OUTLAW VS OUTHOUSE COUNTRY
“SAY WHAT YOU WANT, AT LEAST IT’S AN ETHOS.“
How many people do you know who will claim an utter disdain for country music? Well, if you run in circle[pit]s like mine, it’s probably a decent amount, as country music seems to be the antithesis to all things Hesh. But… it’s not all antithetical. Allow me to explain.
I’ve always said that I hated country music, with the caveat that it’s “outhouse” country music I hate, not “outlaw” country music.
“But Slayvy, what’s the difference?” I hear you ask. Well, it’s pretty simple (and glaringly obvious): outlaw country is represented and crowned by the likes of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and many others. It’s a mixture of blues, rockabilly, and rock n’ roll, a denouncement of the polished country music that was coming out of Nashville. It was born out of aggression, frustration, and escapism and played with the soul of someone who’s seen and done some shit. Someone who’s seen real life and been beaten down by it yet still gets up everyday. They were the first “rockstars” who defined that moniker as synonymous with being outside the law.
Outhouse country, on the other hand, is a steaming pile of Jason Aldeans and Toby Keiths and dozens of other radio hit country artists. It’s made-for-radio-pop disguised by a cowboy hat and boots that are way too clean. No longer does the artist embody the outlaw; he’s the sheriff’s under-educated and over-armed son, he’s the pastor’s overprotected and misguided kid, he’s the one condemning the very lifestyle of the outlaw from which their own identity was born. These musicians took outlaw country into the studio and polished and waxed and distilled it down into soulless pop music ready to be consumed by the masses. Outhouse country just isn’t believable - they’ve got the right instruments, they might even be singing the right words, but it just sounds unnaturally clean and polished — which is the exact opposite of the outlaw songs of old.
The 1950s and 60s were the height of the outlaw country era. These artists truly lived like old west outlaws and carved their names on roads, rocks, and radio stations with their grimy anthems. They didn’t fit into the world at large, so they created their own way of living and a style of music that still resonates with us today. And then, Big Pop slowly co-opted that style until all we heard on the radio were earworm hooks under lyrics about trucks and tractors. The outlaws slowly became outcasts once again.
It’s not all for nothing though. The outlaw spirit lives on, it permeates through the pop-radio machine with the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Colter Wall, Old Crow Medicine Show, and so many more that I haven’t had the pleasure of finding yet. Outlaws themselves might meet the gallows, but their spirit lives on to haunt the airwaves and crossroads forever.
So anyway, here’s September.
“SEPTEMBER AND A SIX PACK”
SEPTEMBER 1 - DINOSAUR JR. - LIVE AT THIRD MAN RECORDS, “LITTLE FURY THINGS”
SEPTEMBER 2 - BLONDIE - AUTOAMERICAN, “RAPTURE”
SEPTEMBER 3 - BOB DYLAN - NASHVILLE SKYLINE, “ONE MORE NIGHT”
SEPTEMBER 4 - DOLLY PARTON - JUST BECAUSE I’M A WOMAN, “YOU’RE GONNA BE SORRY”
SEPTEMBER 5 - SMOKEY STOVER & THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN - ANYONE FOR A COUNTRY HOEDOWN?, “BILLY IN THE LOW GROUND”
SEPTEMBER 6 - JOHNNY CASH - SINGS THE SONGS THAT MADE HIM FAMOUS, “I WALK THE LINE”
SEPTEMBER 7 - TACOMA - HILLTOP RATS’ LAST SHOW EVER
SEPTEMBER 8 - TACOMA
SEPTEMBER 9 - HILLTOP RATS - LIFE YOU LEAD, “HELTER SELTZER”
SEPTEMBER 10 - MIKE OLDFIELD - TUBULAR BELLS, “TUBULAR BELLS - PT. 1”
SEPTEMBER 11 - CHEAP TRICK - IN COLOR, “BIG EYES”
SEPTEMBER 12 - DANE COOK - HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED, “HOPPED UP ON THE Q” [NOT ON SPOTIFY]
SEPTEMBER 13 - LED ZEPPELIN - IV, “WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS”
SEPTEMBER 14 - THE B-52’S - WHAMMY, “LEGAL TENDER”
SEPTEMBER 15 - PAT BENATAR - LIVE FROM EARTH, “HELL IS FOR CHILDREN”
SEPTEMBER 16 - SVETLANAS - DISCO SUCKS, “PUSSIFICATION OF PUNK ROCK”
SEPTEMBER 17 - WILLIE NELSON - COLLECTOR’S SERIES, “YESTERDAY’S WINE”
SEPTEMBER 18 - EAGLES - EAGLES, “WITCHY WOMAN”
SEPTEMBER 19 - ALTITUDES & ATTITUDES - GET IT OUT, “HERE AGAIN”
SEPTEMBER 20 - BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - LEGEND, “STIR IT UP”
SEPTEMBER 21 - MERLE HAGGARD - CHILL FACTOR, “YOU BABE”
SEPTEMBER 22 - DOLLY PARTON - BETTER DAY, “IN THE MEANTIME”
SEPTEMBER 23 - THE GUESS WHO - SO LONG, BANNATYNE, “PAIN TRAIN”
SEPTEMBER 24 - LUPE FIASCO - FOOD & LIQUOR, “KICK, PUSH”
SEPTEMBER 25 - JOHN DENVER - GREATEST HITS (1973), “TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS”
SEPTEMBER 26 - LESTER LANIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA - DANCING ON THE CONTINENT, “LA PALOMA SAMBA“ [NOT ON SPOTIFY]
SEPTEMBER 27 - GRAND FUNK RAILROAD - WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND, “HOORAY”
SEPTEMBER 28 - RUSH - PERMANENT WAVES, “NATURAL SCIENCE”
SEPTEMBER 29 - WILLIE NELSON - SINGS KRISTOFFERSON, “ME AND BOBBY MCGEE”
SEPTEMBER 30 - WILLIE NELSON - SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW, “EXACTLY LIKE YOU”
You know the drill by now. I’ll surface again sometime next month with yet another rambling and playlist. As promised, here’s that playlist of savory savvy selects from this months albums. Enjoy blasphemously.
Don’t forget to check out The Hesh Files.
[Wherever you stream your podcasts]
Skål, scalawags.
In Hesh we trust,
S. Jones
