Let Us Now Praise Tammy Rock

Those of you who know me might be a bit surprised by what I’m about to do, which is to make the case for a musical genre. Not only that, it’s one that I made up!

I should say from the start that, to me, genre identifiers are antithetical to good art. They might work as an aesthetic shorthand for non-musicians – — and do wonderfully well as a marketing tool — but by their nature they stifle diversity of expression, which is the lifeblood of creativity. No doubt y’all are aware of my frustrations with Squirrel Nut Zippers being labeled a “swing band.” It was an unhappy situation…