Articles by Kevin John Coyne
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 23
Today’s category is…
An Oldie But Goodie.
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “Tell It to the Rain” – The 4 Seasons
You can tell it’s the mid-sixties because they’re dabbling a bit with production gimmicks. I think it’s their coolest sounding record, one of their best compositions, and Frankie Valli at the peak of his vocal prowess.
5 Five-Second Single Reviews: Laura Alaina, Rodney Atkins, Sara Evans, Joe Nichols, Kellie Pickler
Lauren Alaina, “Like My Mother Does” (Listen)
Written by Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose and Nicole Williams
Not bad, but not nearly enough to acquit her from those pending desecration charges.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 19
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.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 16
Today’s category is…
Your Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure.
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “Sashimi” – Keyboard Cathy
Look, here’s the thing. It started out as a joke. I was laughing at it. I swear. Then I started singing it to myself more often than I care to admit…until now.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 11
Today’s category is…
A Cheating Song.
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “(Margie’s at) The Lincoln Park Inn” – Bobby Bare
Proof that while the other woman can sometimes sound sympathetic, there’s no getting around the fact that the guy is a heel, allowing his selfishness to wreck the lives at home and at the Lincoln Park Inn.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 8
Today’s category is…
A Song That You Know All the Words To.
Staff Picks:
Kevin Coyne: “My Way” – Frank Sinatra
There’s gotta be a thousand songs I know all of the words to, but I’ll pick this one because it took me a while to anticipate all of the odd rhymes with “my way”, most especially the line about “each careful step along the byway.” Plus I’m just going through a big Sinatra phase these days.
Single Review: Lady Antebellum, “Just a Kiss”
Gather up the Brat Pack. We’ve got the song they need for their third act montage.
“Just a Kiss” is pure eighties power pop, which translates into nineties adult contemporary and, sadly, twenty-first century country.
In Praise of The 9513
On behalf of the entire staff of Country Universe, I must express our sadness that The 9513, the internet’s premier country music blog, is being retired.
I remember when Brady and Brody Vercher first launched their website, and I watched in awe as it completely redefined the landscape for what a country music blog could be.