Archive for the ‘Say What?’ Category
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
In a review of the recent Little Big Town concert in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Star-Tribune reporter Jon Bream commented on the group’s lack of a lead singer. He noted that although the group has the potential to be big, it misses consistent star power. According to Bream:
For a group to blossom in Nashville, it needs a focal point. Randy Owen dominated Alabama, Gary LeVox is the main man with Rascal Flatts and Natalie Maines is the mouthpiece of the Dixie Chicks. But who is the mayor of Little Big Town?
After discussing how no singer stepped forward during the concert in the Twin Cities, Bream continued:
Multiple lead singers may work for the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac, two groups that have obviously influenced Little Big Town. But those groups are the exceptions. Be a democracy offstage, but choose one dominant star for the stage.
For the record, I happen to agree with him, at least when it comes to Little Big Town. In my opinion, the group makes beautiful music, but lacks a certain spark, which apparently translates into the concert setting. I don’t know if pushing one member of Little Big Town to the forefront will make a difference, but it is an interesting discussion given the plethora of groups without front (wo)men coming out of Nashville these days (e.g., Lady Antebellum, One Flew South). What’s your take?
Do you believe that a country group needs a lead singer in order for the band to reach that next level?
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
I ran across the following quote attributed to Kristian Bush (of Sugarland) in an article in the U.K. newspaper The Independent, frankly titled: “Far from the old country music: Nashville is making yet another attempt to conquer the UK charts with artists who have crossed over so far they are virtually mainstream.”
Bush can barely hide his impatience at alt.country’s arrogance. “The songs that will survive 40 years from now will have to do, not with their excellence at how they interpreted post-modern Appalachia, but how they interpreted the human condition. And in the end, as much as I’m a huge Wilco fan, no one’s going to remember them. They’re going to remember Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” – because that story is true. There’ll be another girl sitting at a window who’s kissed someone and that song speaks to her. And really, [Wilco and ex-Uncle Tupelo singer-songwriter] Jeff Tweedy singing about being lonely and poor and dumped, all these things which he is not…
“There are only so many thirtysomethings who’ll emotionally connect to style over substance, which a lot of [modern] Appalachian stuff is. I’m a huge Gillian Welch fan, but she’s from Malibu, California. I’m from Dolly Parton’s hometown Sevierville, Tennessee. I should be playing what she’s playing, according to our histories. Our song “Baby Girl” deals with some sort of human archetype, anyway, a story of the hero. It just rings differently in your bones. Country music is unafraid of that human substance.”
Without intending to pick on Bush (and still disbelieving that Katy Perry has a tag on Country Universe), do you agree with him?
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Today’s Say What? comes courtesy of country music legend Merle Haggard, who recalled a salty conversation with a label executive in the 1980s. The memory was prompted by Emmylou Harris performing “Kern River”, a Haggard classic that is also a highlight of her most recent album, All I Intended to Be.
Since the comment is definitely nsfw, it’s embedded after the jump:
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Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Harlan Howard is one of the most distinguished songwriters in country music history. When interviewed about his #1 hit for the Judds (“Why Not Me”), he made an interesting statement about the need for repeating certain titles throughout a song:
“Why Not Me” wasn’t a great title. To get a really good record, you’ve gotta write a hell of a song when you’re dealing with a title that average. The only thing I know to do with songs like “Why Not Me” and “Busted” – which I never thought was a good title – is to put the title in there often so that people remember it. The weaker the title, the more you gotta hear it.”
“Why Not Me” earned the Judds the Country Duo/Group Grammy and the CMA award for Single of the Year. “Busted” was hit for both Johnny Cash with the Carter Family in the sixties and John Conlee in the eighties. Both songs feature the titles repeated endlessly.
I think this quote is fascinating because it provides a window into how two songs from different eras were crafted by the same writer. I never noticed the similarities before reading the quote.
I’d also add that the Little Texas hit “My Love” and the Brooks & Dunn hit “That’s What It’s All About” show how the rule can be taken too far, in my opinion, and turn into just an annoying song.
What do you think?
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
In the upcoming March issue of Playboy Magazine, Kenny Chesney forcefully denies old rumors that he’s gay. He, however, forgoes tact and tries to assure us that he’s straight by proving that he’s a womanizer instead.
In response to suggestions that he’s gay, Chesney quips, “I think people need to live their lives the way they want to, but I’m pretty confident in the fact that I love girls (laughs). I’ve got a long line of girls who could testify that I am not gay.”
As if that wasn’t already too much information, when asked if he had reached 100 women yet, he flagrantly boasts that he probably reached 100 women in 2001,
“Man, I was over 100 several years ago. There were years when I had a better summer than A-Rod, buddy. You know? I got on the boards quite often…My first five years on the road were intense because I was the guy in college who never got laid until I started playing guitar.”
At The9513, commenter, Craig R., thoughtfully analyzes the problems with Chesney’s comments:
“As a country music fan Kenny Chesney’s music depresses me. As a gay man Kenny Chesney’s comment saddens me. I understand that the idea of a country singer being called gay would make most want to run to the hills. The country audience, though wide and varied, may not want,need,or desire a gay country singer. But the problem about being tagged “gay” is not about being gay, but about about how you approach your own self- worth and respect.
“Kenny Chesney has never done anything in public that might lead one to think he is gay except this is the second time (with force) that he has denied being gay. I am happy and proud that he is straight. But in order to convince us does he have to degrade women and gays. If I were one of the women he slept with I would be insulted to think that he grouped me and used me to promote his image and quash his fears. As a gay person I would rather him say, ”I am not gay, but I am flattered that my fan base includes that group.
“The shows he puts on are all about having fun, remembering when you were a pre adult, having a beer and hanging out with the boys(by the way all things gay men enjoy as well). That frat boy/beach boy image would be, at least in Chesney’s mind, ruined if he were gay or thought of as gay. And this is the point that truly saddens me: Does Kenny Chesney really think that his fans are that immature, and if so what does that deeply say about Kenny Chesney?”
What are your thoughts?
As always, be mindful of our Comment Policy. Please be respectful and sensitive to your fellow commenters.
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Michelle Branch on her upcoming album, from last week’s issue of Billboard:
It’s more singer/songwriter than, I would say, country, but I think the term ‘country’ is all relative now. There’s really no room for singer/songwriters anymore at radio, so I think this is a natural step.
The album will be marketed as country by Warner Bros. Nashville and features a duet with Dwight Yoakam.
Thoughts?
Friday, November 14th, 2008
Between the live blog and Blake’s excellent post-mortem, there isn’t much left to be said about Wednesday’s CMA Awards. But Whitney Pastorek from Entertainment Weekly made some points in her CMA Wrap-up that are worthy of discussion, particularly her two different takes on country music’s leading females.
On Carrie Underwood:
Yes, it was cheating to bring out the wife of a deceased soldier to introduce “Just a Dream” and get the waterworks going before she even sang a note. But this was a true showstopper, the emotional equivalent of Sugarland doing “Stay” last year, and official notice that we can now stop looking down on Ms. Underwood because of how she got here. The girl is learning how to use her voice for something other than blowing the doors off the joint every time she steps to the bedazzled mic — and then she went ahead and blew the doors off anyway. I didn’t breathe during this. (Bonus points for the classy way she alluded to Idol during her Best Female Vocalist acceptance speech, the cute shout-out to her mom, and admirably keeping up with Paisley during her hosting duties all night.)
On Taylor Swift:
I will go easy on Taylor Swift because if I went hard on the little dead-eyed darling and her ridiculous ballroom dancing fairy tale fiasco (your move, Twilight), I’d probably never get my rage back under control. So she can’t sing, has exactly zero stage presence, and has now used the same My-Costume-Change-Will-Blow-Your-Mind gag on two straight awards shows. That’s fine. She’s very pretty and sells a lot of records, and makes pre-teen girls happy. Carry on, my wayward waif.
Thoughts?
Monday, August 18th, 2008
Rosanne Cash has issued a statement regarding recent use of her father’s name for political purposes:
It is appalling to me that people still want to invoke my father’s name, five years after his death, to ascribe beliefs, ideals, values and loyalties to him that cannot possibly be determined, and to try to further their own agendas by doing so. I knew my father pretty well, at least better than some of those who entitle themselves to his legacy and his supposed ideals, and even I would not presume to say publicly what I ‘know’ he thought or felt. This is especially dangerous in the case of political affiliation. It is unfair and presumptuous to use him to bolster any platform. I would ask that my father not be co-opted in this election for either side, since he is clearly not here to defend or state his own allegiance.
Her dignified response might be in regards to this statement by John Rich while performing at a John McCain rally:
Somebody’s got to walk the line in the country. They’ve got to walk it unapologetically. And I’m sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around.
I think that Rosanne’s response strikes the perfect tone, since it doesn’t name names and appeals to both sides of the political aisle to refrain from speaking on her father’s behalf. It’s dehumanizing to use him as a prop, a cheap attempt to give your point of view more credibility.
It reminds me of the old saying: “You can safely assume a man has recreated God in his own image when it turns out God hates all the same people he does.” Cash the father and Cash the daughter are both worthy of emulating. Rich should be trying to learn from them rather than putting his own words in Johnny Cash’s mouth.
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
It seems pretty unbelievable that I missed this the first time around, given how this site has been so focused on women in country music these past four months. But Carrie Underwood had some interesting things to say about women in the country music world after the ACM awards last month.
First, she discussed the scarcity of female nominees for Entertainer of the Year. The CMA hasn’t nominated a female act since 2001 (Dixie Chicks) and the ACM since 2003 (also the Dixie Chicks.) In fact, the only other women to be nominated at either show in the 90′s and 00′s are Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Reba McEntire and Kathy Mattea. Here’s what Underwood had to say about that:
“I think there have been several women over the past decade that should have been nominated at some point. It’s disappointing that they haven’t been, because I know — and I’m speaking for all of us — how hard women have to work. Not to take anything away from the guys, but we have to do a lot more than they have to do. … It’s unfortunate that a lot more women haven’t gotten a lot more credit.”
The upside, according to Underwood? Greater camaraderie among female artists, as she demonstrates with her gracious hat tip to Miranda Lambert:
Miranda is a wonderful artist. It goes back to the women thing. It seems like there’s only a certain number of [award] slots, and it’s like everybody is vying for two or three slots. It’s kind of weird. None of us are competitive with each other anyway. We get together and we hang out. Miranda is one of those people who deserves a lot more credit than she’s gotten. Her album is great.
It will be interesting to see if the CMA’s nominate Carrie Underwood this year for Entertainer of the Year. It’s getting increasingly difficult for anyone to argue with a straight face that she’s not one of the top five acts in the genre, by any measurable standard: record sales, airplay, concert gross, critical acclaim. Heck, if the CMA really wants to shake things up, a nomination for Sugarland would be pretty cool as well. But if Underwood isn’t in the lineup, the CMA will pretty much prove her right: women just have to work a hell of a lot harder to get the credit they deserve.
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
We all know that Taylor Swift has been home schooled while she has been working hard on her country music career. Unfortunately, it seems that she has not been taking her studies too seriously. Apparently, she worked so hard during her junior year that she only had to fulfill two class requirements during her senior year in order to graduate this upcoming June. She told GAC:
“I chose public speaking and musical performance…So I kind of coasted my senior year, as seniors usually do. Musical performance: I was on tour with Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley, so that occurred every night — me singing in front of people happened a lot this year. And public speaking: Every single time I did a radio interview, every single time I got on stage and said, ‘How we doin’, Houston?’ — you know, that’s public speaking. So, senior year’s been pretty good.”
As an educator, I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy about Swift’s dismissive comments regarding her high school education. Moreover, since Swift is really only a kid, it’s even more disturbing that her parents failed to insist that their daughter’s education be more of a priority.
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