Against Nostalgia: Jason Isbell on Moving Southern Music Forward
December 28, 2021 11:09 AM Subscribe
"[Singer/songwriter Jason] Isbell has long been waging war against the way nostalgia has been weaponized. ... A white Southern man from Alabama, he is resentful of the ways a fictitious version of the past has been deployed to keep people like him — “white Southern rural men,“ in his words — from seeing how things really are. But this story is only a little bit about Jason Isbell. If Isbell does his job right, it’s not about him at all. It’s about what happens when white men attempt to unhook themselves from the tentacles of nostalgia and engage with the world as it is, not as they’ve been told it is." Jason Isbell Is Tired Of Country’s Love Affair With White Nostalgia, a lengthy, excellent piece from Elamin Abdelmahmoud for Buzzfeed.
Follow up with this direct, no-bullshit conversation with poet/singer/songwriter Adia Victoria: "[T]his week’s Call & Response features Adia Victoria speaking with Jason, the Grammy award-winning songwriter from Green Hill, Alabama. Jason reflects on his identity as a white Southern man, why he seeks communion in his work, and the pitfalls of unquestioned nostalgia in country music."
The interview is one episode of Call & Response, my favorite podcast of 2021. Her approach lets a conversation take place:; there's an exchange of thoughts, back-and-forth encouragement, and discovery in the moment while trying to articulate difficult thoughts. (The Tressie McMillan Cottom ep is also quite good, and I encourage you to explore the archives.)
Soundtrack:
Isbell's best-known songs are probably "Cover Me Up" (discussed in the podcast) and "If We Were Vampires," but the song for this post is "White Man's World."
Previously:
How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021
Rewriting Country Music’s Racist History
Modern Sounds at the Mother Church (from me)
Follow up with this direct, no-bullshit conversation with poet/singer/songwriter Adia Victoria: "[T]his week’s Call & Response features Adia Victoria speaking with Jason, the Grammy award-winning songwriter from Green Hill, Alabama. Jason reflects on his identity as a white Southern man, why he seeks communion in his work, and the pitfalls of unquestioned nostalgia in country music."
The interview is one episode of Call & Response, my favorite podcast of 2021. Her approach lets a conversation take place:; there's an exchange of thoughts, back-and-forth encouragement, and discovery in the moment while trying to articulate difficult thoughts. (The Tressie McMillan Cottom ep is also quite good, and I encourage you to explore the archives.)
Soundtrack:
Isbell's best-known songs are probably "Cover Me Up" (discussed in the podcast) and "If We Were Vampires," but the song for this post is "White Man's World."
Previously:
How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021
Rewriting Country Music’s Racist History
Modern Sounds at the Mother Church (from me)
Well looks like I've got some new artists to try out, I had mostly given up on country but if there's some black women artists that's worth a listen. Here's one, Black Like Me by Mickey Guyton
posted by emjaybee at 11:50 AM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 11:50 AM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jason is one of the best to ever do it, and his social/political voice is a huge part of why I love him so much. This song especially gave me a lot of comfort over the last many years:
I've heard enough of the white man's blues
I've sang enough about myself
So if you're looking for some bad news
You can find it somewhere else
Last year was a son of a bitch
For nearly everyone we know
But I ain't fighting with you down in the ditch
I'll meet you up here on the road
- Hope the High Road
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:02 PM on December 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
I've heard enough of the white man's blues
I've sang enough about myself
So if you're looking for some bad news
You can find it somewhere else
Last year was a son of a bitch
For nearly everyone we know
But I ain't fighting with you down in the ditch
I'll meet you up here on the road
- Hope the High Road
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:02 PM on December 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
Is this where we share black women country musicians? Because Yasmin Williams (eh, kinda, it's acoustic guitar music), Adia Victoria, and Amythyst Kiah.
posted by box at 12:47 PM on December 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by box at 12:47 PM on December 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
box, I think this thread is a great place for sharing black women country musicians, but I bet readers of another recent thread, How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021, would also appreciate your link. (Actually, three people in that thread already mentioned Amythyst Kiah, but none of them posted any links!)
Thanks for this post, MonkeyToes - I'm looking forward to reading this piece slowly and with plenty of time to think about it. Much appreciated!
posted by kristi at 12:56 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
Thanks for this post, MonkeyToes - I'm looking forward to reading this piece slowly and with plenty of time to think about it. Much appreciated!
posted by kristi at 12:56 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
My college-age kids like contemporary country music, but in my mind the genre is too stuck on the Default White Guy for me to bother.
Jason Isbell gives me hope that Country can be something dynamic, and these new artists being linked are super interesting. Thanks for this post!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:16 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jason Isbell gives me hope that Country can be something dynamic, and these new artists being linked are super interesting. Thanks for this post!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:16 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
wenestvedt, I cannot recommend Call & Response highly enough--Adia Victoria is so thoughtful and humane, and really brings those qualities out in her guests. It feels like good, nourishing conversation, and she talks to people you might enjoy. The Isbell conversation is whip-smart, but also funny and reflective. And then Amythyst Kiah! And oh my, I just now saw the Rhiannon Giddens episode. She sat down with Brandi Carlile? Of course she did. It's just such a good show; no one upsmanship, no "here for the pluggable," just two people, talking about things that matter to them, where those things can range from word choice to race to growing up in the South to broadening hearts. It is clear-eyed, but also hopeful. I think you might like this podcast, and (bonus!) every show comes with a list of the music in that week's episode!
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:55 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:55 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Jason Isbell is a mensch! I read this a week ago and I was like, "Yes, new music in a genre I always dismiss!" I am excited to find out about black female artists in a very white genre.
posted by Kitteh at 2:03 PM on December 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 2:03 PM on December 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
And the episodes are like half an hour? SUBSCRIBED
posted by wenestvedt at 4:10 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 4:10 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
I’m not exactly a country music listener, and that’s largely down to what I have heard of the genre, and how focused it was on nostalgia for a time and place that, even if it had actually existed, would never have welcomed me.* If Isbell (and others) can move the genre foreword from its nigh on Jeremiad style content, I’m definitely open to giving it another go.
*Weirdly, one of the country songs I remember having affection for is Cheap Seats by Alabama, which I realize is partly due to growing up in almost exactly the kind of town they’re singing about, but I can’t really get past the implications in the chorus of “we like this” which sets up the idea of the members of the group and those outside of it, and those in the group, well shucks, they’re the good folk, of course.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:08 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
*Weirdly, one of the country songs I remember having affection for is Cheap Seats by Alabama, which I realize is partly due to growing up in almost exactly the kind of town they’re singing about, but I can’t really get past the implications in the chorus of “we like this” which sets up the idea of the members of the group and those outside of it, and those in the group, well shucks, they’re the good folk, of course.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:08 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
I've seen Isbell twice this year, and if you like Americana with real values he's worth a listen. He's not the first musician by any means to take political positions, but he's better than most about putting his money where his mouth is. Also, great Twitter follow. When we saw him at the Ryman the opener was Brittney Spencer, who was fantastic. I think she's going to be a big star.
posted by wintermind at 6:45 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by wintermind at 6:45 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yasmin Williams is beyond astonishing: twelve years ago she didn’t know anything about guitar, played Guitar Hero, decided to try a real one, and now she's better than Leo Kottke!
Do members of the Guitar Hero development team strategically scatter pictures of her around their homes and offices and then lie in wait for people to ask 'who's that?' And then say 'that’s Yasmin Williams! Here, listen to this!, and play that Tiny Desk tape?
Because I sure as Hell would.
posted by jamjam at 7:01 PM on December 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
Do members of the Guitar Hero development team strategically scatter pictures of her around their homes and offices and then lie in wait for people to ask 'who's that?' And then say 'that’s Yasmin Williams! Here, listen to this!, and play that Tiny Desk tape?
Because I sure as Hell would.
posted by jamjam at 7:01 PM on December 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
What a nice article about really good artist and some of the great artists he's helping to platform. Amythyst Kiah and Our Native Daughters are such great jams.
I still listen to radio country sometimes in the car, despite having been mostly turned off by the misogyny awhile back. And yet I was still kind of stunned to learn that the Morgan Wallen cover of Cover Me Up is so much more listened to than the Isbell version. This is just the most recent illustration for me that we in Metafilter/coastal-elite land have a completely skewed view of what's popular and "what people" might know or listen to. Still, here's a few amazing women doing great work and finally getting a few listens, here's hoping the good music gets some more fans and a few more receptive ears to hear the important (and fun!) music and messages.
posted by ldthomps at 7:50 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
I still listen to radio country sometimes in the car, despite having been mostly turned off by the misogyny awhile back. And yet I was still kind of stunned to learn that the Morgan Wallen cover of Cover Me Up is so much more listened to than the Isbell version. This is just the most recent illustration for me that we in Metafilter/coastal-elite land have a completely skewed view of what's popular and "what people" might know or listen to. Still, here's a few amazing women doing great work and finally getting a few listens, here's hoping the good music gets some more fans and a few more receptive ears to hear the important (and fun!) music and messages.
posted by ldthomps at 7:50 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
This is a superb post, MonkeyToes, thank you. I first became aware of Jason Isbell when he was with the Drive-By Truckers, and I've kept up with his music since then. I absolutely love Last Of My Kind.
For me the DBT are one of the best bands of the last 20 years, a left-leaning Southern Rock-inspired band led by Patterson Hood, who wrote a rock opera about the plane crashed that killed several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. His song, Heathens, is the best song I've ever heard about what it feels like to be 'white trash'. Here's another version, sung by Isbell alone, on acoustic guitar.
posted by essexjan at 1:33 AM on December 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
For me the DBT are one of the best bands of the last 20 years, a left-leaning Southern Rock-inspired band led by Patterson Hood, who wrote a rock opera about the plane crashed that killed several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. His song, Heathens, is the best song I've ever heard about what it feels like to be 'white trash'. Here's another version, sung by Isbell alone, on acoustic guitar.
posted by essexjan at 1:33 AM on December 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
And yet I was still kind of stunned to learn that the Morgan Wallen cover of Cover Me Up is so much more listened to than the Isbell version. This is just the most recent illustration for me that we in Metafilter/coastal-elite land have a completely skewed view of what's popular and "what people" might know or listen to.
Same. I'm a huge fan of that song but never even heard of Wallen until this article.
posted by octothorpe at 4:09 AM on December 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Same. I'm a huge fan of that song but never even heard of Wallen until this article.
posted by octothorpe at 4:09 AM on December 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Is this where we share black women country musicians? Because Yasmin Williams (eh, kinda, it's acoustic guitar music), Adia Victoria , and Amythyst Kiah .
Absolutely! I saw Amythyst Kiah with Jason Isbell at an event in Nashville a few years ago, and she's terrific. Met him while there; he's a kind and patient guy with tongue-tied fans. :)
Isbell has been using his position to giving Black women country musicians the spotlight. From the article:
posted by martin q blank at 7:02 AM on December 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
Absolutely! I saw Amythyst Kiah with Jason Isbell at an event in Nashville a few years ago, and she's terrific. Met him while there; he's a kind and patient guy with tongue-tied fans. :)
Isbell has been using his position to giving Black women country musicians the spotlight. From the article:
But if the Ryman has become a kind of home for Isbell, this year’s residency carried a different energy. It was historic. For seven of the eight evenings, he had a different Black woman opening for him. In an industry and genre that is consistently failing white women and is downright hostile to Black women, the choice to feature these openers is a small revolution.Kiah, Brittney Spencer and Mickey Guyton all are interviewed and quoted at length in this article. It's definitely worth the time to read.
posted by martin q blank at 7:02 AM on December 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
Oh, YES:
"Despite living on a fantasy island of its own making, the country music industry is struggling to ignore Black Lives Matter, especially the white reactionary response. Country artists, fans and critics are duking it out in culture wars over vaccines, critical race theory and conspiracy theories. The more country music ignores the social and political moment, the more disconnected from its fan base it becomes and the more culturally impotent it appears. The problem for country’s gatekeepers is that plenty of people still have a healthy appetite for the genre’s white utopianism. But that audience wants country music to reflect its political anger. A new, expanding audience dabbles in country’s artistry but detests its politics. That audience wants a country music product that does not traffic in conservative nostalgia."--The Black vanguard in white utopias, by Tressie McMillan Cottom (The Undefeated)
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:13 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
"Despite living on a fantasy island of its own making, the country music industry is struggling to ignore Black Lives Matter, especially the white reactionary response. Country artists, fans and critics are duking it out in culture wars over vaccines, critical race theory and conspiracy theories. The more country music ignores the social and political moment, the more disconnected from its fan base it becomes and the more culturally impotent it appears. The problem for country’s gatekeepers is that plenty of people still have a healthy appetite for the genre’s white utopianism. But that audience wants country music to reflect its political anger. A new, expanding audience dabbles in country’s artistry but detests its politics. That audience wants a country music product that does not traffic in conservative nostalgia."--The Black vanguard in white utopias, by Tressie McMillan Cottom (The Undefeated)
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:13 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by NoMich at 11:15 AM on December 28, 2021 [5 favorites]