Newest Adds to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#118)
18 CommentsThe Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist isn’t turning into the “Bluegrass” Top 25 Playlist. It just happens to be with all the bluegrass musicians kicking ass these days, it’s beginning to feel that way.
Tyler Farr’s “Redneck Crazy” (A Rant)
143 CommentsTyler Farr’s “Redneck Crazy” isn’t for jilted male lovers looking for solace, it is for socially awkward, introverted, creepy-ass chronic masturbaters that hold a minor in megalomania. This song doesn’t need a rant, it needs a restraining order and ankle bracelet. True rednecks ride their problems out, rub their wounds in the dirt and move on, not whine about them like a panty waist…
Five Feet From Stardom: The Story of Zach Sweeney
14 CommentsThe fate of the sideman in music is one of always playing second fiddle to the big star. But one of the things we love about the other players in a country band is they generally don’t care. Though many times they do an equal share, if not the majority of the heavy lifting for the music, they’re just fine blending into the background.
Review – Alan Jackson’s “The Bluegrass Album”
23 CommentsTo have Alan Jackson—3-time CMA Entertainer of the Year winner, and a man that has sold more than 60 million records worldwide—release a straightforward, traditional bluegrass album with no caveats, no tangents, simply straight ahead acoustic instrumentation in a traditional style, is a feat and a victory all on its own. And the music ain’t too bad either.
Luke Bryan Rolls Big Black Jacked Up Truck Into Pond
44 CommentsLuke Bryan and his other bro-tastic pop country pseudo-rapping laundry list-espousing pretty boys may love to sing about big ol’ pickup trucks, but it has always been circumspect if they could even pilot one in a pinch. Luke Bryan’s ride ended up in the drink a few days ago. Luckily the matching henna tattoo he got with Jason Aldean did not get wet in the incident.
The Lessons Viewers Are Learning from ABC’s “Nashville”
19 CommentsABC’s Wednesday night drama Nashville just entered its second season, and though like many network television dramas, the drama can feel over-the-top and contrived, the show’s impact on a wide range of issues that fall under the charge of Saving Country Music is undeniable, if not unprecedented. Though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the show, it’s still important to understand Nashville’s impact.
“Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings” Delivers Collaborative Magic
12 CommentsOriginally cut in Nashville in 1996 and sitting on the shelf ever since, Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings is a remarkable little gem unearthed these many years later, offering a window into a time right before Waylon’s health began to fail him, and right as the Old 97’s were rising in the alt-country tide alongside bands like Wilco and Whiskeytown.
RANT – Okay I’ll Say It: Country Music in 2013 Is Sexist
53 CommentsThat’s right. A scandalous accusation I know, but one I stand behind with puffed chest and other such countenance to covey, “Yeah, I said it. You got a problem with that ?!?!”, and one that holds up when taking the most basic look at our little genre known as country music, and simply asking, “Where in the hell are the women?” Especially on country radio.
Album Review – Hank3’s “Brothers of the 4×4”
70 CommentsFew things get people talking in the independent channels of country music like a Hank3 release. From his neotraditional days in the early 2000’s when he had traditionalists singing his praises, to his magnum opus Straight to Hell from 2006 that saw his punk and metal influences bleed over into a hard country approach, to his last few releases that have become a polarizing subject with many fans….
Grand Theft Auto 5 Game Features Real Country Through “Rebel Radio”
21 CommentsIf you need any more proof that corporate country music has become so milktoast that the backlash against its homogenized format and fashion plate stars has become an indelible and easily-identifiable element of American culture, then look no further than the recent blockbuster video game Grand Theft Auto 5 from Rockstar Games.
The 10 Best Country & Roots Songs From Breaking Bad
10 CommentsDid you know the first song to ever be featured on Breaking Bad was a classic country tune by Stonewall Jackson? They may not play real country on the radio anymore, but there’s many different ways you can skin a cat. As popular and critically-acclaimed TV series like Breaking Bad breathe new life into television, they have become an invaluable market for showcasing quality country and roots music from the past and present.
Sheryl Crow’s “Feels Like Home” Only Country By Name
14 CommentsIt’s not that there aren’t some token homages to mark her move into the country format, but overall, except for one song that we will get to in due course, there is very, very little contrast between Feels Like Home and what Sheryl Crow was calling rock for the body of her career. But that doesn’t necessarily paint Feels Like Home, or Sheryl Crow, or her career as bad.
Hillstomp: Still Going Strong After 12 Years
4 CommentsIn the 12 years since Hillstomp’s inception, John Johnson, and guitar player Henry Christian have become one of the Pacific Northwest’s most well-known underground roots duos, garnering a loyal following and making fast fans from their avant-garde approach to blues that combines elements of punk, trance, and most notably, a beat that is delivered by a drum set centered around a bucket instead of a snare drum.