...Beautiful Mess

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Will tour with Dixie Chicks Hurt Keith Urban?

The Eagles, Keith Urban, and the Dixie Chicks recently announced their new tour for Summer 2010. This will be the first Dixie Chicks tour in four years, since lead singer Natalie Maines made her infamous statement at one of their shows in London.

We don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.

Not only was the statement unpatriotic, it was extremely bad timing as in the years directly following 9/11 the people of the United States were truly supporting the mind set of:

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

This tour then begs the question, what does this say about Keith Urban? As an avid Urban fan, I go to every concert of his within a reasonable distance. This summer will mark the third Keith Urban show I have attended, and every time I see him, they get better and better. It would take a lot for me to lose respect for Keith Urban as an artist. He is one of the best in country music today. Urban is a talented singer, songwriter, entertainer, and musician. The guitar skills of both Brad Paisley and Keith Urban are enough to make them stand out in the music industry.

I have never got the impression that Keith Urban really gets involved in the politics of the business. Live and in interviews, Keith seems down to earth, a man who loves his fans and the music he plays. In his defense, it would be hard to turn down an opportunity to play with The Eagles despite the presence of the Dixie Chicks. I also think we can't pass too much judgement on Keith as this is The Eagles tour, not his. Including the Dixie Chicks says more about The Eagles than it does about Keith Urban.

However, with the amount of money I spend almost annually to see Keith Urban Live, a show with the Dixie Chicks is the ONE Keith Urban Show that I would pass up. Yes, there are a few Dixie Chicks songs such as Cowboy Take Me Away still on my iPod but I no longer support the group. Free speech isn't ever free, and you will pay the price for what you say.

Maines should have thought about the demographics of her target audience before making such an un-American, left-wing statement. Politics of the statement aside, the president of the United States deserves respect. If someone that I did not vote for is elected, my attitude has been similar to a John Wayne statement:

I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job.

Alienating listeners, or potential listeners makes statements like these impossible to forget. These statements define your character as an artist and your ability to relate to your audience. If people can no longer relate to the lyrics of your songs, they will no longer listen to you or think that you are genuine.

In recent events, Miley Cyrus should have taken a hint from the Dixie Chicks and thought about who she might offend in her comments to PARADE magazine calling country music "contrived." Personally, I have never been a huge Cyrus fan but now I won't become one either.

It is unfortunate that the presence of the Dixie Chicks on this tour could limit audience size for Keith Urban and The Eagles. I think the best bet for the girls of the Dixie Chicks is to continue without Maines in their bluegrass group the Courtyard Hounds

Click on the image above for tour dates and ticket info.

Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean at the 1ST Bank Center

Stupid Cowboy Hat #1

Cowboys can be hot; given, this does come from the girl who always goes for the wrong guy. Anyone who knows me will tell you that guy in boots with his button up western-type shirt, tall and blonde--preferably a guy that looks like Dierks Bently--is my type.

However, awhile back I was sitting at dinner with my dad and we started to notice all the cowboy hats around us, the stupid ones that is. I now have stupid cowboy hat radar. Some of these hats should never leave the house, no self respecting cowboy would be caught dead in these hats. I'll try to post them as I see them (anonymously of course).

Stupid Cowboy Hat No. 1- I wish you could see this one better, saw him on my way to school. The hat has tassels on it. And he had a pony tail that was in a braid--unless you're Trace Adkins--chop off the pony tail.

Saw this sign in Maui...it made me smile!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Today Tomorrow & Forever, I will Always Have a Broken Heart?

I Fall To Pieces by Patsy Cline More Patsy Cline music on iLike

Patsy Cine is one of country music’s female legends. Some of her songs are some of my all time favorites. Who doesn’t love a classic like “Crazy” or “I fall to pieces”?

But can anyone really listen to a whole Patsy Cline album? I attempted it once, and for the first time I realized just how depressing all of her songs are. 90% of them are about a man she lost and her broken heart.

Let’s just take a look at the some of the song titles from the Patsy Cline AlbumToday, Tomorrow, & Forever (yes, I do mean actual album) in my collection:

Walkin’ After Midnight (ok so you need the lyrics to feel the mood of this one, but depressing)
Love me, Love Me, Honey Do
A Church, A Courtroom, Then Goodbye
Don’t Ever Leave Me Again
I’m Blue Again
Just Out of Reach

This excludes her other hits:

Crazy
I Fall to Pieces
Why Can’t He Be You
She’s Got You
You’re Stronger than Me
Leavin’ On Your Mind

I am a hopeless romantic and I’ve had my heart broken by a few men and I’m sure it will be broken again in the future. I enjoy sappy songs when I am feeling low…but really Patsy Cline is just too much. I can’t even handle it. I guess this is where the “too much of a good thing” saying comes in.

Maybe part of what gets me is that Patsy Cline was famous in the era leading up to the second wave of the feminist movement. Women were gaining more and more rights. Yet the message that she was constantly sending was that a woman needs a man to be happy; she could have been a strong independent woman and had songs to that effect.

It is important to note Patsy Cline wasn’t the only artist in her day that had a plethora of depressing songs, it was the nature of the genre at the time. I am happy to say that country music has evolved from this misconstrued stereotype that all country songs are sad songs.

Sad times are often the most inspiring; the passionate because they are the most emotional. It is easy to write and sell a powerful song about heartbreak if you have been there and can truly relate to the lyrics.

This by no means dismisses what Patsy Cline accomplished in her career as a country music artist. She did phenomenal things for the country music genre, she is a legend, and her accomplishments should be respected. To this day, Patsy Cline is one of my all-time favorite country music artists. So take a minute to follow the link above and enjoy one of my favorite Patsy Cline songs, “I Fall to Pieces.”

And the (ACM) Nominees Are...

Alright, I am an avid country music fan and am not always in complete agreement with who wins the awards so I had to put in my two cents on the nominees for this year. Whatever happens, the ACMs are guaranteed to be a good show when they air Sunday April 18th.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

· Kenny Chesney

· Toby Keith

· Brad Paisley

· George Strait

· Taylor Swift: (will win) She has a cult following at the moment and is a talented artist. To me, Taylor is a fantastic songwriter and has the amazing ability to really connect with her audiences. She has done something that no artist has been able to do for awhile in that she brought country music to a younger generation and exposed many people to the genre. However, I feel that Taylor has an average voice and I am not blown away by her performances. Don’t get me wrong, Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists, I just don’t feel that with this group she is the best entertainer yet; but I get a strong feeling she will win.

· Carrie Underwood

· Keith Urban: (my vote) Keith Urban is by far the best entertainer I have seen live, which is no small group of country artists. He interacts with his crowds, and his guitar skills are phenomenal. He is an amazingly talented artist who puts on a great show. But I may be a little biased…J

· Zac Brown Band

TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Kenny Chesney: (will win) I’m not a big Kenny fan and he wouldn’t get my vote, but I think he will win. I feel like Kenny generally wins the categories he is nominated in, unless he’s up against Taylor.

· Brad Paisley

· Darius Rucker

· George Strait: (could win) The king of country music more than deserves this award. George has come out with several new singles this year that remind us of his talent.

· Keith Urban: (my vote) Well you know he gets my vote. I can’t sing enough praises for Keith.

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Miranda Lambert

· Reba McEntire: (my vote) Reba is one of my all time favorite country artists. Her vocals are fantastic. Also, I feel that to be vocalist of the year you have to have had recent hits. “Consider me gone” (2009) was Reba’s longest running #1 hit. Not bad for the 55 year old.

· Taylor Swift: (will win) I have a feeling Taylor will take this category just as she did at the CMAs. I just don’t feel like she has a strong enough voice to really compete with Reba and Carrie. If we look at vocals alone, I don’t think she should win this award, but she probably will

· Carrie Underwood: (my vote) Just listen to her sing and you will be easily convinced that she deserves this award. Carrie has the strongest vocals in this category (maybe topped only by Reba). “Cowboy Casanova” was one of the biggest songs of 2009.

· Lee Ann Womack

TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

· Lady Antebellum: (will win) Lady Antebellum has had countless hits this year such as “I Run to You,” “Love Don’t Live Here,” and “Lookin’ for a Good Time.” Quite an accomplishment for their debut album, not to mention the success of their singles “Need You Now” and “American Honey.” I seriously underestimated how successful Lady Antebellum would become when they first appeared on the country music scene.

· Little Big Town

· Randy Rogers Band

· Rascal Flatts

· Zac Brown Band: (my vote) This category is a true toss up for me as to who should win. The Zac Brown Band is a group of amazingly talented musicians as we all saw as they preformed “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” at the CMA’s. Their hits “Chicken Fried,” “Toes,” and “Highway 20 Ride” bring an old school feel back to country music that has recently been lost in the contemporary country sound.

TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

· Brooks & Dunn

· Joey + Rory

· Montgomery Gentry

· Steel Magnolia

· Sugarland: (will win with my vote) Although it is Brooks & Dunn’s last year, Sugarland outperformed the duo this year. Love on the Inside was nominated for CMA’s Album of the Year and almost every track on the album became an instant success. They are exceptional performers and artists and have a unique sound that will let them shine in this category for years to come.