Leaving Whiskeytown: 2 hours of alternative folk-rock
The New York Times yesterday published an all-too-familiar piece of reporting: Another man accused of preying on women in his industry, offering to help their careers in return for sexual favors, and of being emotionally manipulative. This time the alleged perpetrator is Ryan Adams, whose gravelly, emotional music has been a mainstay of alt-country and Americana since the mid-’90s, as the frontman of Whiskeytown, and through the 2000s with a successful solo career. But Adams hardly has a monopoly on whiskey-steeped Americana, so here are nearly three dozen artists whose music conjures up sun-baked vistas and earthy realism. The A.V. Club presents a two-hour playlist that encompasses righteous anger, quiet beauty, raspy vocals, twanging swagger, and emotional poignancy. You can listen on Spotify.