The Summers Here Are Hot

It wasn't until last summer that I really jumped into alt-country/Americana/whatever. I had been a fan of Wilco for a few years, but besides A.M., I had never went back into Jeff Tweedy's past songwriting. At the beginning of last summer though, alt-country really clicked for me. Immediately I ate up as much Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, and Jayhawks as I could.

Last summer I worked in the kitchen of a local restaurant, and for the most part the radio in the back was playing either classic rock or club rap. Now classic rock was cool with me, that's what I had cut my teeth on, but the club shit annoyed the fuck out of me. When the nights were closing down though, or when the afternoon came and business slowed down, I took over the radio.

For me closing time always meant playing "The Long Cut," "Gun," and "Chickamauga" as loud as was tolerable. At the end of the night I wanted something to push me all the way to the end (a 12-14 hour day was not uncommon). The afternoons were sleepy time though.

My co-workers always hated my afternoon stuff. Sometimes it was folky acoustic Dylan, but most of the time it was Whiskeytown. The kitchen manager once complained "I feel like I'm in the high hills of Tennessee" as Faithless Street played in the background. The days were long, and incredibly hot, and became increasingly defined by Whiskeytown songs. When "16 Days" came on I would sing the number of days of work I had left in place of 16, and I always felt Ryan Adams's loneliness in "Black Arrow, Bleeding Heart" and "Desperate Ain't Lonely." For whatever reason though, it was the Ryan Adams-Phil Wandscher collaboration "Factory Girl" that became my defining song for the long afternoons. "O the summers here are hot, and all she seems to do is work and sleep and wish that she was still with you."

Man, that was my summer, and it sucked. Thankfully this summer was a lot easier. Today was my last Monday of work, and Friday is my last day until I move back.

The songs below can be found on the Faithless Street reissue. For more Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown info check out Answering Bell.

Whiskeytown- 16 Days
Whiskeytown- Factory Girl