New Music From Nashville

Tim McGraw via last.fm

NEW VIDEO! Tim McGraw "Still"
See the exclusive world premiere of Tim McGraw new music video, "Still," only at CMT.com.
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Tim McGraw "Still"

Tim McGraw | Tim McGraw Videos | New Country Songs

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NEW VIDEO! Carrie Underwood, "Undo It"
See the exclusive world premiere of Carrie Underwood’s new music video, “Undo It,” only at CMT and CMT.com.
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NEW VIDEO! Lee Brice "Love Like Crazy"
Check out the World Premiere music video from Lee Brice, "Love Like Crazy," at CMT.com.

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NEW VIDEO! LoCash Cowboys "Here Comes Summer"
Check out the new music video from LoCash Cowboys, "Here Comes Summer," at CMT.com.

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NEW ALBUM LEAK! Lonestar: Party Heard Around the World
Check out the new album from Lonestar: Party Heard Around the World. Hear it before you can buy it, at CMT.com.

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NEW ALBUM LEAK! Mary Chapin Carpenter: The Age of Miracles
Check out the new album from Mary Chapin Carpenter: The Age of Miracles. Hear it before you can buy it, at CMT.com.

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NEW VIDEO! Brad Paisley "Water"
Check out the new music video from Brad Paisley, "Water," at CMT.com.

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NEW VIDEO! Laura Bell Bundy "Drop On By"
Check out the World Premiere music video from Laura Bell Bundy, "Drop On By," at CMT.com.

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The CMA Opinion

Image via Wikipedia

What kind of crazy screwed up world do we live in where the CMAs are better than the VMAs?

One in which the big winner is an MTV castoff, considered to be too old and too unhip for the mainstream.

No, I'm not talking about Taylor Swift, I'm talking about Hootie! Yup, Darius Rucker!

He may have only won Best New Artist, but he won the evening, he was the only award winner to get a spontaneous standing ovation, for not only his achievement, but the sincerity and honesty of his acceptance speech.

Darius was the anti-Kanye. Without going all Uncle Tom, he spoke of acceptance by the community. Like Nashville and country radio are really going to embrace a faded black rocker from South Carolina? And he thanked his wife and three kids. For being understanding while he was gone, on the road, trying to earn a living. And believe me, that's what it takes. Show me a divorced country singer and you might find evidence of infidelity, but the true breaking point was the absence, the lack of contact, as the performer traipsed around the country, in much less glamorous circumstances than the public believes, hawking himself and his music, just to stay in the game. And Darius thanked Doc McGhee. Isn't it fascinating that Bon Jovi's old manager had Nashville success with a rocker with one tenth the footprint of his old client and Bon Jovi failed miserably in the country sphere? Maybe because Darius Rucker seemed to play by Nashville's rules. Rather than just add a banjo, he focused on songwriting, telling stories, not looking to crash the party so much as gain entrance.

And for all the flash on the VMAs, isn't it honesty and human emotion that truly sells music? Whilst the rappers are beating us over the head, telling us how great they are, in Nashville you lead with your music. Mr. Rucker played by the rules and won. A heartwarming story.

And although hokey, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood were great hosts. Made me wonder whether musicians should act, play roles, read lines at all, but they made the most of it. Rather than being wooden, they played along with the script, almost seeming to exist outside of it. To the point where you felt like members of your family were on stage performing. And stunningly, since they seem to fail in every awards show in which they're used, their comedy songs were actually funny, and endearing.

The performances?

Too many acts were hyping their next single as opposed to the hit fans wanted to hear. Instead of being a celebration, it was a marketing opportunity.

And then there were strange choices. Why did Zac Brown and his band perform "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"? I expected Charlie Daniels to come out on stage. But he didn't. At least not in the fast-forwarded images that flew by on my screen. You couldn't play "Chicken Fried" or "Toes"?

And there's something about Ronnie Dunn that just bugs me. I guess it's the hair most. How much time and goop did you expend getting it to look like that? And while I'm at it, what's up with Kix Brooks' porn star moustache? Still, they truly rocked. And my buddy Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top sat in with them. Although their regular guitarist got most of the licks. Which is deserving, since he's on the road and the band is expiring. For how long? Who knows? You know the comeback is near...

And speaking of comebacks... How weird is Naomi Judd? Hi-def makes those facelifts unmistakable. And Wynonna, I feel for you, having that mother. But can you spend a little less time in the tanning booth? Or just have them spray on a lighter layer of brown/gold?

Tim McGraw needed a better song.

Miranda Lambert performed better than when I saw her in that club, but "Gunpowder & Lead" was a scorcher, a "Tumbling Dice" with "Rocks Off" speed. "White Liar" may be a single, but it's an album track.

And Carrie, you're lovable, but can you release a different album? The formula is so curdled, even a baby couldn't swallow this milk. How about a down and dirty record about how you really feel. How about a little Loretta Lynn with the gloss.

And speaking of rockers, Dave Matthews got a big ovation sitting in with Kenny Chesney. Dave can't get arrested on MTV, but he does boffo at the b.o., and his fans scooped up more of his new album than that of almost any MTV star. Who's the winner here? Certainly not the flavor of the moment on the VMAs.

And it wouldn't be a CMA Awards show without Kid Rock, who handled himself admirably. But what's up with the seventies sunglasses? Are they coming back?

And I like Lady Antebellum, but who could love them? Their material is so bland. Kind of substandard Brewer & Shipley. But credit Gary Borman. He built them into award winners. And Keith Urban is on a juggernaut!

I guess you're wondering how good the show could have been if I'm making these criticisms.

Yes, too much of today's country is formula, not exceptional.

But at least they're promoting songs. Which you can sing along to, however evanescent they might be.

And Taylor Swift is the entertainer of the year. Not only in country, but America at large. When you're nineteen, and everybody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them. But they'll forget about you soon if you don't keep working, keep delivering the hits. Her performance of Fifteen was absolutely horrible...where the hell was the Melodyne program last night? That's the reality Hootie spoke of.

And that's the truth.

Garth Brooks via last.fm

I guess they don't have Internet down in Oklahoma.

Or maybe Garth Brooks is still on dialup, or is too busy taking his kids to school to know what's really going on.

Apple destroyed the music business. Apple must be stopped.

Isn't that like fighting in Afghanistan when Al-Qaeda is in Pakistan?

Oops!

But this is the same government Mr. Brooks wants to protect and save the music business.

That damn Apple, allowing people to BUY single tracks! Things were much better prior to the iTunes Store, when listeners just STOLE THEM! Hell, why don't we wipe out not only iTunes, but Amazon, let's forgo licensing any Internet distribution, that'll solve the problem! I hate this crap. I write for a living and I think I am entitled to be paid for that.

As for half a day of silence... Only an old fart residing in the nineties would believe that radio still has that kind of power, that everybody's still listening. Under the first sale doctrine, we own our music, and we're listening on our iPods without worrying about what the broadcasters are purveying in between the twenty two minutes of commercials per hour.

Well, we've got to ban the iPod too!

But didn't the RIAA already try that? Suing to stop its predecessor, the Diamond Rio? They didn't win that one...

I sympathize with where Mr. Brooks is coming from. Creators should be compensated. Then again, how much? Just because you're a musician, are you entitled to be rich, to fly on a private jet?

Tell that to every other industry that's been mauled by the Internet...

No more online travel booking! You can't use Orbitz, you must go to a travel agent!

And while you're at it, no more Internet news. You've got to buy the aged news in the newspaper every morning. Or worse, listen to the inane talking heads on TV. Less information is better!

Funny how those who used to have power don't like the Internet flashlight, that sends a beam into the nooks and crannies of the power elite's business.

While we're at it, why don't we bring back Tommy Mottola! And J. Lo! You can't watch videos online, you've got to sit endlessly in front of the television, waiting for them to come up on MTV! And if you like a niche act, not a superstar like Mr. Brooks, if you like Steve Earle more than Brad Paisley, you never get to see him at all! Tough noogies!

Vegas is the right place for you Garth. It's where all the has-beens go.

I don't mind a conflicting opinion. It's ignorance I abhor.

You've got to start with the facts. People can steal music at will. How do you create a better mousetrap, that allows everyone to partake whilst paying? That's the Spotify model, that's the MOG model, that's the future we're working towards.

But you'd rather jet us back to the past.

It's like Michael J. Fox sitting at home watching reruns of "Family Ties", doomed to endure the terrible effects of Parkinson's disease. Mr. Fox didn't ask to get sick. Just like the Internet was not founded to allow people to steal music. But rather than accept his fate and stay in the past, Mr. Fox has established a foundation, he's fighting Parkinson's, he wants to go back to the FUTURE! Where he's no longer twenty, but he's older and disease free.

You get to a better place not by quelling rebellions, by denying technology, but by starting in the present and working towards the future. Isn't that the model you employed Garth? Seeing KISS and recasting their success in country music?

I've seen you perform. You're phenomenal.

But like the progenitors, your inspiration, the men in make-up, you're a has-been. And few want your new music. The way you earn our trust is making it less about you, and more about us. Hey, isn't that what the Net's about? Stop talking horseshit about retirement and truly get in the game. Create some great new material. Start tweeting, employ Facebook to get the message out. See what it's really like out there before you start running your mouth, commenting when you're clueless.

http://www.cmt.com/news/nashville-skyline/1624496/nashville-skyline-garth-brooks-goes-back-to-work.jhtml