What the hell happened to country music?

November 8, 2007
A Mishmash Reflective of Country Music
By KELEFA SANNEH (NY TIMES)

Long before the 41st annual Country Music Awards were over last night, the winner for best speech seemed clear. Let’s give that award — a meta-award, perhaps — to Jamey Johnson, who helped write the break-up song “Give It Away” for George Strait, which won song of the year. Mr. Johnson dedicated his award to his ex-wife, inspiring a chuckle from the audience. “She certainly deserves half of this award,” he added dryly. “And half of this song, too.”

No doubt organizers of the ceremony, held in Nashville, realize that for many TV viewers, this will be the most (or the only?) country music they hear all year. So the awards presentations are minimized, to make room for performances by old favorites and new ones. Viewers who made it through Rascal Flatts’s agonizing battle with “Still Feels Good,” the opening song, got a chance to gawk at the garish and rather entertaining mishmash that is commercial country music in the ’00s.

The fiery young singer Miranda Lambert sang “Gunpowder and Lead,” a revenge song with lyrics that a rapper probably wouldn’t be allowed to deliver on network television. Mr. Strait, widely and rightly acclaimed as one of country’s all-time greats, sounded a bit imprecise on “How ’Bout Them Cowgirls,” but it was still fun to see him win album of the year for “It Just Comes Natural.”

And then there was the 17-year-old Taylor Swift, who won the Horizon Award. She’s the kind of performer who typically thrives on pop radio, not country radio: likable and shameless, with a big smile and a small voice and no evident aversion to making a spectacle of herself. She toted a glittery acoustic guitar and sang from the middle of a pink flower, then returned a few minutes later to gyrate alongside Brad Paisley, the male vocalist of the year. How many longtime country fans were charmed, and how many were horrified?

Often, it seemed the night belonged to the belters. Carrie Underwood, who won single of the year for “Before He Cheats” and female vocalist of the year, delivered a downright operatic version of “So Small,” a power ballad. Perhaps it should be no surprise that she’s great at singing on television: that’s how she won “American Idol.”

Jennifer Nettles, from Sugarland, showed off both power and restraint during “Stay,” a weeper. And whether Kellie Pickler’s teary performance was planned or not, it brought down the house.

In a sense, one of the night’s biggest winners was named earlier in the week, when it was announced that the new Eagles album, “Long Road Out of Eden,” had sold 711,000 copies in its first week. (That’s more than double what the new Britney Spears album sold, even though it is being sold only through Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and the Eagles’ own Web site.) To celebrate, the band members showed up last night to sing “How Long,” a new song that sounds a little bit like — O.K., more than a little bit like an old Eagles song.

Never mind the Eagles. The night’s biggest shock was Kenny Chesney’s baggy outfit. He’s known for wearing trousers that are basically denim pantyhose with pockets sewn on. Compared with that, the night’s big novelty collaboration — Rascal Flatts with Jamie Foxx — seemed downright pedestrian. So did Mr. Chesney’s victory, for entertainer of the year.

The awards are often lampooned for their predictability. (The award for best vocal duo is sometimes called the Brooks & Dunn award, after its frequent winners, though this year it went to Sugarland.) And it’s true that in the most prestigious category, entertainer of the year, the nominees were familiar: Keith Urban (who came into the night having won three male vocalist of the year awards in a row), Mr. Strait, and the radio-dominating trifecta of Mr. Chesney, Mr. Paisley and Rascal Flatts.

But the Horizon Award, the CMA equivalent of best new artist, reflected a trend that could be reshaping Nashville. Of the five nominees, four — Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins and Little Big Town, along with Ms. Swift, the winner — are signed to independent labels. The fifth, Ms. Pickler, owes her major-label contract to her stint on “American Idol.”

Maybe the independents are overachieving, or maybe the major labels are dropping the ball. But since the sound of country music keeps mutating, it make sense that the business seems to be mutating, too.

The album that was referred to in that article is happening -and actually has been recorded for quite some time. It is being handled by some peopl in Bob Dylan’s camp and a very select group of artists were given a sets of lyrics written by Hank that had never had music put to them. The artists could chose one song first come first serve to record and also receive co-writing credit. Lucinda was one of the artists asked to participate and chose a song called I Am So Happy I Found You that she recorded over a year ago. The record has apparently been on hold at Sony but is supposedly coming out later this year.

Thanks for the article, Lefty. Charlie Louvin is one of a kind!

Interesting story, Lefty. The Raft mentioned in the article is still there and is a seafood restaurant called The Reel Inn. I have eaten there many times. It is just north of Topanga Canyon Boulevard on Pacific Coast Highway. This area was also a Manson Family hangout in the olden days.