Country Universe

Saturday Open Thread: Best Drinking Songs

August 1, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 30

No contest for me. Here's the Hag: [you to get divorce tube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf8XVk2pD2U] zp8497586rq

Classic Country Singles: Conway Twitty, “You’ve Never Been This Far Before”

August 1, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 8

You’ve Never Been This Far Before Conway Twitty 1973 Written by Conway Twitty Conway Twitty was a pop star first, as he scored a major hit in the late fifties with “It’s Only Make Believe.”

Friday Open Thread: Best Album Closers

July 31, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 50

The albums that end perfectly, summing up everything that's come before, but also peaking with the last track. Mary Chapin Carpenter, “This is Love”, from Stones in the Road. Garth Brooks, “Face to Face”, from

Random Thoughts: Lee Ann Womack in New York City

July 31, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 8

I'm absolutely loving the video for Lee Ann Womack's “Last Call”, which CMT recently premiered on its site. It follows the song's plot closely, but the surprise for me was how the director Trey Fanjoy

Thursday Open Thread: Best Album Opener

July 30, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 37

There are some albums that start off perfectly, either by beginning with the best song, or setting the perfect mood for the record. You only need to hear that one synthesizer lick of “Man! I

Eddy Arnold, "Make the World Go Away"

July 30, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 2

Make the World Go Away Eddy Arnold 1965 Written by Hank Cochran When Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley honored the memory of Eddy Arnold at the 2008 ACM Awards, they did so by performing his

Kenny Chesney, “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven”

July 30, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 57

There’s an essential truth forming the foundation of Kenny Chesney’s new single: we all want to go to Heaven, but we don’t want to go today. I enjoyed the lyric, which I initially dismissed as

Wednesday Open Thread: Worst Country Videos

July 29, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

This was suggested in the comments yesterday by Charlie, and seconded by Philly Jeff. I was going to wait a few days before revisiting music videos, then I remembered this Kenny Rogers clip and I

Marty Robbins, "El Paso"

July 29, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 6

El Paso Marty Robbins 1959 Written by Marty Robbins There are few artists in country music history who were adept in as many diverse styles as Marty Robbins. He could nail a traditional honky-tonk number,

Tuesday Open Thread: Favorite Music Videos

July 28, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 45

CMT is running the second edition of their 100 Greatest Music Videos list. I don't have the five hours to watch it, but I'm recording it so I can enjoy it in small doses later