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Remember when you used to stay up late at night watching Yo! MTV Raps and then Headbanger's Ball on MTV? Or taping college radio shows? I say this to lead into the idea that the last decade is probably going to be known as the decade of suck. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Probably. The past decade in music has been marked by hyper-petrification of ritual and genre all under the pseudo guise of hybridization. Nothing new has come out that isn't just rehashing of some thing that came before. At least the cats in the nineties had the dignity to just straight up sample something, rather than attempt to copyright something as their own by lifting the cadence and melody. Even the genre of americana has had some rather dubious efforts: uh, how about Gangstagrass? Kidding, kind of. I mean, No Depression covered it. It really seems the internet has made it impossible for people to relax, myself definitely included. Which makes Gillian Welch's anachronism only moreso. Which makes OCMS's simulacrum only moreso. Which makes the jam-grass scene so hard to believe and Punch Brothers so goddamn good. And actually, I shouldn't get down on OCMS, because their live shows are much more like the recorded material hasn't been. Which is also a damn shame because they are a fine band. Anyways, I'm just hoping that the next decade will net some art instead of so much artifice. Good luck artists, and work hard.
In a related story, here's an interesting commentary on the slow rise of a gold record. Slow and steady wins the race boys and girls. More of these and maybe a little less FM country with a "cold can of beer" in every damn chorus.
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Hey, got a couple free hours to kill? Well... Double banjo at 33:00...
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Movie Review: Punching the Clown
Dan sez see this movie if you write songs. It's a hit!!
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Don't Forget -
Hamell on Trial is coming to Americana Tuesdays January 10th!
Valentine's Music Hall and Beer Joint
8 pm - $8
