A few thoughts on the CMA awards

We didn’t do too well with our predictions of this year’s CMA Award winners. In part, that’s probably because we gave the CMA way too much credit for artistic integrity. Next year, I’m going to take a look at the nominees and predict the very worst person in each category, and I suspect [...]

Mountain country magic: A tribute to Patty Loveless

When we announced Patty Loveless as our Spotlight Artist, all of us here at My Kind of Country were very excited about the opportunity to write about one of our favorites.  In past months, we’ve brought in Guest Contributors to help out with the reviews.  But this month, all the reviews were snatched up [...]

Listening and learning

I’ve been listening to country music since I was 9 years old.  When I was a kid listening to some of these songs, I just sang along, memorizing the melody and the lyric, never really knowing what the song meant.  It wasn’t until I got older that I realized Garth Brooks was singing about murder, [...]

Song power and lead

They say confession is good for the soul, right? I have to confess that I’m a bit of a lead foot. It’s one of my few vices. I like to push it somewhere between 5 and 10 miles over the limit. You probably understand if you live in a state like Nebraska with a lot [...]

Is it guilty in here?

have a confession to make- it may destroy any credibility I might have had here and it may drive away readers, but here it is: I’m addicted to the song “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. On Tuesday a friend of mine sang two lines of the song, before I had even [...]

Missing from radio?

A comment made by Kevin at Country Universe got me to thinking more about the minuscule playlists of today’s country radio stations.  Satellite radio almost seemed like a savior for the format at one point, but since that idea didn’t really catch on with the mainstream even enough to affect the Top 40, hope for [...]

A fearless look at lists

So among critics and bloggers alike, it’s usually cool to blast “list songs” as being lazy excuses for songwriting right? I’m sure by now you guys have heard the song “It’s America” by Rodney Atkins (I envy those that have not heard it yet…)? Well songs like that give list songs a bad name- it’s [...]

Right there in black and white

I’m a newbie lover of Country music. There’s just something about it that’s drawn me in. I know it has a great deal to do with the stories – both in the songs and of the artists themselves. Similarly, I love it when the tune or the arrangement or the inflection in the singer’s voice [...]

Are record labels stupid, or is it just radio?

Lately I’ve noticed that the worst songs seem to be picked for release as singles from a number of artists.  Alongside that, labels seem to be increasingly confused about how best to promote albums, with songs being announced as the next single from a given artist, and then hurriedly replaced by something else.  It all [...]

To twang or not to twang?

It’s a generations-old question.  Is country music country enough these days?  And when does the want to go mainstream override the need to remain traditional? Remixing country songs for pop radio is certainly nothing new.  But it’s a subject that seems to be coming up more and more these days.  Taylor Swift’s done it, and [...]

Drive time

I’ve spent about 5 hours today in my car.  My best friend Angel and I were about an hour north of our hometown in the city of Columbus, OH doing some shopping.  So, half of the time was just ‘road time’ where we were on the same highway going directly from point A to point [...]

Coming back to Timeless Nights

More recently, as in this past December, I bought Patty Loveless’ cover album, Sleepless Nights. Since this blog was brand new and I was trying to compile a list of my favorite albums from 2008, I felt like after all of the glowing recommendations of that album, I needed to hear it for it to [...]

That song in my head

I was driving home today and had the radio tuned to my country station.  As much as we all like to berate the current state of top 40 country, I think every one of us is guilty of turning it on now and again – if only out of morbid curiosity.  Anyway, the new Toby [...]

Emotional truth: sentiment and sentimentality in country music

Emotional truth is at the heart of almost all truly great country songs.  There is a very fine line in country music between the true tearjerkers, for which the genre is justly known, and the cloying sentimentality which outsiders sometimes ascribe to the music. Not, I have to admit, always completely unfairly – if the strings [...]

A lasting impression

In country music today, a great deal of mediocrity has been allowed to slip into the genre – where at one time, only legends and great ones stood. Now that’s not to say that every new artist is recording interchangable and forgettable tunes. But it seems the ratio of disposable songs to standards has taken [...]

What lies around the bend for Randy Travis?

Two news items over the weekend made me think about the career of Randy Travis and where (if anywhere) it might be headed now.
Last summer saw the long-awaited release of Around The Bend, widely trumpeted as his return to mainstream secular country music after some years pursuing Christian music.  It also marked his return to Warner [...]

War and Religion: Some Thoughts on Trace Adkins’ ‘Til The Last Shot’s Fired’

Ever since Trace Adkins released his most recent album, X, last November, I’ve been intrigued by the song ‘Til the Last Shot’s Fired’, and I wanted to explore a few aspects of the song.  Most of the debate I’ve seen so far over at The 9513 has centered on the appropriateness of the West Point [...]

Songs for a recession

My brother was laid off last week, for the second time in a year.  That’s the kind of thing that brings the state of the global economy really close to home, even though he’s been fortunate enough to find something else to move on to.
One of the great things about country music has always been that [...]

Can lightning strike twice? Can You Duet season 2

I have to confess to a slightly shameful addiction here: reality music shows. I watch them even when I know they’re terrible. CMT’s Can You Duet, last spring, was a breath of fresh air – a reality music competition I could take seriously, because most of the acts were talented. It was a pleasure to watch, and [...]

Grammy Pre-show – Country Winners and My Thoughts

Here are some of the country winners already announced on the Grammy pre-show. These are the awards that won’t be televised at the ceremony on CBS tonight.
Best Country Song:  Jennifer Nettles, ‘Stay‘ … Isn’t it great to see ‘Stay’ get so much recognition? Plus, I think Jennifer is the best thing since penicillin anyway. 
Best Country Album: [...]