"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History - Idolator Comments

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

Lucas Jensen — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:52:38 EST

I just don't see the problem Anono-Critic has with No Depression. They appeal to exactly the demographic they set out to appeal to. Maybe they don't rock the boat, exactly, but I think they stick pretty close to their mission statement. To be honest, I'm growing weary of this segment in Idolator's repertoire. I think that YB would have every niche magazine go broader and every broad magazine get weirder. Can't No Depression just be No Depression?

Lucas Jensen

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

BaronL — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:11:46 EST

Don't know about the fine folks at ND, but my site twangnation.com, which serves more or less the same demo mostly stand in contrast to snarky cultural pricks taken with their own clever observations (oh how meta!), like this anonymous hump.

BaronL

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

musicmandb — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:04:19 EST

Why should a publication, one that seemingly prides itself on spending the bulk of its pages covering artists largely ignored by mainstream media outlets, give any lip service to mainstream county? The very idea that the music is mainstream would seem to render it useless to the core readership of ND. However, at a closer glance, many of the people who actually WRITE the songs recorded by country poster boys and girls are, in fact, featured in the publication. Perhaps they're not pretty enough for the pages of other trendy music mags.

musicmandb

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

Charles A. Hohman — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:19:37 EST

For me, the most irritating thing about ND is not its attitude toward pop, but toward mainstream country. They extol "classic country" acts like Cash and Hank and Jennings, while ignoring that those men worked within largely the same idioms that a Brad Paisley or Taylor Swift use today. I blame a lot of this alt-country arrogance on Gram Parsons, and I thank Anono-Critic for not mentioning him. Parsons' distorted rich-kid romanticization of a world and a music that never quite existed has loomed large over the ND movement (and nuts to anyone who thinks his country-rock fusion had not been done prior). As with Parsons, the complicating factor is that many of the artists mentioned above (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams) have produced fine records despite their narrow-minded traditionalism.

Charles A. Hohman

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

clarknhilldale — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:28:08 EST

They are still the self-appointed keepers of the sacred music. Beware, all ye pop-loving sinners, recognize thy shame and repent. The Britney Spears ref is a dead giveaway. Why should they care about her? Because they need her, or their own purity has no meaning. Or something.

clarknhilldale

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

MrStarhead — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:32:53 EST

If these guys really wanted to position themselves as the mag that offers outside-Nashville coverage, they would have aligned themselves with the growing Texas music scene by now (Cross Canadian Ragweed, etc.), which marries '70s country with grunge and other rock forms. But they haven't.

MrStarhead

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

Mick Kraut — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:31:34 EST

They do however hold out hope that ever new Ryan Adams record will be another "Heartbreaker"...

Mick Kraut

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

Thesemodernsocks — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:07:53 EST

The ND crowd has been through with Jeff Tweedy since Summerteeth.

Thesemodernsocks

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

SuperUnison — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:26:58 EST

I bet these guys' collective dick is still hard from "Sky Blue Sky."

SuperUnison

"No Depression" Stands Athwart Music History

iantenna — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:26:21 EST

are you sure hank done it this a'way?

iantenna