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Music Memories: Christmas Morning

December 25, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 4

My earliest Christmas memory is 1985. I was six years old, still believed in Santa Claus, and like my older sister, I was on the receiving end of plenty of gifts that I never would’ve thought to ask for.

This particular Christmas, I had asked for a cassette of Soul Kiss, of all things. I had seen a video on HBO of a song from the album, and somehow my parents were able to figure out how to get that specific tape, which I hadn’t asked for by title. So it was in my stocking. No big deal.

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The Year’s Best and Worst Singles?

December 8, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 56

Pretty soon, a deluge of best and worst lists will overwhelm digital media, and we’ll proudly do our best to add to it!

In the meantime, what do you think is the best country single of 2010? How about the worst?

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Discussion: Best Albums of 2010

November 19, 2010 Leeann Ward 58

It’s hard to believe, but we’re dangerously close to the end of 2010!

For record labels, this means that most of the major albums have been released for the year. Therefore, for Country Universe, this means that we’re preparing to begin the daunting process of compiling our Best of the Year lists, which includes best singles and albums of the year.

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Premium Label

September 12, 2010 Leeann Ward 20

September has a lot of album releases that I’m really enjoying or looking forward to. In fact, it’s the most lucrative month for music for my taste in quite some time.

Last Tuesday (September 7), Rounder Records released The SteelDrivers’ second album, Reckless (which is pretty spectacular, by the way) and this week, they will be releasing Robert Plant’s follow up to his 2007 collaborative album with Alison Krauss, which was also released on Rounder. From the streaming preview that can be heard on NPR’s website until release day, the album is a wonderfully rootsy project helmed by Plant and Buddy Miller and includes guitar work from Darrell Scott. October will finally see the release of Joe Diffie’s bluegrass album, which is also to be released on the label.

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A Bountiful Harvest

August 25, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 30

This fall, there seems to be as many new albums from significant country artists as I can remember. Just look at Roughstock’s indispensable Fall 2010 Releases list.

New releases are on the way from no less than eight past CMA Entertainer of the Year nominees and winners, along with current top sellers Zac Brown Band, Billy Currington, Jamey Johnson, and Montgomery Gentry.

So head on over to see that list, then come back to answer this question:

What Fall 2010 CD Release are you most excited for?

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Discussion: Worst Album Titles?

July 27, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 31

We don’t do as many discussions as we used to at CU, and it’s possible that we already did this one. But seeing the title of this week’s #1 country album, I couldn’t resist:

Jerrod Niemann, Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury

I’d call it juvenile, but I don’t think I would’ve laughed as a kid, either. But I’m sure some people found it funny.

Here are a few others that make me wince:

Pam Tillis, Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey

I. Don’t. Get. It. “(You Just Want to Be) Weird”, indeed.

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iPod Check: Playing Favorites

May 9, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 18

It’s been a long time since we’ve done one of these!

I think that the strongest feature of the iPod is the ability to create playlists. I currently have over 16,000 songs, so playing it on pure shuffle is interesting but not likely to result in hearing a string of my favorite songs.

I have dozens of playlists, but the one that I visit the most is called “Repeat.” It’s an ever-shifting playlist of songs that I don’t tire of. Currently, there are 131 songs on the list.

I’m sharing the first ten that play on shuffle from the list. Share your favorite playlist and ten of its tracks in the comments!

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The Saddest Country Songs

May 8, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 64

The Boot has published another list that’s got me thinking. This time, it’s Top 10 Sad Love Songs in Country Music. Again, the title is a bit strange, as the list includes the Suzy Bogguss hit “Letting Go”, which is about a mother watching her daughter go off to college, but there’s no rule that a love song has to be about romantic love, I guess.

Predictably and justifiably, the list is topped by “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, a George Jones classic that tops many a classic country list, including one of our own. There’s also a pretty high body count – four outright deaths and one by implication. Country songs sure do like to kill people off, don’t they?

So what are the saddest country songs ever? My first instinct was to mention “Where’ve You Been”, but that Kathy Mattea classic has a ray of hope. It’s really about a perfect relationship meeting its natural end.

For real, heartbreaking sadness, all hope must be vanquished, with only regret remaining. Bonus points if somebody dies. Here are two that I think are tragic, one with death and one without:

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Words to Live By

March 16, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 13

Earlier this week, Tara Seetharam posted about songs that resonate for reasons beyond the lyrics. This got me thinking about something close to the opposite: What about songs that stand out because of a particular lyric, a line that takes on a life of its own beyond the song?

I first heard “Too Many Memories” on the Patty Loveless album Long Stretch of Lonesome. It was later recorded by Hal Ketchum. It’s a good song, no doubt, but the kicker that ends the second verse has grown into words to live by for me:

What makes you grow old is replacing hope with regret.

I’ve used that quote countless times, and as I get older, it gets ever more true.

Is this just me, or do any of you also have lines from songs that are words to live by?

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Discussion: Music and Lyrics

March 9, 2010 Tara Seetharam 10

During the Academy Awards show last Sunday, a montage of movie clips honoring the late John Hughes featured a great quote from The Breakfast Club: “When you grow up, your heart dies.” In one line, teenage angst collided beautifully with a universal fear.

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