this may come as a wild surprise to you, gentle readers: i do not care for country music. sure, there are a few country classics i have grown fond of over the years: patsy cline’s voice, so soothingly painful; some western stuff from buck owens; that sort of thing.  but as what passes for country these days sounds like soft rock that has been perverted into some sort of populist nashville pap (ladies and gentleman, my proof: shania twain. i rest my case, your honor), my love of country generally is limited to rockabilly elements or generally countrified rock. in other words, i like the allman brothers and even graham parsons if i’m in a certain mood, and that’s probably about as country as i generally get.

slide guitars, duane allman aside, make me cringe.

(full disclosure of just how much of a super-colossal hypocrite i really am: i am related to a woman who writes songs for a number of country artists and who was nominated for a grammy (among other major awards) as the co-author of faith hill’s hit this kiss. i haven’t seen robin lerner since 1985; and she probably doesn’t remember me from adam. but she made a huge impression on me, even then.  i only wish i could have gotten to know her better, as we both write. ah well. so yes, i’m a hypocrite when i tell you that, while i don’t care much for modern country, i will always cheer on anything my cousin writes cos she’s the granddaughter of the amazing woman for whom julian is named.)

anyway, enough of the walk through my family tree. it will probably come as a HUGE surprise that i adore the song amie by pure prairie league.

(did you just do a spit-take of your coffee all over your keyboard? so sorry. go wipe it up. i’ll wait.)

…tapping foot…

okay now. all better.

is it because my oldest friend in the world is named amy? is it because of the adorable little gee-tar solo with which i always try to sing along while performing a mean air guitar? (trust me, you don’t want to be around when i try it. neither do my kids.) is it because i am a complete sucker for songs that follow a basic chord progression (A, G, D)? who the hell knows. i mean, i am stumped here: completely and unalterably. the words don’t move me. but the music does.

i now feel like expressing love for john denver next. please, please, stop me before this happens. friends shouldn’t let friends gush about the late, great bard of the colorado rockies.