If you're asking does it sound like "Traveling Alone," yes, it does. I hear it. And surely Isbell's familiar with it if it's a John Prine song. But a lot of Isbell tunes have phrases that sound like something else. Heck, "Daisy Mae" has that part where he sounds like he's ripping off "The Magician."...

As for the song itself, though, I think it's pretty good on its own merits. That opening with Gamble's drums sounding like a heartbeat is pretty incredible. In fact, the rhythm of the whole song is pretty incredible. The lyrics do have a bit of practiced ambiguity, as evidenced by the fact we can't ...

I'm not sure I buy this whole "craft vs. experience" dichotomy theory. As Jason once said in an interview, record stores, unlike bookstores, do not have a fiction and nonfiction section. Whatever the audience brings to the equation is as important as the writer's experience, or intentions. And all s...

I don't have a lot to say on theme, really, but this might be one of Jason's finest songs as far as the musicality of the language goes. Even though this doesn't sound AT ALL like a song Cooley would write, that's a very Cooley-esque skill (e.g. "Perfect Timing"). Also, I listened to this song 100 t...

I like the really spare beauty of this song. The "ooh"s are really key. They're not quite as good as the ones at the beginning of "Streetlights," but they're still pretty damn good. They are quite satisfying to over-sing, by myself, in the car. I think the focus is kind of interesting. Unlike a lot ...

One thing that's always bothered me is the "Or if she didn't believe she didn't dare give me slack, or it was 'baby, I love you, get offa my goddamn back.'" Why wouldn't she dare give him slack? Seems like at that point he's taking about all the slack he can get his hands on. I've always thought th...

1) The more I listen to this song, the more I like the song and dislike the narrator. I'm with adiantumpedatum: what a slimy bastard. I'll elaborate on my thoughts in a second, but I feel like there's a hidden depth to his sliminess, which makes him interesting. 2) This is probably one of my top 3 f...

I took it to be about your first sexual relationship. I've always loved this song. In the story from the show, Jason says something along the lines of, "In real life this was a whole lot more innocent than how it sounds in the song..." I'd like to know how Sunnie felt about it when she first heard ...

As for the SMTF video, when Jason posted the link on his Facebook feed, I collected some of the best comments that captured how I felt about the video (or at least felt were legitimate criticisms). There were some nice ones, too, but you can probably imagine how those went and they were more homogen...

since his songs do not get "song of the week" discussion threads, I have a few questions and wondering if there is any 3DD insight to be shared Is there a rule against this, or does somebody just need to bother? 1. On "How To Forget", what exactly is the lesson that the narrator previously learned ...

I waited until the album came out, and I've listened to the whole thing for about a week--roughly 15-20 times, I'd guess. I really like the album. I can't ever imagine liking it more than Southeastern or Sirens , but I definitely like it more than Here We Rest , and it's way more evenly good than 40...

http://www.countryweekly.com/sites/countryweekly.com/files/imagecache/node_page_image/article_images/shaky-boots-music-festival-2015-400px.jpg ...since Peyton Manning and Tracy Porter both signed with the Broncos in the same off-season. All I want for Christmas next year is a glossy photo signed by...

I know Patterson sang it on the fine print, but I saw Jason sing "Rebels" by Tom Petty in Oxford and on YouTube somewhere.

This is a new article that ran today about the story. I don't know if there's any thing completely new or revelatory, but it put the "story behind the song" in better and more complete context in one place than I've seen yet. http://www.examiner.com/article/decoration-day-the-true-story-behind-jason...

Sweet 16 Muscle Shoals Region: Zip City, Decoration Day, Uncle Frank, Santa Fe Memphis Region: Outfit, Wednesday, Let There Be Rock, Carl Perkins' Cadillac Athens Region: Heathens, Marry Me, Goddamn Lonely Love, 3 Dimes Down Buttholeville Region: Birthday Boy, The Day John Henry Died, Sounds Better...

I don't necessarily listen to every album in heavy rotation, but here goes: SRO (Disc 1): Moved SRO (Disc 2): Plastic Flowers on the Highway DD: My Sweet Annette (?) DS: The Day John Henry Died/Sands of Iwo Jima BAAC: Daylight BTCD: Daddy Needs a Drink TFP: Goode's Field Road BTD: (It's Gonna Be) I ...

I've been doing some thinking about this since my original post. I've decided a person probably doesn't mark the grave of one of their murder victims, even if it is his wife. Coupling that with Bubba's observation, I think she must have died coincidentally with some other cause. I still think this i...

I don't really know if there's an answer to this, but I just thought I'd solicit some other opinions. I apologize if this has already been discussed, but if so, I didn't see it. It's about the song "Live Oak," which I KNOW was written as a METAPHOR about SOBRIETY...whatever, leaving that a...

1a. Sirens of the Ditch 1b. Southeastern 3. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit 4. Here We Rest It's not that I don't like Here We Rest, because I do. I just don't like even it's best songs as much the best songs from the others. And, for what it's worth, I much prefer Live at Twist and Shout over Live ...

OK, I'll play. This is just a list of how I enjoy them; I'm not trying to measure the objective quality of the song... If I left anything out, it's just an oversight. Don't read too much into it. GRAND SLAMS Decoration Day The Magician Outfit Streetlights HOME RUNS The Day John Henry Died Dress Blue...

I kept a setlist. Here it is, in order. Flying Over Water Go It Alone Tour of Duty Goddamn Lonely Love Decoration Day Heart on a String Stockholm Live Oak Different Days Cover Me Up Relatively Easy Codeine The Magician Traveling Alone Elephant Never Gonna Change Outfit Alabama Pines Encore: Super 8 ...

You know, I've heard a lot of people complain about the cohesion of this album. But if this was the first thing by Jason or the Truckers you heard--like it was for me--it's kind of the standard you measure the rest of the stuff by. I didn't have any preconceptions of what the album when I first hear...

When I first listened to this album for the first time, I had only listened to Sirens of the Ditch --not even his DBT stuff. He released "Seven-Mile Island" early online, which despite its content, is very vibrant musically. Needless to say, I was a little disoriented how bummed out this r...

I've gone back and forth with "Yvette". At first I really liked it, a contemporary justified murder ballad. But after several listens there are a few things I have problems with. 1) The relationship with the narrator and the girl is never made clear. From the song it sounds like she is ju...

"Everybody Needs Love" is one of my favorite songs off of Go-Go Boots. My brother liked it so much, I like almost as much now. I love Letterman's story about renting the van and driving to Kansas City. Classic.

Sorry, this probably isn't kosher, but I'm going to cheat: 1) The Magician 2) Seven-Mile Island 3) Outfit 4) Streetlights 5) Grown 6) Decoration Day 7) Goddamn Lonely Love 8) The Day John Henry Died 9) The Blue 10) Codeine I feel really bad about leaving out Dress Blues and Alabama Pines. I love tho...

Well, I suppose the DBT experience all began for me on a July afternoon in 2008 when I was driving with my brother to Oxford. He put on Jason's Sirens of the Ditch , and my brother talked about it in such glowing terms that I felt I had to say something positive soon, so I opined, "I like it. H...