Good to see some Pillbox Patti there but surprised he didn’t incl “Eat, Pray, Drugs”
― j.o.h.n. in evanston (john. a resident of chicago.), Monday, 2 January 2023 23:02 (one year ago) link
I hadn't heard of that one, will check.Also hadn't heard of Nashville Country Music Magazine, but here tis, with Mackenzie Phipps on cover:Free PDF Of January 2023 Magazine Click on Cover to Downloadhttps://preview.mailerlite.com/r2o8n5k3b8/2119183324881623576/z1p1/
― dow, Monday, 2 January 2023 23:38 (one year ago) link
from reputable email sources, so I guess it's okay.
― dow, Monday, 2 January 2023 23:39 (one year ago) link
These are the country and country-adjacent (*) albums and tracks that I nominated in the ILM poll:
ALBUMSKaitlin Butts - What Else Can She DoMiranda Lambert - PalominoZach Bryan - American HeartbreakBrennen Leigh - Obsessed with the WestWillie Nelson - A Beautiful Time*Anais Mitchell - Anais Mitchell
TRACKSKaitlin Butts - BloodEmily Scott Robinson - When It Don't Come EasyTyler Childers - Way of the Tribune God (Jubilee Version)Anna Tivel - HeroesCaitlin Rose - Only LiesMaren Morris - Circles Around This Town*Hurray for the Riff Raff - SAGA*Joan Shelley - Amberlit Morning
― Indexed, Tuesday, 3 January 2023 15:18 (one year ago) link
Didn't have room but should have nominated this MUNA track, which is the best country song by a non-country artist I've heard in a long time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDOiWGAaT8E
― Indexed, Tuesday, 3 January 2023 15:20 (one year ago) link
Have spent more time with Adeem -- can't shake this feeling that a few of his tunes are straight Lori McKenna knock offs.― Indexed, Sunday, January 1, 2023
― Indexed, Sunday, January 1, 2023
― dow, Wednesday, 4 January 2023 01:35 (one year ago) link
what percentage of songwriters do you think would *love* to write a few songs good enough to be called Lori McKenna knock-offs?
― alpine static, Wednesday, 4 January 2023 07:43 (one year ago) link
Ha, so true! I don't know McKenna's work well enough to identify which songs but I hear it most clearly on the chorus of "Carolina" and on "Books & Records." My comment read as more pejorative than I meant it -- he traverses a lot of different territory, songwriting-wise, and it's actually rather impressive that it all works quite well.
― Indexed, Wednesday, 4 January 2023 16:26 (one year ago) link
Will do a bit of self-promotion and share the consensus picks from the panel at Country Universe for the Top 10 Albums and Top 20 Singles of 2022.
New Shania Twain single out this week immediately reminds me of how great Laura Bell Bundy was / presumably still is, and how her "Giddy On Up" was so ahead of it's time that, 12 years on, it's still a hell of a lot better than Shania's "Giddy Up."
At least a little bit intrigued by "Bets On Us" by Cheat Codes f Dolly Parton. It's in the same realm as those Avicii - Dan Tyminski collabs from several years back, but I'm not sure it does anything novel in that regard.
― jon_oh, Saturday, 7 January 2023 16:45 (one year ago) link
Thanks! I don't keep up with singles so well, but some intriguing picks there, also here: https://www.countryuniverse.net/2023/01/06/the-best-albums-of-2022/
― dow, Saturday, 7 January 2023 18:34 (one year ago) link
Not seeing Lainey Wilson or Amanda Shires here
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 7 January 2023 18:35 (one year ago) link
Both got a couple of stray votes but didn't make the consensus lists...
― jon_oh, Saturday, 7 January 2023 18:42 (one year ago) link
Surprising! Lainey Wilson is damn good again, ditto what I've heard of the Shires, thanks for reminder to check out whole thing.
― dow, Saturday, 7 January 2023 18:51 (one year ago) link
(Also: Willie, Miranda, Ingrid Andress, Pillbox Patti, Billy Joe Shaver trib among the missing albs---good to see Kaitlin Butts and Akeem on there though)
― dow, Saturday, 7 January 2023 18:58 (one year ago) link
I'll say I liked both of them well enough but didn't have either in contention for the 20 albums I voted for personally for our poll. Among the country / Americana circles I run in, the Shires album was pretty divisive, but Wilson has popped up on a lot of other year-end lists I've seen.
― jon_oh, Saturday, 7 January 2023 19:01 (one year ago) link
Good news about Wilson. Also good to see Sunny Sweeney on the CU Top Ten, though I haven't quite made up my mind about hers, or sev others.
― dow, Saturday, 7 January 2023 19:05 (one year ago) link
ReallY?! Divisive? In my circles it's her best album; to my ears her other albums had strong intentions and weak songwriting.
xpost.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 7 January 2023 19:05 (one year ago) link
Yeah, I'd say it's a pretty even split among the writers I run with; either they agree with your take on it or find it to be her least successful. It hasn't gotten much love on a lot of other year-end lists I've read, either. Sampling biases play into all of that, for sure.
― jon_oh, Saturday, 7 January 2023 19:16 (one year ago) link
I am behind on my listening but I caught up on Hailey Whitters ‘Raised’ and dow, I think I def align with your earlier assesment re her tritenessLike, her songs are well phrased & hooky as hell but i can’t find any “there” there other than fishing & drinkin, highschool & hometown, raising hell and raising babies like a corny uncreative two-dollar Maren idkBut I fucking LOVE Ashley Monroe’s Lindeyville, I have listened to that a few times now & it’s so good. Vivid characters & the worldbuilding is so well thought out, and of course the songs are so damn good. Love her!
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 15 January 2023 05:01 (one year ago) link
oh and I am fully Margo Price pilled - we’re seeing her in SF in Feb
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 15 January 2023 05:25 (one year ago) link
Oh cool! Her Perfectly Imperfect At The Ryman is a really good live album---the "imperfect" part to me is mostly when she's using Ike & Tina's arrangement of "Proud Mary," but otherwise ace.You mean Ashley McBryde, not Monrow--wish she was on there too! Lots of Ashleys these days, and I have trouble with all the Lukes and Zachs nd Zaks.Lindeville is so far seeming kinda uneven to me, but this is awes:Ashley McBryde w Pillbox Patti: "The Girl in the Picture"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfe93xj6ly4
Also! McB's contribution to the John Anderson trib, "Straight Tequila Night"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgH09g7hVmw
― dow, Sunday, 15 January 2023 22:01 (one year ago) link
The Sierra Ferrell track on that comp is fantastic
― Indexed, Sunday, 15 January 2023 22:45 (one year ago) link
ugh yes Ashley McBride lol thx sorry def too many ashleys & whatnot
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 15 January 2023 23:09 (one year ago) link
Why do parents do that? To protect their children from ridicule for abnormal names maybe, so rooms full o' Heathers, Ashleys, Lukes, Zaks, Justins, Dylans, though some of those may be decade-markers?Yeah I like most of the Anderson trib though Brent Cobb and Jamey Johnson aren't quite up to snuff (their bands try to get them there), & could live w/o The Brothers Osborne's cover of Anderson's cover of "You Can't Judge A Book etc.". And where's "Swingin'"? But several people I don't usually give about one way or the other surely rise to the occasion, and yeah Ferrell and McBryde are among those who do better than that, keeping to their high standards---also cool to have a good prev. unreleased Prine that is not just a demo.
― dow, Monday, 16 January 2023 01:46 (one year ago) link
Thanks for the heads up on that Ashley McBride album... lots of Brandy Clark on there!
― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 17 January 2023 15:19 (one year ago) link
Haven't heard the new Margo Price but I've heard it's great. Honestly, though, I still have so much trouble with all the great artists with first or last or both names that with M. Margo Price, Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton, Morgan Wade, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley McBride, Ashley Monroe ...
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 21 January 2023 16:04 (one year ago) link
Margo’s new album is great imo. This might sound kinda basic, like a lot of music is like this, but thing I love about her is that her songwriting is excellent & the musicianship is too, so with each song there’s so many layers of interest … and she expresses herself in creative uncliched ways & the sounds are not just the same old sounds idk idk it’s good!
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 21 January 2023 17:28 (one year ago) link
<taps sign>
The Margo Price c/d
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 21 January 2023 17:49 (one year ago) link
xps Mike and the Moonpies!
― Indexed, Monday, 23 January 2023 16:00 (one year ago) link
Folks, so excited for our first #StatesofCountry show of the year at @sidgoldsreqroom Weds Jan 25 celebrating the music of Minnesota with some experts @liannesmithee @salmaas @MarcellusHall https://t.co/NSlKRMg12I see you there? You betcha! pic.twitter.com/PR9n0PfFvl— Laura Cantrell (@LauraRCantrell) January 20, 2023
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 13:48 (one year ago) link
Laura Cantrell in NYC for first of a monthly series celebrating country music from different states. For some reason she’s starting with Minnesota
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 13:50 (one year ago) link
Sids is a fun room to do that in.
― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 24 January 2023 13:51 (one year ago) link
Once in a lifetime lineup: pic.twitter.com/sEODAhlWqc— Andy Langer (@Andylanger) January 24, 2023
Whoa
― Indexed, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 17:00 (one year ago) link
cool
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 24 January 2023 19:16 (one year ago) link
Does xgau's EOY list usually have this much country on it?
https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/deans-list-2022
Delighted to see Willie's album as high as it is. It is a gem.
― Indexed, Wednesday, 25 January 2023 16:20 (one year ago) link
lol, top 84.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 25 January 2023 16:26 (one year ago) link
Yeah, he's pretty reliable for including country and country-adjacent stuff and has been for a good long while. Also delighted to see his high ranking for the Willie Nelson album. And, fwiw xp, he included Amanda Shires in his t20 but also didn't go for Lainey Wilson.
― jon_oh, Wednesday, 25 January 2023 20:05 (one year ago) link
Yeah, he's been useful re country since early 70s (pro tip for Consumer Guide look-ups: they Merle Haggard *and* Merle Haggard and the Strangers: maybe duh, but took me a while). He's being pretty obtuse about Lainey, though.I can see why your friends are divided on Shires: good songs, and I think I got basically the right idea before finally checking lyrics, but then I saw lots of important detail that weren't coming through. There are exceptions, esp. that one time she adds a little echo and then goes to double-tracking: THANK YOU JESUS. If she only would (more than could) deal with her vocal limits as well as she does everything else here.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 00:46 (one year ago) link
He's okay on country; as usual he prefers sexually aggressive women. If they code as "genteel" for him, he's out the door.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 January 2023 00:46 (one year ago) link
Lee Ann Womack's recorded some of the best albums of the last 20 years by anybody but he doesn't care.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 January 2023 00:47 (one year ago) link
Oh yeah he's ridic on her.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 00:49 (one year ago) link
deal with her vocal limits as well as she does everything else here. Well sometimes the weak link voice does seem like evidence of brave vulnerability, "Here I am..." But the most striking moments tend to pass, and she's still singing. On the other hand, I've listened to it more than any other album in 2022 or early '23---and not hate-listened, but it's----maddening at times.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 01:45 (one year ago) link
most striking moments re vocals, that is; otherwise, the tracks can thrive. I'm learning, being taught, to listen around the voice, as with some ancient Tom Waits and Henry Rollins albums.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 01:50 (one year ago) link
I mean sometimes it works anyway, or the voice even does its bit all the way through: one for my Singles/Tracks list will be "Empty Cups," referring to her hands. I picture them as red solo cups, and think also of the Toby Keith song.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 02:24 (one year ago) link
Will prob put it in Honorable Mentions---the singing is the one thing that keeps me from full acceptance/enjoyment.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 18:51 (one year ago) link
So it's got me in semi-detached art appreciation, like this year's Charley Crockett.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 18:52 (one year ago) link
2022's Charley Crockett, that is.
― dow, Thursday, 26 January 2023 18:53 (one year ago) link
xp Xgau
as usual he prefers sexually aggressive women. If they code as "genteel" for him, he's out the door.
Alfred's spot on here.
It's why, in addition to Womack, he completely missed the boat on the genre's mainstream women in the 90s and aughts. Rarely gave the time of day to anyone on the Yearwood/Loveless/Tillis/Wynonna/Rimes axis and ends up with massive blind spots because of it. Was weirdly dismissive of a lot of the women of the 90s alt-country boom other than Lucinda and Iris, too.
But hey, he quoted me by name in a review once for being over-the-top in my praise for Miranda Lambert in the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, so what do I know.
Speaking of Iris: Two new singles out in advance of her new album. Both are fantastic.
― jon_oh, Thursday, 26 January 2023 22:14 (one year ago) link
Can't wait
― Indexed, Thursday, 26 January 2023 22:16 (one year ago) link
I don't usually post in the rolling country thread but wanted to alert yall of this new Esther Rose album https://www.brooklynvegan.com/esther-rose-announces-new-album-safe-to-run-for-new-west-shares-chet-baker/
Never heard of her before but a friend of mine hosted a camping trip a few months ago which had a bunch of different musicians playing etc. she ended up playing a set along the Rio Grande and it was probably the highlight of the whole thing for me. Completely blew me away. Nice to see her getting some recognition on BV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDXRedvaIK4
― gman59, Thursday, 9 February 2023 18:20 (one year ago) link
Agreed. I was kinda shocked they gave SOTY to a 40-year-old hit. But also glad ... it's obviously the best song of the bunch.
― alpine static, Thursday, 9 November 2023 18:48 (four months ago) link
I loved Lainey Wilson's 2021 album enough to top ten it, last year's almost as strong. "Watermelon Moonshine" is one of the few songs by a female country act getting a lot of airplay.
― stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 9 November 2023 22:16 (four months ago) link
She doesn't need my hype, but this is what I said way upthread: an musical journey through the unexpected (resistance, learning, getting into it---then the whole thing over again later, which may well say a lot more about the current-recent me than her, but overall it's both---no regerts, though)
'm still, believe it or not, doing a round-up of re-re-etc.-listening objects for a blogpost about the music of 2022. There are just a few sticking points left, with Lainey Wilson's Bell Bottom Country somewhut unexpectedly among same. It had taken several listens to reach a peak of enthusiasm---seemed too contrived, and also I belatedly discovered that increased volume revealed more conviction in tone and details---but I assumed that I had gotten it, and could come back to said peak several months later: no. Same process, same learning curve, all over again, even though it seemed reasonably loud at first---it's not all about the volume, this elusively problematic aspect, but for sure, if you want your sensitive arena rock country, you gotta be ready with the volume (to ride it back a little for the double-tracked armor or scar tissue, a signifying part of the looking back in candor in the finely written "Watermelon Moonshine,"but still a little too loud), ready, often enough, to throw your headphones into the maelstrom ov fun like she does her head on "This One's Gonna Cost Me," title and chorus of which become this album's thee most explicit expression of her exciting dynamic: persistent self-image of a good girl, raised right, looking for love and self-empowerment, who rat now wants to have a good good good time.Here we have a recurring sort of Zep-hop beat at its heartiest, swaying that big horned head one more time, but now it also occurs to me that producer Jay Joyce also appreciates Led Z.'s mix of the heavy and brash with the fingerpicking side of life, and Wilson responds, going barefoot down a b-melody line to the ripples of Molly Tuttle's banjo, or for that matter under an intro of what sounds like some kind of mellotron-banjo.― dow, Tuesday, June 27, 2023 1:57 PM (four months ago) bookmarkflaglink(Jay Joyce's only misfire: "Wildflowers and Wild Horses" starts with a mysterioso Lee Hazlewoodesque instrumental scrim, but then turns Lainey loose to gallop through big loud bravura rhetoric, losing Lee's control and tension.)Beats vary, but clock gentle intensity in ballads, like when she credibly salutes "Daddy's Boots," with a bit of atypical toe-tapping added, then strips away the usual roots-view to "Momma's crazy and Daddy's mean," when it's down to "Me, You and Jesus" getting through: "Me" first, part of the candor again, "Jesus" the only mention, that's how young and desperate she is in this flashback, "You" can be anybody she trusts, trying to hold on to this isolated, shared undercurrent of faith and hope and getting by is the point, and not so loudly that Momma and Daddy will hear.Followed immediately by "Hold My Halo," cause cuz she's paid her Dew Drop Inn dues, gonna ride that electric bull one more time tonight. See there always has to be a justification, which could get annoying in the uniquely narrowcast "Weak-End" (yes we know you're lookin' for love, but that's not all, not in them places), if not for distraction of the gently antsy beat), with need for alibi and recreational therapy at its funniest and near-rowdiest in "Smell Like Smoke" ("It's cause Ah been, through, Hellll.")Wiki sez that one was "tacked on" to streams and downloads: too bad for CD and LP buyers, because it and the other tackee, "New Friends," are antipodal highlights. After the 4-Non-Blondes cover--where she conscientiously delivers teeming verbosity rushing to the accidental but still stupid comedy of anticlimatic "Whut's going on?"---Wilson returns to the vibrant twilight of "You, Me and Jesus," now resolving to find new friends, rather than just moping over that guy---atta girl, as she says in song of that title, also a gentle one, though given the louder ones, one might wonder just what kind of friends. TBA.― dow, Tuesday, June 27, 2023
― dow, Tuesday, June 27, 2023 1:57 PM (four months ago) bookmarkflaglink
(Jay Joyce's only misfire: "Wildflowers and Wild Horses" starts with a mysterioso Lee Hazlewoodesque instrumental scrim, but then turns Lainey loose to gallop through big loud bravura rhetoric, losing Lee's control and tension.)Beats vary, but clock gentle intensity in ballads, like when she credibly salutes "Daddy's Boots," with a bit of atypical toe-tapping added, then strips away the usual roots-view to "Momma's crazy and Daddy's mean," when it's down to "Me, You and Jesus" getting through: "Me" first, part of the candor again, "Jesus" the only mention, that's how young and desperate she is in this flashback, "You" can be anybody she trusts, trying to hold on to this isolated, shared undercurrent of faith and hope and getting by is the point, and not so loudly that Momma and Daddy will hear.Followed immediately by "Hold My Halo," cause cuz she's paid her Dew Drop Inn dues, gonna ride that electric bull one more time tonight. See there always has to be a justification, which could get annoying in the uniquely narrowcast "Weak-End" (yes we know you're lookin' for love, but that's not all, not in them places), if not for distraction of the gently antsy beat), with need for alibi and recreational therapy at its funniest and near-rowdiest in "Smell Like Smoke" ("It's cause Ah been, through, Hellll.")Wiki sez that one was "tacked on" to streams and downloads: too bad for CD and LP buyers, because it and the other tackee, "New Friends," are antipodal highlights. After the 4-Non-Blondes cover--where she conscientiously delivers teeming verbosity rushing to the accidental but still stupid comedy of anticlimatic "Whut's going on?"---Wilson returns to the vibrant twilight of "You, Me and Jesus," now resolving to find new friends, rather than just moping over that guy---atta girl, as she says in song of that title, also a gentle one, though given the louder ones, one might wonder just what kind of friends. TBA.
― dow, Tuesday, June 27, 2023
― dow, Friday, 10 November 2023 08:22 (four months ago) link
always more rare or rarer
― dow, Friday, 10 November 2023 08:26 (four months ago) link
For those of you who like raggedy, ramshackle country rock, Florry's "The Holey Bible" is the ticket. riyl: Wednesday, Pinegrove, MJ Lenderman's Boat Songs, maybe Big Thief's Dragon New Warm Mountain, etc.
― Indexed, Friday, 10 November 2023 15:59 (four months ago) link
exact same description but for a different new album, Dusk's Glass Pastures:
https://countrydusk.bandcamp.com/album/glass-pastures
― alpine static, Friday, 10 November 2023 20:06 (four months ago) link
Indeedio, thanks! And speaking of MJ:
MJ Lenderman Announces New Live Album,And The Wind (Live and Loose!), Out November 17th On ANTI-...MJ Lenderman writes songs that are amorphous and elastic, rising to fill the venue they’re in, generous to accommodate the numbers of players on stage (an often unpredictable affair), less concerned with replicating the studio version than they are with meeting the crowd where they’re at. On his records, Lenderman handles most of the playing, but with And the Wind (Live and Loose!) it’s a multi-headed beast. With the help of guitarist Jon Samuels (Friendship, 2nd Grade), drummer Colin Miller, plus fellow Wednesday bandmates Xandy Chelmis (pedal steel) and Ethan Baechtold (bass), And the Wind (Live and Loose!) builds out a number of beloved MJ tracks into something else entirely.MJ Lenderman And the Wind (Live and Loose!) is culled from sold-out summer 2023 shows on a brief headline run during what some might call a wild-ass couple of months. A nine-week international Wednesday tour, stints in studios with a number of other artists, and Lenderman’s own signing with storied indie label ANTI-. Taped live at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall and Los Angeles’ Lodge Room, And the Wind (Live and Loose!) captures a near-euphoric moment in time — dizzying and exhausting and, most of all, having some real true-blue fucking fun with your best friends.nd the Wind (Live and Loose!) is also available for pre-order on a limited edition cassette from Dear Life Records. Pre-order here. Pre-order And the Wind (Live and Loose!) And the Wind (Live and Loose!) Tracklist1. Hangover Game (Live)2. Knockin (Live)3. You Have Bought Yourself A Boat (Live)4. TLC Cagematch (Live)4. Rudolph (Live)5. Toon Town (Live)6. Dan Marino (Live)7. Under Control (Live)8. Dan Marino (Live)9. SUV (Live)10. Catholic Priest (Live)11. Live Jack (Live)12. Someone Get The Grill Out Of The Rain (Live)13. You Are Every Girl To Me (Live)14. Tastes Just Like It Costs (Live)15. Long Black Veil (Live) MJ Lenderman Tour DatesFri. Dec. 8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon +Sat. Dec. 9 - Ojai, CA @ Deer Lodge +Sun. Dec. 10 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop +Tue. Dec. 12 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios +Wed. Dec. 13 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern +Tue. Feb. 27, 2024 - Perth, AU @ Perth Festival *Thu. Feb. 29, 2024 - Sydney, AU @ The Factory *Sun. Mar. 10, 2024 - Meredith, AU @ Golden Plains Festival + Karly Hartzman & MJ Lenderman Solo Show w/ Dan Wriggins* supporting Wednesday Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter For more information, contact:jessica at pitchperfectpr.com, jacob at pitchperfectpr.com, 773-942-6573
...MJ Lenderman writes songs that are amorphous and elastic, rising to fill the venue they’re in, generous to accommodate the numbers of players on stage (an often unpredictable affair), less concerned with replicating the studio version than they are with meeting the crowd where they’re at. On his records, Lenderman handles most of the playing, but with And the Wind (Live and Loose!) it’s a multi-headed beast. With the help of guitarist Jon Samuels (Friendship, 2nd Grade), drummer Colin Miller, plus fellow Wednesday bandmates Xandy Chelmis (pedal steel) and Ethan Baechtold (bass), And the Wind (Live and Loose!) builds out a number of beloved MJ tracks into something else entirely.MJ Lenderman And the Wind (Live and Loose!) is culled from sold-out summer 2023 shows on a brief headline run during what some might call a wild-ass couple of months. A nine-week international Wednesday tour, stints in studios with a number of other artists, and Lenderman’s own signing with storied indie label ANTI-. Taped live at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall and Los Angeles’ Lodge Room, And the Wind (Live and Loose!) captures a near-euphoric moment in time — dizzying and exhausting and, most of all, having some real true-blue fucking fun with your best friends.nd the Wind (Live and Loose!) is also available for pre-order on a limited edition cassette from Dear Life Records. Pre-order here. Pre-order And the Wind (Live and Loose!) And the Wind (Live and Loose!) Tracklist1. Hangover Game (Live)2. Knockin (Live)3. You Have Bought Yourself A Boat (Live)4. TLC Cagematch (Live)4. Rudolph (Live)5. Toon Town (Live)6. Dan Marino (Live)7. Under Control (Live)8. Dan Marino (Live)9. SUV (Live)10. Catholic Priest (Live)11. Live Jack (Live)12. Someone Get The Grill Out Of The Rain (Live)13. You Are Every Girl To Me (Live)14. Tastes Just Like It Costs (Live)15. Long Black Veil (Live) MJ Lenderman Tour DatesFri. Dec. 8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon +Sat. Dec. 9 - Ojai, CA @ Deer Lodge +Sun. Dec. 10 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop +Tue. Dec. 12 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios +Wed. Dec. 13 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern +Tue. Feb. 27, 2024 - Perth, AU @ Perth Festival *Thu. Feb. 29, 2024 - Sydney, AU @ The Factory *Sun. Mar. 10, 2024 - Meredith, AU @ Golden Plains Festival + Karly Hartzman & MJ Lenderman Solo Show w/ Dan Wriggins* supporting Wednesday
Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter For more information, contact:
jessica at pitchperfectpr.com, jacob at pitchperfectpr.com, 773-942-6573
― dow, Saturday, 11 November 2023 00:57 (four months ago) link
New Vincent Neil Emerson album out today.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Saturday, 11 November 2023 01:49 (four months ago) link
Yeah, he sez “There’s a few country-inspired songs on this one, a few stripped-down acoustic songs, and a few songs inspired by that 60s folk rock movement.”Produced by Shooter Jennings, w input from Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. For inst,
Emerson wrote “Man From Uvalde” after the horrific and tragic mass shooting in the city of Uvalde, Texas, and he was initially hesitant to include the track on The Golden Crystal Kingdom. “It's a daunting thing to try to dive into social issues in songwriting because I wasn’t sure how people would really take it,” Emerson says. “I recorded a rough demo version of the song, and I sent it to Steve [Earle]. I just wanted to get his thoughts on it and see if it was worth anything. He got back to me, and he said he really liked the song and thought it was great. He gave me a few ideas and ways to look at the subject differently, and it really helped me finish the song. That encouragement gave me the confidence to include it on the album.”
atch Vincent Neil Emerson On Tour:NOV 10, 2023 - Elkton Music Hall - Elkton, MDNOV 11, 2023 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NYNOV 15, 2023 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PANOV 16, 2023 - The Southern Café and Music Hall - Charlottesville, VANOV 17, 2023 - Motorco Music Hall - Durham, NCNOV 18, 2023 - New Brookland Tavern - Columbia, SCNOV 19, 2023 - Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SCNOV 21, 2023 - Eddie's Attic - Decatur, GADEC 9, 2023 - Antone's Nightclub - Austin, TXFor more information, please visit vincentneilemerson.com.
NOV 10, 2023 - Elkton Music Hall - Elkton, MD
NOV 11, 2023 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
NOV 15, 2023 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
NOV 16, 2023 - The Southern Café and Music Hall - Charlottesville, VA
NOV 17, 2023 - Motorco Music Hall - Durham, NC
NOV 18, 2023 - New Brookland Tavern - Columbia, SC
NOV 19, 2023 - Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SC
NOV 21, 2023 - Eddie's Attic - Decatur, GA
DEC 9, 2023 - Antone's Nightclub - Austin, TX
For more information, please visit vincentneilemerson.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHC9f5ICNJ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXpuHTXjR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQVNLI9IFDk
― dow, Saturday, 11 November 2023 02:18 (four months ago) link
That second one was supposed to be title song, try again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXpuHTXjRZw
― dow, Saturday, 11 November 2023 02:22 (four months ago) link
enjoying Florry! happy if this thread has room for non purist country adjacent stuff
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 11 November 2023 11:17 (four months ago) link
LA Times on Grammys nominations snubbing country music. NY Times also said similar
The Grammys had many paths to acknowledge country music’s outstanding year. Luke Combs had a massive crossover hit with a cover of Tracy Chapman’s beloved “Fast Car.” Zach Bryan topped the streaming and Billboard charts with a thoughtful, ferocious album that featured a hit duet with Grammy fave Kacey Musgraves. Lainey Wilson just cleaned up at the CMA Awards, a victory lap after a decade in the Nashville trenches. And Morgan Wallen sold out stadiums and easily outstreamed Swift and SZA, to name two powerhouses.
And yet country came up almost totally empty. Jelly Roll and the War and Treaty got nods for best new artist, but otherwise, the genre was shut out in the four general field categories. Overall, Combs has one nomination, Wilson has two, Bryan has three and Brandy Clark has six — almost all in country and adjacent genre categories. Voters might still be ignoring Wallen for his N-word indiscretion, but it’s now clear they don’t seem to care much for country as a whole, even in a banner year.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 17 November 2023 16:23 (four months ago) link
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/10/arts/music/grammy-awards-snubs-surprises.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
― curmudgeon, Friday, 17 November 2023 16:27 (four months ago) link
Did Brandy Clark get 6 noms for the milquetoast s/t?
― Indexed, Friday, 17 November 2023 19:17 (four months ago) link
given that wallen was snubbed at the CMAs & was generally treated like an ancillary figure throughout the proceedings, the lack of grammy nominations isn't very surprising. but i figured zach bryan would get looks in the major categories. and you'd think the grammys would love any opportunity to celebrate tracy chapman. it wouldn't surprise me at all if the grammy voter base was not really slanted towards engagement w/ country music esp if you tried to isolate the young, country focused voters among the academy. can't imagine that's a legion of any sort
― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Friday, 17 November 2023 21:23 (four months ago) link
Grammys rules also play a rule per Caramanica in NY Times link above:
If there were one song with the best chance of bridging contemporary country to the Grammys, it would be Combs’s cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which went to No. 2 on the Hot 100 and earlier this week won song of the year at the CMA Awards, making Chapman the first Black winner in that category. But in part because of Grammy rules — it isn’t eligible for song of the year because Chapman was nominated for her original in 1989 — Combs’s version has been relegated to just a single nomination, in best country solo performance, a snub that feels unexpectedly pointed. JON CARAMANICA
― curmudgeon, Friday, 17 November 2023 21:35 (four months ago) link
The Billboard Music Awards had no qualms about giving Morgan Wallen a bunch of trophys
Top Male Artist &🏆 Top Hot 100 Artist🏆 Top Streaming Songs Artist🏆 Top Country Artist🏆 Top Country Male Artist🏆 Top Country Touring Artist🏆 Top Billboard 200 Album “One Thing At A Time”🏆 Top Country Album “One…
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 November 2023 14:24 (four months ago) link
Not saying it's good, just noting it
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 November 2023 14:31 (four months ago) link
Last night they let the liquor talk
― stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 November 2023 15:23 (four months ago) link
heard "watermelon moonshine" on the radio. it's nice but i can't help but note that it a lesser version of "strawberry wine" which is one of my favorite country songs ever
― Heez, Monday, 20 November 2023 19:03 (four months ago) link
Had to school myself and look up your fave, but yeah you're right
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 November 2023 19:32 (four months ago) link
― curmudgeon, Monday, November 20, 2023 9:31 AM (five hours ago)bookmarkflaglink
you should do some research into how they choose the winners of that show
― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Monday, 20 November 2023 19:49 (four months ago) link
They use Billboard data, not surprising and yeah I know Wallen is popular
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 21 November 2023 01:18 (four months ago) link
From NPR music newsletter:
Garth Brooks has a new album…for Bass Pro Shops customers by Stephen Thompson, NPR Music...there remains about Garth Brooks a little-known fact: On Nov. 7, he released a new album. Titled Time Traveler, the record came out with notably little fanfare — a TV appearance here, a Billboard profile there, and that’s about it. News articles about the record have begun to pop up as word has spread, most of which focus less on the music than on the method of distribution: The only way you can get Time Traveler is to buy it on CD, as part of a seven-disc box set sold exclusively at Bass Pro Shops.You can’t stream Time Traveler — not even via Amazon, which has otherwise-exclusive rights to Brooks’ catalog. You can’t even buy it as a single disc, though fans who’ve lost track of Brooks’ recent work might be glad to catch up on the box set’s remaining contents: everything the singer has released since coming out of retirement in 2014. (That’d be 2014’s Man Against Machine, 2016’s Gunslinger, 2019’s three-disc live set Triple Live and 2020’s Fun.)If you’re wondering how one of the biggest stars in the world wound up releasing an album via Bass Pro Shops outlets, consider another fact about Garth Brooks: The guy really, really hates streaming. And, since he’s amassed the fame and fortune to do (and not do) pretty much whatever he wants — and remember that this is a guy who, at the height of his power, released a 1999 album under the guise of a brooding, soul-patched pop-star alter ego named Chris Gaines — Garth Brooks has decided to release albums his way, leaving heaven-only-knows how much money on the table in the process.So, you might ask, what about Time Traveler itself? Is it any good? In the spirit of reportorial intrepidness — not to mention 30-plus years of accumulated goodwill toward the singer and his work, plus a fondness for physical media — I plunked down $30 plus shipping and ordered a copy from Bass Pro Shops, no doubt to the great confusion of my search engine’s algorithms. (It’s worth noting here that $30 for a seven-disc box set, even a bare-bones one, is a good deal, especially if you haven’t heard Time Traveler’s recent predecessors.)What I found was an album that’s pretty deeply uncompromising in its own way. It’s not a lavish production, but it nods in directions that place it well outside the mainstream of modern bro country. “Rodeo Man,” a duet with Ronnie Dunn — no stranger to duets with guys named Brooks — would’ve fit right in on Garth Brooks’ terrific early-’90s best-sellers. “The Ship and the Bottle” pairs the pop-curious country star with country-curious pop star Kelly Clarkson, culminating in a vibe that would have made Jimmy Buffett proud. Dispensed with maximum agreeability, “Only Country Music” celebrates the greatest loves of Brooks’ life. And “The Ride” covers a 1983 hit from a country star whose iconoclasm exceeds even Brooks’: David Allan Coe.Time Traveler closes with a track called “We Belong to Each Other,” which calls for national unity while celebrating our shared humanity. And, though none of its sentiments should qualify as revolutionary — “We belong to each other / We are sister and brother / Born to love one another” — it’s a far cry from the seething revanchism of Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” or the omnidirectional resentment of Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” both of which topped country charts in 2023. It’s a reminder that we need more Garth Brooks in our lives and on our radios, and that there’s nothing wrong with venturing into Bass Pro Shops to get it.
by Stephen Thompson, NPR Music
...there remains about Garth Brooks a little-known fact: On Nov. 7, he released a new album. Titled Time Traveler, the record came out with notably little fanfare — a TV appearance here, a Billboard profile there, and that’s about it. News articles about the record have begun to pop up as word has spread, most of which focus less on the music than on the method of distribution: The only way you can get Time Traveler is to buy it on CD, as part of a seven-disc box set sold exclusively at Bass Pro Shops.
You can’t stream Time Traveler — not even via Amazon, which has otherwise-exclusive rights to Brooks’ catalog. You can’t even buy it as a single disc, though fans who’ve lost track of Brooks’ recent work might be glad to catch up on the box set’s remaining contents: everything the singer has released since coming out of retirement in 2014. (That’d be 2014’s Man Against Machine, 2016’s Gunslinger, 2019’s three-disc live set Triple Live and 2020’s Fun.)
If you’re wondering how one of the biggest stars in the world wound up releasing an album via Bass Pro Shops outlets, consider another fact about Garth Brooks: The guy really, really hates streaming. And, since he’s amassed the fame and fortune to do (and not do) pretty much whatever he wants — and remember that this is a guy who, at the height of his power, released a 1999 album under the guise of a brooding, soul-patched pop-star alter ego named Chris Gaines — Garth Brooks has decided to release albums his way, leaving heaven-only-knows how much money on the table in the process.
So, you might ask, what about Time Traveler itself? Is it any good? In the spirit of reportorial intrepidness — not to mention 30-plus years of accumulated goodwill toward the singer and his work, plus a fondness for physical media — I plunked down $30 plus shipping and ordered a copy from Bass Pro Shops, no doubt to the great confusion of my search engine’s algorithms. (It’s worth noting here that $30 for a seven-disc box set, even a bare-bones one, is a good deal, especially if you haven’t heard Time Traveler’s recent predecessors.)
What I found was an album that’s pretty deeply uncompromising in its own way. It’s not a lavish production, but it nods in directions that place it well outside the mainstream of modern bro country. “Rodeo Man,” a duet with Ronnie Dunn — no stranger to duets with guys named Brooks — would’ve fit right in on Garth Brooks’ terrific early-’90s best-sellers. “The Ship and the Bottle” pairs the pop-curious country star with country-curious pop star Kelly Clarkson, culminating in a vibe that would have made Jimmy Buffett proud. Dispensed with maximum agreeability, “Only Country Music” celebrates the greatest loves of Brooks’ life. And “The Ride” covers a 1983 hit from a country star whose iconoclasm exceeds even Brooks’: David Allan Coe.
Time Traveler closes with a track called “We Belong to Each Other,” which calls for national unity while celebrating our shared humanity. And, though none of its sentiments should qualify as revolutionary — “We belong to each other / We are sister and brother / Born to love one another” — it’s a far cry from the seething revanchism of Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” or the omnidirectional resentment of Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” both of which topped country charts in 2023. It’s a reminder that we need more Garth Brooks in our lives and on our radios, and that there’s nothing wrong with venturing into Bass Pro Shops to get it.
― dow, Tuesday, 5 December 2023 03:20 (three months ago) link
Shared in the EOY list thread -- Holler's Top 25 of 2013. Have not yet heard about a third of these (including the #1) but like a lot of what I have. Cannot for the life of me make my way into the new Isbell record, and I've tried repeatedly. Ian Munsick is a huge headscratcher for me, too. But very happy to see Brit Taylor, Kelsea Ballerini, and Charles Wesley Godwin who all had excellent releases this year that I don't believe I've commented on here.
― Indexed, Thursday, 7 December 2023 14:58 (three months ago) link
The link would help
https://holler.country/lists/hollers-albums-of-the-year-2023
The way a whole lot of people who ought to know better have bought into Megan Moroney is absolutely maddening to me.
― jon_oh, Thursday, 7 December 2023 15:40 (three months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JY5pC7a2Ew
Loving this, discovered via this list:https://www.stereogum.com/2244742/the-10-best-country-albums-of-2023/lists/year-in-review/2023-in-review/
― Indexed, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 17:47 (three months ago) link
Nice song there - Jordyn Shellhart “Who are you mad at”
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 20:32 (three months ago) link
Rest of the album didn't do much for me, unfortunately. Kacey with the edges sanded way, way down.
― Indexed, Thursday, 14 December 2023 15:34 (three months ago) link
Bandcamp's best country (and "country-ish") of 2023:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-of-2023/the-best-country-music-of-2023
― alpine static, Thursday, 14 December 2023 17:04 (three months ago) link
That's an excellent list. Margo Cilker, Drayton Farley, Brennen Leigh, Nick Shoulders, and Bella White would all make my top ten.
― Indexed, Thursday, 14 December 2023 17:13 (three months ago) link
like them all, but Bella might just land in my top 5 ... that album is entrancing.
― alpine static, Thursday, 14 December 2023 22:18 (three months ago) link
The Nick Shoulders is a ton of fun. Hope to catch him when he comes through here next year.
― Indexed, Friday, 15 December 2023 16:52 (three months ago) link
Margot Cilker “Remember Carolina” is so frickin great. such a great song about travelling and being in a band“How could I forget Texas, where everything says ‘Texas’”
― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Monday, 18 December 2023 13:10 (three months ago) link
Speaking of which---RIP one of the original Dixie Chicks:https://variety.com/2023/music/news/laura-lynch-dead-dixie-chicks-1235850102/ Good article.
― dow, Sunday, 24 December 2023 03:17 (three months ago) link
Observes that the "We're ashamed to be from Texas" blasphemy would not have happened if she were still the sole lead singer during Iraq War, because she and Bush were mutual admirers (and he used to catch Chicks shows), But since she evidently got dumped for not having Natalie's charisma, I suspect that they would not have been such huge, mega-Diamond-selling targets with Laura---more likely ignored by most of the media, as some other lower-profile dissenting country artists were.
― dow, Sunday, 24 December 2023 03:28 (three months ago) link
such huge, mega-Diamond-selling targets with Laura-
― dow, Sunday, 24 December 2023 03:33 (three months ago) link
I didn’t know the Chicks had that whole backstory, that’s interesting.
― I wanna key his car, I wanna make him lunch (morrisp), Sunday, 24 December 2023 05:00 (three months ago) link
I thought had read somewhere that Laura had quit the group as she was worn out from touring , not that she was dumped by rest of group
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 28 December 2023 18:37 (three months ago) link
Oops, I was wrong. She might have been tired of touring but it was a music decision by rest of group
In 1995, Lynch, then 37, was replaced by Maines, then 21. “We thought we needed to make a music decision now,” Maguire told the Dallas Morning News in November 1995, describing the change as “the passing of the baton.” “It can’t really be characterized as a resignation,” Lynch said then, acknowledging that age was a factor. She quit music and focused on raising her daughter.
The band went on to mainstream stardom with 1998’s “Wide Open Spaces,” which won best country album at the Grammy Awards.
Lynch told the Associated Press in 2003 that she didn’t regret missing out on the fame and that she had fond memories of leading the band through its hectic, hardscrabble early days.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/12/24/laura-lynch-dixie-chicks-death/
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 28 December 2023 18:41 (three months ago) link
And now Chicks toured with Maren Morris. This article is about Morris and her distaste for Nashville industry, and about her doing a tour with the Chicks
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/12/21/chicks-maren-morris-country-music/
But while the Chicks’ fate has been successfully used as a fear tactic for years, it has also had the opposite effect: The band is an inspiration for a new class of outspoken country stars who don’t want to just shut up and sing. The timing of Morris’s “departure” from the genre — as well as her serving as an opening act for the Chicks on tour this summer — was a fitting, full-circle moment symbolizing how the treatment of the trio still looms over country music...She debuted “The Tree” live in concert when she opened for the Chicks in Ottawa on the day her Los Angeles Times interview published.
“Thinking about the last few shows we’ve had with the Chicks, the meaning behind this song, how I got to where I was when I wrote it, where you just burn the whole ... toxic thing down …” Morris trailed off as she introduced the song to the cheering arena. “I would not have been able to write this song or get to this place of peace if the Chicks had not been in my life to do it first.”
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 28 December 2023 18:47 (three months ago) link
Luke Combs cover of Tracy Chapman “Fast Cars” is pleant enough― curmudgeon, Sunday, June 11, 2023 3:44 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglinkPleasant― curmudgeon, Sunday, June 11, 2023 4:02 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglinksuch a good song, it's hard to screw it up ... and he doesn't.― alpine static, Sunday, June 11, 2023 7:31 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglink
― curmudgeon, Sunday, June 11, 2023 3:44 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Pleasant
― curmudgeon, Sunday, June 11, 2023 4:02 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglink
such a good song, it's hard to screw it up ... and he doesn't.
― alpine static, Sunday, June 11, 2023 7:31 AM (six months ago) bookmarkflaglink
late to this particular party, have to agree that this is a very decent cover and... weirdly, while it's objectively lesser in every way than the original, it's really hitting some emotional notes with me - as if the kind of... I'm looking for the word here... simplicity? that Combs brings actually elevates the song?
happy to be reminded of this masterpiece of songwriting anyway
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 30 December 2023 21:12 (two months ago) link
deference, i think, is the word you're looking for. he just plays it as best he can w/o doing all sorts of shit to "make it his own" because, assuming we believe him, he just loves the song and it makes him think of his dad.
this is why it's good.
― alpine static, Sunday, 31 December 2023 00:06 (two months ago) link
well, also because Tracy Chapman wrote an incredible song
― alpine static, Sunday, 31 December 2023 05:22 (two months ago) link
yes! exactly
― corrs unplugged, Sunday, 31 December 2023 09:37 (two months ago) link
https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2023/12/26/40-best-country-singles-of-2023/
Chuck Eddy's fave 2023 country songs
― curmudgeon, Monday, 1 January 2024 23:59 (two months ago) link
Long-running country blog That Nashville Sound's top albums and songs of 2023https://thatnashvillesound.blogspot.com/2023/12/that-nashville-sounds-top-country-and_31.htmlhttps://thatnashvillesound.blogspot.com/2023/12/that-nashville-sounds-top-country-and.html
― Indexed, Tuesday, 2 January 2024 16:26 (two months ago) link