Newest Adds to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#154)
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The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music.
Luke Bryan Rolls Big Black Jacked Up Truck Into Pond
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Luke Bryan and his other bro-tastic pop country pseudo-rapping laundry list-espousing pretty boys may love to sing about big ol’ pickup trucks, but it has always been circumspect if they could even pilot one in a pinch. Luke Bryan’s ride ended up in the drink a few days ago. Luckily the matching henna tattoo he got with Jason Aldean did not get wet in the incident.
The Lessons Viewers Are Learning from ABC’s “Nashville”
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ABC’s Wednesday night drama Nashville just entered its second season, and though like many network television dramas, the drama can feel over-the-top and contrived, the show’s impact on a wide range of issues that fall under the charge of Saving Country Music is undeniable, if not unprecedented. Though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the show, it’s still important to understand Nashville’s impact.
“Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings” Delivers Collaborative Magic
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Originally cut in Nashville in 1996 and sitting on the shelf ever since, Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings is a remarkable little gem unearthed these many years later, offering a window into a time right before Waylon’s health began to fail him, and right as the Old 97’s were rising in the alt-country tide alongside bands like Wilco and Whiskeytown.
RANT – Okay I’ll Say It: Country Music in 2013 Is Sexist
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That’s right. A scandalous accusation I know, but one I stand behind with puffed chest and other such countenance to covey, “Yeah, I said it. You got a problem with that ?!?!”, and one that holds up when taking the most basic look at our little genre known as country music, and simply asking, “Where in the hell are the women?” Especially on country radio.
Album Review – Hank3’s “Brothers of the 4×4”
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Few things get people talking in the independent channels of country music like a Hank3 release. From his neotraditional days in the early 2000’s when he had traditionalists singing his praises, to his magnum opus Straight to Hell from 2006 that saw his punk and metal influences bleed over into a hard country approach, to his last few releases that have become a polarizing subject with many fans….
Grand Theft Auto 5 Game Features Real Country Through “Rebel Radio”
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If you need any more proof that corporate country music has become so milktoast that the backlash against its homogenized format and fashion plate stars has become an indelible and easily-identifiable element of American culture, then look no further than the recent blockbuster video game Grand Theft Auto 5 from Rockstar Games.
The 10 Best Country & Roots Songs From Breaking Bad
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Did you know the first song to ever be featured on Breaking Bad was a classic country tune by Stonewall Jackson? They may not play real country on the radio anymore, but there’s many different ways you can skin a cat. As popular and critically-acclaimed TV series like Breaking Bad breathe new life into television, they have become an invaluable market for showcasing quality country and roots music from the past and present.
Sheryl Crow’s “Feels Like Home” Only Country By Name
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It’s not that there aren’t some token homages to mark her move into the country format, but overall, except for one song that we will get to in due course, there is very, very little contrast between Feels Like Home and what Sheryl Crow was calling rock for the body of her career. But that doesn’t necessarily paint Feels Like Home, or Sheryl Crow, or her career as bad.
Hillstomp: Still Going Strong After 12 Years
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In the 12 years since Hillstomp’s inception, John Johnson, and guitar player Henry Christian have become one of the Pacific Northwest’s most well-known underground roots duos, garnering a loyal following and making fast fans from their avant-garde approach to blues that combines elements of punk, trance, and most notably, a beat that is delivered by a drum set centered around a bucket instead of a snare drum.
Music Feuds Aside, Good on Blake for Squaring Off with Westboro
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Look, I like Blake Shelton like I like a trip to the proctologist. But qualifying points aside, in the end it is just music. These Westboro Baptist Church turds beat all, and so good on Blake Shelton for taking the game to them and telling them what for. Westboro has been targeting the singer and reality show judge through Twitter, calling him a “vulgar adulterer”….
Hank3 Talks New Album “Brothers of the 4X4” & More
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Hank3 is poised to release two new albums next week, and embark on an extended tour of Texas, the West Coast, and upper Midwest. Brothers of the 4X4 and A Fiendish Threat come on the heels of an extended touring hiatus after Hank3’s drummer Shawn McWilliams required shoulder surgery. Hank3 was gracious enough to sit down with us ahead of the tour and releases to talk about what fans can expect…
Vince Gill & Alan Jackson Show How To Grow Old Gracefully in Country
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With 34 CMA Awards, over 20 Grammys, and and some 80 million records sold between the two, they both have seen their share of overwhelming commercial success, public notoriety, and peer recognition. But over the last few years the writing has been on the wall that their time has come, and their days of widespread radio play and big awards are over. And so what did these two men do?