A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

THE ENDOWED ALOTT5MA CHAIR IN CULTURAL STUDIES OF THE AMERICAN HEARTLAND STILL NEEDS A PRIMARY BENEFACTOR: Despite the diversity of our crew there there persists certain gaps in knowledge among the bloggers here -- metamorphic petrology and the Younger abstention doctrine still leading the list -- but I also recognized recently that we really don't know that much about country music between us. So given how much good press that Sugarland's been receiving of late, I invited our friend and frequent commenter Jenn to explain them to us Yankees:

I got better things to do than my to-do list anyway.

I came to country from folk music. So did one of my favorite country acts. In Decatur, Ga., there is a club called Eddie’s Attic. Folkies, like Indigo Girls, have been linked to it regularly, but Eddie’s Attic has also been prominent in producing acts such as Shawn Mullins (known for his pop song “Lullaby”), John Mayer, and the well-respected and increasingly popular country act Sugarland. Sugarland started out as a trio of folk singers -- Kristin Hall, Kristian Bush (of Billy Pilgrim), and Jennifer Nettles (of Soul Miner’s Daughters). In short, their background and resulting music is a bit more eclectic than you normally expect from mainstream country.

Not that I want to oversell this. Sugarland (now a duo with Nettles and Bush) is definitely country -— with a twang in the vocals, a sob in the voice (where appropriate), the use of the word “ain’t” in the lyrics, and the frequent appearance of a steel guitar and/or dobro and/or mandolin. But how many mainstream country records include a lyrical shout-out to an alt-country hero like Steve Earle? (Answer: I can think of one and I’m kind of reviewing it in this post.) Nettles and Bush write their own music, Bush plays on every song, and Nettles’ voice is one of the best in country music today.

And unlike with some country divas who could be mentioned, not every song is an exercise in the vocal gymnastics that Nettles can definitely do. Compare a few: Baby Girl was their first hit, and yeah, there are some serious glory notes going on. But Want To had a completely different vibe (and the video scored serious points with including shots of the Chrysler Building). Stay was a break-out for them, completely stripped-down. Their latest single All I Want to Do highlights their fun side.

Not that Sugarland is perfect. Sometimes, they get a little too cutesy. I was loving their song Steve Earle (where Nettles begs, “Steve Earle, Steve Earle, please write a song for me,”) when it took a sharp u-turn into goofy. I’ve enjoyed every CD -- I’m just waiting for the one that they will make where I love every song. Because I think they’ve got it in them. (No pressure.)

Some have asked if Sugarland will stay together, given a couple of well-received turns that Nettles has taken on her own, including a great version of The Night That the Lights Went Out in Georgia on the Reba McEntire Giants show (well worth watching, BTW, as it also features some other great performances, including two by a certain Kelly Clarkson, linked on that same youtube page), and a Grammy-Award winning collaboration with Bon Jovi, Who Says You Can’t Go Home? I hope that they stay together, as they mesh so well together as a duo and seem to like each other. Plus, someone, somehow, has to convince the world that there is something better in the world of country group/duos than Rascal Flatts and Montgomery Gentry, now that the Dixie Chicks are somehow no longer country. Really, that’s all I ask. (And 3under5 agrees, right?)