Though Ryan Adams hasn’t put out a great record in a while, we dig on the fact that he’s become an Americana-fied, big belt buckled version of Bob Pollard—he cranks songs out and more often than not, they do the trick. Meanwhile, Will Sheff of Okkervil River has been on a songwriting tear as of late, having penned enough fireball lyrical turns to make most writers green with envy. Which is why Norah Jones enlisted the two to help co-write her forthcoming full-length alongside longtime collaborator Jesse Harris. Jones, a chanteuse more closely associated with piano bench fare for your Dad, will be playing guitar on this one, a change that might signal some eminent rocking and rolling. She, as some may recall, also helped Adams write “Dear John” for the latter’s 2005 record with his Cardinals, Jacksonville City Nights. Soy lattes will be a’spilling. (via SPIN)

In addition to Outside Lands and Treasure Island Music Festival, San Francisco has a chance to cash in on the ‘grass’ part of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival October 2-4. The free event, which celebrates its ninth birthday this year, boasts some impressive heavyweights and newcomers on multiple stages, ranging from Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett to Neko Case, Okkervil River, Old 97’s, Dr. Dog, and Tom Morello. It’s also worth noting that MC Hammer is also slated to perform, as is actor Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers. STEVE MARTIN, YOU GUYS. HE WAS IN “FATHER OF THE BRIDE.”

Full lineup:
Abalone Dots
Aimee Mann
Allen Toussaint
Allison Moorer
Amadou & Mariam
Austin Lounge Lizards
Barefoot Nellies
Billy Bragg
Billy Joe Shaver
Booker T. & the DBTs
Boz Scaggs and the Blue Velvet Band
Buddy Miller
Charlie Haden
Dar Williams
Darrell Scott Band
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
Doc Watson & David Holt
Dr. Dog
Dry Branch Fire Squad
Earl Scruggs
Eliza Gilkyson
Elizabeth Cook
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
Emmylou Harris
Gillian Welch
Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson
Hayes Carll
Hazel Dickens
Jessica Lea Mayfield
John Prine
Jorma Kaukonen
Kevin Welch
Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
Kimmie Rhodes
Laurie Lewis
Little Feat
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
Malo
Marianne Faithfull
Marley’s Ghost
Marshall Crenshaw
Marty Stuart
Mavis Staples
MC Hammer
Mike Farris & the Roseland Rhythm Revue
Moonalice
Neko Case
Nick Lowe
ODC/Dance
Okkervil River
Old 97’s
Old Crow Medicine Show
Pamela Rose
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys
Reckless Kelly, The Fireants
Red Wine
Richie Havens
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Robert Earl Keen
Robyn Hitchcock
Rodney Crowell
Roger Knox presents the Aboriginal Country & Western Songbook
Rosie Flores with Jon Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Steve Earle & the Bluegrass Dukes
Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers
The Brothers Comatose
The Chieftains
The Claire Lynch Band
The Del McCoury Band
The Duhks
The Flatlanders featuring: Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock
The Knitters
The Tim O’Brien Band
The Wronglers
Todd Snider
Tom Morello
World Party

Are You Reading This?

I don’t know if I would be.

In 2009, how does one offer an over-saturated musical blogosphere another column worth reading? How does one differentiate themselves from the legions of blogs offering the same imitated or emulated musical opinions as the next? Can we expect a Darwinian effect that will see the demise of websites and blogs that have no sustainable reason for their existence? Or can we expect a continued influx of under-qualified and over-spoken neophytes wanting their own site on Wordpress? I voiced my online-existential anxieties to Stuart Berman (of Pitchfork Media and Eye Weekly) a few months ago. “Where is there left to go? What’s left to offer when there’s already a Pitchfork, already a Rolling Stone, already a BBC, etc.?” I asked, knowing full well the impossibility of actually addressing such inquiry in a casual discussion. He was unbothered. “Honestly, good writing is good writing. At the end of the day, that is the stuff that will make it.” Touché, Stuart. Cynical Me wanted to say, “Well, easier for you to say when a part of wildly reputable organization with a cult-like following.” Reasonable Me stops Cynical Me from actually saying it.

I talk to Derek about this.

mcranston: How does a music blog sustain itself?
derek: realistically, or theoretically?
mcranston: both …
derek: theoretically, it’s through ads and sponsorships, etc
derek: but realistically, it’s traffic
mcranston: isn’t that more realistically?
mcranston: theoretically, i think blogs sustain themselves through constant updates, contemporary relevance, and expositions of new bands.
mcranston: realistically, it’s obviously just about money.
mcranston: and site traffic is intrinsically linked to money.
derek: yeah, i agree
derek: ultimately good content will bring people in
derek: or i should say, keep them there
derek: but honestly, that’s not so true
derek: it’s really about luring them in
mcranston: Exactly.
mcranston: and that’s the question I’m trying to ask.
derek: it can also mean a big exclusive story or MP3
mcranston: okay …
derek: the first site to post an Animal Collective MP3 is going to get a ton of traffic, so it’s a game a little bit. bit then a pfork or fader they have a built in audience, so they can kind of expose new people and not worry about whether they have enough “big” content on their site.

We don’t get very far and my queries subsist. How does any music blog sustain itself? Berman’s right: patience, trust in quality writing, patience, a unique voice, patience and some sort of cohesive/organized body. Granting these elusive qualities, what then is the ultimate aspiration of the Music Blog? Perhaps to present a mode of thinking that allows the reader of any genre to appreciate a sound or style to which he or she may not commonly gravitate (I guess?). Successfully articulating why an artist is worth listening is no easy task. Most websites don’t accomplish this feat, and few writers come close. Besides, this presupposes the reader is willing to read past the rating.

Being Jaded Is Easy

The torrent of information has already flooded and we’re bored and stagnant. The stories on Stereogum take two minutes to read. Pitchfork’s precise numerical grading system renders a careful reading of the actual review completely extraneous (i.e. an 8.1> is worth getting when you have time, an 8.8> should be downloaded within the day). Hipster Runoff is the absolute pinnacle of a frighteningly self-aware (and self-referential) media that has come to realize the ridiculousness of its environment. It’s like a fish being aware he swims in a fish tank. William Bowers, under the Puritan Blister pseudonym, recently explored Twitter’s insidious effect on the written word. To synthesis his article (though his distinctive prose should encourage a close reading): Bowers worries about the ADD of today’s technological culture and its affect on aesthetic taste (and cerebral development). Is the 140-character limit Twitter all we have to say? Whereas Bowers worries about the macro state of reading and writing, I worry about being read at all. Sure, I post the occasional link on my Facebook page when an album is really fucking good, but familial support via social networking sites only goes so far.

It’s tough not to worry I’m the journalistic equivalent of a Pitchfork echo. What am I to offer other than further confirmation that Animal Collective reign over indie-rock, or that TV on the Radio are the celebrated post-Dubya era band, or that Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay? Hell, even further, how do I strive to not become a Pitchfork-related derivative while simultaneously lauding Deerhunter, Fucked Up or Okkervil River?

Attracting Readers

I’ve given great thought how to attract more readers to The Tripwire, particularly in the vein of new sections. But most of my suggestions were predicated on sensationalist or dumbed down journalism: giving a ranking system to our album reviews, offering 250-word controversial opinions that would at least “get people talking” or just writing trivial details on our favorite bands (you know, like, who Sufjan’s dating). Inevitably, the question comes down to site credibility and reputation. Do we want to be the Perez Hilton of music journalism? After all, Hipster Runoff is as nauseating as it is funny. Actually no, the question comes down to attracting a large and consistent reader-base. How do I get you to read our site more? Is it a matter of venerability?

mcranston: okay, so with the sites that don’t necessarily have the fortune of a “built-in audience,” how do they establish one?
derek: that’s the “game.” one is persistence. doing something well and doing it over time. the other, which is easier for sites that specifically post news (like us and Daily Swarm) is SEO-friendly titles and the kind I like to consider “yellow journalism” that help lure people in
derek: but yes, also having a unique angle like hipsterunoff
derek: oh, and social networing assets, but that’s a whole other conversation

I can only hope it’s venerability. After all, my blog created this past summer, In The Gnar, joined the landfills after just one entry (but what an entry it was).

Effable Solipsism

Can I talk my shit again?

I suppose it takes the most vain (and dubious) of solipsists to open a column with self-referential concerns. It’s very Klosteran-esque to be reviewing oneself in the first place, let alone with such scrutiny. But my considerations are not ill founded. I honestly don’t know if you’re reading his. I don’t receive feedback. I don’t know how many of you there even are.

mcranston: Puritan Blister by William Bowers of Pitchfork is one of the best columns I’ve read on a music website
mcranston: he’s wildly erudite. his prose is unique. he’s complicated. a very fascinating read,
mcranston: so why do you think his column isn’t a staple among p4k readers?
derek: you just answered it
derek: he’s wildly erudite. his prose is unique. he’s complicated.
derek: people want simple and easy to understand
derek: Filet Mignon is amazing, but more people eat MacDonalds
derek: I guess what I’m getting at is it’s so broad and generalized (his topic that is) that people don’t really understand what Puritan Blister is until you delve into it
derek: which is why it’s so great
mcranston: Yes.
mcranston: so with that in mind, what lessons do we take for this column here
mcranston: – simple idea?
derek: I think the answer is talking to these people who’s opinions we take as “experts”
derek: because that allows you/us to delve into these very broad and expansive topics under the veil of a very simple concept

Or maybe I need a change of scenery. Writing in Starbucks is too cliché, too rom-com-esque, too “You’ve Got Mail”-ish. I need to start smoking, and get a type-writer, and probably grow a better beard. I bet that’s how Pitchfork does it.

Will Sheff was a regular on the Tripwire in 08, and for good reason. For every Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes fan out there, Will and his band Okkervil River have been going strong for a decade now and stand as a testament, not a Stand In, for this renewed folk rock trend. –Derek Evers

Jagjaguwar

It was a pretty nasty night outside, but whoever fought the rain to get to the Music Hall of Williamsburg would agree that last nights show was worth the trek. Will Sheff and his friends put on a show filled with good vibes and quality music. It was a night of both newly discovered talent and classic sing a longs.


[Beth Wawerna of Bird Of Youth]

Bird of Youth kicked off the show with a solid set of early 90s-inspired rock with a pinch of dusty Americana thrown in. They were a little bit Mazzy Star, a little bit Cat Power, but still a tightly orchestrated band that definitely knew how to craft a solid pop song in their own unique way. I look forward to hearing their debut album, which Will Sheff happens to be producing.

Following Bird of Youth was solo artist Charles Bissell (of the Wrens and now Okkervil River), who put on a pretty amazing show for being the only person on the stage. He was a master of the loop pedal layering guitar riffs on one another creating a bed of dissonance to envelope his Elliott Smith-esque lyrical delivery. He created such a distinctive mood with his loops that he added such a personal touch to a cover of an Okkervil River song that Will Sheff became a fan. This mutual respect spawned the two song 7″ in which they covered each others songs.

[Charles Bissell]

Last but not least Will Sheff took the stage for a solid hour and a half performance of stripped down Okkervil River songs that spanned their full library. It was an intimate show that really put the spotlight on Will’s lyrics, thus creating a completely different experience. The audience was able to bask in the long-winded poetic brilliance of his songs taking in every verse from classics such as “Red”, “Happy Heart” and “Plus Ones”, creating more of an emotional depth to the songs. Other highlights of the show included “Bruce Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel”, which is a song stuck at the end of their recent release Stand Ins, that I frequently pass over, but performed in such an intimate setting took on a whole new feel that was completely riveting.

Charles Bissell added his atmospheric dissonant touch to “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” which they slowed down the tempo to and completely created a distinctive new piece of work from the song. Bird of Youth’s lead singer Beth Wawerna joined him onstage to perform the beautiful ballad from Black Sheep Boy, “Get Big” which was definitely was pinnacle of the performance.

All in all it was a great show that held my interest throughout the whole night. Will surrounds himself with some talented individuals who, along with himself, I look forward hearing more from.