If you want to see country music reviews without a net or music row politicizing, head to Heartbreaktown.

H/T Mack Farmer 

The Nashville Feed reports how social networking programs have helped music sales.

Social networking Web sites, devoted to hosting interactions among members, were once like metaphorical lakes, each stocked with similar fish. Today, these sites have become virtual oceans, filled with millions of species, small recreational boats and massive supertankers.

The popularity of these sites has increased so quickly and dramatically that it’s impossible to say exactly how many total users they draw. The numbers are bigger than many people would suspect, though, and they grow every day.

It’s a comprehensive breakdown.

Check it out here.

Kate O, who has about a million things she’s always working on, discusses songwriting.

Smith talks about various elements in hit songs that make their lyrics and melodies memorable, universal, and instantly appealing. Certainly those are elements worth striving for, if pop hits are your goal — and they are ours.

But one of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is the importance of writing for me. I’ve always done this, to a degree, but at times I’ve strayed a bit into unfamiliar territory in the hopes of writing something that more people would connect with. Imagine me writing, for example, a song with NASCAR allusions. I’ve tried it. It sucked. I won’t do it again (I promise).

Not Nascar!?! She goes on to talk about writing for universal appeal.

And he’s quite proud that he didn’t know.

It wasn’t until today that I learned “Hannah Montana” is not her real name.

Carry on.

From Silence

Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like “Make the World Go Away” made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography “Eddy Arnold: I’ll Hold You in My Heart.” His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

Arnold was an ambassador of Nashville in many ways.

Read the rest here.

Ginger also weighs in.

Grammy-award winning artist Vince Gill will take a lesson from another “artist” of sorts, Johnny Carrabba – who has “cooked up” a full menu for Vince to prepare for the love of his life, Amy Grant.

“The Art of Expression:  A Celebration of Music, Culinary and Visual Art,” will take place on Friday, May 9, from 6:30 - 11:00 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.  

An intimate crowd of spectators will watch Johnny Carrabba take center stage for a cooking demonstration with Vince Gill.  Guests will enjoy an assortment of food and beverages followed by an acoustic performance from Vince in the Ford Theater.  

Tickets are $200, and proceeds from the event will benefit The Campus for Human Development and Room at The Inn, serving Nashville’s homeless community since the 1960s.  

Only 200 tickets are available and are on-sale beginning Friday, April 25, at 10:00 a.m. EST.

Evening Highlights Include:
6:30 p.m. – Welcome reception, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails
7:30 p.m. – Cooking demonstration with Vince Gill and Johnny Carrabba
8:30 p.m. — Carrabba’s food and beverage tasting
9:30 p.m. – Vince Gill acoustic performance

For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, please click here.

Nothing? Well, not anymore! There are lots of events happening in our fair city this weekend! Let’s take a look at a few of them, shall we?

Tonight! Under the lights!

GAME 5 VIEWING PARTY AT THE SOMMET CENTER
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS—NASHVILLE PREDATORS VS. DETROIT RED WINGS

Doors open: 6:00 pm
Game starts: 6:30 pm

The Preds-Red Wings game will be shown Friday night on Nashville’s largest indoor screen — the Megatron — at the Sommet Center.

* Free admission! ($5 parking available in the south lot - just behind Sommet Center)
* Gnash and the Predators Dancers will be there.
* Concession stands will be open with specially-priced food.
* Contests and activities at intermissions.
* Inflatable games for the kids.

Also, some of Music City’s most famous Tweeters will be on hand, as well!

Tomorrow (Saturday, April 19th)

10AM till 8PM at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music

Record Store Day will be celebrated this Saturday all over the world (yep, it’s gone international) as passionate music fans and obsessed record store clerks meld minds and wield their considerable power for good, not evil (we’ll leave that to the corporate ogres). We’ve got a spectacular event planned for you and we hope that you’ll choose to visit our humble emporium at some point during the day and, if you ever buy music - physical formats like vinyl, CDs and DVDs - that you’ll choose to make a purchase on this day to show your support. If you don’t live near Grimey’s, I hope you’ll visit the closest indie record store wherever you are and do the same. Not every shop is weathering these tumultuous times well but we can all use the support to keep these community-based havens for real music alive.

There will be live music, food, and lots of opportunity for people-watching!

Earth Day - Centennial Park - 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Local Living for Global Change - It all starts with me!
Youth Activities

Environmental exhibits and workshops on clean air, water, food and farming, cooking demonstration with local chefs, organic gardening and much more.

Live music from RAUL MALO and special guests: JYPSI, Jen Foster, Sam & Ruby and Five Star Iris

More info on Earth Day activities here.

No matter what you do, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Michael at Chez Bez is heaping some lovin’ on Google’s Street View.  Here he takes a peek at a house he used to live in.

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Michael also made a trip to a neighborhood record store (but in person, not online though I’ll bet you can find it online): Grimey’s New & Preloved Music.

I walked past the fellow music lovers, found Caitlin’s CD, and paid my five bucks (worth every penny). Before leaving to finish my errands, I stuck around to hear Matthew Ryan sing a few songs. Every part of me was happy in the moment.

I want to go now… it reminds me a lot of the old Cut Corner Records in Lexington, Ky.

Remember a few months back, when I first showed up around here, and I posted a long rant about how iTunes should add a subscription service to its offerings?

At the time, I encountered a lot of resistance from people who felt it was imperative that they “own” their music and not run the risk of “losing it” if they can’t afford the monthly “rent.” All I ever advocated was that an “all your ears can eat” service be offered on iTunes in ADDITION to a “pay-per-download” model.

Now it seems that Mr. Jobs has finally heard my plea. There are all kinds of reports in the tech press today that negotiations are now afoot for just such an eventuality. Now, what I’m reading is that Apple wants to add some nominal fee — like $20 per — to the price of its iPods and iPhones; if that’s a one-time charge, it seems ludicrous to me — it should be that much per month, in perpetuity, for whoever wants to pay it. I for one would gladly shell out $20/month, if it means that for the cost of 2 CDs, I can listen to as many new releases as I want to. There are lots of things I’d like to hear, but not so much that I want to buy outright. This way, if I hear something and it knocks me out, I’ve always got the option of buying a copy for my own collection.

I sure hope the negotiations bear fruit. –PS

Yes, I’m channeling Johnny Carson in my quest to know EVERYTHING you’ve ever wanted to know… (*sigh* …god, I’m old)…

Anyway, I ran across this fantastic primer from Jim and Lynnette about the business of songwriting, and I really like their approach…

Trust me, neither of us has any interest in being a songwriter. We’re just everyday music listeners who are simply intrigued by the business of songwriting, and we always seem to have more questions than answers about how things work in the music industry — particularly the Country music industry.

They include reference links to some really interesting information, as well!
Here’s an example from their Q&A:

#2 How much do songwriters earn for their songs?

Mechanical Royalty — Writers receive 9.1 cents for a song that sells on an artist’s CD. However, this is usually split with the publisher, leaving the songwriter only 4.55 cents. If the song is co-written, then they receive only 2.275 cents! So, if a writer has a song on a million-selling album, they earn around $22,750.
Performance Royalty — A songwriter is paid when his or her song is performed live or on radio, television, or cable. The average performance royalty is under $5,000 per year for those who are lucky enough to receive performance income.

– How Songwriters Are Paid

Under the traditional recording agreement, recording artist royalties usually range from 10% to 25% of the suggested retail price for top-line albums (although many record companies have begun to compute royalties on the wholesale price). However, there are many deductions made for items such as packaging costs; free goods; responsibility for the payment of producer royalties; reserve accounts; return privileges; midline, budget-line, record-club, and foreign royalty reductions; 90% sale provisions; new-technology rate reductions (which may even affect CD royalties); cut-out and surplus-copy provisions; video, tour support, and promotion expenses; recording costs; advances for not only the current album, but past albums as well; ownership of websites; and merchandising rights. In addition, if the artist is a songwriter, there are provisions in the recording agreement (known as the “controlled composition clauses”), which reduce and limit, among other things, mechanical royalties.

Music & Money: Recording Artist Royalties

Informative stuff! Go check out the rest at The Fun Times Guide…

Anybody up for getting together and playing instruments for fun? Perhaps this week some time?
Well, are you? 

New York governor Elliot Spitzer, scourge of Wall Street corruption and sordidness in the Music Bizness, has just confessed to senior aides of personal involvement in a prostitution ring. Apparently several key clients of Emperor’s Club VIP (an ‘escort’ service catering to men in the New York, Paris, London, Washington and Miami area) were arrested recently, and lo and behold, Spitzer’s name apparently appears in court papers related to the arrest.

Spitzer is well-known in local music circles for having gone after ‘payola’ and ensuring that artists are paid their complete royalties when Spitzer was the Attorney General for the state of New York. I’m guessing that not a few music industry bigwigbiz types are less than secretly pleased with this news.

I’m also guessing that Spitzer’s future political plans have changed. Time Magazine had named Spitzer ‘Crusader of the Year’ when he was New York Attorney General. His next crusade will most likely be to save his name and reputation.

Tonight is the induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (you can watch it on VH-1).  Sharon Cobb has a great post detailing her opinion on each inductee.  Here’s the list:

* Leonard Cohen will be inducted by Lou Reed
* The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denis Payton and Mike Smith) will be inducted by Tom Hanks
* Madonna will be inducted by Justin Timberlake
* John Mellencamp will be inducted by Billy Joel
* Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff will be inducted by Jerry Butler
* The Ventures (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson) will be inducted by John Fogerty

I’m pretty agreeable with Sharon’s assessment…

I’ve got to tell you, the only inductee I’m excited about is Leonard Cohen. A poet, an author, a monk and a musician, Cohen has influenced everyone from Judy Collins to Bono.

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The induction of The Dave Clark Five is bittersweet. The lead singer, Mike Smith, died less than two weeks ago. To make matters worse, they should have been inducted last year. An accounting error was discovered, and DC5 received more votes than Run DMC, but the powers that be went ahead and inducted Run DMC and in the process, screwed over the Dave Clark Five and now the lead singer isn’t alive to attend the ceremony.

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Madonna made mediocrity an art form…[however] She has morphed into numerous characters and stayed relevant into the 21st century, which is not an easy thing for a woman of almost 50 years of age to do in rock and roll.

John Mellencamp […] He’s really good, but like Madonna, I don’t know if he belongs in the rock and roll Hall Of Fame in the first year he’s eligible.

Who do you think should be inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame who has been ignored thus far?

It’s a snow day for us in West Tennessee and from what I’m hearing, Nashville got a healthy dusting last night as well.

Sleepydad asks a question about music, and being we are the Music City, let’s play along.

I think about this from time to time– in terms of music, literature, television, even philosophy… all things that put a little structure in your brain, that affects how you think about things from that point on.. These are the things you find yourself going back to over and over again, referencing in conversation, using to define some abstraction in your head.. or maybe these are just the experiences of things you reminisce about when you have a little time to think about the old days.

So who would I list as my influences?

Go to his place and see who influenced him.

I guess I’d have to say John Coltrane, Johnny Cash, Steve Goodman, The Police, Al Green … Probably a lot more but that’s off the top of my head. (I’m a Sandwich Generation person so that’s why my list is so bipolar.)

The nominations for the Academy of Country Music Awards were announced this morning by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. The lovely and talented Steph In The City has a great slide show of the ceremony, as well as the low-down on the top artists this year.

Commentary: No, I still do not understand why Kenny Chesney gets all of the critical and fan acclaim that he does. Nope…I don’t get it nor will I ever, I’m afraid.

Country Standard Time has a complete list, and here are a few of the top categories:

Entertainer of the Year:
Kenny Chesney
Rascal Flatts
George Strait
Keith Urban
Brad Paisley

Male Artist:
Kenny Chesney
George Strait
Trace Atkins
Keith Urban
Brad Paisley

Female Artist:
Martina McBride
Miranda Lambert
LeAnn Rimes
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Top Vocal Group:
Diamond Rio
The Eagles
Emerson Drive
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts

The Eagles?!?

My picks are as follows: Brad Paisley for Entertainer, Trace Adkins for Male (come on, he deserves a nod!), Taylor Swift for Female (she’s been hot this year), and Little Big Town for group (they are SO talented, and I could listen to both of their albums all day long).

What say you?

Presented by AARP…

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I guess the sales pitch is “Take a nap, grab an early bird dinner, and come hear the soothing sounds of Foreigner.”
–AtwoodZoo

Hopefully, the opening act won’t be Gene Simmons performing to “I Wanna Know What Love Is”…

The Class of ‘08 for the Country Music Hall of Fame has been announced, and K.F. Raizor at Raizor’s Edge has the scoop:

EMMYLOU HARRIS: Emmylou belongs in if for no other reason than, during the 1970s, she made it “cool” to proudly proclaim to listen to country music. Forget her career (which is significant enough to warrant induction). She was an ambassador for country music when most people were defining country as “I Honestly Love You.”

THE STATLER BROTHERS: Another long overdue induction. One of country music’s most enduring quartets, and one that transcended “country” for popular culture. Their song “Flowers on the Wall” was awarded a “contemporary (’rock and roll’)” Grammy in 1965, which speaks volumes to their impact (and to the bewildering voting of the NARAS).

TOM T. HALL: I feared he would have to die to get inducted; however, the legendary “storyteller” is being inducted for his decades of hits of his own as well as writing others’ hits (e.g., “Harper Valley P.T.A.” by Jeannie C. Riley, “The Pool Shark,” Dave Dudley’s only #1 hit, and “(Margie’s At the) Lincoln Park Inn” by Bobby Bare).

ERNEST V. STONEMAN: Shout bama-lama, it finally happened! A man whose popularity in the 1920s was crucial to the advacement of country music has finally gotten his just desserts.

Overall, I think this is a great group of inductees.  Emmylou is amazing.  Pop Stoneman was a true pioneer.  I’m really happy to see The Statler Brothers getting in.  I have always loved their music…it takes me back to when I was a kid listening to AM radio in my daddy’s car.

I love Tom T. Hall simply for writing the best beer song of all time:

I like beer — it makes me a jolly good fellow
I like beer — it helps me unwind and sometimes it makes me feel mellow
Whiskey’s too rough, champagne costs too much, vodka puts my mouth in gear
This little refrain should help me explain as a matter of fact I like beer!

Classic!

I didn’t even watch one second of the Grammys this year.  The last two years made me nervous, I guess.

Instead of being right there, Mr. Smiff watched from his bunk on a bus, on a highway headed south to catch a cruise ship.  He said it makes it a little different to see from this angle after you’ve been

I was pretty tickled that Ricky Skaggs and The Whites took home the Grammy for Southern/Country/ Gospel Recording.  Not that Ricky needed more Grammys for his collection, but, his wife Sharon, sister in law Cheryl and Pa In Law Buck White are most deserving.  The recording they won for, Salt of the Earth, is fantastic.  I have several songs from that running through my Ipod all the time. 

It’s no secret that Sharon and Cheryl are two of my favorite singers, ever.  Their vocals on Emmylou’s groud-breaking albums Roses In The Snow and Blue Kentucky Girl are some of the best harmony vocals you’ll hear anywhere.  Plus, they’re my friends and I’m tickled for them.

Beverly Keel reports on her live blog from LA that, apparently, Carrie Underwood just didn’t feel like speaking with the press.  (Did she win something?) 

Carrie, hon’…that’s not good form.  I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt and say maybe she had eaten something that didn’t agree with her.  Everybody has bad days.

I’m going to have to check into this Amy Winehouse. I figured she was just some angry, junkie, alternative singer.  I didn’t realize she was a torch-type of singer. 

Complete list of winners here.

Be sure to check out my place and Chez ‘Coma for the latest snark and insight on tonight’s Grammy Awards.

You can also follow us on Twitter, where there are all kinds of folks chiming in!

The Nashville Feed’s got their Weekend “It” List up, which includes a shout-out to our buddies throwing a PodCamp tomorrow at the Cannery Ballroom.

I won’t be at PodCamp (because not only do I not podcast, I don’t even own a ‘pod), but I will be at Exit/In tomorrow night to see Parachute Musical. From the Nashville Scene’s Critic’s Picks section:

PARACHUTE MUSICAL Josh Foster, lead singer of local piano-driven indie balladeers Parachute Musical, manages to match talent with ambition—writing catchy pop tunes that appeal equally to music composition majors and MTV-era pop fans. These D.C. transplants let the piano do the talking, often letting tunes end up miles away from the Stevie Wonder-inspired soul where they began. On their upcoming album (due out later this year), the group employs a 19-man orchestra section, adding to their already impressive musical palette.

My understanding is that Saturday night’s show will be heavy on the stuff from the upcoming album. Check it out.

Posted at bonnaroo.com but also at Knoxville Talks, who apparently “knows people” and got it posted shortly after it went public.

I’ve heard a little from the younger members of the peanut gallery that they’re less than impressed with the line-up this year, but I am more than excited to get to see Willie Nelson and Pearl Jam, two of the best live acts around.

 UPDATE: Holy cow, I just clicked over to see how much the tickets cost. Minimum $242.45 each. As in, twice the cost of last year’s tickets (if I remember correctly). Supply and demand, I suppose (last year’s festival sold out), but wow. Wow.

UPDATE 2: Apparently, whatever I secondhand-smoked last year affected my brain; tickets are only $10 more this year than last year.

The legendary music writer/historian/all around groovy guy/FOS (Friend of Sista) Chet Flippo is blogging. (You can applaud now).

Chet is musing over how the Presidential candidates don’t seem to be courting the Country Music vote. 

Jimmy Carter hung out with Tom T. Hall, Big Daddy Bush had Loretty, Crystal Gayle, The Oak Ridge Boys and others campaigning with him.  We have yet to see Obama go after the Country crowd. 

Maybe Hillary is afraid of the Country crowd after that unfortunate Tammy Wynette remark back in ‘92. I wonder if she kicks herself over that now?

 I want y’all to meet my pal MaryE.  MaryE is a photographer, writer, and perhaps one of the most well-rounded, diverse and interesting people you could ever bump into.  I can almost hear the intro to Gentle On My Mind when MaryE comes into my head.

MaryE is kinda like me in that she has been present at some memorable moments in music with a nice, front row seat cause she was “with the band.”  She’s always got her eyes and ears open and doesn’t miss much.

Sometimes MaryE hangs out in Nashville, other times it’s the Catskills, the summer months she goes from Bluegrass festival to Bluegrass festival, documenting the sights, sounds…the winter months, she hangs in Wales and goes on foxhunts (I know, isn’t that just fascinating? Not something I would do but it’s interesting)

The lineup for this year’s Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival will be announced at midnight. But to whet our appetites, Radio Bonnaroo has posted a few clues for us, listed here at Tune In Music City.

I’ve already heard that Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are set to perform (not Led Zeppelin as so many people had hoped). And I’d previously read that Willie Nelson would perform (I recall seeing it on his site, but it has since been removed). But the clues indicate another big headliner will be Pearl Jam and maybe even REM. Take at Stereogum’s site and see if you agree with some of the guesses. Nashville Cream posters also have a few good guesses (I’m thinking yes on the MIA thing).

UPDATE: Even more clues posted here. I guess tomorrow I’ll try to match the clues to the bands. Even with a pool of answers, I’m not sure I’d get them all!

Today is 49th anniversary of the Day the Music Died.

KF Raizor has a wonderful post regarding the impact the tragic plane crash had on music as a whole.

I tend to think of Buddy Holly, J. P “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Ritchie Valens as being way older than they were. It’s kinda startling to think that Buddy was 22, J.P was 28 and Ritchie…a kid of 17 when they lost their lives in that frozen Iowa cornfield on February 3, 1959. They were kids.

The late Waylon Jennings was supposed to have been a passenger on that plane. He gave his seat up to J. P. Richardson. Waylon was haunted for the rest of his life by the final conversation he had with his then boss…Buddy was teasing Waylon about how he hoped they would freeze on the bus and Waylon threw back at him “Yeah, and I hope your plane crashes.” No wonder Waylon seemed a bit, well, crabby.

Guitarist Tommy Alsup, who has been Nashville-based forever, was first thought to have been one of the people that died on the plane. He had flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens to see who would take the seat. He had asked Buddy to pick up a registered letter for him in North Dakota (their next stop on the “Winter Dance Party” tour) and he gave him his billfold so he could have some identification. Can you imagine how freaked out his family was to hear that he was dead and then that he wasn’t?

Fate is weird…you wonder what these three men would’ve accomplished had they not gotten on that plane? How would music have been different? How would Country Music have been different if Waylon had been on the plane? Questions we’ll never have answers to in this life.