Though I was raised on Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings, I can claim learning my country craft from none of them. My true antecedents are Ryan Adams, Uncle Tupelo, and their alt.country ilk.

As I have Uncle Tupelo, they had Gram Parsons, who had Buck Owens, who had Hank Williams. But those are the obvious components. What of the Dillards, The Great Speckled Bird, ex-teen idol Rick Nelson, ex-Monkee Mike Nesmith, or Sneaky Pete, composer of the Gumby theme song? There's more to it all than you might expect, and there's certainly more to it than Gram Parsons.

The nebulous, incestuous evolution of country rock from 1963 to 1973 is the subject of Desperados, a book that was given to me by another music lover. It was researched and written by John Einarson and is an enlightening read. Though it seems to make a concerted effort to legitimize the Eagles and is at times meandering and confusing, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the story of this music. Those Californian musicians back in the day had a knack for knowing everything that was happening on the fringes of country and rock, so some of the most significant and influential music traced therein manages also to be some of the least familiar.

Read the book. Go out on a limb and buy anything that makes you wonder. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

The story of Christmas In July is surely less magical, enjoyable, and profitable than that of Christmas In December. Color me surprised if it's not the story of clever marketing and claymation marathons. Does this mean I'll be less filled with a spirit of unwarranted generosity? Well, yeah, but here's some Pete Seeger anyhow.

Seeger -folkie to end all folkies and inspiration to many, including Bruce Springsteen (see The Seeger Sessions)- recorded a Christmas story (The Birth) written by Sholem Asch. This story covered three sides of a double LP and was... frankly not the most exciting experience of my life. The fourth side, however, had recordings of seven traditional Christmas carols sung by Seeger in his usual one-mic, voice, and guitar/banjo method. It's pretty standard fare from him. I'm loving it, especially the Carol Of The Beasts.

The state of bluegrass is such that only by virtuosity or through bizarre avenues of chance and perseverance is any success gained. That's unfortunate news for The Groundhawgs, a totally happenin' bluegrass band out of Calhoun, Georgia, because they richly deserve any attention they can get. The brothers Jones -chief singer and banjo/mandolin player Clayton, and secondary singer and guitar player Clark- lead the outfit with Jason Tims on bass and Mick Kinney (brother of GA institution Kevn Kinney of Drivin' And Cryin') on fiddle.

The Groundhawgs exhibit solid writing and musicianship in this set from June of 2006. A love of tradition is demonstrated by the excellence of the gospel tune, The Old Ark's A Moving, along with Jerry Jeff Walker and John Hartford covers, and striking originals like Picker's Song and East Resaca Blues, but this is just one side of the coin. Other original compositions suggest a preoccupation with science fiction and Juliette Lewis, but rarely come off ingenuine, ironic, or novel. In fact, I can't help wondering if a song about Earthlings (Planet Alabamie Rag) might be exactly what Gram Parsons intended when he proposed his dream of Cosmic American Music.

Key tracks: Picker's Song. Go On And Shoot That Dog, Bri