A Decade of Sin

By Julene McCoy in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 25, 2005 5:14PM

Today Bloodshot Records releases a 2-disc set commemorating existing for 11 years and Chicagoist is for one very excited about it. This isn’t the normal run-of-the-mill retrospective that repackages music previously released by the label. The 42 songs on For A Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records are new and previously unreleased. Sure, the old, reliable Bloodshot artists are there: Bobby Bare, Jr., Waco Brothers, Old 97s, and Kelly Hogan to name a few, but they’ve also added some of the friends they’ve made along the way, such as My Morning Jacket, Mary Lou Lord and the Handsome Family.

Bloodshot prides themselves on not defining the music scene, but rather taking a snapshot of it and going from there. Is it insurgent country? Or is it bluegrass or punk? It reminds Chicagoist of the ESPN commercial where the announcer asks the Canadian hockey player what kind of cheese he has on his sandwich and he responds “American.” And the sports announcer says, “That’s right. American cheese.” This is American music, goddammit. That’s it – American and there’s nothing better.

Not to be left behind in this fast-paced world, Bloodshot is now podcasting. There will be different hosts, music, interviews and general nonsense. We congratulate and thank Bloodshot Records for their first 11 years and are looking forward to the next eleven!