Shane McAnally – Page 9 – Country Universe

2014 Grammy Winners

January 26, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 13

This year’s Grammy winners will be posted here as they are announced.

Here are the awards, in the order of presentation:

Pre-Telecast Winners:

American Roots Song: Edie Brickell & Steve Martin, “Love Has Come For You”

Americana Album: Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Old Yellow Moon

Bluegrass Album: The Del McCoury Band, The Streets of Baltimore

Folk Album: Guy Clark, My Favorite Picture of You

Country Solo Performance: Darius Rucker, “Wagon Wheel”

Country Duo/Group Performance: The Civil Wars, “From This Valley”

Country Song: Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves, and Josh Osborne, “Merry Go ‘Round”

2014 Grammy Awards: Staff Picks & Predictions

January 23, 2014 Tara Seetharam 3

The Country Universe staff has picked and predicted the 2014 Grammy Awards below, strange bunch that they are. Chime in with your thoughts, and catch the show on Sunday at 7 p.m. CST.

Album of the Year

Should Win:

Sara Bareilles, The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories – Kevin
Kendrick Lamar, good kid m.A.A.d. city – Jonathan
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
Taylor Swift, Red

Will Win:

Sara Bareilles, The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories – Kevin, Jonathan
Kendrick Lamar, good kid m.A.A.d. city
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
Taylor Swift, Red

Kevin: With electronic music so mainstream now, it would be wise and timely for NARAS to acknowledge the excellent comeback of one of its pioneers, especially as the year’s best country albums (Brandy Clark, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, etc.) and the year’s best rap album (Kanye West) didn’t score nominations in the top category.

Jonathan: Lamar and Daft Punk would both be worthy winners of an award that rarely seems to go to one. Hip-hop and R&B have notoriously struggled in the general field in recent years, so Daft Punk’s cachet with the rock contingent should give them the edge over Swift, who didn’t score the across-the-board support many were expecting from her this year. If the voters are feeling especially timid, though, watch out for “Brave” yelper Bareilles as a spoiler.

2014 Grammy Nominees

December 7, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 13

The nominations for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards have been announced. Taylor Swift has the top nomination connected to country music, earning her second nomination for Album of the Year. She took home the award four years ago for Fearless.

Here are the general category nominees, along with all country and country-related categories:

Album of the Year

Sara Bareilles, The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
Kendrick Lamar, good kid m.A.A.d. city
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
Taylor Swift, Red

If Taylor Swift wins, she will be the first country-related artist in history to win the category twice with individual projects. Alison Krauss also has two victories, one for her collaboration with Robert Plant (Raising Sand, 2009), and another for her contributions to the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack (2002.) The award has only been won by country artists in two other years: Glen Campbell for By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1968), and the Dixie Chicks for Taking the Long Way (2007).

Getting to Know Brandy Clark

October 20, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

As a general rule, you can scan the credits of any new country album and assume that if Brandy Clark is a writer on one of the songs, it’s the best song on the album. As Clark readies the release of 12 Stories, her debut album as an artist, it’s a great time for fans of that remarkable set to get caught up on Clark’s work to date.

Believe the hype. Clark really is as good as everyone is saying she is. Possibly even better, as these twenty tracks suggest. Scroll down to the bottom, and you can listen to snippets from all of them as you read along.

Album Review: Pam Tillis & Lorrie Morgan, Dos Divas

August 8, 2013 Ben Foster 6

Pam Tillis & Lorrie Morgan
Dos Divas

If you have a soft spot for the great country artists of the nineties – particularly the generation of mature, articulate women who ruled the genre for much of the decade – the announcement of a duets album between Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan was likely a tremendous cause for excitement. With both ladies being second-generation country stars, Opry members, touring partners, and great friends, a studio collaboration would seem a natural progression, and the lofty potential is obvious.

Single Review: Kacey Musgraves, “Blowin’ Smoke”

July 28, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 9

One of my longest running criticisms of contemporary country music is the disappearance of the working poor. It’s a segment of the population that has been growing exponentially, but the genre that has historically been associated with chronicling their experiences has instead chosen to lionize and romanticize small town partying and country living. Lots of songs about Sunday mornings and Saturday nights, but almost none about those tiring days in between.

Album Review: Kacey Musgraves, <i>Same Trailer Different Park</i>

March 22, 2013 Ben Foster 14

Kacey Musgraves
Same Trailer Different Park

In just over half a decade, the now-24-year-old Texan Kacey Musgraves has gone from placing seventh on the 2007 season of Nashville Star and releasing a trio of independent albums to finally being granted some well-deserved mainstream exposure. It was beyond a pleasant surprise when her beautifully written, critically lauded debut single “Merry Go ‘Round” became an honest-to-goodness Top 10 hit at country radio – a format not known for being friendly to intelligent, honest women. Whether the industry will continue to support her remains to be seen, but Kacey Musgraves’ major label debut effort positions her as a ray of hope for country music at a time when such are very few – an artist who, if given the platform, just might have the potential to change country music for the better.

Single Review: Joanna Smith, "We Can't Be Friends"

September 1, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 4

Listening to the new Joanna Smith single, I’m reminded of when Lee Ann Womack first hit it big. I was impressed by her taste in material and I thought the production of her records was impeccable.

Album Review: Luke Bryan, Tailgates & Tanlines

September 3, 2011 Sam Gazdziak 13

Luke Bryan

Tailgates & Tanlines

Got a little boom in my big truck/Gonna open up the doors and turn it up. – “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)”

Girl you make my speakers go boom boom/Dancin’ on the tailgate in the full moon. – “Drunk on You”

Looking at those two lyrics from Lyke Bryan’s new album, you can assume one of two things: Either Bryan was heavily influenced by hip-hop pioneers L’Trimm and their hit “Cars With the Boom,” or Tailgates & Tanlines falls victim to lazy songwriting. With all due respect to Tigra and Bunny, it looks like it’s the latter.

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