I just watched Heartworn Highways last night. It’s a great music film, a snapshot of the mid-70’s Nashville and Austin outlaw music scene. It features Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, David Allan Coe, Steve Young, a very young Steve Earle, and Townes Van Zandt (among a lot of others). In this clip, Townes has just got [...]

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As I sit to type this, I’m watching American Idol contestant Kristy Lee Cook absolutely BUTCHER the Beatles song “8 Days a Week”. An uptempo, countrified version. Buhhh-leck. “Dolly Parton on helium”, says Simon. Lucky for me I don’t watch American Idol. Oh sh - -, caught!

So anyway, here’s Alabama 3 with a version [...]

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The closest I ever came to going through a country music phase was during the summer of 1992. I had just graduated from college, and my plan was to jump into a career in law enforcement. Since a high school internship with my local police department, I had my sights set on being a police [...]

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Because few things beat a good ol’ heartbreakin’ Dwight Yoakam ballad, I give you two of my favorites.
Dwight Yoakam - Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room (mp3)
Buy:

Dwight Yoakam - 1,000 Miles (mp3)
Buy:

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I’m in the John Prine state of mind.
I guess it was a year ago about this time when I professed my love for The Missing Years album. Another track popped up tonight while I was holding my youngest daughter, getting ready to give her a bath. I immediately stopped in my tracks, and we spent [...]

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Tonight I’m reaching back to the archives to my favorite Dwight Yoakam album, 1990’s If There Was a Way. It’s a great record start to finish, and my cassette - yes cassette - got many many listens in its day. Dwight has always remained a steadfastly old-school country-boogie-swingin’ honky-tonk man.
My two favorites off the [...]

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On October 31st, Mercury/UM released Johnny Cash in Ireland, an hour long concert DVD of a 1993 performance at the Olympia Theater in Dublin. He is joined by his wife June, the Carter Family,and Kris Kristofferson. If you’re a Cash fan, then you probably want to have this.
the approximately one-hour-long concert showcases Cash singing many [...]

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My appreciation for country music has always lied squarely outside of the Nashville mainstream country machine. I’ll take the old school country any day of the week: the Willies, Waylons, and Johnny Cashes. But the manufactured new school of country will never interest me. Not to knock ‘em, but I don’t see myself ever getting [...]

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‘Tis a good thing to hear a well written, beautifully sung song. The words of Kris Kristofferson and the voice of Rosanne Cash come together quite nicely in “Lovin’ Him Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)”. The song (”Lovin’ HER” was the original) first appeared on Kristofferson’s 1971 album The Silver Tongued Devil [...]

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I have two words for Steve Earle: You dog!! He must have the charms of Casanova, because he continues to seduce the ladies into taking his hand in marriage. His latest - sixth, seventh, eighth? - bride is none other than the lovely and very talented Allison Moorer. I’m not privy to the story behind [...]

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