No album with this one. After reading about Hank III somewhere about five years ago I searched out some of his stuff in Limewire and got this one (and another really good one, called "Pop County Really Sucks", which should kind of tell you what he's all about).
Apparently this dude is the real deal and follows in the footsteps of his hard-livin' drunkard Granddiddy and not his lame sellout old man ("Are you ready for some fooootballll?"). I read a review of one of his concerts recently and he plays the first half of his shows with his roots / bluegrass band and comes back for a second set with a punk group.
As for this song, it's just a simple, straightforward "boogie" riff which (and I'm just guessing here) provides a context for the real point of the song, the lyrics. Being live adds lots of flavor to it, even though it's a pretty poor recording, and that first "Hey man, go fuck you" at 50 seconds in followed by the crowd roar is great. And of course, by the end of the song the crowd is sing right along with that catchy little chorus.
I got to give the kid props for giving the figurative finger to Nashvillle and doing his own thing, especially given the fact that he's the grandson of arguably the most influential figure ever in the genre. Listen to any mainstream country radio station for a few songs and you can see why they are absolutely deserving of it.
http://www.mediafire.com/?8d21v4sgtms
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
His daddy could have turned out as good . . . too bad. I have always wanted to get some Hank III -- this is the first I've heard.
I hear both Hank I and II in there somewhere.
Hank III is great. He is definitely an amalgamation of his predecessors with a bit of punk and marijuana thrown in.
The first time I heard anything about him was at a record shop in Oregon. I saw this album: http://i20.servimg.com/u/f20/11/21/11/62/three_10.jpg. I immediately thought he must be full of shit. Now, I just wonder what he thinks about making that album.
I still throw on Lovesick, Broke, and Driftin every now and then. I am really only familiar with it and Risin' Outlaw. LB & D is the better of the two.
I did see Hank III on the Grand Ole Opry one night. It was a Hank, Sr. tribute. He played one of his I-hate-pop-country songs. It was great. He left the stage and didn't return after the encore. I imagined him upsetting the management Gram Parsons/Byrds-style. Remember, his granddad was kicked off the Opry and has never been put back on.
I once agreed with B.Mo and Hank III's assessment of pop country. However, it is clear why people love it. It is the voice of blue-collar America. Just like country songs of yore, today's songs discuss loving your wife, cheating, drinking, hard times, etc. Almost every song tells a tale to which most listeners can relate. The songs and artists are able to really touch people. That's certainly something that can not be said of J-Lo from the block.
My main contention with pop country is its lack of true country stylings. Much of it is Britney Spears sung with a southern accent. I like the newer stuff which still holds to the honky-tonk or more traditional stylings, for example Dwight Yoakum, some George Strait. I do, however, still love the beginnings of pop country, the late 70s to 80s Nashville Sound stuff. I suppose it is a degree of nostalgia that draws me to that, though.
In regards to Hank, Jr., the Monday Night Football thing is lame. But, I think he really does have some good songs. As well, his search for independence from his father's legacy is more than admirable. The dude was being raised from birth to be lil' Hank, Sr. He put out albums copying his dad's style. He goes on a hunting trip, falls off a cliff onto his face, comes back with a beard to hide the scars, and begins making his own Southern rock style of music. The dude's tough, and I've heard incredible things about his 1980s live shows.
To be honest, I really love country music. I got into about ten years ago, and it is what I return to more than anything else. If you ever get into any of the alt-country/No Depression/Uncle Tupelo/etc stuff, it isn't a far jump to hard country.
Nice post, there.
Chuck Kolsterman had a good articel once about modern Country music. He made the great point that modern Country is all about lyrics.
Think about it...there is almost no attention given to the "track"; it's just a vehicle for the lyrics!
He also mentioned that out of all other genres, country pushes up the vocals in production and makes them clear and unambiguous. I thought it was a great point, myself.
With the exceptions of a few, like, as you mention, Dwight Yoakam (and, God help me, I think Gretchen Wilson's pretty cool too), I still think pop Country is the absolute cheesiest, lame silly brand of music today.
Post a Comment