Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

                         Hood's next group of songs is firmly rooted in the historical and very personal south and centers on Hood’s concept of the “duality of the southern thing.” “Birmingham” describes the unemployment and stresses of living there and trying to maintain an authentic identity. “The Southern Thing” is told from the perspective of a proud man who realizes the complexities of the south from General Lee to Martin Luther King, juxtaposing different ideas that play into Hood’s concept of southern duality. Hood has continually written more personal songs about the south and his identification with it throughout his career.             “The Three Alabama Icons” is set in hell and presents the history of three famous Alabama figures, prefiguring his later look at other historical figures, especially The...

Adam's House Cat was the first band that featured Drive-By Truckers' mainstays, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. Their first and only record, Town Burned Down, has never been officially released, even though it provides the blueprint for everything the two have done for the past thirty years. It is, perhaps, too lo-fi for those who like the more recent direction the Truckers have taken, post Jason Isbell and Shonna Tucker, and it surely harkens back to the pre- Southern Rock Opera era of the band. I first heard their song, "Runaway Train," after downloading it on Ninebullets.net a few years ago and was hooked. I hope it someday gets an official release, but tracks have turned up on the internet and the Truckers have streamed it on their Facebook page. A few tracks can be found on YouTube, at least for now. Archive.org hosts an excellent live reunion show Live at Nuci's Space from December 1st, 2006 that captures the power and variety of AHC. The band existe...