hey Hank Green. why do humans have muscle control over their nostrils? why can we flare our nostrils!?!

John R. Miller's “Acid Americana Arcade: Songwriting, Nashville, & the Unknown” is out now.

Tune in for a day-in-the-life with singer-songwriter John R. Miller, featuring stripped-down versions of “Basements,” “Ditcher,' & “Smokestacks On The Skyline.” youtu.be/HtoFHkocCHs

“John R. Miller's Acid Americana Arcade” drops Feb 20 on Contrary Western’s YouTube channel.

Check out John R. Miller performance and interview here and tune in to take the full trip in a few weeks.

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Rounder Records

Following the tradition of musicians like Jason Isbell, Tommy Prine debuts his acting chops in Another Contrary Christmas.

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ANOTHER CONTRARY CHRISTMAS w/ Tommy Prine, Arlo McKinley, and Tré Burt is out now! youtu.be/NNpyYh0eGMQ

.Tommy Prine, Arlo McKinley, and Tré Burt find themselves in for a heartfelt but haunted hang at an empty holiday shindig in the 2nd annual Contrary Christmas.

“Another Contrary Christmas” Christens Contrary Western’s YouTube on December 25.

Re-reading eileen elizabeth espinoza 🦋's essay for drDOCTOR about tattooing and grief and Joshua Tree National Park <3

.Adeem (the Artist) stunned us with this live version of “Painkillers & Magic” at The Bluebird Cafe earlier this year and shared how they found their way back into country music.

'If anyone should have a Duke's Mayo sponsorship it's me or BJ Barham [of American Aquarium],' said Adeem (the Artist) in their Contrary Western session at the Bluebird.

So who will Duke's sponsor? Adeem? BJ? Contrary?

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I played “Painkillers & Magic” and talked about it with the fine folks at Contrary Western. Watch and listen here

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Just before their show at The Bluebird Cafe earlier this year, Adeem (the Artist) shared a stripped-down version of “Painkillers & Magic” with us and spoke about surrealism in songwriting, growing up in North Carolina, and the magnificence of Duke's Mayo. youtu.be/ytIcWeH-OS4

.Chris Shiflett covered Merle Haggard’s “Ramblin’ Fever” and reflected on the role of country music in Southern California—from Gene Autry and televised westerns to #BuckOwens and Merle Haggard, on through to #GramParsons .

👏👏👏

.Chris Shiflett shared an intimate, in-studio version of “Overboard” and spoke about recording his new album ‘Lost at Sea’ in Nashville with jaren, Charlie Worsham, & more—before also playing a #MerleHaggard cover and stripped-down “West Coast Town.” youtu.be/o8LCCMvopjs

“We are left to transform alone, to carry the narrative of passing singly, an internal weight.”

This gets at the troubled heart of contemporary grief. I’m looking forward to reading the whole book.

read more about the traditions of mourning tattoos, including my own, at drDOCTOR 🦋

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I’m currently finishing my book on death rituals in the west — “carrying the bones” (University Press of Kentucky). here’s an excerpt, from drDOCTOR:

“For as long as there has been pigment, there has been memorial.”

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I love that Tommy he’s a good one

.@tommyprine shared a striking cover of “Videotape” by Radiohead, a moving version of “Ships in the Harbor,” & spoke to the different genres he grew up listening to and the influence @jasonisbell had on him finding a deeper connection to Americana music.

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ICYMI: Chris Shiflett with a stripped-down version of 'Dead and Gone' and a conversation about the punk and country continuum.

#ChrisShiflett #ContraryWestern Blue Élan Records

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