The Church record is really consistent, the worst song being the Jesus one he didn't have a hand in writing. Though "funny how a melody sounds like a memory" in "Springsteen" was less on-the-nose and more breathtaking when Taylor Swift did it in "Tim McGraw."
― all the other twinks with their fucked up dicks (billy), Thursday, 26 January 2012 03:46 (twelve years ago) link
I splained "Safe" in my notes, wish she'd lose hubby (duet-wise anyway)
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2012 04:07 (twelve years ago) link
Poll results:
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/the-results/Content?oid=2743175
― xhuxk, Thursday, 26 January 2012 15:37 (twelve years ago) link
I'm crazy late to this but the Pistol Annies album is great.
― this is funny u bitter dork (forksclovetofu), Friday, 27 January 2012 13:58 (twelve years ago) link
gonna be digging into y'alls lists later.
― this is funny u bitter dork (forksclovetofu), Friday, 27 January 2012 13:59 (twelve years ago) link
From the "Selected Factoids" section of the Nashville Scene poll:
Country music critics are becoming as amnesiac as country radio. Jamey Johnson, who dominated this poll in 2010 almost as thoroughly as Miranda Lambert did this year, virtually disappeared from the voting. True, Johnson didn't release an album in 2011, but he did release a single and continued to tour. Yet he fell from No. 1 to No. 38 in the artist-of-the-year category, from No. 1 to No. 16 in the male-vocalist category, from No. 1 to No. 46 in the songwriting category, from No. 3 to No. 15 in the live-act category, and from No. 6 to No. 105 in the singles category.
The indignant can-you-believe-this tone here is just baffling to me. If there's no need to consider whether or not someone actually released new material within the past year when voting for this poll, then I guess I'll just start listing Dwight Yoakam on my ballot every year.
Can't get on board with the idea of Four the Record being much fun, at least not after the first 5 songs, and especially not the run of tracks from "Over You" through "Oklahoma Sky" at the end.
― jon_oh, Friday, 27 January 2012 20:59 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, that crazy bizarre Jamey Johnson complaint jumped right out at me, too -- I was considering mentioning it here. "Amnesia" has nothing to do with it. We're supposed to vote him artist or songwriter of the year based on a single (that came off his 2010 album, and got all the way to #51 on the country chart)? The Live Act thing (a category I don't vote in) might make a little sense, but that's it.
― xhuxk, Friday, 27 January 2012 21:23 (twelve years ago) link
Well, I guess his single could have placed. That it finished at #105 might well mean, duh, that people preferred whichever one finished at #6 last year. Since when are all songs by an artist created equal? (Also, I have to admit, in polls like this I probably personally tend to disfavor singles off albums I voted for in the previous year in general. One reason I didn't name more than one Taylor Swift single this year, maybe. I may have even subconsciously docked "Mean" a couple of places because in my head it seems more 2010 to me than 2011.)
As for the songwriter category, did Johnson have great new songs that were recorded by other artists this year? Like, I don't know, the Blind Boys Of Alabama or somebody? I have trouble keeping track of that sort of thing. But if not, given that he didn't put out any new songs himself, isn't it more strange that anybody would vote for him at all?
― xhuxk, Friday, 27 January 2012 22:40 (twelve years ago) link
Upthread are my votes for him in Best Male Vocalist, Best Live Act, where I listed him and his band, based in their Farm Aid set. He kept the vibe and distinctive momentum of The Guitar Album, playing into and out of songs continuously. Also upthread: him and Lee Ann on The Blind Boys' country set (made my Top Ten Albums)The Blind Boys of Alabama have taken the gospel trail with a variety of companions, including the adapted chestnuts of Jagger-Richard, Dylan and Waits, not to mention a collaborative album with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. this time it’s country, with co-production by Jamie Johnson, who also sounds very much at home singing on several tracks, without pushing the doctrine--it’s all more poignant than that, including Lee Ann Womack’s turn (also in the way she finds her way through the clutter of Buddy Miller’s Majesty of Sliver Strings, for the non-campy “Meds”, written by Marc Ribot! Yeah, Miller’s men are trying to make more than a high-chopsy noodlefest, and it would be, if they’d written for and/or backed Womack and Griffin alll the way through). Not too long ago, when asked if he still believed in his religious songs, Dylan replied, “ I do when I’m singing them.” That’s what it’s all about.
― dow, Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:46 (twelve years ago) link
Well, Jamie didn't make this'un. Better luck next time.
Marco Club Connection Names Top Ten Country Dance Club Hits for 2011 (Nashville, Tenn. – Jan. 9, 2012) Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton topped the list of dance club hits in 2011, according to the Marco Club Connection’s 8th annual ranking of Country dance favorites.
Every December, the Nashville-based company surveys a panel of nearly 250 club owners, DJs and dance instructors from across the country to compile its rankings. Overall votes by the panel determine each song’s placement on the list.
“The added emphasis on dance in the music videos for this year’s top club hits was hugely popular with club DJs and choreographers,” says Club Connection Manager of Venue Marketing, Bobbe Morhiser. “By featuring dancers and dance clubs in the videos, these records leave a lasting connection with fans that dancing and Country music are a natural match.”
The 2011 Marco Club Connection Top Ten Country Dance Club Hits are: 1. Luke Bryan - “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” 2. Blake Shelton - “Footloose” 3. Big & Rich - “Fake ID”4. Blake Shelton - “Honey Bee”5. Gloriana - “Wanna Take You Home”6. Billy Currington - “Love Done Gone”7. Jason Aldean - “Dirt Road Anthem”8. Dierks Bentley - “Am I The Only One”9. The Lacs - “Kickin’ Up Mud”10. Chris Young - “You”
“We are thrilled that ‘Country Girl (Shake It For Me)’ was selected as the No. 1 dance song of the year,” says Capitol/EMI Records Director of Media and Public Relations, Taryn Pray. “This single took Luke Bryan to the next level, and it’s great to have the recognition of the dance club community.” Peter Strickland, Sr. VP Brand Management & Sales for Warner Music Nashville echoed the excited sentiments of his colleagues at Capitol: “What a great way to start off 2012 finding out Warner Music Nashville has four of the Top 5 dance songs. Congratulations to Big & Rich, Gloriana and Blake Shelton.”
A complete archive of Club Connection’s Top Ten Country Dance Club Hits by year can be viewed at MarcoClubConnection.com.
― dow, Saturday, 28 January 2012 03:14 (twelve years ago) link
3. Big & Rich - “Fake ID”5. Gloriana - “Wanna Take You Home”9. The Lacs - “Kickin’ Up Mud”
Need to check these out. Never even heard of "The Lacs" til now, and I had no idea Big & Rich still existed.
As for Jamey, again, I get why somebody might've voted for him as one of the better live acts, but Don's explanation still doesn't explain the songwriter stuff. Did he get new songs he wrote out there, or not?
And as for singles, another very real possibility, even if people love the song, is that voters didn't know that Johnson's "Heartache" was a single in 2011. I sure never heard it on the radio myself. (Me, I was aware it was a single, mainly because Frank Kogan had listed it on his livejournal blog as one. Would have made my country top 15 or so, probably.) So it's still a really weird thing for Himes to highlight.
As for Lambert, I get that her 2011 album is frontloaded, but even if you ignore the first five tracks, you still have "Baggage Claim" and "Easy Living," for starters. What songs on Revolution are that entertaining, again? It's been a while, but I don't believe many are.
― xhuxk, Saturday, 28 January 2012 10:27 (twelve years ago) link
"Nobody's Fool," too - a real good pop-rocker.
Also, though I at least slightly prefer the Pistol Annies album and gave it a fairly glowing review in Rolling Stone of all places and totally understand its lyric sheet's recession angle and appreciate its concision, I'm somewhat dumbfounded by people who claim it's way better than the Lambert one. It's better on paper than it is in reality, and if anything, it's kind of too quasi-trad alt-country and could use more Lambert. Beyond "Takin' Pills," what exactly is super great on it??
― xhuxk, Saturday, 28 January 2012 10:40 (twelve years ago) link
And by "quasi-trad alt-country," guess I mean I feel like the Annies are trying to do this old-timey shtick and not quite pulling it off. I like the album (see RS review link below), but I sure don't love it as much as some people seem to. Some quieter parts totally bore me, to be honest.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/editors-picks/pistol-annies-hell-on-heels-20110913
― xhuxk, Saturday, 28 January 2012 10:53 (twelve years ago) link
Right. I do think the Pistol Annies album is superior to Four the Record by a pretty substantial margin, but, even still, I wouldn't rate it more highly than any of Lambert's first three albums, especially not Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
I don't think Revolution is all that much "fun" outside of maybe three songs ("Only Prettier," "Me and Your Cigarettes," and the "Time to Get a Gun" cover), but I do think it's a far better-written and performed album than the new one. Since I'd say "Baggage Claim" is an utter mess of a song lyrically and Lambert's vocal track sounds tinny and pinched, I simply don't agree that there's really anything that elevates the back half of the album. I just don't think the songs are all that well-written-- or, in the cases of "Over You" and the duet with Shelton, are actively poor-- or performed well or produced in an interesting way.
It's a good album, sure, but she's better than "good," and I felt like the Pistol Annies album had more of what makes Lambert great in it than her own album did.
Still puzzled by the "amnesia" thing wrt Johnson, particularly that Himes used Taylor Swift's placement in the poll as an immediate counterpoint: She headlined a massively lucrative tour that led to her releasing her first live album, and she charted 3 top 5 singles last year, so why *wouldn't* her poll results reflect that visibility? And Johnson definitely doesn't have any new songwriting credits on any albums I've heard in the past year...
I had it at #12 on my list, so I'll second xhuxk's mention of the great new Kentucky Headhunters album. Good to have that crew back.
― jon_oh, Saturday, 28 January 2012 14:10 (twelve years ago) link
(Was hesitating to post this, since I wanted to listen to the Zach James once more to decide if I should actually endorse it or warn you off. Folkie naval gaze from someone whose voice is no better than mine, with better-than-I-was-expecting melodies. I still haven't given it a third spin. --I seem to have left out a word or two in the sentence "I'm counting Taylor Swift's _______ as basically 2010," so I inserted a blank. Did I intend to put one of the following: arias? ungulates? mortgage-backed securities? What do you think? --I forgot that "Hell On Heels" was a single as well as an album, would have ranked it #5 or thereabouts. And despite the nice things I say about Ashley down-list, I did generally find the track and album too cute. Or anyway, Timberlee does a better cute. --Least extensive country-listening year for me since 1999, which is why my list looks like yourn.)
TOP TEN COUNTRY ALBUMS OF 2011:
1. Miranda Lambert - Four The Record2. Sunny Sweeney - Concrete3. Lauren Alaina - Wildflower4. Randy Montana - Randy Montana5. Pistol Annies - Hell On Heels6. Eric Church - Chief7. Zach James - Machos Pathos
TOP TEN COUNTRY SINGLES OF 2011:
1. Taylor Swift "Mean"2. Reba McEntire "If I Were A Boy"3. Jamey Johnson "Heartache"4. Eric Church "Homeboy"5. Reba McEntire "When Love Gets A Hold Of You"6. Gillian Welch "The Way It Goes"7. Taylor Swift "Sparks Fly"8. Keith Urban "Long Hot Summer"9. Aaron Lewis "Country Boy"10. The Band Perry "You Lie"
TOP FIVE COUNTRY REISSUES OF 2011:
--
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST MALE VOCALISTS OF 2011:
1. Toby Keith2. Jamey Johnson3. Eric Church
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST FEMALE VOCALISTS OF 2011:
1. LeAnn Rimes2. Miranda Lambert 3. Sunny Sweeney
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST LIVE ACTS OF 2011:
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST SONGWRITERS OF 2011:
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST DUOS, TRIOS OR GROUPS OF 2011:
1. The Band Perry2. Pistol Annies
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST NEW ACTS OF 2011:
1. Lauren Alaina
COUNTRY MUSIC'S THREE BEST OVERALL ACTS OF 2011:
1. Miranda Lambert2. Sunny Sweeney3. Randy Montana
(I'm counting Taylor Swift's _______ as basically 2010, even if there were a few spillover singles; anyway, decided to leave a few spots in my best-of for other people.)
Was going to say that Aaron Lewis can go fuck himself, but unfortunately when he goes he'll be going with my vote, since he put enough strong feeling and playing into his posturing that he moved me. He doesn't want to move himself, unfortunately; all I've got to say is that deciding what you are and what you believe and sticking to it despite hell, highwater, and evidence and life is not half as admirable as he thinks it is. Wish there were more learning and less stand-taking, esp. when the stands are based on symbols rather than thought.
Spent most of the year thinking that country could go fuck itself as well, though I can't say it threw anything different at me to make me feel this way. It was already capitulating to its audience's insecurity over a decade ago when I fell in love with Montgomery Gentry's "She Couldn't Change Me." But there was way more pathos and poetry in the insecurities back then; now it feels rote, and mean. But Eric Church isn't rote and mean, even though his ideas are as retrogressive as the rest. The home he's extolling, that didn't feel like home to the homeboy brother, is at risk, and he knows it. Maybe he's a step away from 1965 (remember, how does it feel, with no direction home, etc.?), where home is something you discover, you build, not just something you assert.
Some quick takes: Randy Montana's album is a hard-rocking sigh. Would have ranked even higher if there'd been more of the rockers. Lauren Alaina has no clue what she's doing, but flounders with a voice that aches and worries. Ashley Monroe is cute and funny without being cloying, and I hope the attention given to the Pistol Annies finds its way to the rest of her work.
Have a nice New Year.
Frank
― Frank Kogan, Saturday, 28 January 2012 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
I asked Himes what he meant about Jamey, here's his reply:As I mentioned in the sidebar, he did get a smattering of support, but I thought his fall-off was pretty dramatic compared to the support that artists like Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert get in a non-album year (and I like all three of them a lot). Did he stop being a notable live act and male vocalist just because he didn't release an album? That's what those other categories are for. It's not a big deal really, but I found it intriguing. I've since mentioned to him that the Blind Boys album and Farm Aid set got me voting Jamey into Best Vocalists, and him plus band into Best Live Acts. But he hasn't responded yet, so I don't know if he was thinking of them re the sidebar speculations. I guess those weren't so widely heard, but he did do some touring, aa seen on YouTube (ditto the FarmAid set, or chunks of it, so you still might get some of the effect of J and band playing continously into and out of songs, a la The Guitar Album). so yeah, voters coulda even shoulda checked him out. But there's so much to keep up with, o' course.
― dow, Sunday, 29 January 2012 22:09 (twelve years ago) link
The Kellie Pickler album is solid. Was Womack's There's More Where That Came From her model for smart gauze?
(it's not as sharp as the Womack record for)
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 30 January 2012 15:20 (twelve years ago) link
Good album. First track seems like a strangely formal introduction. but overall much more consistently engaging than most tribs (def helps to have this house band) This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy ClarkRises to No. 1 on the Americana Music Chart
No. 1 in Classic Country, No. 3 in Today's Country,No. 1 in Pop Tributes on Amazon Best Sellers Chart Album includes recordings by Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Shawn Colvin, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris & John Prine, Patty Griffin, Ron Sexsmith, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, and more. Produced by Tamara Saviano and Shawn Camp January 31, 2013
This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark tops the Americana Music Chart this week. The album is also No. 1 in Classic Country, No. 3 in Today's Country, No. 1 in Pop tributes and No. 24 overall on Amazon.com Best Sellers Rank. The collection was lovingly produced by GRAMMY-winning producer Tamara Saviano (Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster)—who is also working with Clark on his definitive biography—and frequent Clark co-writer Shawn Camp ("Sis Draper," "Magnolia Wind"). The tribute includes 30 tracks by 33 Americana artists who are friends and colleagues of Clark or who have been influenced by his remarkable compositions. The collection was mixed and mastered by Austin's Cedar Creek Records principal Fred Remmert. Part of the proceeds benefit the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. Volume 1
1. That Old Time Feeling – Rodney Crowell2. Anyhow I Love You – Lyle Lovett3. All He Wants Is You – Shawn Colvin4. Homeless – Shawn Camp5. Broken Hearted People – Ron Sexsmith6. Better Days – Rosanne Cash7. Desperadoes Waiting For A Train – Willie Nelson8. Baby Took A Limo To Memphis – Rosie Flores9. Magdalene – Kevin Welch10. Instant Coffee Blues – Suzy Bogguss11. Homegrown Tomatoes – Ray Wylie Hubbard12. Let Him Roll – John Townes Van Zandt II13. The Guitar – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott14. Cold Dog Soup – James McMurtry15. Worry B Gone – Hayes Carll
Volume 2
1. Dublin Blues – Joe Ely2. Magnolia Wind – Emmylou Harris & John Prine3. The Last Gunfighter Ballad – Steve Earle4. All Through Throwing Good Love After Bad – Verlon Thompson5. The Dark – Terri Hendrix6. LA Freeway – Radney Foster7. The Cape – Patty Griffin8. Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kris Kristofferson9. Texas Cookin’ – Gary Nicholson, Darrell Scott & Tim O’Brien10. Stuff That Works – Jack Ingram11. Randall Knife – Vince Gill12. Texas 1947 – Robert Earl Keen13. Old Friends – Terry Allen14. She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere – The Trishas15. My Favorite Picture of You – Jerry Jeff Walker
Check out our YouTube videos: Worry B Gonehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ziW5e0494 Stuff that workshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npG3ngu49GA
― dow, Tuesday, 31 January 2012 18:46 (twelve years ago) link
Track Seven: Willie Nelson nicely deflates the excess melodrama usually found in covers of "Waiting For Train" (yep, that moneyshot chorus), by taking the whole thing at a brisk, even business-like tempo, which actually makes it more affecting.
― dow, Tuesday, 31 January 2012 18:53 (twelve years ago) link
http://pistolannies.s3.amazonaws.com/media/news/articles/39/q2n5rby011vxc7cm_large.jpg
― dow, Wednesday, 1 February 2012 20:27 (twelve years ago) link
"Conflates myth and memoir"(and memory, even), yeah-h-h that's a good way of putting it--but worth checking out:press release, in case you can't tellMickey Newbury’s An American Trilogy was one of the most talked-about and lauded reissues of 2011 – a long-overdue affirmation for a songwriter and performer who has for years enjoyed cult acclaim, but belongs in the ranks of the American greats.Keeping the love alive in 2012, Saint Cecilia Knows and Drag City present a split-single that pairs Mickey Newbury’s recording of “Heaven Help the Child,” the title track of the most refined and under-appreciated album in Newbury’s trilogy––with a new version of the song by Bill Callahan that invokes the stately, elegiac spirit of the original while reworking its intricacies for his own unique voice and style. It will be released March 27th.Callahan has made no secret of his admiration for Mickey Newbury, even name-checking him (alongside George Jones, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash, as part of a roll call of the most American of contemporary songwriter-performers) in the song, “America,” off his acclaimed 2011 album Apocalypse.“There’s something psychedelic and transcendent about Mickey's best work,” says Callahan, “and when he gets into the realms of songs like ‘Heaven Help The Child,’ where he spans generations and flies over time while still maintaining a singular mind, he's imparting a truly epic knowledge and vision. The song always reminded me of the movie Once Upon a Time in America.”A wildly-ambitious, cross-generational odyssey, written in 1971 against the backdrop of the waning days of the Vietnam War, “Heaven Help The Child” is the closest Newbury ever came to writing a pure protest song, albeit one that, in true Newbury style, breaks the mold and emotes heartfelt paens, seeking solutions rather than mere dissent.Allusive, elusive and emotionally direct, the song conflates myth and memoir until the two are inseparable and interchangeable. A reference in the lyrics to Fitzgerald and Hemingway draws on the idea that, for Newbury and his peers, Nashville of the ‘70s was like Paris in the ‘20s, a meeting place for writers in exile; outsiders working within the mainstream of culture, whose artistic concerns were too epic and personal to be constrained by it.“The point I was trying to make in that song,” said Newbury, “is that every generation thinks that its problems are unique where its problems really are as old as man. There are no new problems; there are only new faces having them.”Mickey Newbury often referred to “Heaven Help The Child” as his “second Trilogy,” the first being “An American Trilogy,” the song with which he is most closely-associated yet, paradoxically, did not write. But “Heaven Help the Child” is Newbury through and through: the work of a master songwriter at the height of his powers. Mickey Newbury online:You can also get a free four-track box sampler here: http://anamericantrilogy.com/splash also see http://www.mickeynewbury.com/ andhttp://www.dragcity.com/artists/mickey-newburyyou might wanta check his MySpace for a bunch of albums I've never heardhttp://www.myspace.com/mickeynewbury/music/albums
― dow, Friday, 3 February 2012 21:50 (twelve years ago) link
Listened to the Zach James album a few more times and still like it, despite its having the indie tendency to lay back without kicking up its heels. Zach's voice reminds me a bit of Jim Morrison's, actually. I wouldn't say Zach's like Morrison in his vocal demeanor, however. Or only a little bit, an occasional moment of being declamatory. But not into riding snakes and such.
― Frank Kogan, Friday, 3 February 2012 23:24 (twelve years ago) link
My two favorite 2012 "country" albums so far are by Elfin Saddle (cello-driven co-ed Anglo-style folkishness from Montreal with hints of goth and the Middle East but mostly of Fairport Convention) and Bryan Clark & the New Lyceum Players (guitar-chopsy full-band soft-rock that sometimes kinda rocks from Nashville via Texas with hints of jam band), and so far I'm getting more out of the new Drew Nelson (post-Earle/ Mellencamp recession folk-rock from Michigan with merely average singing) than the new Dierks Bentley. Like a few things okay on the latter (“Am I The Only One” left over from last year, “Diamonds Make Babies,” “The Woods,” the pretty Lady Antebellum style duet with Karen Fairchild) but I’m not hearing anything near the level of his best stuff. Not sure what, if anything, that says about country's current state. Should probably check out Tim McGraw’s album, one of these days.
― xhuxk, Saturday, 4 February 2012 00:45 (twelve years ago) link
Several Rolling Countrys back, xhuxk and I were briefly discussing Catholic country, trying to think of some examples. He may have come up with something, I haven't found the right thread yet, but anyway there's def some on Craig Finn's new solo album. No doubt about the Catholic part, the rest is if you consider Drive-by Truckers' sound and sensibility to be sufficiently country (I do, just didn't think Go-Go Boots had quite enough good cuts for Top Ten). Here's my Finn preview, which indicates my main interest wasn't the specifically Catholic aspect of his compassionate conservatism/low-rent empathy, but worth noting the theological in this year's RC. anyway, a fun listen overall, so far:“Dude with the long fingernails, I know he’ll be good to you/I seen him shave up at the library/And sleep behind the caribou.” On his solo debut, “Clear Heart Full Eyes”, The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn temporarily trades THS’s ornate neo-classic rock chariot for his Austin session group’s alone-together cowbell groove, a bracing back room echo of THS tourmates Drive-By Truckers. Finn’s currently touring combo of Austin stalwarts include the new album’s incisive, evocative regular and steel guitarist, Ricky Ray Jackson; RRJ's Happen-Ins colleague, drummer Falcon Valdez; the well-named Moonlight Towers' guitarist, James Stevens; and attentive, sportive bassist Alex Livingstone of Grand Champeen.
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 18:44 (twelve years ago) link
Probably won't make my Top Ten though.
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
That last Hold Steady album was so dull; I've been avoiding listening to his alt-country move. May or may not get around to it eventually.
I feel like country has maybe gotten more Catholic, in general, since we had that discussion. Other examples will probably come to me later, but Brantley Gilbert naming his debut album Modern Day Prodigal Son and wearing graven-image religious jewelry (including a Virgin Mary and very gothic looking cross) around his neck (and showing us closeups of the same) inside the CD booklet of his followup Halfway To Heaven (and standing in his leather jacket in front of a fancy church window and beneath a chandelier adorned with crucifixes on the back) probably count -- definitely one of the most papist-looking c&w albums I ever saw (though I have no idea Gilbert was actually raised Catholic himself.) Also, Wiki says Laura Bell Bundy "graduated from Lexington Catholic High School in 1999." And Keith Urban is supposedly Catholic. Not sure about Tim McGraw, but his dad Tug apparently was.
(My own current reading, fwiw: Why I Am A Catholic by Garry Wills. Though I'm still a lapsed/recovered one, myself.)
― xhuxk, Monday, 6 February 2012 19:17 (twelve years ago) link
Tug McGraw sounds like a cowboy dog in a children's book
― ELI OWNS YOUR HUSBAND (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 February 2012 19:21 (twelve years ago) link
you mean recovered by it, or from it? Maybe some of both at various times, like Southern Baptist-raised me. Holy Moly, I think I've got that Brantley Gilbert album, will have to check if the songs reflect any of the packaging.
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 19:25 (twelve years ago) link
From it. And "...no idea if Gilbert was actually...." etc., I meant.
Wonder if Quick Draw McGraw was Catholic.
Should've added a couple posts up that I also still need to check out the new Kellie Pickler that people seem to like so much. Jon Caramanica reviewed it affirmatively in the Times yesterday; he also made me at least slightly curious about Chi Bhiman and Christian pop singer Kari Jobe. Couldn't get into that 2011 Jason Boland album he wrote about (and which finished #30 in the Nashville Scene poll) when I tried a few times last year (liked his 2010 live album better), give or take or take the long, rambling talking-blues-style closer "Farmer's Luck." Anyway, here's Caramanica's thing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/arts/music/new-music-by-kari-jobe-mohombi-bhi-bhiman-and-others.html
― xhuxk, Monday, 6 February 2012 19:31 (twelve years ago) link
Sho. Always crossed hisself before he'd draw, mighty quick!
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 19:37 (twelve years ago) link
Look out now:Relativity Music Group is pleased to announce the release of the soundtrack for Relativity Media’s adrenaline-fueled Navy SEAL action-thriller Act of Valor, featuring brand new original songs written and inspired by the film from today’s top recording artists including: Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Montgomery Gentry, and more. In theatres February 24, 2012, the Bandito Brothers’ Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a film like no other in Hollywood’s history, along with actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano, in an unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking. The soundtrack will be released by Relativity Music Group and distributed in music retail locations by Capitol Records Nashville on February 21st. The track listing includes original songs written and performed by artists including: Keith Urban (whose song “For You” is featured in the film’s end credits), Sugarland (“Guide You Home”), Lady Antebellum (“I Was Here”), Trace Adkins (“If the Sun Comes Up”), Lori McKenna (“Two Soldiers Coming Home”), Jake Owen (“The Best I Can”), Montgomery Gentry (“What It Takes”), Josh Kelley (“The Best of Me”), Hunter Hayes (“Where We Left Off”), and Wynonna Judd (“Whatever Brings You Back”). Produced and directed by former Baja 1000 champion Mike “Mouse” McCoy and former stuntman Scott Waugh, and written by Kurt Johnstad (300), Act of Valor (etc). Hope the songs are suitably extreme. Where's Th' Legendary Shackshakers, where's any kind of metal (mebbe Montgy. Gentry will crank up the guitars, at least)
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 21:13 (twelve years ago) link
are those all original for the movie or?
― ELI OWNS YOUR HUSBAND (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 February 2012 21:15 (twelve years ago) link
So the press sheet leads me to believe, though I haven't tried to Google-verify (so lazy)
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 21:17 (twelve years ago) link
"written and inspired by the film", go film!
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 21:18 (twelve years ago) link
wouldn't see the film on a bet but that's an interesting soundtrack.
― ELI OWNS YOUR HUSBAND (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 February 2012 21:20 (twelve years ago) link
hope it will be.
― dow, Monday, 6 February 2012 21:28 (twelve years ago) link
For Tim McGraw, whose new album I still haven't gotten around to yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cObvO93LgFw
The new Dierks has been growing on me, though. Not sure I agree with Rob Harvilla that he's winning the Tom Petty soundalike sweepstakes (not sure I think he sounds much like Petty at all), but I wound up liking the non-triumphalist sea-to-shining-sea patriotic schlock of the title track "Home" (which Wiki informs me is the new single, and which basically says we all disagree on everything but we're all in this together and we'll get through it somehow) more than I would have guessed. "Tip It On Back" seems like fairly run-of-the-mill working for weekend beers (and tokes?) stuff to me, but I like the hard times verse it starts with. Seven-minute closer stretched out by some (presumably Dierks's?) kid singing it is impossible to get through, though -- when I saw that there was a song that long, I was hoping for some jamming.
― xhuxk, Thursday, 9 February 2012 15:28 (twelve years ago) link
And oh yeah, "The Woods" isn't near as good as it deserves to be, but I grew up in Michigan, so I relate to the idea of woodses being places where growing kids can do things they're not supposed to do, and I can't think of many other songs about it. Plus I like how Dierks magically transforms into Art Alexakis from Everclear when he tells the girl to leave her iphone at home.
― xhuxk, Thursday, 9 February 2012 16:01 (twelve years ago) link
Here's my Scene poll. I actually have played Randy Montana's record more than any other country record from last year, altho I like the Lambert/Annies records quite a bit. The Haggard record grew on me some, altho I still find "Too Much Boogie Woogie" completely banal even by Hag standards. A few months previous to the poll, I wrote up Montana in the Best of Nashville issue as the country record of the year, but it ended up coming in a little below that by December, if we make it through, which I did.
Going to begin doing a bimonthly country column for the Scene, which I've been trying to conceptualize the last month or so. Should have one up soon.
Anyone else gotten the new Encyclopedia of Country the Hall of Fame/Museum just put out?
Finally, here's my Nashville Scene review of the Drive-By Truckers and Bobby Keys & the Suffering Bastards, in case you're interested.
Edd HurtNashville Scene
1. Pistol Annies Hell on Heels Columbia Nashville2. Miranda Lambert Four the Record RCA Nashville3. Randy Montana Randy Montana Mercury Nashville4. Hayes Carll KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories) Lost Highway5. Willie Nelson Remember Me Vol. 1 R&J6. Old 97s The Grand Theatre Vol. 2 New West7. Glen Campbell Ghost on the Canvas Surfdog8. Steel Magnolia Steel Magnolia Big Machine9. Brad Paisley This Is Country Music Arista Nashville 10. Todd Snider Live: The Storyteller Aimless
1. Miranda Lambert "Heart Like Mine" RCA Nashville2. Hayes Carll "Grand Parade" Lost Highway3. Eric Church "Drink in My Hand" EMI Nashville4. Eric Church "Springsteen" EMI Nashville5. Zac Brown Band "Colder Weather"6. Brad Paisley "Toothbrush" Arista Nashville7. Keith Urban "Long Hot Summer" Arista Nashville8. Pistol Annies "Hell on Heels" Columbia Nashville9. Miranda Lambert "Baggage Claim" RCA Nashville10. Shelby Lynne "Revelation Road" Everso
1. Various Artists The Bristol Sessions: The Big Bang of Country Music Bear Family2. The Beau Brummels Bradley's Barn Warner Bros.3. The Gourds Old Mad Joy Vanguard4. Mickey Newbury An American Trilogy Drag City5. Gene Clark Two Sides to Every Story High Moon
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST MALE VOCALISTS OF 2011:
1. Merle Haggard2. George Strait3. George Jones
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST FEMALE VOCALISTS OF 2011:
1. Miranda Lambert2. Emmylou Harris3. Martina McBride
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST LIVE ACTS OF 2011:
1. Zac Brown Band2. Eric Church3. Brad Paisley
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST SONGWRITERS OF 2011:
1. Miranda Lambert2. Guy Clark3. Brad Paisley
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST DUOS, TRIOS OR GROUPS OF 2011:
1. Pistol Annies2. Steel Magnolia3. Zac Brown Band
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST NEW ACTS OF 2011:
1. Pistol Annies2. Randy Montana3. Laura Bell Bundy
COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST OVERALL ACTS OF 2011:
1. Miranda Lambert 2. Pistol Annies3. Hayes Carll
― Edd Hurt, Monday, 13 February 2012 21:08 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't include Jonny Corndag's Down on the Bikini Line but I should have. It is rather underachieved pseudo-country on one level, sure, but I think it works--he's trying to do some combination of Bobby Bare, David Allan Coe and Michael Hurley. Does his own leather working too and runs marathons...here's my Scene piece on Coe-n-dawg.
― Edd Hurt, Monday, 13 February 2012 21:41 (twelve years ago) link
Corndawg!
― Edd Hurt, Monday, 13 February 2012 21:43 (twelve years ago) link
I still find "Too Much Boogie Woogie" completely banal even by Hag standards
Glad to finally learn I'm not the only person who thinks this. Really dumb song. (Besides, Hag is a Western Swing fan, right? He ought to like boogie woogie.) Only great song on the album, as far as I can tell, is "Under The Bridge" -- Even though it turns out he'd first recorded it years ago, and the Chili Peppers recorded a much worse song with the same title once. But between that and the general okay-ness of the rest of the album, that was enough to give it a place on my ballot.
Didn't include Jonny Corndawg's Down on the Bikini Line but I should have
First time I played this, I too was thinking he could be the new Hurley, what with his dirty mind and all. By the third time, I wanted to strangle him, what with his precious anti-folk non-singing and all.And the more I played it, the more I decided he's not even that funny.
― xhuxk, Monday, 13 February 2012 21:53 (twelve years ago) link
I did include Newbury in my reissue ballot. A lot of it is more or less demo-plus in my book; he wasn't the most commanding singer. And I really should've included Larry Jon Wilson in reissues--Omni put out his 1975 Monument album plus bonus tracks. Good stuff, and I got to know the guy who produced Wilson (and who has produced Ronnie Milsap for years), Rob Galbraith--another r&b fan who came to Nashville and went country.
I have not heard the Guy Clark tribute. I saw Guy Clark play live last year, with Ray Wylie Hubbard. I suppose anyone doing Clark would have more oomph than Clark himself, who is a very, er, casual performer. So I don't know. Steve Earle's record I found unlistenable; for that matter, I can barely stand Phil Ochs except for the one Ochs album that is good, that 1970 record he did wearing his gold Elvis suit. Earle is like Phil Ochs with a better sense of rhythm, at least Earle tries to make these New Orleans-style tracks and all. He's just so obvious and earnest. He's no Del Reeves...who is a forgotten figure who made great sort of Jerry Reed-style novelty trucking records/place-name tributes with, often, a New Vaudeville Band kinda overlay of ricky-tick. Or the Wilburn Brothers, whose 1966 single "Hurt Her Once for Me" is one of the great sub-Buck Owens rock 'n' roll country tunes.
― Edd Hurt, Monday, 13 February 2012 21:58 (twelve years ago) link
And the more I played it, the more I decided he's not even that funny
Could be that his funny stuff isn't his best. But I do think "Undercover Dad" of whatever that one is called, about his daughter's diary and what she is doing outside the family circle, as it were, is some kind of song.
Xhuxk, I also like the title track of the Hag record. He gets a job at Opryland, you gotta love that.
― Edd Hurt, Monday, 13 February 2012 22:02 (twelve years ago) link
Rob Galbraith: same fellow who made an LP called Nashville Dirt in a Tony Joe White kind of mould? I've been enjoying that record lately, having bought it years back and never really got round to paying any attention.
― Tim, Monday, 13 February 2012 22:57 (twelve years ago) link
right, Tim, Nashville Dirt. he did another solo LP too. Rob played a show late last year at Douglas Corner here. I need to get a copy of that album actually. At one time in the early '70s, Rob was Billy Sherrill's assistant. Rob told me he was the guy who tried to get J.J. Cale signed to Epic but they passed. Interesting, and very nice, guy.
― Edd Hurt, Monday, 13 February 2012 23:58 (twelve years ago) link
Okay so. Tomorrow night, as my Valentine's treat for my wonderful sweetie, I'm taking her to see Martina McBride, who's playing a benefit show up in LA. She's one of my sweets's favorite singers of all time -- only Dolly ranks as high for her -- so I'm looking forward to this, besides the fact that this is pretty much the first country-show-as-such I've ever seen.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 14 February 2012 06:10 (twelve years ago) link
Is she gonna love you through it?
― all the other twinks with their fucked up dicks (billy), Tuesday, 14 February 2012 06:46 (twelve years ago) link
Hey, it is Valentine's Day after all.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 14 February 2012 06:59 (twelve years ago) link
Ned, please report back with highlights.
― things you're secretly kinda libertranny about (beachville), Tuesday, 14 February 2012 09:53 (twelve years ago) link
Following those xpost 10" records:
Omnivore Recordings will release definitive compilations by three giants of country and rockabilly music — Wanda Jackson, Merle Haggard and George Jones — on February 12, 2013. Having released musical appetizers in the form of ten-inch vinyl EPs on Record Store Day’s Back to Black Friday, Omnivore will serve the main course on compact disc in the form of Merle Haggard’s The Complete ’60s Capitol Singles, George Jones’ The Complete United Artists Solo Singles, and Wanda Jackson’s The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles. All three compilations feature A & B sides from the artists’ most influential years. The vinyl EPs were companion pieces, containing rarities not found on the CDs. Wanda Jackson’s The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles contains 29 songs from her Capitol stint, which began in 1956. Each was taken from the original analog mono 45-rpm masters. Idolized by three generations of rockers, the Queen of Rockabilly made musical side-trips into country and gospel. For every A-side rave-up like “Mean Mean Man” or “Fujiyama Mama,” she offers B sides of equal intrigue: a weeper like “(Every Time They Play) Our Song” or the hillbilly tragedy of “No Wedding Bells for Joe.” She tore through songs that Elvis sang, and also drew from the jazz greats, R&B legends, doo-woppers and the Nashville hit machine. And she made each song her own. In the ’50s, Capitol Records ad men scratched their heads, looking for a way to position Wanda Jackson’s sound, gamely settling on “jumping rock ’n’ waltz novelty.” Today, as she plays before indie-rock-aged crowds, supporting recent albums produced by Jack White and Justin Townes Earle, we know she’s no novelty. The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles, with extensive liner notes by Daniel Cooper, is her most definitive career retrospective to date. Jackson’s Capitol label-mate Merle Haggard became one of country music’s greatest stars while recording his Bakersfield-honed songs at the tower at Hollywood & Vine from 1965 until 1976. The Omnivore compilation The Complete ’60s Capitol Singles features 28 A & B sides taken from the original analog mono 45-rpm masters. Neo-rockabilly artist and part-time journalist Deke Dickerson, a longtime Haggard fan, wrote the liner notes. From “Swinging Doors” in 1965 until the end of the decade, Haggard had an impressive string of hits. “The Fugitive” (b/w “Someone Told My Story”), his first #1 single, was a composition by the esteemed songwriter Liz Anderson (Lynn Anderson’s mother). “I Threw Away the Rose” b/w “Loneliness Is Eating Me Alive” went to #2 on the charts in 1966. Other chart-toppers on this volume include “You Don’t Have Very Far To Go” b/w “Good Times” and “The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde” b/w “I Started Loving You Again.” “Working Man Blues,” written when Haggard “needed (his) own ‘Folsom Prison Blues,’” became a blue-collar anthem and shot to #1. The collection closes with “Okie From Muskogee,” the unlikely political pop crossover that sent mixed signals to younger listeners. Most have since delved deeper into Haggard’s five decades of music and consider him a hero. He continues to record today. United Artists Records was eventually married to Capitol when it, along with parent label Liberty, was acquired by EMI in 1978. But when country star George Jones recorded for the label (following stints at Starday and Mercury) from 1962 til 1966, United Artists and Capitol were Hollywood crosstown rivals. It was at UA that Jones mastered all the flavors of country: lovelorn ballads, inspirational gospel, uptempo honky tonk, humorous novelty numbers, old-timey murder ballads — even holiday and Western songs. Most of his UA work was done in Nashville featuring the city’s A team: guitarist Grady Martin, pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins, bassist Bob Moore, drummer Buddy Harman and Hal Rugg on pedal steel. The Jordanaires provided background vocals. Omnivore’s 32-song George Jones compilation, The Complete United Artist Solo Singles, leads off with chart toppers “She Thinks I Still Care” b/w “Sometimes You Just Can’t Win,” produced by the legendary Cowboy Jack Clement. Both sides of the single pointed the way to the sound that would mark his signature style in decades to follow. The collection also includes Jones’ 1965 smash “The Race Is On.” “Country music is like a religion to me,” he told Holly George-Warren, author of this compilation’s liner notes. Jones’ early ’60s work for United Artists will make a believer out of you. About Omnivore Recordings:Founded in 2010 by longtime, highly respected industry veterans Cheryl Pawelski, Greg Allen, Dutch Cramblitt, and Brad Rosenberger, Omnivore Recordings preserves the legacies and music created by historical, heritage, and catalog artists while also releasing previously unissued, newly found “lost” recordings and making them available for music-loving audiences to discover. Omnivore Recordings is distributed by EMI.
― dow, Tuesday, 11 December 2012 18:45 (eleven years ago) link
Looks promising, re going further in direction of Emotional Traffic:TIM MCGRAW REVEALS MORE DETAILS ABOUT HIS UPCOMING ALBUM RELEASE TWO LANES OF FREEDOM – IN STORES FEB 5, 2013 Debut Big Machine Records Disc To Include Standard & An Accelerated Deluxe Version At Most Retail Accounts Nashville, TN- Dec. 13, 2012- Country music icon Tim McGraw is revealing more details about his highly anticipated release TWO LANES OF FREEDOM. His first album for Big Machine Records will be released on Feb. 5, 2013 and is set to prove once again that on stage and on record, he remains dedicated to delivering music that is innovative, heartfelt and authentic. "I feel like I've progressed in my work, and I've always strived to get better," says McGraw. "On my last album, I was discovering some new sounds and new things that I wanted to do, scratching the surface of the direction I wanted to head. This album was a way to reach a little further back, to all that I'd done throughout my career, and bring both sides together—it's a combination of that discovery, along with some rediscovery." On TWO LANES OF FREEDOM, the sense of nostalgia comes through on the hard-driving current single "One of Those Nights." The reverie of that song, though, is countered by the humor and joy of "Southern Girl" or the feel-good hangover of "Mexicoma." McGraw maintains that it was the album's title track that really established the tone for the entire project. "When we cut 'Two Lanes of Freedom,' there was such a freshness to it," he says. "The track has this sort of Gaelic drive to it and really sets a palette for the whole record because it's so visual—it has that summery, hazy image and I think that made the whole record open up for me." McGraw reaches some especially emotional depth in his performances on such songs as "Number 37405," the lament of a singer-turned-convict. Most powerful of all might be "Book of John," a wistful account of a family going through the journal left behind by its late patriarch. The album closes with "Highway Don't Care," a breezy yet complex track that features Taylor Swift (the song is featured as number 13 on the album as a nod to her) and Keith Urban. TWO LANES OF FREEDOM TRACK LIST1. Two Lanes of Freedom (Jaren Johnston/Jenn Schott)
2. One Of Those Nights (Luke Laird/Rodney Clawson/Chris Tompkins)
3. Friend Of A Friend (Mark Irwin/Josh Kear/Andrew Dorff)
4. Southern Girl (Jaren Johnston/Lee Miller/Rodney Clawson)
5. Truck Yeah (Chris Janson/Danny Myrick/Preston Brust/Chris Lucas)
6. Nashville Without You (Kyle Jacobs/Joe Leathers/Ruston Kelly)
7. Book of John (Jon Nite/Greg Becker)
8. Mexicoma (James Slater/Brad Warren/Brett Warren)
9. Number 37405 (Tom Douglas/Troy Jones)10. It’s Your World (Scott Stepakoff/Josh Osborne/Shane McAnally)13. Highway Don’t Care (featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban) (Mark Irwin/Josh Kear/Brad Warren/Brett Warren) ACCELERATED DELUXE VERSION INCLUDESAnnie I Owe You A Dance(James Slater/ Tom Douglas) Tinted Windows(Mark Irwin, Josh Kear, Andrew Dorff) Let Me Love It Out Of You(Rachel Thibodeau, Jason Sever, David Tolliver) Truck Yeah LIVE In his record-shattering career, McGraw has sold over 40 million albums and dominated the charts with 32 No. one singles. Since the release of his debut album in 1993, he has won three GRAMMY’s, 14 ACM Awards, 12 CMA Awards, and 10 AMA’s, while simultaneously maintaining a parallel career as a successful actor in such films as The Blind Side, Country Strong, and Friday Night Lights—as well as hosting Saturday Night Live, a rare honor for a singer in any genre. Nielsen-BDS recently certified McGraw as the most-played Country artist of the past 20 years (1992-2012) with more than 10 million spins detected and Mediabase recognized him as the most-played Country artist in the history of their tracking service. For more updates and the latest information, visit www.timmcgraw.com or follow @thetimmcgraw on twitter.
― dow, Thursday, 13 December 2012 18:45 (eleven years ago) link
Sir Charles Jones "Country Boy" is not a country song per se, but rural Southern soul that I think y'all would like. I think you can find it on Youtube and maybe Spotify
― curmudgeon, Friday, 14 December 2012 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
Don't think there was ever a time in the history of sound recording when country didn't have blues riffs, though.
Yeah this is true; I guess I phrased my request wrong -- I'm just trying to avoid riff-based rock that masquerades as country, stuff with a heavy rhythm section. I do dig this Dwight Yoakam record even though a lot of it hinges on that sort of thing, but I've always had a soft spot for Dwight. "A Heart Like Mine" and "Missing Heart" are probably the closest to what I'm looking for.
― she was giving it to two friends ...Aaay! (crüt), Monday, 17 December 2012 19:58 (eleven years ago) link
"Heart Like Mine" definitely rocks out but it's mixed tastefully.
― she was giving it to two friends ...Aaay! (crüt), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:01 (eleven years ago) link
but, crüt, when hasn't country used riffs and heavy rhythm sections?
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:06 (eleven years ago) link
man, I'm just trying to find country music that doesn't sound like Tom Petty or "Rock My World Little Country Girl." I think there is plenty of country music out there that fits into this category.
― she was giving it to two friends ...Aaay! (crüt), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:10 (eleven years ago) link
i generally only lurk on this thread but hey i did a list of best and worst country singles of the year: http://narrowcast.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-20-best-country-radio-hits-of-2012.html
― some dude, Monday, 17 December 2012 20:13 (eleven years ago) link
I mean I love a lot of country-rock and Texas boogie kinda stuff! I just need an antidote for Luke Bryan.
― she was giving it to two friends ...Aaay! (crüt), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:14 (eleven years ago) link
it's all good – my bad
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:15 (eleven years ago) link
<3
― she was giving it to two friends ...Aaay! (crüt), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:17 (eleven years ago) link
free of its parent album, the Alan Jackson song sounds terrific.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:18 (eleven years ago) link
doesn't it, though?
― some dude, Monday, 17 December 2012 20:20 (eleven years ago) link
ha – we really disagree over "5-1-5-0."
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:21 (eleven years ago) link
Jackson's like that (I've had "Everything I Own" in my iPod since July and when it comes on shuffle I don't dare skip it). Drive and Like Red On a Rose are the only two studios that don't bore me.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:24 (eleven years ago) link
*Everything I LOVE
Just filed my Nashville Scene ballot a couple hours ago. Three of somedude's 20 favorite country singles of the year made my singles ballot; none of his least favorite singles did, though a couple were definitely in the running, and I voted for the EP containing another one (which I actually like a lot.) Never heard Kristen Kelly's "Ex Old Man" until this morning (finally listened to it since Frank had recommended it above); didn't make my ballot, but I the OMC "How Bizarre" thing jumped out at me right away, a couple hours before I saw somedude mention it.
I'm kind of ambivalent about "5-1-5-0." Sort of like it okay, but it sort of it annoys me (just like the album it's on, come to think of it.)
― xhuxk, Monday, 17 December 2012 20:25 (eleven years ago) link
i'm not gonna defend my dislike of "5-1-5-0" too strongly, it was just on the radio all the time and i never wanted to hear it
― some dude, Monday, 17 December 2012 20:25 (eleven years ago) link
otoh Kenny Chesney can fuck right off
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:27 (eleven years ago) link
seriously
― some dude, Monday, 17 December 2012 20:28 (eleven years ago) link
I'm wondering if he's got genuine talent: the guy has made vanilla blandness offensive.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 December 2012 20:29 (eleven years ago) link
Then again, he's also made a few pretty great albums (though not this year).
― xhuxk, Monday, 17 December 2012 20:39 (eleven years ago) link
Wikip takes me to an article in the New Zealand Herald on whether "Ex Old Man" had permission to use the riff from "How Bizarre." Answer: the person who wrote the article doesn't know whether there was permission or not.
(The world's full of similar and lifted riffs, and it's not like this is gross plagiarism or "Ex Old Man" is built around the riff.)
― Frank Kogan, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 14:38 (eleven years ago) link
"The world's full of similar... riffs"
--I mean riffs that are similar to each other, not that the world is full of riff's similar to "How Bizarre."
― Frank Kogan, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 18:47 (eleven years ago) link
jeez that jackson tune is great, missed it
― bear, bear, bear, Monday, 31 December 2012 01:34 (eleven years ago) link