Country Universe

Dolly Parton, “Shinola”

July 22, 2008 Leeann Ward 2

Dolly’s had enough, and as you’d expect from Ms. Parton, she doesn’t mince words as she gives this arrogant jerk the proverbial boot: “You don’t know love from shinola/With You, love is not what I found/A

Trace Adkins, “Muddy Water”

July 22, 2008 Leeann Ward 7

Maybe he was helped by his stint in a gospel quartet, but Trace Adkins’ voice sounds like it was specifically made to sing gospel music. He sings this song of redemption with power, but does

Tuesday Open Thread: In Praise of the Ten-Song Album

July 21, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 0

Is it just me, or are country albums too bloated these days? Alan Jackson’s Good Time is a decent album, but at seventeen tracks, it’s too much to listen to in one sitting. I remember

Sound Off: Jonah’s Road, “Counting Down the Days”

July 21, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 4

At Country Universe, we are often offered the opportunity to showcase new and rising artists. Today, we’re beginning a feature called “Sound Off.” Each entry in this feature will showcase a different artist, sharing a

Monday Open Thread: iPod Check

July 20, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 47

Alright, ladies and gents. Put your iPod/mp3 player/music library on shuffle and list the first 15 songs it plays. Blatant honesty’s a must, so don’t skip those embarrassing songs you don’t want to admit you

Montgomery Gentry, “Roll With Me”

July 20, 2008 Leeann Ward 23

Montgomery Gentry slows things down with their new single, “Roll With Me.” Instead of trading lines, Troy Gentry sings lead while Eddie Montgomery provides particularly appealing harmony vocals to a rather pleasant sounding melody. Regrettably,

Sunday Open Thread: Not Just a First for Miranda Lambert

July 19, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 22

The media is picking up on Miranda Lambert scoring her first top ten single. In this Reuters article, Lambert herself is quoted as being shocked that a song this dark broke through: The lyrics would

Kathy Mattea, Coal; Del McCoury, Moneyland

July 19, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 8

Kathy Mattea Coal Del McCoury Moneyland The everyday experience of America’s working poor was once a cornerstone of country music. As recently as the economic downturn of the early nineties, their voices were being heard

Saturday Open Thread: What is Country Anymore?

July 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 28

The current issue of Entertainment Weekly, which arrived in my mailbox today, has an interesting three-page feature story on Sugarland. Titled “The Sugarland Express”, the sub-headline proclaims that “With a new album influenced by R.E.M.,

Crunching the Numbers: July 2008, Part 5

July 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 9

There was quite a bit of discussion earlier this week about the scarcity of female artists on the radio these days. Then again, there’s usually quite a bit of discussion about the women in country