“Rafael Nadal and I had a love child. And he’s now looking for love on ABC. We both wish him the best.”
-Josh Groban on the ridiculously boring new “Bachelor,” Ben Flajnik.
Nashville Scene’s 12th annual Country Music Critics’ Poll
The excitement doesn’t wear off of after year one: I’m pumped to be a part of Nashville Scene’s annual Country Music Critics’ Poll again, published this week. The poll includes 77 writers and journalists from all over North America, all of whom share in the trials and rewards of covering country music. Check out all of the coverage below.
CultureMap: "American Idol" blogging part two
Queen Latifah + Dolly Parton = sold
Yes, I'm seeing this tomorrow. No, I'm not ashamed.
Country Universe: 2011 countdowns and personality test fun
New staff in tow, we counted down the 40 best singles and 20 best albums of the year over at Country Universe, ending with Taylor Swift”s freshly produced “Mean” and the Pistol Annies” searing Hell on Heels, respectively.
My personal favorite single of the year –which came in at #5– feels more like a country song than it sounds like one. Check out my write-up for “Colder Weather”below, as well as a video of the Zac Brown Band performing a powerful acoustic version with some famous pals a few months ago.
“Colder Weather,” Zac Brown Band
A piano, a wanderer’s tale and killer vocals are the bones of this song– none of which are unique to country music. And yet, “Colder Weather” pleads like the best country songs, hurts like the loneliest of country stories. It serves as an elegant reminder that while casinotives country music is sometimes marked by a fiddly sparkle, it can also turn up in the form of pure emotion – and how Brown emotes. His performance is both soulful and skillful, embodying the rambler’s spectrum of emotions with chilling accuracy – longing, regret, defeat, hunger –, right down to the final line that rings hauntingly hollow: “It’s a shame about the weather / But I know soon we’ll be together / And I can’t wait til then.”
We also did something slightly unconventional for a country music blog – we started a discussion based on personality tests results. Care to join?
Sound Bite: Aim at the heart, not the wallet
“I just know what I like to listen to. I just know I want something aimed at the heart, not the wallet. How dare anyone in power determine for the listener what he or she wants to hear? Yet, this is country radio’s business model. The ‘failure’ of Ronnie Dunn’s “Cost of Livin’” is a microcosm of what’s wrong with commercial radio and I’m done.
I know traditional country won’t be played on mainstream country radio anytime soon. I’ve come to accept that. What I can’t accept is that they won’t even play something that makes the listener feel any feeling other than happy or blissfully ignorant.”
-Farce the Music in a post titled “The Final Straw”
