Calle de Dolor y Otros Olvidados

http://www.archive.org/details/CalleDeDolorYOtrosOlvidados

Welcome to Episode 18 of Doc Rockavoy's Indy Music Garage! I decided to do a short show of only 65 minutes today, of country music and other music influenced by country music. Some people don't like country music, since people assume it is music of poor white people who are conservative, and is associated only with the Nashville music, corporate dream machinery.

However, country music is a blend of southern blues music from African American musicians, along with poor white people's folk music that mixed throughout the South and Southern Plains from the 1800s to the 1950s. There's even this brand of country music in California's Central Valley and Los Angeles that dates from the southern Black and Okie migration from 1920 to 1945. The origins of country music is closer in spirit to class consciousness, than any other factor. Listen to the lyrics: it's about mean bosses, working two jobs and not getting by, and of unobtainable dreams due to poverty and lack of privilege. Let's not forget that fact, and note what is probably "country-lite" being played on the radio today. Sorry folks, it just ain't country.

Some of the highlights on the show is Sonny Rollins jazz record, Way Out West, where he covers country standards with his quartet. There's also a Hank Williams tune off a weird 1950s "Country Hits" record I found in a thirft store. I decided to kick off the show with an old friends' project, called Slo-Mo, the album Novelty. It's Mike Brenner, from Philly, with D.J. Dozia, a colleague of King Britt. It's really wild stuff, just like the origins of country music.

The playlist for today is: Slo-Mo, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, The Cramps, Willie Nelson, Come, Hank Williams, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Patton, Buck Owens, Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lucero, Come, Chris Brokaw, Mazzy Star, Come, The Smiths, Calexico, Friends of Dean Martinez, and The Gardes.

Thanks for tuning in!!

Cheers,

Doc Rockavoy