World
Cowboy Junkies
At the End of Paths Taken


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #130 (July 17, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Take Me With You
The Reckless Sweethearts
S/T

Manhattan Moon
Lucy Kaplansky
Over the Hills

Wrecking Ball
King Wilkie
Low Country Suite

Nothing Stays the Same
Jason Haywood
Nothing Stays the Same

Everybody Knows
Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger

Drift
Kim Richey
Chinese Boxes

Chinese Boxes
Kim Richey
Chinese Boxes

Darling Corey
Crooked Still
Hop High

Tracie Dean
United Steelworkers of Montreal
Kerosene and Coal

Land of My Deceased
The Great Outdoors
Food, Booze, and Entertainment

Sweet Little One
Kelly Willis
Translated from Love

Acuff-Rose
Uncle Tupelo
Anodyne

Dallas
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
S/T

Stop Crying
Bobby Bare Jr.
The Longest Meow

Heavy Metal Drummer
Jeff Tweedy
Sunken Treasure

Old Dan Tucker
Bruce Springsteen
Live in Dublin


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #129 (July 10, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Past in Present
Feist
The Reminder

Nothing is Written in Stone
André Ethier
On Blue Fog

The Raising of the Patriarchs
King Wilkie
Low Country Suite

Virginia Firm
Donovan Woods
The Hold Up

The Last Parade on Ann Street
Chris Bathgate
A Cork Tale Wake

These Blues
Jimmy LaFave
Cimarron Manifesto

The Bus Stop Walk
The Undesirables
Doghouse Dreams

Die Die Die
The Avett Brothers
Emotionalism

Without a Kiss
The Pines
Sparrows in the Bell

You Never Get What You Want
Patty Griffin
Living with Ghosts

Steeple Full of Swallows
The Gourds
Noble Creatures

Pictures at 5
Carolyn Mark
Nothing is Free

Your Darkest Eyes
Rocky Votolato
The Brag and Cuss

Orphan Girl
Crooked Still
Hop High

6 String Belief
Son Volt
Okemah and the Melody of Riot

Starry Crown
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #128 (July 3, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Sixteen Tons
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Classic Country Gold

Walk On
The Pack
Tintype

The Business End
Carolyn Mark
Nothing is Free

Till You’re Gone
The Reckless Sweethearts
S/T

The World Unseen
Rosanne Cash
Black Cadillac

Every Wall You Own
Chris Bathgate
A Cork Tale Wake

Your Story
Limbeck
S/T

Drivin’ Lonely
The Plain Dealers
S/T

Who’s Gonna Pour My Whiskey?
Axton Kincaid
Songs from the Pine Room

Committed to Parkview
Porter Wagoner
Wagonmaster

Whiskey Straight
Rocky Votolato
The Brag and Cuss

Ring of Fire
Elvis Costello
Anchored in Love

Goin’ Home
The Pines
Sparrows in the Bell

Three Easy Pieces
Buffalo Tom
Three Easy Pieces

I Feel It All
Feist
The Reminder


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #124 (Encore Presentation -- Originally Broadcast May 8, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Blood on the Bluegrass
The Legendary Shack Shakers
Cockadoodledon’t

The Buck Stops Here
Robbie Fulks
Revenge

Rock Bottom, Pop. 1
Robbie Fulks
Revenge

While You Were Gone
BR549
This is BR549

Walk Alone
Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
Walk Alone

Saved by Radio
Mark Davis
Don't You Think We Should Be Closer

Just Begun
Old Reliable
Gone are the Days

Off My Mind
The Western States
S/T

Mary
Reels
Autumn Country

Beauty Queen
Oh Susanna
Short Stories

Four Strong Winds
Johnny Cash
A Hundred Highways

Four Winds
Bright Eyes
Cassadega

Nobody Knows My Name
Rickie Lee Jones
Sermon on Exposition Boulevard

Kathleen
Josh Ritter
Hello Starling

The Search
Son Volt
The Search


Steel Belted Radio Playlist #127 (June 19, 2007)

Song
Artist
Album

Blue River
A Night in the Box
The Hustle, The Prayer, The Thief

One Thing
Carolyn Mark
Nothing is Free

Steel Tooth River
Petunia and the Loons
S/T

Red House Blue
The Plain Dealers
S/T

I Don’t Care Anymore
Wayne Hancock
Tulsa

Fool Like Me
Porter Wagoner
Wagonmaster

Red Lights
Axton Kincaid
Songs from the Pine Room

Before You Were Born
Rocky Votolato
The Brag and Cuss

Car Outside
Jimmy LaFave
Cimmaron Manifesto

Jackson
Carlene Carter/Ronnie Dunn
Anchored in Love

Blossom
Nick Drake
Family Tree

Song of a Cloud
Kevin House
World of Beauty

Brand New World
Cowboy Junkies
At the End of Paths Taken

Eight Years
Mark Davis
Don’t You Think We Should Be Closer

364
Juliana Hatfield/Frank Smith
Sittin’ in a Tree