Song(s) of the Day # 4,018 Chris Eckman

                      

                              'Wars are won. By those who quit. And leave dreams undone.'

I often post the covers of Uncut Magazine and Mojo Magazine on social media with some kind of puzzled personal response. I still buy both on a monthly basis, I post puzzled comments because the deeply conservative and repetitive market positioning and approach of Uncut and Mojo strikes me as odd.

What I'm talking about mostly is their cover stars and the photos the respective magazines choose on a monthl  basis. Dad's Rock & Roll Army. Isn't Rock & Roll supposed to be about youth. Not any more apparently.It's for Grannies and Grandpas. Keith Richard with his new teeth again. Macca looking slightly bewildered. Dave Gilmour positively furious. Probably with Roger Waters I imagine. Have they hand another tiff nurse.  Put Mr Gilmour in one corner and Mr Waters in the other. 

I generally don't bother to read the article inside which refers to the cover star(s) of any particular. issue,Hey, I'm a Go Betweens and Pale Saints fan. The cover star is not generally why I buy the magazine. I do so despite it. Paul Weller looking like he's left Woking and become a commanche. Jeff Tweedy with an expression on his face which makes you wonder whether he's mislaid his medication again.

It all seems slightly odd to me. Rock & Roll becomes unfirm and slightly confused. The original generation are the ones that must be venerated. The Sixties people. I guess the magazines know their readership. It makes you wonder for the long term future of both. My social media posts are generally greeted by comments from disillusioned ex-readers who have stopped buying the magazines. The covers are always the same. The magazines are too expensive. There are too many ads. They're boring. 

It's not my experience or perception, .I'm not bothered about splashing out slghtly. I think they're lovingly compiled, beautifully presented and well written. Music remains my main driving passion and I want to be directed towards records that I wouldn't otherwise hear. On a regular basis. I trust Uncut and Mojo's editorial judgement and musical taste and direction. They lead me to stuff. Today they led me to Uncut's February Record of The Month, The Land We Know The Best by Chris Eckman.

The Land We Know The Best is very much the kind of record you expect Uncut to laud and Chris Eckman is the kind of musician you'd expect them to praise. Slow and  sensitive singer songwriting Americana stuff from a well read bloke. Something to listen to while you're making your way through a John Steinbeck or Hemmingway novel and seeing if you can afford to make a roadtrip on Route 66 or a pilgrimage to Memphis next year.

These are not things I'm likely to do. And so I'm not really the kind of music fan that's going to be  sufficiently engaged to find this record quite as thrilling as Uncut staffers do. It's alright, It certainly wiles away an hour with headphones on at on my keyboard on a Thursday night. But appreciative as I am of Uncut's nudge towards this  record it's not really for me long term.There is no Velvet Underground influence here that I could identify. Raymond Carver and Cormac McCarthy are more prominent forefathers to the songs here.. It's a record I admire rather than love though I'm pleased I've heard it. .