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The bit that you skip #246: Stiltskin – Inside
I love writing. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but only got “serious” around ’94, when I started fervently listening to music, both on CD and tape. I wasn’t too keen on popular music for the longest of time due to bully issues in primary school, but once I got free of those…
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The bit that you skip #245: Simply Red – Fairground
“His music’s rubbish, and he’s ginger” declares God (maybe?) at the end of 24 Hour Party People to Tony Wilson. Both portrayed by Steve Coogan. It’s a film I love but I always felt the hate for Mick Hucknall was a bit excessive. Part of the joke, I guess? Simply Red isn’t a bad band.…
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The bit that you skip #244: Waylon Jennings – Are you sure Hank done it this way?
“We could never find Waylon” joked Willie Nelson on his VH1 Storyteller session with Johnny Cash. Ghost Riders in the Sky had just finished, and for my money, it’s the best version out there. Waylon Jennings always had a reputation, akin to being the Keith Moon of Country. Between the alcohol, the drugs, and the…
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The bit that you skip #243: Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream
It’s a weird fact that a few decades ago, it seemed that an artist had a halflife of 3 albums (at most) or 6 music videos, if you go for MTV standards. The popularization of synths, which led to home producing a decade after, pushed many bands from the 70s to other territories. The Cure…
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The bit that you skip #242: Wanda Jackson – Funnel of Love
“Women don’t sell records” is the infamous phrase thrown at Wanda Jackson in the late 50s. That probably sparked her furious energy that spilled into a long career in music. With both wings firmly clasping blues, rock, and country, Wanda Jackson’s vocals are protopunk. Sure, the country standards and duets in the beginning were more…
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The bit that you skip #241 – Ashley McBryde – Rattlesnake Preacher
A couple of years ago, I sat down and made a couple of playlists. One was for country music that reminded me of my childhood and family trips. The second one was for the country music I’ve discovered through my life, old and new, from the underrated to the overproduced. While yesterday’s post referred to…
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The bit that you skip #239: Patsy Cline – Sweet Dreams (of you)
An unreleased track by the time of Cline’s tragic passing, Sweet Dreams (of you) was a further exploration of a pop-friendly side of Patsy Cline. Originally a Don Gibson track, Sweet Dreams (of you) became a country standard, both by the strength of the song and its association with Cline. There are artists that always…
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The bit that you skip #238: Juice Newton – Country Comfort
For some strange reason, I correlate country and the 70s as a single entity. Disco, punk, and AOR are surely a better reference for everyone, but in my case, I can’t see that decade as anything other than country. John Denver, Kenny Rogers, DollyParton, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Conway Twitty. Just a few…
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The bit that you skip #237: Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
EDIT: Terrible timing for this post, as I just heard the news. Thanks for all the music and my family memories, Ms. Parton. As a kid, I always thought that Parton’s song (and movie) 9 to 5 inspired the mexican comedy Mi Secretaria. The premises were similar, as were some of the jokes. Perhaps both…
