Country Universe

Needle in A Haystack

May 21, 2009 Leeann Ward 14

Sometimes, finding music outside the mainstream is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There’s just so much music out there that it can often seem overwhelming to find something new, or at least new to me. However, as a constant and compulsive music consumer, it’s a task in which I eagerly indulge.

There are, of course, a myriad of ways to discover music, including the simplest way these days, the internet. But a process, a place to start, is still necessary in order to avoid overload.

Phil Vassar, "Bobbi with an I"

May 21, 2009 Leeann Ward 32

I’ve had to listen to this song several times just to be sure it was real and not just an insane figment of my imagination. But alas, whether I like it or not, it is real and I’m the one who has been charged with the task of attributing words from the English language to this strange composition, which suddenly seems limiting. So, please excuse my casual tone just this once, because I’m going to have to forgo the formal conventions of a review in order to even come close to adequately describing this song.

“Bobby With an I” is about a cross dresser. Bobby is a man’s man during the week, but he turns into Bobbi when the work week is through. He makes such a convincing woman that “you better watch how much you drink/He might look better than you think.” Right.

Despite how others may feel about the somewhat subversive topic, it is actually a redeeming quality of the song. While it’s treated very lightly here, it is still likely to offend the sensibilities of some disapproving country music listeners. However, what offends my sensibilities is the execution of the song in general.

2009 Americana Music Association Awards Nominees Announced

May 21, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 2

The nominations for the 8th Annual Americana Music Association Awards have been announced:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Real Animal, by ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO
Written in Chalk, by BUDDY & JULIE MILLER
Jason Isbell & The 40 Unit, by JASON ISBELL & THE 40 UNIT
Midnight At The Movies, by JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO
BUDDY MILLER
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
RAUL MALO

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
BUDDY MILLER
GURF MORLIX
JERRY DOUGLAS
SAM BUSH

NEW & EMERGING ARTIST
BAND OF HEATHENS
BELLEVILLE OUTFIT
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
SARAH BORGES

Taylor Swift, "The Best Day"

May 19, 2009 Tara Seetharam 15

Oh, the irony of this review. The self-appointed Taylor Swift detractor is assigned the one and only song in Swift’s catalogue that moves her to tears. I think that’s what they call karma?

In all seriousness, “The Best Day” is a beautiful, curious illustration of the artist underneath the pop star that is Taylor Swift. Honest and youthfully elegant, it’s not the kind of song that shot Swift to superstardom, but it may just be the kind of song that perpetuates her career after the hype of teen angst and pop-remixes subsides.

Favorite Songs by Favorite Songwriters: Darrell Scott

May 18, 2009 Leeann Ward 14

I’m pleased to introduce a new feature to Country Universe readers, which is a spin off of Favorite Songs by Favorite Artists called Favorite Songs by Favorite Songwriters.

While we all appreciate songwriters for their invaluable contributions to our favorite artists, they still often remain unrecognized as the people behind the scenes and, therefore, stand in the shadows of the big name artists who sing their songs. The purpose of this feature is to spotlight those songwriters who had or have aspirations of being stars, but are better known for sharing their craft with the more visible artists.

Therefore, the criteria for this feature is that the spotlighted songwriter has to have both written songs that other artists have recorded and recorded music of his/her own. For instance, Darrell Scott, Rodney Crowell, Radney Foster, Kris Kristofferson, Bruce Robison, etc. are eligible songwriters, since they’ve recorded their own music and written songs for other artists. Conversely, people like Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, Clint Black etc. won’t be eligible, since they’ve mostly only written songs for themselves and not others.

Finally, Favorite Songs by Favorite Songwriters will include a mix of songs that the songwriter has recorded, and songs that he/she has written that other artists have recorded, which will obviously depend on our favorite songs by that songwriter and our preferred version of the chosen song.

Willie Nelson Starter Kit

May 16, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 4

Since he’s one of the few country legends who is best defined by his albums rather than his individual tracks, creating a Starter Kit for Willie Nelson is a tough row to hoe.

What follows is the cream of the crop from Willie Nelson’s peak years, minus the collaborations with other artists. His pairings with other great acts would be another Starter Kit unto itself.

When you’re ready to dig deeper, check out his studio albums in their entirety, starting with Phases and Stages and Shotgun Willie, moving on to Red Headed Stranger and Stardust, and picking up lesser-known classics from the later years, like Spirit, Teatro, and You Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker.

“Yesterday’s Wine” from the 1971 album Yesterday’s Wine

Nelson encounters an old friend at a local drinking establishment and they share a round of drinks as they reflect on how they’re “aging with time, like yesterday’s wine.”

“Whiskey River” from the 1973 album Shotgun Willie

It’s since become a live favorite of Nelson’s fans at a speedier tempo, but there’s a a beautiful melancholy to the studio version found on this album.

“Bloody Mary Morning” from the 1974 album Phases and Stages

A centerpiece of what is arguably Nelson’s finest concept album, it’s since become something of a standard. Also of note from this set is “It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way.”

The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be

May 15, 2009 Guest Contributor 27

As I was scouring the neighborhood around 9pm last night after work looking for an open pet store, I flipped through the local radio stations looking for something new and interesting. I really didn’t expect to find much, but after awhile, I finally hit something with an interesting beat and lyrics. Something that I hadn’t heard before and sounded different. I kinda liked it, but couldn’t place it.

It turns out that the station was previewing the new Green Day album, 21st Century Breakdown, (due out in stores and online today). I consider myself somewhat of a Green Day fan, despite the fact I only own Dookie and American Idiot. (And there’s a good, somewhat funny concert story related to the band mixed in there as well.) As such, I’ve been cautiously optimistic about their new album.

From what I heard in between futile stops at closed pet stores, I decided to buy it today. But as I made that decision, I realized that, while maybe I’m just uninformed, there are very few albums coming out that I’m genuinely looking forward to with anticipation and excitement. And I was truly surprised about how ambivalent I really felt about this release by a band that I know I like. Maybe that’s because as we get older, we become more picky and more frugal. Or perhaps we just haven’t heard anything awesome in such a long time, we figure it might be best to wait and see if we hear a buzz before we cautiously download a song, much less an entire album.

Holly Williams, "Mama"

May 15, 2009 Leeann Ward 2

Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle, has recently received considerable press regarding his beautiful and classy song that pays tribute to his mother. It’s been reported that before he sings the song at a show, he introduces it by saying that his father gets enough credit, but someone who does not is his mother. This is easily true about most spouses or ex spouses of famous people. So, it’s nice when an adult child takes advantage of his/her platform to rectify the oversight, which is something that Hank Williams Jr’s daughter has done as well.

Holly Williams sings a tribute to her selfless mother, simply titled “Mama.” While the song is as simple as the title, it is sweet and intriguingly revealing about her childhood. In “Mama”, Williams thanks her mom for shielding her from the emotional turmoil that undoubtedly plagued her as a result of a broken marriage to the famously rebel rousing, Hank Williams Jr.

Greatest <em>Greatest Hits</em>

May 13, 2009 Dan Milliken 12

Okey doke, here’s my thinking: we’ll just do Country Quizzin’ every other week for the time being. I look at the blogger/bloggee relationship like an ADD-culture marriage: you gotta change it up sometimes to keep things interesting for both parties!

With that in mind, a discussion:

I’ve gotten on a dangerous roll lately in building up my music collection. It’s probably a little silly of me; they say owning music is kind of on the way out (the kids these days are all about that newfangled “streaming” thing), and I don’t have a great deal of disposable income to begin with.

But I so love to discover great music, to hold it in my hands. Especially older stuff, which just doesn’t feel right to own exclusively in MP3 form. And when Amazon, eBay and my local record stores keep offering incredible deals on used items, I find their mating calls very hard to resist indeed.

And so I find myself now knee-deep in a pool of that most spurned of media: the CD. Most of mine are proper albums, but I’m starting to lean more toward compilation packages (e.g. “greatest hits”, “essential”, etc.), particularly box sets, which you can sometimes get for astonishingly good rates if you keep your eyes peeled.

Bargain Hunter: Steve Earle, <em>Townes</em>

May 11, 2009 Guest Contributor 0

Still available on Amazon (Tuesday)! Don’t miss this opportunity to add Steve Earle’s newest album, Townes, to your collection for only $2.99!

Although Earle has covered Townes Van Zandt’s material throughout his career, this is the first time he’s put together an album entirely dedicated to Van Zandt’s songs. A master covering a master can only yield brilliant results, right? I’ll be reviewing this album later on, but check it out and let me know what you think!

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