CMT Blog: Recent Posts

Thank you, Sheryl Crow, for giving me a real legit reason to tune into the much-talked-about new show, Cougar Town. Until now, I've only heard bad things: Courteney Cox plays a divorced woman on the prowl for men and talks incessantly about sex with anyone who will listen, like her neighbor/friend Ellie and her assistant/friend Laurie. (Ellie is the young mom. Laurie is the slut.) Enter the always classy Crow, who will play a recurring romantic rival to Cox' character, Jules. The story is that Jules' mission to hook up with her neighbor Grayson will be thwarted by Crow's arrival. The series is one of those trashy indulgences you wish you didn't like, but you do. And having Crow on a few episodes will make it even more addictive. I can't wait to see if her character will be the girl so perfect you hate her or just another narcissistic cougar out to snag a boy toy.

I loved Blake Shelton's album, Pure BS, from 2007. I thought it was one of his best. One of country's best, even. But you know how it goes: you get obsessed with a CD and then you just kind of overdose on it -- "The More I Drink," "She Don't Love Me," "The Last Country Song" and "She Can't Get That." It was pretty much all I listened to for what seemed like the past couple years. While I liked his other albums, too, I just kept coming back to Pure BS. So now I'm psyched to see that he has new music that he is delivering in a whole new way. Instead of just one 10-song CD, he's releasing two six-song CDs. Hillbilly Bone, the first so-called Six Pak comes out March 2. Then in August, he'll put out another Six Pak of new stuff. "Fans will get more music than me putting out a new album every two years," he said. So enough with the Pure BS. I am so ready for a couple of Six Paks.

They might've come for the rodeo. But after the 1,800-pound bulls had gone back into the exit chute and the cowboys had all packed up their chaps, the audience stuck around. That's because Jake Owen gave the Chicago crowd a whole lot of reasons to stay put for his post-rodeo concert on Friday night (Feb. 5). For one, Owen can flat-out sing. There is nothing his rich baritone voice can't do. And, he writes good-timin' songs perfect for this kind of show. He also seems to have a knack for putting together a set list to keep the party going after two hours of bull riding, starting with "Yee Haw" and "Startin' With Me" (in double time) and then getting right into newer tunes like the sexy "Cherry on Top" and the hometown celebration that is "Every Reason I Go Back."

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If you fancy a little poker on Saturday nights, butter on your biscuit and a few scratch-off tickets, then you’re sure to enjoy country newcomer Josh Thompson’s debut single, “Beer on the Table.” Born in a small town near Milwaukee, Wis., Thompson grew up laying concrete for his father’s construction company and understands the demands of physical labor. “My work ethic is probably a big factor that shaped who I am as an artist,” he told me during an interview Monday (Feb. 8). “And that came from growing up in the concrete industry. My dad was big on making sure that I knew how to work.” Judging by his video, it’s plain to see how he spends his Friday nights and also his money -- with his buddies and some hard-earned brewsky. Sound familiar? Take a look.

In this Q&A with the Washington Post, Eric Church sounds very complicated. Maybe even a little conflicted. Because first he says, "Country music, the thing I love about it, more than any other music, it does represent real life and it represents Middle America better than any format." But then Church goes on to talk openly about his controversial song, "Lotta Boot Left to Fill." You know, the one where he criticizes his country music brethren? Like one-hit wonders and pretty boys acting tough, and how they sing about Johnny Cash but the man in black would've whipped their ass. And how if it looks good on TV it'll look good on a CD. Yeah, that one. After the head of his record label heard it for the first time, he told Church, "Well, I played 'Lotta Boot.' Eric, I'll be honest with you. A lot of people were pretty nervous when they heard it." But to Church, that was the very reason to get the song out there. "It makes you a little uncomfortable," he said.

Patty Loveless tackles the Harlan Howard classic "Busted" on her Mountain Soul II album and makes it her own using traditional bluegrass instrumentation. After growing up in Kentucky, those mournful sounds and her voice now seem made for each other. Her video finds a confused waitress who appears to stumble back in time to a strange moving picture parlor. Filled with men who ravenously crank away at their personal viewing machines -- including Buddy Apple, loyal sideman to Doyle & Debbie -- she gives one a try and sees Loveless in the viewfinder. Unfortunately, the waitress remains confused, but since she's got a job, at least she's not "busted."

We're only six weeks into the year and I've been pleased with the amount of new Americana music that's been coming my way. I think my favorite album title so far is Ray Wylie Hubbard's A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C) and if you listen closely, you might just get some answers from this perceptive Texan. I really like his electrified version of a song he wrote with Hayes Carll, "Drunken Poet's Dream." Another cool record I'd recommend is from I See Hawks in L.A., who have just released a compilation called Shoulda Been Gold 2001-2009. Even though I've heard their distinctive name for years, it's the first album I've heard by this band. Blending lonesome country with smart lyrics, I now realize I shoulda been paying more attention. Luckily I feel like this solid Gold brings me up to date, even if I am a decade late. At any rate, here's a sampling of some new Americana music from the last few weeks.

"Drunken Poet's Dream," Ray Wylie Hubbard
"Shoulda Been Gold," I See Hawks in L.A.
"Cumberland," Randy Kohrs
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If you are a country fan, today might be a good day to call in sick. Or at least take a really, really long lunch. That's because the latest issue of People Country is out and you won't want to miss a page (or a free download.) Cover boy Keith Urban tells the magazine that writing songs for Defying Gravity was almost like taking a moral inventory of himself. Taylor Swift admits that no one wanted her to record "Love Story" but that she knew in her head it would be magical. Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott talks about how "Need You Now" was inspired by her recent devastating break-up and that it was Lifetime movie-esque. Blake Shelton says he has a secret crush on Katy Perry. And then Kellie Pickler dishes on the dishes she served at her recent book club party to discuss the bestseller, The Help. They had cherry tomatoes with broccoli filling, baked Vidalia onion dip and pound cake with Kahlua cream. (Hopefully, all prepared by Pickler and not by "the help.")

I took some friends to a bull riding rodeo this weekend. I know. A rodeo? In Chicago? It hardly ever happens, so I wanted to get my group in the mood with good country music about boots, chaps, cowboy hats, spurs and latigo. And just the wild rides in general. Some are about going to a rodeo, some are actually being in the rodeo, some are about dying during one, some about holding on for dear life and some are just about that cowboy way of life.

"Good Ride Cowboy," Garth Brooks
"Lonesome Rodeo Cowboy," George Strait
"Bull Rider," Johnny Cash
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Yesterday (Feb. 4) I wrote about Carrie Underwood's acting. Well, at least the 30 seconds I'd seen of it in her "Temporary Home" video. She seems like she is really taking that gift of hers seriously. Not only has she filmed an episode of How I Met Your Mother but now she's going to be in an actual movie. Remember that little girl Bethany Hamilton, the surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack when she was only 13? This movie, Soul Surfer, is about her, and Underwood will be playing the supporting role of a church youth leader. (Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid play Bethany's parents, and AnnaSophia Robb will be Bethany and will fare much better than she did in Bridge to Terabithia.) How Underwood is going to film a movie, go on tour all over America and Canada, plan a wedding AND THEN get married is beyond me. With a schedule like that, I wouldn't blame her at all if she turned into a bit of a bridezilla.

Photo credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images