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Alternative country
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Alternative country is a term used to describe a number of country music subgenres that tend to differ from mainstream or pop country music. The term is sometimes known as Alt. country and has included country music bands that have incorporated influences ranging from american roots music, bluegrass, rock & roll, rockabilly, acoustic music, americana, honky-tonk and punk rock.
History
"Alternative country" can refer to several ideas.
Discussion
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Encyclopedia
Alternative country is a term used to describe a number of country music subgenres that tend to differ from mainstream or pop country music. The term is sometimes known as Alt. country and has included country music bands that have incorporated influences ranging from american roots music, bluegrass, rock & roll, rockabilly, acoustic music, americana, honky-tonk and punk rock.
History
"Alternative country" can refer to several ideas. Most generally, any musician who plays a type of country music different from the prevailing trend can be said to play "alternative country". By this standard, for example, the Bakersfield sound was alternative in the 1950s, and the Lubbock sound musicians were alternative in the 1960s.
In the 1990s, however, "alternative country" came to refer to a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music. In general, these musicians eschewed the high production values and pop outlook of the Nashville-dominated industry, to produce music with a lo-fi sound, frequently infused with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic, bending the traditional rules of country music. Lyrics are often bleak, gothic or socially aware. In other respects, the musical styles of artists that fall within this genre often have little in common, ranging from traditional American folk tunes and bluegrass, through rockabilly and honky-tonk, to music that is indistinguishable from mainstream rock or country. Indeed, many alternative country artists come from punk and rock backgrounds. This already broad labelling has been further confused by alternative country artists disavowing the movement, mainstream artists declaring they are part of it, and retroactive claims that past or veteran musicians are alternative country. No Depression, the most well-known magazine dedicated to the genre, declared that it covered "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".
Despite this confusion, it is generally agreed that alternative country resulted from two opposing influences. The first is traditional American country music, the music of working people, preserved and celebrated by practitioners such as Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, and The Carter Family. The second is country rock, the result of fusing country music with an aggressive rock & roll sound. The artist most commonly thought to have originated country rock is Gram Parsons (who referred to his sound as "Cosmic American Music"), although Jason & the Scorchers, Michael Nesmith, and Steve Earle are frequently identified as important innovators. These two styles merged in Uncle Tupelo's 1990 LP No Depression, and this album is widely credited with being coined the first "alt-country" album. The bands Whiskeytown, Bottle Rockets, Drive-By Truckers and The Old 97's further developed this tradition.
The Rough Guide to country music summarizes:
Much of the driving force behind this whole alt.country movement was, ironically, punk rock, as a generation of rock'n'rollers who'd grown up on bands like Black Flag, the Clash, the Meat Puppets, and the Replacements began branching out musically, looking backward as well as forward. In the process, many discovered country music. After all, punk rock had been about taking music back down to a grassroots level....Similarly, traditional country and old-time folk music was about creative and emotional expression that was simple, honest, and direct. Like punk, its heritage was built on a do-it-yourself spirit, and its history was peopled with singers and pickers who were amazingly expressive musicians....Looking at it this way, the connection between the two worlds wasn't so tenuous after all.
Alternative country is popularly referred to, especially in print, as "alt-country" or sometimes "alt.country". The genre is also referred to by many other names, including "americana", "rockabilly", "trashcan americana", "insurgent country", "neotraditional", "no depression", "cowpunk", "progressive country", "regressive country", "lo-fi country", "roots rock", "twang core", "rural contemporary", "country-punk", "y'allternative", "hick rock", "count-rock", "alternative country-rock" and many others. Neologisms such as "citygrass" and "deathcountry" have also been coined to describe some artists within the genre.
Alt-country today
Today's alt.country musicians blend traditional folk, Americana, gypsy, blues, bluegrass, country, and rockabilly with punk and alternative rock to create an original style of music firmly rooted in the alt.country trenches, but with a much darker side. Traditional instruments such as fiddles, banjos, harmonicas, accordions and mandolins mix with electric guitars, powerful drumming and upright bass to create a dynamic, raw sound. The scene encompasses a rogue's gallery of performers and musicians, sharing the stage with burlesque dancers and circus freaks. Drawn by bands such as Wovenhand, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, O' Death, Jay Munly, Strawfoot, Reverend Glasseye, Curtis Eller, William Elliott Whitmore, The Handsome Family, and several others.
A growing collective of musicians from across the country are taking a darker, more rustic approach to the genre, creating a subculture commonly referred to as "Gothic Americana". Many credit this style's origins to the artists that came from the Denver scene in the mid to late 90s, such as the Denver Gentlemen and 16 Horsepower with David Eugene Edwards.
See also
Sources
- Alden, Grant; & Blackstock, Peter (1998). "No Depression: An Introduction to Alternative Country Music. Whatever That Is". Dowling Pr. ISBN 1-891847-00-7.
- Goodman, David (1999). "Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory". Dowling Pr. ISBN 1-891847-03-1.* Kasten, Roy (April 29, 2008), , Riverfront Times.
- Hogeland, William (March 14, 2004), , New York Times.
External links
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