Joshua Ray Walker Reveals Cancer Complications at Kessler Show
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When running down a list of the greatest living songwriters, you damn sure better make sure Joshua Ray Walker is somewhere on there, if not near the top. He didn’t win Saving Country Music’s Song of the Year by accident.
Most Embarrassing Moments in Country Music History
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When looking at the historical timeline of country music, many times it is big events that set the wheels of change in motion, for the good and the bad. Whether it is intrusion of pop or rap into country, or the ill-treatment of country music greats, here are some of the most embarrassing moments in country music history.
How Slim Whitman’s Yodel Saved Earth From Invading Martians
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Slim Whitman’s influence far outlasted his popular music popularity, and so do his songs that illustrate an astounding, enchanting control of the human vocal range. Oh, and let’s not forget that moment in 1996 when Slim Whitman’s music single-handedly saved the world from invading Martians
John Moreland’s “In The Throes” Proves People Still Care About Songs
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“I heard truth is what songs are for. Nobody gives a damn about songs anymore…” is the line that people are quoting to both exemplify Moreland’s wordsmith skills, and to throw back in his face as fallacy as critics and fans alike line up to herald Moreland’s In The Throes songwriting effort. Every line John Moreland throws out is like a lyrical haymaker meant to score an empathic knockout punch between the eyes.
The Worst “Country” Songs of 2013 So Far
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As you might suspect, at the halfway point of 2013 a list of mainstream country’s worst misdeeds is mostly populated by an ear-serrating cacophony of country rap. With only a couple of exceptions, country rap has replaced what last year at this time was a parade of laundry list-themed songs. Country rap has become the next devolving plateau in mainstream country.
How Hip-Hop Stole Country Music: The Arrival of the Mono-Genre
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All of a sudden hip-hop influences are dominating the top of the country music charts, asserting just as much influence, if not more than indigenous country influences, with a bevy of new country rap tunes from numerous artists ready to be released, and mainstream artists lining up to try and be a part of the trend. How did country music get here?
Chet Flippo – Country Music’s Original Outlaw Writer (RIP)
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Chet Flippo’s wife had recently passed away, and today we got the unfortunate news that Chet Flippo has now joined her in the great newsroom in the sky. Every third year the Country Music Hall of Fame inducts a non-performer into its exclusive ranks. If there was ever a journalist that deserved to be included amongst the artists he covered so dutifully for so many years, it would be Chet Flippo.
Randy Travis Tributes George Jones in “Tonight I’m Playing Possum”
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We like to make fun of how so many country songs are about other country songs, but the reason it is so common is because it works so well at revitalizing those roots that are so deeply intertwined with our personal fabrics and story lines. The songs of George Jones and others offer a soundtrack to our lives that nobody can take away from us.
What Does Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley Actually Do?
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The question that often comes up about the duo is what exactly does the short, blond-haired Brian Kelley do in the band? The longer-haired Tyler Hubbard seems to be the only voice you hear prominently in the vocal mix, and though Brian Kelley is commonly seen holding a guitar, he doesn’t appear to be handling any of the guitar solos, or really fulfilling any significant function of the Florida Georgia Line sound.
Saving Country Music’s Best Albums of 2013 So Far
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2013 has come on strong here recently for quality albums, with some real contenders for the coveted “Album of the Year” distinction released just in the last week. Any “Best Of” album list for 2013 is also going to reflect the leadership and creativity displayed by country music women, which has become one of the year’s underlying themes so far.
The Carper Family’s “Old-Fashioned Gal” is a Family Affair
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The Carper Family is at it again with a brand new album called Old-Fashioned Gal, and it’s a family affair featuring The Carper Family troika of Melissa Carper, Beth Crisman, and Jenn Miori, right beside some of the brightest talents of Austin, TX’s old-school country scene. The Carper Family girls can shift from Western Swing, old-school country, folk, covers and originals, embellishing it all with exquisite three-part harmony.
Joe Diffie & Jawga Boyz Country Rap “Girl Ridin’ Shotgun” (A Rant)
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Yes ladies and gentlemen, Joe Diffie—the mulleted, cop mustached 90’s semi-star—has released an “answer” song to what many consider the worst song in country music history, Jason Aldean’s country rap “1994.” Diffie’s new song is called “Girl Ridin’ Shotgun,” and it is as embarrassing as puberty. This is a prayer for relevancy guaranteed to go unanswered.
Album Review – Jason Isbell’s “Southeastern”
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If there is such a thing as a superstar in Americana music, then right now, Jason Isbell is it. What we very well may be witnessing is a songwriting legend in the making. He’s the songwriter that in the future songwriter-philes will hearken back to as proof of how the craft is lost. He’s the guy right now making sure that it isn’t.