CMT Blog: Video Blog

Sometimes (OK, a lot of times) when I hear a song, I don't always appreciate all the decisions that went in to making it sound like it does. Nor do I realize how a perfectionist like Keith Urban might analyze every nuance of a tune. So thank God for this studio session video he posted on his website, where he's telling producer Dann Huff why he thinks a song needs acoustic versus electric guitars. "Part of the problem is that it's a touchy riff to put electric on because it takes it to a specific place and maybe the goal should be to keep it acoustic," he says. He also suggests double-tracking and says, "If I track it with acoustic, and we keep it more rooted in the acoustic place, it might keep its originality more." After playing a few bars, he asks, "Just more swing to it, right?" Huff doesn't say much, but I think what he's thinking is, "How do you argue guitar riffs with Keith Urban?"

OK, I don't know if Blake Shelton has a mind like a steel trap, or if he just watched endless hours of television when he was an impressionable boy growing up in Oklahoma. Either way, this is great news for the Paul Meade Insurance agency in Oklahoma City. That's because their jingle tops Shelton's list of commercials on this week's Take 6 Tuesday on his website. He belts out their jingle with his own twangy baritone: "Protectin' all the things you own, like cars, trucks and mobile homes. Accidents and tickets, too, call and we'll take care of you." He also sings the memorable tunes from local companies like Moon-Baker Agency, Southwest Ford, First National Bank, Peter Piper Pizza and BC Clark.

If Blake Shelton loves this many shows on CMT alone, imagine how much television this man must watch. He admitted to having six favorite shows on CMT in his most recent Take 6 Tuesday (May 25) video blog on his website. But actually, there was a tie for the number six slot between Gator 911 and Nanny 911. He thinks they should combine the two into one show. And he really does love Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, but only the Kellie Pickler episode. And My Big Redneck Wedding, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and Can You Duet? But his No. 1 show on CMT is the upcoming CMT Music Awards. "Not only am I up for an award, but so is Laura Bell Bundy," he says of his Twitter-banter pal.

What's Taylor Swift been up to lately? I think the better question is, what hasn't she been up to? In a recent five-minute video blog (A TaylorTV Exclusive, she calls it) on her MySpace page, you can see her playing basketball in a school gym, making birthday cake for her brother Austin's 18th, having an Easter egg hunt, filming her background singer Liz Huett while she is sleeping, boating, bowling with Selena Gomez, bringing Katy Perry out to sing with her at a Los Angeles show and then going to Liz Rose's wedding at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas right after the Academy of Country Music Awards. Rose co-wrote "Tim McGraw," "Teardrops on My Guitar," "White Horse" and "You Belong with Me" with Swift. The song that's playing throughout the video, if you're wondering, is "She (for Liz)" by a pop rock boy band Parachute.

Every Tuesday (well, maybe not every single one, but most of them for sure), Blake Shelton tapes this little video blog with his random Top 6 list. So while it's nice to read his tweets occasionally and get his dry wit in his songs, his sense of humor comes through best in these mini one-sided conversations. Like when he talks about the Top 6 words that should never be used in a country song, like "Pewaukee," "skankalicious" and "badonkadonk." He'd had "douchebag" on the list, too, but changed his mind. There's also a video blog about the Top 6 people he's met in the business and one about inappropriate New Year's Eve toasts. Then there are the Top 6 people he follows on Twitter: tmkansas, officialpeta, joe bonsall, luckymaneddie, camelranch and, of course, martinamcbride. Why the last one? "Because," Shelton jokes, "she's ALWAYS drunk."

She may consider herself a "Backwoods Barbie," but today (Nov. 24), Dolly Parton is a bona fide city girl with the opening of her Dolly Parton's Trinkets & Treasures store right in downtown Nashville. It's in an old storefront on 2nd Avenue, right next door to the Wildhorse Saloon. Her music and videos will fill the air as her fans can pick up CDs, DVDs, T-shirts, hats, mugs and things for kids and tweens. And if you are one of the first 500 shoppers to spend more than $20, you'll get a free Backwoods Barbie tour book. I know from her video blog that Parton loves this time of year because she says, "The colors that God paints all the leaves with are amazing, and that cool morning air that you only feel in the autumn is just this side of heaven." So it makes sense that she'd choose fall to open the store. Well, that and the fact that even in a crummy economy, music memorabilia makes a perfect Christmas gift for any country lovers on your list.

As an aspiring musician, Suzy Bogguss used to travel around the U.S. in her camper van, singing Western tunes and sweet ballads along the way. She's recreating that experience with her family this summer by visiting lots of natural wonders and playing a few shows, too. She's documenting the journey with several video blogs on her Web site. It sure is fun to hear her yodeling at the pot luck dinner. She's writing quite a few blogs as well, so you can catch up on her visits to the Arches National Park and her rafting trip down the Colorado River, and stay tuned as she makes her way to Yellowstone later this week.

Editor's note: A native of Australia, singer-songwriter is no stranger to Nashville, but she's learning more about the CMA Music Festival through her travels around downtown Nashville this week. Fisher's current single and music video is titled "Don't Chase Me."

Editor's note: Newcomer Shea Fisher is grabbing attention with her spirited video for "Don't Chase Me." This week, the Australian-born singer-songwriter is making her presence known at the CMA Music Festival, meeting fans and learning that the U.S. and Australia are perhaps divided by a common language.

Editor's note: Chuck Wicks will be providing video blogs throughout this week's CMA Music Festival in Nashville. This time around, he takes you backstage at the Country Weekly fashion show at the Wildhorse Saloon.