
Articles by Kevin John Coyne


Toxic People
This post, originally written on September 19, 2005, seems to have disappeared from the Country Universe archives when we switched over to self-hosting. I’m reposting it today for the sake of posterity.
I’m starting to wonder if the people I like and can get along with all fall into one category and the people I can’t stand to be around or have a conversation with fall into another. The categories?
1 – You believe that you have a moral obligation to other people, and live your life accordingly.
2 – You look out for yourself primarily, and what you feel is best for you informs any obligation you feel to other people.

Single Review: Emmylou Harris, “The Road”
The story of Emmylou Harris is well established, the stuff of legend at this point.
She could’ve been Gram Parsons’ harmony singer for the rest of her career and been happy, but she ended up carrying on his legacy instead, becoming a Hall of Famer with the most consistently excellent catalog in country music history.

ACM Picks & Predictions
And some amount of us will be live-blogging the show tomorrow at 8 pm/7 central. Join!
Entertainer of the Year
Picks
- Jason Aldean
- Toby Keith
- Miranda Lambert – Dan
- Brad Paisley – Leeann, Tara
- Taylor Swift – Kevin
- Keith Urban
Predictions

Disappointment
Dierks Bentley’s new single, “Am I the Only One”, is not a cover of “Am I the Only One (Who’s Ever Felt This Way.)

Unanswered Prayer
Dear Sugarland and Little Big Town,
Please stop covering “Like a Prayer.”

Say What? – Kip Moore
From Kip Moore’s Facebook page:
i leave for NY in a few hours. i’ve always heard how fast pace everything and everyone is up there, so i’m thinking i’m gonna find the person that seems to be in the biggest hurry, step rt in front of them and start walking as slow as my country ass can and every time they try to go around me, i’ll step in front of them and act as if i’m sight seeing. wonder how quick i’ll get the “F” bomb dropped on me.

100 Greatest Men: #89. Sawyer Brown
At first, they were the very embodiment of a valid reason to suspect the credentials of TV singing contest winners. But over time, they became one of the most thought-provoking and substantial country music bands.
Sawyer Brown began as the backing band for Don King, who had a handful of minor country hits in the late seventies and early eighties. When King stopped touring in 1981, the band decided to strike out on their own. The original lineup of Mark Miller, Bobby Randall, Joe Smyth, Gregg Hubbard, and Jim Scholten named themselves Sawyer Brown after the Nashville street where they often rehearsed.

Single Review: Martina McBride, “Teenage Daughters”
This is the Martina McBride that I was really into when I was a teenager.
Well partially, at least. I love the huskiness of her voice, which I haven’t heard on record since her Wild Angels artistic peak. There’s none of the earnestness that has characterized her work ever since, and you’d actually have to remix “Teenage Daughters” quite a bit to get it to fit on AC radio.
