Let’s Talk Country

Let’s Talk Country

By Sarah RayMusicMusic Commentary
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Let’s Talk Country episodes

  • Elliott's Infinite Playlist

    Join us as we talk to our friend, Elliott, who tells us about growing up queer in conservative, small-town NC and the music that got him through it. He shares his music knowledge and a healthy dose of optimism to go with the difficult realities of being queer in The South and in country music.   

    Here's his playlist. Listen along. Walk a mile in someone else's music.   

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FzUqQrfeja6jjjDRRIJPs?si=5ef85648e95541f5

    Hear our favorites from Orville Peck, Johnny Cash, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Kristin Andreassen (Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes), The Indigo Girls, Bikini Kill, The Linda Lindas, and more!

    1 hr 18 min
  • Merry Christmas from the LTC Family

    Mary Lynne and Sarah are looking back at 2021, counting their blessings, and reminiscing on Christmases Past. Hear their favorite and least favorite holiday stories set to tunes they genuinely love.  Featuring Brenda Lee, Robert Earl Keen, Mary Lambert, and more!  

    Hope you've got your dancin' shoes handy! 

    1 hr 3 min
  • Memaw wasn't a Cherokee Princess?
    Mary Lynne and Sarah serve up a plate of hot takes on white people’s claims of Native American ancestry and the cultural appropriation found in songs like Tim McGraw’s “Indian Outlaw.” Hear the cautionary tales of Elizabeth Warren and Johnny Cash. PLUS, the LTC gals chew on some food songs from Lyle Lovett, Dale Watson, and The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
    Voices in the intro mashup were: Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Elizabeth Cook, Tyler Mahan Coe, Drew Morgan, and  Trae Crowder.
    This is our companion playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0j8Nje4gGuKnHdeieVVDWy This is Mary Lynne’s Food Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1uMWwDhMOqhnpC4OAc5mzv To visit the Buncombe County Register of Deeds website created in partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, visit https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e9913eb717dc4e68aebe7a7c7d3f42c3
    Articles discussing why white people often claim to have Cherokee ancestors, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/cherokee-blood-why-do-so-many-americans-believe-they-have-cherokee-ancestry.html
    https://timeline.com/part-cherokee-elizabeth-warren-cf6be035967e
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-warren-cherokee-dna_n_5bc63a69e4b0a8f17ee6ba9a
    For a quick Twitter-torial on DNA tests and their specific role in determining tribal citizenship,
    https://wakelet.com/wake/57e215e9-3566-4d4e-9fc7-a9d844bb504c
    This is a more extended interview with Kim Tallbear,
    https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129554-400-there-is-no-dna-test-to-prove-youre-native-american/?utm_source=rakuten&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=2116208:Skimlinks.com&utm_content=10&ranMID=47192&ranEAID=TnL5HPStwNw&ranSiteID=TnL5HPStwNw-N_FzHSETg33._cx0N7Yg4A
    Plus she also wrote a book,
    https://bookshop.org/books/native-american-dna-tribal-belonging-and-the-false-promise-of-genetic-science/9780816665860
    To read Richard Lei’s 1994 Washington Post article,
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/04/08/catchy-tune-catches-controversy/2ca0a30e-bd4b-4f6f-8122-5fbb57db7698/
    Another article from 1994 about Indian Outlaw,
    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-24-ca-38102-story.html
    Antigravity’s Erin Hall interviewing Rhiannon Giddens,
    https://antigravitymagazine.com/feature/country-girl-an-interview-with-the-carolina-chocolate-drops-rhiannon-giddens/
    The Vice.com article on “100 Ways to Support - Not Appropriate From - Native People”
    https://www.vice.com/en/article/pa5a3m/how-to-be-an-ally-to-native-americans-indigenous-people
    1 hr 5 min
  • Love Don't Spend

    Mary Lynne and Sarah discuss Patty Loveless, Maren Morris, Clay Walker, and Sammy Kershaw. PLUS, the Let's Talk Country ladies take Blake Shelton to school on why "Minimum Wage" was NOT the song we needed to round off 2020.

    52 min
  • Redneckisode Part 2: The Ladies Have Their Say

    Mary Lynne and Sarah listen to Redneck songs by and about women. We hear from Nadine Hubbs, Lady Redneck, RaeLynn, Lyle Lovett, Sammy Kershaw, The Bellamy Brothers, and of course, the quintessential Redneck Woman herself, Gretchen Wilson. 

     

    1 hr 11 min
  • The Redneck-isode Part 1

    Sarah and Mary Lynne explore the usage of the term "redneck", its historical context, and what it means to country music. Come with us into the hills and hollers, the backwoods and the sticks. We'll shout our opinions on everything from Larry the Cable Guy to miners' unions. Plus, learn how to play Redneck Celebrity Bingo!

    55 min
  • Teaser - Redneck-isode Part 1 (Patreon Early Release)
    Subscribe today for access to all premium and early release episodes - patreon.com/letstalkcountry 
    Sarah and Mary Lynne explore the usage of the term "redneck", its historical context, and what it means to country music. Come with us into the hills and hollers, the backwoods and the sticks. We'll shout our opinions on everything from Larry the Cable Guy to miners' unions. Plus, learn how to play Redneck Celebrity Bingo! Free access to full episode coming on July 5.
    2 min
  • Wait, Am I the Girl in a Country Song?

    Sarah and Mary Lynne take a deep dive on Maddie and Tae's epic clap-back song "Girl in a Country Song." Join the Let's Talk Country team for a brief history of bro country, plus a thoughtful discussion of Maddie and Tae's other hits. You'll hear songs by Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Chris Young, Blake Shelton, Tyler Farr, and Florida Georgia Line, BUT ALSO Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Lee Ann Womack, and Kitty Wells. It's a wild ride down a dark dirt road, but we'll get home safe if we stick together. 

    59 min
  • Cole Swindell, She's Probably Just Not That Into You.

    Sarah and Mary Lynne take a deep dive on Cole Swindell's Middle of a Memory — a song that's a little bit sweet, a little bit creepy, and a whole lot entitled. We also talk about pie in honor of Pi Day, and Sarah connects the dots between Bob Dylan's Country Pie and Lou Bega's Mambo No. 5. Sorry. 

    37 min

About Let’s Talk Country

From the publisher's feed

Everyone and their mother has a podcast these days. Join me and MY mother as we discuss the country music that makes us stomp our feet and shake our heads in equal measure.