Country music for libs...

[cynatnite]

Waylon Jennings sings 'America'. It's all home and he loves it all. He sings about not fighting in a war because it doesn't seem right. He embraces all of America and everyone in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGz_xSSgjY0

Johnny Cash...'nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM&feature=related

Willie Nelson....compassion for the poor, stands up to the govt for it's oppressive practices and the first major country and western singer to sing about gay cowboys. Even the very liberal Tim McGraw, who I love, hasn't taken this step.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4CXlIYjyE

These guys were considered outlaws. Waylon despised corporate country so much that he went off and started his own music label. Johnny Cash fought country music industry off and on for years. An honorable mention goes to Hank Jr.

Today's country and western industry practically worships these guys. This is the same industry that treated the Dixie Chicks with such venom and still won't acknowledge their contribution to this day. This industry which is so conservative and allows the RW nutjobs that listens to them to dictate the very lyrics of music. If anyone knows anything about guys like Waylon and Hank Jr, they'd get a big FU from those legends.

[lame54]

1. Must hear Lib country song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTW0y6kazWM
From the James McMurtry album childish things
A great album

[cynatnite]

3. Well, I was looking at the big name C&W singers...

and how it's conveniently forgotten that these guys have been anti-establishment long before now. That's a good song, but it's not the point I was trying to make.

[greyl]

4. Hey there.

I just learned about him around 2 months ago. A friend heard the song "Choctaw Bingo" (Ray Wylie Hubbard's cover version)on a DirectTV music station, and I ended up finding the original and live versions by McMurtry.
He's a great guy to have around.

[YOY]

8. I hate country but I loved that

That's no poppy twang marketed out to imbeciles. That's real American set to good music.

[greyl]

10. Yep. That song won Song of the Year at the 2006 "Americana" awards.

According to the Americana Music Association, Americana "is in part a reaction to slicker mainstream country music that grew in popularity in the 1990s".
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/23/ap/entertainment/mainD8KAAJT80.shtml

[YOY]

11. I can feel the Scots Irish roots goodness and folk quality dripping off that song.

Off Shedaisy, Brooks and Dunn, or even Garth? Not so much.

I prefer Old School Punk myself but that's some good music none-the-less!

[greyl]

2. James McMurtry is another one to appreciate.

AUSTIN, Texas — Lightning Rod Records will release singer/songwriter James McMurtry’s new CD, titled Just Us Kids, on April 15, 2008. McMurtry’s ninth album, which features 12 new songs, is a follow-up to 2005’s critically acclaimed and award-winning project, Childish Things.

McMurtry has long been known as fine storyteller, but he has lately received nationwide attention for his role as a musical activist. On Just Us Kids, McMurtry picks up where he left off with his controversial anthem “We Can’t Make It Here.” On "Cheney's Toy," McMurtry once again reminds us that the war in Iraq is still going on, with veiled references to Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and the stark image of a soldier who returned from the conflict, blind and brain damaged. The lyrics of “God Bless America” call out the corporate profiteering and cronyism of the heads of state who led the country to war. McMurtry’s songs introduce the listener to characters that exist on the fringes of society. Drug addicts, murderers, crooked politicians, and other unsavory folks all play a part on Just Us Kids.

The self-produced album shows that McMurtry has developed a skill as producer that matches his songcraft. The songs on Just Us Kids vary widely in texture and instrumentation. The Faces’ Ian McLagan’s piano playing is all over the album while Timbuk3’s pat mAcdonald’s harmonica peppers several tracks. Austin singer/songwriter John Dee Graham contributes a wailing guitar solo to “Fireline Road.” Grammy-nominated Louisiana rocker, C.C. Adcock, adds a swampy guitar part to the album opener, “Bayou Tortous.” The rhythm section is McMurtry’s longtime road band, Daren Hess and Ronnie Johnson.

Just Us Kids will be the first release for Nashville-based Lightning Rod Records, distributed by Thirty Tigers/RED. Label president Logan Rogers previously worked as director of A&R for Compadre Records on the release of McMurtry’s last two albums. “Working with James McMurtry has been a career highlight for me. He is a phenomenal artist with tremendous integrity, and I can think of no better debut release for Lightning Rod Records,” said Rogers.

http://jamesmcmurtry.com/

Corporate Country Sucks!

[cynatnite]

9. 'Corporate Country Sucks' was on some band member's T-shirt...

at Hank Jr.'s tribute concert on HDNet. I remember laughing my ass off when I saw it.

[newmajority]

5. Merle Haggard - America First

I don't honestly know what Merle's overall politics are these days, but this recent song didn't leave much doubt about his feelings on the Iraq debacle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jrHPjm4qKM

[FredMertz]

6. What about Steve Earl?

Playing at Woodstock's Bearsville Theater tonight!

[cynatnite]

7. I knew I'd forget someone...

My bad. I do love Steve Earl. My husband saw him a few years ago and said it was a great concert experience.