What is Alt. country?

[Kyluckyman]

Originally Posted by Jakedog

In my mind, Gram, The Burritos, The Byrds "Sweetheart" era, was the genesis of Alt. Country. The very first of it. It didn't exist before that.

Don't forget Poco! It's A Good Feeling To Know is a great tune from that era.

[IdahoPicker]

I've always thought of it as the fundamentals of American music (particularly that of the 20th century) brought together. Country musicians brought up with a healthy respect for rock, and visa versa.

At any rate, it's good stuff.

[bumblefingers]

Saw REK this weekend. He kept talking about country music from a time machine. Basically if you are listening thinking "I could have heard this 10 or 20 or 50 years ago" then that is the country he endeavors to play. Might fit here.

Another way might be anything anti the Nashville machine.

I grew up on cross Canadian and REK and Steve earl. Rascal Flatts literally makes me sick to my stomach.

[mal paso]

Well, Jakedog pretty much summed it up best.


Originally it was country mixed with soul, maybe a little rock n' roll.

(see Gram Parsons)

Gram wanted to expand or evolve country by including it's past and it's future.


Which is a pretty psychedelic point of view.


Anyway, that didn't seem to get too far outside of Outlaw Country, which came of age in the late 60's, early 70's.

(phaser?)

Hybrid style, regardless of popular consensus, would best explain it. To me, anyway. But a funny thing happened. At some point, country homogenized with pop, and as a result "country" was diluted.

Now, to me anyway, alt-country means actual real country. Sure, it might have an edge(stretching back to Gram's ideal of a Cosmic Americana),


but it harkens back to the real stuff, the ghostly, lonely stuff, that kids dreamt about in the 50's.

A celebration of tradition, if you will.


trains and whippoorwhills, and that girl in El paso.. etc.





And thank God, it's not goin' anywhere

[Kyluckyman]

Thank you for this post! It motivated me to get on Amazon and order an Old Crow MS CD. I like how they have a cool sound using acoustical instruments.

[wayloncash]

Originally Posted by purpletele

Steve Earle, The Jayhawks, Uncle Tupelo and early Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Drive by Truckers.

alt-country likes somewhere between country and rock, but not really country rock.

This is a good example of why labels are silly.

Dwight Yokam and the Flying Burrito Bros are definitely alternative compared to what is considered country now, but I think few would call them ALT-country.

I think you got it right on. Drive by truckers is a good example. Also you should check out Chris knight, Down the river

[Tim Armstrong]

It's really just the continuation of what they called "Progressive Country" and then "Outlaw Country" back in the 70s. Non-mainstream country music. It's a big umbrella, covers a lot of different sounds...

Tim

[e44crowe]

I find one of the common distinctions of alt-country is that the music has country feel/ rhythm but not stereotypical country subject matters. Also, Maybe a little more overdriven rock guitar and what not.

[JBOWLES]

I always felt like alt-country should be about 5 categories in itself. Some are more bluegrass, some more rock, punk, blues and jam band oriented. I've been around all this my whole life. Either from family playing it, being in Nashville (off Broadway), or having a great collection of tools to find new bands with and being hungry to find them. I miss No Depression...

How can you pinpoint who is and isn't truly an alternative to country? Parsons, Son Volt, Wilco, the Truckers, Yonder, Panic, Jason and the Scorchers, Robert Earl Keen & Willie. Stoney Larue, Adam Hood, Bleu Edmondson, and Cross Canadian Ragweed, etc... get the Red Dirt offshoot of the Alt even. What ties all these artists together to make people categorize them that way? Wouldn't they not only be alt country, but alt blues, rock, folk, hippie, punk or whatever respective genre background they might also fall loosely under?

[Alex W]

Originally Posted by Jakedog

In my mind, Gram, The Burritos, The Byrds "Sweetheart" era, was the genesis of Alt. Country. The very first of it. It didn't exist before that.

These days, it sounds very traditional in a lot of ways. Back then, yowsers. No way would any of it get played on mainstream country stations, no way would any mainstream country artist embrace it as country. Gram never would have been booked on Hee-Haw, had he lived long enough to see the show.

I agree with the above.

Alt.country is a fairly big umbrella that IMO includes music that can be traced to Gram Parsons, old-timey country/folk music like Gillian Welch, classic-sounding country music now mostly forsaken by Nashville popular country, country-rock like Robbie Fulks, and Americana music like the Jayhawks. (And much more, no doubt.) Sometimes I jokingly refer to it as "crying in your imported beer music."

Here's one of my favorite alt.country songs, and one of my favorite songs in general:

[Cunningham26]

The best definition of alt-country I've ever heard was "the kind of country music that would exist today if Garth Brooks never happened"

[sixstringbastard]

If you like or are influenced at all by The Ramones then you might be alt-country.

[purpletele]

A friend of mine says.

If you grew up in the country and started a band you're probably alt-country.

If you grew up anywhere and dreamed of moving to Nashville to be a star you're country.

[purpletele]

I'd also say anything they play on the New Braunfels station:

http://knbt.fm/

[pondcaster]

Probably already posted but imo:

Alt-Country = Jason & The Nashville Scorchers and/or Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt.

[Cooper Black]

"Americana" seems to cover a wide range of influences and still define a clear boundary: Outlaw Country, R&R, Bluegrass, Old-Timey, Folk, Blues, Jazz, Cajun, Acoustic, Electric

"Alt-Country" ??? "No Depression" ???

I actually didn't know what people were talking about at the time. I was writing and performing music based on American folk traditions, but those descriptions didn't make me think, "I'd like that" or "I'd read that".

I probably missed out on some good music.

[straightface]

Originally Posted by Alex W

Here's one of my favorite alt.country songs, and one of my favorite songs in general:

One of my favorite albums ever.

[pondcaster]

Originally Posted by straightface

One of my favorite albums ever.

+1 on Trace ~ Top 10 for me as well.

[DuncanAngus]

I grew up in the 70's and there was a LOT of Country Rock being played. I don't see any of that as being what people call Alt-Country today.

Seems the 1st time I heard Uncle Tupelo, THAT was different. Kinda Country Punk and still seems what I think of as Alt.

Ironically, I tease the Metalhead kid next door because of all the genres in Metal. Industrial Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Speed Metal, Prog Metal. Looking at what I wrote above, I'm no better.

[bigben55]

Originally Posted by DuncanAngus

Ironically, I tease the Metalhead kid next door because of all the genres in Metal. Industrial Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Speed Metal, Prog Metal. Looking at what I wrote above, I'm no better.

I TOTALLY agree. I look at Craigslist musicians classifieds. I'm completely lost with metal genres. I mean, "doom metal" had subgenres: goth doom, necro doom, funeral Doom, Gore doom. FUNERAL DOOM? Really? Maybe at 40 I'm just officially old.