With Elvis Presley serving as such a powerful cultural touchstone, it’s not surprising people have constantly reinterpreted his image to suit their own agendas. This is most readily seen in the realm of the Elvis impersonator (or “Elvis Tribute Artist,” […]
For over a decade, the Funk Brothers, a team of unsung studio musicians, provided the heartbeat to the Motown Sound. This new documentary is a love song, dedicated just to them. Early on, we’re told that from 1959-71, the Funk […]
Lowell George’s musical career was foundering when he died of a massive heart attack on July 29, 1979. He was only 34 and had lost control of Little Feat, the band he’d created in his image early that decade. Ironically, […]
Beecher Ray “Pete” Kirby, known to country music fans as Bashful Brother Oswald, died October 17. He was 90. Oswald was largely responsible for popularizing use of the dobro in country and bluegrass music, though in his long tenure as […]
GILLIAN WELCH, The Revelator Collection (Acony, www.aconyrecords.com): Built on three staged videos and nine numbers filmed at live performances in Carrboro, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee, this hour-long DVD reminds us how revealing this format can be. The Revelator Collection […]
“Singles remind me of kisses, Albums remind me of plans” — Squeeze, “If I Didn’t Love You” (Argybargy, 1980) We are all, I suspect, still discovering the extent to which we have been shaped by the events and sounds of […]
Rhett Miller: The Instigator, indeed Time for a reality check for Paul Kloss, who extends his loathing for Rhett Miller’s solo debut The Instigator to Rhett’s clothes, hair and indeed Rhett himself [Box Full of Letters, ND #42, Nov.-Dec. 2002]. […]
1 Ryan Adams, Demolition (Lost Highway) 2 Steve Earle, Jerusalem (E-Squared/Artemis) 3 Various Artists, O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (Mercury/Lost Highway) 4 Beck, Sea Change (DGC) 5 Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (Blue Note) 6 Wilco, Yankee Hotel […]
HAPPY LOVING COUPLES: The big news in alt-country circles in recent weeks, at least social circles, is the November 21 marriage of renowned singer-songwriters Iris DeMent and Greg Brown in DeMent’s hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. Though their relationship had […]
It’s the summer of 1983, and it could be in Illinois or Indiana or Missouri. A brother and sister are making the festival rounds, playing the hits of the fiddle contest circuit: “Sally Johnson”, “Sally Gooden”, “Yellow Rose Waltz”, “Sop […]
