Don't Call It Country!
Inner Twang drags your favorite rock bands out of the country closet.
The Appeal of the Awkward
With all of the praise from the alt contry world in hand, Alejandro Escovedo delivers songs that are sometimes tender and delicate, but also raw, painful, and searing.
Who Still Cares About the Singer-Songwriter?
The growing irrelevance of this mythical troubadour is on Chris Schwartz's mind. What he finds is a crop of current artists - Steve Earle, Jeff Tweedy and Will Oldham among them - who are redefining the term and making it their own.
Punk Rock Banjo
In the Outer Sound debut of the Inner Twang column, Chris Schwartz traces the history of the banjo - a historically underappreciated and oft-maligned instrument that just may finally be getting its day in the sun.
