Friday Night Jukebox, CDLXVIII--Uncle Tupelo: Sandusky

 A Christmas miracle--only one day late!

My introduction to this week's tune--as it has numerous times before here on Friday Night Jukebox--came when my daughter sent me a copy of this week's album after I had told her how much I enjoyed the Greatest Hits CD she'd sent me earlier from this week's artist.  Turned out to be a great record--I listened to it for months driving back and forth from my home and Warren, MI where the tail end of my career in retail management had taken me....

I wrote about Uncle Tupelo in Jukebox XL (akin to last week more than four hundred FNJ posts ago), and like last week's post, I'm happy with the brief bio I wrote and don't have anything to add...other than to say how much I still enjoy listening to Uncle Tupelo.  One hell of a short-lived band.

"Sandusky" was the second to last track on their third studio album, the rather timely titled March 16-20, 1992.  The song was not released as a single, and though the album sold more than their first two studio efforts combined, did not chart either.

Fun Fact:  The album was named for the five days the band recorded it--and it's absolutely amazing to me how they managed to put together such a tremendous record in so little time.

Fun Fact #2:  The album was produced by Peter Buck of REM fame.  Buck let the band members stay at his house while recording the album so as to save money for the studio recording fees.

Jeff Tweedy said that "Sandusky" was the track he was most proud of and that the band created it in a collaborative effort while in the studio.  He also described the song as beautiful--and I think his description nailed it.  The song is a simple instrumental: it's basically an acoustic guitar with a banjo providing the backing vocals (so to speak), and the softly stated drums capturing the subtle nuances of its hopeful core (all of the instruments are played exquisitely).  For whatever reason, the song has always seemed to me to be the soundtrack for having survived some sort of tribulation and watching it in the rearview as you move on with your life.  As an F.Y.I., I have absolutely no idea why Sandusky (assuming it's named for the city of Sandusky, Ohio) was chosen as the title.  The city (famed for being the home of the amusement park Cedar Point) is believed to be named for a Wyandot word meaning water (it sits on Lake Erie), so maybe that holds a clue.  No matter--it's a moment where a band came together and created a little folk magic...and the world is always a better place with a little folk magic.

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXIV--Chatham County Line: Speed of the Whippoorwill

A few years back when I was working at a thrift shop, they had Pandora piped in over the intercom and after a few months of listening to drivel, I decided one day to punch in "folk" and see what came up on the system.  I've always been something of a fan of Americana music and it seemed a good opportunity for hearing something new for a change (plus it was run by a religious organization and folk seemed a little less likely to feature devil's music that might offend our Christian customers).  What I didn't realize at the time is that this week's tune--as well as a host of others--proved to be a renaissance of sorts for my love of music, and I've spent a good chunk of what free time I've had since then letting my curiosity get the best of me and finding even more tunes that make my heart go pitter-patter.

Chatham County Line was formed in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1999 and as you might guess, have yet to become a household name.  However, they have released nine albums over the years and have had at least one #1 album on Billboard's bluegrass charts (once again this week, getting info on a small band has proved to be most difficult).  Chatham County Line features four nattily dressed musicians (often in coats and ties) who play acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, and banjo respectively.  They have become known for a lively live show, and have become very popular in Europe (especially the Netherlands--so many cool Dutch kids!).

Needless to say, "Speed of the Whippoorwill" was not released as a single, but it was originally released in  2006 on their most appropriately named album, Speed of the Whippoorwill.  For those wondering, typing a double "o" after a double "p" is extremely odd....

Fun Fact:  I got curious as to just how fast a whippoorwill flies, and while I found they are a nocturnal bird that feeds on moths and other flying insects, lay two to four eggs a year, care for their eggs without a nest on the forest floor, and are named for the sound of their mating call. I could find nothing that said the whippoorwill was a particularly fast flying bird.  Kind of a bummer!

"Speed of the Whippoorwill" tells the story of a man working on the railroad back in the day, the rigors of the job, and why he's doing it--to earn money to get back home so he can be with his true love.  What could be more Americana than that, for Christ's sake?  The song features simple yet heartfelt lyrics, vocals that capture the protagonists hurt as well as hope, an upright bass which keeps the song's rhythm (I'm sure I've featured a song without drums but I'll be darned if I can remember it), and two emaycee fave's, a fiddle and a banjo (how can anyone not love a fiddle and a banjo?).  In all honesty, it certainly might not be everyone's cup of tea musically, but it's a fine example of what American traditional music has to offer, and it's also a nice reminder that the playing of instruments makes some beautiful noise...and it's good once in a while to appreciate that.

Lyric Sheet:  "Water boy come running, I'm dry as the dirt/The day's keep getting longer, I've got hurt on top of hurt..."

Alas, I could only find a live version on YouTube--it doesn't quite do justice to the studio version, but it still showcases the band's talent.  Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XL--Uncle Tupelo: Still Be Around

One of my fondest Thanksgiving memories is of one a couple of years after I'd moved to Michigan.  My kids had come to visit and after working my Thanksgiving shift for Kmart I was making tacos for our Thanksgiving dinner (don't laugh--tacos make a fine Thanksgiving meal).  My daughter was reading on the couch, my (now oldest) son was looking through my collection of CDs, and we were listening to  89/93:  Anthology by Uncle Tupelo.  I was stirring the Spanish rice when "Still Be Around" came on, and as music lovers are wont to do, I began singing along.  A couple of verses in it occurred to me that I wasn't the only one singing--when I peeked out into my apartment's family room my daughter and son were singing along as well. the three of us in not so perfect three-part harmony, enjoying the song as we went about our tasks.  And it seemed as natural as the fingers on our hands and the toes on our feet.

Such is the power of music.

Hailing from Belleville, Illinois (our home for fifteen years, give or take), Uncle Tupelo is considered one of the progenitors of alternative country (a notion they dispute) which is really saying something for a band that lasted only seven years and produced a mere four albums (though there is often strength in small numbers).  Oddly enough, considering I lived in Belleville through Uncle Tupelo's beginning, middle, and end, I came to their music in a rather roundabout way and long after their 1994 break up.  I was actually a big fan of Wilco, original band member Jeff Tweedy's post Tupelo band (I was also a fan, though to a much lesser extent, of Tupelo founder Jay Farrar's post Tupelo band, Son Volt), and on a whim my daughter sent a copy of Uncle Tupelo's Anthology thinking I might like it, too.  It was love at first listen.

Two minutes, thirty-nine seconds.  It is sometimes amazing how much can be crammed into two minutes and thirty-nine seconds of music.  Released on their second LP, Still Feel Gone, "Still Be Around" has a world-weariness to it that belies the twenty something ages of its writers.  Jay Farrar's vocals are perfectly understated and the song is driven by the simplest of melodies and some omniscient acoustic guitars.  Ostensibly about battling the ravages of alcohol (I think), I've always thought the song could also be a metaphor for battling the ravages of depression as well.  If anyone ever asked me what it's like to suffer from depression, I'd steal a line from "Still Be Around" and say it's exactly like, "..walking the line, upside down."  The song closes with an acoustic guitar break that's one part walking down the yellow brick road, and one part slamming on your brakes in the rain.  All in all, a fine addition to the folk canon.

Fun factoid:  The original members of Uncle Tupelo went to the same high school as my two oldest kids.  Go mighty Maroons!

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee