South By Southwest: A Road Map to Alternative Country. By Brian Hinton. (London: Sanctuary Publishing, 2003. Pp 304, ISBN 1-86074-461-3, pbk)

Brian Hinton’s attempt at uncovering the history of alternative country is a prime example of how this type of book can grow out of control and become limitless. Is it possible to write a comprehensive account of a genre that has “officially” been in existence for fifteen years, but finds its roots in music reaching back over the century? Could any authority on the subject discuss every single artist, recording, experiment, mutation, combination, and twist that inevitably occurs in any genre? It is unlikely, however in South by Southwest, Hinton endeavours to do just that. It is with sympathy for the enormity of the task that I read Hinton’s book. In addition to the daunting undertaking, Hinton also had to contend with the very problem of definition when writing about the alt-country. Having never had the benefit of a precise explanation of its parameters, the term alt-country has been used to define any type of roots, Americana, non-mainstream country, or old-time music that has emerged in the last few decades. In short, alt-country is more about the attitude than its musical characteristics. Its industry is centred in Austin rather than Nashville; it is anti-corporate, anti-glitter, and anti-gloss; it is unconventional and DIY; it is, as Hinton says in quoting Justin Tubb, “the music of the working man, the farmer, the trucker, the factory worker.” This is the first full-scale effort to concretize alt-country; other histories have ignored vital elements of its background, and have mythologized certain events as being the beginning of alt-country while excluding other necessary information. The ensuing confusion over what exactly constitutes alt-country is hardly surprising, and has possibly put authors off extracting a full history of it. Hinton reaches far back to the early twentieth century to begin his book. It is not explicitly chronologically structured, but ends up following a sequential timeline by moving from the roots of alt-country to the emergence of a recognized genre and its branches and further experiments. Hinton discusses how alt-country’s roots lie in the old-time music of the South, in folksong collections and the early country recordings of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. He leaves no stone unturned as he unearths the numerous contributors to the current genre: Woody Guthrie’s straightforward folk tunes; the rockabilly/country recordings of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley; the introspective lyrics and acoustic instrumentation of 1960s folk music; the country-rock revolution on the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo; the outlaw attitude of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson; the hip, easygoing country splashes in the Eagles; the rebelliousness, energy, and simplicity of punk; the experimental attempts of new wave, and the list goes on. By delving into alt-country’s ancestry in such a way, Hinton demonstrates that the aesthetics of alt-country do not lie in rock or country alone, but country may be added to rock for musical colouring in the form of a pedal steel or banjo, while country may plump itself up with the driving rhythm of electric rock guitar or the raw vocal intensity of punk. With this as the basis for further exploration, Hinton sets himself up to examine more specifically the recent developments in alt-country. He investigates the important artists thriving in alt-country’s branches such as low-fi, gothic country, and the avant-garde, and he acknowledges the importance of place as he does a loop of the United States, displaying the variants that materialize from geographical particularities. To conclude, Hinton looks at current artists who have drawn on the long lineage he has mapped out, and reveals that tradition is still heralded even in alt-country, as it becomes the foundation …