Alden: Well, I guess I don't deserve to wear this shirt, either.
Blackstock: You're wearing your Rocket shirt, so it's OK.
Alice Wheeler
From left, No Depression's Peter Blackstock, Kyla Fairchild, and Grant Alden.
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The New Pornographers: "Ballad of the Comeback Kid" (2003) from Electric Version (Matador)
SW: I picked a New Pornographers song that doesn't have Neko Case on it. You guys will probably throw me out of the house for saying it, but I've never been a big Neko Case fan. I know she's been in the magazine a couple times and she's on the comp, so obviously you guys like her.
Alden: I thought this was from some weird Robyn Hitchcock thing that I didn't have, which would be really strange.
Blackstock: I can't see [the New Pornographers] without seeing and hearing Carl [Newman's] old band Zumpano. I was a huge fan of them because they covered the most obscure Jimmy Webb songs you can find and I'm about the world's biggest Jimmy Webb fan. And Carl actually rivaled me on that. This is not a direction I would have necessarily suspected that he would end up going in, but it's been really successful for him.
SW: I like this song because it's one of Dan Bejar's; he's the guy from that band Destroyer, which I used to really like.
Fairchild: Do you like Neko in the New Pornographers, but not her solo stuff?
SW: Yeah, I suppose so. I've just never had a connection with any of her songs. She was a really big deal when I first moved here, and I could never quite understand it.
Blackstock: I think I like her voice more than I like her songwriting. When I think of my favorite things that she's done, it's still . . .
Fairchild: The covers?
Blackstock: Exactly. Like [her] cover of "Bowling Green" by the Everly Brothers. But one thing I really like is that she still puts a lot of effort into doing [the New Pornographers] in addition to working on her solo career, even though you could argue that her solo career is a big enough deal that she shouldn't be spending time doing this.
Country Teasers: "Life Is a Rehearsal" (2003) from Secret Weapon Revealed at Last (In the Red)
SW: This is kind of an oddball track. This band is originally from Scotland; now the singer is based in London and has band members all over the place. Ben Wallers, the songwriter, is really influenced by Americana and the Carter Family, and when I recently interviewed him, I was really surprised, but he said he really loves Gillian Welch and stuff like that. Generally, they're recognized as a punk band, but he's got a huge reverence for Tammy Wynette, and a really different way of interpreting that and recording it.
Blackstock: What I tend to find is that the people who mention certain kinds of music or influences aren't who you would always expect it from. The people who are firmly ensconced in the alt-country camp might be more likely to talk about how they listen to blues records or indie-rock records. And conversely, a lot of times when you hear people talk about Gillian Welch or Steve Earle, [they] are actually people who are doing stuff that's pretty far from that. But I think also they don't want to be stereotyped. They like to play up the fact that they're interested in other things, and also, if they're playing that kind of music, they're likely to be listening to other things further outside where they happen to be at.
Alden: I think musicians just like good music.
lcassidy@seattleweekly.com
