Anytime a magazine names itself after something you’ve done, you’re probably doing something right.

Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy met in a high school English class in Illinois in the early 1980s. Both shared a love of punk music and, despite his rudimentary musicianship, Jeff was soon invited to join Jay’s band (which consisted entirely of himself and his two older brothers). The music they all made together, unsurprisingly, was loud and fast. Band members came and went over the ensuing years — including the two older Farrar brothers — until eventually the trio of Jay, Jeff, and drummer Mike Eidhorn reinvented themselves as Uncle Tupelo in 1987.

For the preceding couple of years the group had exclusively played amped-up 60s covers and garage rock, but Jay and Jeff quietly worked on their own songs off-stage. Along with drawing from contemporary influences like The Replacements, The Minutemen, and Hüsker Dü (all of whom started as loud and fast but eventually revealed unexpected multitudes), Uncle Tupelo also took inspiration from the 80s cowpunk scene (not too unexpected) and old-school country (much more surprising). Although the country influence didn’t appear in the repertoire of their previous band incarnations, Jay and Jeff both shared an affinity for the genre.

Uncle Tupelo’s first album consisted mostly of loud electric rock that sounded very much in keeping with the rising alternative rock scene, but with nods to country both subtle and overt in its licks, rhythms, and lyrics. One of the clearest nods was the title track of the album, “No Depression,” a faster, but relatively faithful and straightforward reading of a Carter Family song from 1936.

Releasing their debut album in 1990, Uncle Tupelo continued to lead the way in what became known as the alt-country movement, a sub-genre that blossomed in the early to mid-90s. They added a few more members and gained both critical and commercial success with their subsequent records (which became more country and folky and a bit more polished).

Unfortunately, a musical and personal rift developed between Jay and Jeff which proved too wide to cross. Jay and drummer Mike left to form Son Volt, while Jeff and the rest of the group became Wilco, one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 90s and 00s.

In 1995, the year after Uncle Tupelo broke up, a fanzine called No Depression (named for the Uncle Tupelo album and song) began documenting the alt-country, alt-folk, roots and Americana scene. Son Volt was the first band to appear on the cover and Wilco followed a year later. They still publish today.

Of course you really need to hear electric Uncle Tupelo to get a fuller picture. Here’s “Graveyard Shift,” the opening track of No Depression: