Ke$ha & Pitbull Blend A Country Vibe Into “Timber” Hit
Back in July of 2012, I placed my chips on the square that said that sometime in the future pop star Ke$ha would be a big player in the country music realm, and that when she did, she would be huge....
View ArticleEDM Replacing Rap As The Scourge of Country Radio
Whereas 2013 seemed to be dominated by country rap singles, 2014 has so far been the story of EDM, or Electronic Dance Music. Though EDM and hip hop can sometimes be mistaken for each other, especially...
View ArticleEDM in Country Is Here with Avicii and Bobby Bones
EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, is making a big move into country music with one of the world's biggest EDM stars in Avicii, and he's doing it with the help of none other than notorious Clear Channel...
View ArticleJerrod Niemann Is No Willie or Waylon (A History Lesson)
Tuesday was the release of Jerrod Niemann's dumb new album High Noon, and before we've even had a chance to really delve into just how much of a mockery it makes of country music, Niemann's already out...
View ArticleSong Review –“Medicine” by Shakira feat. Blake Shelton
Shakira isn't just releasing this song in her home genre of pop. It has entered the Country Airplay charts this week at #57. "Medicine" is Shakira's "gone country" moment. All that said, "Medicine" as...
View ArticleJohnny Cash’s “Out Among The Stars” Tops Charts at #1
Johnny Cash is once again the big man in music as his recently-released "lost" album Out Among The Stars has come in at #1 on the Country Albums chart, and #3 on the all-encompassing album sales chart...
View ArticleRonnie Dunn’s “Peace, Love & Country Music”
To do Ronnie Dunn and his new album Peace, Love & Country Music justice, one doesn't need to write an album review, one needs to do something in between an in-depth psychoanalysis and a diagramming...
View ArticleAs Predicted, “Bro-Country” Is Now a Term of Endearment
Just as I've been saying ever since the term "bro-country" was widely adopted by naysayers of the current male-dominated laundry list phenomenon in country music, eventually it would be co-opted by the...
View ArticleAnthony Bourdain Bemoans The Rise of EDM Over Live Music
On last week's episode of CNN's Emmy Award-winning program Parts Unknown hosted by Anthony Bourdain, the well-known chef spouted off about the state of live music and EDM's involvement when touring Las...
View ArticleCountry Music Writes A Letter to Jamey Johnson
Jamey. Jamey Johnson. Yeah, hey man, it's your old pal country music here. Sorry to bother you like this out of the blue and everything, but it looks like I've kind of gotten myself into a mighty big...
View ArticleJerrod Niemann’s “Donkey” (Review & Rant)
Country is the only genre of music on planet Earth where the midlife crises of its artists play out on the airwaves and populate the very top of the charts, effecting the sonic path of the entire...
View ArticleCountry Music Entering A New Remix Era
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the remix era of country music, where the worst "country" songs get regurgitated with an overlayed rapper or EDM twist, repackaged to terrorize the eardrums of the...
View ArticleAlmost Every Major Country Artist Now Has Same Talent Agency
Just think about this for a second: Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Brady Paisley, Miranda Lambert, and Rascal Flatts are all now managed by the same exact...
View ArticleBefore They Sucked: Big Country Stars at the Start
When you look back at some of the early songs, early albums, and even the early image of some of country's biggest current stars, it can stimulate downright culture shock. Of course styles change...
View ArticleMono-Genre Watch: Pitbull Riles the World Cup
When it comes to mixing music forms with no regard for the autonomy or integrity of the respective genres, Latin rapper Pitbull is popular music's prime culprit. As evidenced in the massive hit...
View ArticleTaylor Swift Is Leaving Country. But Will Country Let Her?
Welp, that's that. Gauging from the comments made in Rolling Stone's current country music special edition by the CEO of Big Machine Records aka the Country Music Antichrist Scott Borchetta, we can now...
View ArticleThe Worst “Country” Songs of 2014 So Far
The middle point of 2014 finds so called "bro-country" in full throat, with its death grips around the neck of the country music genre and threatening to throttle the very life out of it with no prayer...
View ArticleWhy Jerrod Niemann’s “Donkey” Was His Waterloo
When you live by the bit, you die by the bit. And Jerrod Niemann has just been bitten in the ass by a "Donkey." Early on when you looked at the amount of "adds" the song was getting on radio, it did...
View ArticleCountry Is Now Pop: Sam Hunt’s “Leave The Night On”
This is not a review, this is a warning. Sam Hunt's "Leave The Night On" is a potential swan song for what we define as country music today, more than any song that has come before. I know, you're...
View ArticleJason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down” (A Roast)
Oh Jason, this is most unfortunate. Since Jason Aldean has re-entered the single life after getting caught in a douche-soaked nightclub on the Sunset Strip handling up on some American Idol...
View Article55 People Arrested, 22 Hospitalized at Keith Urban Concert
A total of 55 arrests and 46 medical incidents, including 22 people transported to hospitals, marred a Keith Urban concert event in Mansfield, Massachusetts Saturday (7-26) night at the Xfinity Center...
View ArticleMan Accused of Rape at Keith Urban Concert While Others Watch
According to the Sun Chronicle, 18-year-old concertgoer 18-year-old Sean Murphy raped a 17-year-old girl during the concert, while 15 or more concert attendees stood around and watched, many taking...
View ArticleThe Deal with Taylor Swift’s Aug. 18th Press Conference (A Spoiler)
Ooooh! Ahhhh! What forever will Taylor Swift announce when she holds her much-anticipated live Yahoo video stream and Q&A on August 18th at 5:00 PM Eastern???? .... Give me a break. The histrionics...
View ArticleAlbum Review – Jason Aldean’s “Old Boots, New Dirt”
Bad mouth Jason Aldean's previous accomplishments all you want, but heretofore his career has been defined by the defiant spirit of interior America's lost populous---disenfranchised and forgotten in...
View ArticleNo Really, Sam Hunt’s “Montevallo” is NOT Country
In a nutshell, Sam Hunt and Montevallo are not country, and this goes beyond opinion. So what that a couple of songs feature a banjo or a steel guitar. This arguably makes the offense even worse...
View ArticleSaving Country Music’s Worst Country Songs of 2014
The downward spiral for mainstream country music continues as evidenced by the following list of some of the most horrible offerings of 2014. With how terrible these selections are, you could consider...
View ArticleCountry Music’s Biggest Winners & Losers in 2014
2014 has been a year of great flux in country music, with some legendary successes by independent artists and new mainstream artists, and the shuffling out of other artists and the fumbling of what...
View ArticleMetro-Politan: Country Music’s New Cancer
The next menace was country rap, symbolized by Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road Anthem" becoming the biggest country single in all of 2011. Then country rap gave way to Bro-Country---the most dominant torment...
View ArticleBillboard’s Country Charts at a Critical Crossroads
In 2015, the names and music residing at the top of Billboard's respective genre charts seems topsy-turvy and misguided. While Sam Hunt and his music that resembles next to nothing country is at the...
View ArticleSo How Are All of Those Trend Chasing Country Songs Doing Anyway?
If you're going to release a country music song that is likely to completely alienate the core of your fan base and cut against the grain of all of the long-standing principles of your career, it...
View ArticleCouple Responsible for Assault on Producer Dave Brainard Surrenders to Police
The brutal assault against country music producer Dave Brainard that occurred in the early morning hours Sunday, September 27th on Demonbreun Street in Nashville near Music Row, has finally been...
View ArticleA Bigger Concern for Country Than Some Festivals Going Belly Up
As Bro-Country was on the rise, think pieces all across media questioned the sustainability of such shallow music. And it turns out they were right. Florida Georgia Line and others brought throngs of...
View ArticleCurb Records is Trying to Mount a Comeback
When LeAnn Rimes and Hank Williams III fought very public battles with the label, people chalked it up to a couple of artists with declining careers who couldn't handle being professional. But after...
View ArticleThe Worst Country Songs of 2016 So Far
Every year we wonder if it can get any worse, and while there are positive signs for country music's future all over the place, the bad stuff somehow continues to only get worse. The only saving grace...
View ArticleSaving Country Music’s WORST Songs of 2016
Everywhere we turn, there are signs that the tide is turning in country music for the better. Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson are turning the tables on the awards shows, a new generation of...
View ArticleLee Brice Is Back. And “Boy” Is Worth The Hype
Lee Brice has built his career not off of catchy singles, but songs that straddle the lines between emotional substance and commercial aptitude, making him a bright spot of Music Row, despite a few...
View ArticleAlbum Review – Wayd Battle’s “Powerless”
"Battle" is about the perfect last name for Wayd. Eternally situated between sin and redemption, rich and poor, sauced and sober, successful and forgotten, this is where you'll find Wayd's soul and...
View ArticleBilly Currington’s “Intuition” is the Worst ‘Country’ Album Ever
My Lord is this is bad. But it's one of these instances where it's so terrible, it's actually hilarious. I heard about this monstrosity, cued it up on the music streaming service of choice, and started...
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