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Single Review: Brad Paisley, “River Bank”

July 7, 2014 Ben Foster 13

Brad Paisley River Bank

“River Bank”
Brad Paisley

Written by Brad Paisley and Kelley Lovelace

Brad Paisley has become a fairly reliable competitor in country radio’s annual summer song rodeo. He offers a 2014 entry that is listenable and likable, if not as memorable as last year’s “Beat This Summer.”

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The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 19

May 28, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 34

Today’s category is…

A Song You Hate by an Artist You Love.

Here are the staff picks:

Kevin Coyne: “Honk if You Honky Tonk” – George Strait

Not even Trace Adkins would cut this.

Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he would.

But it should be beneath the stature of a legend like George Strait. His talent helped him pull of “Write This Down” and “Don’t Make Me Come Over There and Love You”, but there was no saving this one.

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Single Review: Chris Young, “Tomorrow”

March 30, 2011 Dan Milliken 18

How to put it? I would listen to this man sing about IBS. I would listen to him sing a long-form denunciation of my inherent value as a human being – possibly my mother’s and little sister’s, too. Chris Young’s baritone is like the aural incarnation of warm fuzzies, and most everything it touches/fuzzes goes down easy – even those lame, creaky-hinged Music Row assembly songs scattered across Young’s first two albums.

So, granted: This single was probably going to sound all sexy-cool no matter what. Happily, though, we can all enjoy with a little less cognitive dissonance this time, because “Tomorrow” makes a serious play at substance. Young is finally a radio star now, and he’s using his powers to inject some actual psychological complication back into the format.

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Grammy Awards 2011: Staff Picks & Predictions

February 12, 2011 Tara Seetharam 9

It’s hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again: the 2011 Grammy Awards air this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern. Country music has its hand in the Grammy pot via major nominations for Lady Antebellum, performances by Miranda Lambert, Lady A and Martina McBride, and appearances by Keith Urban, Zac Brown, Blake Shelton and Kris Kristofferson. We’ve picked and predicted the awards below – chime in with your own thoughts, and stop by on Sunday night for our live blog!

Album of the Year

Should Win

  • Arcade Fire, The Suburbs – Dan
  • Eminem, Recovery – Kevin, Tara
  • Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
  • Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster
  • Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

Will Win

  • Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
  • Eminem, Recovery – Kevin, Dan, Tara
  • Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
  • Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster
  • Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

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Crunching the Numbers: January 2011

January 27, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 55

Feel that chill in the air? It’s not just climate change, friends. The music industry is suffering through historic lows in record sales, the worst since SoundScan started tallying them in 1991.

How are country artists faring? Let’s take a look at cumulative sales for current albums. Sales are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Top Selling Current Country Albums

  1. Taylor Swift, Fearless: 6,233,900
  2. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift: 4,955,000
  3. Lady Antebellum, Need You Now: 3,138,700
  4. Taylor Swift, Speak Now: 3,078,600
  5. Zac Brown Band, The Foundation: 2,489,200
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