Tim McGraw Scores Assist On New Def Leppard Single
- The new single from rock band Def Leppard’s forthcoming album was co-written by Tim McGraw.
McGraw, a current Grammy nominee as a songwriter for “If You’re Reading This,” initiated the co-write idea three years ago through his longtime tour manager Robert Allen, brother of Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen.
- The cover story of this week’s issue of Nashville Scene considers the critical craze over Miranda Lambert and the contrast between Lambert and Carrie Underwood. Among the article’s highlights:
- This year, Lambert became the first artist ever to land three songs in the top 15 of the Country Music Critics’ Poll top singles list (”Famous in a Small Town” was number one)
- If 2007 was 1965, Miranda Lambert would be Merle Haggard while Carrie Underwood would be Bill Anderson.
- “Country radio’s problem is not that it sounds like ’70s rock but that it sounds like bad ’70s rock—more like Molly Hatchet than Lynyrd Skynyrd, more like Journey than Cheap Trick, more like Firefall than Fleetwood Mac…”
- Yes, that’s Dale Watson naked on a motorcycle for the cover of “Still Naked 2008,” a calendar featuring 32 naked Austin musicians and benefiting the Austin Children of Musicians, Artists and Writers Fund. The writer who put the calendar together says this might be the last year; unless she can get Willie to do it.
- Randy Rogers is kicking off the first night music festivities for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
- I don’t know anything about Australian country music, but judging from this article Lee Kernaghan is a pretty big deal.
- Billboard is reporting that in celebration of Willie Nelson’s 75th birthday Legacy Records will release a four-disc, 100-song boxed set entitled One Hell of a Ride on April 1st. The set will cull songs from throughout Willie’s career. The liner notes will be written by Joe Nick Patoski, who will be releasing a Nelson biography in the spring. And, Legacy will be releasing a single-disc compilation of Willie’s #1s soon after the box-set. It’s a good year to be a Willie fan.
- Keith Anderson, country music star and former…bodybuilder?
- Pat Green’s book about Texas dance halls comes out on February 13. “Pat Green’s Dance Halls & Dreamers will feature photos of the state’s most famous dance halls, as well as stories about the venues told by popular Texas musicians, including Willie Nelson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen…”
- Beverly Keel says some of the greatest names in country music came together on Wednesday to shoot Country’s Family Reunion, a nine-DVD set that will be released in the spring. The set is the ninth in a series that features 70 legends singing, talking and swapping stories.
Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson, the show’s host, said, “When we first started doing this in 1997, we thought we were making entertainment. Looking back on it now, out of the first 35 people who did the show, 16 of them — almost half — are no longer with us: Chet Atkins, Boxcar Willie, Bill Carlisle, Grandpa Jones, Skeeter Davis, Billy Walker.
- Brad Paisley achieved his sixth consecutive No. 1 with “Letter to Me”, beating out Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” which remained at the top for six weeks. Swift released “Picture to Burn” to radio yesterday and Dierks Bentley will debut his new single, “Trying to Stop Your Leaving”, next week on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
- This Is Texas Music’s post about the “Best beards in music” reminded me of an old website always worth another exploring–MenWhoLookLikeKennyRogers.com.
- Taylor Swift’s iTunes exclusive EP Live From Soho is available for purchase.
- Excellent article about the dehonky-tonkification of Houston. I found it interesting that Peter Gordon, an owner of the Continental Club in Houston, says he can bring Dale Watson in on a Friday or Saturday night and is lucky if he gets 50 people. In stark contrast, Gordon says Watson can play six or seven nights a week in Austin and fill up the venue, no matter the size.
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January 24, 2008 at 11:36 am Permalink
Do I have have to say it? Do I even have to say it???
January 24, 2008 at 1:01 pm Permalink
Go for it Jim. Enlighten the unenlightened.
January 24, 2008 at 1:04 pm Permalink
Let’s just say I’m not surprised by the results of that poll.
And, wow, comparing and contrasting Miranda to Carrie? Who would have ever thought to bring those two up in the same article…
January 24, 2008 at 1:21 pm Permalink
You want to say the “O word,” don’t you?
January 24, 2008 at 1:24 pm Permalink
A group of people are to decide according to THEIR taste who is good and who isn’t. Why does their opinion matter?
January 24, 2008 at 1:30 pm Permalink
Comparing Miranda to Carrie is like comparing Monet to a finger painter — they do not even compare
January 24, 2008 at 2:22 pm Permalink
Peter, I want to shout it from the top of the Bat Tower in downtown Nashville. Think they’ll let me up there for that?
January 24, 2008 at 2:37 pm Permalink
Jim, you need to let this go. There were tons of people (including me) who called you out on your lack of concrete factual back-up to your claim. It isnt a secret that writers and publications from outside the country genre rate her higher than most country acts because of her lack of bubblegum-poppiness to go along with the appearance of being “different”, as well as their tendency to copy-cat each other with rankings. These random publications simply rating her highly isnt proof of over-rating her. We can spend the rest of Mirandas career pointing out all the publications that claims she is great and do this whole “over rated thing” each time. I think you have a problem with the fact that she is simply “rated” in the various rankings and lists outside of the genre without having big-chart topping hits. Just let it go bro-man.
January 24, 2008 at 2:46 pm Permalink
No Kelly, you’re right–although I disagree that you “called me out on [my] lack of concrete evidence”. I gave very, very specific details and examples in the article. Just because you disagree with my points doesn’t make them any less concrete.
But you’re right–and my comment was not meant to drudge things up.
I was just pointing out that we brought you this debate, including the Miranda/Carrie analysis, way back in November. So remember who has their pulse on the state of the industry. The 9513, baby.
January 24, 2008 at 2:46 pm Permalink
Anybody else notice that the paragraph about Willie’s box-set has nine instances of the letters “w-i-l-l” appearing together? Yea, I just noticed it, too.
January 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm Permalink
Brody, are you high right now?
January 24, 2008 at 2:59 pm Permalink
Because that would be apropos, now that I think of it.
January 24, 2008 at 3:01 pm Permalink
Chris - Nope, just bored and dreading having to do any work.
———————-
Also, Nashville Scene points out that Miranda Lambert wasn’t the only one that had fingerprints on the polls, there was a big Emmylou Harris thread running through everything. In the list they highlight a Patty Griffin/Harris connection, but forgot to mention “Trapeze”, Harris’ duet on Griffin’s album.
January 24, 2008 at 3:23 pm Permalink
Brody, are you avoiding doing any “shift work”???
Chris - My wife’s office gets Country Weekly and I dug your feature on Emmylou and her dogs! also, why don’t the powers that be there at CW allow for anymore space for the CD reviews??
January 24, 2008 at 4:27 pm Permalink
Miranda isn’t over-rated at radio (she is under-rated there), but her albums just don’t deserve the praise she gets from the critics. Her music is definitely better than most, but it is not the difference between “Picasso and fingerpainting” as one person said.
I like Miranda. A lot. But she isn’t God’s gift to music or country music’s savior.
January 24, 2008 at 4:45 pm Permalink
Kelly — Thanks much for the kind words. I’m afraid there’s limited room for reviews because our research has historically shown that our readers just aren’t all that interested in them.
January 25, 2008 at 6:50 am Permalink
>>If 2007 was 1965, Miranda Lambert would be Merle Haggard while Carrie Underwood would be Bill Anderson.
Ha! Perfect!
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