Jason Isbell: Classic Or Dud?

My second favorite band of all time, though, so all is forgiven, always.

Saw dude play twice recently - first at an instore, solo save for a girl on fiddle. Really amazing performance. Didn't overstay his welcome, totally commanding and great throughout.

The show later that evening though, with his new band, was another story altogether.

While Isbell again was in top form, his band just isn't anywhere near as good as DBT (an inevitable comparison - sorry Jason) and isn't doing his songs any particular favors.

Worst of all was the Conor Oberst-doppleganger on lead guitar - proficient enough on lead but completely devoid of any personality or balls on his instrument whatsoever.

Maybe Jason was playing to the admittedly large contingent of visor-sporting, plastic cup hoisting frat troglodytes in the audience, but before I left halfway through, the band had already done two covers - "Do It Again" and "Psycho Killer," the latter of which featured said guitarist with the Wynona Ryder haircut on lead vocals. If I want to see a preening indie rocker bellow Talking Heads covers while winking at girls in the audience between verses, I'll go to karaoke night in Williamsburg. I was almost waiting for the inevitable "Blister In The Sun" riff, the appearance of which would have no doubt inspired a Roman orgy among the high-fiving frat brothers-in-arms squeezed in up front.

When Jason played any of his DBT songs, the lack of muscle behind him made it almost hard to watch.

For what it's worth, though, the audience were captivated throughout. Curse Bonnaroo and all it represents!

Sorry this reads like a shitty newspaper review, I'm hungover.

Well, if I saw that last set I'd feel hungover too. What a shame, but makes me even more thankful for the studio performances, mostly backed by other Truckers (including John Neff on steel guitar, now taking Jason's place in DBT, apparently)and Spooner Oldham, and I think David Hood's on there too. There's also a really good track on his myspace, "When The Well Runs Dry," credited to the Truckers, damn sure should have been on somebody's album, maybe that lack is a symptom of something (like the title). He's mentioned Eudora Welty's short stories in interviews, and his songs make me think of Welty times Zevon (Z collab'd with Paul Muldoon etc, so maybe could've happened, if she were a guy and younger) Not Z's "Carmelita" tearjerking but sardonic lyricism, some kind of compassion on Jason's part, at least implied by careful consideration of his characters, however crispy they be. It's really better than what he did with the Truckers. anyway, here's my review:
http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0728,allred,77190,22.html

Southeastern his best solo album?

Easily, but it's also his most start to finish consistent. Then again, to me the lyrics are the selling point. The music is largely Son Volt snoozy on the first couple listens, with an over-reliance on 3/4.

Yes. I can't listen to the whole thing straight through – yet.

I keep meaning to listen to this. That NY Times profile has me interested, plus folks who saw him talk and play at EMP in New Orleans (I was in the other room checking out a zydeco and Cajun talk with archival photos)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/magazine/jason-isbell-unloaded.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I want to like the album a lot more than I actually do ; (

I really like it. It's definitely a, idk, heavy(?) listen, it's not really quite light enough to put on repeat and breeze through a few times...but all the songs really sit with you. Which is a really nice change.

He seems a bit young for the "all of these songs are about alcoholism" album, doesn't he?

not too young for a (reportedly) violent alcoholic

He's a major talent, and this is probably his best record. It's also pretty down and not all that fun. Best news is there are no more Stax-style ballads like Cigarettes and Wine.

i liked that >:(

"Live Oak" and "Elephant" needed to be Truckerized.

agreed

omg SO happy he's over that 'soul singer' bullshit

Haven't heard this yet, wanna make time to really listen. Color me cautiously optimistic. I recall saying to my then-wife when we saw DBT on the DD tour, "If that kid ever goes solo, he's gonna blow the fuck up." I'd like to be vindicated, at last, because up until now, his was a case of seriously wasted talent IMO (stray songs on various solo albums notwithstanding).

This is good if staid in that singer-songwriterly way.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/jason-isbell-as-undislikable-as-it-gets/2014/01/29/606904b6-8908-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html

But as earnest as he sounded Tuesday, Isbell’s performance still registered somewhere between excellent and just fine. He was undislikable.

The undislikables occupy a unique space in pop music. Their songs are filled with personality and emotion, but never too much. They experiment, but not without safety goggles. They put a premium on craftsmanship and confidence, often stamping out any whiffs of danger or weirdness. And their music seems unimpeachable, leaving you with an in-the-middle feeling that makes you wonder whether these people have achieved a state of enlightenment or have been trapped in purgatory.

Commenters on that review are outraged by Chris Richard's stance. I understand what he means.

p sure the word is 'nice'

Is he really lopping together all singer songwriters? Honestly, guys with guitars who bare their souls are so unhip they might as well be weirdo outliers. If Steve Earle and John prine are his play it safe peeps, isbell should be pretty cool with this.

He calls the Roots undislikeable as well. I think he means NPR-friendly

"Elephant" was probably my favorite song of last year, and "Relatively Easy" wasn't far behind. If he ever writes a whole album that good...

He is an obvious talent. The problem is, anybody's songs are going to sound better when they're played by DBT.

Which is doubly frustrating because the actual DBT songwriters have been churning out less and less interesting material over the last few albums (imo).

Southeastern goes way beyond nice. And it's not just about the lyrics. From my Nashville Scene ballot, "In The Shadows of the Warm Red Comments" http://thefreelancementalists.blogspot.com/2014/01/14th-annual-etc-in-shadows-of-warm-red.html
Jason Isbell's Here We Rest often relied on the words, and some live versions were even shakier, but on Southeastern he's got his tuneful tightness back (playing a lot of the mostly acoustic instruments himself; the 400 Unit plug in on cue and on point, but don't get co-billing). Time to put the spotlight and the pressure back on himself--the voice was never a problem, which was a problem. No matter how wasted and/or woolgathering he got, could always release a few more of those high lonesome sweet bluesy Lowell George notes, and tell himself everything was still okay and not okay, in that alone-together way.
The words are better too, deep and horizontally active enough, back and forth in time and space--the richest lode is the opener, "Cover Me Up", with some kind of imaginative but not imaginary although certainly motorvatingly metaphorical invalid, with strong lungs, calling for "medical assistance, or a magnolia breeze", while he and significant other are riding a flood in a cold house "I ain't chopping no wood...hang up your wet dress" and get that cover workin'. This is also very tender-sounding, since the lonesome monster is now ready to face whatever reality may and will surely bring--whole album's known knowns wed to known unknowns: very family values, very commuting-community-minded, very country in its way (so this only looks like a Paste list, see?)

Which is doubly frustrating because the actual DBT songwriters have been churning out less and less interesting material over the last few albums (imo).

Ironically, it's been more and more "interesting," imo - in terms of ideas and surprising detours - just less and less strong. They were such a great outlet for Isbell, because he can always be counted on a for a couple of absolutely outstanding tracks per effort, just not quite an entire outstanding album yet. He's young, though. 15 years younger than Hood, I think.

I read xchuckx E. being harsh on Jason's vocals

Which is doubly frustrating because the actual DBT songwriters have been churning out less and less interesting material over the last few albums (imo).

― Simon H., Thursday, January 30, 2014 11:57 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So wrong

DBT's new album is a bore though.

"Super 8" is the song that needed the Truckers the worst - songwriting as strong as "Elephant" but such painfully boring country-rock.

i saw the Truckers live last month

- new bass player is distractingly goofy. he's fine as a player but he's like this grinning jackolantern all the time, it's SO weird

- setllist was suuuper uneven, going from blistering rock into pensive cooley so much it was giving me whiplash

- i've seen them four times before this show, and this is the first time i was almost completely bored. they were fine, but fine aint a dbt show

idk

they seem to be focusing on sounding cleaner, singing better etc but their rawness was the appeal for me. i love them but idk who this band is now?

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/11/the_voice_reportedly_asks_jaso.html

'The Voice' producer reportedly asks Jason Isbell to audition for the NBC show

He was great last week at this Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute show i went to last week at the Fox Theater (great venue by the way)

http://music.blog.ajc.com/2014/11/13/concert-review-lynyrd-skynyrd-tribute-concert-brings-peter-frampton-gregg-allman-and-more-to-the-fox-theatre/

xpost loooooooool that is hilarious and sad

Sad for the producer's cred, happy otherwise: he scanned the invite into his twitter feed (so that's the basis of "reportedly," from the hoss's mouth) and considered what his audition material might consist of (I suggested he hold out for Dancing With The Stars). Would love to see Blake Shelton's big ol' half-bright face if he did come out there on The Voice (that's the one Shelton's on, right?)

("lemon-difficult": excellent, especially if related to #DonLemonReporting, but either way.)

http://youtu.be/7mAFiPVs3tM

The new record is streaming on NPR right now. It's very good, similar in sound to Southeastern. He'll never rock like he did with DBT but he'll probably end up the more popular act.

From Rolling Country, my initial impressions:

Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free: doesn't travel with the more sustained undertone of excitement found in Southeastern---recorded sober, apparently!---but "Are you takin' the grown-up dose?" is still the question, or one of 'em, and it's often remarkable what can sprout from dry, quiet starting over, especially when the past gets out of bed and comes cruising through one's present-day/night of carefully worked out details, brushing them just a hair or three from conventional alignment. Or not, in which case it's conspicuous by etc., but always the singer's cue.
"Children of Children" and "24 Frames" will be the relatively big (npr) radio cuts, if any are, but most tunes as well as words tend to take fetching turns.
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/08/420588068/first-listen-jason-isbell-something-more-than-free

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:38 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not to say this 'un doesn't *also* sound like it was written and recorded sober---it does, and it also sounds like that's what it's about: dealing with the unfiltered, or differently filtered---but Southeastern seemed like more of an adventure.

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:42 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post PermalinkMaybe it's just subtle for me---diggin it tho!

"Children of Children" is fucking brutal -

I was riding on my mother's hip, she was shorter than the corn
All the years I took from her, just by being born.

Didn't mean to break the cycle
[...]

You were riding on your mother's hip she was shorter than the corn
All the years you took from her, just by being born.

Is any of his solo stuff better than "outfit?"

probably not, about half of Southeastern and the 400 Unit album are nearly as good though

his entire solo career is a colossal bore imo

Right? I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.

It's like he needed to prove himself, or he needed the competition, and then the fire went out.

Totally. I like all but one or two of the handful of songs he contributed to DBT (and really like a couple). Dude peaked early (much like his hero Ryan Adams imo)

His best stuff now is definitely in a different register from his DBT songs, but I still think "Cover Me Up," "Elephant," "Relatively Easy," "No Choice in the Matter" and a few others measure up just fine.

yeah there's been no drop in quality imo

Every song I hear of his is really good, and then I hear a second song and don't want to hear any more.

I'm sure he thinks eschewing rock 'n' roll adduces his maturity. I suppose artists earn the right not to give a damn about commercial considerations. A pity.

if only he would come to ilm and read this thread, maybe then he'd do a better job of steering his career *eyeroll*

dude put out the best record he has ever been involved in three years ago, at age 34. that's an opinion. as far as commercial considerations go, he's doing the best he's ever done as we speak. that's a fact.

I hate to be a music geek cliche but yes, the old stuff with the Truckers is best.

tbf not a lot of people's solo stuff is better than "outfit"

A mean industry person in Nashville once told me (before all the Americana awards and stuff, naturally) "he was better when he was fat and drunk." And while I definitely believe the "damaged artist" myth (and propagation thereof) is tired at best and irresponsible at worst, I can't help agreeing with that Nashville dickhead about the declining caliber of Isbell's work since becoming a, err, friend of Bill.

Also, the 400 Unit, while a fine band, are not DBT. Having them playing your songs clearly helps.

This new record is fantastic. His most upbeat set of songs ever.

Pretty sure "If We Were Vampires" is the best song he's ever written.

I'm still not a fan but, yeah, it's a terrific batch of smart songs.

I love this new album

The early 400 Unit albums often had good uptempo numbers music-wise but werent always written so well, or were kind of rambling - and his solo songs were almost always well written but usually slower musically

This is a perfect mix of his writing & the band's talents so you get some really searing lyrics with a faster pace.

It's a great driving record, I have found :D

I mean you can pine for DBT's raw rockin all you want but I dunno if he'll ever go that way, since a lot of that sound was driven by Cooley & Hood's style more than his and he seems to favor a more polished sound generally

Stumbled upon a Saving Country Music pan of the new live album. Checking it out myself, the main criticism of the production is spot on. The drummer and keyboard player sound like they recorded in the Ryman bathroom. I've heard bar bands recorded better.

No buzz for Reunions? It's likely gonna be one of my favorite albums this year.

There's been some discussion over here:

Drive By Truckers fans - does anyone know when in the goddam hell Jason Isbell's solo album is coming out??

But seriously, I understand why some feel he is too MOR, but his twitter game is A+

First of all, i https://t.co/vCxrLYuJbt

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) July 2, 2020

All this work to get to the heart of the rock and roll truth then You Shook Me All Night Long comes on the radio and it’s as perfect as a damn quail egg

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) July 4, 2020

<3

your brother, your children, and a stranger who works at the Cinnabon at the Indianapolis airport have all called to wish you a happy birthday pic.twitter.com/t4aiqRuqKi

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) July 8, 2020

lol

is this not the very definition of a humblebrag

album was underwhelming imo

disagree but i have not gone back after some fairly obsessive listening so maybe it will hit me with less of a boom at end of the year

I'd never been blown away by his solo stuff, but I heard "Cover Me Up" the other day, and was absolutely amazed a song that good slipped under my radar. Maybe the production on "Southeastern" is the problem? I'll have to go back and figure out why I'm not listening to the album everyone likes.

is this not the very definition of a humblebrag

The joke is that he doesn't feel like he deserves to be mentioned in the same group as Paul McCartney and The Who. So yeah, probably a humblebrag, but maybe more just surprised that he of all people was one of the three picked to highlight in that headline.

That's how I read it. I mean, I'm sure hundreds of people wished Ringo a happy birthday, many recognizable names. Why he should be lopped in with Paul McCartney and The Who is anyone's guess.

A nod to the with-it, younger generation!

Pretty douchey move

I think that's pretty harsh, since the guy has showed himself again and again to be remarkably modest and, well, not douchey.

yeah he’s just making fun of himself

Actually the part about The Who was throwing me because I don’t remember seeing Zak Starkey in the birthday bash video I watched yesterday.

I think that's pretty harsh, since the guy has showed himself again and again to be remarkably modest and, well, not douchey.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, July 8, 2020 7:22 PM (thirty-eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

actually I find the guy pretty smug, but I don't know him in real life so maybe I'm just objecting to his online persona. It doesn't help that his records are the musical equivalent of an oatmeal cookie

lol

yr mom’s an oatmeal cookie

zing

His songs have gotten tougher, so he's an oatmeal cookie with extra nutmeg.

idk decoration day seems pretty tough

JIC if you somehow missed the biggest song of his solo career (call it his “when the stars go blue” since it’s been covered already by a “bigger” Nashville Star) maybe Southeastern is worth another listen.

Great stuff all over that record. Second verse of “relatively easy” is about as close to perfect as it gets.

ps “cover me up” is also hint hint a very easy song to play, esp if you thought drop d was just for “enter sandman”

His solo stuff, I mean.

"Cover Me Up" may be easy to play but not so easy to sing, he really lays into that one.

i've seen isbell live, really genuine-seeming guy, not smug at all

I have no idea how I missed it, but after he left the Truckers I just never clicked with his solo stuff. And when I heard "Southeastern" back when I think I just tuned it out, which was a huge mistake, because his words are so important. I recall right after he left the Truckers hearing that song "Dress Blues" - maybe he played it once or twice in the band? - and just finding it incredible.

i saw him open for father john misty and trust that the douchebag in the building was not jason isbell

the last song on the new one is pretty treacly but on the whole it's a definite improvement on The Nashville Sound. I still probably prefer his first two solo records because the lyrics were more finely drawn but Reunions is a nice blend of sharp songwriting and full-band grooves.

"Cover Me Up" may be easy to play but not so easy to sing, he really lays into that one.

This is his best solo album; still miss the intensity and pain of "Goddamn Lonely Love" and "Never Gonna Change."

re: Southeastern, it didn’t grab me on first listen... I think I went in looking for “outfit pt ii” and wandered off when I didn’t hear that...

it just took a while to realize the whole thing really is outfit pt ii

xpost ugh goddamn lonely love is so good

how does like a nineteen yo kid write that and I still haven’t managed to get a word down here or anywhere that’s true

sigh

otm, prob my favorite dbt song

new trio of single covers are somewhat odd choices but mostly quite good; his driver 8 sounds like REM by way of Neil Young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeeWwY2IpcM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeeWwY2IpcM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeeWwY2IpcM

whoops:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uZrU94aGH0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS-o6oxLBWU

odd choices

Well he is intentionally covering Georgia artists for it.

ah, that makes more sense though i didn't even know metallica were from georgia

Ha, no, the Metallica thing is separate for that big black album covers project they did.

Separately he promised to do a full Georgia covers album for charity if Georgia went blue in the last election, so he's releasing it to live up to his promise.

Link's not always dependable for this longread:

Jason Isbell on the road, hummingbirds, fan requests and critical thinking in America
Updated: Sep. 10, 2021, 8:11 a.m. | Published: Sep. 10, 2021, 8:10 a.m.

By Ben Flanagan | bflana✧✧✧@a✧.c✧✧

Jason Isbell doesn’t much worry about any backlash over the COVID restrictions at his shows, not when a bunch of hummingbirds buzz through his porch. He can’t be bothered, not when he strives to live in the moment and remain grateful for what he has, hummingbirds and the chance to get back on the road and do what he loves after a year off.

The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist from Green Hill, Ala., made headlines for requiring proof of vaccination or proof of a recent negative COVID test to attend his concerts.
Touring on their 2020 album release “Reunions,” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will perform with Brothers Osborne and Jay Oladokun at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham, Alabama, on Saturday, September 11th.

He’ll return to Alabama for ShoalsFest in Florence Oct. 2-3, and on Oct. 7 at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile with Rob Aldridge.

AL.com spoke to Isbell about losing sleep over COVID, finally hitting the road to play live shows again, hearing fans scream requests from the front row and playing in his home state.

You are visible and vocal about COVID, specifically slowing the spread of the virus at your shows by requiring proof of vaccination and negative test. You even dropped out of the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion because they decided against implementing those restrictions. Do you remember the moment you decided this was the right thing to do, and why was it so critical to implement these restrictions at your shows?

Jason Isbell: Yeah, I remember. I was having a hard time sleeping. I had booked some shows, and I was worried because I thought we’re not offering people medical care. It’s not a hospital or a clinic or grocery store. It’s a concert. People don’t have to come to a concert. I know they enjoy it. Probably nobody enjoys it as much as I do, but it’s not a necessity for survival. And because of that, I felt like we should make it something that’s as safe as it can possibly be. It was keeping me up at night. And I thought if I’m going to get any rest, I’m going to have to do something about this. It just seemed like the right thing to do because I don’t want to spend my time on stage worried about if I’m making people sick.

You said recently, “I don’t want to put more restrictions on my audience, but I also don’t want them to die,” that not getting sick at one of your shows is more important than jumping through a few hoops to do so safely. Have you found that your audience and the venues have generally accepted your stance on this?

Oh yeah, for the most part they definitely have. Maybe that’s because of my audience and the type of audience that I have. I don’t know. But yeah. We’ve only had one show so far that we’ve had to cancel and weren’t able to move to a different venue, and that was the Houston show. Everything else, even the Bristol show, we dropped out of that but were able to book a show in Athens, Georgia, for the same night. For the most part, people have said “OK, we’ll do whatever we need to do” because the venues want to keep working. They want to stay open. The crews at these venues have been grateful, my own traveling crew has been grateful. There will likely will be some breakthrough cases in our team, but to this point we haven’t had any. I hired a nurse last week to come out with us. Her first show with us was in Montgomery. She travels with the band and tests everybody in the band and crew and makes sure the venues are going by the protocols.
It sucks to have to do all this. It sucks for them to have to provide a negative test or proof of vaccination to come to a show. It also sucks for me to have to hire new people and pay them to do things we never had to do before. And it sucks for me to not be able to go out after the show and hang out with my band somewhere and talk to people and have a good time. That sucks. I go straight back to the bus, I watch some Netflix and go to sleep. That’s not what I signed up for as a touring musician, but I’m willing to do it because that’s how we stay busy. That’s how we keep working. That’s how we keep our industry going.

You said if you hadn’t put these kinds of restrictions in place and you didn’t hold the line on it, you would feel like you were taking advantage of people while you were doing your job. How difficult has it been to hold the line? Or is this easy and a black-and-white issue for you? I know you put a lot of thought into it, especially considering the economic element of paying the touring crew, factoring in the venue staffs needing work, all those components people’s livelihoods depend on during touring. You’ve said you think you work with people who measure risk versus reward, but how tough was that internal discussion with you and your touring family?

It wasn’t hard at all for me. Once I had heard all the opinions that I thought there were out there, it was an easy decision to make and stick by. That’s kind of how I am -- I’m pretty stubborn. If I make a decision where I feel like I’m well-informed beforehand, I’m gonna usually stick by it. Sometimes that’s not the best way to be. I know that drives my wife crazy sometimes around the house. But in a situation like this, I don’t feel bad about the choice that I made. Any of the negative pushback that I have received, that doesn’t bother me at all, because I made my decision and I knew at the time it was the right thing, and I still know it’s the right thing. I have a pretty solid foundation of right and wrong for myself.

I don’t want to focus on negative pushback, but you you were asked in a recent interview if you were firing a shot across the bow at country music fans. You said yes, but that you were kind of used to that. What do you mean you’re used to it?

Well, somehow I wind up in the country music conversation a lot, but I don’t think I’m necessarily a country artist. And I think the people who listen to my music realize that. But I think people who don’t know really anything about me just sort of think I’m a country artist. So sometimes there’s this faux outrage when I say something political or something that is important to me that might be a progressive idea or something someone would view as liberal, I think a lot of country outlets and fans get all riled up. But I don’t make pop country music, and I’ve never been interested in that in the least. I think because I’m from Alabama and I have a Southern accent, people assume I’m a country singer. But I don’t really feel that way. And country music has a lot of right-wing, conservative, white fans, and they always have because they have aimed their music at those people, so that’s what you get.

Jason, I know you’re not a doctor, but you did speak to one people know recently. Dr. Fauci said you should consider booking more outdoor venues to help keep people safe as an entertainer. Your tour combines both outdoor and indoor venues. Did you at any point consider postponing, relocating or cancelling the indoor shows, or do you feel the restrictions you’ve implemented create a safe enough environment for the fans and the artists on stage?

Well I think it would be safest to play all outdoor shows, I agree with that. But I also think that the weather sucks right now. And it’s not supposed to suck right now. If this had happened 20 years ago, it would be much easier for us to play all of our shows outdoors, even on up into November or December. But the climate is different now than it was then. They couldn’t have Bonnaroo because of the weather. It didn’t have anything to do with COVID. I would love to be able to book all the shows outside, but that’s not going to meet my bottom line, psychologically or financially, because we’re gonna have to stop doing that pretty soon. And a good number of the shows that webook will be canceled because of the weather because we keep having storms. It’s flooding in Pennsylvania and New York. That’s not something that typically happens this time of year.

You said playing on the show “Billions” was the first time you’d played indoors in a year. That is a pretty unique way to do it, but did the setting for the return matter? Was playing in front of people indoors something you’d planned in your head before it actually happened

Not really, no. I had to play the same song like 15 times because were making a TV show, but once I was in there playing it did occur to me how much I love playing inside. It just sounds different. The lights are always good. There’s something about it. I think I prefer playing indoors all else being equal just because it is, for lack of a better term, more intimate. There aren’t as many distractions. Why look at the guy on stage when you can look at the sky, you know?

When I saw you in Tuscaloosa back in 2015, you said to play a show back home means even more. Why is performing in Alabama important to you?

Now it’s important because I didn’t know if I was going to get to do it or not. I didn’t know if the venues in Alabama were going to go along with the COVID restrictions, so I’m very pleasantly surprised and proud in this particular instance, because that didn’t happen in Mississippi and in one of our Tennessee and Texas venues. So that made me real happy. But also I get to see a lot of people from home. When we played in Montgomery over the weekend, Rob Aldridge opened for us. He’s from North Alabama. I’ve known him and his band for a long time. Rob Malone was playing guitar with him, and Rob was the guy who was in the Drive-By Truckers before I was. I don’t get to see hose folks very often, so it was really nice. Mike Cooley’s wife and son came to the show in Montgomery, and we hung out. They’re going to come see us in Birmingham also. It makes me feel like I get to be closer to people who I haven’t seen in a good long time.

You recently joked that one way to slow the spread of COVID is for fans to stop yelling out requests. How mapped out are your set lists? Are you pretty stringent with sticking to the plan, or is there ever room or an urge to honor those folks screaming “Play ‘Outfit!’” from the front row?

You know, I don’t really listen to the folks who are yelling it in the audience. But I do change things sometimes. I added a song into the set the other night. Last tour I had my dad with me, so I played “Outfit” almost every night just because he was there. Sometimes I’ll change it at the last second, but for the most part it’s pretty solid because we have a big lighting rig and I have a bunch of guitars. I like to play the right guitar for the right song, so it throws a bunch of people off if I add another song to the set list. I’ll look on Twitter, though, before the show and see if there’s something that somebody wants to hear and they have a good reason for it, then usually I’ll put that in the set list for that night. But the deadline on that is usually two hours before the show because that’s when I turn the set list in.

Is there anything you missed about performing but you didn’t know it? Maybe something you took for granted until you hit the road and played for people again?

That’s a good question. Most of it, I very actively thought about while I was sitting at home for a year. Most of it, I knew what I was missing. Let’s see. Something that I didn’t realize. You know, OK, I missed opening acts. I missed going out and standing in the wings and watching the opener. And that’s something I didn’t really think about while I was stuck at home. I was thinking about being on stage with my band. But we had Brittney Spencer open quite a few shows, and we had Rob Aldridge this past weekend. I walk out into the wings with my daughter, who’s been on the road with me quite a bit lately, and we watch the set, and that’s a whole lot of fun. And it’s also a really good way to get comfortable with the room and sort of loosened up psychologically for your own set. So I miss that. That one snuck up on me.

Can I ask you about the principle of process? Last year you said you were trying to stay in the moment and live one day at a time during the pandemic, that it turned out that was a good way to live through something like COVID. Did that hold true, and how does the principle of process change between being cooped up at home during isolation and getting back out on the road where you would often yearn to be?

It doesn’t change. For me, it’s the way. Staying in the moment. When I was in rehab, they would say keep your head and your ass in the same place. But yeah, that’s how you increase your own awareness. And when you increase your awareness of what’s going on around you, usually you increase your gratitude. Because if you’re in the moment and you’re aware, then you realize how much you have to be grateful for. It’s hard to get too far down and too awfully depressed when you spend all your time being grateful for the things that are around you in the moment, at least from my own personal experience.
I’m not a depressive person, but I certainly can get very sad. I’m sure anybody that’s heard my music would know that. A good way to keep myself from just being pulled down with the tide with all the dark, sad stuff that’s happening in the world right now is just be where I am and be aware. And out of that comes this sort of natural appreciation for it. Like right now, I’ve got hummingbirds everywhere. I’m sitting on my porch, and there are multiple hummingbirds, and they’re zooming past my face really, really fast. And I could be thinking about what I have to do after this interview, but really I’m thinking about thesehummingbirds. And to get to sit and watch this is a pretty incredible thing.

More than a year ago, you said you thought it might be about a year or so until you started writing music about that particular time, but in the meantime you were just trying to get through it. Some felt “Reunions” was perhaps a bit prescient in reflecting similar thoughts and anxieties many felt during the pandemic, That obviously wasn’t your intention because you didn’t know a pandemic was coming, but do you see or hear the album any differently through a lens of COVID at all, and have you entered that songwriting space more than a year later like you predicted?

Yeah I have started writing some new songs, and a lot of them have to do with where I was for the last year-and-a-half because I’m always documenting my life. As for the songs on “Reunions,” I think performing them live in front of people gives them a little bit of a different context now, certainly the title of the album but also a lot of those themes. Originally it was about reuniting with your past and with the ghosts of people you used to know and people you used to be, and clearly that translates into our current situation in a whole lot of ways. But I think we knew there was something coming. The collective unconscious knew that something was going to happen because I felt like we were reaching this fever pitch. We didn’t know it was going to be this,but something was up. And still, something is coming. Something related to either the climate or the political climate.
We’re in a period of very big change, and I think that manifests itself in some really difficult ways. So the songs that you write now, they might be very specifically about the time that you spent in your house during the pandemic. But five years from now, they’re also going to be about whatever crazy, crazy s--t we’re dealing with five years from now. That’s just the way it works when you’re in this long-term period of change and you’re documenting it as an artist. It winds up lining up. On “Hope the High Road,” I wrote that line that, “Last year was a son of a bitch,” and dammit if it doesn’t get more true every single year. Every single time I sing it, it’s truer than it was the year that I wrote it.

You are an artist who has long had a reputation for making art that connects with the common man or woman, telling stories and exploring themes that clearly mean a lot to your audience in the South, more specifically your home state. We’ve tried to understand why Alabama has been so stubborn about getting vaccinated, with so many pointing out that people in Alabama don’t like being told what to do. Do you think that’s true, and what do you think it will take to change the hearts of people here to help bring this to an end?

Well I don’t think anybody likes being told what to do. I don’t think that’s something that’s necessarily a bigger deal in Alabama than it is anywhere else. A lot of the problem comes back to how we’re educated, and critical thinking skills are developed through education. The education system in the South has been neglected for a long time, and now we’re sort of seeing the effects of that. If the population is undereducated, it’s really hard to figure out who to trust. So you can’t necessarily blame it on the individuals, not entirely. But I think the system that’s been in place when it comes to educating children in America has been lagging behind everywhere, but especially some of the more rural areas.And that’s not just something that applies to Alabama or the South, but I think the rural areas all over the country because nobody’s out there watching. Nobody sees what you’re teaching your kids and how you’re teaching you’re kids, and a lot of those folks get left behind. It might not become obvious when you’re 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9-years-old and they’re hanging around with a bunch of people who are their equals. But when they get to adulthood and it’s time to take a vaccine and they don’t know who to trust, then it becomes obvious that their critical thinking skills aren’t necessarily what they should be. I grew up in a public school system in North Alabama. I was lucky enough to have people in my family and certain teachers and people around me who wentabove and beyond what the state required of them. So I got very fortunate in that way. But I think at the heart of it all is justeducating people more, doing a better job of teaching our kids how to think critically. And that’s it, that’s all of it to me.

Finally and maybe most importantly...does Alabama repeat this year in football?

Yeah. Yeah, they are. They definitely are. That’s the easiest question you’ve asked me the whole time. That man, Bryce Young...he’s just not concerned. It’s amazing. It looks like he’s playing a pick-up game with his buddies. And the offensive line is really good, and he’s got a lot of time to make decisions. And I just don’t think anybody’s going to be able to stop him. And even if he doesn’t stay healthy, if he gets hurt, they’ve got Bear
Bryant’s grandson back there? It’s gonna be fine, yeah.

from https://www.al.com/life/2021/09/jason-isbell-on-the-road-hummingbirds-fan-requests-and-the-need-for-critical-thinking-in-america.html

October 15, 2021---Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit’s new benefit album, Georgia Blue, is out today with all proceeds supporting three non-profit organizations: Black Voters Matter, Fair Fight and Georgia STAND-UP.
GEORGIA BLUE TRACK LIST

1. “Nightswimming” feat. Béla Fleck and Chris Thile (originally performed by R.E.M.)
2. “Honeysuckle Blue” feat. Sadler Vaden (originally performed by Drivin’ N’ Cryin’)
3. “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” feat. Brittney Spencer (originally performed by
James Brown)
4. “Cross Bones Style” feat. Amanda Shires (originally performed by Cat Power)
5. “The Truth” feat. Adia Victoria (originally performed by Precious Bryant)
6. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” (originally performed by Otis Redding)
7. “Sometimes Salvation” feat. Steve Gorman (originally performed by The Black Crowes)
8. “Kid Fears” feat. Julien Baker and Brandi Carlile (originally performed by Indigo Girls)
9. “Reverse” (originally performed by Now It’s Overhead)
10. “Midnight Train To Georgia” feat. Brittney Spencer and John Paul White (originally performed by Gladys Knight & The Pips)
11. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” feat. Peter Levin (originally performed by The Allman
Brothers Band)
12. “I’m Through” (originally performed by Vic Chesnutt)
13. “Driver 8” feat. John Paul White (originally performed by R.E.M.)
JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
BOLD on-sale next Friday, October 22 at 10:00am local time
October 15—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium^ (SOLD OUT)
October 16—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium§ (SOLD OUT)
October 17—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium° (SOLD OUT)
October 19—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium%
October 20—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium**
October 22—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium†† (SOLD OUT)
October 23—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium+ (SOLD OUT)
October 24—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium‡‡
November 19—Port Chester, NY—The Capitol Theatre‡
November 26—Durham, NC—Durham Performing Arts Center§§
November 27—Durham, NC—Durham Performing Arts Center§§
November 28—Greenville, SC—The Peace Center‡
November 30—St. Louis, MO—Stifel Theatre++
December 1—Minneapolis, MN—The Armory++
December 2—Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater++
December 4—East Moline, IL—The Rust Belt++
December 5—Owensboro, KY—Owensboro Sportscenter‡
December 7—Moon, PA—UPMC Events Center++
December 8—Akron, OH—Akron Civic Theatre##
December 10—Cincinnati, OH—Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center^^
December 11—Cincinnati, OH—Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center^^
December 12—Pikeville, KY—Appalachian Wireless Arena°°
December 16—Atlanta, GA—The Tabernacle§
December 17—Atlanta, GA—The Tabernacle%%
December 18—Atlanta, GA—The Tabernacle‡
December 19—Atlanta, GA—The Tabernacle°°
January 8—Knoxville, TN—Tennessee Theatre*
January 9—Knoxville, TN—Tennessee Theatre*
January 11—Asheville, NC—Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah’s
Cherokee Center*
January 12—Asheville, NC—Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah’s
Cherokee Center*
January 14—Louisville, KY—Louisville Palace Theatre*
January 15—Louisville, KY—Louisville Palace Theatre*
January 16—Columbus, OH—Palace Theatre*
January 19—Wilmington, NC—Wilson Center*
January 21—Charlotte, NC—Ovens Auditorium*
January 22—Charlotte, NC—Ovens Auditorium*
January 23—Augusta, GA—Bell Auditorium*
February 22—Los Angeles, CA—The Orpheum Theatre~
February 24—San Francisco, CA—The Warfield Theatre~
February 25—San Francisco, CA—The Warfield Theatre~
February 26—Santa Barbara, CA—The Arlington Theatre~
March 1—Vancouver, Canada—The Orpheum~
March 2—Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre~
March 3—Bellingham, WA—Mount Baker Theatre~
March 4—Portland, OR—Keller Auditorium~
March 6—Las Vegas, NV—The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas~
June 18—Williamsburg, VA—Williamsburg Live at DeWitt Museum
August 26-28—Martha’s Vineyard, MA—Beach Road Weekend
‡with special guest S.G. Goodman
§with special guest Brittney Spencer
+with special guest Joy Oladokun
^with special guest Amanda Shires
°with special guest Mickey Guyton
%with special guest Amythyst Kiah
**with special guest Shemekia Copeland
††with special guest Allison Russell
‡‡with special guest Adia Victoria
§§with special guest Hiss Golden Messenger
++with special guest Strand of Oaks
##with special guest Molly Tuttle
^^with special guest Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
°°with special guest Morgan Wade
%%with special guest Gabe Lee
*with special guest Adia Victoria
~with special guest Shawn Colvin

There's a great story in the new Truckers book about how Mike Cooley apparently sleeps like the dead, so one day (back when they were still camping on floors) Isbell pushed him over to block the draft coming in from under a door.

~with special guest Shawn Colvin

good of him to clearly delineate the shows to skip like this

Not sure how much replay value this record will have for me, but the Now It’s Overhead cover was certainly unexpected.

I saw Shawn Colvin with Steve Earle a few years back. I don't much about her beyond her hit, but she was pretty good.

Oh, and fwiw, I think Andy LeMaster from Now It's Overhead produced or mixed the first two Truckers albums.

The Colvin & Earle album was pretty good; they could both use the help (him vocally, her interest-wise)

I sang a Boston Holiday Pops concert where Colvin was the featured performer and she is, hands down, the most unpleasant musician I've ever shared a stage with

Woof. That must be saying something!

:(

Sorry to hear that. On the other hand that Colvin/Earle collabo was really good. I was obsessed with their version of “You Were on My Mind” for a while.

yeah i loved their concert & that whole album

xpost Yeah, "You Were On My Mind" is always the one I think of from that collab! Wiki sez:
You Were on My Mind is the first studio album by the folk band We Five which was released in 1965.

The title track hit #1 on the adult contemporary chart and #3 on The Billboard Hot 100.[1] The album landed on the Billboard 200, reaching #32.[2] The single also marked a musical transition because the single was one of the first to feature drums and the electric guitar on a folk composition.[3] However, quoted reviews for this and the follow-up album indicate their presentation was mostly pretty, um, cautious for that era; track lists are mostly a little more folk-rock or folk-pop, a whole lotta already middle-aged Broadway and lounge standards.

Still, they hit it out of the park once, and turns out Sylvia Fricker, of Ian and Sylvia for a while, wrote "YWOMM"!--her first song, says her own wiki, and she's 81; Since 1993, she has been a member of the all-female folk group Quartette.[2][3]

Isbell and Shires should do that for Canada Blue when they have to flee up yonder.

Apparently Sylvia wrote that in the bathtub which is the only place in her apartment she could hide from the cockroaches.

Good one for Hints From Heloise.

Ha! A tip of the Hatlo hat.

This album feels like one of those Oxford American comps, but done as covers. Really, really enjoyed listening to this on a drive today.

I had vinyl copy of the first We Five album; there's one of those 'facts about the band' notes under their photos on the back, the most memorable of which is the singer likes "Chinese food and Freedom".

There is a We Five memoir out there!

With a forward by Sylvia Tyson!

Still into this a week later. 12 minutes of “In Memory or Elizabeth Reed”!

Oh yeah----my comments from last year's Nashville Scene ballot:
Jason Isbell, Reunions:

Under pressure of atmosphere, memories, incl. of present and future, spooky and urgent----music more varied after "Running With Our Eyes Closed," calmer but still insidious, words finding their way in---"St. Peter's Autograph,", hmmm--but I get some of 'em right away, esp the one about sober life incl. dreams about drinking, a couple nights a week now, like, "I had one glass of wine, woke up feelin' fine,and that's how I knew it was a dream," but some are rougher, like the even realer-seeming dream of calling in sick to treat yourself down town--you deserve it, self, you been real good for so long---"It gets easier, but never easy, " why have I never heard a song about this must-be-fairly-common experience before? So far, Reunions seems like one of his most sustained achievements in quite a while:

https://jasonisbell.bandcamp.com/album/reunions

12 minutes of “In Memory or Elizabeth Reed”!

this must have been tremendous fun for them

i really love his version of the Black Crowes “Sometmes Salvation” on the new Georgia Blue record. Haven’t heard the original in years, enjoyed hearing Isbell sing in that full-voiced Robinson style

otm

it’s… honestly better than the original

listening to the Redding cover I’m like damn this guy coulda gone deep on The Voice lol

i didnt like the otis cover but he does sing it well

oh and i loooooved the Drivin & Cryin cover

100

re what I said a few days ago about "It gets easier, but never easy," and slipperiness of sober living, just now recalled that this has been a theme emerging in various ways ever since he cleaned up, as I commented on in a paste way upthread:
From Rolling Country, my initial impressions:

Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free: doesn't travel with the more sustained undertone of excitement found in Southeastern---recorded sober, apparently!---but "Are you takin' the grown-up dose?" is still the question, or one of 'em, and it's often remarkable what can sprout from dry, quiet starting over, especially when the past gets out of bed and comes cruising through one's present-day/night of carefully worked out details, brushing them just a hair or three from conventional alignment. Or not, in which case it's conspicuous by etc., but always the singer's cue.
"Children of Children" and "24 Frames" will be the relatively big (npr) radio cuts, if any are, but most tunes as well as words tend to take fetching turns.
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/08/420588068/first-listen-jason-isbell-something-more-than-free

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:38 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not to say this 'un doesn't *also* sound like it was written and recorded sober---it does, and it also sounds like that's what it's about: dealing with the unfiltered, or differently filtered---but Southeastern seemed like more of an adventure.

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:42 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Maybe it's just subtle for me---diggin it tho!

― dow, Monday, July 13, 2015 5:51 PM (six years ago)

From mt year-end blog round-up, still in the works:

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Georgia Blue: Having broken on through to majority and electoral votes for the Democratic President and Senators, while Mr T tried to shake down his fellow Reds on the state level, where future counts will now have to be approved by partisan review, Georgia is now precariously Blue in more ways than one. So, good choice of R.E.M. covers at the shadowy borderlines, and plenty of rugged individuals running in the blue moonlight between. Amanda Shires cross-blows my mind with prog flight of Cat Power’s “Cross Bones Style,” ditto Jason & 400 on their blast of “Reverse” (must look up Now It’s Overhead), Steve Gorman-led “Sometimes Salvation” is fearless pushback query (forgot the Black Crowes had it in ‘em), Julien Baker and Brandi Carlile duet on the Indigo Girls’ “Kid Fears,” while JI does right by “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”(following Otis Redding!? That’s tough). He and the Unit and Pete Levin pay their respects to “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” although I’d have rather heard him on a Gregg ballad, but then, vocal of his life on Vic Chesnutt’s gauntlet-and-chains-off “I’m THROUGH.” A few others may take some warming up to, but this was musically and otherwise worth my bucks (as Xgau sez, “proceeds [are] divided among Black Voters Matter, Stacey Abrams’s Fair Fight outfit, and Georgia’s STAND-UP [Strategic Alliance for New Directions and Unified Policies]).”

(oops, one too many "now"s, make that "are strongly sympathetic to the Indigo Girls' 'Kid Fears' "--still in the works, yeah, but pretty much it otherwise, I hope)

it's a pretty good album i think!

this guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spP3U0dRZYg

awesome cover album!

Had Hearted that covers album but then forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder.

When you know a dude's success has left him satisfied with everything he already has. Too few people with "fuck you" money ever take advantage of the position they're in.

This is good though! I don’t understand why y’all assume all artists want the same thing. I am literally trying to run you off, Randal. Please don’t purchase my product. https://t.co/eWQHOz1J93

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) March 8, 2022

so good

Man's got "$500k Les Paul" money, he doesn't need to beg for anyone's patronage these days.

Is he happy for being named "Randal," that's what I wonder.

Randal *Sparks*, even, like a Flannery O'Connor creation.

FWIW if you're in NYC, Jason Isbell tickets are four for $80 right now on Ticketmaster. Part of the "Summer's Live 4 Pack" deal. (Shows are on Labor Day weekend FWIW.)

Man's got "$500k Les Paul" money, he doesn't need to beg for anyone's patronage these days.

yes, truly the dream of every artist to be able to insult and alienate their fans with impunity while playing an expensive guitar

rmde

Not having to listen to idiots who tell you to shut up and sing does, in fact, sound like the dream of every artist.

Russian government officials requested that a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year be added to the US’ proposed swap of a notorious arms dealer for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.

...The request was seen as problematic for several reasons, the sources told CNN, among them that Krasikov remains in German custody. As such, and because the request was not communicated formally but rather through the FSB backchannel, the US government did not view it as a legitimate counter to the US’ offer which was first revealed by CNN on Wednesday.
But underscoring how determined the Biden administration has been to get Griner and Whelan back to the US, US officials did make quiet inquiries to the Germans about whether they might be willing to include Krasikov in the trade, a senior German government source told CNN. A US official characterized the outreach as a status check on Krasikov.

The conversations were never elevated to the top levels of the German government and including Krasikov in a potential trade has not been seriously considered, the German source said. But the previously unreported discussions reveal that Russian officials have at least somewhat engaged with the US’ proposal.

...Asked for comment, a State Department official told CNN that “In order to preserve the best opportunity for a successful outcome, we’re not going to comment publicly on any speculation.”

...Multiple sources told CNN that even if it is not Krasikov, the Russians will likely demand two prisoners be released in exchange for Griner and Whelan. Russian government officials have indicated publicly in recent weeks that they want to see the release of Bout and Roman Seleznev, a convicted hacker currently serving a 27-year sentence in the US.

Shit, wrong thread, sorry!

is it?

"Russia Also Demands 'Jason Isbell & His 500K Les Paul'"

"In Russia, BLUES DRESS YOU!"

The only Amanda Shires thread we have is pretty sparse and dedicated to her prior album, so I'll just drop in here to say the new one out today is pretty fire—best thing she's made yet as a solo artist.

I was bummed to have missed the Highwomen (with Isbell on hand) as one of the awesome opening acts (along with Mavis Staples and the Dirty Knobs) for Chris Stapleton last week.

The Shires album is terrific.

"Russia Also Demands 'Jason Isbell & His 500K Les Paul'"

xpost You're not kidding, it's really good. I have no idea what her profile is, but the idea that Kacey Musgraves (who I like) filled arenas partly behind an album as boring as her last makes me hopeful this one will find its audience.

Marvelous album.

Did someone say “boring?”

who?

The idea that Kacey Musgraves (who I like) filled arenas partly behind an album as boring as her last Liked some of each of Musgraves' offerings until The Golden Hour, which is where I sleptwalked off the bus. Liked some of all of Shires' previous albums, without listening very closely---her thin voice tends to vague me out---though noted that she was rocking more, even kinda acid-rocking, on most recent previous. Will check this one out for sure, and try to pay more attention.

She and Natalie Hemby are the only two Highwomen who came away from that 2019 album still riding the same kind of energy with their next releases. Brandi and Maren went other directions.

boo on you. i love the most recent Maren album!

I actually do too! More than Brandi's newest, even. But it's still squarely in the Maren universe and not so much the Highwomen one.

Also, holy heck, the vinyl is mad cheap at Walmart right now ($8.86): https://www.walmart.com/ip/Morris-Maren-Humble-Quest-Vinyl/171108998?athbdg=L1100

I dont think Maren has ever really been in Highwomen ouevre aside from being in the irl Highwomen tho - she’s always been much more pop leaning

Yeah, I still don't like either of her first two albums, but then a couple her songs became consistent favorites of mine on the Highwomen album, and I think liking those made me more open to what's going on with Humble Quest. It's legit great.

it really is!

I loved the debut, aside from the track about "the church of country music," also enjoy several tracks on the second album and her contributions to the Highwomen album (although that one seemed like it might be a case of too many cooks spoil the broth). When she's on it, she's the or a leading dynamo of today's youngblood country pop, also personal about it, pushing back against anti-vax/mask flak when she feels so inclined. Still need to check Humble Quest.

The Shires album is her best.

Really good Shires interview (w music); she's up front about how much of the new one came from marital trouble, also some family history, incl. what she found out a couple years ago---might be more writing coming from how that fits and is still speculative, to a degree (suitable for story-song): https://www.npr.org/2022/09/07/1121465481/amanda-shires-highwomen-fiddle-jason-isbell-take-it-like-a-man

Iirc Isbell talked a bit about possibly the same problems, maybe from a different perspective, when he was promoting his most recent record, too. Like this one:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/arts/music/jason-isbell-reunions.html
(Headline "Jason Isbell, Self-Doubt and the Album That Tested His Marriage.")

He pushed everyone away — including his wife.

“He was impossible,” Shires said. “It was like he wanted help but didn’t want help.” Tension between the two simmered. At one point, recording at the legendary RCA Studio A in Nashville with his longtime producer, Dave Cobb, Isbell complained that Shires’s fiddle was too loud. “I was like, ‘Holy Christ! It’s acoustic. I can’t make it any quieter,’” she said.

The situation escalated, and Shires felt belittled. “I want him to make the best art he can but not at the expense of making me feel less,” she said. She decided to move into a hotel. “I needed space because lines were getting crossed,” she said.

“There is a constant progression for me to try to take my own experience out of the work,” Isbell said. “It’s what separates pros from beginners.”

Isbell recognized his marriage was in trouble but remained single-mindedly focused on the album. After 10 days at Nashville’s Thompson Hotel, Shires returned home, but hostilities lingered. “At one point, I said, ‘It’d be easier if somebody had cheated,’” said Isbell. “Then we could say, ‘You did this,’ or ‘I did this, and ‘Somebody needs to be real sorry.’ But it was more like, ‘We don’t know each other right now. We’re not able to speak the same language.’”

These weren’t splashy tabloid problems, they were the kinds of nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities that chip away at many marriages. “I just had faith that eventually he’d come to the realization that as good of a father and a person as he is, even not drinking, you can still inflict harm onto people,” said Shires. As Isbell acknowledged, “It took a couple months until I wrapped my head all the way around it.”

I appreciate it stressing that they were "the kinds of nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities that chip away at many marriages," which is appropriately enough to Isbell a pretty literary way to put it. He seems like a pretty compulsively honest guy, but the article notes that he can also be hard to read. It also notes that none of the domestic stuff made it into his record, though clearly that wasn't the case for Shires.

Yeah, reading that reminded me of her use of "nebulous" on Fresh Air---sounds like they were compatibly incompatible, as married writers up in the air, desperadoes under the eaves etc.:

SHIRES: So I thought if I could write a song with my feelings in it, that it might bring him around to the walls that aren't really walls that we put ourselves behind sometimes. And in this certain period of time, there was a lot. And then coupled with the pandemic and all that, he was on self-preservation mode, and I was too. But anyway - so I went and I sat down in my barn of internal wandering. And this is after some kind of nebulous argument. And I wrote "Fault Lines" and then I texted it to him, just like you'd imagine. I said, I just wrote this song. And then in my mind I thought, well, if he couldn't hear the frequency of my voice before, maybe he could hear it through music, you know? And one day, we wound up in the studio, and we cut the song. And after we recorded it, he said, that's a really good song. And I said, that's all you have to say?

(LAUGHTER)

Which relates to:

“There is a constant progression for me to try to take my own experience out of the work,” Isbell said. “It’s what separates pros from beginners.”

Just saw both of his shows here. He's a great singer-songwriter, of course, and a great guitar player, but boy is his band good, too. They ended with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh, Well" that more than did it justice. Also did a couple of his Truckers song, and their version of "Never Gonna Change" was absolutely on fire. Made me miss the presence of his songs in Truckers sets, but ... oh, well.

yeah otm his band is so awesome

I remember when this all came together on twitter, Paula mentioning in an interview that she was really into Isbell and John Paul White, Isbell reading and then retweeting it and roping JPW into the mix. Can't find the original series of tweets now, but it was sometime early in the pandemic. Anyway, here's the finished product and it's pretty nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sgCPuY1bik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op-EEnArgqc

(New album imminent, too.)

Is he wearing a Fever Ray t-shirt? If so, respect

I dreaded reading this, but couldn't look away

Past Drinking and Near Divorce: 8 Revelations in Jason Isbell’s New HBO Documentary
Jason Isbell: Running with Our Eyes Closed offers an unflinching look at the intersection of the songwriter's personal and creative lives

Yeah.

My marriage left me with plenty of heavy trauma that I’m still working through after all these years and I’ll not be watching the doc anytime soon. I’m sure it’s truly great and poignant and inspiring and I genuinely wish everyone well

— Shonna Tucker (@ShonnaTucker) April 7, 2023

For the record, I knew nothing of this movie until I saw the trailer for it last week here on Twitter. I know it’s not about me, but a heads up would’ve been nice. I appreciate all of your love and support so much ♥️ Now back to donkey tweets! https://t.co/W2PjkoukGs

— Shonna Tucker (@ShonnaTucker) April 8, 2023

I haven't had a chance to see the doc yet, does it address him and her? It's a bit surprising she wasn't told it was on its way, because I thought they were still friends. Also maybe surprised that Sam Jones didn't reach out to her for an interview at all, she's part of the story and thematically relevant, as I understand it.

it does address their marriage, but not for v long and not in-depth

they don’t talk in depth about the marriage but what they do say makes it clear they went through some dark shit & i think it does an ok job of admitting that it happened without speaking for her too much if that makes sense

but the stuff about his & amanda’s early relationship gets v dark. i was kinda surprised they went there

the doc includes interviews w both of his parents, patterson hood, 400 unit (his band) and his manager, and that’s it. the circle is pretty smallish

I've known his manager for a long time, but haven't been in contact. I should shoot her a line!

Jason I love you but mounting a 4038 ribbon mic sideways like that means the ribbon is under lateral stress, likely to distend in the magnetic gap, potentially rubbing against the armature but certainly not operating in its linear range. Please keep ribbons in the vertical plane. https://t.co/LJDseAkwXF

— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) April 8, 2023

lool

lol someone in that thread asks rhetorically, "aren't we fans of using equipment wrong to get interesting results?" And Albini's one word response is "no."

we watched the documentary last night

i like that the documentary does ultimately seem to represent Isbell & Shires as they are, which is unpretentious & frank

can’t fathom what it must be like for married musicians to record together & share a life. the tense moments in the studio shown in the documentary just made me think of how mr veg & i get with each other but multiplying it out with fame livelihood creativity expectation etc like i would last maybe 4 hours at best

i have always been a fan of Shires, seen her solo a couple of times, think the world of her music as an artist is her own right - i already had an inkling of her strength but damn the documentary really underscores her strength & emotional intelligence.

in conversation she distinguishes between Jason and addiction as two separate forces. that made me love her a lot because obviously that is a level of understanding that is not acquired easily & in her case obviously painfully

they don’t discuss him at all but for me i couldn’t shake the spectre Justin Townes Earle sort of hanging in the background of both of them during the doc when they spoke about the early days of their relationship & the band before Southeastern.

Shires' album last year was fantastic, loved it.

yes! it is fantastic

and i don’t think i will hear “Cover Me Up” the same way again after she talks about it in the doc

they don’t discuss him at all but for me i couldn’t shake the spectre Justin Townes Earle sort of hanging in the background of both of them during the doc when they spoke about the early days of their relationship & the band before Southeastern.

Justin's albums eventually became so weary, so fragile, though still valid/listenable in their own scary terms--but penultimate releases pushed pathos, abjection past that, 'til I was like, "I can't review this, I'm not his shrink!" (This has happened with other artists.) Then he rallied, and the finale was as strong as anything from his first decade, even stronger, building in part on the best bits, the things he'd learned while making even the seemingly weakest albums: The Saint of Lost Causes shines on.

It's tough, they clearly have a lot of love and respect for each other but they also seem to put a whole lot of burden on each other as well. Jason's big realization in the documentary is that he's been forcing Amanda to carry around all the baggage of having "saved" him and robbing her of the ability to have her own story because she's already so tied up with his. At the same time, I had a hard time figuring out exactly WHAT they were fighting so much about. For something that purported to show a very warts-and-all picture of their lives, I guess they must have wanted to keep some things behind closed doors because otherwise I don't recall the friction being about more than Jason getting grumpy and anxious and withdrawn when he was making an album?

Also see upthread re an NYTimes article, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/arts/music/jason-isbell-reunions.html
(Headline "Jason Isbell, Self-Doubt and the Album That Tested His Marriage.") and her Fresh Air interview, still in FA archive:

SHIRES: So I thought if I could write a song with my feelings in it, that it might bring him around to the walls that aren't really walls that we put ourselves behind sometimes. And in this certain period of time, there was a lot. And then coupled with the pandemic and all that, he was on self-preservation mode, and I was too. But anyway - so I went and I sat down in my barn of internal wandering. And this is after some kind of nebulous argument. And I wrote "Fault Lines" and then I texted it to him, just like you'd imagine. I said, I just wrote this song. And then in my mind I thought, well, if he couldn't hear the frequency of my voice before, maybe he could hear it through music, you know? And one day, we wound up in the studio, and we cut the song. And after we recorded it, he said, that's a really good song. And I said, that's all you have to say?
(LAUGHTER)

Which relates to:

“There is a constant progression for me to try to take my own experience out of the work,” Isbell said. “It’s what separates pros from beginners.”

I'm so glad this guy finally figured it all out, because the new one is another keeper.

i haven’t listened to it all yet but “When We Were Close” absolutely destroyed me,

That one is as good as any he did with the Truckers, and/or most Tom Petty songs. It's about Justin Townes Earle, right?

yep, also the song references Rex’s Blues, a Townes Van Zandt song, and also Texas Blues, a steve earle tribute to the townes song

they played together a lot in isbell’s “bad old days” - i think Super 8 Motel from Southeastern was referencing the an instance of the worst of those times iirc too?

amanda was very close to jTE too for a long time, she played with him a lot & that may be how him & jason met

but i think isbell had a lot of intense drinking drug partying associations w JTE that burned a lot more of his bridges with him -their friendship ended pretty abruptly & isbell hasn’t talked much about it

but i am speculating wildly idk for sure

and yeah - to me that track in particular sounds like it’s straight off his first solo album right down to the guitar solo

Iirc Isbell said JTE either bought or lent him the suit he wore at his wedding, so they must have been pretty close.

yep

listening to the album tonight & it’s maybe my new favorite

middle of the morning & cast iron skillet - he’s in peak form, jesus

shit, white beretta too
and miles

wowee wow

Reminds me---why did this have to wait for The Fine Print? Too blunt, mebbe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvjQFwxQHI4

"cast iron skillet," that's peak isbell right there. "when we were close" is devastating too, the guitar solo is short but possibly my favorite on the album. also love the two crazy horse jams that close out the record

Iirc Isbell said JTE either bought or lent him the suit he wore at his wedding, so they must have been pretty close.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, June 9, 2023 6:04 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Random fan story: about 13 or 14 years ago give or take some friends and I got tix to see Isbell and JTE (opening) at the Double Door (RIP), and on the day of the concert went to grab lunch. We were walking down Milwaukee past the venue and I casually ask one of them, "What time is the show tonight?," and Isbell sticks his head out of the back of his van next to me and yells, "Justin, the show's at 8 tonight, right?," and there's Justin on my right carrying an amp or something, "Yep." We said a quick thank you and shuffled on, then had a blast that night.

Isbell's become quite the legend in Americana, getting tweeted by Zach Bryan as his songwriting idol and the like; weird to remember that just a little over a decade ago he was doing miles and unloading his own gear with JTE.

I also love that he continues doubling down on actively chasing the bigots, homophobes and transphobes out of his audience. I know this isn't easy for every artist to do, but goddamn it gives me hope to see him not give one flying fuck about losing that kind of "fan".

yeah i love that too

One of the many things I love about Isbell is that, like the Truckers, he has put in the miles. He's played here everywhere from the Beat Kitchen to minor league fields. And yeah, he does not give a fuck about losing fans. Not that he seems to be doing so. Like Springsteen or Rage Against the Machine, clearly the assholes just hold their collective noses and grumble online.

I haven't listened to the last few albums all that much, but whenever one of his songs comes on WXPN I'm like "Holy shit."

If you check out his Twitter account, maybe yesterday he was answering fan questions more or less in real time about what equipment was used on each song. That dude has an incredible array of vintage apps and instruments, and unlike most collectors, I suspect, he knows exactly what to do with it all.

He posted a new Dumble on Instagram recently - no idea what those are going for these days but he's definitely living the middle-aged guitar nerd dream.

somebody should tell him about the ILX thread

Nah, he doesn't appear to own a single Jazzmaster or Jaguar.

To my ears he reminds me of John Mellencamp: "good" politics, excellent bandleader, tunes that clunk along in their sincerity. I like this album, but I can't imagine listening to "Save the World" again despite agreeing with every comma.

Coming from one of the biggest ILX Mellencamp boosters, that's high praise!

“save the world” is definitely the weakest track on here, his strengths lie in self-reflection and interpersonal things, his songs don’t have the same specificity when he turns his lens towards society

Good section of an interview I saw in Variety:

You have different kinds of songs on this record, as on all of them. There are kind of message songs that get at how we should behave, and taking responsibility for our actions. And then you have objective songs, like, OK, here’s what happens to people in life, without necessarily putting the value judgment on it.

JI: And the heavier the subject matter is, the more objective I tend to be. Because that makes it hard to argue, you know? Ultimately, I do have a point to make, and I don’t know if that is “This is what you should do or how you should behave,” but I think if anything, it is “There are consequences to our actions. There are not consequences to our thoughts or to our desires, but there are consequences to our actions. And you’re not your thoughts; you are your behavior. You’re not what you believe. Nobody cares what you believe. How you behave is all that really matters.”

Taking that into account, once you start writing about extremely emotional topics, like in “Save the World,” with that song… Because I’ve not been in a school shooting, I’m not gonna start writing about what it’s like to be in a mass shooting, or any sort of big violent event. But I always feel qualified to say “This is how I feel.” And if you stick to that — like in the song “White Man’s World” from a few records back —I’m not qualified to say “This is how you should feel,” but I can very easily say, “This is how I feel.”

“Save the World,” which touches on the school shootings, is something you’ve said was the hardest song on the album for you to write.

JI: Yeah, it was really difficult. I went through a couple different versions of that before I finally landed on the right one.

What made the difference in getting that song right?

JI: Detail. Usually that’s what it is. The more concrete details I put into a song, the better it is most of the time. Because when you get so angry and so worked up about something, you want to yell nonsense into the void — “This is bad, this is wrong.” But “I’m scared, I feel bad” doesn’t really work in the framework of a song, and what people need, I think — and what I need as a communicator — is to give concrete details. So I started thinking, “OK, what is it like to be in the grocery store with a kid and you hear a balloon pop and wonder for a second if something’s going to happen?” And, “What’s it like to send your kid off to school knowing that you can’t be there to protect him?” This idea of sending a child out into the world when our world is as dangerous as it is, how exactly does that feel? And how does that feeling manifest itself in your everyday life? And when I started getting more specific, the song got a lot better.

That’s a good example of a song that is topical and deals with stuff that matters to the world, but also ends up being kind of a personal relationship song. The feeling that comes across from the song is, “I don’t deal well with evil in the world, and I might crack up, so keep an eye on me, or I’ll keep an eye on you.”

JI: All these things are important because I love you — that’s really what it boils down to. These issues wouldn’t matter so much to us if we were all just wandering around in the world on our own and fending for ourselves. And sometimes the stress of the everyday world can lead people away from those kind of connections, because it’s safer and easier to make yourself less vulnerable as time goes on. The only way to really make yourself less vulnerable is to not love as many people, and that’s tough. I don’t want to live that way. I would rather be in a situation where I have a whole lot to lose. And that’s what the character in this song is talking about: He’s talking about how much he has to lose and why these things are so important to him.

But I always feel qualified to say “This is how I feel.” And if you stick to that — like in the song “White Man’s World” from a few records back —I’m not qualified to say “This is how you should feel,” but I can very easily say, “This is how I feel.”

Also, I like the character's POV in songs like "Sirens of the Ditch" and others on the album of that title---the waitress-actress who challenges Phil Spector, the scared politician who confides "The Devil is My Running Mate"(no shit), the personal experience of "Dress Blues:: hungover or anyway about to puke/dry heave at the funeral of a friend who died in a shit war, other songs on subsequent albums swirling through definable sense---a good range on this one, from my Scene ballot comments:

nder pressure of atmosphere, memories, incl. of present and future, spooky and urgent----music more varied after "Running With Our Eyes Closed," calmer but still insidious, words finding their way in---"St. Peter's Autograph,", hmmm--but I get some of 'em right away, esp the one about sober life incl. dreams about drinking, a couple nights a week now, like, "I had one glass of wine, woke up feelin' fine,and that's how I knew it was a dream," but some are rougher, like the even realer-seeming dream of calling in sick to treat yourself down town--you deserve it, self, you been real good for so long---"It gets easier, but never easy, "why have I never heard a song about this must-be-fairly-common experience before? So far, Reunions seems like one of his most sustained achievements in quite a while:

But yeah, the tracks can clunk along quite a bit, with his sonic basis in 70s-80s roots rock, though the words bring something more (in a show preview, I mentioned his "studies in Southern Rock and Southern Lit," and he's mentioned liking George Saunders).

middle of the morning seems to me to obliquely deal with the struggles of sobriety but couched in the day to day of married life; idk that for certain but it gives me that vibe

white berreta is so specific, like lasered in on the minute details; that one has stayed with me

Yes! That's what I had in mind, that he can create a vibe via dealing obliquely, and/or go to lasered in on the minute details thx

I believe Isbell got a scholarship to study creative writing at the University of Memphis. And I believe Amanda has a masters in creative writing. Good training!

I’ll make sure we get one for the Wolf Trap show and look into doing it everywhere https://t.co/vuw6Z4l6pb

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) June 13, 2023

Sitting near ASL interpreters at shows is one of my favorite experiences. The integration of both figurative and literal lyrical interpretation, conveyance of rhythm and dynamics, and just straight up dancing is incredible to watch.

i like "Save the World" ... this is a highly, highly relatable handful of lines, and sometimes that's all i need:

Something's changing inside my head
Something's drowning out the light
Swear you'll save the world when I lose my grip

ok it’s driving me crazy enough to take a momentary timeout from not posting: this song White Beretta is unbelievably reminiscent of Red Rag Top. obvs the [color/car] title and the subject matter (dude reflecting wistfully on a former partner’s long-ago abortion), but also—most strikingly to me—the central metaphor of the red light.

personally I prefer the ambivalence of the older song to the tragic air of the new one, but the new one is fine, too. they’re just so strikingly similar that I might feel obligated to mention it if I were him.

I'll be that guy I guess. I've been on board since decoration day but reunions and the new one just don't do a lot for me.

same, it's been downhill since Southeastern IMO. Good songs hear and there but the mid-tempo country rockiness is often plodding.

Thanks for recommending this album, I have a lot of 10-12yo guitar students strumming away at a bunch of these songs now. White beretta is a killer intro-to-acoustic-guitar song. King of Oklahoma really stands out on this album. Have a 12yo singing along to death wish while playing; a little off putting

great interview w Jason on yasi salek’s podcast today - freewheeling & very fun, lots of good stuff here

Today on 24 Question Party People I talk to @JasonIsbell about his gut health, The Cure, how hard it is to make a song that slaps, bangs AND makes someone cry, his nascent acting career, and whether or not I am a better podcaster than Bill Clinton:https://t.co/Kt6hB1Gnbj

— yasi salek (@yasisalek) July 11, 2023

Jason Isbell buried fudge round boy in such a Jason Isbell way. pic.twitter.com/qeO9EgD2ra

— Dave Guido (@Devoguido) October 10, 2023

Kudos to @JasonIsbell for using the right "wrong" guitar! Jason Isbell plays Johnny B. Goode at Michael J. Fox Foundation gig – and makes sure to choose the right guitar for the job https://t.co/rsSvplABdO

— Phil Peters (@faivy) November 15, 2023

Also, I believe Isbell finally got new teeth:

Finally I can tell you all- the teeth were in preparation for my role in Killers of The Flower Moon. I prepared for 40 years. These my real teeth pic.twitter.com/wEAUBfyrK7

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) November 9, 2023

Yeah, he went on to say they were affecting his breathing, etc. As a fellow bad teeth haver, I can confirm there are many side-effects to having a mouthful of junk.

Just now saw this New West sale through 27th---incl ltd. ed. color vinyl expanded Sirens, reg $32.00, now $19.20, with 4 bonus tracks, which I haven't heard (good?) I think there's a non-ltd., black vinyl expanded, but it's out of stock. As for this 'un:

12", 2-LP
The debut album from accomplished guitarist and songwriter
Jason Isbell, formerly of Drive-By Truckers (DBT), is reissued with 4 unreleased tracks from the original recording sessions. The addition of those 4 extra songs finds Sirens Of The Ditch clocking in at 15 total tracks.

Sirens Of The Ditch’s mystical quality can be partially attributed to the
FAME recording studio (Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, Otis Redding) in
Isbell’s hometown of Muscle Shoals, AL where the album was recorded.
Co-produced by Isbell and Patterson Hood (DBT), Sirens Of The Ditch features Isbell singing lead vocals and playing guitar throughout, joined by Shonna Tucker (Formerly of DBT) on Bass and Brad Morgan (DBT) on drums. Several musicians pop in for cameos including Spooner Oldham and David Hood (Patterson’s father) on “Down In A Hole”, John Neff (Formerly of DBT) on “Dress Blues” and Patterson himself guests on “Shotgun Wedding”.

TRACKLIST:

Side A -

Brand New Kind Of Actress
Down In A Hole
Try
Chicago Promenade
Side B -

Dress Blues
Grown
Hurricanes And Hand Grenades
In A Razor Town
Side C -

Shotgun Wedding
The Magician
The Devil Is My Running Mate
Side D -

Whisper*
Crystal Clear*
The Assassin*
Racetrack Romeo*
*Previously Unreleased

That's always been a fave, one of his most consistent. My review is copied here, because Voice links can get pretty wonky:
https://myvil.blogspot.com/2016/06/sirens-of-ditch.html

Don't really know why this is a video of a TV screen, and this clip could have been posted on a number of different threads, but I guess last night he sat in with Dinosaur Jr. for a cover of "Cortez the Killer:"

pic.twitter.com/x30d4xYsCG

— kyle (@kyle_matteson) December 7, 2023

His DBT songs are some of the best DBT songs, but his solo career leaves me cold. What exactly is a 'brand new kind of actress?'

I 100% agree with that assessment

I've only recently come around to him as a solo artist, tbh, despite being an OG DBT fan. But I've really grown to appreciate his taste, in terms of his songwriting (subject matter, attention to detail, lyrics) but also in terms of his playing/arranging, etc.

Proper YouTube of that "Cortez"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYDQtSD8XIw

Most of my neighborhood friends think this guy is the greatest living songwriter. I dunno. I heard "Volunteer" without knowing who it was, thought it was really, really good, listened to the rest of the album and . . . hmm. Too much of it sounds like a guy putting on a Southern suit. Maybe I need to give it more time.

I just wish he he sounded more like skynyrd but maybe that’s not fair

This guy played the Grand Ole Opry when he was 16. I think the Southern suit fits well.

He's never topped "Goddamn Lonely Love" and a couple other DBT tracks, but I recognize him as a force for good, particularly when he plays guitar on Amanda Shires' and her associates' songs.

Not necessarily saying it applies here, but there a number of southerners with deep bonafides who still come off like they're wearing the "Southern Suit"--it's just the beats they hit.

Southeastern is still great but I’ve never really gone back to the later solo albums after a listen or two. They just don’t sound that great, kind of midtempo and safe.

y’all are a bunch of grinches lol

personally i love his songwriting
& i think he’s only gotten better over the years, something like “Cast Iron Skillet” or “White Beretta” to me is proof of that.

Jason was a great addition to DBT back in the day but his solo career mostly feels like Music Your Boss Likes

yeah, Goddamn Lonely Love is great, but he has, imo, topped or equaled it several times now, which is just proof of how great he is.

Outfit (I guess this was before GLL, but it's still my favorite of his)
Dress Blues
Alabama Pines
Elephant
24 Frames
Speed Trap Town
Cumberland Gap
If We Were Vampires
Cast Iron Skillet
When We Were Close

I mean, I'm a bit bored with Jason, too, and I am a truly staunch believer that art isn't objectively good or bad, but a bunch of those are about as close to objectively great as it gets. I don't know how you can listen to those and not believe this dude isn't firmly at the very top songwriting tier.

With that said, his albums *have* been a bit too midtempo and Music Your Boss Likes for a decade, though I really like The Nashville Sound and Weathervanes is better than I expected it to be. Something More Than Free and Reunions are snoozers, though. Again, imo.

"Relatively Easy" and "It Gets Easier" also work.

does this guy hold the distinction of being the only artist liked by both your boss and ilm?

I listened to Alpines list and it was good ! Thanks

I just love how thoughtful he is, as a person and as a writer. He's one of those songwriters that worships but doesn't really romanticize the craft. He doesn't boast of songs coming to him out of the blue, he talks about how much work it takes to write a good song, how many drafts, how many revisions, how many tweaks and changes to get them where they need to be. I think, possibly, that can lead to a deceptively subdued outcome, since everything has been so worked out and worked over, but the lyrics are always on point and they tear it up live, which implies he understands his records are their own thing. Unlike the Truckers, who are functionally the same live as they are on record, and are about as unfussy as it gets in both situations. (Seeing Hood down the street solo tonight and tomorrow!)

Anyway, a good way to sum up Isbell is that he's said his favorite album is the Cure's "Disintegration," and per that Dino Jr. performance, he boasted that he also sat in with the Punch Brothers earlier that night. I don't hear most of the music he's praised over the years in his own music, but I think he's just very comfortable in his lane and knows not to go over the line. Again, that can give the illusion of playing it safe, but then you look at the subject matter he's writing about and there's really nothing safe about that.

great post josh - otm

I would add that I respect the hell out of him and am secretly jealous as well. We're about the same age, lived in Athens at the same time, even had a friend or two in common, but he's the one jamming with my childhood guitar hero and making music. meanwhile no one wants to listen to my sad country songs :/

we do, Heez! are they online somewhere?

ha, sure but i should say they never get out of draft form which may be my reason for lagging behind Isbell. here's one.

that doesn't help either. here

back to isbell, it's not surprising at all that a guy in his early 20s who joined the most notorious hard partying band alive had issues with drinking. in fact i hope patterson and cooley are living much healthier lives. i haven't seen them in a bit, are they still passing a bottle of whiskey around the stage every show?

no they haven’t done that in a good while, i think once Shonna left the band they calmed down somewhat in that regard at least

I know Shonna's predecessor Earl Hicks left due to too much partying. And I know Cooley cut down (out?) the drinking when it got to be a problem, and/or when he became a dad. It's maybe no coincidence that the band lineup has remained stable since everyone more or less got cleaned up.

Isbell ... it's amazing how young the guy was when he joined. It's not quite Tommy Stinson, but iirc he was 22 when he joined the band (Hood is 15 years older than him, Cooley 13 years older). I think Isbell said he took his first ever flight the day after he joined the band, on a European tour, and it was all downhill from there. That said, I saw the hell out of the Truckers when he was in the band (and before! and after!) and I never saw him, or any of them, fuck the show up.

His favorite record is disintegration? Wtf

I liked his DBT output (favorite: "TVA") but have repeatedly failed to love his albums though he always has some tracks that really show he's a master song-story teller. But thanks to Alpine Static and some other suggestions, the best bits make a great best-of! I pulled from the following:

Live At Twist & Shout: Goddamn Lonely Love, Outfit
Sirens Of The Ditch: Dress Blues
Here We Rest: Alabama Pines
Southeastern: Elephant, Relatively Easy
Something More Than Free: 24 Frames, Speed Trap Town
The Nashville Sound: Cumberland Gap, If We Were Vampires
Reunions: It Gets Easier
Weathervanes: Cast Iron Skillet, When We Were Close, White Beretta

Anyone else have suggestions? How about something from the self-titled album?

Self-Titled: Cigarettes & Wine
(acoustic bonus version from Deluxe Edition is nice too)

also:
Here We Rest: Codeine
SouthEastern: Super 8
Georgia Blue: Sometimes Salvation

Oh a new profile/interview of him in GQ by Kaleb Horton? Go on, then.

https://www.gq.com/story/jason-isbell-just-another-actor-with-a-night-job

my favorite writer & my favorite singer. great piece!

WXPN always plays that "Death Wish" single when I'm driving my kid to school. It's been stuck in my head for months.

good song

he and shires are splitting

Normally couldn't possibly care less about celebrity and musician marriages, but was surprised to feel kinda sad about this one. They both seem like really good people doing good things in the world, hope they both find happiness.

Aw.

xp totally

Their last albums hinted at Rumours-esque turmoil.

Isbell solo does nothing for me but Drive By Truckers were the most important band in the world to me during the years he was in the group and my first thought upon seeing the news was that I hope he can maintain his sobriety through this bit of turmoil

he just posted on his 11th sober anniversary.

Nice, that’s good news, I figured that having almost centered his career around his sobriety that he’d be pretty solid in it at this point (plus, it’s been over a decade), but it always seemed like his wife was the final glob of glue holding it all together and that if that ever came undone anything could happen.

That sucks. No 40 years together

I sobered up
I swore off that stuff
Forever this time

(It's kind of interesting that if you listen to live recordings, that's an instant applause line - when one presumes that 73% of the audience is holding a Bud Lite at that precise moment. I cannot pretend to understand the world.)

I'm kind of surprised people are surprised by this. For several years it's seemed like it could boil over at any second (and probably did multiple times).

yeah i’m bummed but not exactly surprised. the vibes have been strange for a while imo.

He gives good interviews and it's fun to see him light up fools on twitter, but I've never gotten the impression he'd be a pleasant person to hang around with or—even worse—be married to.

i dunno that Shires is a walk in the park either tbh

He had abruptly stopped Tweeting in mid-December, but I thought he had maybe moved to another platform. . .

What struck me watching the documentary was that 'this is a songwriter who has a spouse/sometimes bandmate/MFA in Poetry involved at a very granular level in the songwriting process. Much respect for even trying to make that work, but that's going be very difficult to sustain'.

Well, somebody on here pointed out his own lit(eature) studies, at Memphis U., I think--dunno how far he got toward a degree, but he said years ago that his tastes were way ahead of his abilities, or skills, so that kind of self-conscious striving seems to have affected his lyrics sometimes, like in a recent interview he quoted Shires,"I know how you feel about that, because I know you, but it doesn't come across," and he said he was indignant at first, but then he tried again, and wrote something more (intelligible or something)(think it was a song about or involving their daughter, growing up in this fucked world).

Sobriety as a major theme, yeah, reminds me of what I said upthread:

Oh yeah----my comments from last year's Nashville Scene ballot:
Jason Isbell, Reunions:

Under pressure of atmosphere, memories, incl. of present and future, spooky and urgent----music more varied after "Running With Our Eyes Closed," calmer but still insidious, words finding their way in---"St. Peter's Autograph,", hmmm--but I get some of 'em right away, esp the one about sober life incl. dreams about drinking, a couple nights a week now, like, "I had one glass of wine, woke up feelin' fine,and that's how I knew it was a dream," but some are rougher, like the even realer-seeming dream of calling in sick to treat yourself down town--you deserve it, self, you been real good for so long---"It gets easier, but never easy, " why have I never heard a song about this must-be-fairly-common experience before? So far, Reunions seems like one of his most sustained achievements in quite a while:

https://jasonisbell.bandcamp.com/album/reunions

― dow, Saturday, October 23, 2021

re what I said a few days ago about "It gets easier, but never easy," and slipperiness of sober living, just now recalled that this has been a theme emerging in various ways ever since he cleaned up, as I commented on in a paste way upthread:
From Rolling Country, my initial impressions:

Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free: doesn't travel with the more sustained undertone of excitement found in Southeastern---recorded sober, apparently!---but "Are you takin' the grown-up dose?" is still the question, or one of 'em, and it's often remarkable what can sprout from dry, quiet starting over, especially when the past gets out of bed and comes cruising through one's present-day/night of carefully worked out details, brushing them just a hair or three from conventional alignment. Or not, in which case it's conspicuous by etc., but always the singer's cue.
"Children of Children" and "24 Frames" will be the relatively big (npr) radio cuts, if any are, but most tunes as well as words tend to take fetching turns.
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/08/420588068/first-listen-jason-isbell-something-more-than-free

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:38 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not to say this 'un doesn't *also* sound like it was written and recorded sober---it does, and it also sounds like that's what it's about: dealing with the unfiltered, or differently filtered---but Southeastern seemed like more of an adventure.

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:42 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Maybe it's just subtle for me---diggin it tho!

― dow, Monday, July 13, 2015 5:51 PM (six years ago)

I wish we'd focus on Amanda Shires too.

Art about drugs (including alcohol) is just boring.

With him, it's the aftermath, although life can be seen and heard as aftermath anyway (relatable).
xpost Increasingly, she's got the music and the words, but bum sung notes can suddenly drive me up the wall, and the weakness of even correctly sung solo passages have me listening around the voice sometimes---she can be awesome double-tracked though, fitting right in to the rest of her production---if only she were as tough on herself as she reportedly was on him, artistically (meaning her own albums; I haven't heard the one w Bobbie Nelson yet)(Shires did a great repartee duet w Prine, btw).

Oh, I didn't refer to their output: I referred to this unceasing social media emphasis on Isbell as if the impact of the divorce affected him more because of alcoholism, etc. It's a couple.

If we're talking about talent and compelling musical figures I considers Shires and her last album more compelling than many of Isbell's often good, rarely excellent efforts.

Oh, I didn't refer to their output: I referred to this unceasing social media emphasis on Isbell as if the impact of the divorce affected him more because of alcoholism, etc. It's a couple.

yep

Also more albums etc. and today something on Google Entertainment News playing "Wanted Dead Or Alive" with ten-gallon hat and double-neck geetar---always something else showing up like that.

Art about drugs (including alcohol) is just boring.

― calstars, Friday, February 9, 2024 7:57 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

second only to art about the aftermath of those things, namely rehab and divorce albums. I guess we can look forward to the latter now

Seeing him this weekend, but getting worried for the dude's health. The last several months: got new teeth, lost his longtime bassist, divorcing, apparently an old knee injury is getting drained before each show, and even the most hardcore of his fans are as delicately as possible noting his voice has been in rough shape lately, he's singing in lower keys, he's visibly frustrated at not being able to hit notes. I'm sure he'll get better, but it's a lot to deal with at once. It's got to be tough to be a real road warrior and then hit some roadblocks.

jeebus is this guy great tonight

.@JasonIsbell sings real Fox News Biden "scandal" headlines pic.twitter.com/FY5eHIBql2

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 1, 2024

Seeing him again last week reminded me that I've honestly never listened to too much of his recorded music, but he's had a heck of a recent run, and of course from the Truckers on he's proved himself capable of writing all-timers. I went back to read some Christgau reviews out of curiosity, and he really seems to get him, and also able to put his finger on what sets Isbell apart. He's political, but not necessarily angry. He's an intellectual, but not particularly pretentious. He's got a lot of country in him, but he's not really a country singer, and while he is a singer-songwriter for sure there are enough elements of other stuff that said him apart from that crew as well. Basically he is a musical omnivore and consummate craftsman with incredibly high standards. Don't know where he would have fit in in the '60s, '70s or '80s. John Prine? Steve Earle? Kris Kristofferson?

So his voice sounded ok health-wise at the show you saw ?

he's had a heck of a recent run

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Has he? I mean obv he gets bigger and bigger and I'm glad to see him thriving but Southeastern gets further and further in the rearview. he's delivered some indisputable bangers since but albumwise...

More Than Free is, in the Tom Petty tradition, half a great record.
The Nashville Sound has That One Song.

I guess people are nuts for 'em but I can't find a thing on Reunions or Weathervanes I'd put on a "why do people even care about this guy" playlist.

I actually like the last two a lot, though I admit I was thinking of Petty when I recently played ... Free.

oh, and yeah, his voice sounded good, though eagle eyes noted he may have lowered the keys of a couple of songs.

but to back up again, unlike Petty, there's very little on his records that sounds like filler, imo, and even the lesser songs sound really well realized, and perhaps only sound lesser because there are always two or three absolutely great songs that make most songs sound lesser. but those lesser songs, I still appreciate the craft, the lyrics, the playing, how they are recorded.

I think I was the sole vote for Weathervanes on the EOY poll.

I thought it was the best one for years - loved King of Oklahoma and White Beretta.

my top three last year were basically a tie between Weathervanes and the Wednesday and 10,000 gecs records. to me it was his best since Southeastern or More Than Free. not a single dud and I even liked the jams at the end.

I got my dad way into him really early and my mom fairly recently so it's a family affair now, the three of us have seen him together twice (just my dad and I have seen him probably 4-5 additional times). though I think my parents are pretty busted up about his divorce, and my mom was even tsk-tsking him for wearing a $2,400 Louis shirt on The Daily Show the other night lol

lol Isbell has always admitted a taste for the finer things.

funny, I know a couple of families who are all fans, too

Southeastern A
More Than Free C+
Nashville Sound A-
Reunions C
Weathervanes B

I don't love 'em all but I think it's hard to deny he's had a heck of a run.

Southeastern would be A+ if he'd left "Super 8" off!

Ha, I like that song, very Truckers.

If Petty is the standard, that's sort of the general spread pattern I'd give to his albums as well. A couple of clear winners, mostly at least average, some undeniable all-timers raising most of them, to degrees.

I dug the Georgia Bluecovers album.

xpost i like the song just fine, but it doesn't fit on the album. totally messes with the flow/vibe.

pretty wide discrepancies even within such a fairly uniform catalogue. i'd say:

Southeastern B+
More Than Free A-
Nashville Sound C+
Reunions B
Weathervanes A-

Hate giving SCM air (and the guy's editorializing in this piece is fucking awful), but there's something interesting in here about Justin Townes Earle's widow and daughter's objections to "When We Were Close".

https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/jason-isbell-criticized-by-justin-townes-earles-widow-for-song/

Here's Jenn Marie Earle's statement, if you don't want to give SCM or Insta clicks:

He could have chosen any other song.

Also, on top of this, he is profiting off of it which I don’t think I need to go into why I have such strong negative feelings about that.

Since that time, I, as well as others have reached out to him personally, in an emotional plea to try to make him understand the trauma it has forced on our daughter (she has asked to hear it and it has lead to moments that I can’t bear to share), something she will deal with for the rest of her life. He has not responded, and then made the aforementioned statement, making it clear that he understands there are living, breathing victims. One of which is our innocent daughter.

Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people all around the world that have shared their tribute songs to Justin with us. There have been such beautiful, heart-felt songs created in his honor, so we know the difference between what Jason wrote and what a real tribute looks like, because none of the others have kept us up at night or sent our daughter into tears. He did not have to write this song, it did not have to exist, but if he really felt that it was necessary, a heads up beforehand would have been greatly appreciated. Also, even though he has finally acknowledged that there are “victims,” he has still not so much as texted me an apology and I just can’t wrap my head around why someone wouldn’t extend that simple and small act of kindness. We deserve that at the very least. We’ve been through the unimaginable and certainly didn’t need this on top of it, but an apology would have been some sort of consolation at least.

– Jenn Marie Earle

Wait, bad c'np. Here's the whole thing:

Thoughts on a “tribute song” and suggestions as to what should be considered.

We understand that Jason Isbell’s song “When We Were Close” may have not been intended to be a tribute song, per se, but I (Jenn Marie Earle, Justin’s widow) want to offer my thoughts on what I feel, personally – since both myself, and mine and Justin’s daughter, Etta, were both mentioned/referenced in the song – it is our right to share our insight and feelings about it. I also feel that, as the keeper and protector of Justin’s legacy, that it is my responsibility.

During an interview this week, Jason shared why he wrote the song (this is, to our knowledge the first time he has addressed it publicly). Here is what he said: “When We Were Close, that song was one of those where I had to say, how many victims [will there be] if I tell the truth, how many victims if I don’t. And then you make that choice. You know, because the song has to exist, you know I don’t know why but I decided on that a long time ago because that’s what I do, that’s who I am. So you know, usually if you tell the truth, you make less victims than if you don’t.”

Being the said “victims” he is speaking of, I felt that in response, it is time to share my feelings on this song, the impact it has had on us, and why we had such a strong, visceral, and extremely painful reaction to it that has continued now, almost a year later since it’s release last June.

If you are not familiar, here are the specific lyrics to the song that were the most painful (for obvious reasons):

“I saw a picture of you laughing with your child, and I hope she will remember how you smiled. But she probably wasn’t old enough, the night somebody sold you stuff that left you on the bathroom tiles. Got a picture of you dying in my mind with some ghosts you couldn’t bear to leave behind…It’s not up to me to forgive you for the nights that your love had to live through, now you’ll never need to look me in the eye.”

It is important to me for everyone to understand, that Justin and Jason were estranged (after a difficult falling out) for years before he died. Jason stating that the song “had to exist” seems very inappropriate and hard to comprehend from my viewpoint when you take that into account. Especially mentioning our daughter (a complete gut punch, something Justin would have no doubt been extremely upset about)…and then immediately following Etta’s mention with grotesque graphic details of his death that 1. were absolutely unnecessary 2. were not released to the public (and the details were incorrect) 3. that it is not “his truth” to share, being completely removed from the situation for years up to Justin’s death. It was really no one’s right except for mine, which I did share immediately following the dreadful news, at a time when I could barely think, much less handle the public, but I knew it had to be done. For his fans, and as a warning to others so that he did not pass in vain.

I did not receive a compassionate warning ahead of the song’s release (we found out about the song, when this page was tagged in posts about it the day it came out). While it’s not mandatory that he give me a heads up, considering it’s about my husband and mentions myself, and especially my daughter, it would have been a respectful thing to do, so that we weren’t completely blown apart when we heard it as it was celebrated as a new release.

Soon after, he was made aware that the song was extremely painful (an absolute trauma trigger) and we hoped the message was taken to heart (although he did not acknowledge it) and we hoped to move on and try to forget about it. However, we learned (due to being tagged in posts, etc) that he was opening most shows with it, and then to our complete shock he chose it as the song to play on Jimmy Kimmel on the first show back after the writer’s strike, undoubtedly to a massive audience – putting the song front and center. ‹That was one of the most painful moments following, because it was clear then that he did not care that this song was traumatizing to Justin’s loved ones and was actually pushing the song above all of the others on the album. He could have chosen any other song.

Also, on top of this, he is profiting off of it which I don’t think I need to go into why I have such strong negative feelings about that.

Since that time, I, as well as others have reached out to him personally, in an emotional plea to try to make him understand the trauma it has forced on our daughter (she has asked to hear it and it has lead to moments that I can’t bear to share), something she will deal with for the rest of her life. He has not responded, and then made the aforementioned statement, making it clear that he understands there are living, breathing victims. One of which is our innocent daughter.

Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people all around the world that have shared their tribute songs to Justin with us. There have been such beautiful, heart-felt songs created in his honor, so we know the difference between what Jason wrote and what a real tribute looks like, because none of the others have kept us up at night or sent our daughter into tears. He did not have to write this song, it did not have to exist, but if he really felt that it was necessary, a heads up beforehand would have been greatly appreciated. Also, even though he has finally acknowledged that there are “victims,” he has still not so much as texted me an apology and I just can’t wrap my head around why someone wouldn’t extend that simple and small act of kindness. We deserve that at the very least. We’ve been through the unimaginable and certainly didn’t need this on top of it, but an apology would have been some sort of consolation at least.

– Jenn Marie Earle

Saw that. The Saving Country guy is constantly ripping on Isbell, especially for his politics, so I don't trust his motives. But if you look at the comments, the father of Earle's widow keeps chiming in like a right wing crank, too. It's weird, the song isn't that objectionable, imo, and she only seems to have a problem with ... him not giving her a head's up? Which is weird if true; he reportedly contacted the subject of "White Beretta" to make sure it was OK. I wonder why? For all we know there's a reason Isbell didn't run it by her, and I don't necessarily trust her motives, either. At the least it's pretty manipulative to bring up her daughter's feelings, since reading through that her daughter is *six*. There's no way that kid would have heard this song, or even known it existed, had mom not played it (and/or played it up) for her.

At the least it's pretty manipulative to bring up her daughter's feelings, since reading through that her daughter is *six*.

More manipulative than Isbell mentioning the daughter in the song?

Well, it's a song, and most songs are in a sense manipulative. But it doesn't mention anyone by name, and it's not mean or unsympathetic, imo. Setting aside the Streisand Effect of her statement, I'm a little unclear what her problem is. That the song was written at all? That he performs the song? That she wasn't warned that the song was coming? That he is "profiting" off of it? That it makes her daughter upset? That he hasn't apologized to her? (For what?) All of the above? Her story is heartbreaking, but I don't think the subject is at all off limits or in poor taste.

ok

I saw a picture of you laughing with your child
And I hope she will remember how you smiled
But she probably wasn't old enough, the night somebody sold your stuff
That left you on the bathroom tiles

idk seems a little tone-deaf, and presumptive of a kid's thoughts and memories. probably should have just written about the man himself and left the daughter out of it. her motives seem strictly parental.

Before I read many other people's take on this - which have largely aligned with Josh's - my gut reaction was that this was shittily handled by Jason. Yes, he is entitled to his own grief and processing, but I guess I feel like he comes after JTE's wife and daughter on the priority list (which I admit is not a fair way of looking at it). At the very least, he should've reached out to her and let her know about the song.

His quote "the song has to exist" doesn't sit well with me. Maybe it has to exist, but it doesn't necessarily have to exist on a Jason Isbell album.

But I see the other sides of this, too.

Def don't see it as manipulative of the widow to bring up her kid's feelings, though, no matter the kid's age.

i try to imagine if i was in her position, him writing about how she probably won't remember her dad's smile...i mean, that would certainly hurt and not in the "what a moving song" way.

I absolutely understand where she is coming from, both as a person and as a parent. I can only imagine the pain they have gone and will continue to go through. But I'm not sure anyone should be in a position to tell anyone else what or who they can or can't write about, and none of it can change the tragic end of JTE's life.

All true!

I don't think the widow said that Isbell was not allowed to write about JTE. But keep having arguments with straw people.

I'm not arguing with anyone. It's a hard song to listen to, but I'm not sure it's worse than, say, the Drive-By Truckers song about the same subject. I guess their song doesn't mention his kid, which is for sure pretty low hanging fruit, as far a songwriting goes. It sounds like she wanted or wants him to reach out, I don't know why he didn't (assuming he didn't).

That's the tough part of this for me. The fact that he didn't reach out - perhaps because of his falling out with her husband? - doesn't square with a lot of the things he says publicly that sound really good.

Like, I read somewhere that he ran it by Steve Earle. If he ran it by Steve Earle, then *not* running it by the widow feels like a purposeful slight, doesn't it?

Purposeful slight is a bad choice of words. Could be "feels egregious" ... idk, I just don't know why you run it by the dad and not the widow, who is mentioned (along with her child) in the lyrics.

That's one of the more restrained posts I've read at SCM.

It may very well have been a purposeful slight. I don't think any of us know the nature of their relationship, Jason and Jenn, but there is definitely a lot of bad blood and dirty laundry out there. The alleged impetus for the dissolution of Jason and Justin's friendship for sure was pretty weird.

“the trauma it has forced on our daughter” seems like a questionably heavy onus to put on the song and Isbell.

"the song has to exist"

jesus christ what an insufferable blowhard this guy is

All the twitter comments on this are basically:

a) It's a good song. Why she mad?
b) She must be a shitty mom if she lets her kid know about this song
c) You can't tell an artist what they can or can't write about

Justin and Jason were estranged (after a difficult falling out) for years before he died.

Does anyone know anything about this? I didn't know they had a falling out and was sorry to see that.

But if you look at the comments, the father of Earle's widow keeps chiming in like a right wing crank, too.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, April 15, 2024 11:00 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

That comment about how Jason "rode Justin's coat tails" was awfully weird and...wrong. I saw them play together in ~2010 and JT opened for JI and the 400 Unit. They seemed like buds back then, which again, disappointing to hear it's come to this.

According to Isbell they fell out after JTE broke up with a girlfriend, who was working as part of Isbell's road crew. JTE asked Isbell to fire her and he refused.

BTW, noticed that Amanda is playing a few shows with Jason in a couple of weeks. That seems amicable, unless they start kicking each other like Richard and Linda.

All the twitter comments on this are basically:

a) It's a good song. Why she mad?
b) She must be a shitty mom if she lets her kid know about this song
c) You can't tell an artist what they can or can't write about

Jason's fans are largely 35 to 65-year-old white dudes (and definitely some women) who (a) are 100% convinced they finally discovered someone who is making "real" music when they discovered him (or Sturgill, depending on who their portal was), (b) have zero problem talking down to anyone who disagrees with them and (c) will defend him to the death, regardless of what he's doing or saying.

This whole genre has injected a dose of music snobbery into an entire generation of people who would otherwise be listening to, idk, bro country or OneRepublic.

I get why Isbell might rub some people the wrong way, but the people I see get most mad at him are the "shut up and sing" types that bristle at his politics online (which incudes the Saving Country dude). I'm honestly not sure he's done much in the past several years that's otherwise warranted defending.

damn it is HELLA insensitive of him to bring the kid into this and to do so in a song he has centered commercially? I find it absolutely criticism-worthy but not censorship-worthy. Makes me super sad for the kid :( Like things aren't hard enough for her.

She will be dealing with people projecting things on her and talking about her dad for the rest of her life as it is, even without a song.

The kid is six, there is no way she was asking to hear the new Jason Isbell album cut about her dad, one of several (including that one from the Truckers). Her mom, for some reason, played it for her, and I guess likely explained it to her as well. Like you said, she will be dealing with a lot of things for the rest of her life, and this song may be one of them, but the reason she is dealing with it *now* is apparently because it was brought to her attention by her mom.

I'm sorry, but have you ever tried keeping a six year old from knowing about something that your entire family is talking about? It's impossible unless you are the only person they're in contact with. Stop shaming this mother. Jesus.

I don't think it's so far-fetched that a child from a musical family could be aware that there's a song about her (departed) father, and she would want to her it. Yes, her mother could have simply said "No, not now, maybe when you're older..." but at the same time it's harder to avoid exposure to something like that, particularly since Isbell and his people are spotlighting the track, it's getting airplay (on SiriusXM anyway), he's playing it on TV etc. so maybe she thought she had to get it over with.

why would you shield your child from this, it just makes it more enticing. Whether or not the child asked about it, the child will know about it eventually. may as well be hearing it from the mom directly

As a parent myself, I feel like you just don't bring someone else's kid into something (i.e., mention them in a song in a context like that). Just feels like common sense to me – it's not your place. I see Isbell has a daughter himself, so I guess his instincts are different... it surprises me though.

As a parent myself, there are plenty of things I did not share with my kids when they were young. Conversations, decisions, conflicts, opinions. We all make these choices. There is often no right or wrong choice. This song, other songs, many of them will be hard for his daughter to hear, and none of them will likely be as hard as losing her dad. I can't even imagine, so you're right, I shouldn't say anything about the mom's choices.

morrisp otm
I still think objecting to him writing about someone else's six year old (especially in a song about her father's untimely death) is a valid criticism -- whether her mom handled it poorly is another issue. (She did, but that is not my objection)

And listen, you know that if there is an issue with someone's daughter being exploited, I will suddenly appear and start objecting. That's my DNA for better or worse.

Curious, the song/album has been out for almost a year, did any reviews suggest that song was problematic? I'd not thought about it until this week, had any of you?

Lol tbh I don't listen to Jason Isbell, so no.
If I had known the song existed, I would say the same thing I said.

I clicked on this thread initially because of his teeth and stayed bc ?? My friend is really into him and I wanted to know more? IDK

xp Same here…

So ... yeah, Streisand effect!

what is your point?

No point, just observing that afaict no one was criticizing this song, afaict, until that Saving Country article blew up a year after it came out. Not saying the song is above criticism! The criticism is *totally* valid, which is why I'm surprised to only see this much discussion now.

Better late than never. Your posts felt dismissive and I appreciate you agreeing the criticism is valid.

Jenn Marie Earle didn't speak out until now because (as she pointed out in her initial statement) the song is having a moment now (opening his shows, airplay, high-profile TV appearance that garnered a lot of press) which she felt she needed to address.

I can totally see her being out with her daughter at CVS or Starbucks or some place and feeling a little ambushed because the song came on the muzak.

xpost No, I get that. I'm just saying the content of the song was there all along, before she publicly addressed it. If it's problematic now, it was problematic a year ago, but I don't remember any reviews or anything having any issues with it, despite this being a songwriter that puts lyrics first and foremost. It's at the least a discussion worth having (clearly), so it's surprising no one had it.

Yeah, but why would a reviewer mention it without knowing the situation the widow described?

I have never paid any attention to JTE so the details in the song slipped by me and I had no idea it was about him until this week.

you would be surprised at how ok people are with exploiting children. it's usually not recognized as a problem until someone (in this case the mom) speaks up about it. i wouldn't expect a person reviewing the album to be very sensitive to it, as most people aren't. if no one speaks up, eventually people like me with daughter-exploitation radar are going to show up and say hello this is not ok.

i feel pretty strongly these days about this sort of thing, even to the point of using your own kids as a prop for anything public. they have a right to grow up anonymously enjoying life without being deployed in that manner. i'm agnostic on child acting these days, i think reality tv involving kids is pretty abhorrent, writing books specifically about their lives and upbringing is pretty uncool, etc. Isbell is perfectly capably of writing much more impressionistically, he could write about JTE in a manner that is even deeper and more profound without bleak observations about how his daughter will probably forget him because he ODed in a bathroom.

putting aside the morality of it, it's just a condescending thing to say, and no one likes to be condescended to (or be condescended to on their dead spouse's behalf)

The tide is definitely shifting — for most of my life I’ve been treated like a hysterical person for suggesting out loud that it’s wrong to exploit ur children. I’m glad the tide is shifting.

And it doesn't matter if no one mentioned it last year. Sometimes people keep their conclusions to themselves. Others wait for catalyzing situations like this.

Relevant:

I did not receive a compassionate warning ahead of the song’s release (we found out about the song, when this page was tagged in posts about it the day it came out). While it’s not mandatory that he give me a heads up, considering it’s about my husband and mentions myself, and especially my daughter, it would have been a respectful thing to do, so that we weren’t completely blown apart when we heard it as it was celebrated as a new release.

Soon after, he was made aware that the song was extremely painful (an absolute trauma trigger) and we hoped the message was taken to heart (although he did not acknowledge it) and we hoped to move on and try to forget about it. However, we learned (due to being tagged in posts, etc) that he was opening most shows with it, and then to our complete shock he chose it as the song to play on Jimmy Kimmel on the first show back after the writer’s strike, undoubtedly to a massive audience – putting the song front and center. ‹That was one of the most painful moments following, because it was clear then that he did not care that this song was traumatizing to Justin’s loved ones and was actually pushing the song above all of the others on the album. He could have chosen any other song.

Fwiw, after the Kimmel performance, there were a number articles discussing the song, and I myself have heard a DJ on SiriusXM mention JTE after playing the song.

wow this whole thing is really gross :(

I just saw a clip of the interview where he says the song has to exist blah blah blah and it comes off even worse when you see it and I definitely feel like this dude is toxic

Recovery is such a huge part of his narrative that I can easily imagine it leading him to develop a kind of messianic sense of duty about it. Seems like he's having a hard time separating his own story from a need to cast everyone else's in the same stark terms, which certainly strays into being exploitative when you're talking about easily identifiable real people. I wouldn't say he's "toxic" but just playing armchair psychoanalyst I'd say he still has personality defects that maybe he mistakenly thinks sobriety resolved