Certainly, alt-country musicians are “dying” - both literally and figuratively.

–>Exhibit A: Jay Bennett.
Former Urbana resident and ex-Wilco band member recently died “in his sleep.” When I first heard of the musician’s passing, I highly doubted he’d died of natural causes at the ripe old age of 45. And my suspicions proved right: the follow-up autopsy by the Champaign county coroner confirmed that Bennett, who’d been in dire need of hip-replacement surgery, died of an “accidental” painkiller overdose. Although unfairly portrayed as an emotional drain on Tweedy’s psyche in 2002’s I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco, Bennett’s creative energies were instrumental to the success of the alt-country, recently-turned “dad rock” of Wilco.

–>Exhibit B: Ryan Adams
Adams’ is more of a metaphorical death, for instead of OD-ing on drugs, the folk troubadour both married (on March 10th) 90’s pop icon-turned-”indie” singer Mandy Moore, and also (via blog) announced that he’d be taking a “break” from singing/songwriting. Updates on his MySpace (post-Cardinals-hiatus) have been scarce - the most recent being a mere advertising plug to purchase his “second book of passionate, transcendent verse,” Hello Sunshine.
(For further clarification, visit this Pitchfork post:
http://pitchfork.com/news/34364-ryan-adams-is-quitting-music-says-ryan-adams/)

–>Exhibit C: No Depression - the seminal written/online publication on alternative country - is also, like many specialized music magazines, suffering. Last year, the magazine’s eleven-year bimonthly print publication ceased, transferring entirely to the online realm (in addition to its bi-annual “bookazine” release with UT Press). Although remaining “The Roots Music Authority,” No Depression continues to struggle as a niche media interest.

Tangential Remark: Matt and Kim

I’m all about Brooklyn bands, and I especially dig Matt and Kim’s “Daylight”
(watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgBeu3FVi60).
However, I don’t know how much I appreciate the lo-fi duo’s pointed over-exposure in the video for “Lessons Learned” … it’s almost like they’re trying too hard for Times Square “T & A” time. In jest, Entertainment Weekly dubs Matt and Kim “either exhibitionists or Alanis Morrissette fans” … now wouldn’t that be ironic? Witness such “naughty nudity” at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJkymylTNU4.
Oh well, hopefully that’s a lesson learned (pun intended) for the delightful duo.

Keep it real Brooklyn!

In between listening to Wilco’s recently-released, ironically-titled Wilco (The Album) and Brooklyn faves Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest, I’ve been reading up on the birth of “emo” culture/music/etc. - from Wikipedia contributers who deem Sunny Day Real Estate “instrumental” to the genre’s development, to SPIN writer Andy Greenwald’s humorous cultural critique in Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo.

Personally, being both a Chicago native and a Corgan fan (hold your tongue, haters), I also consider the Pumpkins “instrumental” to the growth of the musical niche’s “emotional” (“emo,” for short) mentality. Never-mind Jeremy Enigk and clan, The Pumpkins were the true progenitors of “emo” rock. Consider this:
“emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness, and cleanliness is godliness, and god is empty just like me/intoxicated with the madness, I’m in love with my sadness” -Smashing Pumpkins, “Zero” (c. 95’).
What do psychiatrists call such a disorder these days? “Melancholy-philia”?

Leslie Simon’s Wish You Were Here: An Essential Guide to Your Favorite Music Scenes - From Punk to Indie and Everything In Between (including “emo,” surprise, surprise) is another music-themed book to add to your summer reading list. LA-located Simon, one of a handful of both published and respected female rock journalists (gender bias!), spans the myriad of “scenes” coast-to-coast, from Seattle’s “grunge hangover” and Long Island “hardcore.”

Another issue worth considering: attributing a certain geographic “region” to a sub-genre’s development. Is it not self-evident that “emo” blossomed best in the Midwest - the land of endless corn rows, “middle america” mentality, and enough Culver’s drive-thru’s to satisfy the fattest farmer? Or, as Leslie Simon suggests, is D.C. the true birthplace of “emo”? The world may never know.

*Currently investigating: The phenomenon by which bands leak one another’s music, such as this past fall’s leak of Animal Collective’s “Brother Sport” by Grizzly Bear. GB’s songwriter/vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Ed Droste isn’t too upset about the Web Sheriff’s charges however, as he dubs such leaking “inevitable.”