Summer round-up: Music, wine and eighth birthdays

It’s been a lovely, chaotic summer – the best kind. Here are a few gems that caught my eye (and ear) over the past month or so:

This wine:

…from a winery on the outskirts of this incredible city:

(I spent a little over a week in Switzerland, Florence and Venice last month. Needless to say, it was an inspiring trip.)

This anthem from the Zac Brown Band’s action-packed new album,Uncaged (give it a listen and you’ll understand what I mean):

This funky, new-ish song by British group Graffiti6:

This kick ass and deserved title that Houston just nabbed. And yeah, we already knew we were the coolest. Why?

“I’ve never seen a city where people blend more gracefully than Houston.”

This surprisingly moving performance by tenth place finisher Erika Van Pelt (at the Idols Live concert I caught in Dallas):

This crazy-cool local band that I was jazzed to interview for Houston magazine.

This Kelly Clarkson cover of my favorite band’s breakout single:

…and finally, this wonderful milestone that Country Universe –my country music home– recently hit. I couldn’t be  more grateful to have found my way into the CU family three years ago.

Houston Press: Carly Rae Jepsen’s 90s POV in “Call Me Maybe”

I’m stoked to announce my latest freelance adventure – I’ll be blogging for the Houston Press on topics related to pop culture and music. You can read my first post below, the spawn of my discovery that pop star Carly Rae Jepsen is four days older than me (26). Read on…

The Mavericks, "Born to be Blue"

Remember them? They’re heading back to country radio with a pretty stellar comeback single:

Carrie Underwood’s fourth album era: Thoughts and tidbits

For Carrie Underwood fans, it’s been a fun week of promo for her fourth album, Blown Away, which came out this past Tuesday. The album is a healthy creative departure for Underwood – darker, more challenging and more thematically diverse than anything she’s released so far. I’m not sure if it’s the album I’ve been waiting for from her –the one that showcases a fully realized artist– but it’s a bigger step in this direction than I expected. I’m particularly excited about the commitment she shows to creativity and to finding new ways to sculpt her massive instrument.

It’s no surprise that my two favorite songs off of the album are nothing alike. The first is a gorgeous, desperate country ballad that, true to the genre, swirls together themes of alcohol and heartache. The second is a southern gospel-flavored tale of revenge and murder. Check out her performance of the latter at her IHeartRadio concert in New York City (at which she also killed her definitive “Idol” song, “Alone”):

But my favorite tidbit from this past week is related to a song from back in theCarnival Ride era. I’ve blogged before about why I’ve been able to connect with Underwood’s music on a personal level, but I always find it difficult to explain. Sometimes it’s easier to point to the things that touch me the most – like this:

Oh, and I can’t resist. Love this:

“My husband calls me ‘the queen of awkward moments.’ If something can be said to make an awkward moment even worse, I’m going to say it.”

Ian Britt, "The Shape of Us"

Grammy Awards 2012 and other assorted thoughts

Last night’s Grammy Awards were a little bit here and a little bit there  - with a “little bit o’ snot” thrown in. We did our annual picks and predictions post over at Country Universe as well as live blogged the somewhat sleepy show. The bad news? Lady Antebellum’s ridiculous repeat in the Best Country Album category. The good news? When Adele wins, we all win, folks.

In other news, it’s almost March, and that’s insane. Before spring hits…

Listen to this:

Read this:

Support this:

Watch this:

Get excited for this…

And remember this: 

“Long live Amy Winehouse. Long live Whitney Houston. Long live Etta James. There’s a beautiful girl group in heaven.”

— Mitch Winehouse

Nashville Scene’s 12th annual Country Music Critics’ Poll

The excitement doesn’t wear off of after year one: I’m pumped to be a part of Nashville Scene’s annual Country Music Critics’ Poll again, published this week. The poll includes 77 writers and journalists from all over North America, all of whom share in the trials and rewards of covering country music. Check out all of the coverage below.

In a year ruled by Miranda Lambert and her Pistol Annies, Eric Church and Hayes Carll, country music returns to taking itself a little less seriously

Poll Results

Critics’ Comments

Selected Factoids

Country Universe: 2011 countdowns and personality test fun

New staff in tow, we counted down the 40 best singles and 20 best albums of the year over at Country Universe, ending with Taylor Swift”s freshly produced “Mean” and the Pistol Annies” searing Hell on Heels, respectively.

My personal favorite single of the year –which came in at #5– feels more like a country song than it sounds like one. Check out my write-up for “Colder Weather”below, as well as a video of the Zac Brown Band performing a powerful acoustic version with some famous pals a few months ago.

“Colder Weather,” Zac Brown Band
A piano, a wanderer’s tale and killer vocals are the bones of this song– none of which are unique to country music. And yet, “Colder Weather” pleads like the best country songs, hurts like the loneliest of country stories. It serves as an elegant reminder that while casinotives country music is sometimes marked by a fiddly sparkle, it can also turn up in the form of pure emotion – and how Brown emotes. His performance is both soulful and skillful, embodying the rambler’s spectrum of emotions with chilling accuracy – longing, regret, defeat, hunger –, right down to the final line that rings hauntingly hollow: “It’s a shame about the weather / But I know soon we’ll be together / And I can’t wait til then.” 

We also did something slightly unconventional for a country music blog – we started a discussion based on personality tests results. Care to join?

Clay Walker's virtual Christmas party

Well this might be the coolest Christmas party I've been invited to this year:

And can I say how stoked I am that he finally released “Like We Never Said Goodbye” as a single? Check it.

Drinkify: Music + booze

I’m loving this fun little website, Drinkify, that suggests drinks based on your music of choice. Bottoms up: