This time on my series of recontextualizing junk: a 1978 7” made by the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee for The Wheat Industry. I came across this at Joe’s Record Paradise in Silver Spring, Maryland for $2. Joe’s is a gold mine of dusty old singles, shoutout to Joe.

Way in the back of this basement store, the album art caught my eye, and after seeing the price sticker indicate it was spoken word, I was sold. I had been looking for an excuse for an Ambient Americana and American Primitivism tape after seeing Hayden Pedigo live and developing a habit of falling asleep to Old Saw.

When I got home, I learned this single was not spoken word, but an annoyingly catchy ear worm with a spoken word section buried in the middle of side B and backed by the honky tonk country instrumental. Nevertheless, I set out to use it as the framework for my next tape. This is Prairie Gold.

The genres at play here are American Primitivism, Ambient Americana, the occasional folk tune to help guide the tone of the mix, and one twangy slowcore song. Initially, the tone was going to stick around the swirly nostalgic haze of Song for Paloma by Old Saw, but as I was compiling songs for the mix, I decided to include more diverse moods to make the mix feel less stationary. I tried to keep the energy at a pensive flatline, only blipping up in a few spots. The joyous horns of 94 the Long Way by Jim O’Rourke, the desperate yelp on Little River by The Tallest Man On Earth, and the catharsis on Black Iris on a Burning Quilt by Eli Winter all feel like earned moments poking out of the fog. Lastly, I want to highlight the meandering One Fine Morning by Bill Callahan. The serene, stream of consciousness vocals are perfect as the end credits cut after the explosive track that precedes it.

Since this 7'“ had less usable source material in the spoken word realm, I included film scenes and found footage in a few of the ambient songs. The most obvious of these being a scene from Paris, Texas and the least being a 1956 mini doc called The Wheat Farmer that I found on the internet archive. The list of non-music additions is below:

  • Prairie Gold monologue snippet (Side A, start to 1:00)

  • Tape loop warping of Prairie Gold monologue (Side A, 2:20 to 2:35)

  • Medley of Songs: Ohia Live performance of Blue Chicago Moon + The Wheat Farmer (1956) snippet (Side A, 27:49 to 29:02)

  • Paris, Texas (1984) billboard scene (Side A, 34:57 to 36:34)

  • Old Joy (2006) campfire scene (Side B, 5:32 to 8:28)

  • Gunsmoke (1957) scene (Side B, 18:01 to 18:15)

  • More bits from The Wheat Farmer (1956) (Side B, 44:08 to end)

Lastly, since the source is a 7” and not a cassette tape, I repruposed the sleeve by cutting it up and shaping it to a J-card.

See below for the full list of songs used:

Side A

  • Whispers by Loren Connors (2016)

  • Sunflower River Blues by John Fahey (1964)

  • Three Ravens by Jake Xerxes Fussell (2019)

  • Mouth of a Flower by Haley Heynderickx (2024)

  • 94 the Long Way by Jim O’Rourke

  • Soft Alter by Aux Meadows (2023)

  • Diamond Shoals by David Moore & Stephanie Coleman (2025)

  • Rainbows and Ridges by Blaze Foley (1984)

  • Mt. Angel by Ann Annie (2022)

  • Song for Paloma by Old Saw (2025)

  • Little River by The Tallest Man On Earth (2010)

Side B

  • The Very Day I’m Gone by Nora Brown (2021)

  • Dreams of Rhiannon’s Birds by Gwenifer Raymond (2025)

  • The Halo around the Moon is the Wedding Ring of Night and Day by American Paint Horse (2023)

  • All My Love by Shallowater (2025)

  • Kingman, AZ by SUSS (2021)

  • Long Pond Lily by Hayden Pedigo (2025)

  • Houston in Two Seconds by Ry Cooder (1985)

  • Steady in the Hand by Hannah Frances (2025)

  • Black Iris on a Burning Quilt by Eli Winter (2025)

  • One Fine Morning by Bill Callahan (20111)