Another year of CMA Awards has come and gone and Chordstrike is here to vilify and praise the worst and the best of "Country Music's Biggest Night." Without further ado...
Top 10 Worst Moments:
1. Taylor Swift's "mature" opening show performance replete with a stripper pole and black spandex (or was it leather?), not to mention, her voice was flat and off key. 2. Carrie Underwood does "Cowboy Casanova" looking strangely like Christina Aguilera circa 2003. The presence of synchronized dance steps and costumes proves yet again that the contemporary country genre is anything but Country. 3. Sugarland wins Duo of the Year and asks Brooks & Dunn if they want to come on stage to say anything. The awkward and uncomfortable look on B & D's faces was oh so palpable. 4. Sugarland performs another wannabe tear jerker song which leads this viewer to ask, "whaddu I gotta dooooo to keep from listening to youuuu?" 5. Kenny Chesney - another CMA Awards Show, another blue shirt and pair of gray pants. And he went way off key, saved only by Dave Matthews appearing on stage to rescue him from his own warbling. 6. Video screens flashing lyrics word for word during a few of the performances. Did I forget to turn off my close captioning? 7. Lady Antebellum win the Vocal Group of the Year award followed immediately by a TIAA CREF commercial that features a Lady Antebellum song. This makes for the quickest sellout story in Country Music history. 8. Brad & Carrie are interrupted by an Little Jimmy Dickens rambling about a Taylor Swift video. I know it was supposed to be a play on the Kanye thing, but it didn't come off quite right. 9. ABC's lame attempt to promote their new show "The Middle" by using the show's stars as award presenters, along with their painful attempt to link their show to the "common family" epitomized by Country Music. Yea, nice try. 10. Brooks & Dunn perform with ex-ZZ Top member making it the one and only geriatric retiree performance of the night.
Top 10 Best Moments: 1. Darius Rucker wins the New Artist of the Year award and is the first African American artist to do so, as well as his acceptance speech. 2. Carrie Underwood dissing Kanye West to the tune of "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Kanye." 3. Zac Brown Band's cover of "Devil Goes Down To Georgia." 4. Jamey Johnson's subtle and understated acceptance speech for Song of the Year, including the link between our grandparents and Veterans Day to "In Color." 5. On stage banter between Brad and Carrie, including the comment about "George Straight plus eight." 6. Kid Rock and Jamey Johnson perform "Somewhere Between Jennings and Jones" to thankfully feature some traditional country for the night! 7. Miranda Lambert's bass player with the white suit and mohawk. So Country Punk! 8. Lady Antebellum on-stage performance reminiscent of an old duo between Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. 9. Darius Rucker does his version of crowd surfing during his performance. We loved those lip syncing fans that couldn't quite get the lyrics right. 10. The huge psychedelic flat screen ceiling lights hung above Keith Urban during his performance.
Today the country music duo known as Brooks & Dunn announced that they will be splitting up as a band. Among several distinctions,
the duo has had 40 different Billboard hits, 20 of which reached number
one. They also won the Country Music Awards Vocal Duo of the Year award
every year since 1992 with one exception in 2000. A brief message on their website offered the following note:
"To Our Fans:
After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have
agreed as a duo that it's time call it a day. This ride has been
everything and more than we could ever have dreamed.... We owe it all
to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just
time.
We will release our #1's and then some" on September 8th and bid
you farewell one last time in 2010, with The Last Rodeo Tour...(dates to be
announced)."
We’re halfway through the year already, so it’s time to present half of a Top 10 list for our Best of the Year So Far. The following top 5 picks are the standouts in the ever-growing americana genre that pulls from all brands of alt country, bluegrass, folk, rock, and blues music. Each of the following titles fall somewhere in that spectrum, if not covering all of them in some cases.
Arriving on the scene in her early teens on the strength of her own written material, 18 year old bluegrass singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz already has the right voice and music for anyone to notice that the young songstress has bluegrass in her soul and can express it with just the right tone. Offering listeners a brand of musical honesty and depth that’s mature beyond her years and mixing it with the rustic reflections of an observant troubadour, Jarosz holds her own with an apparent comfort and ease that bodes well for what she can do for years to come. Playing on the album with some venerated bluegrass greats (including Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, and Samual Grisman of the David Grisman Quintet) but not content to rest on the shoulders of such giants, Jarosz wrote all but two songs on the album herself, with interesting cover choices of Tom Waitsand Colin Meloy (the Decemberists) on the other two tracks. This rising bluegrass singer has laid down a solid foundation on Song Up in Her Head and is poised for great things to come. Let’s hope she will continue to burn as brightly as she has out of the gate.
Long-time fans of Neko Case
will be happy to know that dark and obscure themes continue to rule the
day in her musical world. Neko’s signature caterwauls and crooning
refrains call like a siren beckoning listeners to come to her shores in
a perilous world filled with fairy tale creatures whose purpose as
either friend or foe is not always apparent. That’s to say that Neko’s
off-center lyrics keep the listener just out of reach of her inner
circle. There’s a continuous sense that her songs are intentionally
obscure as if offering more literal insights might expose her to too
much intimacy with the listener. Instead, she offers broad lyrical
strokes that give an impressionistic feeling that remains compelling,
if not always clear. With a litany of cameo appearances on the album
from some great artists including members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, Calexico, Giant Sand, The Sadies, Visqueen, and The Lilys, not
to mention those in her own band, the volume of talent around her
manages to thankfully remain in the pocket of the album instead of
overflowing into it. Ultimately, we’re left to scrutinize the finer
points of Neko Case’s songs to see what clues they can offer about her
fairy tale worlds, but we love hearing her sing about them nonetheless.
Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, by Slaid Cleaves (CD, MP3)
Singer/Songwriter Slaid Cleaves
has been building his musical momentum for a while. And by some accounts, this is the album that defines the best of all 8 of his
albums to date since the mid-90s. Speaking of some accounts, partly
because it’s close to deadline, and more because our customers know
the music AND how to write, I’m highlighting a few lines from
our customer reviews to
help explain why this album is here. I’ll just add that the even keeled blend of folk, country, and
blues with a hint of rock is what propelled this into my list. Fans of Son Volt, T-Bone Burnett, Whiskeytown, and The Jayhawks (all on elevated status in my world!) will gravitate to this release and its
amalgamation of all things Americana. And now for some customer raves:
Hyperbolium
says, “Cleaves sings with a warmth that infuses an element of hope in
the crushing blows he delivers. Is there hard-won pain or only a clever
couplet in singing ‘Every man is a myth, every woman a dream / Watch
your little heart get crushed when the truth gets in between… The album
winds down with a bitter critique of politicians, global industrialists
and sleepwalking media, somehow managing to retain a belief in the
goodness of man. The closer, "Temporary," resigns itself to existential
impermanence.”
Tim Brough “author and music buff” says, “I've long posited on Amazon reviews that Slaid Cleaves is America's best working young folksinger and one of our finest interpretive singers. I considered his Unsungto
be one of that year's best records…. The music, downbeat as the
descriptions sound, is thoroughly likable. The hopeful "Beautiful
Thing" swings hard at the liars and manipulators in the belief that
"the goodness of man" sees us through "the new dark ages."
Colin Spence "grey mist"
says, “His 'matter of fact' delivery of the songs belies the potency of
their lyrics - a qualitative combination that would spell out a recipe
for disaster for some artists. But with SC, his somewhat impassive
vocals serve only to emphasize the intensity of the lyrics - then
again, with some songs I detected just a little more edge to his
singing than on previous albums.”
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, self-titled, (CD, MP3)
Fans of Dave Alvin, who know him from his years with The Blastersand all the goods they delivered in equal turns of blues, rockabilly, and vintage country sounds, should fall nicely into the groove of his latest CD. It offers the added twist of an all-star line-up of some of the biggest female stars in folk and bluegrass yesterday and today. Dubbed The Guilty Women, the group consists of Americana scene vets Christy McWilson, Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, and Amy Farris. Alvin’s gruff baritone mixes with rich female harmonies and plenty of bluegrass string work from violins, lap steel guitars, and mandolins to fill the bucolic scenes and stories that come to life on each track. Here’s hoping that the ubiquity of female talent lingers a little longer to work with Dave on similar projects in the future, too.
Do Wrong Right, by The Devil Makes Three (CD, MP3)
Easily capturing the moniker of most-whimsical band on this list, the rough and tumble sounds of The Devil Makes Three leave their mark sounding like a jug band high on hay fever during a night of partying at the county fair where their music shuffles along in shades of half-sober Dixieland and Cajun styles. With lyrics that are peppered with references to all-nighter pop-offs, it’s fun to imagine what could happen during one of their set breaks: “No one’s getting arrested / no one’s having any fun / doctor’s orders for your heart beatin’ / go ahead and take you one / now you’re dumber than a singin’ saw playing ‘Uncomfortably Numb,’ it’s a thorazine work party with free fluorite bubble gum” and: “You drink a cheap malt liquor from a 40 ounce bottle / a fifth of bourbon and some pills if you got ‘em / but you know you’re goin’ to come down every night / and there ain’t no way that it’ll ever feel satisfied.” If you’re looking for a little entertainment under-the-influence, no prescription needed, check out Do Wrong Right. You won’t have to worry about a hang-over, but be aware of the quick onset of do wrong fun.
More contenders for Best of the Year:
Just to keep things interesting and honest, here are a few more albums that may very well end up on our final best of the year list, but for now they are worth noting to round things out.
It doesn't get much better than this: Classic Steve Earle covering classic Townes van Zandt. Since this is cover album (albeit with incredible songs and equally stunning renditions), this one is not currently in my top 5 list, but as the year goes on, we’ll see if any other better contenders can do a one up.
A solid sophomore follow-up to a good first release, Mescalito. I’m still debating in my head whether the style is overly derivative of Dylan, but the voice definitely is. I think it's probably a vocal preference thing for me. I'm also wondering if there’s a hint of Tom Petty(?!). Still on the fence with it as stylistic questions linger, but definitely some good tracks: “Day is Done,” “Change Is,” and “Hey Hey Hurray.”
This one is being released today as we go to print, so with not enough quality time for a critical listen I’ll have to relegate it to the second tier for now. But judging by the latest video clip, sound samples, and decade-spanning collage from Jay Farrar’s work (including Uncle Tupelo), there is little doubt that this will probably rock-it to the top of my list by the end of the year.
And with that, we wait for more to come in the second half of the year, including those sleepers in the ranks and some anticipated releases later in the year.
Jay Bennett died in his sleep Saturday night at the age of 45.
Best known for his work with alt country legend Wilco, Bennett was an
incredible talent, an oft-described perfectionist and enthusiastic performer.
It has been argued that he was the driving force behind Wilco’s expanding
musical depth from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, and would frequently work in
tandem with Jeff Tweedy for the songwriting of the band’s most important
albums, Summerteethand Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Immediately after Wilco finished recording Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,
of which Bennett engineered the majority, he was dismissed from the band
following rising tensions. Since then, Bennett has released five albums mostly
through Undertow Music and has been a force behind the studio glass as a
producer, mixer and engineer.
Bennett was a founding member of the power pop outfit Titanic Love Affair. They
released three albums in the 90s, the last of which overlapped with his
newfound duties with Wilco. Bennett was recruited to Wilco shortly after the
band released their debut LP, an album that seemed to be little more than a
retread of Uncle Tupelo. But with Bennett alongside Jeff Tweedy, Wilco soon
found themselves no longer pigeonholed as an alternative country act but began
ascribing rich pop textures, keyboards and electronics to the earthy melodies.
Fractures grew larger during the tumultuous recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and
the turmoil inevitably forced one of them out. Bennett admitted that he was
saddened but not surprised in the least by the dismissal. The conflict can be
seen in I Am Trying to Break
Your Heart, a documentary film about Wilco directed by Sam Jones.
While the cause of Bennett’s death is unknown as of now, speculation points to
complications arising from Bennett’s hip problems. He first injured it during a
stage dive while performing with Titanic Love Affair. It had never healed right
and caused him tremendous pain off and on for years. Only about a month ago, he
publicly announced on his MySpace page that he needed hip replacement surgery
but could not afford it due to a lack of health care insurance. It is unclear
about the debilitating nature of the injury, but pain medication could have
attributed to an accidental overdose. It is all speculation now, though; I’ll
wait for facts to emerge in the near future.
One of the final public acts in Bennett’s life is, unfortunately, a lawsuit he
filed against Tweedy for breach of contract in regard to his work with Wilco,
notably royalties for songs he wrote and for his appearance in Jones’
documentary. But Tweedy apparently holds no ill will. He and Wilco are touring
in Europe right now, and in response to the
heartrending news, he said, “We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We
will miss Jay as we remember him—as a truly unique and gifted human being and
one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and
evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult
time.”
The folks over at country music blog the 9513 give aspiring pro-bloggers a lesson on how a post should be titled with their entry, "20 Songs About Hobos." It's an excellent list and I'm particularly fond of Justin Townes Earle's "The Good Life," which they've logged at #16. Dig the video for the song below:
One of his best-known songs, "Chiseled in Stone," was voted 1989 song of the year by the CMA. In
the tune, an older man tells a younger man who is going through tough
times, "You don't know about sadness 'til you faced life alone | you
don't know about lonely 'til it's chiseled in stone."
A number of contemporary country stars mourned the loss.
"He was one hell of a country singer and helped me out a lot on my very first tour," George Strait said in a statement.
Josh Turner called Gosdin a "singer of sad songs... the news of Vern's death puts me beyond sad," Turner said. "He was
one of my unofficial vocal coaches. He taught me what 'country soul
music' was. Country music has lost one of its ambassadors."
Fans continue to push for Vern Gosdin to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. You can find more details and join the cause here.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's roadie-turned-keyboard player Billy Powell passed away today. He was one of the earliest members of the band, having joined in 1973, and survived the infamous 1977 plane crash that killed several band members and crew. Click here for more details. R.I.P., Billy.
For the first in an ongoing series of the "100 Greatest *fillintheblank* of All Time" lists, we decided to use our collective knowledge to run down the best ever debut albums. Dig our picks below and let us know where we went horribly, horribly wrong in the comments.
What were your favorite performances of the night? Join the discussion here, or respond on our discussion board in the CMA Awards Store.
In the humble opinion of this on-the-scene blogger, these were some of the best moments at this year's awards:
Sugarland, Love: The trickle of sparks turning into a river of cascading fire as the song built to a crescendo. The call and response between Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush really built it up.
Brad Paisley, Waiting On A Woman: grinding it up on the black and gold paisley guitar
Carrie Underwood, Just a Dream: The intro from the wife of a fallen soldier made this performance incredibly moving. Carrie was amazing, again.
Keith Urban, Sweet Thing: The opening guitar duet with the banjo and guitar.
Kid Rock, All Summer Long: when Lil' Wayne joined the Kid on stage.
The final votes of the night are in, and here's your list of winners.
Sugarland, George Strait, and Brad Paisley ended up neck and neck as the biggest winners of the night with two awards each. Otherwise, it was an even spread with the few remaining awards going to Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, and Lady Antebellum.
Single of the Year: George Strait Song of the Year: Sugarland Vocal Group of the Year: Rascal Flatts New Artist of the Year: Lady Antebellum Vocal Duo of the Year: Sugarland Album of the Year: George Strait Music Video of the Year: Brad Paisley Female Vocalist of the Year: Carrie Underwood Male Vocalist of the Year: Brad Paisley Entertainer of the Year: Kenny Chesney
Featured photos (copyright, Lucas Hilbert): Lady Antebellum (top), Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney
Ok, let's have some updates on the men of Country, shall we? Other than the opener with Brad and Keith, Rodney Atkins and Lady Antebellum played. Rodney is one of my favorites, but there were a couple flat notes tonight.
Kid Rock just took the stage sporting a Titans jersey with Lil' Wayne joining him as a special guest performer. But my favorite shirt in the group was the guitarist wearing a "Joe the Strummer" jersey. Classic.
Here's his photo from the red carpet tonight. Why the glasses, Kid? He sported them on stage as well.
Best comment from Carrie Underwood tonight so far as she introduced Kid Rock, "I can't wait to see if the man is wearing a shirt or not. I know the man can afford one."
Blogger note: CMA recipe for good awards show = make sure the first few females to appear on stage are all blond or close to it. Case and point, this is the order of appearance of the ladies on stage tonight: 1) Carrie Underwood, 2) Nicole Kidman, 3) Kellie Pickler, 4) Miranda Lambert. And then bring on Taylor Swift within the next 15 minutes.
The first brunette to appear on stage was Martina McBride. And yes, she rocked the pipes. Welcome back, Martina.
Getting back to Miranda, she is on a different level. I can just picture her as the next Tammy Wynette or something. Her performance of More Like Her tonight showcased another side that's less bad ass, and more soft-spoken instead. It's good to see her range evolve as her craft develops.
Mr. Paisley is hamming it up, saying something about teenage boys
giving their left game controller for a chance to meet Kellie Pickler. Hmm.
Kellie is the
first of this night’s regular performers. Kellie chose an up-tempo rocker this
year which is less of a tear-jerker than last year when she cried at the end and couldn’t
finish the song, which made it that much more real.
And by the way, she is looking
even more stunning than Carrie in a black leather dress (similar to the one she's sporting in this photo) and knee-high boots. Leather is sooo Country, after all.
Good evening all you Country fans and music addicts alike. And
so, Country Music’s Biggest Night has arrived. The CMA Awards are underway in
Nashville and I’m covering all the events live from the press room. I just got
back from the red carpet where I got some great photos of Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus,
Martina McBride, and Reese Witherspoon who will be presenting at tonight’s
awards. I’ll post some of their best photos soon.
Tonight’s awards will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie
Underwood, so it seems only appropriate to start off with some photos of the
pair. They are now coming out on stage and Carrie is looking stunning in a blue sheen dress.
For now, sit back and enjoy the updates, starting with our
kick off duet with Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. Go boys, go.
Kicking off this year’s CMA Awards from Nashville was a dull
thud repeated over and over again outside my hotel at 4:00 am. It was the sound
of an amplified kick drum going through a loud sound check, and it woke me from
a deep slumber.
One drum soon turned to many and I was in for the full drum
solo fandango. And then a full band started their sound check. Seriously? At
4:00 am? Why, oh why, was this happening to me and where, oh where, did I put
my ear plugs? Fast forward 3 hours and I hear the full band doing their sound
check thing all over again. Such is the price I pay to bring you, oh
Chordstrike reader, the live on-the-scene coverage of this year’s CMA Awards.
It turns out that all the commotion was because SOMEBODY will
play live on Good Morning America to promote the CMA Awards. And who better to
kick things off than Miley and Papa Billy Ray? In that case, the sleep
deprivation was so not worth it. Give me Carrie, give me Brad, give me
Sugarland, or I’ll be sad.
And by day’s end, I think Nashville will answer my call. I will
have more on-the-scene stories to share, coming to you LIVE from back stage and
at the CMA Awards press conference. No need to check your local
listings… start and finish here for it all.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with emerging Country artist Hayes Carll about his new album, Trouble in Mind, as he took time aside during his tour with the Old 97's to talk about the stories and experiences from his past that influenced the album and his music overall.
Fans of the oft-venerated Alt Country/Americana genre may also like to know that Hayes recently received two Americana Awards nominations for both Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Winners will be announced September 18, 2008 from Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.
Check out our mid-week podcast interview with Hayes including sound samples from Trouble in Mind.
With a career in Country Music spanning 25 years that includes 22 #1 hits, Randy Travis returns after an
eight year hiatus from Country Music with a new album that has Country fans crooning. I had the pleasure of speaking with Randy on his tour bus before his stadium show at CMA Music Fest last month.
While discussing everything from his work ethic and years on the road, to his thoughts on the evolution of Country Music, Randy offered an intimate glimpse of his world and his steadfast love and devotion to Country Music music and its fans.
Check out his podcast interview mixed with music from his new album Around the Bend.
