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Picked up tickets to see DBT in Chicago in February.  One of my sons is seeing them at the Fillmore in SF tomorrow, Another son is seeing them next week in San Diego.

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Great record...but I do have one philosophical issue. It is too topical to have any lasting relevance. Very topical records don't seem to have a long shelf life (outside of Neil Young's OHIO). The political songs on TDS, ABAAC and even SRO have a timelessness that make them more 'timeless'. I think Patterson and Cooley hit it out of the park musically with what may be their strongest record, but I'm not sure I will play in three years from now. It is a record that needed to be made, but will it be relevant later?

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From NPR - "In this concert, filmed at OPB in Portland, Ore., the long-running rock band Drive-By Truckers performs its timely and politically charged new record, American Band, in its entirety."

 

 

http://www.npr.org/event/music/496689769/first-listen-live-drive-by-truckers-american-band?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

 

AWESOME  thank you!

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Great record...but I do have one philosophical issue. It is too topical to have any lasting relevance. Very topical records don't seem to have a long shelf life (outside of Neil Young's OHIO). The political songs on TDS, ABAAC and even SRO have a timelessness that make them more 'timeless'. I think Patterson and Cooley hit it out of the park musically with what may be their strongest record, but I'm not sure I will play in three years from now. It is a record that needed to be made, but will it be relevant later?

I agree that many, if not most, topical songs/albums struggle to maintain long-lasting relevance.  I may be wrong (and time will ultimately tell), but I have a feeling my favorite songs on the album - Ramon Casiano, Darkened Flags, Guns of Umpqua, Ever South and Once They Banned Imagine - will be enjoyed years down the road, too.

 

Are you now or have you ever been in cahoots with the notion that people can change?

When history happens again if you do or you did you’ll be blamed

From baseless inquiry

To no knocking entry

Becoming the law of the land

To half cocked excuses for bullet abuse regarding anything browner than tan

 

Cause once they banned Imagine it became the same old war its always been

Once they banned Imagine it became the war it was when we were kids

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Great record...but I do have one philosophical issue. It is too topical to have any lasting relevance. Very topical records don't seem to have a long shelf life (outside of Neil Young's OHIO). The political songs on TDS, ABAAC and even SRO have a timelessness that make them more 'timeless'. I think Patterson and Cooley hit it out of the park musically with what may be their strongest record, but I'm not sure I will play in three years from now. It is a record that needed to be made, but will it be relevant later?

 

Lou Reed's New York may be the most topical album ever recorded, but it holds up because the topics are connected to timeless themes and it has a very unique sound. I think this LP will have a similar legacy.

 

 

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It certainly feels more specific than most of their other albums, but Ramon Casiano could have been written 15 years ago; WKRP in Cincinnati had an entire episode (in the 1970s!) about banning Imagine; Kinky Hypocrite could be about any televangelist/politician from the past few decades, etc... What It Means may be the only song actually that could be specifically dated, but even Hood mentioned that a shooting 20 years ago inspired the song (the Ruth Street mentioned in the lyrics). So I don't see it being anymore tied to this present moment than any of their other records, though it certainly resonates profoundly with issues of today.

And, as Hood has said, if these songs become irrelevant, than that will be a good thing. But is anyone that optimistic.

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Great record...but I do have one philosophical issue. It is too topical to have any lasting relevance. Very topical records don't seem to have a long shelf life (outside of Neil Young's OHIO). The political songs on TDS, ABAAC and even SRO have a timelessness that make them more 'timeless'. I think Patterson and Cooley hit it out of the park musically with what may be their strongest record, but I'm not sure I will play in three years from now. It is a record that needed to be made, but will it be relevant later?

The more I listen to this record and absorb it, the more I disagree with this.  The types of issues touched upon on American Band have been going on for generations and generations.  The opening track, Ramon Casiano, is a 'topical' song about a 1931 murder committed by the seventeen year-old future V.P. of the NRA, Harlan Carter.  Casiano was a "suspicious Hispanic teenager" whom Carter claims he killed in "self-defense".  Carter is widely-recognized as the man who helped transform the NRA into the radicalized, right-wing organization it has become today.  Unfortunately, the Casiano murder has proven to be 'timeless' and maintains incredible relevance in recent events.  As Yaz Rock points out above, once 'they' banned Imagine in the 70's.  Oh yeah, 'they' (Clear Channel) did it again in the early 2000's in the aftermath of the September 11th attack and the Iraq War - "We had our heart strings dangling ripe for the yanking and lot of reasons Grabby was good.  Poor huddled masses singing "Boots Up Their Asses" giving Grabby what he needed to pull."

 

American Band is certainly a topical record.  It's also a timeless classic.  The more I listen to it, the more I love it.  I used to be a pretty big Truckers fan, but I drifted away in recent years.  Part of it was the spotty material the band was putting out, another part of it was me and life and changing tastes and whatnot.

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Drive By Truckers at Union Transfer in Philly was the place to be on the day after Election Day. Led onstage by Mike Cooley who announced "We're a goddamn motherfucking American band," they launched right into Surrender Under Protest, followed by a number of other songs that could well be considered protest songs. Cooley introduced Made Up English Oceans by retelling how his marching band played before Jimmy Carter in 1980, and the KKK happened to show up too, with the only difference between then and now being that they get their suits at Brooks Brothers and drive around in black SUVs with police escorts. There weren't many direct election-related references, but that wasn't necessary as the songs and the undercurrent were plain enough. Patterson Hood was in full-on preacher mode toward the end of the set, kneeling at the front of the stage and ad-libbing during People Who Died that no matter what just happened, it's still fucking great to be alive. Totally reset my mood after a miserable dreary rainy day.

Opener Kyle Craft actually kicked things off, capping his set with Before the Wall, at the beginning of which he received some heckling and an audience member shouted, to the effect of, "Keep your politics at home/we don't want to hear that", which he responded with (again, paraphrasing) "Yes we need to respect each other but fuck you and your hate." Priceless.

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Hood selects his most influential "Americana" songs, with a nice write up of each tune, and a Spotify playlist. Good reading and listening. Includes Son Volt, Lucinda, Isbell and Wilco. Also, really nice call on R.E.M. and Don't Go Back to Rockville.

 

http://www.thebluegrasssituation.com/read/mixtape-patterson-hoods-americana-101

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Can you think of another example where a guy is kicked out of a band but remains supportive and friendly with that band? I can't.

 

 

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I think they all know, especially Isbell, it was for the best. From what I understand, it allowed him to save himself from the bottle, and he ended up with Amanda, clean and sober, and with a successful career. But you're right, this is a rare occurrence. Definitely speaks to the character of all parties.

 

 

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