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Josh Friedberg: Music Historian's Corner writesRediscovering Our Record Collections: Randy Travis’ “Storms of Life”
When I was getting into country music as a teenager, the first country album that bothered me with its clichés was Randy Travis’s highly acclaimed 1986 debut, Storms of Life.
It’s not that I hadn’t heard country albums that used familiar themes of drinking, cheating, mama, trains, heartbreak, and so on. Maybe they just seemed more concentrated in one place on this album.
I’d heard some of Randy Travis’s biggest hits through CMT countdowns and compilations at libraries, but I wasn’t prepared for the album tracks here. Songs like “Reasons I Cheat,” while sad, struck me as typical country fare, beyond salvaging from Travis’s appealing baritone.
Going back and hearing the album now on vinyl, with a greater knowledge of country music’s history, I can hear how the album sounded unique in the era of glitz that was ‘80s country. Storms of Life was one of the most acclaimed country releases of the decade, and many found Travis’s Lefty Frizzell-influenced style to be a refreshing example of the “New Traditionalist” style embodied at the time by artists like George Strait and Keith Whitley.
SKaiser writes@CHIRPRadio (Week of July 31)
NEW MEDIA
- This week's Fourth Wall subject is the horror film Starry Eyes with Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing
- Greta Kline met up with CHIRP's Dylan Peterson before Frankie Cosmos played at the 2017 Pitchfork Music Festival
TOP OF THE CHARTS
1. Avey Tare – Eucalyptus (Domino)
2. Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory (ARTium/Blacksmith/Def Jam)
3. Peaking Lights – The Fifth State of Consciousness (Two Flowers)
Kevin Fullam writesThe Fourth Wall: Starry Eyes
Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the horror film Starry Eyes.
This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.
Clarence:
Sarah is a young woman living in Hollywood and hoping to make it to the big time as an actress. She spends her days working a crappy day job as a waitress while squeezing in auditions and hanging out with her like-minded social circle of wannabe film-makers.
One day, Sarah lands an audition for what sounds like a low-rent horror movie flick. It turns out to be the most intense experience of her life, and it could lead to bigger things...if she’s willing to pay the price. Soon, she will have to decide how willing she is to undertake the physical and mental transformation asked of her, and also what to do about the “friends” who might be holding her back.
Partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, Starry Eyes was a hit at South-by-Southwest in 2014. It’s got an indie-film sheen with a slasher-movie soul. I thought Alex Essoe did a wonderful job in the lead role, transmuting her ambition into frustration and rage that fuels her character through a (to put it mildly) drastic transformation. The supporting cast is also good, and the makeup and effects are disturbingly realistic.
But this film struck me as more than just a well-crafted exercise in horror. I thought the film also did a very good job of allegorizing both the idea of “making it” in Hollywood as well as the economic outlook faced by many Millennials in the US in the 21st century.
I finished watching the FX miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan a couple of weeks ago. That series was advertised as a campy send-up of the animosity between legendary actors Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, but it ended up being a sharp, detailed portrait of the underbelly of celebrity.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writes@CHIRPRADIO (Week of July 24)
Upcoming Events
- Wednesday July 26: It's time for CHIRP Night at The Whistler with Mother Nature and Pledge Drive
- Sunday July 30: Classic Album Sunday at Saturday Audio Exchange featuring Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express
New Media
- Amelia Hruby interviews Weatherman
- Dylan Peterson interviews Greta Kline of Frankie Cosmos
- Josh Freidberg listens to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On?
- Pictures from the 2017 Pitchfork Music Festival (Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3)
Layne Lindroth writes2017 Pitchfork Music Festival: Day 3
photos by Layne Lindroth
Early afternoon clouds gave way to a gorgeous summer afternoon for Day 3 of the 2017 Pitchfork Music Festival. A fantastic lineup of artists wrapped up the weekend just as it started, treating the audience to a non-stop experience of great music.
