Like Old Crow Medicine Show and other costume country acts that treat bluegrass like it died in the 19th century and treat it like a novelty, like they’re reviving it out of pity.

Zach Lyon, “The Band Perry - You Lie,” The Singles Jukebox, February 9, 2011

Yes, that’s a phrasing I’ve been trying to put my finger on. (Disregard the garbled repetition — no shots; it happens to all of us.) I have nothing against Old Crow Medicine Show in that I think “Wagon Wheel” is a winning alt-country tune regardless of any conceits its performer might hold, but I definitely appreciate Zach’s identification of this problem. It’s something that happens with a lot of old genres, and might be an even greater affliction when it takes the form of pantomime soul. I wish I’d had “like it died in the ’60s” in mind when I was complaining about Cee-Lo’s Motown fantasy camp.