Country Universe

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

Ridiculous Things: Wanda Jackson

February 11, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 4

Wanda Jackson covering Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good.”

Come on, now.

The Civil Wars

February 10, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 6

In August 2009, I wrote about The Civil Wars, an unsigned country-folk duo that I discovered through a friend.

Um, they have the #12 album in the country this week.

Single Review: Reba McEntire, “If I Were a Boy”

February 9, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 19

This really isn’t that bad.

Reba’s a great singer, and this is a great song.

Yes, the lyrics make it an awkward fit at times. Did we really need to hear Reba McEntire use the phrase “kickin’ it”, one single after using Twitter as an action verb?

Don’t Bore Us – Get To the Chorus!

February 8, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 42

The best title ever for a hits package.

Also, the first thing that popped up in my head when I was thinking about this discussion topic.

Some songs have choruses so good that they don’t even need the rest of the song to make them worth listening to.

Single Review: Josh Turner, “I Wouldn’t Be a Man”

February 7, 2011 Dan Milliken 21

I wouldn’t be a man if I didn’t feel like this
I wouldn’t be a man if a woman like you
Was anything I could resist
I’d have to be from another planet
Where love doesn’t exist
I wouldn’t be a man if I didn’t feel like this

Hmm.

Well, this is kind of an unusual situation: a modern country singer choosing to resurrect an old country song…that was never that good to begin with.

100 Greatest Men: #91. Diamond Rio

February 7, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 14

Theme parks are full of aspiring musicians hoping to make it big. Most of them never do, but Diamond Rio did, and in a very big way.

The nucleus of the band was formed in 1984, when lead singer Marty Roe met keyboard player Dan Truman while both were working at Opryland U.S.A., a now-defunct theme park adjacent to the Grand Ole Opry theater.

100 Greatest Men: #92. Gene Watson

February 6, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 12

He didn’t always top the charts or win the big awards, but Gene Watson’s legacy of traditional country music made him one of the most respected vocalists of his generation.

Born and raised in Texas, he grew up fully immersed in Western swing, southern blues, and gospel music. By age twelve, he’d made his first public performance. Never liking school, he dropped out in ninth grade. He chose auto body repair as his career, but did music on the side at night, more as a hobby than anything else.

Say What? Classic – Charley Pride

February 5, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 8

Charley Pride, 1984:

Music is only a product, like anything else. You pick out what you feel your audience will like, and do it. At first, I recorded a lot of things I didn’t like. After I reached a point where I had some say-so about what I record, I try now to record what I like.

Single Review: Keith Urban, “Without You”

February 4, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 11

Mr. Urban, you’re trying to trick me.

You’re giving me an achingly sincere vocal performance. You’re giving me a stripped down production that’s genuinely country, fiddle and all. You’re giving me your life story, from the music to the marriage to the birth of your daughter.

It all adds up to so much goodness that you almost distracted me from the clunky and self-indulgent songwriting. I can’t even give you a pass on that, because you didn’t write it.