Living outside of the downtown metropolitan area, I spend an awful lot of time commuting. Podcasts have become an essential tool to help soften the blow of sitting on my ass for hours at a time on the bus. There are go-to podcast favorites that keep me engaged, but I'm always looking for a new source or subject to explore. Last week, both the New Yorker and Pitchfork profiled a new podcast titled "Cocaine and Rhinestones" produced and hosted by Tyler Mahan Coe, son of country legend David Alan Coe. The pitch went something like this;
“Cocaine & Rhinestones puts country’s history up for debate again, arguing that nothing is settled and everything is still subject to opposing viewpoints and agendas. At the center of every episode of this homegrown series—which Coe writes, produces, and records on his own time and his own dime—is some mystery about country music, some disagreement, some essential unknown. Who actually wrote Bobbie Gentry’s 1967 hit “Ode to Billie Joe”? What makes the Louvin Brothers’ harmonies so otherworldly? And was Jeannie C. Riley really blackmailed—with leaks of nude photos—into resigning with her former label after her anti-slutshaming anthem “Harper Valley PTA” became a crossover hit?"
On that, I was totally sold, immediately subscribed that day to Mahan Coe's podcast and began binging away. If you have a love for country, Americana, folk or music tall tales in general, this one's definitely worth the time.
Follow the link to the official site for all of the download options!
