Album Review – Midland’s “Barely Blue”
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Here we are in a moment in country music custom made for the neotraditional sounds of Midland, and here they are invoking the era in music when folk rock turned into mom rock on the easy listening station.
Maddie & Tae’s “Girl In A Country Song” Anti Bro-Country?
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Make no mistake about it, “Girl In A Country Song” will be a huge hit, because Scott Borchetta will make it that way. The pretty faces help, and so does the fact they they can write and sing a little bit—just exactly how much though has yet to be truly battle tested. But this one song is good enough apparently to give the duo a green light. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is the brave new world of country music.
How Nashville’s Economic Boom Could Kill Its Creativity
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The draw of traditionally-poor East Nashville as a haven for musicians looking to make it in music and collaborate with like-minded artists has been one of the ingredients not just to Nashville’s current output, but to its allure. But all that is in jeopardy now as development bulldozes much of the city’s affordable housing inventory, and rents and real-estate prices continue to spike.
Little Big Town’s “Day Drinking” (Review & Semi-Rant)
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You know, for years people have been telling me how great Little Big Town is, berating me to give them a deeper listen. But I may never experience their album cuts are because their singles ward me off more than staring down a battery of AIDS cannons. First it was the motorbotin’ “Pontoon”, and now this. What the hell is day drinking anyway?
Johnny Cash, Joseph Stalin, & The Great Morse Code Crack
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The badass stories about Johnny Cash abound, and here over a decade after his death, his prominence as a man of cultural greatness still looms as large as it ever did. But arguably the first moment of greatness for Johnny Cash happened off the stage, well away from the spotlight, and before he was known to anyone as a musician.
Luke Bell’s “Don’t Mind If I Do”
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From the wild lands of Wyoming comes a by-gone man with a by-gone sound traveling under the name Luke Bell. With his dog and his 1995 Buick LeSabre, he comes trekking through the fog of obscurity to sing you some good country songs in the old-fashioned way. “Don’t Mind If I Do” harkens back to a time in country music when it didn’t suck, and hadn’t even started to.
New Study Sees Difference Between Passive & Active Music Listeners
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If you’ve ever wondered, “How can people listen to that crap?”, and certainly that phrase has entered most music listener’s minds at some point, it’s because different music listeners inherently want different things from the music experience, and certain songs and artists appeal to those different types of listeners. Now Nielsen has opened up a new field in how music listeners can be measured.
Willie Nelson & Kacey Musgraves To Record Together
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It was bound to happen. Despite the 55 year age difference, Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson seem to be cut from the same country music cloth; kindred spirits if you will. They both are songwriters, both Texans, are performers by default that don’t seem to have much desire for showbiz, and now both have achieved critical acclaim.
Why NPR Should Offer a Streaming Music Service
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So before we get too engrossed in this idea, let’s all just appreciate that it’s just an idea. This is sport; a discussion point. So don’t get too exercised about how I’m an idiot, and it would never happen. It doesn’t have to be NPR. But make no mistake, if anyone, NPR or not, offered a sustainable streaming service, the demand would be there.
American Aquarium Has Van / Gear Stolen in Indianapolis
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Raleigh, North Carolina’s American Aquarium had their van and trailer stolen late last night (Wednesday, 6-25) between 1 AM and 9 AM in Indianapolis at the Wyndham Hotel on the west side of town. The band was in Indianapolis playing a show with the Turnpike Troubadours at the Old National Centre.
Why Jerrod Niemann’s “Donkey” Was His Waterloo
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When you live by the bit, you die by the bit. And Jerrod Niemann has just been bitten in the ass by a “Donkey.” Early on when you looked at the amount of “adds” the song was getting on radio, it did not paint a very rosy picture for the song. “Donkey” was virtually dead on arrival despite a strong label backing, and this week the song went from #44 to #48 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Independent Music Makes Its Case to Congress
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On Wednesday, The United States House of Representatives’ House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet took up the issue in an open hearing, specifically taking up the matter of music licensing Under Title 17 – Part 2 of the current law. Multiple members of the independent music community came to testify, including Rosanne Cash.
Willie Nelson Hits #1 with New “Band of Brothers” Album
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Willie Nelson, who just released his latest record Band of Brothers on June 17th though Sony’s Legacy Recordings, has crested at the very top spot on Billboard’s Country Music Album’s chart, landing at #1. It is Willie’s first #1 in 28 years, since his 1986 album The Promiseland. It is also his second-best showing ever on Billboard’s all genre Billboard 200 chart, coming in at #6.