Weekend Guide: 03.12.2021
Cowboys on acid
Cowboys never really did it for me. As an Eagles fan, the utterance of the word *Cowboys* can set me into a downward spiral. I would assume someone from Texas (other states likely have cowboys) would call me a city slicker. That’s OK. While maintaining a tough, Marlboro Man mystique may not be me, I have been known to fall hard for the country-tinged. Queue up the steel guitar baby! Yeehaw!
When it comes to cowboy stuff. If it hits. It hits hard! This week I have been heavily bucking with this song Locked Up in Lockhart by Cactus Lee. The whole album is great - but this song specifically has that acid-western/cowboys on speed twang that, historically, I find so incredibly tasty! 🤠
On paper, it doesn’t really add up. Wait. Huh? My favorite genre is… Country? I hate to tell you folks. It is. More specifically, my favorite genre is something I like to call cocaine country. I guess it’s not country, country. You know? Not Grand Ol’ Opry country. More like country dipped rock. Either way, I pulled together a playlist of my all time favorites.
The term Acid Western is usually reserved for colorful, revisionist cowboy movies. But these tunes are pretty - acid westerny. This stuff is all a bit disorienting. Fast-paced. Knee slappers with lots of high flying harmonies and a fuck ton of slide guitar solos. I really hope you can dig it! Dig a pony baby!
If you do dig this particular pony. I highly suggest you watch Jerry Reed play a rip roaring rendition of East Bound And Down - fully zooted up. Legs spread in flying V formation, shoes off, wearing blue socks.
If you are looking for an acid-western artifact. Something you can feast your eyes on. Like, a book. I would recommend checking out The Drop Edge of Yonder by Rudolph Wurlitzer.
It’s pretty trippy. Purposefully disjointed. But a really cool tapestry of killing, gambling, drinking, sex, drugs and cowboy tropes - all set between two worlds. Not dead and dead. Truth be told, it’s a hard one to wrap your head around. But if you are looking for a fun challenge - slap on the Cocaine Country playlist and give it a ride. Yehaw! 🤠
*I think that is a dick on the cover*
"...you will drift like a blind man between the worlds, not knowing if you are dead or alive, or if the the unseen world exists, or if you're dreaming..."
"Dreaming was easy, he thought. Being dreamed was the problem."
As always. I wish you all a sunny and relaxing weekend. Wherever you are in the world. Your friends are never far away. Peace and love!
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Leave some love in the comments. Share with me your favorite cocaine country songs. I would love nothing more.
I'm eager to dig into this "CC" (<- double entendre much?!) playlist. The tunes seem to be pretty upbeat and--like you said, "knee-slappin'"--chicken-pickin', high-flyin' zoots. I was going to comment about reminiscing about being in a Nashville honky-tonk on a Monday afternoon a few years ago, sitting in the good chair and not this current bad chair, but then realized this isn't my stubstack!
Three great country tunes IMHO:
- "Old Flame" by Alabama: https://rb.gy/htcyg5
- "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers: https://rb.gy/qy39ci
- "The Range War" by Upper Darby's own Todd Rundgren: https://rb.gy/g11p8q
The latter is probably not considered canonical by Cocaine Country Pedants (the dreaded CCPs, who I'm sure will be in my mentions any minute now), and the other two are likely too on-the-nose! Sometimes you have to play a Track 9-kinda tune (or two, or three) to slow things down before you ramp it back up for the big Friday finale.