New Word: Countrypolitan

Yesterday I read this quote from Southern Culture on the Skids and I've been smiling about it ever since:

"Countrypolitan transcends music. It's a lifestyle, not a category of music...It's where rural and urban sensibilities meet. I mean, it's when you see trucker hats being sold in Beverly Hills boutiques or notice folks eating pork in Mebane, where I live, drinking a glass of merlot. Or best yet, when you see a motor sport invented by backwoods moonshine runners and bootleggers broadcast on Sunday afternoon into potentially every living room in America, there ain't no doubt it's a countrypolitan world..."

Their website goes even further:

“...SCOTS have mixed high and low culture for decades, endlessly touring, serving up moonshine martinis and poultry picking for fans everywhere.”

BBQ + Wine? Moonshine Martinis? Food is a good illustration of the culture mashing that goes on in a city like Atlanta. You can find cuisine from around the world, plus gourmet collards and pecan-crusted catfish. I dream of starting a cafe where you can get both a real biscuit and a smoldering latte in one sitting.

So much of our definition of "the south" is rural– plantations, magnolias, small town hospitality– so what happens when our agricultural roots get paved over? When we finally admit that we live in cities– even though "this used to be way out in the country." Leave it to a geeky rawk band like SCOTS to provide the correct terminology.

(poster by Yee Haw Industries)

Comments

[Brad Brown]

Now I'm feeling old. I haven't listed to SCOTS since Ditch Diggin' in the mid 90's.

First time commenter,
long time reader,
Brad Brown

[Shannon]

I love SCOTS...they play The Earl every fall. I'm proud to have suffered a concert injury from a fried chicken drumstick. Makes Anthony nostalgic for Athens in the mid-90's.