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Toxic People

April 8, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 13

This post, originally written on September 19, 2005, seems to have disappeared from the Country Universe archives when we switched over to self-hosting. I’m reposting it today for the sake of posterity.

I’m starting to wonder if the people I like and can get along with all fall into one category and the people I can’t stand to be around or have a conversation with fall into another. The categories?
1 – You believe that you have a moral obligation to other people, and live your life accordingly.
2 – You look out for yourself primarily, and what you feel is best for you informs any obligation you feel to other people.

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Single Review: Emmylou Harris, “The Road”

April 7, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 9

The story of Emmylou Harris is well established, the stuff of legend at this point.

She could’ve been Gram Parsons’ harmony singer for the rest of her career and been happy, but she ended up carrying on his legacy instead, becoming a Hall of Famer with the most consistently excellent catalog in country music history.

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ACM Live Blog 2011

April 3, 2011 Dan Milliken 90

Hello.

This is going to be a really important show, you guys.

WINNERS

Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift

Top Female Vocalist: Miranda Lambert

Top Male Vocalist: Brad Paisley

Top Still-Deciding Vocalist:

Album of the Year: Lady Antebellum, Need You Now

Song of the Year: “The House That Built Me”

Single of the Year: “The House That Built Me”

Couple of the Year:

(^ Not to be confused with) Top Vocal Duo: Sugarland

Top Vocal Group: Lady Antebellum

Top New Artist: The Band Perry

Top Till You Drop:

Vocal Event of the Year: Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”

Music Video of the Year: Miranda Lambert, “The House That Built Me”

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ACM Picks & Predictions

April 2, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 22

And some amount of us will be live-blogging the show tomorrow at 8 pm/7 central. Join!

Entertainer of the Year

Picks

  • Jason Aldean
  • Toby Keith
  • Miranda Lambert – Dan
  • Brad Paisley – Leeann, Tara
  • Taylor Swift – Kevin
  • Keith Urban

Predictions

  • Jason Aldean
  • Toby Keith
  • Miranda Lambert
  • Brad Paisley
  • Taylor Swift – Dan, Kevin, Leeann, Tara
  • Keith Urban
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Single Review: Chris Young, “Tomorrow”

March 30, 2011 Dan Milliken 18

How to put it? I would listen to this man sing about IBS. I would listen to him sing a long-form denunciation of my inherent value as a human being – possibly my mother’s and little sister’s, too. Chris Young’s baritone is like the aural incarnation of warm fuzzies, and most everything it touches/fuzzes goes down easy – even those lame, creaky-hinged Music Row assembly songs scattered across Young’s first two albums.

So, granted: This single was probably going to sound all sexy-cool no matter what. Happily, though, we can all enjoy with a little less cognitive dissonance this time, because “Tomorrow” makes a serious play at substance. Young is finally a radio star now, and he’s using his powers to inject some actual psychological complication back into the format.

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Say What? – Kip Moore

March 23, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 11

From Kip Moore’s Facebook page:

i leave for NY in a few hours. i’ve always heard how fast pace everything and everyone is up there, so i’m thinking i’m gonna find the person that seems to be in the biggest hurry, step rt in front of them and start walking as slow as my country ass can and every time they try to go around me, i’ll step in front of them and act as if i’m sight seeing. wonder how quick i’ll get the “F” bomb dropped on me.

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100 Greatest Men: #89. Sawyer Brown

March 20, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 9

At first, they were the very embodiment of a valid reason to suspect the credentials of TV singing contest winners. But over time, they became one of the most thought-provoking and substantial country music bands.

Sawyer Brown began as the backing band for Don King, who had a handful of minor country hits in the late seventies and early eighties. When King stopped touring in 1981, the band decided to strike out on their own. The original lineup of Mark Miller, Bobby Randall, Joe Smyth, Gregg Hubbard, and Jim Scholten named themselves Sawyer Brown after the Nashville street where they often rehearsed.

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