A decade on, the Coen brothers' woefully underrated
O Brother, Where Art Thou? [alt] is remembered for
a lot of things: its sun-drenched, sepia-rich
cinematography (a pioneer of
digital color grading), its
whimsical humor,
fluid vernacular, and
many subtle references to Homer's
Odyssey. But one part of its legacy truly stands out:
the music.
Assembled by
T-Bone Burnett, the soundtrack is a cornucopia of American folk music, exhibiting everything from
cheery ballads and
angelic hymns to
wistful blues and
chain-gang anthems. Woven into the plot of the film through radio and live performances, the songs lent the story a
heartfelt, homespun feel that echoed its cultural heritage,
a paean and uchronia of the Old South.
Though the multiplatinum album was recently
reissued, the movie's medley is best heard via famed documentarian
D. A. Pennebaker's
Down from the Mountain, an
extraordinary yet
intimate concert film focused on a night of live music by the soundtrack's stars (among them
Gillian Welch,
Emmylou Harris,
Chris Thomas King, bluegrass legend
Dr. Ralph Stanley) and wryly hosted by
John Hartford, an accomplished
fiddler,
riverboat captain, and
raconteur whose struggle with terminal cancer made this his last major performance. The film is free in its entirety on
Hulu and
YouTube -- click inside for individual clips, song links, and breakdowns of
the set list's fascinating history.
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 22, 2011 -
107 comments
Harold is the keeper of local dump. Most days will find Harold with a tie on, helping those who have a problem getting their garbage into the dumpsters, or their recyclables into the bin. He often has a guitar strung across his back.
posted by SuzySmith
on Feb 28, 2011 -
17 comments
Progressive bluegrass takes the original “melting pot of American music” and infuses it with strains of punk and rock, often giving rise to
performances of intense musicianship. Some of the tunes might be familiar to you, such as
Crooked Still’s cover of Johnny Cash’s Ain’t No Grave, featured on the
True Blood soundtrack, or their
aching, gender-twisting rendition of Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen. Some might be entirely new, such as
Seven Story Mountain, by Railroad Earth, or
Codeine, from Trampled By Turtles.
[more inside]
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul
on Feb 16, 2011 -
29 comments
"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash played two concerts at
Folsom State Prison with June Carter, Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, and his band, the Tennessee Three.
At Folsom Prison, drawn mainly from the first show, is often ranked as one of the best albums of all time and
turned Cash's career around. Reporter Gene Beley covered the concert and
recorded some songs from the audience.
[more inside]
posted by kirkaracha
on Oct 23, 2009 -
22 comments
Surely one of the most memorable musician photos ever is this one:
Johnny Cash, making his feelings known with customary aplomb. But did you ever notice he was wearing a jumpsuit in that photo, and not his more standard black shirt/trousers ensemble? Well,
that very jumpsuit just went for a handsome $120,000 at auction. Someone else just paid $300,000 for one of Elvis'
peacock-emblazoned jumpsuits. And remember that little
necklace John Lennon wore on the cover of
Two Virgins? Yep, the
only thing he wore. Fetched a cool $528,000. Meanwhile, in Japan, a
bunch of grapes just went for $910. What a bargain!
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Aug 11, 2008 -
21 comments
The house of Johnny Cash is no more. Earlier today a fire was sparked amid fumes of a wood preservative and the structure was destroyed. New owner/restorer
Barry Gibb unsure how to be
Mr. Natural now that the Nature House is gone. Warning: Horribly written Tennessean piece.
posted by rhythim
on Apr 10, 2007 -
20 comments
MusicFilter: Rosanne Cash has in many ways
followed in her
father, Johnny Cash's footsteps as an independent artist critical of the industry and radio marketing.
Black Cadillac, her first album since the death of her mother, father, and step-mother in 2003 was released in the
shadow of the better known biopic
Walk the Line. Reviews that are not obsessed with the movie tie-in appear to be generally positive:
Canoe (orig Winnepeg Sun),
Rolling Stone, and
Metacritic.
posted by KirkJobSluder
on Feb 6, 2006 -
15 comments
"Who is this Loretta Lynn chick, anyway?". Jack White, in a skintight,
red cowboy suit, seemed a little nervous when he came out to introduce his opening act. So nervous, in fact, that the White Stripes frontman offered a cautionary preface of sorts to the massive huddle of young fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. "Now I want you all to be very nice to my next guest. I think
she's the greatest female singer-songwriter of the 20th century,". The crowd looked around at each other, visibly puzzled.
In White,
Loretta Lynn has found her
Rick Rubin. Finally. Much like the producer who
revitalized the
late Johnny
Cash's career with
spare, homespun recordings, White has raised the notion of
Loretta Lynn as a hip, renegade country artist. The transformation is of the same magnitude as
Emmylou Harris's ethereal work with Daniel Lanois in the mid-'90s.
more inside
posted by matteo
on Apr 27, 2004 -
33 comments
"The first time I met June was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and I got on my knees and told her that I was going to marry her some day. We were both married to someone else at the time. Ring of Fire - June wrote that song for me, because that's the way our love affair was. We fell madly in love and worked together all the time." The Guardian's got
Johnny Cash's final interview.
posted by Ufez Jones
on Sep 19, 2003 -
10 comments
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line.
RIP Johnny Cash. He died last night at 71.
posted by PrinceValium
on Sep 12, 2003 -
9 comments
New Johnny Cash video This gorgeous rendition of the song, "Hurt" (actually a Nine Inch Nails cover), makes my heart ache. As a longtime Cash fan, I sure hope he knows how much he is loved. I was moved to mail him a card and got the address from his
fan site: House of Cash, 700 Johnny Cash Parkway, Hendersonville, TN 37075. Send the Man in Black some love.
posted by sparky
on Jan 18, 2003 -
60 comments
In the wake of the tornados and armageddon, perhaps some happy news is in order. The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have released the
third volume in their
Will the Circle Be Unbroken series. This series which
began 30 years ago and continued with
Volume 2 in 1989, features the boys in the Dirt Band getting together with country legends like
Johnny Cash, members of the
Carter Family and
Vassar Clements and inheritors like
Emmylou Harris and
Ricky Skaggs and doing some astonishing versions of old traditional tunes, hymns and a few originals.
I'm listening to Vol. 3 right now, which features first timers like
Dwight Yoakam, the lovely
Iris Dement and even
Tom Petty, and I'm tellin' ya, it's a worthy addition to the tradition, my freinds.
Traditional music is enjoying a revival right now and that's great, but these folks have done an enormous amount to keep it alive and vital between the vogues and created some music for us in the bargain.
posted by jonmc
on Oct 2, 2002 -
17 comments
