Okay, it was Kris Kristofferson on Austin City Limits, not REM. But ain't that just as good? "Sunday Morning Comin' Down" is about as flawlessly poetic a song as you'll ever hear, even when raspy-throated Kris performs it.
The old buzzard gave me gooseflesh when he sang & strummed "Help Me Make It Through the Night" & "For the Good Times." And he made me smile when he said about the capital of Texas:
"Okay, this isn't Music City. But it's Music Soul anyway."
But Mr. Steve Earle doin' Townes Van Zandt's songs & telling stories about his dead pal tonight was even better for me. God bless you, Townes, wherever you are.
Showing posts with label Kris Kristofferson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kris Kristofferson. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Steve & Justin Townes Earle, critical darlings
Will Hermes, one of the critics polled by Nashville Scene (NS), a local weekly, had these kind & insightful things to say in NS's 10th Annual Country Music Critics Poll (see the Jan. 7th issue at www.nashvillescene.com) about two of my favorite Americana/country musicians:
"I loved the father/son symmetry of the Steve Earle/Justin Townes Earle records, which both spoke to tradition, albeit in different ways. Pops bowed to his own creative father on "Townes," with covers that played fast and loose stylistically (see Tom Morello's weirdly appropriate hip-hop noise guitar on "Lungs"); the kid played originals looking back to a still-earlier era while also covering The Replacements. These guys understand tradition is something to be both cherished and run up against." - Will Hermes, whose music journalism/criticism appears in the NY Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly & The Village Voice as well as on National Public Radio.
Overall, Steve Earle finished 16th with "Townes" in the NS critics poll's list of the best country albums of 2009, while Justin Townes Earle's "Midnight at the Movies" got the #8 spot. JTE was also voted the #8 songwriter, ahead of Kris Kristofferson & Guy Clark, but behind Buddy & Julie Miller & even Taylor Swift. The talented Avett Brothers took 15th with their fine record "I and Love and You." Number one went to Miranda Lambert's "Revolution." Thankfully, the Americana sub-genre is embraced by Nashville Scene's editors as being "country," rather than relegating its artists to the margins - as some narrow-minded industry leaders seem to prefer.
Sadly, Neko Case didn't make the cut in either the album, the singles or the female vocalist categories. Apparently the 77 critics who participated in NS's poll think that Ms. Case's brilliant "Middle Cyclone" strayed too far from Americana/alt-country land into pop/rock territory. But at least they showed some wider awareness by choosing Elvis Costello's "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" as the #11 country album of 2009. Maybe that's Elvis' reward for his many years of championing New Orleans roots music & the classic songs of George Jones & his traditional country ilk. Thankfully, such quirky & often neglected artists as Lyle Lovett & Loudon Wainwright III got nods in the NS poll as well.
NOTE: I'll give you a report on Justin Townes Earle's Jan. 27th show at Nashville's hip Mercy Lounge at Cannery Row as soon as I can.
"I loved the father/son symmetry of the Steve Earle/Justin Townes Earle records, which both spoke to tradition, albeit in different ways. Pops bowed to his own creative father on "Townes," with covers that played fast and loose stylistically (see Tom Morello's weirdly appropriate hip-hop noise guitar on "Lungs"); the kid played originals looking back to a still-earlier era while also covering The Replacements. These guys understand tradition is something to be both cherished and run up against." - Will Hermes, whose music journalism/criticism appears in the NY Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly & The Village Voice as well as on National Public Radio.
Overall, Steve Earle finished 16th with "Townes" in the NS critics poll's list of the best country albums of 2009, while Justin Townes Earle's "Midnight at the Movies" got the #8 spot. JTE was also voted the #8 songwriter, ahead of Kris Kristofferson & Guy Clark, but behind Buddy & Julie Miller & even Taylor Swift. The talented Avett Brothers took 15th with their fine record "I and Love and You." Number one went to Miranda Lambert's "Revolution." Thankfully, the Americana sub-genre is embraced by Nashville Scene's editors as being "country," rather than relegating its artists to the margins - as some narrow-minded industry leaders seem to prefer.
Sadly, Neko Case didn't make the cut in either the album, the singles or the female vocalist categories. Apparently the 77 critics who participated in NS's poll think that Ms. Case's brilliant "Middle Cyclone" strayed too far from Americana/alt-country land into pop/rock territory. But at least they showed some wider awareness by choosing Elvis Costello's "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" as the #11 country album of 2009. Maybe that's Elvis' reward for his many years of championing New Orleans roots music & the classic songs of George Jones & his traditional country ilk. Thankfully, such quirky & often neglected artists as Lyle Lovett & Loudon Wainwright III got nods in the NS poll as well.
NOTE: I'll give you a report on Justin Townes Earle's Jan. 27th show at Nashville's hip Mercy Lounge at Cannery Row as soon as I can.
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