Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

Sugarland's Bush takes a day off with records

Jeffrey Remz  |  June 16, 2011

Sugarland is not my cup of tea. Never has been. I've always considered them not all that country - way too much on the pop side of things. That was particularly true on their latest release.

But with this posting, I have not come to bury the duo, but praise them - well at least Kristian Bush.

A press release came across my computer a few days ago that Bush was starting something called the "Day off Record Club." I wasn't sure if he was thinking about bringing back the Columbia Record Club or what the deal was at first because I never considered Bush the entrepreneurial type.

This club isn't about making money, but educating people about music, and I'm all for that big time.

Bush intends to have a weekly session in which he will go through his collection of vinyl (yes vinyl!) and pick out an album that speaks to him. Bush said he would select a record of "something that matters to me. I'll listen to it, and write a blog post telling you why it matters. At the end of the post, I'll write some questions or things to think about... and then leave it open to you."

I also liked his big rule about the club. "Important rule: During Day Off Record Club, we listen all the way through, no matter what - no skipping allowed - and just let the music play and help teach us, remind us, or show us something new. You can go back later and wear out your favorite songs, but at least once, you must listen top to tail."

What I like about that is we are so much driven by singles these days instead of complete albums. In country, we are seeing many new artists and even longstanding artists go to release EPs instead of full length CDs because of the marketplace being bad. Bush is saying, in effect, consider a whole disc on its merits, not just a song you keep hearing on the radio. Great idea.

Bush also wants to involve the public by asking for feedback at the Day Off Record Club Twitter feed (@DayOffRecords). "Discuss it like a book club. And maybe down the road we'll find a way to all listen to the same record at the same time," he said.

The fun starts this Saturday with R.E.M.'s "Murmur" on sugarlandmusic.com Let's hope that Bush also throws some country music in there. After all, he is a country artist, right?