Alternative country
Encyclopedia
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music
, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop
country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock
, bluegrass
, rockabilly
, honky-tonk, alternative rock
, folk rock
, and particularly punk
.
-dominated industry for a more lo-fi sound, frequently infused with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic. Lyrics may be bleak, gothic, or socially aware, but also more heartfelt and less-often follow the clichés sometimes used by mainstream country musicians. In other respects, the musical styles of artists that fall within this genre often have little in common, ranging from traditional American folk music
and bluegrass, through rockabilly and honky-tonk, to music that is indistinguishable from mainstream rock or country. This already broad labeling has been further confused by alternative country artists disavowing the movement, mainstream artists declaring they are part of it, and retroactive claims that past or veteran musicians are alternative country. No Depression, the best-known magazine dedicated to the genre, declared that it covered "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".
, Hank Williams, and The Carter Family, often cited as major influences. Another major influence was country rock
, the result of fusing country music with a rock & roll sound. The artist most commonly thought to have originated country rock is Gram Parsons
(who referred to his sound as "Cosmic American Music"), although Michael Nesmith
, and Steve Earle
are frequently identified as important innovators. The third factor was punk rock
, which supplied an energy and DIY attitude.
Attempts to combine punk and country had been pioneered by Nashville's Jason and the Scorchers, and in the 1980s Southern Californian cowpunk
scene with bands like the Long Ryders
, but these styles merged fully in Uncle Tupelo
's 1990 LP No Depression
, which is widely credited as being the first "alt-country" album, and gave its name to the online notice board and eventually magazine that underpinned the movement. They released three more influential albums, signing to a major label, before they broke up in 1994, with members and figures associated with them going on to form three major bands in the genre: Wilco
, Son Volt
and Bottle Rockets
. Bottle Rockets signed, along with acts like Freakwater
, The Old 97's and Robbie Fulks
, to the Chicago-based indie label, Bloodshot
, who pioneered a version of the genre under the name insurgent country. The bands Blue Mountain
, Whiskeytown
, Blood Oranges
and Drive-By Truckers
further developed this tradition before most began to move more in the direction of rock music in the 2000s.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, honky-tonk, alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, and particularly punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
Definitions and characteristics
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. Many eschewed the increasingly high production values and pop outlook of the NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
-dominated industry for a more lo-fi sound, frequently infused with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic. Lyrics may be bleak, gothic, or socially aware, but also more heartfelt and less-often follow the clichés sometimes used by mainstream country musicians. In other respects, the musical styles of artists that fall within this genre often have little in common, ranging from traditional American folk music
American folk music
American folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
and bluegrass, through rockabilly and honky-tonk, to music that is indistinguishable from mainstream rock or country. This already broad labeling has been further confused by alternative country artists disavowing the movement, mainstream artists declaring they are part of it, and retroactive claims that past or veteran musicians are alternative country. No Depression, the best-known magazine dedicated to the genre, declared that it covered "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".
History
It is generally agreed that alternative country drew on traditional American country music, the music of working people, preserved and celebrated by practitioners such as Woody GuthrieWoody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, Hank Williams, and The Carter Family, often cited as major influences. Another major influence was country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
, the result of fusing country music with a rock & roll sound. The artist most commonly thought to have originated country rock is Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
(who referred to his sound as "Cosmic American Music"), although Michael Nesmith
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
, and Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
are frequently identified as important innovators. The third factor was punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, which supplied an energy and DIY attitude.
Attempts to combine punk and country had been pioneered by Nashville's Jason and the Scorchers, and in the 1980s Southern Californian cowpunk
Cowpunk
Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...
scene with bands like the Long Ryders
The Long Ryders
The Long Ryders are an American alternative country and Paisley Underground band, principally active between 1983 and 1987, and which reformed in 2004 to do a reunion tour...
, but these styles merged fully in Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
's 1990 LP No Depression
No Depression (album)
No Depression is the first studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released in June 1990. After its formation in the late 1980s, Uncle Tupelo recorded the Not Forever, Just for Now demo tape, which received a positive review by the College Media Journal in 1989. The review led to the...
, which is widely credited as being the first "alt-country" album, and gave its name to the online notice board and eventually magazine that underpinned the movement. They released three more influential albums, signing to a major label, before they broke up in 1994, with members and figures associated with them going on to form three major bands in the genre: Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
and Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets are an American rock band formed in 1992, currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. The founding members are Brian Henneman , Mark Ortmann , Tom Parr and Tom Ray . Current members are Henneman, Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele...
. Bottle Rockets signed, along with acts like Freakwater
Freakwater
-Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...
, The Old 97's and Robbie Fulks
Robbie Fulks
Robbie Fulks is an American alternative country artist originally from Pennsylvania but who is a longtime Chicago, Illinois resident...
, to the Chicago-based indie label, Bloodshot
Bloodshot Records
Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois which specializes in roots-inflected indie rock, punk blues, and a Chicago brand of outlaw country...
, who pioneered a version of the genre under the name insurgent country. The bands Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain (band)
Blue Mountain is an American alt-country/roots rock band formed in 1991 in Oxford, Mississippi by husband and wife duo Cary Hudson and Laurie Stirratt , who is notably the twin sister of John Stirratt, the bass player for the like-minded Americana band Wilco.-History:After the dissolution of...
, Whiskeytown
Whiskeytown
Whiskeytown was an alternative country band formed in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1994. Fronted by Ryan Adams, other members included Caitlin Cary, Phil Wandscher, Eric "Skillet" Gilmore, and Mike Daly. They disbanded in 2000, with Adams leaving to pursue his solo career...
, Blood Oranges
Blood Oranges
The Blood Oranges were an alternative country band that formed in the late 1980s.The founding members were Jim Ryan , Cheri Knight , Mark Spencer , and Ron Ward . Between 1990 and 1994 they released two full albums and one EP...
and Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
further developed this tradition before most began to move more in the direction of rock music in the 2000s.
See also
- List of alternative country musicians
- Heartland rockHeartland rockHeartland rock is a genre of rock music that developed in the 1970s and reached its commercial peak in the 1980s, when it became one of the best-selling genres in the United States. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a...
- Red Dirt (music)Red Dirt (music)Red Dirt Music is a music genre that gets its name from the color of soil found in Oklahoma. Although Stillwater, Oklahoma is considered to be the epicenter of Red Dirt music, there's a Texas Red Dirt sound as well. Outlaws Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson are associated with that distinctive...
- Southern rockSouthern rockSouthern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
- Texas country music
Sources
- Alden, Grant; & Blackstock, Peter (1998). "No Depression: An Introduction to Alternative Country Music. Whatever That Is". Dowling Pr. ISBN 1-891847-00-7.
- Goodman, David (1999). "Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory". Dowling Pr. ISBN 1-891847-03-1.
- Kasten, Roy (April 29, 2008), Fifteen Things You Might Not Know about The Bottle Rockets, on Their Fifteenth Birthday, Riverfront Times.
- Hogeland, William (March 14, 2004), Emulating the Real and Vital Guthrie, Not St. Woody, New York Times.
External links
- "So what is insurgent country anyway?"
- alt.country: what is this stuff? from American Studies at the University of Virginia