What do I want to seem less like

A racist or a faux-hick hipster?

So, I've been catching some flack for not liking two beloved artists.  Let me give you some context:  I'm super cranky about music right now.  Nothing is really gripping me.  Used to be that I'd find a few records a year that just made me look at the world a little differently.  Some of you remember when I thought Pedro the Lion was the Cat's Pajamas. Others remember when I would have sold all my earthly possessions to follow the Constantines around the world. 

But it just 'aint happening lately.

Is it because I've lost that lovin' feeling?  Or am I so much of a connoisseur and there just nothing great out there?  I also have to admit that much of my listening lately involves wordless music since I'm usually writing papers or sermons...and I need a lot of energy to keep me going...so I listen to a lot of dance music.

Who knows what it is.  All I know is that it aint like it used to be.

Like when I was fresh off the bus from Chicago and in the middle of the Calvin lawn I stumbled upon a Little Big Man concert and thought to myself, "What is this folky off tune singing that makes me feel tingly?"  Back then I'd be about as star struck as the next guy.  One time I saw the lead singer of Little Big Man walking across campus and I went up to him and told him how much I liked his set before the Lost Dogs and he was sheepish and stand-offish and awkward and I thought, "Wow, this guy is so cool he can barely manage a thank you to a little (or not so little) peasant like me.  Man, those were the days.  Those were the days when music really dug out my heart and beat it against a wall until I could do nothing but enter life, full on, with nothing to lose but inhibition and maybe a good night's sleep.

Here I sit, pregnant wife feet from me, wondering what kind of music will shake the ground my kid walks on. I'm intrigued by music created by people rebelling against the music that was created to rebel against the music that was created to rebel against...

I suppose both these artists fit that category somehow.  Didn't Neko Case exist in the punk world in some capacity at some point? Creating a country-ish record is a  big middle finger to a certain segment of the punk population.  And wasn't James Brown too rough around the edges for many people in his hey-day?  Perhaps.

I'd like to say something about some of the assumptions I've seen here.
1. It's not racist to choose an album made by a white person over an album made by a black person.  It is racist, however, to pretend you don't feel guilty over it.  Wait. No, that's not right.

Anyway

2. Enjoying what some have called faux-hick music does not necessarily make one a hipster.  Come on.  We're all a bit too old to give a shit about that kind of stuff.  I think we all know who is cool deep down here and their names are mvb and slippers.  They aint perpetrating no fake nothin' brothers and sisters.  These days, you just like what you like and you don't like what you don't like.  If called upon to articulate why, I'll admit, I do expect something of substance. At least from a crowd of intellectuals like this one.  But it is really hard to be objective.  I mean, I just can't see how Dwight thinks Luna is without heart.  I barely buy that Jeff likes Revolver over Surfer Rosa.  And then there's the issue of The Hold Steady.  I worry about Zwartitude.  I actually lose sleep over it. But seriously, if they chose to like something crappy or dislike something snappy, it's not my place to judge.  I mean I'll do it and have fun doing it...but I won't be in the right.  I don't think.

So here I am with a choice to make.  I've given both albums a fair shake and I'll say that I'm surprised by a couple things.

James Brown can sing the hell out of a ballad.  "Please Please Please" and "Try Me" are two of the greatest soul ballads I've heard. And I've heard over 39 soul ballads.

Neko Case's "Middle Cyclone" is a brilliantly arranged album.  Here are a few of my notes:

What is that synthesizer in Polar Nettles?  It's freakin amazing. The drums are amazing all over this record.

Vengeance: the guitar  is awestastic.  The subtle and haunting piano and the quiet, frail backing vocals remind me of stina a bit.

Never turn your back.  Cello is spit on your neck, kick you in the crotch fantastic.  The drums sound nice and deep.  Nice almost gospel choir vox at the end that don't get over done.

Prison girls: the repetition of the Ghost Town guitar lick with the pizzicato strings kills me.  "I love your long shadows and your gun powder eyes."


To wrap up this way to long diatribe, I'll say this:  In the last two days, I've listened to the Neko Case album 3 times simply because I wanted to listen to the songs and not because I was doing this Death Match.

Dear Neko,
This might sound a little racist, but you win this round. Jerkass.
Love your friend,
Steve E. Dee