Leigh and I just recently sat down and had a state of the blog conversation. We try to get around to those more often than not but in all honesty- it has been a while since we talked blog business and upkeep. We talked about the usual stuff- numbers, post ideas, working smarter not harder, guest posts, joint posts and then we talked about the summer playlist.
In life, I try to be as transparent as possible- to be who I say I am- so, why would I be any different here? So, here I am telling you that these playlists can get very heavy for me. It is not that I don’t want to share music with you… I just get bogged down in my head doing the playlist. And honestly, Spotifly is not my favorite music platform so once I do the work for the playlist- I never come back to it. It would be better if I actually listened to the playlist after it was all said and done, but- I don’t. (There’s an 80% chance that If I made you a CD in the last 5-10 years, I have a copy myself or that I listened to it about 50 times before I gave it to you. In the very least- the playlist went on my phone for a while.)
Are you wondering where I am going with this? This is it- Leigh and I decided that instead of a summer playlist, we would recommend a summer album! And, instead of using Spotify as our chosen platform, we use decided to use You Tube. So. I am super excited to get down to business!
Bub, Baby Bub and I went to Destin, Florida about a month ago to see some dear friends, Claire and Kenny. We were catching up on all things and Claire asked me what I was listening to and I honestly told her I had not sunk my teeth into anything outstanding in a while… she looked at me and said “You’re not listening to Sturgill Simpson?!?!!” She pulled out her phone and played a song- and I was hooked.
Sturgill Simpson plays the guitar like Hank Jr. and sounds like Waylon. He just drips old country but is undoubtedly the breath of fresh air that modern country so desperately needs.
I found a Relevant article from 10 years ago proclaiming modern country to be a joke. Ten years later, some of Simpson’s contemporaries certainly blur the lines of country music and that’s okay but I must quote Simpson in saying “I’m tired of y’all playing dress up trying to sing them old country songs.” That pretty much sums of the state of modern country music in my eyes. But, Simpson is not stepping forward as Country Music’s Savior– nor is he remotely interested in talking any harsh words about modern country artists. This just makes me like him more.
The continuation of the story is that Simpson has a new album out that has turned the page for modern country. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music does not disappoint. How often do you hear a singer, particular to any genre, make reference to the “unmoved mover paradox”? Stephen Hawkings explored the idea in his A Brief History of Time.
So, I am cheating a little. I am not recommending just one album, I am recommending an artist. Just head on over to You Tube and check out Sturgill Simpson. And here’s a little playlist that I threw together to get you started. Happy Summer Listening!
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