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Miley Cyrus and Sugarland Duke It Out For Top Spot
- Miley Cyrus and Sugarland are duking it out for the top spot on next week’s Billboard 200. Cyrus stood at 110,000 sales while Sugarland wasn’t far behind with sales of 108,000 at the close of the business day yesterday.
- Country music bad girl Mindy McCready admitted herself to a treatment facility, following a trip to the emergency room last week. A source close to McCready’s management told E! News that the singer checked into the hospital after overdosing on the sleeping pill Ambien while ingesting vodka. TMZ is reporting it as a failed suicide attempt.
- The Listening Post’s Eliot Van Buskirk asks: “Does associating a band with a brand constitute a dangerous loss of credibility on the band’s part, or should artists be thankful that at least somebody’s paying them, and happily cash the check?” The 9513 reader Peter Kohan brought up the same topic back in March on his own blog, Appetite for Disruption, and insists that all artists need to “sell out” to corporate interests at some stage in their career.
- Jamey Johnson has a new website.
- In an article for Sports Illustrated Vince Gill talks about his love for golf and draws comparisons between the game and being a musician: (via NashvilleGab)
The biggest parallel between golf and music is the creativity. You have to have a creative mind to figure out how to play a shot. You must also develop the physical repetition and muscle memory—those are the same in playing a musical instrument as they are in golf. And there is as much reward in hitting a really great shot as there is in hitting the perfect notes while singing or playing a song.
- In other Vince news, he’s tearing a page out of the James Taylor playbook and going on an acoustic tour.
- PopMatters’ Aarik Danielsen heaps more praise on the Hacienda Brothers‘ Arizona Motel, even dubbing it one of the best country albums of the year.
- For some, an obsession with Dolly Parton is a way of life and you can watch their stories in the new DVD, For the Love of Dolly. Craig Shelburne posted a trailer and gives us the synopsis:
The film follows the lives of a handful of extreme Dolly Parton fans. One young man surprised his family by overcoming the struggles of a serious illness by taking up Dolly as a hobby. (He makes gifts to give her during her annual Dollywood parade.) One middle-aged couple’s Dolly collection threatens to take over their home. And finally, two young ladies… well, their obsession is more than a little disturbing. For example, one girl takes a splinter of wood from the replica cabin at Dollywood, matches the color at Home Depot and remodels the back of her house to look exactly like the cabin. Yikes.
- Why didn’t anyone tell Jeff Bates he was rich? (via Roughstock)
- Scott Shumway and his band Mama’s Boys, consisting of his five sons, were scheduled to play this past Saturday at Showtime Utah in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Unfortunately Scott had to have emergency surgery two hours before showtime. The band told the audience what had happened, and to their surprise, Collin Raye was in the audience and volunteered to help them out.
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In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
Forgotten Artist: David Rogers David Rogers (1936-1993) is proof of the adage that it’s great to be on a major label, but only if the label is truly behind you.
Forgotten Artist: Charley Pride For the ’70s, Billboard has Charley listed as its third ranking singles artist behind only Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard. 
In this exclusive interview with The 9513, the Show Dog Records trio talks about growing up around Waylon and Jessi Colter, and about how those experiences have helped shaped their music as they set off on their own country music journey.
One of an emerging wave of artists empowered by decreasing production costs and a rapidly changing distribution landscape, Kelleigh Bannen has taken a do-it-yourself approach to her debut album, Radio Skies.Tagged In This Article
Collin Raye // Dolly Parton // Hacienda Brothers // Jeff Bates // Mindy McCready // Sugarland // Vince Gill
Current Discussion
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24 Comments
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July 24, 2008 at 11:08 am Permalink
Well now, Sugarland and Miley. I’ve always thought they had a lot in common. And frankly, that “ooh ooh ooh” thing on the radio right now is worse than anything I’ve heard of Miley’s.
Jeff Bates - now that’s just downright funny!
Collin Raye - I’ve always loved Collin.
Vince Gill - I’d love to see / hear a show from the acoustic tour, but it’s coming nowhere near me. :-(
July 24, 2008 at 11:27 am Permalink
I see the whole “selling out” thing very differently than Elliot van Buskirk. I get a kick out of hearing “The Funeral” from Band of Horses on the Ford commerical. I think it gives the commercial a bit of artistic cred even. What I think is cheesy is when the artist turns into “jingle-writer” ala Toby Keith’s Ford Truck Man, or Old 97’s Chili’s commercial from a couple of years back. Dont get me wrong, I dont blame any of them, and dont think being involved with corporate america means they are “selling out”. I dont think many acts CAN sell-out, actually. For example, someone as slick and poppy as Rascal Flatts cant sell out cuz they are a commercial product to begin with. They write songs to sell albums by the millions. If James McMurtry or Guy Clark (whose album sales barely make a blip in their bank acct.) all of a sudden recorded “Redneck Yacht Club”, or “Bob Your Head” in order to “cash-in”, then that’s selling out….
July 24, 2008 at 11:36 am Permalink
Wait to see what happens to Miley’s sales numbers once her fan base gets back from summer camp! (lol)
As for commercial tie ins, Ashlee Hewitt has really got a head start with Mike’s Hard Lemonade even though she is not old enough to drink alcohol legally yet….
Off Topic: For a fun read check out Texas honky-tonker Amber Digby’s blog about her recent trip to France to perform at a festival there. The new picture she’s posted on her MySpace says it all. (lol) Be sure to read the first response to the blog from Amber’s labelmate and friend Kimberly Murray. Amber and Kimberly are two of my favorite female country singers these days and its too bad they only get played on XM 14 Willie’s Place and Texas radio stations…..
Amber Blog Link: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=99492417&blogID=416010615
I really like Jeff Bates and put him in the same general class as Jamey Johnson. These guys are just country through and through and nothing is going to change that.
July 24, 2008 at 11:40 am Permalink
Speaking of Guy Clark and commercial endorsements, check out the totally awesome ad spots he narrated for Pace Salsa a while back: Hands | Sheriff | Agave | Seeds
July 24, 2008 at 11:46 am Permalink
The funny thing about Jeff Bates is that I actually talked to him yesterday (along with another artist). He’s a genuine, down-home guy, and his personal style may just be that look that’s on the album cover.
July 24, 2008 at 11:47 am Permalink
As for ’selling out’ I am of the opinion that it’s one other way to get your music out there to a wide audience.
July 24, 2008 at 11:50 am Permalink
So Jeff Bates thinks that “airhead” is an adequate moniker to describe mainstream radio, eh?
July 24, 2008 at 11:50 am Permalink
Great blog here!! New web site in spanish
http://countryfiedsoul.orgfree.com
July 24, 2008 at 11:51 am Permalink
Paula: How much of Miley’s stuff have you heard? Because seriously “I Got My Heart Set On You”–WORSE than the Corey Hart song it ripped off. I’m not a fan of Sugarland but them on a eternal loop would be a much higher circle of hell than Miley.
Knowing that she had a 30 something guy screwing around with her when she was 15 explains so much about Mindy McCready. But I still say if she would just write from the guts of her life, she could be the country singer of her generation.
I’m with Kelly on the selling out: I don’t really see it as selling out when the band or artist is chosen to create a mood for the product.
July 24, 2008 at 12:08 pm Permalink
I also always got a kick out of Clark’s Taco Cabana ads…just like Grandma used to make….
July 24, 2008 at 12:14 pm Permalink
Jeff Bates may or may not been the artist who I mentioned yesterday. I also interviewed two other artists.
July 24, 2008 at 12:19 pm Permalink
Vince probably has to do an acoustic tour to make up for the huge amount of musicians he took on tour to promote his boxset. I wish he would come near me too. I’ve only been able to see him in concert once and it was all that I hoped it would be.
July 24, 2008 at 12:21 pm Permalink
Kelly: And people who live in the right parts of the country know the power of the Burrito Lady spot.
http://chipotlog.com/audio/by/title/burrito_lady
Well I was sitting at home wishing I had me a burrito
A burrito would be oh so sweet right now
That my friends is true songwriting!
July 24, 2008 at 12:22 pm Permalink
i saw Vince at a country music festival in 1997 when he was the Headliner. The opener? Keith Urban (as the Ranch). He played for 2 hours, had 3 encores and had 2 drummers (”because I can”).
July 24, 2008 at 12:37 pm Permalink
To continue the Vince testimonials, when I saw him, his opening act was Jon Randall. His show started at eight and lasted until midnight when the old people finally started filtering out.
July 24, 2008 at 12:50 pm Permalink
LOL, Vince said “I have tomorrow off, I’m liable to play all night.” It was at the Gorge one of the best amphitheaters in the country (it’s similar to Red Rocks).
July 24, 2008 at 1:32 pm Permalink
Stormy - admittedly, not a lot. But then again, she’s 15 and admits to being a pop artist for the teeny-boppers. Sugarland is trying to convince everyone that they are mature country artists. I aint buying.
July 24, 2008 at 1:35 pm Permalink
good detective work Brady.
July 24, 2008 at 2:01 pm Permalink
DetourAhead! (lol)
Attn Stormy: Kasey Chambers and hubby Shane Nicholson are booking some gigs across the US starting here in LA at McCabe’s Guitar Shop on September 12! Here’s the current list but hopefully a lot more dates will be added: (say Austin for instance….)
Friday Sept. 12 Santa Monica -McCabe’s Guitar Shop
Tuesday Sept. 16 New York, NY
Wednesday Sept. 17 Alexandria, VA
Thursday Sept. 18 Chicago, IL
This concludes this message from the emergency broadcast system and we now resume normal programming…..
July 24, 2008 at 2:36 pm Permalink
I know, and her cd should be here soon!!
July 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm Permalink
I love Kasey Chambers!
July 24, 2008 at 5:56 pm Permalink
I hope Kasey doesn’t cancel them like last time.
July 24, 2008 at 9:00 pm Permalink
I’ll travel to a Kasey show.. but hopefully she does her stuff, not just the new combined stuff.
July 24, 2008 at 10:01 pm Permalink
Thanks for referencing that post - and for turning me onto the Wired post. Much appreciated.
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