MetaFilter posts tagged with alabama and music

Lookin' for a home...

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:49:52 -0800

In the little town of Enterprise, Alabama, there stands a bizarre statue that would make any card-carrying surrealist proud: an archetypical Greek goddess raises her arms toward heaven and holds high above her head... an enormous insect. Of course, it's the boll weevil. That cotton-eatin' critter inspired not only the world's only monument to an agricultural pest, but some great tunes as well, from a wide range of artists. [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] The Doc Pomus-penned tune (sung by Elvis) Little Sister refers to the boll weevil in one of its lines. MeFier Astro Zombie's tune A Man is Coming, right here at MetaFilter Music, opens with a line addressed to a boll weevil.

God loves my country more than he loves yours.

emelenjr — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:17:33 -0800

Wonderfully artistic video for the song "God Loves My Country", by Balthrop, Alabama, a small-town band.

Alabama Songs

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:54:20 -0800

Alabama - Alabama Bound - Stars Fell On Alabama - Alabama Song - Alabama Jubilee - Alabama and, as if you could leave it out of this post... Sweet Home Alabama. Oh, and by the way, I'm told that other states occasionally appear in songs as well. You can verify that here. [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions]

The Muscle Shoals Sound

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 06:18:31 -0800

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was comprised of four session musicians operating out of the tiny northern Alabama town of town Muscle Shoals. Just four unassuming crackers who happened to have provided the funky underpinning for a huge number of hit songs by, among others, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Joe Cocker, The Staple Singers , Jimmy Cliff and many, many others. Hey, they were the house band to the greats. Big respect to the men from 3614 Jackson Highway! [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] Recommended reading: Glory Days: Muscle Shoals 1967 - 1972 Glory Days: Muscle Shoals 1972 - 1980 This short article has a few things to say about the unexpected racial dynamic at work in the Muscle Shoals story: "Apart from all the pop, rock and country hits produced at Fame Studios, Muscle Shoals Sound and the others, the scene's contribution to soul music, specifically, is fascinating in the way that it demonstrates interracial exchange in the creation of music that was soulful, funky, and very conscious, even celebratory, of its blackness." --- "...recordings made by this weird and wonderful group of musicians, who damn near created new ways to talk about race and music, and did it at the height of the Civil Rights/Black Power Movements, in the heart of Dixie". Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: YouTube montage of images and snippets of songs recorded there. Warning: contains abrupt, spirit-jarring segue from Staple Singer's "I'll Take You There" to Bob Seger's "Down On Main Street". Ouch. What's missing from today's music. Working with Duane Allman. Muscle Shoals Horns. Curious historical anecdote concerning Lynyrd Skynyrd. The studio's obituary. And another.

Four Score and a terabyte ago…

panoptican — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:23:37 -0800

Spartacus Roosevelt Hour Podcast is a weekly hour of obscure noise, glitchy electropop, fake nostalgia, bastardized exotica, tweaky lounge, creepy ambient and musical non-sequiturs. Also, it features an Alabaman with a Skype account named Spartacus Roosevelt.

The Delmore Brothers: early C&W pioneers.

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:10:59 -0800

The Delmore Brothers, hailing from north Alabama and active from 1926 to 1952, were an early country and western duo that married effortlessly relaxed (but very polished) harmonies with soulful country-boogie blues. Bob Dylan said of them: "The Delmore Brothers, God, I really loved them! I think they've influenced every harmony I've ever tried to sing." They're sure worth some listens, y'all.