My husband and I finally went to see Crazy Heart. The soundtrack from the movie was so good and very nostalgic for me. Growing up in the midwest you are surrounded by country music whether you love it or not. I wasn’t particularly fond of it when I was younger. I would have told you I loved all kinds of music BUT country. Now when I hear country music I think of my Grandma’s dining room with her clock radio that played country all day long while we played cards with the aroma of potatoes and other comfort foods wafting out of the kitchen.
Along with country music goes the cowboy wardrobe, which after seeing this movie I know will be inspiring my outfits. Tomorrow and probably for the next few weeks my cowboy boots are going to be the first shoes I grab. I got them when my husband and I first moved to New York. I found them in a thrift store in mint condition. They were my only sensible shoes. I had lived in the midwest where I wore heals all the time because you never really walked any further than to the car. Now we were walking 40 to 60 blocks a day, for money reasons (and half the entertainment was the walk to your destination). I wore those boots on every street in that beautiful city. I wore them to go see Tindersticks, The Black Keys, Lambchop, Patty Smith, Cat Power… those boots became like a cape. They empowered me. I felt like myself in those boots. I wore them so much I wore a hole through the sole of the right one. I couldn’t afford to get them fixed and I couldn’t afford to buy a new pair. Those cowboy boots were all I wanted to wear; they were comfortable and they were my midwest armour. So I did what any good cowboy with no money would do, I duct taped them. They were as good as new and had more flavor and power than they ever did. I can’t wait to pull them out once again!
“Black Smoke” from Tindersticks’ new album Falling Down a Mountain.
