Thank you, as always, Parenthood.
Dixie Chicks: Defining Moments
Last Monday, I attended “Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas” in Austin, which ultimately raised $725,000 for the victims of the Texas wildfires earlier this year. The line-up was Texas stellar: Christopher Cross, Terri Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Asleep at the Wheel, the Texas Tornados, Randy Rogers Band, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, the Dixie Chicks and George Strait. Superlatives are dangerous, but I’d rank it as one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.
Strait closed the show, but to me, the Dixie Chicks stole the show with a fiery and pitch-perfect set. The band, currently on hiatus as a trio, reunited just for the event.
I love the Chicks for many reasons. Their harmonies. Their skill. Their tenacity. Their innovation. It’s hard to put into words my connection to this band and its music, but I can point to some small but meaningful ways they’ve marked my life over the years.
Back in the early 90s, the Dixie Chicks –albeit a different band at that time– played a small festival in Plano, Texas – my very first concert (period). My memories are fuzzy, but it’s fun hearing my parents talk about how much I enjoyed the experience. Five or so years later, when the band broke through in the late 90s, I was instantly sold on their sound. I have goofy memories of performing “Wide Open Spaces” with my middle school show choir at the height of its popularity.
In college, I wrote a divisive column on the Dixie Chicks’ 2007 Grammy sweep inThe Daily Texan that served as my first taste of reader backlash. Despite the snide comments that ensued, writing that column was one of the most rewarding and exhilarating things I did as a student. And though my perspective on the music industry has evolved over the past five years, I still stand firm behind the sentiment of my column.
Flash forward two years to 2009, and I found a little country music universe that’s since become like a second home. I quickly learned that the Country Universebloggers and I had something special in common, among other things – a fierce love for the Dixie Chicks. In some ways, it’s this love that’s shaped our philosophy as a country music blog, rooted in tolerance, respect and open-mindedness.
But at the end of the day, it’s always about the music. Two years ago, we named the Dixie Chicks’ Home and “Long Time Gone” the best album and single, respectively, of the previous decade. I’m particularly fond of Dan’s write-up for “Long Time Gone”:
Now excuse me while I go listen to Home.
LeAnn Rimes: "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights"
This cover is just lovely enough to snap me out of my blogging funk:
Check out the rest of Lady & Gentlemen - good stuff.
Sound Bite: Melodies and memories
-Eric Church in a song called ““Springsteen”” off his new album, Chief. Love the lyric, like the album and am sort of, kind of warming up to the artist.
Ask Billboard: Country, where the girls aren't
No surprises here – but a sad, frustrating Billboard.com read on the lack of women on the country charts:
...you tell 'em, B.
Randy Travis (feat. Zac Brown Band), “Forever and Ever, Amen”
Randy Travis’ 25th Anniversary Celebration album –which I finally got around to listening to on vacation this week– is chock full of colorful collaborations and tasteful remakes. I’ve yet to get through this plucky little number without smiling:
Summer indulgence: "Tonight, Tonight"
I’ve decided if there’s such a thing as “Friday” done right, this is it:
And while we’re on the subject of songs with “Tonight” in their title…please tell me you’ve checked out this Texas treasure.
Kris Allen, "I Walk the Line"
Mini Warbler: "Teenage Dream"
Sound Bite: The human condition
-Bob Lefsetz on Adele’s 21 album. I don’t often agree with him, but he makes an excellent case for why her album has resonated so well: “music trumps everything.”