tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11611764.post-1151129380724439632006-06-24T01:42:00.000-04:002006-06-24T02:30:27.373-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackstrap.org/uploaded_images/hillbilly-side1-702881.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://blackstrap.org/uploaded_images/hillbilly-side1-799415.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><p><br />I just moved, and found the crate of cassettes. I'm down to one boombox with a cassette player. And there's one in the minivan. The cassette player in the Accord busted while playing the Birthday Party, driving on my way to a gig a few years ago.<br /><br />Anyways, I found this beloved mixtape, one that changed my outlook on music. It was 1991 or so, and I was getting deeper into Rockabilly, and the friend who'd set me down <span style="font-style:italic;">that</span> road sent me this. It is a trip one circle deeper. Most of these tracks are contemporary to early Rock 'n' Roll, but mostly devoid of the R&B influence. Hillbilly boogie isn't lacking in drive, however.<br /><br />What always struck me about this mix was how it really created a portrait of a world- and not just the cheatin' and drinkin' one expects from this sort of music. Where rockers from the era were reaching out, going for the craziest and most unleashed emotion they could find, these tracks are confined to a small town landscape. These artists were negotiating a place in those confines. "Hog-Tied Over You" is full of cornpone jokes about chasing each other around a farm, but is genuinely horny sounding. "Johnson to Jones" is one of several songs where the singer declares his young age, though here he's settling down with a sugar-mama he stood behind at the bank. And Jean Shepard's "Two Whoops and a Holler" has a hostility towards the less-fair sex that still stings. Pent-up it the dominant emotion across this mix. Since I was living at home at the time, stuck again my own rural home town, I could commiserate. <br /><br />I just digitized side A. Plugged in the boombox, and let it run. Here is the vinyl to cassette to wav to mp3 conversion. This music was so clearly recorded in the first place, you won't miss a thing. I'll post side B later. Stay tuned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hillbilly Boogie - <a href="http://blackstrap.org/tmp/hillbilly-side-a.mp3">Side A</a></span>. (54 Megabytes, it's gonna take a bit)<br /><br />A <a href="http://blackstrap.org/tmp/hillbilly-cover.pdf">pdf of the original cassette</a> cover. <br /></p>bendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16213065953519142315noreply@blogger.com