52 min listen
E140: Holly Gleason on Women in Country + Guy Clark + Taylor Swift
FromRock's Backpages
ratings:
Length:
70 minutes
Released:
Nov 14, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In this episode we welcome the splendid Holly Gleason, all the way from downtown Nashville, and invite her to tell us about her life as a country music writer and publicist.Holly explains how, as a teenage championship golfer, she first became enamoured of country in her native state of Ohio, later writing about it (as well as about rap and R&B) for the Miami Herald. Tying in the episode's main theme with Woman Walk the Line – the wonderful essay collection she assembled and edited in 2017 – Holly's hosts ask her about her favourite female artists from Emmylou Harris to Taylor Swift. Along the way she gives us the inside lowdown on "Music City" – having just attended 2022's CMA Awards – and talks fascinatingly about Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus.The week's new audio interview, with the late great Guy Clark, gives us a chance to discuss that unpigeonholeable singer-songwriter, his complicated friendship with Townes Van Zandt, and his influence on disciples such as Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. Two clips from John Tobler's 1986 interview with Guy prompt tearful memories of Holly's friendship with the Texan troubadour.After we've said our own sad goodbyes to Melody Maker mainstay Colin Irwin, Low's Mimi Parker and Nazareth frontman Dan McCafferty, Mark and Jasper talk us out with their favourite new additions to the RBP library including interviews with Patti Smith and Little Simz.Many thanks to special guest Holly Gleason; visit her website at hollygleason.com and find Woman Walk the Line at all good bookshops.Pieces discussed: Women in country, Taylor Swift, Holly Gleason in conversation with John Prine, Guy Clark audio, Guy Clark: Randall Knives, Desperados & Homegrown Tomatoes, Colin Irwin articles, Low, Nazareth, Patti Smith, Bobbie Gentry and Little Simz.
Released:
Nov 14, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
E26: Mavis Staples + Bob Stanley/Saint Etienne + The B-52s audio: This week, Mark, Barney and Jasper start with featured artist Mavis Staples and discuss her legacy as a member of the Staple Singers – as well as her solo work with Prince and other producers. Three pieces by featured writer Bob Stanley spark discussion of Johnny Cash and self-proclaimed "best group on the planet" the Stone Roses. A 1992 interview with Saint Etienne cements Bob's "poacher turned gamekeeper" status as one third of that "meta-pop" trio. The week's audio interview is with B-52s Keith Strickland and Katie Pierson, wherein they skirt around the subject of bandmate Ricky Wilson's AIDS-related death in 1985. Mark and Barney consider the group's status as darlings of late '70s New York and hail them as one of "the best things to come out of New Wave". Launching into the highlights of the rest of the week's additions, Mark selects a diverse selection of pieces including a 1972 live review of the Rolling Stones, p by Rock's Backpages