I almost choked on my coffee when reading an advertise in the morning paper the other day. Bluntly presented as "The country event of the year". Yeah, right. By many swedes, November is perceived as the darkest and most unbearable of all months. It's only natural to gild this dark time of the year with a "Nashville country night" on November 29th. A swedish cover band including some unamed musicians from Nashville (maybe the anonymity was a condition for their participation) will be playing hits by Dolly Parton, Rascal Flatts, Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift, Elvis among others. The venue Hotel Rival is placed in the central of Stockholm and, ironically enough, owned by former ABBA-musician Benny Andersson. Hotel Rival is, despite this, a nice place. I can already visualize this: never-ending wailing sessions (that no auto-tuning in the world can fix), dreary arrangements and crowd-pleasing water-downed country with a modern pop twist. That being said, who is really the target group for this "dumb country"? You don't pay for this spectable out of your own pocket. The business concept requires that somebody else pay. My assessment is that not a contemptuous proportion of the target group consists of companies and their employees. It's, of course, a tax deductible activity. In my opinion, they might as well burn the money in a worn-out oil barrel in front of their employees. For what is the upper management really saying to them. In my opinion, they say: "We don't care much for you". Personally, I would go home and review my curriculum vitae. This worst-case scenario has not yet occured (but you if you want peace, prepare for war). Supporting underground country can be compared with participating in a low intense war without any prospect of victory. Still, it's a war that must be fought untiringly on all fronts. Dark night in Stockholm. Trust no one. Enemies are everywhere. Keep calm and carry on.

I have a very strong suspicion towards people that don't listen to music (in general) and people pretending to listen to music (in particular) and furthermore have bad musical taste when forced to say something. According to extensive empirical evidence and comprehensive statistics, politicians are clearly overrepresented in both groups. It's paradoxial that politicians (who are commonly considered to be driven by empathy, conviction and commitment) lacks all taste when it comes to music. "I like a little bit of this a little bit of that". Under mild pressure to come up with a musical preference, politicians often receives hints and tips from their political advisers. Big mistake, since they also lacks all musical taste. In my opinion, people that are not interested in music lacks a standard emotional setup. I admit that this is very strong words, but sadly it's true. I took me some time to understand that some people are not reachable. For a long time, I thought that this was only a basic information problem. People were misinformed, but given the right information and guidance they eventually would turn up all right. Much older, wiser and chastened I have come to realize that's not the case. One's musical taste may, however, change. This is only natural. To paraphrase the quote "I can tell you how I got from Deep Purple to Howling Wolf in just 25 moves" from "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby, I'm not ashamed to say "I can tell you how I got from Slade to gothic country in just 25 moves". It was a winding road, believe me. Some important milestones: Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Johnny Cash. I admit that I have a history of wellknown artists and almost "mainstream" listening. But, I think I'm excused when I'm nowadays looking for very obscure and self-released albums in limited editions of 200 from artists and bands that have a short expected (and actual) life. And looking back, hasn't there - more or less - always been a dark streak in the music I've listened (and listen) to? 

There might exist two parallel universes. If I by any chance would wake up in the other universe (the one where I would have very strong economic resources), I would undoubtedly start a record company and become a "gothic country" media mogul. The format would be cd among others. The name of the company would be "Gothic Country Records" (see record label logotype on the left). I would be known for "boldly go where no man has gone before", in exploring the genre's darkest corners and raising the bar for high-risk, not to say, wreckless economic behavior. In an act of megalomania I would even consider to start regular "boy bands" and "girl groups", with young aspirating goths and emos. They would, of course, be short lived. It's the thought that counts. Sooner or later, the economic resources would run out and insolvency would occur. Is this the only and inevitable scenario? I don't think so. Of course, gothic country is an aquired taste and not for everyone. But there should be more people out there, i.e. people that have an obvious risk behavior when it comes to their music taste, but are not (yet) beyond salvation. Take the encouraging example of The Handsome Family. Their song "Far From Any Road" was recently selected as the theme song for HBO's 2014 crime drama True Detective by the show's music director, T-Bone Burnett. The song made them known to a much wider audience. The Handsome Family was perceived as a "new" band with a "new" song. The Handsome Family was formed in 1993 and the song was released on "Singing Bones" in 2003. My conclusion is, given the right custom marketing and the adequate promotion the "gothic country" genre would be significantly better known than it is today. I also think "Gothic Country Records" would be profitable in the long run. What evidence do I have that support this conclusion? None, but I choose to believe.

Good news from Uncle Sinner. In one of his very rare online appearances (on FB) he announced: "I am booking a week off in August to record my tracks for the next album. I have the songs all picked and arranged, give or take the possibility of whims occurring. Thanks for your patience." Patience is a virtue. And you really need to be equipped with a large dose of patience when waiting for the new album. The date for the release was earlier set to December 2011 as a "firmly arbitrary deadline". However, Uncle Sinner dislikes deadlines and the feeling that he owe people something. Therefore, it will be likely ready when its ready and not before. But, in this context it's only fair to mention that Uncle Sinner actually released a collection with outtakes and rarities, "A Pocketful of Glass Eyes" as a fundraiser in March 2014. It slightly eased the longing for the new album. The tentative album cover is made by Gal Stark Arad-Kabiri. If the album sounds like the album cover then I’m reassured. Uncle Sinner may not have the highest production rate in the "gothic country" genre, but in return 100 percent artistic integrity. And this is a not very common virtue these days.

Lately, I've done some thinking of what drives some people into the "gothic country" industry. I guess the conversation at the Guidance Office went something like this:

Student: I like to pursue my ambition and become a musician in the "gothic country" vein.

Guidance Counselor: First of all, I think it's very positive that you have future plans and a clear aim. However, there's no job security, very low return on investment, irregular income and occasionally travels under very simple conditions. There's also a very hard psycho-social environment with extremely poor working conditions which eventually could lead to severe health problems. This choice will also put a strain on relations with family and friends. The burn-rate (of people) is empirically very high in the industry. I would strongly advise against this and therefore like to suggest some other line of work with more normal working conditions.

Student: OK. Thank you for the information. But, I don't care. I'm going in anyway.

Well, the decision to enter the "gothic country" industry isn't based on any short or long-term economic calculations, work environment considerations or retirement plan evaluations. On the contrary, it defies all logic and reason. But logic and reason is one thing. Dedication is another and probably more important thing. With this perspective on the matter the choice to enter the "gothic country" world isn't conspicious and maybe not even a choice but a calling. Where from is, however, an open question.