serves as a sort of inspirational character or a point of reference when thinking about topical issues. He had a willingness to take social injustice head-on and write about it. |
There's an immediacy and a starkness that's there. I think a lot of Leadbelly's arrangements and his use of the 12-string guitar were atypical, especially the 12-string, which showed his individuality. I guess he approached it that way because the 12-string was louder. Leadbelly and the punk rock aesthetic - maybe there are some similarities there. |
We checked it out and talked to some people around there. They didn't know much about him. They said he was a communist. |
Whenever I get a chance, I still find a song I can still relate to. I was in my early 20s when (the Uncle Tupelo) songs were written. As the years go by, it gets a little harder to relate to songs that were written so long ago. |
Woody has always been a reference point for me, as well a source of inspiration along the way. I was brought up around his music at a pretty early age, ... The reference in the song relates more to the way my own children have become fans, I guess (laughs). If there was no Highway 61, we may not have had Bob Dylan or Leadbelly . |
You're sort of shaped by your environment in a way, |
You're sort of shaped by your environment in a way. I don't know if it affects every songwriter in the same way, but there must be something to it. If you're living in a busy city environment, you're going to write differently than if you're sitting in a Thoreau cabin by a lake somewhere. |