CMT Blog: Songs

I'm still smiling from last night's (Aug. 10) show at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with renowned singer-songwriter and musician, Buddy Miller. This was his first of three shows as this year's artist-in-residence, an annual series featuring a unique and influential musician. Throughout the captivating two-hour performance, the intimate and cozy Ford Theater became enveloped by musical wisdom and matchless talent. From the moment Miller picked up his guitar, accompanied by a small band, until he waved good night, his entire performance was staggering.

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Even though cameras roll during an Invitation Only concert, the small audience always gives a candid feeling to the show. I'll be looking forward to seeing Miranda Lambert's turn in the intimate setting on Aug. 23 at 9 p.m. ET since she'll get a chance to tone down her usual rowdy performance. Highlights are said to include acoustic versions of "Air Stream Song" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," and she'll also play "The House That Built Me" and "White Liar." But the unique part of the show is the Q & A session with the audience. Having seen a few of these, the stars tend to open up a little more than usual for some reason. In the meantime, take a moment and enter to win some cool prizes through the CMT Invitation Only: Miranda Lambert Sweepstakes. The top winner gets a Sony HDTV, a Taylor guitar signed by Lambert and a copy of her latest album, Revolution.

Photo credit: Rick Diamond/Wire Image

Following his Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss on 2007's Raising Sand album, Robert Plant is back with a new project called Band of Joy, and this one promises to dig even deeper into Plant's love for Americana. For Led Zeppelin trivia heads, Plant and the late drummer John Bonham were in a group called Band of Joy before Zeppelin took off. But now the band is led by the sure hand of producer/guitarist Buddy Miller and features Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, Byron House and Marco Giovino as they uncover dusty American gems. In his video for "Angel Dance," Plant revives the old Los Lobos tune and sets it to images of young people and, well, joy. There's a distinctive swampy, industrial chug to Miller's production, while Plant's vocals occasionally drift up near the upper reaches of his famed range. As a bonus of sorts, Louis Perez and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos act as chauffeurs to Plant in what works as a cool metaphor for his exploration of the American musical landscape.

If it's Tuesday, it must be time to put down the beers and head to Wal-mart. That's the life Blake Shelton thinks his fans are living. "My fans aren't necessarily looking for music on the internet. I wouldn't know how to stream music if you put a gun to my head. We're more the kind that sit around watching John Wayne movies, drinkin' beer and then when the album comes out, we go down to Wal-mart and buy it," he told me last week.

And the album's out today (Aug. 10). All About Tonight has six songs that Shelton can rave about without sounding too full of himself because he didn't write them. Like "Draggin' the River," a song about young love and the girl's dad who doesn't understand it. Fiancée Miranda Lambert joins him on that one. Shelton told me she wanted to cut that one herself, and he said, "Bullshit you will. You already did that once with 'The House That Built Me.'" Then she suggested it would work as a duet.

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Today (Aug. 10) is the day you can get in on what the Zac Brown Band has going on. Specifically, you can preorder the new album on the band's website and download the insanely cool first single which they sing with Alan Jackson. It's called "As She's Walking Away" and it will be on ZBB's You Get What You Give album due out on Sept. 21. (If you pre-order, you'll have access to all kinds of goodies like an exclusive lithograph, a cookbook, a T-shirt and trucker cap, some cooking rub from Brown's own recipe and a chance to win a free cabin on the band's Sailing Southern Ground cruise next month). The new album will also feature vocals from another singer you may have heard of, Jimmy Buffett, on "Knee Deep." These Zac Brown Band guys do not mess around when they pick who to collaborate with.

I thought I could handle the Brooks & Dunn Last Rodeo show I saw last night (Aug. 8) in Chicago. I thought I'd seen them in concert enough that I'd be a bit cavalier about the whole thing and not get swept up in the emotions that come with the realization that this is it. The last time they will saunter down that catwalk. The last time Ronnie Dunn will bring out the "Neon Moon" guitar. The end of an era. But I was so, so wrong about keeping my cool. I was a mess.

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When you think Wall Street Journal, you may not think Taylor Swift. But the bottom line is, reporters are people, too. And some of those reporters are people who have little kids and can't help notice how much Swift's music had embedded itself into every inch of pop culture. So this reporter took it upon himself to analyze the lyrics to Swift's new song "Mine," saying it's "dotted with seemingly drawn-from-life details" and that "there's a strong sense of almost-instant nostalgia." And when he reflects on Swift's power over very young kids like his own, he says that young listeners are "nostalgic in reverse." I have to agree that reverse nostalgia works with so many country songs. I haven't sent any kids off to college yet, but Trace Adkins' "Then They Do" hit me hard anyway. And I may not know what it feels like to be married for 58 years, but when I get there, I'm sure I'll be singing Lee Brice's "Love Like Crazy."

Is it possible to take one song and see it two completely different ways? After seeing a new video for Lady Antebellum's "I Run to You," I have to say, absolutely. I thought the first one was so neat, with its pay-it-forward theme playing out in the coffee shop. But this new one shifts gears to be more about the band's performance and less about the story. That's just how director Christopher Sims intended it. "It's set on a rooftop in Nashville, like an artists' loft might look, because I wanted the band to be observers. They're looking down at the world from over the edge," he told me.

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Josh Ritter and Tift Merritt are braving the Southern summer heat with a few tour dates together, but even if it was the dead of winter, this would still be a hot ticket for fans of the smart singer-songwriters. They're both skilled at choosing exactly the right words to tell their stories, and they realize that distinct melodies are just as important as the lyrics when you're playing a crowded club.

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In new videos screened by the CMT New Music Video Evaluation Team recently, Kenny Chesney goes back to the football field, Miranda Lambert delivers a lesson and Bomshel get even.

Artist: Kenny Chesney
Video: "The Boys of Fall"
Director: Shaun Silva

Kenny Chesney previews footage from his forthcoming documentary film The Boys of Fall. Football legends from Bear Bryant to Joe Namath and Peyton Manning make appearances, along with many players from high school, college and pro teams.

Panelists' Comments: "That's good but it's really, really long." "Eight minutes!" "That's some great football footage."

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