Archive for August, 2007
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Halfway to Hazard
Halfway to Hazard
Shrieking diva syndrome. It’s an affliction that has corrupted many a talented female vocalist. They mistake screaming for singing, intensity for interpretation. They errantly believe that the louder they belt the notes, the less likely we are to notice the mediocrity of the lyrics. It’s a well-documented problem in pop music that has spilled over to country music in the past ten years or so.
Not content with the genre being tainted by the excesses of pop music, we’re now being subjected to the male rock band equivalent of shrieking diva syndrome. The eighties hair bands are back, my friends, and they’re trying to pass themselves off as country bands. The debut album of duo Halfway to Hazard reminded me at times of Guns ‘n’ Roses, and I don’t mean the tight, brilliant Appetite For Destruction Guns ‘n’ Roses, either. I’m talking about the “Axl Rose playing a dead groom in Tuxedo getting pummeled by the cold November Rain and the damn song never ends” Guns ‘n’ Roses.
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Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
In the final edition of CMA Forecast, I’m taking a look at the Entertainer of the Year category. Will this be the year that some new faces are in the running for the first time? A major shake-up is unlikely, but I suspect that for the first time since 2001, this isn’t going to be an all-boy’s club.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Certain to Be Nominated:
Kenny Chesney
As the reigning champ and country music’s biggest box office draw, his nomination is a given. The real question is whether he’ll tie Alabama and Alan Jackson for second place in total wins with a third victory in four years.
Likely to Be Nominated:
Brad Paisley
I’ve been saying it all year long, and I believe it now more than ever: 2007 will be the year where Brad Paisley takes home some big awards. I do believe he’s the front-runner for Male Vocalist and Album, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him play spoiler and take home Entertainer over Chesney and Rascal Flatts.
Rascal Flatts
They have the numbers at retail, the plays at radio and the sales at the box office to make them a given for an Entertainer nomination. But their public whining has brought attention to the fact that they aren’t awards favorites. Sure, they’ve picked up a lot of ACM’s, but they’ve been limited to the Vocal Group wins at the CMA’s and have yet to win a Grammy. Their sales are impressive in comparison to most of the competition, but let’s be honest: Album sales between 4 and 5 million are not record-breaking, eyebrow-raising achievements, and that appears to be their ceiling. So yes, a nomination is likely, but a victory may be far more elusive.
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Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
“A hundred years goes faster than you think. Don’t blink.” This is the sage advice given by a man on the television screen, being interviewed on his 102nd birthday. He’s asked to reveal the secret of life, apparently because he’s managed to live so long. We’re amazed by longevity, aren’t we? I think the wisdom in this song is that it takes the assumption that living for a long time is a blessing, and turns it on its head.
There’s a sad reality that this man is living. As he catalogs his life for the viewers at home, he mentions watching his “better half for fifty years” dying, and praying to God that he dies instead. Living the longest usually means losing the most. You’re left behind as the ones you love go on to the next world before you do, and all you’re left with are the memories that went by in the blink of an eye.
The songs I value the most, country or otherwise, are the ones that linger in my mind long after they’ve finished playing, making me think about the greater truths and examine my own life from a new perspective. This is one of them.
Grade: A+
Listen: Don’t Blink
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Starting a song about the battle of the sexes with Adam, Eve and the apple is so horribly contrived that this song almost lost me from the opening verse. But Holy’s energy, coupled with the aggressive production, kept me hanging on. It’s not exactly the second coming of “Men Smart (Women Smarter)”, but it’s a fun and entertaining record. I could’ve done without the backing chorus singing the “Na Na Na’s” – and I usually love me some “Na Na Na’s” – but overall, this is a pretty good record.
Grade: B
Listen: Men Buy the Drinks (Girls Call the Shots)
Buy: Men Buy the Drinks (Girls Call the Shots)
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Garth Brooks spinning his decision to not release his music digitally:
“For people who have all the records, to have them come get this compilation of 33 songs and then 33 videos and know that Wal-Mart is gonna have it probably somewhere between 11 and 14 bucks. I feel really good about that. When you go online, if you wanna pay 99 cents for all of them at 33 bucks…the math’s pretty easy.”
Isn’t that magnamonious of him? He would release his music digitally, but he doesn’t want the consumer to get ripped off and have to pay all that extra money!
Except for one little problem. iTunes and other digital music stores allow an option to sell the album only, and they also have flexible pricing. Even the standard price for a double album is $19.98, but he could have them charge as little or as much as he wants.
I suspect his real concern is a digital release would mean that consumers could just go and buy the four new tracks, and not be forced to buy a ton of music they already own again. And even if they sold the album only, digital technology would make it fairly easy for people to share the album with their friends.
Quite frankly, Garth is showing his age. He’s still stuck in a twentieth century mentality. If he wants to remain relevant to the younger generation of music consumers, his music has to be available for them to download. If he seriously thinks a teenager is going to get “Friends in Low Places” at Wal-Mart when they can’t find it on iTunes, instead of just hitting Limewire, he’s delusional. Heck, I’m 28, and I’ll just spend my money on something other than The Ultimate Hits if I can’t get it on iTunes. Why he continues to limit the options of his potential audience – first with his exclusive deals and now by stubbornly refusing to go digital – is beyond me.
Monday, August 20th, 2007
Rascal Flatts’ lead singer, on not winning Album of the Year for Me and My Gang:
“We deserved it last year. To sell more than anybody, I think that qualifies for album of the year.” – Gary LeVox
Source: Billboard, “Industry Accolades Still Lag Behind Rascal Flatts’ Sales Success.” – Aug. 25, 2007. Page 22.
The article implies that he is referring to not winning Album of the Year at the ACM’s, where they lost to the bigger-selling Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood. The reference to last year makes me wonder if they meant to refer to the 2006 CMA’s, where they lost to Brad Paisley’s critically acclaimed Time Well Wasted. They didn’t receive a nomination for Best Country Album at the Grammys.
Friday, August 17th, 2007
Rodney Carrington
King of the Mountains
They always say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That may be true for the literary world, but as comedy albums go, you can take one look at this cover and know exactly what you’re going to get. The only question that remains: Will a nearly endless collection of locker room material remain consistently funny?
For me, the answer was yes. I found myself laughing all the way through, even when hearing it for the second and third time. Carrington’s delivery is half of the fun, but it would all be for naught if his material wasn’t top-notch. And for the most part, it is.
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Thursday, August 16th, 2007
You know what? I enjoyed listening to this a lot. I smiled, I laughed a few times. It reminded me of Pickler when she was at her most endearing on Idol. Her personality shines through and the song itself is quite clever.
Listen, if Mindy McCready isn’t going to get her act together and reclaim her quirky little niche in country music, Kellie Pickler might as well fill in for her!
Grade: A-
Listen: Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind
Buy: Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind
Thursday, August 16th, 2007
The song is solid, as his material often is. He sings it with conviction, nuance and enough shades of emotion to convey the conflict in the lyric. The anemic production comes close to derailing an otherwise strong performance. Far too much clutter in the mix for my tastes. Griggs will probably nail this live, even if it’s just him and a guitar.
Grade: B
Listen: What If It’s Me
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
CBS has a tendency to pull clips from this show down as soon as they’re up, so I highly recommend watching it now: the 1993 Women of Country documentary. It traces the history of women in country from the early days all the way through 1992. When it first aired, it was my crash course in the history of the genre, along with a celebration featuring female artists that all rank among my favorites.
The live performances are fantastic. Nearly every major female artist of that time performs: Suzy Bogguss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, Lorrie Morgan, Pam Tillis, Tanya Tucker. Michelle Wright, Wynonna and Trisha Yearwood. There are also performances from legends Emmylou Harris and Tammy Wynette, and an all-star finale.
However, the real reason to watch is to see the story of women in country music told by those who lived it, including some who are no longer with us today, like Wynette, June Carter Cash, Rose Maddox, Patsy Montana. The vintage clips of Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline and others are priceless.
For me, the most powerful moment is Jeannie C. Riley’s heartbreaking story of the beautiful layered dress that she had bought to wear to the 1968 CMA awards, where she would win Single of the Year for “Harper Valley P.T.A.” When she went to pick up her dress, it had been butchered into a miniskirt at the direction of her producer. Even 25 years later, she still remembers the humiliation. It’s really the perfect metaphor for how women had no control over their careers through most of the genre’s history. That’s in Part 10, at the 1:50 mark.
Here’s a list of all the videos. If you’re at all interested in country music’s past, it’s essential viewing.
Part 1: Introduction; performance of by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Part 2: Spirit of the Mountains; performance by Emmylou Harris.
Part 3: Heartsongs; performance by Trisha Yearwood.
Part 4: Cowgirls in a Man’s World; performance by Suzy Bogguss.
Part 5: Honky Tonk Angels; performance by Pam Tillis.
Part 6: Rockabilly; performance by Tanya Tucker.
Part 7: The Nashville Sound; performance by Lorrie Morgan.
Part 8: The Folk Revival; performance by Kathy Mattea.
Part 9: Heroines; performance by Tammy Wynette.
Part 10: Women Ascending; performance by Michelle Wright.
Part 11: New Country; performance by Patty Loveless.
Part 12: 80′s Ladies; performance by Wynonna.
Part 13: The Future: all-star finale.
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