«Today’s Lyrics Are Pathetically Bad» Rick Beato

Rodney Crowell's The Houston Kid is my favorite album so far this century. Buddy Miller is my favorite living musician/producer, Iris DeMent my favorite living songwriter. But there are plenty of others plowing the same field---great songs, great singing, great musicianship. This is in fact a golden age of great music, better imo than the 1960's. Sacrilege!

This is in fact a golden age of great music, better imo than the 1960's. Sacrilege!

Puh-leeze!  How could it ever possibly get any better than this here:

"When the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. . ."

?

But where are the young Rodney Crowells and Iris DeMents and Buddy Millers? They're all still marvelous songwriters but they're from another era. Who's going to carry on when they're gone? Taylor Swift? Olivia Rodriguez? Ed Sheeran? No thanks.

@ezwind: You’re looking in the wrong places. Right here on Audiogon posters such as @slaw are making recommendations of great youg(er) artists. Steve has excellent musical taste, and really keeps up with new ones.

I myself can heartily recommend Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings (both heard on Ringo Starr’s album out later this month), two young bluegrass artists. Then there are Jenny Lewis, Tift Merritt, Brennen Leigh, Courtney Barnett, and plenty of other new females. I seem to gravitate to the dames, but here’s a video of Chris Stapleton---a newish Country artist---performing a killer live version of the Rodney Crowell song "Ain’t Living Long Like This". Watch for the guitar solo by Buddy Miller, a solo that epitomizes cool! For contrast I’ll also post a video of Rodney performing the song live with Emmylou Harris (and a stupendous band), another great version.

https://youtu.be/pFTedYeP-vQ?si=M8TJtWiuGTvuyBMs

https://youtu.be/KnqBH7jLb0I?si=iDgVtgjD4UFb6RN7

And while Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch are no spring chickens, they have a couple/few more good decades ahead of them. For more, head over to the No Depression website, the home of Americana music.

I just again listened to Rodney’s version, and was as always left in utter awe at the quality of the music being made. It just don’t get no better!

As for what the future holds, I figure I have about a decade left here on Earth, so it ain’t my problem.