by | October 29, 2014 · 8:00 am

My picks for this years CMA Awards!

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 9.02.10 PMWell, its that time of the year again! The biggest night in country music is coming up next week, the CMA awards. It airs next Wednesday on Nov 5th at 7 PM, I sure hope anybody who’s enrolled in this class watches to see who takes home what awards this year and with Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley as the hosts, its sure to be a fun, musical night. Since I love country music so much I’m going to breakdown the nominations in a couple different categories and make my picks, hopefully as accurately as possible! Now I will point out that along with my own opinion I did do some research to decide my choices so let’s see how many I can get right this year!

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 8.56.50 PMAlbum of the Year: I believe Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party will take the prize this year. This album sold over 2 million copies and won Billboard Music Award’s Country Album of the year title earlier this year. I feel like we’ve seen Luke Bryan only grow since 2009 when he released his first big single “Do I”. Crash My Party released six singles all of which were widely successful.

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 8.58.13 PMEntertainer of the Year: KING GEORGE! What more do I have to say? Honestly I believe it would be a complete injustice if Strait didn’t win this award this year. For his “Cowboy Rides Away Tour” he pulled out all the stops bringing in tons of different artists for his farewell tour to enhance the fan experience. He HAS TO and WILL win. It’s also worth noting that he took this category in this years ACM awards also.

New Artist of the Year: This one is going completely off whom my favorite is and it’s a toss up between Cole Swindell and Thomas Rhett. I think Rhett may have the edge over Swindell because Swindell has just recently gotten hot with 3 singles released; where as Rhett has been around a little longer and has released 5 in the last 3 years and his “It Goes like This” and “Get Me Some of That” were really hot in 2013. Although, I personally like Cole Swindell’s voice the best!

Song of the Year: I believe “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice will take the cake on this one. This song sold 1,028,000 copies in the US. This song pulled the emotions of all the country listening women in America when we found out Brice wrote it for his then fiancé to be performed during their first dance. This song hit the tops of the Billboard country charts and had a lot of radio airplay (still does). But I must mention that this song is in good competitive company with “I Hold On”, “Follow Your Arrow” and “Automatic” in the mix!

Vocal Duo of the Year: Anybody who thinks anyone besides Florida Georgia Line will win this award must be out of his or her mind! Of the nominees, if I could put money on FGL winning (don’t worry I cant really, NCAA rules) I would put it all on them. Last year they won this exact award from CMA and they for sure did not disappoint us with their music since! (They also won top duo in this years ACM awards in April) “This is How We Roll” and “Dirt” have been their most popular singles this year, both becoming at least platinum certified singles.

So what do you think? What and who will be remembered at this year’s CMA awards?

 

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Filed under Awards, News

by | October 28, 2014 · 8:00 am

Alabama’s Own: Hank Williams

Unknown Growing up in Alabama I’ve learned a lot about Hank Williams in my lifetime. Hank was born on September 17, 1923 in the small town of Mount Olive, Alabama. Hank’s family had little money when he was growing up. His family moved around many small towns throughout southern Alabama when he was a boy due to his father working for a lumber company. Hank was born with Spina Bifida Occulta, which led to many drinking and drug problems later in life and his death at the age of 29.

Enough with the boring stuff. Junior year of high school I took a class which was titled Southern Culture. We learned anything and everything there is to learn about the south, 2360756some which include: food, animals, plants, but most importantly music. It was taught by a guy named Phil Proctor, whose a teacher at our high school, but he’s also a musician. His band (The Deluxe Trio) plays anything that you can think of that involves country and or blues. You can find his website here www.PhilProctor.net. Halfway through the semester Mr. Proctor took our class on a field trip to see one of Hank Williams childhood homes in Georgiana, Alabama.  I know many of ya’ll are probably thinking, “Wow, this is what kids from Alabama do in school.” But no, it was actually really interesting.

Hanks original house in Georgiana burned down while him and his family lived there, but they moved down the road to 127 Rose Street. Georgiana, Alabama is about an hour and a half from my home in Mobile. His home is now turned into a museum, and you can see many valuables in the home that influenced Hank to become who he was. We got to stand on the porch where Hank learned how to play guitar from a street singer named “Teetot”. Being a foolish high schooler I obviously did not take any pictures at the time, and now regret that. Luckily I was able to find some off of the internet…

mdmd1fcl4zg2axmuz4ibHank’s family eventually moved out of this house in 1937 and relocated to Montgomery, Alabama. Even though Hank lived in multiple houses growing up, this home in Georgiana is specifically known to be where his musical success started to take off. Hank Williams died of a heart attack on January 1st, 1953 in the back of a Cadillac. When they found him, he was accompanied with empty beer cans and half written lyrics. I never really realized the influence Hank Williams had on country music before I took this class. His impact on country music has grown since his early death at the age of 29. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, and Dinah Washington have all done covers of his work. His son, Hank Williams Jr., has also done covers of his fathers songs, and also has made a name for himself in the country music industry. In 1961 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of fame, and in 1985 inducted into the Alabama music hall of fame. I hope this blog has helped you learn a little more about Alabama Native Hank Williams, let me know what ya’ll think!

“Hank Williams.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

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Filed under Classic Country, Honky Tonk

by | October 27, 2014 · 8:00 am

5 Reasons Why the Dixie Chicks Need to Have a Reunion Tour

I love the Dixie Chicks. They’re possibly my favorite band and what’s sad about this is even though they’re my favorite, I’ve never seen them live. I constantly check their website to see if they’ll ever tour again and every time I check is a disappointment. I need to see them live. For this reason, I have decided to make a list of five reasons why the Dixie Chicks need to have a reunion tour.

The cover of my all time favorite album Wide Open Spaces

The cover of my all time favorite album Wide Open Spaces

1. Their music is timeless
You know those songs that you hear on the radio over and over again and get so annoying that you can’t stand to listen to them? I don’t think a Dixie Chicks song could ever be one of those. I could listen to their songs one hundred times and still not get tired of them. I don’t know what it is about them, but their songs are catchy, meaningful, and, in my opinion, true country (but more on that later). Seeing the Dixie Chicks live would make these songs even more timeless for me because there’s just something different about hearing a song live and not just on recording. For some reason, I think hearing them live would make me want to listen to them even more.

 2. The Dixie Chicks are true country

Yes, there is some pop in many of their songs, but I still think the Dixie Chicks are true country. They use country instruments like the banjo, fiddle, and steel guitars. Their songs are about country living, love, and nostalgia. They also just have that country sound and twang to them that makes them so connectable. Country concerts are my favorite because, well country music is my favorite kind of music, and country concerts are just so much more fun. You can dance and sing and really connect to the artist in ways you can’t with pop artists.

The girls at one of their last concerts in 2003

The girls at one of their last concerts in 2003

 3. They are great performers

It is hard for bands and artists to sound just as good live as they do when recorded, but the Dixie Chicks are very good at this. Natalie Maines has such a cool and unique voice and it sounds just as amazing live as it does recorded. I can only say this based on the recordings of their live performances, but I’m going to go ahead and assume she truly does sound that amazing. The girls also love their music and love performing it for people and you can see this in any recordings of their live performances. I would love to be able to experience this talent and love for music in person, but I can only do that if they have a reunion tour.

4. They need a comeback

Ever since “the incident” in 2003 when Natalie Maines insulted President George W. Bush, the Dixie Chicks have really struggled to win back the approval of the huge fan base they had in the late 90s and early 2000s. A think a reunion tour will allow the girls to reintroduce themselves and get some of their fans back. I think that if the girls came out and performed their songs and made no statements on the past and simply played their music, people could look past “the incident” and remember why they love the Dixie Chicks. They make great music and I don’t think it is fair for them to not be able to make music because of one mistake they made.

An example of the negative reactions the girls got after "the incident"

An example of the negative reactions the girls got after “the incident”

5. I have never seen them perform live

I know this is selfish, but it’s probably the most important reason why I think the Dixie Chicks should have a reunion tour. The last time they performed in Texas, or even in the United States, was December of 2006. That was EIGHT years ago and I was only 12 years old. At this point in my life, I never really went to concerts and the Dixie Chicks weren’t a huge part of my life. So basically, I never really had the opportunity to see the Dixie chicks because they stopped touring in the United States before I ever really wanted to go see them. I am absolutely obsessed with them now so I think it’s only fair that they tour again so I can see them.

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Filed under Lists, Live Music, New Country, Texas

by | October 26, 2014 · 8:00 am

Country Music and Me

My relationship with country music is complicated to say the least. We’ve always recognized each other, acknowledged the other existed, but we were never friends.

Unlike my friends, I grew up in a non-country household. My first concert was KC and the Sunshine Band, so basically disco, not exactly something to brag about to your friends. I remember riding to volleyball practices with my friend and her mom and they would blast George Straight and sing along. When I would innocently ask “Who’s that?” their jaws would drop to the floor, big eyes staring at me in disbelief, questioning,”How do you not know the King of Country?” All I could think to myself was I have no idea…

Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert firing up the crowd at Rodeo Houston.

I went to my first country concert at the age of 14. My friend took me to see Miranda Lambert at the rodeo before she was a mega star. I remember listening to those firecracker songs like “Kerosene” and “Gunpowder and Lead” and being in total awe, kind of shocked by the whole ordeal.

After that day, I began a very long distance relationship with country music. I stopped complaining as much when my friends would turn the radio stations over to 93Q and 100.3 The Bull. I started watching more country award shows and watching those made for television concerts. I was paying attention but I wasn’t interested… yet.

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Waiting for Joe Nichols to perform at Day in the Country.

The summer after my freshman year of college was when country wouldn’t stop knocking on my door. My friends desperately wanted to go to a Day in the Country in the Woodlands, which is basically a big country music fest with lots of acts playing all day. I dragged my heels a little bit, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t like it.

I listened to acts like Joe Nichols, Easton Corbin and the Eli Young Band. At the time, I had no idea who any of them were but I still enjoyed it. Slowly, I was finding myself looking up songs on my own and my friends stopped asking me who sang every country song that played on the radio, which was a little unfortunate since they’d give me a quarter every time I got one right. I guess it was happening a little too often for these poor college kids. Anyways, a few weeks later I got to see Lee Brice, Chris Young and Brad Paisley perform on Brad’s summer tour. That got me hooked. From Lee’s beautiful “Love Like Crazy” to Young’s crazy deep voice and Paisley’s incredible guitar skills, my mind was blown. I gained a new appreciation for this music I spent most of my life trying to avoid.

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Watching Josh Abbott Band perform last October in San Marcos.

Now, I can proudly say I’ve been to many country concerts from big venues to small county fairs, and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. It’s true when they say it’ll grow on you; it finally caught up to me. Country music and I spent a long time avoid each other, figuring the other out and eventually becoming friends. Thanks to this class and my country enthusiast friends, I hope this relationship continues to grow.

Thanks for listening to me rant and if you’ve had any similar instances with country or maybe just became a fan like myself, I would love to hear about it!

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Filed under Reflection

by | October 25, 2014 · 8:00 am

Murder On Music Row

Artists“Murder On Music Row,” is a popular song originally written by Larry Shell and Larry Cordle in 1999 and later covered by George Strait and Alan Jackson in what came to be a hit duet. When I first heard this song I didn’t fully understand the point it was trying to get across. However, when I heard this song for a second time on one of George Strait’s ‘greatest hits’ CD, I became aware of its lyrical meaning.

This song created much controversy in the music industry because of its criticism towards mainstream country music at that time. The lyrics criticize the on-going trend of pop music integrating it’s way into country music. Strait and Jackson agreed with the meaning behind this song by making their own cover together.

Country music tends to have this reputation of “twangy” songs, fiddle playing, drinking and love stories. The lyrics state, “For the steel guitars no longer cry and fiddles barely play.” It seems as if the country sounds were being taken out of country music around the time the song was written. “They said no one would buy them old drinking and cheating songs.” Traditional country music was slowly dying due to the new style of music and new upcoming artists. The song refers to Meryl Haggard by stating, “Why, the Hag, he wouldn’t have a chance on today’s radio.” Because of the way country music was changing so much, if people heard Meryl on the radio they wouldn’t know what to think.

Murder_on_Music_RowIf you listen to “Murder On Music Row,” which I suggest you do, the sound ties back into the meaning of the song by keeping the true country sound. With the twang in their voices, the fiddle in the background, and the acoustic guitars, Strait and Jackson relay a message to the country music industry, striving to keep the traditional country music alive. As two true country artists, they saw what country music was turning into and what it was soon to become. Strait and Jackson may be seen as the saviors of traditional country music in the era of its changes.

As it seems, many agree that pop country has taken over and “murdered” true country music. It has changed drastically in the past decade, leaving fans questioning, “what is true country music?” If the new music is not classified as country, then what is it?

Lyrics found at: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/georgestrait/murderonmusicrow.html

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Filed under Movies and TV, Music Videos, New Country, New Traditionalism, Song Analysis