On an old episode of This American Life, David Sedaris instilled a very definite fear in liberal radio listeners with his account of hitchhiking shenanigans and with the quote, “They popped in an 8-track of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils… that was my punishment.” It's an unfair smear job that I fear left an indelible scar on the rep of the bearded band – even Ira Glass gets a smirky little jab in at their expense.
The band's tune Jackie Blue has been happily flottering through my brain for days, like an animated little songbird from Missouri; they really don't deserve an association with almost getting killed on the highway – in fact, they're about as frightening as a countrified slice of Bread.
Jackie Blue is a top hit of the hillbilly soft rock genre which I suppose, for some people, is just as frightening as a hitchhike gone wrong…. but not me.
But what do you think?