dmait Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail..._and_away/6658/ Farrar and awayMaking a case for Jay Farrar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Was his place in that "elite" in doubt? His Uncle Tupelo output alone put him there ... and his Son Volt and solo careers have kept him there, albeit with somewhat less fanfare than Mssrs. Tweedy or Adams. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I still put Jay Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I always wonder why he plays in bars and bookstores? He seems to not want to be at the level Wilco is at (for lack of a better term). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JUDE Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I'm glad the author included Gary Louris and Mark Olson in his list of the elite. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scalzunfield Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Ignoring virtually everything he's done since Straightaways, sure, he's elite. His songwriting is finally starting to come around again. The last album was the best thing he's done since 1996 and I still haven't listened to it in months. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hype Repellent Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 hahhahaha Ryan Adams is a "shoe in" for starting the alt.country movement, but Jay Farrar isn't? That's hilarious. There are two bands who kicked the whole thing off - the Jayhawks and Uncle Tupelo. It had nothing to dowith Ryan Adams. What an idiotic article. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I didn't know there was even a debate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 There are two bands who kicked the whole thing off - the Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds.Fixed it for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Fixed it for you. No love for the NRPS? SF hippies doin straight-up truck drivin' country - I think that's pretty alt, man. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 There are others - such as, The International Submarine Band, and some lesser known bands that I can't think of at the moment. Also - we've had this discussion before - but the Jayhawks were doing this in 1985, and also, there was the cowpunk movement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I always wonder why he plays in bars and bookstores? He seems to not want to be at the level Wilco is at (for lack of a better term). I think he is playing to the rooms that he can fill. Son Volt plays small theatres. To be honest, that is a part of what I love about seeing Jay live...the venues. He is cleary an elite in alt-country or any other folk or American music genre. Although Trace is an absolute classic, I think the bulk of his output has been pretty extraordinary (he may need to hire someone to edit his albums though). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I think he is playing to the rooms that he can fill. Son Volt plays small theatres. To be honest, that is a part of what I love about seeing Jay live...the venues. He is cleary an elite in alt-country or any other folk or American music genre. Although Trace is an absolute classic, I think the bulk of his output has been pretty extraordinary (he may need to hire someone to edit his albums though). I can see that - it just seems like he wants to keep it small. He still travels around in a van - or was, anyhow. I have never got to see Son Volt, but I did see Jay and Mark Spencer a few years back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 No love for the NRPS? SF hippies doin straight-up truck drivin' country - I think that's pretty alt, man. I had to pick two to be consistent with the original post. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
quarter23cd Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 That felt weird to read. It doesn't seem like that long ago that Tweedy was still trying to shake the "sidekick" stigma. Seems to me, by the time Tweedy had caught/surpassed Farrar in terms of critical acclaim, he wasn't really playing country anymore. Which makes the whole thing not make sense, really. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hype Repellent Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Fixed it for you. The Byrds were mainstream fluff and the Burrito Brothers were boring. There's nothing alternative about either act. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 The Byrds were mainstream fluff and the Burrito Brothers were boring. There's nothing alternative about either act. Which version of The Byrds? They certainly weren't mainstream fluff with Parsons on board. You need to check out Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Ignoring virtually everything he's done since Straightaways, sure, he's elite. His songwriting is finally starting to come around again. The last album was the best thing he's done since 1996 and I still haven't listened to it in months. No denying the early Son Volt is excellent. However, I really enjoy The Search, Okema, and Wide Swing as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hype Repellent Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Which version of The Byrds? They certainly weren't mainstream fluff with Parsons on board. You need to check out Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Very mainstream. I'd give more credit to Townes Van Zandt on stuff like "Our Mother the Mountain" and "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt". There was nothing alternative sounding about the vocals or instrumentation of the Byrds. It had a very poppy west coast sound that fit right in on standard pop stations. Compare that to Townes Van Zandts un-radio friendly vocals or Gary Lourises alternative guitar flourishes on Blue Earth and Hollywood Town Hall. "Poncho and Lefty" has an alternative sound to it, along with some of what Young and Dylan were doing. The Byrds sound like Brooks and Dunn compared to some of that stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
watch me fall Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Glad to see they are touring again this spring, alt country elite or not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hype Repellent Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 No denying the early Son Volt is excellent. However, I really enjoy The Search, Okema, and Wide Swing as well. I actually enjoy Okemah just as much as their other work. The Search has a couple very good songs, but lots of filler and really bad album art. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Very mainstream. I'd give more credit to Townes Van Zandt on stuff like "Our Mother the Mountain" and "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt". There was nothing alternative sounding about the vocals or instrumentation of the Byrds. It had a very poppy west coast sound that fit right in on standard pop stations. Compare that to Townes Van Zandts un-radio friendly vocals or Gary Lourises alternative guitar flourishes on Blue Earth and Hollywood Town Hall. "Poncho and Lefty" has an alternative sound to it, along with some of what Young and Dylan were doing. The Byrds sounds like Brooks and Dunn compared to some of that stuff. Excellent points on Townes, Neil, and Bob. The sound of the SOTR is a little more mainstream country, but the move of a "rock band" doing a "country" record in 1968 was a fairly "alternative" concept. It's nowhere near as edgy and out there as something like The Basement Tapes. But it is widely recognized as one of the 1st "country-rock" albums. I don't think Neil made his mark in this genre until he got together a band of misfits called The Rockets, renamed them Crazy Horse, and cut Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere a year after SOTR came out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 What does alternative sound like, exactly? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CortezTheKiller Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 What does alternative sound like, exactly? Non-traditional? The Search has a couple very good songs, but lots of filler and really bad album art. The album art IS hateful. It's a long album, but I don't consider it to be riddled with filler. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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