December 9, 2003
“All those clean cut boys they got in Nashville,
don’t know a damn thing about where we’re comin’ from”-
Eleven Hundred Springs “Long Haired-Tattooed Hippie
Freaks”
Texas country music has become a curse word.
Sure, we still have our heroes and hell-raisers, and
they’re stronger and more dominant than before. Jack’s
started to get some real airplay, Robert Earl’s new CD
is doing just famously. But I cannot turn around
without hearing the word’s Texas Country attached to
names like Pat Green.
And it’s not that I don’t like Pat Green. When I get
into the right mode, or I’m at that one party with the
frat boys- I’ll be the first to sing along to
“Southbound 35” or “Carry On”. But it’s not real Texas
music; it’s not even real music at that. It’s simple
lyrics, paired with simple chords for an even simpler
audience.
I often run into the question of “What kind of music do
you listen to?”
“Texas Country mostly.”
“Oh, I love Pat Green!” And then I have to spend ten
minutes explaining how, no, my music is much much
different. It’s always been hard to explain, until Jack
coined the idea of slacker country music, and then it
wasn’t so hard anymore.
The thing that irks me is that Mr. Green has ruined the
genre for the rest of them. No matter how original Jack
gets, no matter how good his next album is, no matter
how famous he gets in Nashville- he will forever be
linked with Pat Green as “following in Green’s
footsteps”. When in all reality, it was Pat Green who
drew inspiration from Jack, not vice versa.
I know there are a lot of artists I never have to worry
about catching the Nashvegas bug. Many of them, like
Steve Earle, have already had that taste when he
released “Guitar Town”. He came back down to the ground
and he’s here to stay. Robert Earl would have already
packed up his guitar and moved on to Nashville if he
was trying to make it big outside this market. And
bands like 1100 Springs are just far too radical and
innovative, which is why we adore them as we do.
I keep hearing Jack songs on
99.5 The Wolf, and I just heard recently that Chris
Knight will be at their 12 Man Jam this weekend. I
can’t say I’m exactly excited about either of the two.
Many artists, like Robert Earl Keen, do just fine in
their small square of Texas limelight. And others, like
Pat Green, makes kids from Seattle feel like their
“true Texans”.
It’s time to get back to the basics, boys. I read a
review of Electric on Amazon.com that said it
was “reminiscent of garage bands”. I don’t think that’s
a bad thing, guys.
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