Dan Milliken

Discussion: Change

November 5, 2008 Dan Milliken 22

Oh, come on. As if there was any way we could post something that didn’t somehow allude to Tuesday night’s events. I know I’m more than ready to hear some non-election news for a change,

Hank Williams III, “Six Pack of Beer”

October 31, 2008 Dan Milliken 6

A breakneck, banjo-riffic hoedown with a commanding vocal, seamless chorus, brilliantly minimalistic lyric, and friggin’ sweet instrumental break. That’s the closest I can come to explaining this wonder of a record, which marries the art

Old Crow Medicine Show, "Mary's Kitchen"

October 30, 2008 Dan Milliken 5

Meh. Old Crow have become a cult favorites by way of raucous roots revivals that often bulldoze the boundaries of proper content and delivery, but you probably wouldn’t get that just from this record. Sure,

Jeremy McComb, “Cold”

October 30, 2008 Dan Milliken 7

Ah, developing niches. Newbie McComb had an solid debut playing the passively frustrated lonely guy in “This Town Needs a Bar,” and now he reprises the role in this buzzed-about follow-up. Fair enough. The song

Heidi Newfield, “Cry Cry (‘Til the Sun Shines)”

October 29, 2008 Dan Milliken 5

Sad day: Heidi Newfield wastes her great voice on a super uncreative self-help song that recycles contemporary country’s favorite standby characters – women whose men mistreat them, and men who drink away their troubles –

James Otto, “These Are the Good Ole Days”

October 29, 2008 Dan Milliken 8

Attempt #2 to follow up “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” finds Otto eschewing nostalgia to a groovy beat that sounds like something John Mayer might do at his sunniest and most simplified. There’s nothing really

Crystal Shawanda, “My Roots Are Showing”

October 28, 2008 Dan Milliken 21

It’s been a while since I’ve heard a mainstream country single that really surprised me. This one does. The song combines the basic theme of Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” with the bluesy rollick

Waylon Jennings & the .357’s, Waylon Forever

October 28, 2008 Dan Milliken 3

Waylon Jennings & the .357’s Waylon Forever If country music has taught us one thing over the last decade, it is to never underestimate an aging legend. With much of Nashville doing everything it can

Waylon Jennings Giveaway – “Outlaw S***”

October 28, 2008 Dan Milliken 1

On behalf of Vagrant Records, Country Universe is pleased to offer a free mp3 of “Outlaw S***,” one of the more fascinating tracks on Waylon Jennings’ recent posthumous release with the .357’s, Waylon Forever. Listen

Jimmy Wayne, “I Will”

October 25, 2008 Dan Milliken 21

With all due respect, this is the most unintentionally hilarious video of the year. The song is so fiercely un-country that it makes “Bob That Head” sound like Bob Wills, and the screen adaptation exacerbates