What The Hell Does Too Country Mean?
- Sunny Sweeney stirred up a hornet’s nest over at the semi-new CMT blog yesterday when she asked the proverbial question, “What the hell does too country mean?“ Ok, those aren’t her exact words, but they might as well have been.
- Lori McKenna talks about growing as a person and an artist, and not ever wanting to peak.
- Billy Bob Thorton the musician released his fourth album in six years, Beautiful Door.
Thornton and songwriting partner/guitarist Brad Davis of Commerce, in Northeast Texas, put it together over the course of a year and a half, churning out about 30 songs, the last 12 of which made the final cut. The result is a mood setter that balances pacifying enunciation with no-holds-barred imagery. It melds the genres of his previous efforts — roots, country, blues, rock, hillbilly and folk — into accomplished Americana-lite.
The article also mentions that Thorton is creeped out by antique furniture and has a fear of certain types of silverware.
- Jason Isbell talks about his bass player puking out the side of their Econoline as they’re rolling down the street and a falcon hitting their van. NPR has a piece on the recently soloed artist, too.
- Here’s a quick PSA to all our music loving friends with large mp3 collections on their computers: “A newly-uncovered worm called W32.Deletemusic does exactly what its name implies—it goes through a PC and deletes all MP3 files in sight.“
- A British woman had all of her music playing devices confiscated after neighbors complained that she constantly blasted Dolly Parton music.
But neighbour Joanne Kempston said her life had been made a “living hell”. One one day alone she had noted down that the song “D.I.V.O.R.C.E” was played no fewer than 20 times.
- The Willie Nelson Project: Thomas Mariott reworked some of Willie Nelson’s songs to fit his five piece electric jazz group. (via Still Is Still Moving)
- John Goodspeed says “If you like traditional country with a bit of a contemporary edge, you’ll love this one [If It Ain’t One Thing It’s Another - Jeff Griffith].” It’ll be released later this year.
- France loves American country music, the real kind. (via This Is Texas Music)
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Forgotten Artists: Bradley Kincaid In a manner similar to Alan Lomax, William Bradley “The Kentucky Mountain Boy” Kincaid was one of the great American musicologists and collectors of American folk, country and parlor songs.
Forgotten Artists: Goldie Hill Had Carl Smith and Goldie Hill been born 30 or 40 years later, they might have been like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw–the dominant married couple in country music.
Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
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.
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.
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.Tagged In This Article
Billy Bob Thorton // Dolly Parton // Jason Isbell // Lori McKenna // Sunny Sweeney // Willie Nelson
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