The Endless Mountain Derelicts – Murder in the Mountains
Whatever did the hippies do to all the people who couldn’t trust the peace and love movement enough to wear flowers in their hair? Were they driven out of town on a rail, or merely ignored from all the cool happenings and peace ins?
The fact is that it’s hard to resist a room full of people clapping merrily. It’s natural to feel forced to clap along, and it requires a great deal of strength to be alright with being disliked. The Endless Mountain Derelicts know a thing or two about this.
And just as the majority of bands that are good enough to convince an audience to move to their corner are obsessed with writing the latest Summer hit, it takes strength to move in the complete opposite direction.
“There’s murder in the mountains and clapping in the street,” is what the vocalist of The Endless Mountain Derelicts sings. And, while specifics aren’t exactly provided, that statement seems to fit the mood of the times. It’s a bitter feeling that no amount of Summer pop hits can quite wash away.
For their part, The Endless Mountain Derelicts engage with the truth through a rootsy, Southern-inspired folk-rock that’s as soulful as it is mournful. Well sung, nicely played and suited for a blues that we collectively feel, “Murder in the Mountains” is the song that modern hippies will refuse to touch.
Joe Rian – Midwest Boy
Hang on to your stories and keep your eccentricities well nourished. They’ll do more for you than simply help get you a few free drinks around the old watering hole.
The way things are going, you’ll be paid handsomely for those, and you won’t even have to be a famous writer. At the rate at which everyone lives nearly the same kind of existence throughout the world, those with stories will be paid handsomely just to drop over to a rich person’s house and entertain them. Joe Rian’s in the right business.
In fact, at this rate, much like Cosmo Krame, you’re bound to get offers to sell your life’s story for someone else to claim it in exchange for money and the signing of an NDA. Soon enough, the rich folks in their fancy houses will simply have nothing to say at fancy dress parties.
Joe Rian works with a very distinctive instrument – his voice. That raspy Tom Waits-like timbre is meant to communicate in just a few syllables that the musician has done plenty of living. But that’s not to say that he’s too proud to share the stories with you. The excellently performed acoustic version of “Midwest Boy” tells the story of regular small-time living and unusual characters. These are the essence of a life well-lived, not to mention good songs. And, as soon as we run out of these storytellers, we’ll bore ourselves to death.
