Single Review

Laura Bell Bundy, “Giddy On Up”

by Dan Milliken

Straight from Broadway comes the latest new Nashville arrival. Is it too campy, not campy enough, or just right? Our very own Goldilocks Dan Milliken has the answer.

Year in Review

Top Twenty Albums of 2009

by the Country Universe staff

It may not have been the best year, but its best albums are worthy of celebration.

Feature

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists: Reba McEntire

by Zack Jodlowski

A longtime member of the Country Universe community spotlights his favorite moments of Reba McEntire’s distinguished catalog.

Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Still”

by Kevin John Coyne

February 7, 2010

Wynonna once sang about driving down an old road that “can take you back to the place but it can’t take you back in time.” The road she longed for doesn’t exist in physical reality, but as Tim McGraw observes in his new single “Still”, they do exist in your mind, provided you allow yourself the quiet and stillness needed to travel down them.

This is the part of the review where I should continue waxing philosophical and pretending there is a professional distance between myself and this song, that the “A” grade that follows is based on a purely objective and thoughtful analysis of the record’s components and how they come together. That would be a lie.

The truth is that my memories are my only tangible connection to most of the significant people and places in my life, and while the details may differ from what McGraw describes in this song, the process of reconnection is the same. I just need to be still, to allow the quiet and alone that are needed to go back in time again.

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Bargain Hunter: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

by Dan Milliken

February 7, 2010

A Grammy and CMA winner for Album of the Year, T-Bone Burnett’s O Brother soundtrack is perhaps the most widely revered country album of the last decade. If you haven’t picked it up yet, you could hardly do better than dropping $2.99 on it on this fine Super Bowl Sunday.

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Recent Articles

The Success of Taylor Swift is Not a Moral Issue

by Kevin John Coyne

February 4, 2010

I slept through the Grammys this year. I’m not being figurative here. I was literally asleep before the show began, and I read about the telecast winners the next morning.

In the days since, there has been a lot of chatter, including some at Country Universe, regarding both her wins and her performance on the show. Reading through the comments for the first time yesterday, I was struck by how passionate both sides are when debating Swift’s worthiness to be a Grammy winner, standard bearer for country music, or even a recording artist at all.

I’d like to suggest that there is no moral dilemma being created by the success of Taylor Swift. Country music has been around for a long time before she came along, and it will remain long after she’s gone, whether that’s a year from now or fifty years from now.

I say this as someone who is remarkably indifferent to Swift, even though I tend to agree with the major criticisms of her. Can she sing? Dear God, no. At least not on a live microphone. I’m sure that pairing her with Stevie Nicks was the travesty that it’s being described as.

But it’s not like country music hasn’t been embarrassed before. Anyone who witnessed John Michael Montgomery’s atrocious butchering of “I Swear” on the Grammys or saw the Cyrus Virus at its mullet and exposed armpit peak can attest to that. Country music will survive.

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Grammy Pre-Telecast Winners

by Kevin John Coyne

January 31, 2010

Here are the winners in the country and country-related categories from the pre-telecast:

Best Country Song: Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, “White Horse”

Best Country Instrumental Performance: Steve Wariner, “Producer’s Medley”

Best Country Collaboration with Vocals: Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis, “I Told You So”

Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals: Lady Antebellum, “I Run to You”

Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Taylor Swift, “White Horse”

Best Male Country Vocal Performance: Keith Urban, “Sweet Thing”

Best Contemporary Folk Album: Steve Earle, Townes

Best Bluegrass Album: Steve Martin, The Crow/New Songs for the Five-String Banjo

Best Americana Album: Levon Helm, Electric Dirt

Best Southern/Country/Bluegrass Gospel Album: Jason Crabb, Jason Crabb

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Grammy 2010 Staff Picks & Predictions

by Dan Milliken

January 31, 2010

Even in Grammy’s darkest hours, CU brings its picking powers!

- Superhero television show about our blog from the 50’s.

Share your own picks and predictions in the comments, and be sure to check back for our live blog! The awards telecast starts at 8 pm Eastern, and I imagine there will be some red carpet action in the hour prior.

Record of the Year

Picks

  • Beyonce, “Halo” – Kevin
  • Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
  • Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody” - Tara
  • Lady GaGa, “Poker Face” - Dan
  • Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”

Predictions

  • Beyonce, “Halo”
  • Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
  • Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody” – Kevin, Dan, Tara
  • Lady GaGa, “Poker Face”
  • Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”

Kevin: Am I wrong for preferring Eric Cartman’s rendition of “Poker Face” over the original? This is a pretty lightweight slate of contenders. I really like “Halo”, but I suspect Kings of Leon will win, simply because it’s the only rock song in a lineup of pop hits.

Dan: “Poker Face” just feels very representative of popular music in 2009. I wouldn’t whine if it got passed over so that “Bad Romance” could take this award next year, though.

Tara: I would’ve pulled for “Single Ladies” in a heartbeat had it been submitted, but “Use Somebody” is just as deserving of this award. It’s a fantastic song even outside the context of its moment in pop culture, and it’s the kind of larger-than-life song that the voters have picked to win in the past.

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