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What is alternative country-rock?
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When did country music become a genre of punk rock?
In the 1990s, the term alternative country, paralleling alternative rock, began to be used to describe a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music.
- Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne (1993) The last entry in the band’s catalog before Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar parted ways saw the band at its most fully realized.
- Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) Up until this album Lucinda Williams was primarily known for her songwriting, earning a Grammy for Best Country Song with Mary Chapin Carpenter’s crossover hit “Passionate Kisses.”
- Gillian Welch – Revival (1996) Gillian Welch and her musical partner may have hailed from Los Angeles and Rhode Island, respectively, but they arrived on the alt-country scene in 1996 as if they’d just melted out of Depression-era Appalachian Mountain ice.
- Son Volt – Trace (1995) Long before there was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it looked like Jay Farrar was the genius behind Uncle Tupelo, as Trace was a near-perfect collection of laid-back alt-country ballads like the brilliant windows-rolled-down “Windfall” and guitar-charged college rockers like lead single “Drown.”
- The Jayhawks. Formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, veteran roots-rockers The Jayhawks’ sparkling back catalogue includes nine full-length albums. Recorded for Rick Rubin’s Def American label, 1992’s Hollywood Town Hallarguably remains their acme.
- Giant Sand. Based in Tucson, Arizona, Giant Sand are the brainchild of the feverishly proficient Howe Gelb, whose catalogue has so far yielded over 30 studio albums including 1999’s magnificent Chore Of Enchantment.
- Uncle Tupelo. This influential Illinois trio brilliantly melded their love of artists as disparate as The Carter Family, The Replacements and The Stooges on their 1990 debut No Depression.
- Wilco. Post-Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco, gaining sustained critical plaudits for albums such as Being There, the experimental alt.rock classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrotand 2004’s Grammy Award-winning A Ghost Is Born.
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- Uncle Tupelo. To some extent, the alt.country movement crystallized in the early 90s around the fanbase of the country-influenced rock group Uncle Tupelo.
- Lyle Lovett. Lyle Lovett was championed as one of the best alt.country musicians by the great singer-songwriter Guy Clark, who, along with Townes Van Zandt, did much to inspire the Texan to express his individuality in his songs.
- Rosanne Cash. Rosanne Cash is the eldest daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian, but has gained a celebrated reputation through her own brilliant work rather than her illustrious music parentage.
- The Jayhawks. The Jayhawks were formed in 1985 by singer Mark Olson, guitarist Gary Louris, bassist Marc Perlman and drummer Norm Rogers – a collection of the best alt.country musicians of the period.
- Rank and File – “Amanda Ruth” (1982) One of the first bands to bear the descriptor “cowpunk,” Rank and File also had pedigrees in actual punk. Brothers Chip and Tony Kinman were in The Dils, a California band that had tight, Everly-like harmonies which were unusual in their genre.
- Meat Puppets – “Plateau” (1984) The resident cowpunks on the SST roster in the 1980s, Arizona’s Meat Puppet’s nonetheless translated their country and western influences through a hardcore filter on their debut album.
- Lone Justice – “Ways to Be Wicked” (1985) Maria McKee had a commanding stage presence, a ferocious energy, and a voice that bore a resemblance to one of her earliest supporters, Dolly Parton.
- Mekons – “Hard to Be Human Again” (1985) On paper it might not seem likely that a post-punk group from the same Leeds scene as Gang of Four and Au Pairs would end up recording one of the first great alt-country records.
In contrast to alternative country, which pushes the boundaries of country music from the inside, alternative country-rock is music made by outsiders who love the sound and spirit of country. They faithfully preserve traditional sounds, but reinterpret the spirit in personal, contemporary, and idiosyncratic ways that rarely appeal to straight ...
This playlist contains 400 of the latest songs to be featured on different alt...
