Growing up, country music, or Country and Western as it was habitually referred to, was not quite the object of fun you might imagine. Particularly on the west coast of Scotland, country was a big deal, with Glasgow having its own Grand Ole Opry and a number of associated clubs and venues. Still, it didn't cut through in terms of actual listening habits. There weren't that many "chart" country acts to be honest, beyond Dolly, Kris, maybe Willie and so on. Very much novelty hits though - singles rather than albums.

It changed in the early nineties, and weirdly I think the Tindersticks may have been the ground zero for the whole thing. They had a cover, or a compilation, or in some way namechecked Wichita Lineman, at exactly the same time as Fopp had the Glen Campbell 20 Golden Greats or whatever for £3.99. So we all went out and bought it. And it was incredible of course. At roughly the same time you had Teenage Fanclub starting to reference the Flying Burrito Brothers, and I guess the indie night at the Camden Falcon was called the Phil Kaufmann Club, and suddenly all this stuff started to collide. You might still struggle to call it country in a Nashville sense, but it definitely open a lot of doors.

Neil Young was obviously a huge influence, and it was clear that some of his less feedback moments owed a huge debt to that kind of country rock thing from CSN, Poco, Townes van Zandt and all that. In '93, the first time I visited the States, I don't remember it being a huge deal, but ten years down the line, with Beachwood Sparks, The Tyde, and later Caitlin Rose it was definitely part of the mainstream indie aesthetic, Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss being brought into the fold as well as people like Gillian Welch, and, again, Plaskett.

When we were in the southern states in 2015 it was real eye-opener, and I guess that's where the Taylor Swift version of country fits in. It didn't feel like a sympathetic zone for Gram or Neil - it was much more about Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and Lady Antebellum. There were undertones, for sure, but Nashville just felt too big and corporate to try to peel back the layers. I'd love to try again.

Just now I'm listening to Magnolia Electric Co by Songs:Ohia, another modern country album I would rank among the greats. There are still tales of tragedy and heartbreak to tell. And while there's a bottle to be drained, a still to be set, two dollars when I'm hard up and religion when I die, country will continue to have a place in my heart.