Thank you so much for watching! Let me know what you guys think of these albums, if you've heard them before. I had a lot of fun exploring this genre so if there's any other genres that you want me to explore in the future, let me know!
You should explore Trip Hop! Here are some of my picks Dummy by Portishead (1995) Blue Lines by Massive Attack (1991) Psyence Fiction by UNKLE (1998) Post by Bjork (1995) (I didn’t know Post counted but apparently it does)
Kyle may probably not tell you to listen to John Prine’s S/T, but I certainly am! Genuinely one of my favorite singer-songwriter records with witty humor and genuinely gripping stories. I say listen to Sam Stone and see if you like it enough to try the rest. Fun fact about this song: you may recognized the lyrics as they were interpolated on Spiritualized’s song “Cop Shoot Cop…”
I'd say that for those who are just dipping their toes in the John Prine pool, John Prine Live is the way to go. You might even enjoy that one, Kyle. Most of his albums are poorly produced in my mind. John Prine can be both hilarious and gutting in the same song. The Live album captures that better than most others.
Townes Van Zandt is just exceptional, such an unbelievable songwriter. His story is another of a troubled artist plagued by drugs. What we got from him while he was with us will always be so special to me. His lyrics are so clever while being relatively simple, and never took itself to seriously. He deserves to be looked back on as fondly as artsits like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen or other similarly esteemed songwriters.
your reaction to John Prime was really surprising. I was obsessed with that album when I first got into it, just fantastic songs from start to finish. My favorite country album of all time is The Gilded Palace of Sin by The Flying Burrito Brothers.
awe i love john prine. to be fair i was a lot less enthusiastic about it the first few times i heard it, tho, so i can see where you’re coming from. i think what sold it for me was the lyrics. listening to “hello in there” followed by “sam stone” is actually gut wrenching. but even just the songs themselves kinda take time to grow on you, or at least for me they did. once they click, they really click!
Colter Walls self titled álbum is one of my personal favorites. Raspy and deep voice with so much anguish and comfort in it. The cover of snake mountain from van zandt, snake mountain blues is an all time classic.
My favorite country album has got to be A Sailors Guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson, it takes influences from a range of genres with super lush instrumentation. Highly recommend it.
Awesome to see that you loved Sackcloth n' Ashes, it's such a quality alternative country record. If you're into the more dark and gothic side of country music, I'd highly recommend the album Kinnery of Lupercalia by Jay Munly. That record makes me feel like I'm performing a square dance as a ritual to summon benign creatures from the underworld or some shit like that.
@@KyleReidMu Would highly recommend the work of Wovenhand too, the band that rose from the ashes of 16 Horsepower’s dissolution! “Blush Music” is even more cinematic and brooding than Sackcloth at its darkest moments. The rest of 16 Horsepower’s catalogue is awesome too 😎 👏
i think it would be awesome if you could do a video like this one but instead exploring the pop genre its just my humble suggestion since to me pop is such a wide genre that i cant seem to figure out how to get into and i feel like im missing out, and there might be others who think the same as me it seems like you listen to a fair amount of pop music so itd be really interesting to see what you have to say about it awesome video kyle good job !!
As someone who always disliked country growing up, I recently got into a few artists. My favorites are Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Drayton Farley, and Orville Peck. Great video!
Haven’t watched the video yet but I’m excited to see Mag. Electric Co. in the thumbnail!!! One of my all time favorite albums and I’m not really a country fan
Cash's American IV has been one of my favorite albums since I was young. My dad owned this one Johnny Cash compilation CD, and a lot of the tracks were from the American Recordings. "Hurt" and "The Man Comes Around" were part of the soundtrack to my childhood.
I love many of these albums! My favorite country album might by Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams. It’s definitely on the alternative country spectrum and is easily the best country album of the 90s in my book.
especially when you got bangers like Punks in the beerlight & night society on American Water. personally it's weird seeing Silver jews being described as country, but i understand how it falls into it sonically at times. i would lean more towards just indie rock personally, but that's taking into account the entire silver jews/david berman catalog from Dime map of the reef to purple mountains self titled
@absolutesadlad2297 to be like, ig most accurate, they're a folky/rock/alt-country overall but songs like rebel jew and lots of Lookout mountain are pretty straight up country jams. Hell, all the instrumental tracks own too!
@@fonofiofone yeah their discography is very diverse. And very folk/country oriented towards the later years, 2000s onwards with tanglewood & lookout mountain lookout sea etc. Horribly underrated & something for everyone to love throughout their catalog. Art that will always be incredibly dear to my heart. Rest in peace david berman.
damn son! that's a list that should be called 'tugs the most heartstrings' hopefully lots of suggestions as well if folks don't recognize all the bands. well done !
Some other, more fantastic, more concurrent country/country adjacent albums to check out: James McMurtry- Complicated Game (2015) Emily Scott Robinson- Traveling Mercies (2019) Sturgill Simpson- Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (2014) Tyler Childers- Purgatory (2017) Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit- Weathervanes (2023) Drive-by Truckers- Decoration Day (2003) Turnpike Troubadours- A Long Way From Your Heart (2017)
I personally love every album/artist on this list, especially John Prine, Johnny Cash, and Silver Jews. An artist/album I would recommend is Fight Songs by Old 97’s! Great songs and it scratches that 90’s alternative country itch every time
As a banjo player, and a big fan of people like Townes Van Zandt, I gotta say: what people think country music is, based on pop country, and what I usually think of when I think of country music are at this point almost unrelated things. Pop country started out in the 50s and 60s as a sorta bigger version of the singer-songwriter folk music that was popular at the time, but with a more sanitized pop appeal so that record companies could reach wider audiences. It was also important to note the country music, including instruments like the banjo and steel guitar, were primarily innovated by African Americans. The record industry made a very purposeful decision to segregate country in the 1940s. Then by the 1990s, pop country was really just what would have been called southern rock in the 70s. Then we get to now, in which we have "pop country" which is just pop mixed into southern rock with some hip-hop and EDM elements thrown in to keep the yougins interested. And honestly, I hate it. I hate that this genre shares a name with one of my favorite genres of music. It's tacky, it's racist, and it's most importantly, bad, in my subjective opinion. It really hurts a lot of the great singersongwriters and southern folk artists that are around today to have to be lumped in with this behemoth.
Can I just recommend that for John Prine, he got throat cancer when he was older which dropped his voice down an octave, and he re-recorded all of his hits on the album “Souvenir” and it, along with the older and wiser tone he adds, is an amazing album and his best in my opinion.
I loved the song El Paso from the Breaking Bad finale so I’m thinking I should check out that album. Also the gothic country one sounds up my alley. I’ve already heard magnolia electric Co and loved it
Josh Meloy - Oklahoma (2020) is one of my favorite albums. It's kind of like the country version of a folk album I really like: Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were (2014).
Another recommendation that you might actually recognize as a cover Johnny cash did on the Cash album is I See a Darkness by Bonnie Prince Billy. One of the most beautiful intimate experiences your ears can witness especially the title track (the album version) and closing track. If you have time DEFIANTLY give it a listen.
Just a few albums for you: Steve Earle - "Jerusalem", "El Corazon", "The Revolution Starts Now," "Washington Square Seranade" and since Towns Van Zandt came up, "Townes." Also, "GUY" for all the Guy Clarke heads.
Magnolia electric and the man comes around are my favorites discussed here I discovered the latter via the Film Logan (which I saw opening night) and have been hooked ever since. In Terms of other genres, I would be interested to hear your thoughts on emo rock would be one of my picks we have heard your thoughts on some early panic at the disco and I would be intrigued to hear your thoughts on the genre as a whole.
Magnolia Electric Company and Dragon New Warm Mountain are the greatest alt-country albums of all time. Sue me if you disagree. Especially the closers and b-sides are the most gut wrenching, beautiful songs, especially The Big Game is Every Night.
big thief... country? hmmmmmm if you like jason molina's voice (farewell transmission), really recommend checking out Molina & Johnson for a more traditional-sounding country album
All My Happiness is Gone is sad. Yes, the fellow was not happy at times in his life, it is said, but let not a similar fate fall on you. I recall hearing a rumour that SM and Berman met at a Robert Smith Cure concert. Could be true. In no other place was it implied that anything like that influenced SM and the rest. The Silver Jews' "Punks in the Beerlight" is wonderful. "Advice to the Graduate" is another wonderful one. It is hard to forget "Trains Across the Sea" as well. I'd never even thought a clever reviewer like yourself would find a context to present both the Silver Jews, and Purple Mountains, (and Johnny Cash), but it happened now. If you need a genre to explore that is more of a traditional style, consider highlights from the British Invasion. I'm sure you could school lots of nice listeners while being seen as smart and cool.
Flatland cavalry might be your vibe, their come may ep has some of my favourite songs ever, as well as the original album humble folks. You might like the turnpike troubadors as well, they have so many good songs spreadout throughout all these albums. Think of them like the older harder version of flatland. Both very similar bands but 2 goats the genre.
idk kid, not liking Prine is very sus if you ask me, but to each his own I guess. Not familiar at all with a lot of the more modern alt country on the list. But if thats your bag I suggest Uncle Tupelo's No Depression and Son Volt's -Trace. They really caught the late 80s early 90s heartland vibe IMO.
It's okay to not like John Prine if you're the kind of person who's okay with being wrong. I would definitely put his final album, the tree of forgiveness, at the top of my list personally
Panopticon - Scars of man on the wilderness once nameless pt2 This album is barely country it's definitely some sort of dark americana im not sure what to label it. the guy is usually a black metal artist but this album he ditches the black metal for pure sorrowful beauty, i'd recommend to almost anyone
Not a masterpiece but shout out to Pieces Of The Sky by Emmylou Harris bc it’s November and that album is peak November country vibes I highly reccomend listening to it this time of year
ooooohhh i am an ill child and this is the last thing I ever saw... going into the light now... never got to come out to my father.... big thief is not country... oooooohhhhh....
Thank you so much for watching! Let me know what you guys think of these albums, if you've heard them before. I had a lot of fun exploring this genre so if there's any other genres that you want me to explore in the future, let me know!
You should explore Trip Hop! Here are some of my picks
Dummy by Portishead (1995)
Blue Lines by Massive Attack (1991)
Psyence Fiction by UNKLE (1998)
Post by Bjork (1995) (I didn’t know Post counted but apparently it does)
Explore slowcore
Definitely check out some post punk!
Math core
Concur; do trip hop.
Kyle may probably not tell you to listen to John Prine’s S/T, but I certainly am! Genuinely one of my favorite singer-songwriter records with witty humor and genuinely gripping stories.
I say listen to Sam Stone and see if you like it enough to try the rest. Fun fact about this song: you may recognized the lyrics as they were interpolated on Spiritualized’s song “Cop Shoot Cop…”
Don't listen to me, listen to this guy!
I'd say that for those who are just dipping their toes in the John Prine pool, John Prine Live is the way to go. You might even enjoy that one, Kyle. Most of his albums are poorly produced in my mind. John Prine can be both hilarious and gutting in the same song. The Live album captures that better than most others.
Townes Van Zandt is just exceptional, such an unbelievable songwriter. His story is another of a troubled artist plagued by drugs. What we got from him while he was with us will always be so special to me. His lyrics are so clever while being relatively simple, and never took itself to seriously. He deserves to be looked back on as fondly as artsits like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen or other similarly esteemed songwriters.
your reaction to John Prime was really surprising. I was obsessed with that album when I first got into it, just fantastic songs from start to finish. My favorite country album of all time is The Gilded Palace of Sin by The Flying Burrito Brothers.
Townes Van Zandt’s self titled album is my favorite album of all time. The timeless lyrics give it endless listenability and have so much depth.
awe i love john prine. to be fair i was a lot less enthusiastic about it the first few times i heard it, tho, so i can see where you’re coming from.
i think what sold it for me was the lyrics. listening to “hello in there” followed by “sam stone” is actually gut wrenching.
but even just the songs themselves kinda take time to grow on you, or at least for me they did. once they click, they really click!
I love Townes!! I'll be here in the morning is one of my favorites songs of all time, it resonates with me in so many levels
I really enjoyed his self titled album!
Colter Walls self titled álbum is one of my personal favorites. Raspy and deep voice with so much anguish and comfort in it. The cover of snake mountain from van zandt, snake mountain blues is an all time classic.
The video I didn't know I needed!
My favorite country album has got to be A Sailors Guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson, it takes influences from a range of genres with super lush instrumentation. Highly recommend it.
Awesome to see that you loved Sackcloth n' Ashes, it's such a quality alternative country record. If you're into the more dark and gothic side of country music, I'd highly recommend the album Kinnery of Lupercalia by Jay Munly. That record makes me feel like I'm performing a square dance as a ritual to summon benign creatures from the underworld or some shit like that.
Definitely looking for more stuff like Sackcloth. Thanks for the rec!
@@KyleReidMu Would highly recommend the work of Wovenhand too, the band that rose from the ashes of 16 Horsepower’s dissolution! “Blush Music” is even more cinematic and brooding than Sackcloth at its darkest moments. The rest of 16 Horsepower’s catalogue is awesome too 😎 👏
i think it would be awesome if you could do a video like this one but instead exploring the pop genre
its just my humble suggestion since to me pop is such a wide genre that i cant seem to figure out how to get into and i feel like im missing out, and there might be others who think the same as me
it seems like you listen to a fair amount of pop music so itd be really interesting to see what you have to say about it
awesome video kyle good job !!
As someone who always disliked country growing up, I recently got into a few artists. My favorites are Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Drayton Farley, and Orville Peck. Great video!
Haven’t watched the video yet but I’m excited to see Mag. Electric Co. in the thumbnail!!! One of my all time favorite albums and I’m not really a country fan
Cash's American IV has been one of my favorite albums since I was young. My dad owned this one Johnny Cash compilation CD, and a lot of the tracks were from the American Recordings. "Hurt" and "The Man Comes Around" were part of the soundtrack to my childhood.
I love many of these albums! My favorite country album might by Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams. It’s definitely on the alternative country spectrum and is easily the best country album of the 90s in my book.
Idk if I would call American Water straight up country music but it is fabulous either way. One of my favorite 90's albums
Ya definitely one of the lesser country sounding album on the list
Later SJ stuff is a lot more straight up alt-country but dang the natural Bridge, Starlite, bright flight ugh so good too
especially when you got bangers like Punks in the beerlight & night society on American Water.
personally it's weird seeing Silver jews being described as country, but i understand how it falls into it sonically at times.
i would lean more towards just indie rock personally, but that's taking into account the entire silver jews/david berman catalog from Dime map of the reef to purple mountains self titled
@absolutesadlad2297 to be like, ig most accurate, they're a folky/rock/alt-country overall but songs like rebel jew and lots of Lookout mountain are pretty straight up country jams. Hell, all the instrumental tracks own too!
@@fonofiofone yeah their discography is very diverse. And very folk/country oriented towards the later years, 2000s onwards with tanglewood & lookout mountain lookout sea etc. Horribly underrated & something for everyone to love throughout their catalog.
Art that will always be incredibly dear to my heart. Rest in peace david berman.
damn son! that's a list that should be called 'tugs the most heartstrings' hopefully lots of suggestions as well if folks don't recognize all the bands. well done !
Some other, more fantastic, more concurrent country/country adjacent albums to check out:
James McMurtry- Complicated Game (2015)
Emily Scott Robinson- Traveling Mercies (2019)
Sturgill Simpson- Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (2014)
Tyler Childers- Purgatory (2017)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit- Weathervanes (2023)
Drive-by Truckers- Decoration Day (2003)
Turnpike Troubadours- A Long Way From Your Heart (2017)
Steve Earle -
"Jerusalem", "El Corazon", "The Revolution Starts Now," "Washington Square Seranade"
Apparently I’ve been listening to country without knowing it.
Glad to see 16 horsepower getting some love, always been one of my favorite country albums.
I personally love every album/artist on this list, especially John Prine, Johnny Cash, and Silver Jews. An artist/album I would recommend is Fight Songs by Old 97’s! Great songs and it scratches that 90’s alternative country itch every time
If you haven’t heard of Bill Callahan he’s a perfect suggestion for new age folksy/country. one of my faves!
Love bill Callahan, thrown a Bonnie prince billy in there as well
Magnolia electric co. Is one of my favorite albums ever. It’s so perfect in every way.
big thief`s album is AWESOME
fr fr
As a banjo player, and a big fan of people like Townes Van Zandt, I gotta say: what people think country music is, based on pop country, and what I usually think of when I think of country music are at this point almost unrelated things. Pop country started out in the 50s and 60s as a sorta bigger version of the singer-songwriter folk music that was popular at the time, but with a more sanitized pop appeal so that record companies could reach wider audiences. It was also important to note the country music, including instruments like the banjo and steel guitar, were primarily innovated by African Americans. The record industry made a very purposeful decision to segregate country in the 1940s. Then by the 1990s, pop country was really just what would have been called southern rock in the 70s. Then we get to now, in which we have "pop country" which is just pop mixed into southern rock with some hip-hop and EDM elements thrown in to keep the yougins interested. And honestly, I hate it. I hate that this genre shares a name with one of my favorite genres of music. It's tacky, it's racist, and it's most importantly, bad, in my subjective opinion. It really hurts a lot of the great singersongwriters and southern folk artists that are around today to have to be lumped in with this behemoth.
Can I just recommend that for John Prine, he got throat cancer when he was older which dropped his voice down an octave, and he re-recorded all of his hits on the album “Souvenir” and it, along with the older and wiser tone he adds, is an amazing album and his best in my opinion.
I loved the song El Paso from the Breaking Bad finale so I’m thinking I should check out that album. Also the gothic country one sounds up my alley. I’ve already heard magnolia electric Co and loved it
Josh Meloy - Oklahoma (2020) is one of my favorite albums. It's kind of like the country version of a folk album I really like:
Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were (2014).
Rest in peace David Berman.
Silver Jews deserve all the love.
Another recommendation that you might actually recognize as a cover Johnny cash did on the Cash album is I See a Darkness by Bonnie Prince Billy. One of the most beautiful intimate experiences your ears can witness especially the title track (the album version) and closing track. If you have time DEFIANTLY give it a listen.
The first time you referred to Berman, it honestly sounded like you said David Byrne
Just a few albums for you:
Steve Earle -
"Jerusalem", "El Corazon", "The Revolution Starts Now," "Washington Square Seranade"
and since Towns Van Zandt came up, "Townes." Also, "GUY" for all the Guy Clarke heads.
The Natural Bridge is a bit better than American Water, it was written completely solely by Berman, it’s a so sad it’s sometimes horrific
What about 3D Country by geese.
Magnolia electric and the man comes around are my favorites discussed here I discovered the latter via the Film Logan (which I saw opening night) and have been hooked ever since. In Terms of other genres, I would be interested to hear your thoughts on emo rock would be one of my picks we have heard your thoughts on some early panic at the disco and I would be intrigued to hear your thoughts on the genre as a whole.
I love that idea! I used to listen to a lot of MCR and Panic! back in the day so it would be fun to revisit some of that stuff
I cannot wait regardless of what you cover!@@KyleReidMu
Magnolia Electric Company and Dragon New Warm Mountain are the greatest alt-country albums of all time. Sue me if you disagree. Especially the closers and b-sides are the most gut wrenching, beautiful songs, especially The Big Game is Every Night.
12 golden country greats by ween and must've been high by super suckers are also awesome country records definitely recommend :)
Nice video, saludos desde Perú
big thief... country? hmmmmmm
if you like jason molina's voice (farewell transmission), really recommend checking out Molina & Johnson for a more traditional-sounding country album
All My Happiness is Gone is sad. Yes, the fellow was not happy at times in his life, it is said, but let not a similar fate fall on you.
I recall hearing a rumour that SM and Berman met at a Robert Smith Cure concert. Could be true. In no other place was it implied that anything like that influenced SM and the rest.
The Silver Jews' "Punks in the Beerlight" is wonderful. "Advice to the Graduate" is another wonderful one. It is hard to forget "Trains Across the Sea" as well.
I'd never even thought a clever reviewer like yourself would find a context to present both the Silver Jews, and Purple Mountains, (and Johnny Cash), but it happened now.
If you need a genre to explore that is more of a traditional style, consider highlights from the British Invasion. I'm sure you could school lots of nice listeners while being seen as smart and cool.
Flatland cavalry might be your vibe, their come may ep has some of my favourite songs ever, as well as the original album humble folks.
You might like the turnpike troubadors as well, they have so many good songs spreadout throughout all these albums. Think of them like the older harder version of flatland.
Both very similar bands but 2 goats the genre.
Check out some of Jay Munly's music, especially Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots. It's more of that Gothic Country but I prefer it over 16 Horsepower
Jason Isbell and the 400 unit goes hard
I dunno why exactly, but i always though about "Hurt" as the sad "My Way". Maybe it makes sense for somebody else as it does to me.
idk kid, not liking Prine is very sus if you ask me, but to each his own I guess. Not familiar at all with a lot of the more modern alt country on the list. But if thats your bag I suggest Uncle Tupelo's No Depression and Son Volt's -Trace. They really caught the late 80s early 90s heartland vibe IMO.
It's okay to not like John Prine if you're the kind of person who's okay with being wrong.
I would definitely put his final album, the tree of forgiveness, at the top of my list personally
Would you classify Dragon New Warm as country? I always viewed them as firmly on that ‘Folk’ label that confuses the convo more.
I always thought of it to be more folk as well but it's country according to RYM lol
@@KyleReidMu Good excuse to revisit at the least lmao, def my fave from last year (that I’ve heard so far), Little Things has gotta be my fave
I'll never like country, but Wilco and Beck really warmed me up on alt country.
y'all should def listen to that John Prine album..
Yall need to hear wrecking ball by emmylou harris
Panopticon - Scars of man on the wilderness once nameless pt2
This album is barely country it's definitely some sort of dark americana im not sure what to label it. the guy is usually a black metal artist but this album he ditches the black metal for pure sorrowful beauty, i'd recommend to almost anyone
Listen to Dixie chicks - fly, one of the greatest country pop albums imo
howdy partner i like beer and guns and bladee
Big Thief is not country, sorry to break it to you. I'm gonna be that guy. Zach Bryan is the way to go in 2023, all the way.
Make your case.
@nasanoir310Blue lightning is literally a country song
No Bonnie Prince Billy?
Not a masterpiece but shout out to Pieces Of The Sky by Emmylou Harris bc it’s November and that album is peak November country vibes I highly reccomend listening to it this time of year
Is anyone else having an issue downloading magnolia electric co on Apple Music???
Can someone give me a list of all the albums mentioned?
Big Thief isn't country music bud
southeastern by jason isbell is my favorite country album
AAAAAAAAHHHH GOOOOOD COUNTRY, SEAAAAS BELOW UUUS
Songs:Ohia is amazing, listen to The Black Crow.
You're sleeping on John Prine.
ooooohhh i am an ill child and this is the last thing I ever saw... going into the light now... never got to come out to my father.... big thief is not country... oooooohhhhh....
yee haw
Justin Townes Earle NPR tiny desk concert
James Molina is the best songwriter of all time
Album at 8:07 ?
thats modest mouse the lonesome crowded west
you know hurt and personal jesus on the cash album are both covers right? hurt is by Trent Reznor and personal jesus is a depeche mode song.
wasnt expecting the most bullshit take on Prine ever. definitely features the best lyric writing of any of the albums here.
You can’t beat 3D country by geese
pls everyone listen to the John Prine album
Big Thief is not country lmao
Edit: like over half of these are not country albums
Big Thief is the only who is not Country here
white trash revelry by adeem the artist is a great newer country album i wish more people would listen to
It actually sucks sorry
do black metal nerd 🙄
I will eventually
imo the townes and big thief albums are much more folk than country
Big Thief definitely is, but Townes for me is a perfect blend of Folk and Country
From all the American Johnny Cash albums, 4 is the worst. Dunno why they held it so up, hence yeah, not my pick for such a dark and impressive artist