Billboard Puff Piece Calls Shaboozey the 1st Black Country “Outlaw”
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‘Tis the season for ludicrous and obsequious puff pieces to hit the internet as power publicists are sent into hyperdrive attempting to garner Grammy nominations and wins for their deep-pocketed clients.
Song Review – Florida Georgia Line’s “Dirt”
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Because this song is from Florida Georgia Line is not the reason to hate it. It’s the exact reason to love it. Today, the 8th of July, 2014, is a victory for country music, and for the individuals and entities who wish to see a measure of balance restored back to the format—not based on taste, but on the theory of finding less divisive music that we can all enjoy together as country music fans.
Dale Watson’s “The Truckin’ Sessions Vol. 3”
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This isn’t an album of truckin’ songs that you sit back and listen to nostalgically, this thing takes a big arm cocked at a 90-degree angle like it’s about to give a hearty yank of the air horn, and instead grabs you by the gruff of your neck and pulls you right up into the cab of a serious diesel machine for one sensational ride. It might be one of the best Dale Watson albums to date.
Taylor Swift’s Op-Ed in the Wall St. Journal (A Rebuttal)
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On Monday (7-7), Taylor Swift did something somewhat unusual from the music space—she posted an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal. what is going on here is marketing. It beings with marketing, and ends with marketing. It doesn’t mean that Taylor Swift doesn’t make some salient points, or mean what she says, and that those points aren’t important. But the bottom dollar is what is driving this.
UPDATE: Garth Brooks, & 18 Semi Trucks On a Ship in the Atlantic
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Today, 7/7, was supposed to be the day that “the 7’s aligned” and Garth officially announced his upcoming world tour after a nearly 15-year retirement. But the 7’s did not align. Garth’s master plan originally hatched in 2013 and assembled around his favorite number of ‘7’ was foiled, or for the least, delayed until Thursday, thanks to turmoil over upcoming concert dates in Ireland.
Country Is Now Pop: Sam Hunt’s “Leave The Night On”
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This is not a review, this is a warning. Sam Hunt’s “Leave The Night On” is a potential swan song for what we define as country music today, more than any song that has come before. I know, you’re saying, “Can you tell me this song is somehow more pop than Taylor Swift, or pushes the limit more than Jerrod Neimann’s EDM monster ‘I Can Drink To That All Night’?” That is exactly what I’m telling you.
Independent Labels Back Down YouTube in Rights Fight
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Amid the blow back YouTube was experiencing from fans, artists, and labels, they are now second guessing their strategy. In this high stakes game of music streaming chicken, the independents won, at least for now, as YouTube and Google executives head back to the drawing board and negotiating table to hammer out how to include everyone in the new service.
The Loudermilks Live Up To Their Name w/ Debut Album
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This initial offering from The Loudermilks finds the band ranging from the bluegrass-inspired and steel guitar-drenched opening number “Watch ‘Em Fall”, to the the nearly straightforward rock styling of “The Plan”, accomplishing all with equal ability to enrapture the audience and appeal to whichever musical leanings the listener happens to carry.
Justin Moore Covers Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home”
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This Nashville Outlaws tribute is the country music equivalent to the 1982 flick The Toy, with Mötley Crüe as Richard Pryor, and Scott Borchetta as Jackie Gleason. Still left wanting after his own hair metal band Burning Hearts went down in a blaze of glory, Borchetta has wrangled his Big Machine roster into living out his spandex and aqua-net dream for him…
Mamie White of “Wild & Wonderful Whites” Arrested Again
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According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Mamie Savannah Warner recently was caught trying to sell drugs at a Tudors Biscuit World in Boone County while two police officers were having lunch at the location. This resulted in Mamie being found guilty for felony delivery of a controlled substance, and she was placed on 90 days of home confinement. She violated the home confinement order…
Americana, We Want Jim Lauderdale Back (“I’m A Song” Review)
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Look, with all due respect to my great friends over in the Americana world, I want to annex Jim Lauderdale back to the cause of country music. By the (self-imposed) power vested in me, I plant a flag in his graying, shoulder-length hair and hereby decree he is country music’s property, only graciously on loan to Americana as an estranged and exiled refugee…
Jamey Johnson: “When I Get Ready to Write, I’ll Write”
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For those waiting for either new music from Jamey Johnson, or some sort of resolution to the convoluted contractual situation in which he finds himself entwined in, you might want to get comfy. Ahead of a benefit in Nashville that Johnson played Wednesday night, the songwriter let it be known that he’s still not writing, and there’s no resolution to his label issues in sight.
Garth Brooks Announcement Coming 7/7: “The Wait Is Over”
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Well, we still don’t know the “what” exactly, but now we now know the “when.” Just in the last 24 hours, the announcement “The Wait Is Over … 7/7” has appeared on Garth Brooks’ official website, hinting that the long-anticipated official end to his retirement, and potential announcements about a tour, and maybe even new music are eminent.