Weekend Guide: 🤠

thank g*d i'm a country boy

When I was roughly twelve years old I heard the song Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks for the first time. If you consider the time and place, New Jersey in the late nineties, this was borderline taboo. I vividly remember exactly where I was and who I was with - but that’s really of no concern here.

I was inside myself, at the very bar where bud-drunk cowboys and cowgirls were joining in to help Garth with the chorus.

….i’m not big on social graces, think i’ll slip on down to the oasis…

Yee-haw motherfucker!

That was that. I retreated back into my world of Hot 97, Howard Stern, and listening to Disengage the Simulator by CKY on repeat. Until a few years later I discovered my new favorite band, Ween, had released a country album, a ten song album entitled 12 Golden Country Greats.

At first it was funny. Jokey lyrics. Classic Ween shenanigans. The boys doing their take on a genre better than the actual genre artists. I loved it. It quickly became a staple. Then I realized that it was an actual country record, recorded with Nashville studio legends, The Jordanaires.

Now i’m starting to think that something may be going on here. I may actually like (love) country music. Again, I kept this to myself and stayed the indie course. From that point on I kept my ears open. I would try finding country music that I made me want to sing like a drunken cowboy - this proved to be harder than anticipated.

Later on, I got heavy into what I like to call Cocaine Country. Basically, country tinged rock. Not so much country. Rock with pedal steel. I love a lot of these types of songs, but for me, that well ran dry. I’ve done all the work, and it’s safe to say that Cocaine Country starts and ends with Amie by Pure Prairie League.

Then I dipped into some of that Outlaw stuff for awhile. Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, etc. Sure, that stuff hits. Amarillo Highway by Terry Allen could be the coolest country song of all time. But if you talk to a real country head, i’m not so sure they would be so fast to categorize the aforementioned as real country music.

Up until now, i’ve had a hard time putting my finger on what would be considered real country music. I always dug on the fringe stuff. The ones that crossed over into my small, very non-southern world. But, I think i’ve found it! Best of all, the country boys and girls agree.

Strait Country!

The next step on my quest to tap the country vein was to go Strait to the source. For the past few weeks I have been rinsing and repeating Strait Country by George Strait.

My very own country holy grail.

Here I am, 41 years late to maybe the most popular country music record ever made. Last week I listened to it all the way through four times in a row! I’m still not sure whats rocked my world more - the straightforward balladeering of George, the shiny pop sound of the recording - or my admission, to myself, and to the general public, that I am a huge fan.

I am currently live-blogging my identify crisis. Thank you for coming along. If you are interested in joining me on the ranch, I just purchased the book King George the Triumphs and Tragedies in the Life of George Strait. I am excited to learn about this dude.

This is the confession of a country fan. Signed. Sealed. Delivered.