Oh now you add country music to your pet peeves ;-)
I listen to a bit of so-called alt. country and country-rock like Steve Earle. His protest songs beat anything by Brighy Eyes. He even called himself a Marxist in an interview w/ the CPUSA's PWW a couple of yrs. ago. (And in good Popular Front fashion called for a vote for Kerry at an appearence at a Denver record store in '04.)
Good alt. country, Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. (Songs off their 1st album, "Factory Belt, " and the two albums Wilco did w/ Billy Bragg [who, btw, has a new book out] of Woody Guthrie tunes.) 16 Horsepower (gothic Christians howling about whiskey and bad women and even worse men), Alejandro Escovedo is great . He started as a punker in , "Rank and File, " formed w/ the Kinman brothers from the radical left punk band, The Dils who did, "Class War, " and, "I Hate The Rich."
A good list here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_country and a magazine, "No Depression, " named after the 1st Uncle Tupelo song which was the name of a Carter Family song from the 30's, IIRC.
Time to blast the Gram Parsons.
-- Michael Pugliese