Tuesday, December 29, 2009
National Skyline From the Dept. of No, Really?: Nashville Still More Than a Country Town
Posted by Tracy Moore on Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Turns out the only thing worse than folks thinking we're just a country town are all the stories being written about how we swear we're not just a country town. For the latest example, see this NPR Christmas Eve piece, "Beyond Country: Not Your Father's Nashville."
Whaddya think it's about, kids?
OK, first off, I've written so much over the years about the Nashville curse and the reluctance for folks outside of Nashville to see us as anything but a country town that I've actually run out of new and fresh words to engage this subject. So allow me to just quote myself from a Sept. 2008 blog post:
If you've toiled in Nashville's rock scene for any amount of time, you've no doubt heard of the dreaded Nashville Curse. After Jason and the Nashville Scorchers were pressured to drop "Nashville" from their moniker to hit it big in the '80s, the skies darkened and Hank Williams Sr. wept, dooming all Nashville rock acts to sell less than a million records.For decades since that dark day, many locals have believed that we'll always be wedded to the outside perception that Nashville can only do twang. Or that we're so infected by Music Row's polish that we're too busy looking at the bottom line to really focus on being bona fide artists. Or perhaps we're not influenced enough by formula and cliche, and our rock acts, no matter how talented, still can't pull a hot-shit hit out of their asses. Or maybe the problem is Nashville audiences, who've cursed our locals and touring bands with our indifference.
Of course, the rock scene has typically existed in opposition to Music Row, save for the few attempts at combination soul-selling by folks like Movement Nashville, so I don't know why that hit-factory standard is the one we're always held to. Why do we have to produce hitmakers, while other music scenes get breathlessly covered merely for having cool scuzzy-pop bands who are just really fucking good? That never happens to Minneapolis!
Nonetheless, I think we should add one more little caveat to this list of curse-worthy characteristics we Nashvillians seem to hold so dear: No matter what the heck-fire we do, accomplish, produce or export, and no matter who we entice to move here, we can't seem to change our script.
At least this latest piece is written by a writer who's actually aware of something other than country--Craig Havighurst rightly namechecks Grimey's, the Thirty Tigers folks upstairs, Jason Moon Wilkins' Next Big Nashville festival, Richard Florida's nod to Nashville as the Silicon Valley of music, Paramore, Jack White and Kings of Leon, and puts it all in perspective by pointing out that, while country CD sales fell this decade, the rock exports were on the uptick.
That's terrific. And, yes, we know this article is written for the industry or fan outside of Nashville and not us. But we have a little advice: One way to talk about Nashville as something other than a country town is to simply write about the other acts who aren't country as legitimate in their own right. You know, without invoking the old but-not-country clause as the main selling point.
Find someone other than Jack White or Kings of Leon making interesting music and feature them more often. Sure, we might cringe occasionally, because God knows whichever band gets anointed next will be the wrong one, but still. That's one story closer to writing about a good band, and one story further away from another hackneyed Nashville's-still-crying-in-its-beer-only-this-time-it's-PBR shtick. 'Preciate ya.
Comments (18)
Showing 1-18 of 18
like
dislike
I would hardly consider artists like Kyle Andrews or Heypenny - to name a few MN crew - "Soul Selling". It may not be everyone's bag, but the goal has always been to help bands play in front of people that dig it. What's wrong with that, eh? I am pretty sure that everyone helping bands are out to do the same thing as far as local plays go.
"Suicide Blonde"
Suicide blonde, suicide blonde
Suicide blonde, suicide blonde
Suicide blonde was the colour of her hair
Like a cheap distraction
For a new affair
She knew it would finish
Before it began
Something tells me you lost the plan
You want to make her
Suicide Blonde
Love devastation
Suicide Blonde
You want to make her
Suicide Blonde
Love devastation
Suicide Blonde
She stripped to the beat
But her clothes stay on
White light everywhere
But you can't see a thing
Such a squeeze
A mad, sad moment
Glory to you, glory to you, take me there
Got some revelation put into your hands
Save you from your misery
Like rain across the land
Don't you see
The colour of deception
Turning your world around again
You want to make her
Suicide Blonde
Love devastation
Suicide Blonde
You want to make her
Suicide Blonde
Love devastation
Suicide Blonde
[repeat till fade]
Jazz players here: we're lucky. Our thing has been irrelevant since the 60's so there's no threat of hitting it big ever because nobody cares! But plenty of good players. The rock scene has bright spots but lacks cohesion. You've either got tepid industry-spawn shlock (hot chilly ray) or 'we're so indie we don't even string our guitars all the way.' But whatever: who cares if we produce hits. Its a fun place to be even if we mostly just share it with ourselves. Lars sucks.
Look, as a national reporter I can tell you. You use the word "Nashville" in a story headline about rock, pop, jazz, whistling, or banging pots, and editors will change it or push it towards "and not what you think" so the article's not skipped by those who will read about every kind of music except country. To steal a phrase.
When this stops happening, we'll know that the musical diversity around here is actually widely understood.
Meanwhile, let us be glad that the scene here is diverse, that country matters, and that Nashville is not stuck in the stifling, straight-jacketed indie rock box, like Portland.
What Barry Mazor said. The same is true of the classical music scene here; I remember a generally great review by David Patrick Stearns of the NSO's recording of Beethoven's *Missa Solemnis* in which he expressed some astonishment that it was actually done in Nashville.
I too am tired of making this argument, hearing other people make this argument, etc. It is beating a dead horse. The "curse" is not something that will go away over night. It's a generational thing. It's the Ethan's, JMW's, Dean's, Ryan Z's, Gemmills, and I would like to think of myself as one, plus many others who work hard to promote these folks. I believe all of us involved do this because we are passionate about our scene, our community, and the artists within it(I am pretty sure none of us are rolling in mounds of cash from it. It will take this collective community to break that curse but it's something that will take time. Nashville has come along way in the last few years. YOU have the power to break the "curse." If all of us work together and the people that come after us carry the torch, the curse will be broken. Happy New Year everyone!!!
Yeah! What Bo said.
Trying to help bands is thankless enough and in most of our cases a free venture because we value the scene enough to help it, and we know bands are not making enough as it is.
So, we work day jobs - go and help out at night - occasionally get a thank you and in many cases are given crap because it is somehow not the "right" band to be helping.
Honestly, a little bit of perspective needs to be applied here.
The amount of shit Ethan has been given for MN is pretty obnoxious - considering his work was pretty much voluntary and out of sincerity. It wouldn't hurt to give him a high five or 10, next time you see him - because he helped build the scene over the last few years.
Important point to remember here is that most of us do this stuff gratis, because we care enough to help bands move forward in Nashville. We have helped bands grow, and got people into new music over the last few years - which was the goal.
PS: Yacht Rock was fun as hell last night - thanks Drew and Happy Birthday!
Movement Nashville has never made any bones about being all about naked careerism. Everyone sells their souls to make it these days anyway--it's practically a badge of pride now. And everyone knows taking that approach means making more compromises. Why so sensitive about it? It is what it is.
And I understand why national editors want the outsider angle for Nashville music stories, but that doesn't make it any less tired to the people who live here. And yet, no matter how tiresome the stories are, it's still part and parcel of what it means to care about music in any form in Nashville, which is why we'll keep covering those stories. What a vicious, vicious cycle.
And burrito: We so rarely agree, and yet, everything you said is exactly right. "Bright Spots But Lacks Cohesion: The Nashville Rock Story," would be a great book title.
Personally I do not think that the problem with this music scene is people giving it publicity. Any publicity is good publicity, as the old saying goes. I think the problem lies in the lack of local enthusiasm, overabundance of snobbery, and formation of impenetrable cliques that go on in this town.
All I ever see other bands do at shows is talk shit about any band playing, even if they are obviously talented or not. No one dances or gets into the shows. No buys CDs or merch. No one even really supports local music around here (yes, i know there are exceptions but an ant can't carry an elephant). Everyone is trying to make it on their own and it is like we are climbing the same ladder but we're all hitting it at the same time and just beating the shit out of each other to get to the top, then in the end the ladder is broken and here are like 50 bands with their thumbs up their asses, pawning their instruments for weed and a case of PBR.
If we actually presented something to someone out of town that actually looked like a lot of fun and show them we are not just a bunch of stuck up, alcoholic assholes then maybe people would give a shit about us. If you look at areas like Minneapolis, Athens, Omaha, Asheville, etc. they get good press and attention because the people there are SO much nicer than in Nashville. Locals will come to your shows, buy your shit, dance their asses off and invite you back to party with them. That's why so many local bands leave Nashville thinking, "What a waste of fucking time."
Sure you can blame it on the omnipresent country music cloud above our heads but all it really is is a "smug cloud" choking the life out of anything creative in this town. Hell, the Kings of Leon are one of the very, very few rock bands to make it out and make it big, and to get nominated for a fucking grammy at that, and all people can do is talk shit and dog them (i'm no saint in that department). Regardless of whether it's your style or if you just don't get it, just keep your fucking mouth shut and support each other or no one is going anywhere.
Getting upset at only being recognized as a country or gospel town is just like all the artists that you mock and rip on in your blog. This is just one market's perspective. You cover whatever blogworthy shit there is in this city (some of which I like), and people that read this article are outside of that circle. I don't see you ever defending the bands that get press in this city that are outside of your circle AND not country. You usually just say that they totally blow, and make you want to die. Also, aren't you supposed to be cooler than this ? Isn't your job to NOT care about anything ? You just give people the middle finger and check Pitchfork right ? To me it's pretty easy. You either stop caring about shit like this, and do what the 'real scene' would do (which maybe that in itself is exactly the problem. possibly this whole scene is so fake and wannabe that you don't even have the balls to pull it off. thus, a watered down luke warm cool kids scene. we're getting picked last for Pitchfork's dodge ball game). OR simply start opening your eyes a bit. If the goal is for Nashville to prove itself. Look around. There's a lot more going on. NOT even at your beloved venues. Artists from your city that are all over the United States maybe even world representing something other than Country or Gospel. Choose a side Cream. But don't keep kicking up shit like a spoiled little indie brat. Come on, it's the holidays. I'm sure you got the new Chuck Klosterman book. Grab a trendy beer and read a chapter. Pick a side in 2010.
Happy New Year, Taylor
Freon is right-on bout some things. The biggest problem I see with the town is due to the fact that it is a music business town. Everyone here is either a musician or in the business. That said, everyone has a fucking opinion. Everyone here is a music snob(myself included). People show up, ask if they are on the guest list cuz they are too cheap to pay the $5 cover charge(which is fucking retarded. Pay the damn cover and support those folks you assholes. The cliques can be pretty bad as well.
Bottom line: We all claim to be supporters of the "scene," but few actually do support and even then, it's not enough.
In my humble opinion, Paramore and Kings of Leon have officially ended the Curse. They are two of the biggest band in the world, it seems like.
Vote here for best Band of the Week
Slideshows
Top Commenters
