Porter Wagoner is a dark guy. He has songs dealing with killing as retribution and here, "The Rubber Room" deals with insanity. It's all unsettling, but in a listenable way.

Coming out of the fertile German arts scene of the early twentieth century, George Grosz was unique even amongst some of the most thoughtful artists of his assumed cohort. Combining some of the ridiculous nature Dada sought impart and social criticism rendered the paintings and drawings Grosz worked up through beginning of the thirties as the most astute observations landed upon canvas.

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America's song book features a huge number of weird, downer numbers. And while drinking is generally a focus for Dock Boggs and his banjo, here he contemplates staving off death. His fate was not changed and death ignored his plea. Bummer.

For all the hoopla over the recently re-emerged Roky Erikson – and its mostly well deserved seeing as the 13^th Floor Elevators are as important to rock and or roll as Nirvana – there’re a slew of relatively unknown figures from decade’s past that maintained a more stringent level of quality. Not to knock Erickson, but listening to his work from the last few decades leaves a bit to be desired.

Hasil Adkins’ catalog doesn’t suffer from that.

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Jimmy Dean has passed away. "Big Bad John" Jimmy Dean. American country music star, country comedy performer, easy to take Jimmy Dean. Smiling Jimmy Dean. Country story telling Jimmy Dean, who sung songs of the American working man, of folk heroes. Jimmy Dean, the entertainer.

Jimmy Dean died yesterday, Sunday evening, June 13, of natural causes at his Varina, Virginia home, at the age of 81. He was a singer and actor, with a string of hits in the 1960s, with the huge pop music hit, his tribute to miners, "Big Bad John," in 1961, that won him a Grammy. In the 1960s, he was a national television personality. In the mid 1960s, he was the host of his own popular music TV variety show, "The Jimmy Dean Show," and in the late 1960s, he was a regular on the TV series "Daniel Boone."

I like all kinds of music. Country folk songs are among my favorites. Jimmy Dean songs are among my favorite music.

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Whatever constitutes American folk music, a huge portion of it is embellished storytelling. In any number of songs, listeners are going to find shocking imagery set aside some social meaning and political intent. Not always, but there are huge numbers of songs working on combining biblical tales, then current living situations and a desire to surpass it all.

Aunt Molly Jackson, a Kentucky born women who moved to New York during the thirties, might be one of the most vociferous singers in the history of recorded music. Recently – well within the last four decades or so – there’s been a bevy of vocal critic as musicians kicking around. But those folks seem that they’ve come to their style as a musician seeking a hook. Aunt Molly, though, started writing songs to protest various life situations when she was four years old.

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Life’s full of an endless series of questions – why can something work for one person, but not another. That’s just the most immediate in my mind, but there’re a litany of others. One of those daunting questions, though, goes something like, ‘How do you form a new(ish) band, play country music and not sound like garbage?”

Jon Langford asked that question at some point during the nineties. While living in Chicago, the Mekons’ front-man further developed his love of country music the point that it warranted forming a new ensemble. And while the Mekons moved from trebly, nervous punk stuff towards a nu-country sound, it never completely moved from one genre to the other. Pretty close, though.

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i cant for the life of me wright a good upbeat country song can some one help the band needs one

i need ideas

Ok I cannot for the life of me remeber a song title.  The story is of a boy who wasnts his dads attention, to be loved by his dad. His dad pretty much ignores him.  The dad dies, the son is mad.  At the funeral in the church the guy looks up and sees jesus on the cross and realizes his dads been there the whole time.  Can anyone help me?  I know its a song from 5 or so years ago I believe.  Its driving me nuts thanks

It might seem like Sam Bush thinks his mandolin is a guitar and that he’s something of a late model Jimmy Page. Both of those things don’t matter, though, if one takes the time to figure out that Bush is basically responsible for updating bluegrass. And while that might sound like a foolish sentiment to relate, it’s true.

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