Musical interlude.

Turning Away, by Dougie MacLean (with Kathy Mattea). Lee has this on one of his folk music samplers, so I know the song pretty well.

There’s a secret code word for country music that doesn’t grate on the ears like a Microplane: bluegrass. There’s another secret code word: blues*. And a third one: folk. (But the ultimate, secret, super-duper code word is Johnny Cash.) Please don’t think I believe these people to be bad musicians. It’s that “country” music has been taken over by people who like to make money–not people who like to make music, and “earnest” (cheesy) “smug” (jerky) and “eighties pop-synth production + electric guitar” = money. Check out how the more interesting pop-country artist pick up off their roots. And how alt–country sounds a lot like…uh…country used to.

*I heard on NPR the other day that The White Stripes had gone to a blues festival. No doubt.

Oooh…I finally found a link to the version of “Goodbye to You” from Buffy.