MMJ is not Alt-Country

[cmccubbin@work]

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/music_blog/archive/2007/04/theres_a_tear_i.shtml

There's a Tear in My Cerveza
Posted at 12:57 PM on April 19, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller

...

"What we know today as country and alt-country music wouldn't exist, of course, without the trailblazers of the genre: Roy Acuff, Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family--as well as those who they inspired: Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash. It's one big, family tree. We play a lot of those artists here on 89.3 The Current, too, as so many songwriters and rockers claim classic country as an influence. Where would bands like Wilco or My Morning Jacket be without these artists?"
....

ok...can we get past the MMJ is alt-country BS?  has this person listened to anything since Tennessee Fire?  i would consider none of the albums since TN Fire, especially ISM and Z, to be remotely close to "alt-country."  i wouldn't even consider TN Fire alt-country, but i can see how the comparison is made.

please tell me that my fellow Jacketeers agree?

[The DARK]

MMJ do NOT = Alt-Country
MMJ do NOT = Lynard Skynard
MMJ do NOT = Emo
MMJ do NOT = Jam Band

MMJ=MMJ. End of story.

[cmccubbin@work]

MMJ do NOT = Alt-Country
MMJ do NOT = Lynard Skynard
MMJ do NOT = Emo
MMJ do NOT = Jam Band

MMJ=MMJ. End of story.

thank you!!!

[BH]

It's just ahhhh Rock and Roll.....

[ycartrob]

It's just ahhhh Rock and Roll.....

southern fried rawk!!

[Chico]

For us mp3 folks, you gotta pick a genre to make sorting through your massive collection feasible...  So in such situations, I think alt-country is the closest thing to an accurate label as you can get.

Besides, what is the stigma with alt-country?

My favorite mix cd is labeled as such, and contains: Wilco, MMJ, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, John Prine, Uncle Tupelo, Ryan Adams, Townes Van Zandt, Varnaline, and Chip Taylor/Carrie Rodriguez.

One could probably argue that any of those are not truly alt-country....  but what is alt country?  And how come Bob Marley is in the Rock section at the record store?  And wtf is up with Emo?  

Me thinks jacket is in good company with alt-country...  beats the hell outa the southern rock label.  Although Z doesnt quite fit the mold.  Hell.  I give up.  I am just gonna call everything Rock.

[Jaimoe]

MMJ have produced some of the best modern southern rock anthems and lean more towards Skynyrd than Allman Brothers when they rock out, but they are still not a southern rock band. They flirt hard with that genre, as they do with folk and country, but their music blend still can't be categorized effectively.

Oh yeah Dark, it's Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[The DARK]

MMJ have produced some of the best modern southern rock anthems and lean more towards Skynyrd than Allman Brothers when they rock out, but they are still not a southern rock band. They flirt hard with that genre, as they do with folk and country, but their music blend still can't be categorized effectively.

Oh yeah Dark, it's Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Yeah, they're southern rock. Rock from the south. But does that make all southern rock bands=Lynard Skynard? No, contrary to Pitchfork. MMJ has a unique sound. Lynard Skynard has a unique sound. UNIQUE. Do not classify MMJ as anything other than rock. MMJ are everything rock, no gimmicks added. And I love it.

[mjkoehler]

It's just ahhhh Rock and Roll.....

amen to that.

[Jaimoe]

I hear the south in almost all their music, from Jim's vocals to the guitar riffs and solos. You can't take Kentucky out of MMJ, nor would I want to. I'd rather have MMJ compared (when they rock out like Lay Low or One Big Holiday) to Skynyrd than Molly Hatchet. I'm a huge Allman Brothers fan, but MMJ don't sound like them when they rock out. The Allmans are southern rock pioneers, but they don't sound like Skynryd either. It's a more diverse genre than many think it is, and hey, I'm from Eastern Ontario and I still love all of that.  

[Angry Ewok]

Looks like 90% of my MMJ MP3's are labeled "Rock"... Good enough to me.

[Jaimoe]

Looks like 90% of my MMJ MP3's are labeled "Rock"... Good enough to me.

Good enough for me too, even though their early work is pretty darn country-folk.

[Angry Ewok]

Yeah, one would be kinda crazy to label Butch Cassidy a Rock Song, for example...

[Chico]

Wikipedia calls them "Indie rock, Southern Rock"

And clearly:

alt_country == (indie_rock + southern_rock) / 2

Which pretty much brings us full circle....

So everything is just rock.

[Kory]

While we're at it, Ky is not south... at least not Louisville.

How people define Kentucky as Southern is beyond me, too many ideas of barefoot pregnant women running around... that shit happens in Vermont just as much.

[Angry Ewok]

I've been to parts of Kentucky that are totally Southern... and I mean that in the most affectionate kind of way, as I love the South.

[Jaimoe]

While we're at it, Ky is not south... at least not Louisville.

How people define Kentucky as Southern is beyond me, too many ideas of barefoot pregnant women running around... that shit happens in Vermont just as much.

Why do you look at being southern as a negative? I certainly don't. Some of the nicest people I've ever met outside of Nova Scotia are from the south, whether that is in Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee or Mississippi.

[The DARK]

Ironically, northern SC seems almost more southern than south SC. The saltwater clogs up our brains down here.  ;)

[The DARK]

Yeah, one would be kinda crazy to label Butch Cassidy a Rock Song, for example...

Though It's About Twilight Now rocks as hard as anything they've ever done.

[Jaimoe]

It's cool to see how far the south can influence music. Four excellent newish Canadian bands are unabashed southern rock lovers: White Cowbell Oklahoma, The Illuminati, C'Mon and Black Mountain. Some old Canadian bands like The Stampeders, The Band, The Guess Who and Neil Young all have elements of southern rock - although western Canada has it's own authentic cowboy country vibe going on.