![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
James is known around his school as a "music mogul," which I guess is an improvement over "music freak," which is what he used to be called. His tastes are eclectic; although they are pretty much rock centered, that covers a lot of ground, and so does he. Tori Amos to Marilyn Manson and Metallica, Alice in Chains to Sublime, some classic rock such as The Who, tons of bands I've never heard of, fair smattering of hip-hop and rap, goth, everything Frank Zappa ever recorded, as well as the complete libraries of a number of bands, including Nirvana and Primus. He has a B.B. King CD that a friend of ours gave him which he really likes. He likes John Zorn. He has enough music to run a radio station.
He has little classical -- he doesn't really like it, from what I can tell. And little or no country. He thinks most country music "is crap." He cringes whenever he hears most stuff which emanates from Nashville these days. (Upon hearing that Shania Twain was Canadian, he said it lowered his opinion of Canada. ("And they have so much going for them! The Canadian Rockies! Hockey! Fries with gravy!")) I tend to agree with him. However, he decided listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Feel Lucky," that some of it wasn't that bad. (He does appreciate "Folsom Prison Blues.")
He also thinks Kathy Mattea's "Clown in Your Rodeo" is a pretty good breakup song. (Don't read anything into this: we were discussing Barenaked Ladies "One Week," which led to a discussion of songs which reflected real emotions and situations (e.g., having a fight but being unwilling to make up for several days), which led to a discussion of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and hence to breakup songs.)
So I'm trying to make a CD for him of "not so bad" country music which he hasn't heard yet. So far, I'm thinking...
"I Walk the Line" and "Hurt", Johnny Cash
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" Earl Scruggs
"Portland, Oregon" by Loretta Lynn
"Lonesome Standard Time" or "Listen to the Radio" by Kathy Mattea
"I Take My Chances" Mary Chapin Carpenter
something by Allison Krauss and Union Station
something by Emmy Lou Harris ... maybe with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt off the "Trio" album
I may try Dwight Yoakam again -- "Guitars, Cadillacs" was met with polite disinterest (which is a large step up from the response to a lot of my music) -- maybe "Streets of Bakersfield" (Buck Owens, yay!) or I could wimp out and do Yoakam's cover of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," which was really a country song even if was done by Queen.
He has little classical -- he doesn't really like it, from what I can tell. And little or no country. He thinks most country music "is crap." He cringes whenever he hears most stuff which emanates from Nashville these days. (Upon hearing that Shania Twain was Canadian, he said it lowered his opinion of Canada. ("And they have so much going for them! The Canadian Rockies! Hockey! Fries with gravy!")) I tend to agree with him. However, he decided listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Feel Lucky," that some of it wasn't that bad. (He does appreciate "Folsom Prison Blues.")
He also thinks Kathy Mattea's "Clown in Your Rodeo" is a pretty good breakup song. (Don't read anything into this: we were discussing Barenaked Ladies "One Week," which led to a discussion of songs which reflected real emotions and situations (e.g., having a fight but being unwilling to make up for several days), which led to a discussion of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and hence to breakup songs.)
So I'm trying to make a CD for him of "not so bad" country music which he hasn't heard yet. So far, I'm thinking...
"I Walk the Line" and "Hurt", Johnny Cash
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" Earl Scruggs
"Portland, Oregon" by Loretta Lynn
"Lonesome Standard Time" or "Listen to the Radio" by Kathy Mattea
"I Take My Chances" Mary Chapin Carpenter
something by Allison Krauss and Union Station
something by Emmy Lou Harris ... maybe with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt off the "Trio" album
I may try Dwight Yoakam again -- "Guitars, Cadillacs" was met with polite disinterest (which is a large step up from the response to a lot of my music) -- maybe "Streets of Bakersfield" (Buck Owens, yay!) or I could wimp out and do Yoakam's cover of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," which was really a country song even if was done by Queen.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
I second the recommendation of k.d. lang and Alison Krauss. You might also try "The Bug" by Mary Chapin Carpenter. If he decides that instrumentals can work for him, get him the Charlie Daniels Band doing "Orange Blossom Special" -- I have a fond memory of finding a TV show closing with that song on a ferry to the Orkney Islands; what a nice breath of home. :)
I'll just start tossing out some ideas, with no consistent theme besides "I like 'em, and consider them at least vaguely country".
Alabama, "Mountain Music"
Hank Williams, Jr., "Family Tradition"
Indigo Girls, "Watershed"
Indigo Girls, "Southland In The Springtime"
Indigo Girls, "Get Out The Map"
(iTunes tells me that the Indigo Girls did a cover of "Mrs. Robinson" on the "Desperate Housewives" soundtrack, which also has Liz Phair covering "Mother's Little Helper". Alas, they're only available on the album.)
Soggy Bottom Boys, "Man of Constant Sorrow"
Chris LeDoux, "Little Long Haired Outlaw"
Chris LeDoux and Garth Brooks, "Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy?"
Clint Black, "No Time To Kill"
Clint Black, "Galaxy Song" (yes, that's the Monty Python song, and it's just as funny as you'd expect)
Eagles, "Seven Bridges Road"
Eagles, "Desperado"
Dixie Chicks, "Goodbye Earl"
Dixie Chicks, "Landslide"
Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"
Jimmy Buffett, "Margaritaville"
Charlie Daniels, "Devil Went Down To Georgia"
Charlie Daniels, "Legend of Wooley Swamp"
Charlie Daniels, "Uneasy Rider"
Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Tuesday's Gone" (I know iTunes calls it rock -- they're on crack. It's country.)
Patsy Cline, "Walking After Midnight"
Patsy Cline, "Crazy"
Patsy Cline... oh, hell, just get him anything by Patsy, it's all good.
Waylon and Willie, "Mommas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys"
Willie Nelson, "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain"
Willie Nelson, "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys"
George Strait, "All My Exes Live In Texas"
Ray Charles, "Georgia On My Mind"
I'm sure I'll think of others eventually. I notice that very little of this is recent when I look at it, and I'm OK with that. I'm not conversant with the alt.country scene, but I've been very taken with much of what I've heard from it, and I'll bow to the recommendations of others.
From:
no subject
ZOMG! I hadn't thought about that song in literally decades. And now it's wedged in my brain. Ack.
iTunes tells me that the Indigo Girls did a cover of "Mrs. Robinson"
They also did a cover of The Clash's "Clampdown" (different CD, obviously), and it is awful.
From:
no subject
Good luck getting it out -- it's one of those insidious ones that requires some major surgery to get loose. No need to thank me -- the look on your face is plenty of compensation. :)
[re: Indigo Girls covers]
Yeah, I went through all the archives at Coverville (http://www.coverville.com/) to get some practice with Sound Forge, and I cut out all the Indigo Girls songs I could find there. I love their cover of "Uncle John's Band", but "Clampdown" was ... not good, and I didn't care for "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", either.
From:
no subject
Clint Black covered Monty Python? I have got to hunt that down.
From:
no subject
It's on iTunes. You can either download it immediately, or I can rip it for you when I get to my work PC tomorrow and send it to you. Your choice -- depends on how you handle delayed gratification, I suppose. :)