Glad to hear somebody besides me likes Hail the Conquering Hero — I have the impression reading the comments that it's not a particular favorite. I haven't seen it for many years but I found its parody of manipulated patriotic fever very powerful during the Vietnam era (when I saw it) and I'll bet it has some…

I agree from what I've seen she does seem to do a pretty good job of holding the legacy at bay when she wants to (and relating to it directly when she wants to). I can't imagine how hard a task that must be for anyone in her position who chooses to be in the public eye, too. Johnny's legend looms very large indeed.…

thanks!
Nice write up about an artist about whom I knew virtually nothing, though I'm a big fan of Merle Travis. Will give his stuff a listen when I get back from the woods and have a decent wi-fi signal.

Dear Noel
Please note that if "impactful" is a word, it shouldn't be. Thanks.

No Country for Old Men, that would be.

King Bastard, reading your post I felt a bit like Tommy Lee Jones' character in Old Country From Old Men, looking on in bewilderment at what goes on in the world today. By that I mean that it's hard to believe anyone would write something so stupid, so crude, and so utterly pointless.

Sheltie, you probably are well aware of what a fabulous place the Isle of Skye is, but I gotta say, I went there on my college-student-hitchhiking-with-girlfriend-through-Europe excursion long ago, and I still dream of going back there to live. Hope it hasn't been trashed in the interim.

Speaking of the Sean's joke about the Bosch painting, Graham Parker actually did a song once on that very theme, and an excellent tune it was. The title, I'm pretty sure, was "Hey Hieronymous."

@humanclock. Wow. That's powerful evidence of what alcoholism can do to you. Reminds me of the photos of Townes on the front and inside cover of "A Far Cry From Dead." (A fine album despite the fact that its tracks were gussied up with studio musicians after his death.) The front cover is a photo of Townes the…

Second or third the love for Lyle's "Step inside This House" and also the feeling that his most recent stuff (what I've heard) is thin compared to his early work. But hey, there's still the early work, and that's quite good enough. No need to be greedy.

Geez, all these favorites listed and no one mentions "Tower Song"??? You guys (assuming most if not all of you are guys) must be too young to have ever been in the sort of relationship with a woman he's describing in that song. I made the mistake of marrying that woman once; got out of it, thank God.

Second that on Emmylou's version. A really beautiful cover. Her crystalline voice perfectly delivers Townes' amazing lyrics.

@staircar1: I like what you said about Jenkins' ability to convey "world weary"…agreed, no one's better at that (see The Visitor). It's a tribute to his skill as an actor, though, that his portrayal of the dead father in Six Feet Under was anything but world weary. He was always cackling and he always had this mad…

wince, i mean

thank you Terry Zwigoff
Great interview. I am only familiar with "Crumb," (will check out his other movies forthwith) but it's one of my favorite films. Watching Crumb winch as he witnesses the nightmare of contemporary culture is a great comfort for those of us who share that pain. Misery loves company, don'tcha know.

@son of Dean. I'm a leftist who loves what Christ stood for who has grown, like Anne Rice, to despise the Christian church. There are quite a few progressive Christians who are not big-top names like Joel Osteen or T.D. Jakes but who are well known among like-minded Christians. Take a look, for example, at Ron Sider,…

I worked as a journalist in New York for about 20 years, including a lot of years for publications that were in direct competition with Ad Age, and the only reporter I ever met who actually used real shorthand was the woman who is now my ex-wife. Of course, almost every reporter did, and does, find some way to shorten…

Gone Country
Gwyneth's video was removed by the time I got here, but the whole idea of this Hollywood brat doing a country tune ("I'm an actress, okay?!" I can hear her saying) reminds me of that great Alan Jackson tune, which proved beyond doubt that hicks can have a wicked, smart sense of humor.

She really is a good actress….excellent in The Talented Mr. Ripley, anyway.

thanks
Really enjoyed this piece. One thing about Roy, you can't say he wasn't country. Too bad his Christian beliefs made him, from what I've heard, a sanctimonious SOB (unforgiving, as Nathan put it), but boy, what a voice.