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Do You Like American Music? (I Like American Music)

Posted at 12:05 PM on May 18, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (2 Comments)

Have you ever experienced concert afterglow? You know what I mean--you go to work the next morning wishing you could go back to the night before and relive the show you saw. You walk around in this goofy haze, like you just fell in love. (You did.)

This is how I feel after seeing Califone at the 400 Bar last night. I'm still reeling. I just can't understand why this band doesn't get more recognition. It seems like no one else is making music the way they do. This band runs the gamut from white-hot, diabolic, Bo Diddley rock-outs to the most tender, sexy, whispered folk songs--all of it backed by this jangly, junkyard assortment of instruments. (Actually, watching Ben Massarella play around with all those instruments last night ... I couldn't help but think he might be the Tom Keith of rock'n'roll.)

What really interests me about Califone, though, is that they sound--to me, anyway--uniquely American. It's like they've taken all these Americana sounds--folk, blues, bluegrass--and run them through some hulking, rusted, mechanical remnant from a post-apocolyptic future. I think about all the copy-cat bands out there--bands with such a homogenized sound that I can't tell if they're from Brooklyn or Birmingham--and it's refreshing to hear something so clearly American. I try to imagine Califone coming from any other country, and I just can't make it work. Also--when I think of "Americana," I tend to think of stuff that's merely twangy or folky, and bands like Califone, Wilco (subject of next week's Musicheads!), Last Town Chorus, and others are really pushing the limits of the genre in wonderful ways.

What are your thoughts on "American" music? Is there even such a thing anymore? Was there ever, really? Who's making interesting American music today? Who's turning the genre of "Americana" on its head?

Comments (2)

I agree, Califone is just about as American as music gets. They've got their own understated-style of mumbled, melodic genius. And never under-estimate the power of a good rhythm section.

One of my other favorite, and truly American(a) bands, is the criminally under-appreciated Sin Ropas. Tim Hurley (who was in Red Red Meat with Tim Rutili (of Califone)) crafts fantastic, subtle blues-folk brilliance. Seek out Three Cherries on Rutili's Perishable Records.

Posted by Hank | May 18, 2007 12:46 PM

I believe that the only uniquely American music form is Jazz, no?

Posted by Auntie | May 18, 2007 12:53 PM

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