Americana Music Lifestyle

A while ago, my friend Ryan gave me some music files of a Daytrotter session from Josh Ritter.  I only listened to one song and then Josh Ritter got lost in the rest of my massive iTunes library.  Until I decided to get a free album download from NoiseTrade.  The website offered a free live album (22 tracks) from this artist, and I've been listening to it all morning.  As I usually do when I start to like an artist, I decided I'd check out Josh Ritter's wikipedia page.  I found some interesting facts about him.  He studied at Oberlin College in Ohio.  While that may not be super significant, I thought his course of study was particularly interesting.  He originally went to Oberlin to study neuroscience, but ended up creating his own major... "American History Through Narrative Folk Music."  Those who know of the artist know that his songwriting style is narrative based.  I would do almost anything to have a course of study similar to that, and actually have it mean something to my occupation.

I have a soft spot for Americana music.  It's just a great way of feeling close to America's musical roots.  Don't get me wrong... it's nice to hear classical music and British Invasion type stuff every now and then.  But there is nothing like listening to songs dealing with traveling the open road, small town life, and leaving something or someone behind.  It's just very relatable for someone who grew up the way I did.  I live in a suburb and constantly travel my family's cabin in the middle of nowhere.  I love being on the road.  And I constantly feel like I'm leaving something behind.  The genre as a whole is almost like a metaphor for growing up and heading out on one's own.

I love driving, especially when I'm the only one in the car.  It's not that I don't enjoy company when I drive.  I do.  But driving somewhere on my own gives me time to think.  While many people agree that if you leave me alone with my thoughts, it can get kind of weird and sometimes dangerous, driving has always given me some of the best ideas and inspiration for certain events in my life.  I've gone to Bonnaroo Music Festival twice by myself.  From Watertown, CT to Manchester, TN is about a 16 hour drive.  It was awesome.  Nothing, but me, my iPod, my car and the open road.  The Band and Bruce Springsteen are always on my playlist for rides as long as that.

Americana music, in addition to facilitating my long drives, always accompany me up to the cabin on the little trips I take.  I'm starting to realize that I do a lot of things by myself.  It's not that I am a loner.  I just guess there are lots of times when I prefer to be by myself.  Unless it is hunting season or my dad doesn't have anything else better to do, I usually head up to the cabin on my own.  It's in the area where Music from Big Pink was recorded, so Americana definitely makes me think of the forests and town life in upstate New York.

I just feel a deep connection to that type of music, because it's almost like a soundtrack to my favorite things.