What's Everyone Listening to?

[Zip City]

I haven’t heard a note of Zach Bryan, but I have an inherent distrust of country artists who have the mass appeal to fill stadiums. Your average country fan has shit for music taste these days.

#1 song and meteoric rise puts you in the company of “Try that in a Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which, frankly, is not company I’d like to keep

There’s no obvious exploitable angle to Zach Bryan, and it’s in a totally different realm. I first heard him in 2019. His ascent is quick and surprising, but it’s definitely organic.

My initial impression was that he was an Isbell wannabe who sounded the same on every song, and I blew him off. His songwriting evolved a lot and I started to get the appeal. I’m no super fan, but I’ve liked his last few releases.

His audience isn’t really the traditional “country radio” audience either. He started getting play on country radio, and has added those folks to the ranks, but that’s really not who his songs seemed aimed at. And there’s no RWNJ angle to any of it.

Fair enough. My knee jerk reaction to him is not terribly fair.

[beantownbubba]

I haven’t heard a note of Zach Bryan, but I have an inherent distrust of country artists who have the mass appeal to fill stadiums. Your average country fan has shit for music taste these days.

#1 song and meteoric rise puts you in the company of “Try that in a Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which, frankly, is not company I’d like to keep

There’s no obvious exploitable angle to Zach Bryan, and it’s in a totally different realm. I first heard him in 2019. His ascent is quick and surprising, but it’s definitely organic.

My initial impression was that he was an Isbell wannabe who sounded the same on every song, and I blew him off. His songwriting evolved a lot and I started to get the appeal. I’m no super fan, but I’ve liked his last few releases.

His audience isn’t really the traditional “country radio” audience either. He started getting play on country radio, and has added those folks to the ranks, but that’s really not who his songs seemed aimed at. And there’s no RWNJ angle to any of it.

Zip, missed your original post. I shared at least some of your initial skepticism so I get where you're coming from but I'm really surprised that anybody who posts here would bother to comment about music they haven't heard. I don't get the point of that.

I'm unlikely to reach for his music ahead of so many others I like more, but I liked the latest album more on rehearing than I did initially and on rehearing it was easier to understand his appeal (although not necessarily the massive heights he's reached). I would not describe his music as bro country, pop country or reactionary country (although lumping "Richmond" in that latter category is somewhat unfair to the singer and the song). I can easily see his appeal across several legit genres including real country, heartland rock and the ever useful because nobody really knows what it means americana.

I don't know anything about ZB so I don't know if his recent album is a look back at dissolute days now behind him or a cry for an intervention (which could be w/ respect to someone he knows rather than himself anyway) but other than the constant focus on demon likker the songs are at least competent or better and there are at least a couple of great couplets/rhymes that caught my ear.

Iowan, what's RWNJ?

[beantownbubba]

Whoops, and just missed your reply, too, zip. Sorry about that.

[tinnitus photography]

underrated grunge product

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muVQMq1 ... =MikeVince

[brettac1]

I haven’t heard a note of Zach Bryan, but I have an inherent distrust of country artists who have the mass appeal to fill stadiums. Your average country fan has shit for music taste these days.

#1 song and meteoric rise puts you in the company of “Try that in a Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which, frankly, is not company I’d like to keep

There’s no obvious exploitable angle to Zach Bryan, and it’s in a totally different realm. I first heard him in 2019. His ascent is quick and surprising, but it’s definitely organic.

My initial impression was that he was an Isbell wannabe who sounded the same on every song, and I blew him off. His songwriting evolved a lot and I started to get the appeal. I’m no super fan, but I’ve liked his last few releases.

His audience isn’t really the traditional “country radio” audience either. He started getting play on country radio, and has added those folks to the ranks, but that’s really not who his songs seemed aimed at. And there’s no RWNJ angle to any of it.

Zip, missed your original post. I shared at least some of your initial skepticism so I get where you're coming from but I'm really surprised that anybody who posts here would bother to comment about music they haven't heard. I don't get the point of that.

I'm unlikely to reach for his music ahead of so many others I like more, but I liked the latest album more on rehearing than I did initially and on rehearing it was easier to understand his appeal (although not necessarily the massive heights he's reached). I would not describe his music as bro country, pop country or reactionary country (although lumping "Richmond" in that latter category is somewhat unfair to the singer and the song). I can easily see his appeal across several legit genres including real country, heartland rock and the ever useful because nobody really knows what it means americana.

I don't know anything about ZB so I don't know if his recent album is a look back at dissolute days now behind him or a cry for an intervention (which could be w/ respect to someone he knows rather than himself anyway) but other than the constant focus on demon likker the songs are at least competent or better and there are at least a couple of great couplets/rhymes that caught my ear.

Iowan, what's RWNJ?

He's very prolific and this most recent one was made very quickly following a break-up. I guess it's sort of a mix of the two options you listed. I wasn't in love with the album on first listen but it wormed itself in very quickly for me.

He's legitimately one of my favorite artists right now so I'm not surprised that happened. Anyhow, to lump him in with the likes of Aldean, etc is extremely far off-base. He got into a Twitter fight with Travis Tritt because he supports trans rights (this was during the dumb Bud Light thing). He's a pretty solid guy by most accounts, I think. The arrest video was pretty cringe but at least he didn't hit a woman or hurl racial slurs or something along those lines.

Also he's awesome live, IMO. That's a very different experience because at the shows I've gone to, the women far out-number the men. There definitely is a sizeable contingent of 20 year-olds playing dress-up in brand new cowboy hats and boots (ZB wears neither of those things which makes it weird), and stuff like that, but the performance is killer. He's only been a full-on band leader for like two years which makes his development on that front also astonishing to me.

[Iowan]

I haven’t heard a note of Zach Bryan, but I have an inherent distrust of country artists who have the mass appeal to fill stadiums. Your average country fan has shit for music taste these days.

#1 song and meteoric rise puts you in the company of “Try that in a Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which, frankly, is not company I’d like to keep

There’s no obvious exploitable angle to Zach Bryan, and it’s in a totally different realm. I first heard him in 2019. His ascent is quick and surprising, but it’s definitely organic.

My initial impression was that he was an Isbell wannabe who sounded the same on every song, and I blew him off. His songwriting evolved a lot and I started to get the appeal. I’m no super fan, but I’ve liked his last few releases.

His audience isn’t really the traditional “country radio” audience either. He started getting play on country radio, and has added those folks to the ranks, but that’s really not who his songs seemed aimed at. And there’s no RWNJ angle to any of it.

Zip, missed your original post. I shared at least some of your initial skepticism so I get where you're coming from but I'm really surprised that anybody who posts here would bother to comment about music they haven't heard. I don't get the point of that.

I'm unlikely to reach for his music ahead of so many others I like more, but I liked the latest album more on rehearing than I did initially and on rehearing it was easier to understand his appeal (although not necessarily the massive heights he's reached). I would not describe his music as bro country, pop country or reactionary country (although lumping "Richmond" in that latter category is somewhat unfair to the singer and the song). I can easily see his appeal across several legit genres including real country, heartland rock and the ever useful because nobody really knows what it means americana.

I don't know anything about ZB so I don't know if his recent album is a look back at dissolute days now behind him or a cry for an intervention (which could be w/ respect to someone he knows rather than himself anyway) but other than the constant focus on demon likker the songs are at least competent or better and there are at least a couple of great couplets/rhymes that caught my ear.

Iowan, what's RWNJ?

Right Wing Nut Job (a reference to the Aldean song, and the people who blew up Rich Men on Twitter)

[Iowan]

My cousins snuck backstage at a Zach Bryan show in spring of ‘22. A security guard was ready to toss them, but Zach saw it, intervened, and invited my cousins to hang for a couple Miller Lites and Marlboro Reds.

He rose in my estimation after that.

[dime in the gutter]

[brettac1]

I love this album. Al is the man.

[brettac1]

[dime in the gutter]

as the lp cover indicates. al casts a humongous shadow of influence and inspiration.

seeing him 11/5 at a “house” show.

bucket list.



np
planet waves

[cortez the killer]

as the lp cover indicates. al casts a humongous shadow of influence and inspiration.

seeing him 11/5 at a “house” show.

bucket list.

Jelly

[cortez the killer]

Been scooping up a shit-ton of the Performance Series and Bootleg Series on vinyl the past several weeks. Still need to grab Massey Hall 1971, A Treasure, Return to Greendale, Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968, Bluenote Cafe, High Flyin' (w/ The Ducks) and Somewhere Under the Rainbow.

Gotta look out for the greedy hand, greedy hand.

[cortez the killer]

No Ordinary Crown Will Johnson

I'm a couple songs in and loving it. It has more of a Centro-matic feel in that he plugs in and lets loose on several tracks. Not that every solo album is exclusively quieter tracks, but they do tend to be more hushed and acoustic oriented than those he made with his former band. This new album strikes a nice balance.

[brettac1]

Been scooping up a shit-ton of the Performance Series and Bootleg Series on vinyl the past several weeks. Still need to grab Massey Hall 1971, A Treasure, Return to Greendale, Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968, Bluenote Cafe, High Flyin' (w/ The Ducks) and Somewhere Under the Rainbow.

Gotta look out for the greedy hand, greedy hand.

Have been wanting to get some of them but the sound quality is so hit or miss that I don't feel like spending $20 on a slab of vinyl that sounds like it was recorded under water.

[Clams]

[chuckrh]

[RolanK]

No Ordinary Crown Will Johnson

I'm a couple songs in and loving it. It has more of a Centro-matic feel in that he plugs in and lets loose on several tracks. Not that every solo album is exclusively quieter tracks, but they do tend to be more hushed and acoustic oriented than those he made with his former band. This new album strikes a nice balance.

Came here to post about this. Only been through a couple of times, but it does not disappoint. Some beautiful pedal steel on several songs. I am not aware of anyone else making music like Will does. Truly a unique artist.

[chuckrh]

The concert from San Francisco 1971 is amazing.

[cortez the killer]

[Jonicont]

No Ordinary Crown Will Johnson

I'm a couple songs in and loving it. It has more of a Centro-matic feel in that he plugs in and lets loose on several tracks. Not that every solo album is exclusively quieter tracks, but they do tend to be more hushed and acoustic oriented than those he made with his former band. This new album strikes a nice balance.

Came here to post about this. Only been through a couple of times, but it does not disappoint. Some beautiful pedal steel on several songs. I am not aware of anyone else making music like Will does. Truly a unique artist.

He’s always solid. Loving it. My preorder came with a Will Johnson baseball card

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

No Ordinary Crown Will Johnson

I'm a couple songs in and loving it. It has more of a Centro-matic feel in that he plugs in and lets loose on several tracks. Not that every solo album is exclusively quieter tracks, but they do tend to be more hushed and acoustic oriented than those he made with his former band. This new album strikes a nice balance.

Came here to post about this. Only been through a couple of times, but it does not disappoint. Some beautiful pedal steel on several songs. I am not aware of anyone else making music like Will does. Truly a unique artist.

He’s always solid. Loving it. My preorder came with a Will Johnson baseball card

Does it say fuck face?

IYKYK

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

One of my all-time favs! Got the awesome DVD of this show from Mark way back in the days of the late, great Phil Zone (Awesome Phil Lesh site where I first “met” Mark back before, I think, 9B came into being)

[cortez the killer]

Been scooping up a shit-ton of the Performance Series and Bootleg Series on vinyl the past several weeks. Still need to grab Massey Hall 1971, A Treasure, Return to Greendale, Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968, Bluenote Cafe, High Flyin' (w/ The Ducks) and Somewhere Under the Rainbow.

Gotta look out for the greedy hand, greedy hand.

Have been wanting to get some of them but the sound quality is so hit or miss that I don't feel like spending $20 on a slab of vinyl that sounds like it was recorded under water.

I bought the Bootleg series albums for under $15 on Amazon a few weeks ago. They sound like I expected. Finding the Performance Series stuff at a reasonable price is a bit more challenging. I snagged Cellar Door for a decent price (just under $25) and just pulled the trigger on Massey Hall at just under $40. The other stuff is either out of print of super expensive. Also bit the bullet a purchased Americana and The Monsanto Years off Discogs. Slowly, but surely....

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Been scooping up a shit-ton of the Performance Series and Bootleg Series on vinyl the past several weeks. Still need to grab Massey Hall 1971, A Treasure, Return to Greendale, Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968, Bluenote Cafe, High Flyin' (w/ The Ducks) and Somewhere Under the Rainbow.

Gotta look out for the greedy hand, greedy hand.

Have been wanting to get some of them but the sound quality is so hit or miss that I don't feel like spending $20 on a slab of vinyl that sounds like it was recorded under water.

I bought the Bootleg series albums for under $15 on Amazon a few weeks ago. They sound like I expected. Finding the Performance Series stuff at a reasonable price is a bit more challenging. I snagged Cellar Door for a decent price (just under $25) and just pulled the trigger on Massey Hall at just under $40. The other stuff is either out of print of super expensive. Also bit the bullet a purchased Americana and The Monsanto Years off Discogs. Slowly, but surely....

Monsanto Years is awful, “scraping the bottom of the rust bucket” kind of bad, you should be paid for listening to that piece of crap

[cortez the killer]

Have been wanting to get some of them but the sound quality is so hit or miss that I don't feel like spending $20 on a slab of vinyl that sounds like it was recorded under water.

I bought the Bootleg series albums for under $15 on Amazon a few weeks ago. They sound like I expected. Finding the Performance Series stuff at a reasonable price is a bit more challenging. I snagged Cellar Door for a decent price (just under $25) and just pulled the trigger on Massey Hall at just under $40. The other stuff is either out of print of super expensive. Also bit the bullet a purchased Americana and The Monsanto Years off Discogs. Slowly, but surely....

Monsanto Years is awful, “scraping the bottom of the rust bucket” kind of bad, you should be paid for listening to that piece of crap

False.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I bought the Bootleg series albums for under $15 on Amazon a few weeks ago. They sound like I expected. Finding the Performance Series stuff at a reasonable price is a bit more challenging. I snagged Cellar Door for a decent price (just under $25) and just pulled the trigger on Massey Hall at just under $40. The other stuff is either out of print of super expensive. Also bit the bullet a purchased Americana and The Monsanto Years off Discogs. Slowly, but surely....

Monsanto Years is awful, “scraping the bottom of the rust bucket” kind of bad, you should be paid for listening to that piece of crap

False.

You think that is a quality album?

[cortez the killer]

Monsanto Years is awful, “scraping the bottom of the rust bucket” kind of bad, you should be paid for listening to that piece of crap

False.

You think that is a quality album?

viewtopic.php?p=380686#p380686

[tinnitus photography]

Boris just reissued their 2nd record, first time on vinyl afaik. if you like big meaty Zepp-ish riffs, here you go! Wata fucking killed so much Saturday in NYC that i am going for a second dose tmrw night.

[brettac1]