S01 E31
(If you send us a voice message, we might include it in an episode)
What is your problem with Country Music? Seriously?
In this episode of the Beat Motel Zine Podcast we dig into why lovers of genres like punk, electronica and metal seem so prejudiced against Country Music. What is it about this genre that makes so many people dismiss it?
In each episode of the Beat Motel Zine Podcast Dr Sam and Andrew Culture pick four tracks each that are either important to them, or that emphasise a point being made about the subject being explored. This episode follows that format, but in a slightly different way. Listen to find out more!
We have introduced a correspondence section at the end of each episode, so contact us by emailing beatmotel@lawsie.com
Sam’s Picks
- Southern Culture on the Skids – Put Your Teeth Up On the Window Sill (0.16)
- Kitty Wells – It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (0.33)
- Loretta Lynn – The Pill (0.17)
- Webb Pierce – In the Jail House Now (opening)
Andrew’s Picks
- Nothing at all!
Riffs of the week
- SAM – Screaming Females – It All Means Nothing (opening)
- ANDREW – ISIS – So did we (opening)
Hillariously inaccurate podcast transcription
00:00.00
Andrew Culture
High cool kids I’m here this is be motel my name’s Andrew and I have a class of bimto I have with me today Doctor Sam say hello sam where are you sam.
00:10.59
Dr Rage
Hi Andrew I’m at home or being allowed to stay at home.
00:20.58
Andrew Culture
I’m at home as well because I didn’t want to get wet and walk to the office because I’m that rock and roll. So.
00:27.76
Dr Rage
It’s everybody I know in the uk has been complaining about the weather for last two days is you have two weeks now ah my understanding is that you had a heat wave and then it’s all just come shitting down.
00:30.38
Andrew Culture
I think I say 200 years
00:40.44
Andrew Culture
It has I mean the the other reason I’m staying home is ah the slightly more rock and roll reason I’m being picked up short well in a few hours to go and learn how to use the lighting rig at a Village hall where we’re filming a pop video for a band called the interesting times gang of the weekend.
00:54.70
Dr Rage
Oh.
00:57.89
Andrew Culture
But I’m I’m doing the filming and I’ve been sort of loosely involved in the production. But I’ll really looking forward to it. It’s for a video they’ve got called oh shit I should know what it’s called Anyway, it’s it’s it’s based on an episode of angel if you ever watch that loosely.
01:07.73
Dr Rage
Oh.
01:14.77
Dr Rage
I am familiar but not ah I do not know it in detail. Ah, that’s fun.
01:18.81
Andrew Culture
It’s about the devil making a robot This is ah this band I’ve made a video with them before and I’ve been friends with for ages I’ve kind of made friends with them because the interesting times Gang is a bit from it’s a. Ah, not going to explain the whole thing but it’s from an Ian banks in Em. Banks novel.
01:35.93
Dr Rage
I thought it was like an attachment band to these are end times. So the end times 7 the end times have come and then you have interesting times afterwards.
01:41.50
Andrew Culture
Ah, that’s so brilliant.
01:49.18
Andrew Culture
That’s so cool actually had of these re times rehearsal last night which doesn’t happen very often I’m sorry listeners ah that that’s that’s ah, my band right? We we could happily chat away here for age is Dr Sam um so let’s crack on. Let’s have.
02:00.76
Dr Rage
Just so.
02:05.77
Andrew Culture
Riff of the week I’m gonna start with your riff the week do you want to introduce it or join me to play it and then you can talk about it afterwards. Okay I’m going to press the magic button this is riff of the week from Dr Sam
02:11.61
Dr Rage
Um, ah play it and then we’ll talk better.
02:50.89
Andrew Culture
That vocal really surprised me sorry I’ll let you talk about it gone who was that.
02:53.30
Dr Rage
So that was ah screaming females junior no screaming females um with a riff that I think could be taken almost wholesale from dinosaur junior but. There’s a joy in the listening to a riff like that play by a guitarist like that play that riff. Um, so and frankly, last time we spoke I said her guitar playing reminds me of ja maskus is guitar playing and I could listen to it for days and I felt. Like I started I put that album on again on another subject we took I put the album on I can’t remember what album it’s from but the song is called it all means nothing I put it on. Um when I was at going out for was out for bike ride and that riff just sort of screamed at me and it’s a great riff and the solo. Ah, rages as well. And um I felt like there should be I was trying to be more inclusive of ah I guess sort of female rock and roll voices as well because I chose Jonathanaur Jr over screaming females last week and this week I chose screening females over everybody else.
04:08.64
Andrew Culture
Very cool I enjoyed that that was a ah pleasant surprise when I heard that I’ve heard the name before but not actually kind of heard them What what period is that is it is it kind of current or is it.
04:18.12
Dr Rage
It’s quite recent the last ten years I think um yeah it I mean to me I mean to me it screams like early 90 s rock punky sort of stuff but it’s I mean it’s a dinosaur junior riff in my head. Oh.
04:35.10
Andrew Culture
Yeah I think that that’s fair, um, so the listeners the the episode Sam’s referencing here is our previous episode which was more solo than song where we talked about dinosaur junior at length. So if you’re into dinosaur junior or you’ve never heard of them and you want to discover them go and look at the previous. Look at the previous episode and then press play because there’s no individuals so look and at it will only entertain you for so long. Um, so I’m slightly distracted by a cat my cat I should add although other cats do come in this house. She’s looking at my desk like she can’t know she said all.
04:54.34
Dr Rage
Look up.
05:03.78
Dr Rage
Is it being a dick.
05:08.64
Andrew Culture
She’s doing that thing. Cats do is she’s staring at something that’s not there like it’s the the freakiest thing in existence right? anyway. So that was cool I enjoyed that sam thank you! That’s a very kind of point. The riff of the week is to to to expose each other expose ourselves to each other.
05:24.25
Dr Rage
That it one of the reasons why people should not watch this podcast.
05:26.75
Andrew Culture
Which is ah one of the reasons I did I did I was going to speak to you today about whether we should we should start doing it recording the video I mean the video gets recorded and we just discard it. The reason being that.
05:43.44
Andrew Culture
Been learning a lot more about promoting podcasts and and if we do actually put the video on Youtube the whole thing it will actually be much easier for us to promote and we are a good looking guy. So I think we ought to consider actually doing that. What do you think? I mean I’m just in ah in my in my little. Studio at home with skateboards up behind me and synth and stuff. But I think people might be able to relate to us because I don’t know why I’m asking you this in an episode.
06:07.25
Dr Rage
I I feel I feel so I felt yeah I don’t know he asked me. It’s know so I feel so embarrassed by my book collection people will start to pick out what books I have. Ah.
06:18.35
Andrew Culture
Or I think they’ll judge you.
06:21.78
Dr Rage
Yeah, people do that. That’s what happened in the and in the lockdown when you had all these academics and all these journalists for the first time working from home and they would all be in their home offices and um, you have people sort of looking I mean. We got seeing emment banks. We’ve got some ma gauly you know russian literature ah Porter house blue by Tom Sharp the ragged trouser philanthropist which is classic I mean they would this is a music podcast. Not. What books have I read podcast.
06:56.71
Andrew Culture
Let’s gonna say that’s a good good long bit of about um, literature there. But it’s not I can see our record collections or anything. Yes.
07:01.36
Dr Rage
No no who keep that secret one. We don’t want people to actually know what we listen to or.
07:09.11
Andrew Culture
No, why give that away hey why? why would you want to talk about that on a music podcast right? So I’m going to give you my riff of the week now um so your one was in reference to a previous episode this one might become a topic for a future episode because. It’s a band that I listen to a lot like you know sometimes you get into a band and you almost listen to them exclusively to the point that you have to stop and you have to just no longer you get kind of sick of it. A friend of mine was saying I just discovered go on.
07:42.26
Dr Rage
I go yeah I go through that with I don’t know I haven’t gone through that with a band recently to that extent. But I go through that I still go through that with like an individual album. So like the weezer blue. Ah the Weezer Pinkerton album um if that goes on that’s on my stereo for about a month or something nothing else. Nothing else gets near it.
08:01.13
Andrew Culture
Wow is so yeah I think it’s a good topic actually because this this album when I got into it I just became obsessed with it’s back when I had a record shop and I just play it all the time in the shop. And it’s um, sorry I burped then it went through my nose because I was trying not to belch really loud on the microphone and it’s a band called Isis who I know you don’t like but I just there’s a tapestry to this. This is that interesting thing whereas. Riff is quite simple but the connection to me is is is quite deep. So I’m going to play it because I think it probably informed a lot of the music I like now even thoughlthough I don’t go go back and listen to this man So This is so did we by Isis It’s the opening song of an album called panopticum.
09:26.96
Andrew Culture
So it reveals at the end there that a lot there of that album is the jangly stuff rather than the heavy stuff. Um I probably shouldn’t have said I know you don’t like it Sam that was very assumptive of me.
09:36.31
Dr Rage
Well I mean my I know the guys. Ah, the main guy he’s now in um, in our front sumac. Um yeah I think so ah and my main my problem is not like.
09:42.99
Andrew Culture
Oh not really.
09:52.94
Dr Rage
My pun room is my attention span as in that song goes on for another 7 minutes and my attention span is just not that long for a lot of ah heavy stuff I would say I get a bit um, but maybe I should try it more when I’m trying to drown out people in the library or something.
09:58.45
Andrew Culture
Ah.
10:11.93
Andrew Culture
Ah, to be honest I think that that’s where Isis is best I don’t think I’d sit down stroking my chin listening to an isis album I think I’d put it on and then start cooking dinner or something. It’s probably a really offensive thing to to say to anyone who’s in a band but shit I’ve been in bands that I’m sure people do that too.
10:12.81
Dr Rage
Um, yeah.
10:29.65
Dr Rage
Yes, he is in the post metal band guitarist the post. Ah ah and vocalist for post mill band sumac. Um, he’s also done a collaboration with a guy a finnish guy from the the band circle who Richard Dawson did a. Um, brilliant album with ah sumac. Ah, it’s amazing. What you can do with Wikipedia these days. Um and he also they sumac have also done collaboration albums with.
10:47.67
Andrew Culture
Wow, you’re giving us an like ah a rock Chris street rock family tree thing here. This is good.
11:04.21
Dr Rage
Ah, Kaji Hao who is a legendary japanese noise guitarist and I bought that album they called I think it’s called american dollar build keep facing sideways your too who used to look at face on but I it will read.
11:20.33
Andrew Culture
Ah, that’s a proper late 90 s emo album name or band name that is.
11:23.40
Dr Rage
Um, I yeah yeah I mean that’s riff sounded great but then it goes as I said it goes on for another 7 minutes so I don’t know if I have I don’t I just I don’t have the patience.
11:36.84
Andrew Culture
Fair enough. They were a real big deal for a while though isis they they were you know touring with tool and they they were really looked like they were going somewhere I don’t know what happened to them in the end but I do know they got they got a lot of ship on their Facebook page in the early two thousand
11:39.12
Dr Rage
Yeah.
11:55.50
Andrew Culture
From lots of very angry americans.
11:58.33
Dr Rage
Ah I mean sometimes you find their name and record stores under the name diesh. No, that’s a bad joke. Sorry.
12:06.89
Andrew Culture
Ah, touch talk.
12:16.10
Andrew Culture
Ah writes. Okay, ah.
12:18.30
Dr Rage
Now sorry sorry um I the guy run the guy ran hydra head records which is one of the coolest record labels will last 30 years as well. Yeah, so I mean I joke about the band name and I think it’s just unfortunate timing in some ways that.
12:23.81
Andrew Culture
Oh shit was that him.
12:36.46
Dr Rage
That band name got so you know shat on by bunch of complete assholes.
12:42.13
Andrew Culture
We we could do a whole episode on hydra head the label they just they’re fascinating. But I think didn’t they they quit because they just said look. We’re just crap at running a record label s we not to do anymore which I I like that right? So let’s get onto the topic for today’s episode
12:47.97
Dr Rage
Um.
12:52.89
Dr Rage
So yeah.
13:02.10
Andrew Culture
We’re we’re kind of. We’re 13 minutes in and we haven’t even mentioned the topic today. Although if you’ve click the link to start listening to this or click the button in your podcast app then you know that we’re gonna we’re already sorry we’re gonna talk about country music now the title that I’ve got.
13:11.90
Dr Rage
We’re sorry.
13:18.64
Andrew Culture
In the prep notes with this might not be the final one but the title I’ve got is country music but not crap.
13:23.82
Dr Rage
So why do you think country music is crap from a start point.
13:29.40
Andrew Culture
This is a conversation that I can really not come out of looking other than small minded and idiotic and and what you’re saying you’re also have the opinion that I could only come out of this looking small minded and idiotic.
13:39.33
Dr Rage
Ah, the same I’m the same area.
13:47.66
Dr Rage
Ah, no, but there’s there’s a lot of like if you grew up in the I’d say when it was Blues Brothers out when did that come out if you grew up watching the Blues Brothers If you grew up watching the Blues Brothers which I think to an extent both you and I did.
13:57.11
Andrew Culture
I sign 1984 or something.
14:05.10
Dr Rage
Um, there is that famous scene of them playing that ah that that really shit bar that’s terrifying and you know if you’re a kid and you grow up with that. All of a sudden you’re culturally sort of set against that.
14:13.50
Andrew Culture
What the? ah we do both types of music here country and western.
14:25.30
Dr Rage
And you you know you sort of it’s an initial point that you start setting yourself against country and western no matter before you’ve and you know sort of and modern country for the most part. Not all of it for the most part modern country really doesn’t help itself. You know there’s that recent song that’s been. In the news. Ah the what the people of Richmond the richmond of in North of Richmond or something and sort of and I listen to that song. It’s it’s quite a boring song I can’t figure out why so big, but there’s all but there’s this interesting aspect whereas I would argue for most.
14:52.43
Andrew Culture
Um, yeah, um.
15:02.68
Dr Rage
Types of pop music which country and Western music is most types of pop music that the lyrics are pretty. They don’t matter so much. But I think for country and Western it matters incredibly much. The the lyric matter is very sort of profoundly important to um to to country and western music in a way that I actually don’t think it is with almost any other pop music. And but that goes away I be that goes away from the eventual point I started to make which is I think there is something that we’re you know, sort of if you grow up listening to mainstream not even mainstream but just alternative Music. There’s something that sets you up against country music which. And ah country West music which is sort of advertised as a right wing Pastime. You know in the way that Pun gro is thought to be ah for the most part left wing. Um. Country music is for the most part thought to be right-wing.
16:15.16
Andrew Culture
It’s out of any genre that we could possibly try and cover in an episode. It’s the one I’m most challenged by but I am prepared to accept that. It’s my own prejudice I mean I honestly I didn’t see blues brothers until I was in my twenty s which is shocking. And that’s probably the biggest revelation but growing up in the late 70 s and eighty s country music and I had had a friend who was obsessed with country music when I was at high school country music was quite an nedir um. In terms of its trajectory. So it was garthbrooks it was Daniel O’donnell it was Billy Ray Cyrus it was this horrible sarony. Oh god it used to almost make me feel physically sick just how appalling I thought it was at the time. And it’s such a stupid way to think about any genre of music I get that people can get quite cross about some genres believe me some of the music I play at home makes my family quite cross. But I think.
17:18.57
Dr Rage
But there’s sorry that sort of interrupt. But there’s also an aspect. You know like I took against when I was growing up in the 90 s and I started to listen to punk rock and I started to believe and look into what those songs were about and I saw. What was being promoter the z rap music at the time like which was sort of the P Diddy bling worldold um I set against that you know in in a similar way and then it took years later my you know my brother introducing me to.
17:44.83
Andrew Culture
No.
17:56.13
Dr Rage
Ah, particularly blacklicious um to reset my mind that there hadn’t been no good hip hop since a Tropal quest.
18:09.59
Andrew Culture
It’s you’ pinpoint is something that that’s it’s really about all prejudices’t it as soon as you other a whole genre or I’m not even Goingnna get into anything social you know um social here but as soon as you decide an entire genre is.
18:27.70
Andrew Culture
Ah, certain thing you’ve kind of lost the battle to to have an open mind and discover exciting new music because there is there is rap. There is hip hop that is definitely very unpleasant and is something that that I would find too challenging to listen to. And then there’s hip hop butchers incredibly anarcho and and probably more left leaning than some of the punk plans. We listened to so I I’ve been. Been slightly dreading this episode but I’m looking forward to to seeing what kind of comes of it I’ve just remembered the first time you and I heard country music together we were it was 2008 and we were driving from Boston Massachusetts to Washington and we were driving around Connecticut. Trying to find I don’t know we’re trying to find an offlicensr thing and we just put the radio one in the hire car and there’s a video on Youtube somewhere which I’m not going to link to of us sitting in the car and switching on the radio and all the stations we went to were country stations and the songs were so strange.
19:24.61
Dr Rage
Flip If and.
19:34.24
Andrew Culture
I can remember 1 of them is like it was like I’m not I am gonna try and see it because what the hell it’s like where I’ve come from. It’s it was like where I come from. It’s it’s pickups not salute. It was just like the weirdest thing that I couldn’t identify with at all.
19:49.65
Dr Rage
But what? what? what? the the grander core the Rat The grander point I’m trying to make is that we don’t choose what we’re you know with what? ah my example of hip hop. But also your example of countries that we don’t choose what we are initially exposed to.
20:01.85
Andrew Culture
Yeah, that’s it you you absolutely hit the nail on the head there.
20:05.61
Dr Rage
And and I’ll talk about. Oh yeah, there’s a song that I’ve chosen later that is sort of I think helped a lot of people start to reconsider what a country Western is or can can be can be.
20:24.10
Andrew Culture
You’re completely right? I mean I’m I’m very biased towards music list recommended to me I think that’s the only way I actually got into metal was friends saying no actually listen to hump listen to isis I was was kind of part of the part of my metal journey was bands like that. If I had just walked into a record shop and picked ah a metal Cd at random I probably would have got something horrendous. But yes you you need I know that my path to discovering music is having that that friendly recommendation which is the whole point of this podcast really is so.
20:45.42
Dr Rage
Here.
20:54.32
Dr Rage
Okay.
20:59.30
Andrew Culture
Let’s have your first choice. This is do you know I couldn’t find this. This was a struggle to find listeners I prep all the audio for this? Um, and I really struggle to find this song anywhere is the band called southern culture on the skids right.
21:13.56
Dr Rage
Yes.
21:17.70
Andrew Culture
That’s already interesting. That’s already that’s already an interesting title I’m name for a band I mean it’s long enough to be a 90 s emo band and the song is the song is called put I’m gonna struggle to say this because I’m missing teeth.
21:18.99
Dr Rage
If you.
21:31.50
Dr Rage
Um.
21:35.32
Dr Rage
So yeah.
21:37.17
Andrew Culture
Put your teeth up on the windowsill. Ah, we’ll we’ll pick apart the title after we’ve heard it.
22:17.30
Andrew Culture
Is that for real I mean is that a parody or is that an actual band but is it like ah you know some some metal is slightly parody and a slight sort of wink to sort of say we we are very self-aware about how how we’re we’re.
22:18.88
Dr Rage
Notice a band that is currently touring.
22:32.89
Dr Rage
They I think I never got I never got into them ah never got into sort of the details and them that much their vinyl coat for quite a lot of money. Um I was in record shop the other day and they had a southern culture in the skid zep and it was going for 60
22:34.64
Andrew Culture
Focusing on some of the tropes of the genre.
22:50.86
Dr Rage
Sixty Euros um yeah they are I think they are one of those bands that are they love genuine genuine love of the music that they make and they listen to and they wouldn’t have been doing it for so long I mean this this track came out in the mid ninety s.
22:52.49
Andrew Culture
Um, now.
23:08.94
Dr Rage
Wouldn’t have been doing for so long if they did not love it and then there is a very knowing piss take of the tropes of what northern people think of southern ah the southern us um the song titles on the out I mean the song titles are great on the album I’m just going to. But also Andrew what do you call underwear sometimes do you not call them skids. Yeah, and so I think and we we know that that word is used in the in America by some some groups of interesting people.
23:32.83
Andrew Culture
Grods Skids well skins as well. Yeah.
23:45.94
Andrew Culture
Now bet bearing in mind you’re you’re north to northern to here. So you’re in Finland and I’m in the east of england so I’m southern compared to you and my name is culture and I am currently wearing underwear so I am southern culture.
23:48.33
Dr Rage
Um.
23:52.59
Dr Rage
Um, yeah.
23:56.59
Dr Rage
So.
24:04.11
Dr Rage
In the skids. So this is from an Albumen called ah ditch digging. Um, ah.
24:04.67
Andrew Culture
Um, Southern culture in the states.
24:15.36
Dr Rage
I mean other names of this is. There’s got a note. They’ve got a song called too much pork for just one fork. Yeah.
24:21.75
Andrew Culture
Ah I know see I’m down with this kind of thing we did the episode about kind of and none of them knew there were parodies I get this sort of loving parodies to a genre that I find it quite appealing almost as an inroad into a genre.
24:36.58
Dr Rage
Yeah, and and so I discovered this band because I was in ah Austin in Texas with some friends and we were looking to. We were looking at um I was looking for gigs to go to um and. Ah, they had a residency there at the time and Austin is a place sort of like there’s the phrase Austin ah that they market themselves with which is keep Austin weird and um, you know this really sort of um.
25:01.74
Andrew Culture
Yeah.
25:09.23
Dr Rage
This sort of stuff really sort of goes to that but it because Austin sort of seemed to be this outlier of liberal culture radical culture in Texas um, and yeah southern culture and the skid sort of had a reson seat in one of the places down there or. We were there and I just started listening to this album and the guitar playing is fantastic. It’s sort of this mixture between country country western and surf guitar and the lyrics just yeah, yeah, and the lyrics just made me laugh. Um, and there’s a there’s a.
25:34.67
Andrew Culture
I Love the bouncyness of it.
25:45.62
Dr Rage
Track four and the album is called my house has wheels Ah, and.
25:48.98
Andrew Culture
Ah, right? This really is we we played gentlemen’s pistols on on the and none of them knew they were parody so look that blissness if you unheard it and they did the same thing they are like a late 70 s rock pastiche so they’ve got songs like. Danger wound or it’s not but is that kind of thing. It’s exactly the song titleles you would expect to see.
26:11.26
Dr Rage
Yeah, and I don’t know I just I Love it was sort of like a it broke downdoors some some current ideas that there might be good country music rock and roll type stuff out there and lyrics that you know. Um I think some people find offensive but also are I think lovingly done. Um.
26:35.17
Andrew Culture
What what kind of offensive though sort of offensive in a slightly misogynous way like you’re getting some rock and metal or.
26:43.42
Dr Rage
Ah, well I don’t think so much of ah but I think people who sort of are maybe mourn the right of the spectrum about country western and southern culture going. Oh you’re representing us as a bunch of you know false teeth. Um. Trailer park um, you know people like you Andrew apart from the yeah yeah, who who you know who like breeding too much.
27:05.88
Andrew Culture
Ah, what Gap teeth freaks from the South I am a gap tooth freak from the South There’s there’s There’s no way. No two ways about it too much I already bred once.
27:21.27
Dr Rage
I’m sure you’ve tried more than that.
27:22.50
Andrew Culture
Ah, it it was the trying to get it right? There was the fun. But.
27:28.35
Dr Rage
Um, but yeah, it’s just like there’s ah, there’s a joy in the music they play and I really and this I Really like that Song. Um I Also think the lyrics are they’re gentle I think they’re actually quite gently mocking rather than sort of really scornfully mocking in the way that say Jellabi forite. Mock people now are.
27:49.24
Andrew Culture
Oh It’s not.. It’s not an attack is it. Um I mean that’s that’s pretty cool. Um, we’re going to have to go on to. We’re going to have to go to my side because anyone who hasn’t listened to the show before we we pick four songs each so it it goes back and forth and. For mine.
28:16.35
Andrew Culture
I John I have been I have been I’ve been like not getting sleep at night trying to think of 4 country songs I could pick that for 1 thing I could be sure of a country and I’d like to unpick that in a minute.
28:34.32
Dr Rage
Um, and.
28:34.34
Andrew Culture
But also that I could say I was genuinely affectionate about or represented one of my views about country music. But.
28:45.16
Dr Rage
There.
28:49.12
Andrew Culture
Couldn’t do it I lich I couldn’t find anything because I was like Johnny Cash I was like well I’m not sure. Johnny Cash is country I so see him as sort of rockabilly more than anything else. Even the really old stuff and are thinkinging right? well. Against me. There’s stuff on the first album that I could or second album even that I could possibly say is getting close to country then there’s all the lomax tape stuff which I love genuinely very affectionate about most of the lomax stuff so Lomax for anyone who doesn’t know that is. Guy who is paid by the american library of congress to travel around the states recording recording stuff. Sam’s running off what’s he doing might just be going for a we I see I don’t know I don’t think you can hear me’s just put his headphones down. Do you want like? do you want you want him on video I think you do.
29:23.78
Dr Rage
Are.
29:42.80
Andrew Culture
So you’ve just gone for a drink or if you’ve gone off to get something pertinent to the Lomax Tapes he’s gone off to get a drink. Yeah, so the the the lomax tapes that must play a part in the history of country music. But. I didn’t I didn’t know what was and what wasn’t.
30:01.70
Dr Rage
But so this is going to be I mean this is um I haven’t referenced any of this but you know the history of the music industry is a history of of exploitation of artists and.
30:16.98
Dr Rage
Part of that exploitation is the creation of these ah these terms such as country music such as blues music such as folk music and you know I would have accepted any 1 of those ones any country tinge thing I think. Is is fair because there’s something about that tinge that you that’s you’re finding attractive I mean John Johnny Cash certainly I would say is country music I never really understood why he was lumped together with like the rockabilly stuff apart from the fact that he was there at the same time. Um. But for me country music. You know like punk rock every all of these sort of things they certainly. They are ah, there’s a social aspect that comes with them the cultural aspect that comes with them but the predominantly they came ah they used and country music is certainly. 1 of the first uses of market marketing term to designate a certain style of music away from other styles of music and so you had this aspect of ah you know like Woody Guthrie is he country or is he ah folk music. He’s considered.
31:29.75
Andrew Culture
I Was gonna be another one of my choices. Yeah.
31:34.13
Dr Rage
He’s considered folk music. But why is he considered folk music more than more than country and then you have you know? um you have people like um oh God can’t remember but ah the point is is that sort of like I think anything like.
31:53.15
Dr Rage
We could do a whole one about you know rap rock and where does you know a whole episode about Rap Rock where does that dividing line between is it more rap or rock come into it. Um, and you know against me certainly came they they certainly were associated at first with that sort of ah. Folk punk styling but that folk punk styling has ah you know relations to ah country music and I don’t know one of the songs I chose I think the next one no it’s not the next one um it’s the last one. Ah, but yeah, it’s it’s you know it’s a sort of a marketing aspect to it I think um, that days of makes it country music.
32:45.70
Andrew Culture
That’s that’s a very broad and very interesting comment about music as a whole which has has got my brain ticking off in several directions at once there that I I was approaching it from. From the the definition set out by the moneymakers and making my assumptions based on that because I’ve made music and been in bands that that we we wanted to be a certain genre and we wanted to be a certain subset of a genre or whatever and then all the reviews just. Put us in a different pigeonhole I’ve not been in a situation where record labels given a shit about what genre we are but that that makes all music just music and I think that that might be 1 of the most democratizing things for taste that you suggested.
33:31.87
Dr Rage
Yeah.
33:40.83
Andrew Culture
Which might mean one day you like techno and incidentally do you like drum bass button.
33:43.70
Dr Rage
Oh God We have our limit entry I like some drum base I like I like is that thing of like it’s the same that I have the same thing with um Frog Rockck I hear it in snippets and I went oh that sounds great. And then I listen to it like an album of it which is maybe a problem and I go.. It’s not for me. Um, yeah I mean I like are the only is Asian Dub Foundation drum base there’s aspects of drum based in Asian Dub foundation.
34:03.63
Andrew Culture
Ah, bit much.
34:11.94
Andrew Culture
I I I found out I did a gig with 1 of Asian Dub Foundation I had no idea at all I did a gig inbarrass st edmmonds. It was ah what we call experimental. It’s ah it’s ex bery mental. It’s ah it’s a name and.
34:17.73
Dr Rage
Is.
34:24.74
Dr Rage
Very good, Very good makers.
34:29.58
Andrew Culture
Actually there’s a good review of it I posted a couple of weeks ago that gives a good flavor of those events. So really small room. There was this guy doing doing ah it was really interesting. It was beats but he he didn’t have any beats locked down into a 4 4 group or any noticeable time signature he was. He was consciously and very deliberately.
34:49.10
Andrew Culture
Being experimental which which you’d want for that kind of event and this is like six months a year possibly longer ago and I was on the way to to the gig that I did the review for in Beia a few weeks ago and the person I was traveling with said oh and then there was that brilliant guy I he called it the niche or something who who. Who was an asian dub foundation and I was like what and I was chatting away to this guy for ages. He was excellent. 1 of those people who really knowledgeable about music really enthusiastic as well. He went. Yeah, apparently he’s the basis of asian dub foundation I was like what really and I said yeah when Jay the guy put the gigs on first listed him as as. Ah, yes, dene it said bassist asian dob foundation. He asked him to take it off because he he wanted to this music that he does himself to be not colored by any music that he’s done before which I I totally respect I think that’s that’s brilliant I was just really surprised that was all but I meant to tell you kind of before this so it popped up in the middle of a.
35:42.88
Dr Rage
Um, that’s really cool. Yeah sure sure.
35:47.68
Andrew Culture
Ah podcast. But I just thought that was cool as shit. Yeah, um, right shall we have your let’s have your next choice I think you’ve but I think this might be 1 that you have played to me in a whiskey drinking night at some point in your house in Helsinki.
36:01.24
Dr Rage
Oh maybe.
36:06.12
Andrew Culture
And then made a very good point about so it’s by Kitty Wells and I’ll ah I’ll let you reveal the title would you say it now what you would say afterwards. Okay here we go.
36:13.96
Dr Rage
So afters.
36:51.10
Andrew Culture
Comes them.
36:52.48
Dr Rage
It’s a song called ah and ah it wasn’t god who made honky song angels and I think this song ah which is ah 1952 this song get ah this song and the next one
37:03.72
Andrew Culture
Wow! really.
37:10.12
Dr Rage
Ah, to the greatest lyrical fuck you use to the entire country music Male ego. Um.
37:23.93
Andrew Culture
Um, it’s is it’s interesting lyrically for another reason as well. I think I get the the angle here I’m really surprised that’s 1952 that’s that’s really quite brutal.
37:33.60
Dr Rage
That’s precursor to the second. Yeah, that’s a precursor to the second wave of feminism which is all the the the hippie bar bra burning ah stuff that happened god 18 years after that 16 years after that.
37:48.75
Andrew Culture
The other thing I’ve noticed the first 2 tracks you’ve chosen lyrically is basing a whole genre on 2 tracks. But those 2 tracks not much of an obsession with the lyrics rhyming.
38:05.30
Dr Rage
Um, yeah.
38:05.54
Andrew Culture
No at all. It is a story told in a sing song way really well that that 1 is someone stating an opinion. The first song the southern culture on the skids was I don’t know what what they were saying with it. It was just like a vignette was it.
38:20.70
Dr Rage
It was then both of them. Yeah there a thing yet. It was basically the first song was the son the culture of the skid put your teeth on up in the windowsill is about ah is is basically about love between 2 unattractive people. And why is that so wrong, you know, put it that it um ah the erics go something like in the in the chorus put your teeth up on the windowsill tell the neighbors um base come and what the latest are but basically tell the neighbors to shove it.
38:40.81
Andrew Culture
Ah, didn’t get that too. Why and it was only 30 seconds of the song. But.
38:59.40
Dr Rage
We’re in love. We don’t fucking care? Yeah yeah, and Kitty wells. It wasn’t God who made Honkytonk Angels So there was a song called Honkytonk Angels and it was about these and Honkytonk was this sort of this early form of.
38:59.25
Andrew Culture
Oh I kind of like that now starting to really like Southern culture on the skids. But yeah Kitty wells.
39:18.73
Dr Rage
Outlaw country music and outlaw country music as our whole thing itself. It’s all these people. It’s basically men China sort of claim this rock and roll hard drinking hard. You know living lifestyle and and and the song is called something like thank god for Hongo honkytonk angels and this woman Kitty Wells put out the song so you know saying this basically saying fuck you we don’t choose this lifestyle. You’re fucking exploiting us and it’s like that’s so cool. Fifth 1952 to put that out and when it was massive.
39:51.97
Andrew Culture
Yeah, it’s amazing. Isn’t it.
39:57.14
Dr Rage
Because this is the thing that also I think this is one of the things that modern country music has sort of at least as a commercial thing that you and I get exposed to has sort of put away is that it allowed at the time it allowed for certain voices to fight back. It wasn’t this one. You know it’s like you don’t have this this one linear sort of voice of like yeah you have the all these men celebrating sort of these attractive woman that they get drunk and treat them nicely. Um, it was um, it also allowed for these sort of. It also allowed for these strong female voices to come through. Yeah yeah, yeah.
40:40.46
Andrew Culture
I Think we ought to go straight onto the next the next track because is very closely linked to to your current thread. Um.
41:21.58
Andrew Culture
That made me think think of something quite silly which which I apologize for because I know it’s it’s it’s another kind of very very deliberate social comment. Um, when when was that I’m gettinging sixty s if it’s just on about the pill 75 okay well that that kind of makes sense. But.
41:33.64
Dr Rage
Ah, 75 mm
41:40.40
Andrew Culture
It’s a genre of music much like hiphopp that has has a vocabulary that I don’t know what these things mean so you just explained Honkytonk which had no idea the pill I know what the pill is but there was a thing about I’m tearing down your booda house. What’s that bru. Oh Brooder House I’m guessing that’s.
41:54.94
Dr Rage
Bruder House I.
42:00.20
Andrew Culture
But way in a farm I be where you put broody chickens you chickens that we’re going to lay actual chicks rather than just have chicken Periods I What do we call them. Eggs.
42:05.50
Dr Rage
He had a guesso I mean I’m not sure I I might my you know most of the time you make a guess based on the relationship between the lyrical. The the the the lyrical content and these words you don’t Understand. Um. And yeah I took it as Brooder house as in your feeling broody. Um, and I’ve never understood I Never it looked up the etymology of brood ah of being broody so it could be that. Ah.
42:28.89
Andrew Culture
Oh no.
42:38.69
Andrew Culture
when I when I first start getting really into hip hop. It took me years to realize that shorties weren’t just really short people I just thought they were just like being offensive about people who are short and really confused be ah dear, um, yeah, another another good song though I’m I’m loving 1 thing I have always really liked about country.
42:44.60
Dr Rage
D that.
42:58.13
Andrew Culture
Is slide guitar or pedal steel because they’re 2 different things aren’t they and I’d like one I mean they’re used in. They don’t pop up very often outside of the genre. The only example I can think of is you know red sparrows that.
42:58.22
Dr Rage
Yeah, yeah.
43:11.98
Dr Rage
Yeah, yeah, they use 1
43:17.23
Andrew Culture
Pretty much it and I think when I saw swans a few weeks ago they they one of their many band members had had one I’d like one can can my birthday’s not till next year but
43:24.82
Dr Rage
Well, you know why don’t you buy a slide. Why don’t you apply buy a slide for your guitar and see how you get on.
43:33.72
Andrew Culture
I Have a bow for my base which I don’t use very often I slide so you need like a bottle.
43:37.92
Dr Rage
Do you know, but go to yeah, a bottle or a lot of people use glass ones people use metal ones and it’s basically it was my understanding of the slide was that it was. You know it. But meant that you could play both normal guitar and also you know ah have that something kind of and and and ah enjoy yourself too much.
44:00.25
Andrew Culture
Your hand gesture there you like see so you play normal guitar and right we’re gonna have to put the video this out now.
44:15.47
Dr Rage
Um, in a in a male way. Um a solo male way. Shall we say? Ah so yeah, that that again, yeah ah so yeah, again, that song you know the um.
44:22.46
Andrew Culture
Totally derailed that sorry.
44:32.32
Dr Rage
A song actually I thought when I first saw the title of it I thought it would be a cover of a scottish folk song weirdly ah which um was written by I can’t remember the name but I know this song and I know it’s um god my mind has gone. Ah.
44:51.90
Dr Rage
Who did the song. Um.
44:58.19
Andrew Culture
Alexa watch scottish band did a song called the pill.
45:11.13
Andrew Culture
Um, Matt Mcgun Matt Mcgun apparently I don’t know if you heard alexa then it’s out here.
45:14.95
Dr Rage
Yes, Matt Mcginn and it was covered in ah on ah some Com covered it’s on a Pete Seeger covered it for album and it’s a scottish song and it’s like it’s much more along the lines of southern culture of the skids are sort of like I keep having children all these different people and finally. Finally, the pill is coming to save me and I don’t have to live with this presbyterian no condom, no sort of um, you know, no limits on reproduction sort of stuff and um, it’s not that at all, it’s sort of from the other perspective and I like. I like these 2 songs particularly because it was sort of you know they’re from the other perspective of you always hear about the male experience of Honkiton cans of going around fucking all these women and having loads of kids and it’s really nice to hear like ah like a ah female. Version of it which is a female voice which is not the normal marketed female voice frankly of like oh poor me, it’s much more fuck you and it’s really nice to hear that fuck you.
46:19.73
Andrew Culture
Yeah, it’s cool now. um um I like that let’s let’s move on to the last track. Um, I’m go to play it and then oh the only thing I was going to say that the image this conjured into my mind you know the pill and Honkiton Cans was more so in America but I’m starting to see it here. People start to put stick figures on the back of their cars. So it’s the strangest thing I don’t know if you have this in Finland but you’ll you’ll see the back of a car normally like ah ah a wank Panzer. What do they call suvs and it will be like a male stick figure a female stick figure and then maybe 2 really small stick figures. They might be male or female and sometimes you get like a dog stick figure. Or sometimes you see um you know it will be 2 2 malestic figures and then a couple of children. Yeah, it’s this this weird thing I don’t know why people do it I find that I think it’s a stranger version of a fad that people went through in Britain of putting them. And putting a sticker showing the name of their car. The brand of their car stereo on the outside of the car which I just thought was like a thieve shopping list kind of thing and really odd, but there’s a a picture that went around on Redit a little while ago and it was an Suv and it was like mums stick figure dad stick figure.
47:22.28
Dr Rage
Is.
47:36.75
Andrew Culture
No like 5 little children stick figures and somebody had just written in the in the dirt for fuck’s sake get offer so it’s just so prison or leave her alone or something like that. What a do you have that there have you seen that on cars. Oh it’s very very strange.
47:41.52
Dr Rage
Is.
47:49.65
Dr Rage
No I have not seen that now right.
47:56.46
Andrew Culture
And let’s go for our final track today.
48:04.94
Andrew Culture
Got say that very much isn’t I’ll play the whole thing in a minute O we dude look a bird or look a bird look a better look. That’s why I thought it’s gonna be and help about play and just shut the fuck up.
48:50.14
Andrew Culture
So that’s a web pierce in the Jailhouse Now one of my challenges with that is that if my wife was in the same room or the next room while I was listing that she would insist and coming in grabbing my hand and and dancing around the kitchen with her which I’m not adverse to but that that’s such a that make my.
49:05.64
Dr Rage
That’s lovely.
49:09.45
Andrew Culture
Making my hips shift around just sitting in my creaky chair here. There’s It’s very rock and roll. Don’t you think.
49:15.92
Dr Rage
Yeah, there’s there’s that’s not the version of it that I thought what you’ were going to play which is interesting know So it’s all good. It’s interesting. It’s nice to hear that. Yeah, it’s got that sort of rock and roll early rock and roll swing to it. Um, you know Blues Shuffle I Guess it you might call it.
49:18.98
Andrew Culture
Oh shit. Sorry.
49:32.88
Dr Rage
Um, it’s ah it’s it’s it. It’s just the song was made famous by the cohen Brothers film. Oh brother where art thou.
49:43.81
Andrew Culture
Yeah, and that that was my other just just just going back to um to the.
49:52.40
Andrew Culture
That the I love that growl at my 5 all go to end up being tracks from oh brother where art thou like all 5 of them.
50:00.98
Dr Rage
It’s such. It’s such a good soundtrack. It is like it is one of the it’s probably my favorite new movie soundtrack. Um, bar on are not bar none bar nones.
50:15.10
Andrew Culture
It ba but bear nuns. It must. It must have opened up see I I wouldn’t have even thought that as country music that’s like a some Americana but what’s the fucking difference. This is what what I’ve really sort of what I’m really sort of.
50:16.67
Dr Rage
Um, ban ons.
50:31.88
Andrew Culture
My my big takeaway. Um my I hate this phrase but my bfo my blinding flash of the obvious is that it’s just music in it.
50:44.51
Dr Rage
Yeah, and you know there are certain styistic aspects to it. Um I mean I heard that original version of that by because it was on a playlist on ah title the music app that you and I listened to. Stream a lot of music through and um, it was on the honky top playlist I was like oh okay, it’s in the honkytonk alongside um Hank Williams and a few other you know, sort of very famous early day stuff alongside that. Ah Kissie Williams track and um, it was and I was like and I used to play it I love I love the sound of the vocal harmonies in the on that version as well. But on the original version. Um, and I used to play it to my son every time he. Every time I was doing bedtime after he got out the bath before I put on like chill out music I used to play him here in the jailhouse not now because he it was. It’s time to go to bed for also one that sort of suggested.
51:48.48
Andrew Culture
So you played him an uplifting danceable number to calm him down ready for bed.
51:56.83
Dr Rage
That you know you’ve been misbehaving all day and now it’s time to shuts up and go to sleep.
52:03.84
Andrew Culture
Yeah I knew eventually this turned into a parenting podcast right? Um, we we are almost out of time and listener in the last episode we asked you to contact us to email us at bemotel@lausie.com and that’s l a ws I e dot com and just just reach out say hello tell us what you thought the episode or anything really and if you’re listening on Spotify. There is a poll that you can. You can? um you can. How do you do a poll contribute towards prod at jab at yeah, so.
52:33.39
Dr Rage
Product Jap grab manipulate.
52:40.39
Andrew Culture
So now we’re in in the end of this episode. Thanks First of all for listening and the first bit of correspondence this came through about an hour before we started recording today and it’s from my wife Emma and it says would you go and open the greenhouse door please to which I replied. All done Sam Did you have any correspondence.
53:02.83
Dr Rage
Ah, only from my wife who said she had a lovely lunch and is getting the tram home and coming home via the shops.
53:09.69
Andrew Culture
Excellent, So come on people again touch look. Yeah, we we love our wives but it would be nice to hear hears some comments about the podcast so just get in touch be offensive if you want work. We’re both quite thick skinned. Yeah, please be offensive.
53:20.95
Dr Rage
Please be offensive.
53:26.53
Andrew Culture
Um, so I’m gonna say goodbye Sam Jo say goodbye.
53:27.71
Dr Rage
Have you ever read reviews of your stuff that you’ve done on Meter Andrew anything any reviews of stuff that you’ve produced.
53:35.40
Andrew Culture
What music I’ve made oh God Yeah loads Absolutely tons we we in one of the bands I was in we we took all the worst reviews and put them on a page on our website to make sure everyone else could see but. Ah, we we ended up making flyers for gigs and putting the worst reviews on them which probably didn’t help. It’s probably why no one came to see us. He said what he did was it.
54:00.70
Dr Rage
Don’t know it worked for Stuart Lee yeah on this I think on his website for a while there was only reviews from the daily mail.
54:10.41
Andrew Culture
Ah, right? How do we get reviewed head to the beat Motel Podcast get a review from the daily mail.
54:15.61
Dr Rage
Ah I So at device you gonna say maybe we have to do that thing of ah lovingly prod them by saying things about them being assholes and misogynists and what have you.
54:26.76
Andrew Culture
Yeah I’d like to think the daily mail will just read that and go well dur We know.
54:32.77
Dr Rage
Yeah, they know they’re doing their job well because they keep pissing off left wing people.
54:39.68
Andrew Culture
Right? Um I lost me thread now I’ve already said Goodbye which means that nothing I said since then exists in podcast world. We’ve got anything final to add.
54:48.58
Dr Rage
You know.
54:54.50
Andrew Culture
Oh I’m just gonna make some so we try and harmonize and I’ll press stop so that it just cuts out you ready? ah.
55:00.16
Dr Rage
Can you play can you play? Can you play the simpsons um with Simpsons. Yeah yeah.
55:04.66
Andrew Culture
I Just end on that or this one.
55:14.65
Andrew Culture
Now go into this one.
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