Saturday Night Live Slates Tim McGraw For Nov. 22 Hosting Duties
- Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are among the country artists who have hosted Saturday Night Live and on November 22 Tim McGraw will be added to that esteemed lineup.
- Jon Caramanica profiles Taylor Swift’s rise to fame and shrewd business practices (or “relatability” factor) in an article for The New York Times.
That she’s likely to become only less accessible is a problem that Ms. Swift is, naturally, very attuned to. “All I can do,” she said, “is put up a MySpace video where I don’t have any makeup on and am wearing a periodic table of the elements T-shirt.”
She tells The Tennesseans‘ Beverly Keel there’s no formula behind her meteoric success, and in her MySpace blog she explains the idea behind several songs (mostly boys) and subtly hints that she may be at a specific Walmart tonight.
- With the wavering economy and sales slump taking it’s toll on country music, the CMA Awards stand out as a bright spot.
- On Dec. 2, Patty Loveless plans to release two alternative recordings of tracks (”Color of the Blues” and “If Teardrops Were Pennies”) appearing on the first digital release of her latest album, Sleepless Nights.
- Country Universe wants to know what singles you think have been definitive of the past decade.
- Barry Mazor comments on the Opry controversy caused by Hank III’s petition to reinstate his grandad.
The Grand Ole Opry, I’d argue, is the ongoing, commercial country music performance enterprise that is most cognizant of the music’s history and tradition while being, in a flight of gripping sanity and self-preservation, attentive at the same time to its present and future.
- Over the course of his career, John Michael Montgomery has sold 16 million records–more than Brad Paisley or Keith Urban have at this point–but after several years in and out of hospitals and a trip to rehab, he’s finding it hard to make radio care again.
- Hayes Carll comes off as affable and perceptive in his interview with Tom Finkel. He wanders from the subject of Hurricane Ike to the British’s knack for remaining entirely silent during a show and experimenting with his songs during the recording process.
I sort of held in lower esteem anyone who had people singing along to their songs and pouring beer on their heads — you know, stuff like that.
And when my second record came out, I started getting some of those people. I realized that there’s a lot of fun to be had in that too, and that you can — while I’ve never wanted it to be just a gimmick and everybody comes out just to be at a certain show and the music is irrelevant, which is what sort of happens sometimes in this scene — I never want it to be that, but I think a healthy balance is good. I try not to play too much into the fraternity-crowd world, and, on the same hand, I avoid the complete solitary confinement of the coffeeshop land as well.
(via Country California’s latest edition of “Quotable Country”)
- The HearYa Indie Music Blog calls Ben Nichols‘ first solo album, The Last Pale Light In The West, “the perfect soundtrack for a western movie, where outlaws outrun the law on horseback through wind and rain,” and one that would make Willie Nelson proud.
- Rodney Atkins, Keith Anderson, Country Music Association CEO Tammy Genovese, Lyric Street Records and CMA board president Randy Goodman, and CMA board chairman Clarence Spalding gathered last week to discuss the state of country music. Anderson and Atkins expressed frustration over several CMA Awards practices and they all listed recent artists they’ve been listening to. Peter Cooper has the transcript.
- Houston’s The New 93Q.com posted an “Up Close & Personal” (code for acoustic) performance from Jewel on their website. If you’re not keen on downloading, check out videos for “Stronger Woman” and “I Do.” (via NashvilleGab)
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November 10, 2008 at 12:25 pm Permalink
Sad for JMM. I always liked him, but I don’t know if he will ever get back to what he once was.
November 10, 2008 at 12:42 pm Permalink
Either the country industry still targets a demographic that’s susceptible to an economic downturn (economically challenged teenagers?); it’s grasping at straws, running around like a chicken without a head, while alienating it’s audience; or both (most likely). Check the numbers from The Tennessean article about the CMA Awards:
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I like the quoted paragraph from Barry Mazor’s article on the Opry and his thoughts on the campaign to reinstate Hank are spot on. You can’t be the member of a staff or cast if you’re not alive.
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I’ve given JMM’s latest album a few listens and don’t care for it, but if he weren’t interested in radio success and were paired up with the right producer, he could make some great music.
November 10, 2008 at 1:07 pm Permalink
Will Tim McGraw do his monologue/skits through a Pro Tools program?
November 10, 2008 at 1:49 pm Permalink
Dr. No, that would be a great monologue skit for Tim.
I’ve never really liked JMM. I pretty much credit him as an instigators of the whole pop-country movement. For a good stretch, he released nothing but sappy love songs that were constructed to be crossover hits.
But then, I am not in his target demographic…
November 10, 2008 at 5:49 pm Permalink
One of the things that has made Taylor Swift a phenomenon is precisely that she did not follow any existing formula. Taylor’s combination of dogged determination and drive, her physical beauty, her endearing personality, and her unique songwriting ability and performing style just happened to click with a very sizable audience segment that she may very well have created! I am not a fan of her music personally BUT I totally understand why she is as popular as she is. Carrie Underwood earned a huge audience through A.I. but Taylor earned hers the old fashioned way one listener at a time with her own music, which is a much greater achievement in my book. I still think she should do a Disney Channel series like The Jonas Brothers to strike while the iron is hot, but she is so busy she likely couldn’t spare the time…..
Just the fact Hank III is getting in Pete Fisher’s face is enough to make me cheer him on! Go Shelton! Having the same “Opry Legends” singing the same tired old “classics” show after show, week after week, year after year has turned 50% or more of each Opry show into a Branson type experience. The only change to the standard line-up happens when a “legend” passes away. Pete should learn “Variety is the spice of life” and apply it to the Opry……
November 10, 2008 at 7:20 pm Permalink
Taylor’s formula pretty much exactly mimics Shania Twain’s, right up probably through the short shelf life.
The thing about reinstating Hank Williams–If Pete Fisher could just get over the idea of associating the Opry with country music, it would be the biggest publicity coup of his career.
November 10, 2008 at 8:53 pm Permalink
I’m a little puzzled by the announcement of the two “new” Patty Loveless tracks. They’re basically, remixes of songs that were already released. How different can they be from the original versions? I don’t understand what the big deal is.
November 10, 2008 at 10:23 pm Permalink
Glad to see another article in regards to Hank III on here. Woohoo! :) If you ever get the chance, do a search on youtube for interview videos and such of him. You never know what you might find.
John Michael Montgomery has had his share of antics with shows and such in the past. It will be a lot harder because his prime was several years ago. Once he made it, he was known as “that singer” who was drunk at shows, slurred through songs and much more. Thankfully he sought treatment and got help. It isn’t unusual to run into him. His bar & grill in Nicholasville has some good country cookin to try out if you are ever in the area…and you might catch him in there if he isn’t on the road.
A lot of “hot artists” from the 90s fade away as new talent emerged into the scene. That’s how it goes…look at Dolly, George Jones, Conway, etc…you don’t hear them played on the radio even they were hot back before some of our generation was born. It is rare to hear the hot acts like Shania, Clay Walker, Mark Chesnut, Joe Diffie, etc on the radio anymore….they have been replaced by Taylor, Carrie, Rascal Flatts, etc.
November 11, 2008 at 9:39 am Permalink
Had my first Taylor Swift exposure last night when she appeared on Letterman.
While not as bad as I expected, leaving out the country/not country question, I’d like to suggest that her fans check out TIFT MERRITT!
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