CMT Blog: Lifestyle

Sandra Bullock. Faith Hill. It doesn't matter who she is, Tim McGraw just wants to be around women who rule. In his new movie, The Blind Side, Bullock plays his wife who takes charge of every situation. McGraw tells Parade.com that he was at home with that. "In our family, my wife Faith Hill is very much in control of our life. She works out everybody's schedule. I wouldn't be able to function without her. So I can totally relate to a wife like that, and I feel that it is a blessing for me because I would be a mess without her giving me that kind of structure." How nice is that? While some men (my own husband, for one) would find a take-charge woman controlling, McGraw says Hill's a blessing. The article is about way more than the way the McGraw/Hill household is run, but to me, that says it all. That, and the fact that he made the list of the hottest celebs in the upcoming Sexiest Man Alive issue of People.

The song that was in Kristian Bush's head all day on Tuesday (Nov. 17)? Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." He calls it the most genius song in a career for a woman who is growing up. "Miley's 15 being 16," he said in this short but jam-packed interview at Chicago radio station WUSN (US99). Jennifer Nettles admits to loving the rock band Phoenix and to not really knowing how famous they were until they were asked to be on Sesame Street. Then they take time to answer a question from a Twitter follower about their recurring use of "Joey" in their songs. Bush compares it to the way Bruce Springsteen sings about "Maria" all the time. "It's an ongoing story. Joey died as a teenager, then comes back as a football hero," he laughs. The duo was in Chicago taping an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, or as Nettles says, "getting everybody in the fa, la, la, la spirit." Their Oprah appearance will air on Nov. 30.

That's what he said. "I couldn't go pop with an ass full of firecrackers," were the exact words Tim McGraw used in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show. They talk incessantly about sports, Peyton Manning, the potential of coaching at LSU and what his "man cave" looks like. (Recliner and 72-inch flat screen and not much else.) But eventually they get around to talking about music. McGraw admits he's a huge '70s rock fan. He said he likes to play the Eagles, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, the Little River Band and Led Zeppelin. Of his daughters, McGraw admits, "They're not fans of my music. They're good girls, but dad's just uncool to them." Oh, yeah, he also talks about how great his new movie, The Blind Side, is.

With a little bit of downtime at the office this week, I finally had a chance to read Beautiful Mess, an autobiography by Diamond Rio that was released a few months ago. It's a quick read and an insightful look at all six guys in the award-winning band, famous for hits like "Meet in the Middle," "How Your Love Makes Me Feel," "I Believe" and "One More Day." I was lucky enough to see them play a county fair in the early 1990s when they were just getting started, and it might even have been my first country concert. However, much of the storyline of the book involves their live performances over the last seven or eight years when Marty Roe just wasn't cutting it vocally. It got so bad that their longtime sound engineer quit the job after repeatedly getting jeered by nearby audience members.

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Coming up as a journalist, I was encouraged to read as much as I could, to learn how to tell a story well. During an interview about his new album, Somedays the Song Writes You, I asked Guy Clark if songwriters should take the same tactic. "Yeah, of course, and read something good, too," he said. "Read Dylan Thomas or listen to it. I just got a new CD of the whole Under Milk Wood play. Every time Townes (Van Zandt) and I thought we were pretty hot shit writers, we would put on a tape of Dylan Thomas reading."

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If you can only read, afford or rationalize one magazine this month and you love reading about lifestyles of the rich and down-to-earth country stars, you will have to make a very tough choice. On newsstands right now are two tempting reads. There's the People Country "I Count My Blessings" issue with Alan Jackson and his wife, Denise, on the cover, as well as the December InStyle with Taylor Swift.

People is typically a lifestyle read and not so much about the music, so I was pleased to see sections on the 10 songs that changed Keith Urban's life, the music teacher who gave Carrie Underwood the courage to sing, the song that makes Martina McBride happy (Bach's "Air on a G String") and the story behind Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes."

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Sugarland captured their third consecutive CMA Award for duo of the year on Wednesday night (Nov. 11), capping a very successful 2009. Although there have been numerous highlights -- multi-platinum certifications, a network TV special, a new Christmas album -- Jennifer Nettles was forced to cancel several tour dates this year due to nagging health concerns. She fielded a question about it during a visit to the press room backstage at the CMA Awards.

"This year I started out on a limp leg because I was randomly sick several times before we went on the road. That started me out, when we were on the road, still dealing with that," she said.

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After the CMA Awards, it is certainly no secret that Taylor Swift is in style. But now she is, quite literally, InStyle. The December issue of the thick-as-a-phonebook fashion magazine features Swift on the cover. But not just any old glam shot. This one is in 3-D. Gimmicky? Sure. But cool enough for any and all Swift fans to rush out and buy one on their local newsstands next Friday (Nov. 20). You apparently just hold the cover up to your webcam and watch Swift come to life. A red bow will unravel off the page, snow will start falling and Swift will welcome viewers with a holiday greeting. Sorry for the spoiler alert. But if it's just sitting there on the magazine rack, you may not know all the 3-D fun that's in store for you.

I was a red carpet virgin. I only saw what everyone else saw on television. But last night (Nov. 10), I was able to be part (a quiet, out-of-the-way part) of the BMI Country Awards. And since BMI represents something like 400,000 songwriters, composers and publishers, that was an invitation I was not about to turn down.

So as the country stars were walking up the carpet, being interviewed by what seemed like an endless stream of television cameras, I just watched them in all their charming glory. And I really mean that. There wasn't a diva in the bunch.

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This last weekend with Jason Aldean was a blast, as could be expected. And although we were in Missouri and Nebraska, the weather was fantastic! In both cities, we made time to play some basketball in the afternoon before the show, and both days, Chris, our drummer, beat me several times. He's either really good, or I'm not that good -- but most likely a combination of the two.

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