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Scanning the Countryside: Country—and All That Jazz
There have always been some who see country music and jazz as opposite ends of the American music spectrum—one down home, emotionally straightforward and inclined towards the well-understood and safe; the other urban, sophisticated, even intellectual, and born to go off on unfettered, exploratory tangents. You could, of course, hear that opposition expressed by fans [...]
Continue reading "Scanning the Countryside: Country—and All That Jazz"
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Scanning the Countryside: Country History, Then and Now
Caring about country music enough to devote years of attention to the questions its continuing, always-evolving existence raises—what it is, where it’s come from, where it gets on and off, how it speaks to those it speaks to, how all of that (or any of that) matters—that sort of serious devotion, the sort where you [...]
Continue reading "Scanning the Countryside: Country History, Then and Now"
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Scanning the Countryside: Right-Size Me
You’ve probably noticed the tremendous amount of energy and verbiage being expended online these days, in all sorts of places, by people who feel attached to some ongoing or even, often, some abandoned recording format. The conventionally-sized CD album, regularly derided for years—not less in country than in other musical genres— as often an over-priced [...]
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Merle Haggard Named Kennedy Center Honoree; Alan Jackson Celebrates Career with Release of ’34 Number Ones’
Stop the presses: Merle Haggard is one of the five 2010 Kennedy Center honorees for his “lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts.” The annual Honors Gala is scheduled to take place Dec. 5 and later broadcast on CBS on Dec. 28. Joey+Rory‘s Album Number Two can be streamed a week early on [...]
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Friday Five: Occupation Blues
Whatever job you have, chances are you suffer from the occasional bad day. Seamen, working girls, bartenders…it seems just about every occupation has a song about the blues that come along with the job (you can find those blues, by the way, recorded by Ernest Tubb, Hazel Dickens, and George Jones. But you probably already [...]
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Billboard Ranks Top 25 Country Artists; New Releases; Marty Stuart Honors Jimmie Rodgers
Using data from radio airplay and album sales, Billboard ranked the top 25 country artists of the past 25 years. New releases for the week of June 8, 2010 include: Cadillac Sky – Letters in the Deep Amazon | iTunes | MySpace Clay Walker – She Won’t Be Lonely Long Amazon | iTunes | MySpace [...]
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Friday Five: Texas Towns
Just because everything is bigger in Texas doesn’t mean that today’s Friday Five will be a Friday Six. Rules are rules. This edition of the Friday Five, however, will have a uniquely Lone Star State type of feel–five songs that deal with Texas towns. Josh Abbott Band’s brand new single, “She’s Like Texas” got my [...]
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Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood Lead ACM Nominees; Billy Joe Shaver Trial Date Set
If you had any lingering doubts about Lady Antebellum‘s rising status, put ‘em to rest. The nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards were announced and the trio earned not five nominations like Taylor Swift, or six like Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, but a total of seven nominations. Off-camera nominees were announced as [...]
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Twang Is Not A Color
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on the website 2steppin.com, and has been reprinted here with permission. This comprehensive look at race relations in country music was written prior to the rise of Darius Rucker as a hitmaker. The 9513 would love to hear your comments about race in country music today, and about [...]
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2009 CMA Awards Ratings Surpass 2008, But Not 1978; R.I.P. Country Music (1927-2009); Revisit 1981 With Haggard
The 43rd Annual CMA Awards was the most watched show in four years, logging an average of 16.85 million viewers, a number that is distorted by consumers who record the show to watch on their own time. The record for the CMA Awards is 36 millions viewers, set in 1978, when Dolly Parton was crowned [...]
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- Jack Hanford: For those who are interested, there is a new 90-minute documentary video about Tompall & the Glaser Brothers on DVD ...
- joe morris: how come nobody mentions his fan club which started 1950 and was called the " the penny pushers " which ...
- jane: I'm reading this article in 2013 and I've yet to hear anything from the album played on the radio.....
- Catwandy: I guess Matt C. is eating his well-deserved crow 'bout now. Critics....gotta love 'em , bless their little hearts.
- Ed McClendon: Saw the brothers in Greeley CO on the occasion of Tompall's 50th birthday. The show wasn't well promoted and there ...
- Roby Fox: I'm sure no one else will know, or even care about this little tidbit of trivia. "Keep Your Change" was ...
- kate wonders: Roni Stoneman is still on Hee Haw every Sunday night on RFD channel.
- Marsha Blades: Tommy, You were so kind to me during a tough time in my life and I don't think I ever ...
- Leona Jones: I seen Chris at the Grand Ole Opry last week.. First time I have heard of him.. He rocked the ...
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