Yesterday, I was talking with my dad about western swing and similar country music in a conversation about my grandfather who was a mandolin player in a red dirt/western swing band on old timey radio in Texas during the post-war years. Unfortunately, I was never able to connect with my grandfather through music because I was still fairly young when he passed away, but I put on his favorite band, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, while I was thinking about him and getting some work done.

The Spotify top tracks led me to Steel Guitar Rag from 1936. Shortly after the 40 second mark, you will hear a guitar riff that sent me on a scavenger hunt, texting a couple different friends for help and skipping around songs for half an hour. The riff felt really familiar but more uptempo in my head than in the Bob Wills track. My first thought was the band WOLF!, maybe a track like Humdinger. Good song but not it. A friend of mine suggested Folsom Prison Blues, but that has a distinctly different riff in it.

Eventually, it struck me that I knew the riff from a King Curtis live album from 1966, I just needed to skip around until I found it in one of the tracks. The track is titled Medley: Peter Gunn / Get Long Cindy, and the riff starts after the 3:25 mark. Pretty similar don't you think?

Howdy folks.

Some of you will be pleased to find that this is a ~music post of mine not about emo rap, hahaha.

Across the past six months I've found myself infatuated with a new sound I can't quite put the finger on. These songs have something in common, in spirit. And that's what I'm after.

Here's a little playlist I've assembled under the title of Soul Goth. If you have any other recommendations, give me everything you got.

Or if I'm describing something what already exists; let me know.

Yalla.

"God's Gonna Cut You Down" x Johnny Cash

"Pray I Won't Wake Up" x Honky Tonk Hustlas

"No Sugar In My Coffee" x Caught A Ghost

"In A Week" x Hozier

"In Hell I'll Be In Good Company" x The Dead South

"Loud And Heavy" x Cody Jinks

"The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie" x Colter Wall

"When Jesus Comes" x Uncle Sinner

"The Devil Had a Hold of Me" x Gillian Welch

"Fingers To The Bone" x Brown Bird

"The Piano Has Been Drinking" x Tom Waits

"Graves" x Whiskey Shivers

"Burn The Witch" x Shawn James

okay

okay

what in the actual fuck

so i'm a southern boy myself. ever since i was a little kid my mom tried so hard to make me into a little cowboy. i was bought cowboy boots, cowboy hats, and boot-cut blue jeans. even at my young toddler age, i detested all of it lmao.

i was always a city boy.

i loved the idea of big cities like new york, los angeles, chicago, etc. hell, i even fantasized about spending my days in dallas of all places when i was in school daydreaming.

my music tastes trended as far alternative as my style in clothes and girls - in middle school i listened to everything from Shinedown to Disturbed to A Day to Remember to Dimmu Borgir (spooky!)

when i was in higschool - everything from showtunes (Phantom of the Opera) to Eminem to more metal (We Butter The Bread With Butter) to indie rock (Mumford and Sons)

but never in my life was country even a blip on my radar.

sure there were one or two songs you pick up that you get to know like

"Back When" x Tim McGraw

"Pretty Good at Drinking Beer" x Billy Currington

(my stepdad is a country musician. it's hard not to pick up something here and there.)

but

i just discovered a new genre of music (new to me).

i just discovered a new sound.

i just discovered my new favorite song.

and it's country.

Hank Williams III - "Ghost to a Ghost"

like oh my God

i just earlier this week discovered something called "Outlaw Country". i'd somehow managed to go my whole life without ever coming into contact with this.

will you listen to this fucking song??

it's the same classic country instruments that we've heard for decades.

paired with dark, angsty, grungy, emo lyrics.

with an incredibly metal breakdown serving as the chorus.

with a terrifically orchestral and bluesy viola/violin backing the entire song.

WHAT IN TARNATION!?

why did no one ever tell me there was an entire subgenre of emo cowboys running around talking about sleeping on the blacktop, relationship struggles, and popping hella pills

i now listen to country music and i'm never admitting it to my parents lmao.

if you didn't catch the link earlier, this song is a fucking work of art and literally brought me from awe to tears to fuck yeah! all in the span of six minutes in public in this cafe.

https://youtu.be/RoJwrSTIZM0

i think i've looped it back 7-8 times in a row now.

i'm floored.

what did you lot think?

do you listen to outlaw country?

please pass on any recommendations you have