I Am Not a Purist

Blame it on Toby McKeehan (at right), the "musical gumbo" king who forever ruined my tastebuds for "the straight and narrow." I rarely like any pure genre -- I don't like straight pop, I like pop/rock. I don't care for straight alternative, I like alterna-pop. I don't like straight folk, I like folk rock or pop-flavored folk. I don't enjoy straight rap or hardcore, I like rapcore. I don't like straight bluegrass, Americana or blues, I like bluesy, Americana-tinged pop/folk/rock with hints of bluegrass. I was reminded of that this week, while spinning Alison Krauss & Union Station's So Long So Wrong (which I borrowed from my manager's manager, Linda) in preparation for the show I am to see (for free) tomorrow night. I generally get bored with "the straight and narrow" (as it's used in this context). Perhaps that's why some of my favorite artists are Mat Kearney, Over the Rhine, P.O.D., Sufjan Stevens and, of course, tobyMac.