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Showing posts from June, 2026

Like Big Man Ned Kelly

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Like Big Man Ned Kelly Australian, Irish, English, Scottish & American folk songs.  Celebrating the lives and exploits of popular & legendary heroes has long been a preoccupation in culture & song everywhere. While cleric-anointed, state sanctioned national idols abound (and nobody is more celebrated than Saint George in England) it's the common folk heroes who oft best caught the imagination of the masses - those who stood up in the face of oppression while looking after their own. Often seen as champions & poor people's defenders, these icons belong to the commoners and everyday folks have long been sympathetic to them as is also evident in the popularity of outlaw movies & literature. Ever since domineering minority ' elites ' seized control of grain surpluses (ie. 8-10K years ago) and set us off on this journey that we call ' civilization ' entrenched military/security apparatus has been paramount in order to protect those elites' sur...

Outlaws and Drifters

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Outlaws and Drifters Steppin' just outside the law for this country rock mixtape. Big names from the popular OUTLAW COUNTRY  movement over the years. Primarily centred around Austin, Texas and around the south, artists also interacted back and forth with Nashville & Californian musicians to forge a distinctive sound all of their own. The outlaw sound is far grittier, ballsier and less polished than any of the productions coming out of Music City, certainly before the late 1970's. Elements of country fused with blues and rock n roll and a whole heap of attitude to create a much headier, vibsy, fun sound, a marked contrast to the highly tailored, commercial-respectable and melodically pure Nashville product. Artists like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson had helped outline the outlaw genre from as early as the mid 1950's, defined it in the 1960's and popularised it in the mid 1970's alongside the likes of  David Allan Coe and Kris Kris...