2012 Official Anti-ACM’s Saving Country Music Live Blog
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 2012 Official Anti-ACM’s Saving Country Music Live Blog!
The way this works is as the night proceeds we will leave our ACM observations from the broadcast in a timeline below. You are strongly encouraged to participate by leaving your comments too! Feel free to watch along, or if you can’t stand the awards (totally understandable), then turn on some REAL country music and follow the awards vicariously through us!
Think of this as a commiseration party, where folks who feel country is on the wrong path and find a collective of like minds. And we don’t just want to pick on people, we also want to use this as a vehicle for promotion of the country artists who probably more deserve these awards.
The blog will proceed in Central time. The ACM’s start at 8 PM Est., 7 Cen., and will be delay broadcast at 8 PM Pacific. The ACM’s are being broadcast on CBS.
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10:01 – Thanks to everyone who stopped by and endured this with me! Thanks to everyone leaving comments! Thanks to anybody and everybody who ever reads my stupid ramblings! Have a good night!
9:59 – Lionel Ritchie and Blake Shelton take us to the credit roll. Thank God! (Not for the music, for the END!)
9:56 – Taylor makes it through an acceptance speech with the “precociousness” that many criticize her for.
9:55 – Taylor Swift wins “Entertainer of the Year”
9:51 – Saving Country Music’s alternative “Male Vocalist of the Year” is Justin Townes Earle!
9:47 – Blake Shelton wins “Male Vocalist of the Year” based on nothing more than the fact he appears on a highly-rated TV show. What was Blake Shelton’s last album? I can’t tell you. I think it was an EP.
9:45– Boy, I had a lot to say about Luke Bryan, and nothing made it past the censors.
9:44 – Random Observation: I don’t think Taylor Swift has done herself any favors tonight, and she didn’t even perform. The shots of her oversinging to stupid songs and the potential S-bomb are just not good for the image she’s trying to portray. (UPDATE: Apparently she was saying “Told You so.”)
9:42 – Sorry for the silence, I’ve had some REALLY inappropriate, line-crossing comments typed out that I had to censor myself on. 😉
9:34 – Boy this marriage bit is awkward as hell.
9:32 – DON’T DO IT! DON’T GET MARRIED! THE ORAL SEX GOES DOWNHILL!
9:30 – Nobody knows who this skinny chic is announcing the wedding. But she’s got the most grating TV talking head cadence in history. This isn’t Inside Edition. Talk to us like people.
9:23 – Farce The Music funny from Twitter: “Is this like Chris Brown getting to perform twice at the Grammys? Did Zac Brown punch somebody?”
9:21 – Let’s remember folks, according to Jason Isbell, Dierks Bentley stole “Home” from him. https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/this-whole-dierks-bentley-ripping-of-jason-isbell-thing
9:20 – Shut up Bono.
9:18 – Brad Paisley shreds again on the guitar with Zac Brown band, wearing a signature Zac Brown beanie.
9:15 – Miranda Lambert killed Snuffaluffagus to make the bottom of that dress.
9:13 – You can get vibrators in a variety of colors, just like microphones! Somehow, that’s relevant here.
9:10 – Sources: The sweet and innocent Taylor Swift could be seen uttering “Shit!” when she didn’t win Female Artist of the Year. SOMEBODY didn’t read the SCM predictions, or she’d known she didn’t have a chance.
9:07 – Your Saving Country Music Female Artist of the Year alternative, Rachel Brooke!
9:05 – Miranda Lambert wins Female Artist of the Year. She thanks Jesus. Acts fake surprised since she knew she’d win it months ago when her label block voted her in.
9:03 – Ashton Kutcher is the most country dudded up dude of the whole night, and so of course it’s a bit.
9:01 – Kenny Cheseney sans the hat has Yoda shrivel head. And did he just say, “Do you yell out Hank?” Double vomit.
8:59 – As you watch Kenny Chesney, appreciate that under that Wal-Mart Panama Jack-branded straw hat, he is so incredibly and helplessly bald.
8:55 – Still wouldn’t kick Sara Evans out of the bed for eating crackers. Shameless Rod Stewart pop cover or not.
8:50 – Only Wonder Woman has enough cred to wear a belt buckle that big Sara Evans!
8:47 – Marc Anthony backstage : “Damn those white trash rednecks! DON’T THEY KNOW WHO I AM?!?!? and to hush themselves when I speak?!?!
8:44 – Paper bag moment as Toby Keith starts singing “Red Solo Cup” in an MGM Grand aptly-named vomitorium.
8:43 – “Banjo” is Rascal Flatt’s attempt at a Laundry List song. Steve Martin should have more couth.
8:40 – Earl Scruggs tribute clocks in at 30 seconds.
8:34 – Lip Syncer Scotty McCreery wins the fan voted “Best New Artist”. https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/scotty-mccreery%E2%80%99s-lip-sync-%E2%80%98clear-as-day%E2%80%99-at-macys-parade
8:30 – Brad Paisley is a one-in-a-million guitar player. Too bad he’s insists on being such a bit. Still hard to hate.
8:28 – LIP SYNC WATCH: Scotty McCreery takes the stage.
8:25 – Ha! Funny comment from Twitter: ” Does this show have country categories like the Grammys?” And from Twitter’s “Shit Nobody Says”: “I can’t wait to hear Toby Keith sing “Red Solo Cup!”
8:24 – That thing that keeps lowering over the stage after each performance makes me think the Decepticons are invading. One can only hope.
8:20 – Nothing says, “I promise, I am not a sexually-aggressive male” like a deep V-neck button up cardigan and falsetto vocals.
8:19 – Wow, the comedic timing is as off as Taylor Swift’s pitch on the 2010 Grammy’s.
8:15 – Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! Jason Aldean wins Single Record of the Year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” Still better than Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup.”
8:12 – The site is getting hammered. Oh please servers hold up! Thanks everyone for stopping by!
8:07 – Eric Church wears mirrored glasses when he sings, not to be like Jr., but so that he can look at himself the whole time.
8:06 – Eric Church calling on the Mao Zedong Communist Party motiff for his backdrop.
8:04 – Your Saving Country Music Group of the Year alternative is Hellbound Glory!
8:00 – KISS making a mockery of country music handing out Group of the Year Award. I’m praying to the 8 lb 6 oz baby Jesus Gwar repels from the rafters and kicks their ass, and Lady Antebellum gets caught in the middle as collateral damage.
7:56 – Those holes in Jason Aldean’s pants aren’t from barbed wire, but a meth lab explosion when he went to visit one of his core fan’s houses before the show.
7:52 – NEW NICKNAME ALERT: The chick from Little Big Town is officially the “Country Music Medusa”.
7:50 – Hunter Hays is just happy his balls finally dropped last week!
7:49 – You Saving Country Music Album of the Year alternative is Slackeye Slim’s “El Santo Grial, Las Pistola Piadosa. Check it out!
7:46 – Zac Brown’s vest looks like something my mom would make me for a Halloween costume out of construction paper.
7:45 – Miranda Lambert wins Album of the Year for “Four The Record”. Be happy, this was the best album from the nominees. Eat it Jason Aldean!
7:42 – Okay wait a second. Every time the show Las Vegas outside, it is dark. Yet I’m 1000 miles east, and it is still light outside. It ain’t even 6 PM there! We may be dumb, but we’re not stupid!
7:40 – Taylor Swift had invited a high school student with Caner to be her date tonight, but he was too sick to attend. http://www.theboot.com/2012/04/01/taylor-swift-acm-awards-date-kevin-mcguire/
7:34 – Liz Rose, the songwriter they just cut off giving thanks was the songwriting genius behind Taylor Swift’s first two albums, and is the mother of Caitlin Rose, a great singer/songwriter!
7:32 – Your Saving Country Music alternative Song of the Year is Willy Tea Taylor’s “Life is Beautiful!
7:30 – This chick’s wearing a Band-Aid. And barely knows where she is.
7:27 – We all support the troops! But this type of transparent demographic pandering only polarizes country music politically.
7:24 – There’s going to be a live wedding on the show apparently during Martina McBride’s performance. This is country music, wouldn’t it be more apt to have a divorce?
7:20 – Sorry folks, completely lost connection to the site! Back up now!
7:07: The joke of Blake Shelton taking a picture of his junk for Miranda Lambert is that in truth he has no dick.
7:05: The canned jokes are distracting me from oogling at Reba’s cans.
7:02 – Carrie Underwood’s band is as white as the wind driven snow, just like country’s demographics.
7:00 – If you’re wondering the history of the ACM’s, they were started in 1964 in Los Angeles, as a way to promote country and western artists. Some thought the bigger and older CMA’s based out of Nashville were bias against Western and California artists.
6:57 – The first big ACM Award was already handed out last night to Thompson Square for Vocal Duo, making me so far 1 for one on my ACM predictions: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/2012-acm-awards-preview-predictions
6:55 – Here we go!!!
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:02 pm
Carrie Underwood starts it with a… country song?? I don’t think Hank woulda done it this way.
Then again I’m not going to 99% of this stuff.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:03 pm
whoops, I’m not going to KNOW 99% of this stuff… oh my spelling and grammar are going to be painful I can see already.
Al Matthew
April 1, 2012 @ 5:04 pm
Way to start out strong… LOL
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:08 pm
KISS?
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:09 pm
A Chris Brown joke? Seriously? Wow.
LT
April 1, 2012 @ 5:10 pm
Reba brought corn?
Erik Devil
April 1, 2012 @ 5:10 pm
Just tried to watch a bit……can’t fucking do it. Just terrible.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:12 pm
It’s best if you mute the songs.
Dayle
April 1, 2012 @ 10:21 pm
I watched about 3 minutes just to see how bad it could get. What a joke. I couldn’t take anymore. That was a rock concert. Traditional country is dead. Sad, sad, sad.
If you can’t ‘2 step’ to it, it ain’t country folks.
Erik Devil
April 1, 2012 @ 5:12 pm
flipped back quickly…who’s this jerk off? He’s trying way to hard to make his voice sound country.
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 5:25 pm
wondered what happend…I commented that Toby Keith won on the red carpet for “Red Solo Cup” as video of the year…then the site disappeared
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:27 pm
LL Cool J? Wow, he’s gonna get so much gruff for this when he gets back to his neighborhood.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:27 pm
Count how many times he licks his lips, it’s his thing.
LT
April 1, 2012 @ 5:28 pm
The divorce comes later in the show.
Did someone actually say “gruff”?
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:32 pm
Whoops. That should have been “guff”. I shall be a cornucopia of mistakes. I also try not to swear on the internets as things always come back to bite you in the buttocks.
LT
April 1, 2012 @ 5:38 pm
You’re damn funny.
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 5:29 pm
And now for the sappy tribute to our troops sang by a foreigner.
Awesome.
Al Matthew
April 1, 2012 @ 6:08 pm
hank willie and waylon would have kicked brantley gilbert’s ass for playing such bad music.
Dayle
April 1, 2012 @ 10:27 pm
Exactly.
Trainwreck92
April 1, 2012 @ 5:31 pm
That’s some decent pop-rock Keith Urban is playing. Watch out Coldplay.
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 5:38 pm
Jason Aldean a few days ago said he wanted to collaborate with Coldplay and the Goo Goo dolls.
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 5:42 pm
and here I was all prepared to jump around singing Footloose 🙁
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 5:50 pm
Everybody cut, everybody cut, EVERYBODY CUT!
LT
April 1, 2012 @ 5:50 pm
“Four the Record”? Come on. She should have been deported for the title alone.
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 5:51 pm
now where is Mark David Chapman when you need him?
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 5:57 pm
Dark!
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 5:53 pm
I’m sure Miranda is good at what she does, but I never really got the hype. She and Blake seem kind of a pair, mostly shtick of “I’m the red-neckest, hell-beatinest country sanger out there” but that just might be what I hear from them
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 5:56 pm
I agree, but I think it was still the best of the lot. Gotta give thanks for little things on these shows.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:01 pm
I will say Reba is rocking the hell out of these dresses. She looks fabulous!
Karen
April 1, 2012 @ 6:15 pm
Yes she does look nice!
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:02 pm
KISS? Are they gonna do a Hank Sr. tune?
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 6:04 pm
was more hoping they’d do like Hank Sr and overdose
doombuggy
April 2, 2012 @ 7:23 am
Nothing is more country than KISS. Except LL Cool J. And Bono. And Carrot Top.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:06 pm
Is wearing black dancer tights under those professionally ripped jeans?
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:06 pm
*is HE* jeeeez
Karen
April 1, 2012 @ 6:07 pm
Can’t bring myself to unmute. I was just thinking that a better way to do this would be to run the list of awards across the screen while showing old videos of country music because someone screwed up and invited all the Hollyweirdos to Las Vegas and forgot the country! Plus you could wrap it up in about an hour.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:10 pm
I know, right?! PBS is going to play Materpiece Theater: Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations”! I’m so excited! It’s one of my all-time favorite books!
Karen
April 1, 2012 @ 7:43 pm
Am glad you told me about Gr Expectations, I watched the first part. Was that Jillian from X-files?
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:49 pm
Yup! Was it good? I love that story so much.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:50 pm
And it’s Gillian, dammit 😛
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:12 pm
WOW! Leave it to the ACMs to show a sexist diet soda commercial. #fail
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 6:19 pm
now go back to the pop world and take that thing in the hat with you
Doc Evans
April 1, 2012 @ 6:35 pm
Where is Charlie Rich when you need him? He’d burn this whole building down right now…
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 6:39 pm
Word!
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 6:38 pm
water tower town? was Subway Sammich Town taken?
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:43 pm
Nobody in the audience knows the words. Ouch.
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 6:44 pm
I had a terrible thought…or maybe it was a good one. If this is country music today..what will it be in 10 years? Or will the cycle come around and all this pseudo-rock from the 70s and 80s get washed out and real country come back?
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:47 pm
Goodness, who let Carrot Top in?
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 6:48 pm
red solo cup is the real reason the terrorists want us dead
Al Matthew
April 1, 2012 @ 6:52 pm
I think about how the solo cup song says something about not having testicles for drinking out of glass, then I think about what Hemingway would have to say about that. Ol’ Hemingway would have drank toby under the table ten times over.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
Yeah, and didn’t some other singer have an album named after Hemingway? Has he ever even read Hemingway? Me thinks all these men combined don’t have enough testerone.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:01 pm
*testosterone*
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
True!
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 6:53 pm
Trig, Steve Martin looked about as happy as an old dust mop to be there. Bummer.
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
He thought he was going to be part of a Earl Scruggs tribute. So did everyone else. There may be a story there.
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 7:03 pm
Kenny Chesney please stop encouraging me to do cocaine.
Dayle
April 1, 2012 @ 10:36 pm
I miss his puka shell necklace. Nudge, nudge, Wink, Wink. say no more.
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 7:04 pm
I can’t see how Steve didn’t know how it would go,he rehearsed last night with RF from what I saw on twitter. To me it seems that these award shows hate the very music genre they are supposed to represent. Why can’t the so called duets they bring in every year perform country versions of songs instead of turning country into rock/rap everything else under the sun? Why are they so afraid of country music
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
Taylor Swift said “SHIT!” when she lost. That might be the most human thing I’ve seen her do at an awards show.
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 7:11 pm
SHIT I missed that!
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 7:27 pm
it looks like she actually said “Told ya!” to the person next to her, not “Shit!”
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 7:29 pm
http://jencita.tumblr.com/post/20327805759/mychoiceisyou13-votetaylorswiftordie13-shes
Nicole
April 1, 2012 @ 7:50 pm
That girl’s tumblr is everywhere! She must have a lot of followers because people post links to her every-freakin’-where I go.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:55 pm
It’s probably Taylor Swift’s PR person doing damage control.
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 8:06 pm
just did a search on twitter because I was curious to see her saying “Shit”, and that turned up.
Karen
April 1, 2012 @ 7:24 pm
Lol. Missed the best thing all night. Still muted….
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 7:18 pm
my wife is singing along…can I kill her in self defense?
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 7:30 pm
Call the neighborhood watch!
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:21 pm
Whaaaaat was THAT Bono?
Doc Evans
April 1, 2012 @ 7:22 pm
Cue the Jason Isbell copycat critics!
chris lewis "louie"
April 1, 2012 @ 7:25 pm
zac brown and paisley was the only country performance on this show. I have to give those guys some respect for that.
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 7:30 pm
Paisley shredded with Zac, and gets cool points for the beenie mockery. It shows he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Karen
April 1, 2012 @ 7:51 pm
Can’t help but like a guy with a real voice and real guitar skills……
Al Matthew
April 1, 2012 @ 7:32 pm
Im with you there. I don’t mind ZBB, and I’ve heard They turned down like 6 record deals until they got an offer where they could have some creative control. He can play the piss out of a guitar though, youtube him playing alabama jubilee.
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 7:25 pm
it looks like she actually said “Told ya!” to the person next to her, not “Shit!”
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 7:28 pm
obummer
The Triggerman
April 1, 2012 @ 7:28 pm
Maybe she DID read the SCM predictions!
Sinn
April 1, 2012 @ 7:32 pm
maybe she did! sorry I posted that twice, still getting the hang of blogs and commenting etc.
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 7:26 pm
why couldn’t dierks steal a better song?
GLR
April 1, 2012 @ 7:59 pm
Now it’s time for the sexual chocolate portion of the show.
Gillian
April 1, 2012 @ 8:02 pm
BWAHAHAHAA! And they cut off the duet at the end. Perfection.
Later gators. xoxo
Karen
April 1, 2012 @ 8:06 pm
Who was singing? I turned the TV off a while ago.
tincanman2010
April 2, 2012 @ 12:10 am
I love the cma awards ’cause they help me decide who not to buy. I don’t even have to watch them. I just google in the morning, make a list and check it twice.
carrie left mike fisher for me
April 2, 2012 @ 4:28 am
are you bi polar or something you bash the country of today(and rightfully so)but if you hate the acm’s why sit the whole show and blog about every little thing?
The Triggerman
April 2, 2012 @ 9:22 am
This is a very good question.
First, I don’t think I ever said I “hate” the ACMs. I certainly don’t like them, but the simple fact is that over the past two years especially, these award shows have become massive multi-media social networking events, reaching way beyond the TV world, especially on Twitter. They have become huge opportunities to connect with like-minded music people who also feel estranged from the current direction of country music. Sunday was the biggest day as far on traffic to this website in months. The biggest day before that was The Grammy’s, and the biggest day before that The CMA Awards. These award shows present a massive opportunity to present people with an alternative, and it would be irresponsible for me to ignore them, either for myself, or the artists I attempt to promote.
I understand that people who already know about underground country might not care for this type of stuff, and that is perfectly understandable, and I don’t expect, nor get offended if they don’t participate. And despite the ramblings of some, SCM will always be dedicated FIRST to talking about and promoting the REAL artists. However I think it is interesting some grumble whenever we take a hiatus from that in an attempt to connect with some new blood, but barely anybody actually reads the articles that do promote the real artists. I had more traffic on this article in one hour, than I’ve had total on the articles about Ray Wylie Hubbard and Billy Don Burns combined over many days. Does that mean I’m going to stop doing articles like that? Fuck no, because I believe in it, and it is the roots of this website. But the best thing I can do for Ray Wylie and Billy Don is try to expose them to new folks by any means necessary, and giving a dissenting viewpoint of the ACM’s believe it or not, may be the best promotional tool and my disposal, as it brings traffic to the site and helps promote them by proxy.
In fact I just got an email for a fella in the UK thanking me for turning him on to Slackeye Slim last night. THAT was the point of making sure this live blog was not just about tearing down, but building up as well, offering our alternatives to the ACM winners.
I also think it is important that somebody with a visible platform offers a dissenting viewpoint to the ACM’s. And if nobody else is going to do it, I will.
Unfortunately the way the online world is shaped these days with Facebook and Google catering searches to people’s individual preferences, our focus on the world is becoming narrower by the day. What I’ve always attempted to do is broaden people’s perspectives to create understanding and turn people on to the best music out there. I understand how that can be frustrating to some people who want to see certain things here and not others, but I see its effectiveness in results, and so I am not going to stop. I am also NOT going to stop covering the cool musicians who are making REAL music, despite it continuing to be the most unpopular thing that goes down on this site.
5150 Tiddy Bits
April 3, 2012 @ 6:25 am
[…] Triggerman’s Snarkfest […]
tontoisdrunk
April 3, 2012 @ 1:24 pm
Wow. If anybody questioned your position before, they sure as hell don’t now! Well put! This is off topic but are you planning to cover anything from the Lone Star Music awards? I know you don’t like giving too much attention to the whole red dirt scene and all.
Jim Omaha
April 5, 2012 @ 7:03 am
They need to make country music sound like it did in the 90’s…not too twangy and not too pop. 90’s country music was awesome. WHAT HAPPENED???????
Example: Red solo cup that Toby sang on the ACM’s…talk about TWANG!! No wonder country music gets the bad rap it does about hicks!! And that segment was awful!
And what’s with the crowds of people clapping, swaying, etc. at the end of the stage? Get rid of that crap and just have everyone sit in their chairs duh!!!
Levi Jackson
April 5, 2012 @ 3:48 pm
ACM not country Why not have the real past country music stars as presenters. Kiss, Kucher others like them as presenters, give me a break. ACM for 2012 a bad joke, not much country in it. Waste of time, not on my list of supposedly country music shows to watch in the future!
Josh
April 5, 2012 @ 9:25 pm
The acm’s were terrible! We need real country music back!
Randy
April 6, 2012 @ 2:24 pm
need to hear more music like Earl Scruggs
Rachel
October 28, 2013 @ 11:40 am
Ummmm, “9:23” is prophetic. I doubt we’ll see him this year. Scary.