Back in 1990, a Midwest band called Uncle Tupelo fused country and punk on their debut album No Depression. The title spawned a genre (and magazine), later to be best known as alt-country. Funny thing is, a band called Camper Van Beethoven had been doing pretty much the same thing, albeit with more quirky touches, for the previous four years. In fact, Camper's final album (before a 2002 reunion effort), Key Lime Pie, came out in '89. The album's best song is "Sweethearts," a bittersweet affair built around acoustic guitar and fiddle loveliness.
