First, let’s acknowledge that any sort of comparison between teen pop phenomenon Taylor Swift and barrom king Ernest Tubb will seem a little fanciful… one that dares suggest they have something pretty substantial in common, even more so. Let’s also note that this might anger some people who like one artist but not the other, including people with whom my tastes basically align (that’s anti-Swift, pro-Tubb for those keeping track). So, I’ll try to qualify the argument carefully.

First, take a gander at this passage from Jeffrey J. Lange’s Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly in which he sifts some quotes from Bill Porterfield (The Greatest Honky Tonks in Texas) and Ronnie Pugh (Ernest Tubb: The Texas Troubadour) in explaining the appeal of Tubb’s unique vocal style:

Unpretentious and identifiable, Tubb’s singing style paved the way to his success as a country music performer. Bill Porterfield grew up listening to Tubb and explains the singer’s instantaneous appeal: “He can’t sing any better than you and me. . . . To hear Ernest was to hear your uncle, the one that lost his farm to the bankers and lost his heart to a good-looking mama who treated him like dirt. It wasn’t pretty singing, but Lord, it was real. Out of the old rock.” Commenting on Tubb’s singing style and lyrical repertoire, historian Ronnie Pugh points out the underlying reason for Tubb’s magnetism: “His concerns were their concerns, voiced without frill, without metaphor, without simile, in a sparse, rough-hewn, down-to-earth style. . . . Listeners knew what he was singing about and identified with his viewpoint.”

Tubb was nobody’s idea of a great singer… and that made people want to sing along. Might seem counterintuitive, but personal experience tells me that it makes sense: I’ve never sung along to a Roy Orbison song without feeling terribly inadequate, but I feel pretty good about myself singing along to Tubb. With a lean instrumental style that keeps the focus squarely on that relatable voice, his songs seem specifically designed to keep you humming along as you waltz your way around the dance floor.

Swift is doing much the same thing, albeit for a drastically different audience. If Tubb was like your uncle who had fallen on hard times, Swift is like that nice girl in your homeroom class who’s constantly in the throes of relationship turmoil. One of the things that makes her songs so amenable to hairbrush singalongs (for her key teenage girl demographic… I don’t use a hairbrush) is the fact that she’s not much of a singer. Carrie Underwood can sing anything beautifully with a cool, seemingly effortless detachment; Swift has to feel it, has to wade out into that sea of heartbreak and let the waves thrash her about. She doesn’t have the option of turning in a cool, professional performance because she’s not a cool, professional singer. But neither are the girls (and boys?) in her audience. Like Swift, they have to feel their way along. Since it’s a relationship built on emotional rightness rather than technical proficiency, it’s a relationship characterized by a surprising level of intimacy.

That direct connection to the audience is key. Pugh writes that Tubb’s “concerns were their concerns, voiced without frill, without metaphor, without simile, in a sparse, rough-hewn, down-to-earth style.” In other words, in a style that would connect with the tough-minded Greatest Generation that was Tubb’s audience. Swift’s concerns are those of her generation, voiced with frills in an over-the-top, emotional style that approximates the turbulent interior life of a teenage girl in the 21st century, a member of a generation raised on reality TV drama. It’s a different approach to a different audience in pursuit of a similar emotional connection.

Topically, there’s some surprising overlap in the works of Swift and Tubb. Porterfield identifies “[losing] his heart to a good-looking mama who treated him like dirt” as a major preoccupation of Tubb’s work. Meanwhile, Swift has made a name for herself as one of the most prolific modern purveyors of the “boys are stupid” song. Of course, relationship trouble is one of the most common themes across all of country music. For a more instructive comparison of these two artists in particular, you might look at how they approach the same topic. Might I suggest a compare/contrast of Swift’s “Teardrops on My Guitar” and Tubb’s “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry”? Both songs of unrequited love, both crying songs… I think it could be interesting.

If there’s one major difference between Swift and Tubb in terms of how they use thier voices, it’s that Tubb knew his limitations and managed to work within them effectively. Swift still wants to belt it out. Over time, perhaps she’ll take a note from Ernest and learn how to work more effectively within the confines of her own voice.

For now, though, let’s spin this into a discussion:

Is there something about not having a technically great voice that can make a singer more relatable to fans? Are people more inclined to sing along to a voice that isn’t intimidatingly good? Or do singers with limited voices learn to rely on the sort of material that makes it easier to sing along? What do you make of the Tubb/Swift comparison?

The interview got off to an unusual start when McBride refused to answer Cook’s first question, instead insisting on inverting the familiar interview format by asking Cook questions of her own. When a startled Cook had no adequate response to McBride’s first query - “Why did the baby cross the road?” - McBride delightedly supplied the answer herself: “It was stapled to the chicken!” McBride then stuck her clenched fist in Cook’s direction and demanded that she “pound it” to express her approval, apparently an ironic gesture intended to poke fun at fraternity jocks.

When Cook tried to regain control of the interview by asking about the music video for “I Just Call You Mine,” Martina frowned, apparently irked at the interruption. Without any warning, she launched into her next question, this one inexplicably delivered in falsetto: “How many babies does it take to paint a house?” Taken aback as much by the falsetto as she was by the question, Cook shrugged. With great relish, McBride delivered the punchline: “Depends how hard you throw them!” McBride then requested that Cook join her for a “high five, low five, on the side,” culminating in a “pound it.”

In a rare moment of discomposure near the end of the interview, the usually unflappable Cook commented: “That’s just really inappropriate, Martina, and I am appalled at your behavior here today.”

“You know what else is inappropriate?” asked Martina, a wicked gleam in her eye.

“What’s that?” responded Cook, hoping the interview was back on track.

Martina cackled: “A dead baby.”

It’s unclear when or if the interview will air on CMT. McBride’s behavior has become increasingly erratic ever since she started hanging out with crowds of goth kids around Nashville in an apparent effort to rekindle her youth.

Usually George never does a track for arts [sic] sake, but this is a piece of art. ●
- - Tony Brown on “Arkansas Dave” from George Strait’s upcoming album. Hmm…

The song was co-written by Bobby Braddock, who has penned such works as “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “Golden Ring” and “I Wanna Talk About Me.” ●
- - One of those songs doesn’t fit. Never let it be said that Braddock is incapable of penning a bum track…

I am honored, ecstatic, elated and overwhelmed with joy! Capitol’s expertise in country music will allow me the opportunity to give you guys the best I have to give in songwriting, singing and performing. ●
- - Jennette McCurdy (star of Nickelodeon’s iCarly) is going country. Give her a shot, I guess, but I’m not sure we need another young girl singer who’s ecstatic, elated, and overwhelmed with joy.

I like that it’s a family thing, and kids under 14 are free. But the thing I really like about it — and I’ve said this before — is that Willie is 76 and Bob is 68 and I’m 57. I’m the youngest guy, and any place I go where I can be the youngest guy, I’m going to go. I’m the juvenile of this bunch. This is great. ●
- - John Mellencamp on his ballpark tour with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan.

I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have. That was my own fault. I don’t want to say I didn’t learn anything at Belmont, but I learned a whole lot more - and I hate to say it - sitting on the barstool, getting married a couple of times, having kids and living life. Basically, I wouldn’t want somebody with my educational background to take care of my money! ●
- - Lee Ann Womack wasn’t the best of students, but she’s done pretty well for herself anyway.

I know that the criticism is gonna come, and, hey, people who are going through life being offended by songs are leading pretty miserable lives. They need to lighten up a bit. ●
- - Trace Adkins has some choice words for his critics.

Throughout his career, Rodgers was known by many titles. In addition to America’s Blue Yodeler and the Singing Brakeman, he was hailed as the Father Of Country Music, and, somewhat more dubiously, the Godfather of Soul, The Hardest-Working Man In Show Business, the Queen Of R&B Soul, the King Of Pop, the Pied Piper Of R&B, the Pompatus Of Love, and Jenny From The Block. Later, he was stripped of some of these titles when it came out that he wasn’t even alive when some of the aforementioned genres came into existence. I don’t care; whether it makes sense or not, Rodgers will always be Jenny From The Block to me. ●
- - The Onion A.V. Club’s Nathan Rabin serves up his own unique take on country music history.

There’s a happy class of recording musician these days that is allowed and encouraged to show up, relax, do the magic thing, collect triple scale, and go home. Good for them. Good also, for the young amateur, who has easier access to an essential urgency that is irrelevant or counter to a professional, master-class mentality. Music’s not just a good time, and somebody, at least somebody at the top, needs some negativity. ●
- - Robbie Fulks thinks sometimes the playing is best when musicians get pissed.

I have all the [awards] I was lucky enough to win in a gym that I built, where I keep all my sports memorabilia, because I think it’s pretentious to have all that stuff in your house. ●
- - Yeah, Kenny, much less pretentious to have all that stuff in your personal sportsplex.

Q: Def Leppard on a country awards show, did you feel out of place?
A: No, actually we didn’t. I was looking at some of the older country acts, and they looked out of place. I think where it’s going, it’s got nothing to do with country at all. The segue between awards was like MTV-style metal music - it was pretty weird actually. The next night I went to see Alison Krauss at the Grand Ole Opry, and that was real authentic. Even the vibe was different; everyone was ever so humble. It was such a different world from the CMT thing. As much as I enjoyed both, it was a very sharp contrast. ●
- - Def Leppard’s Phil Collen is speaking my language.

I’m sure Merle Haggard is turning in his grave, but this has been happening for years. ●
- - In a separate interview, Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell… wait, what? I’m sure this is news to Merle Haggard.

Hill first came to the attention of the community when he auditioned for one of the Sunday Writers’ Nights at the famous Bluebird Cafe. After performing a verse and chorus of an original song titled “On the Tram to Alabam” for the panel, he was complimented on the song and asked who had helped him write it. When he claimed to have written it without the aid of any other tunesmiths, he got laughed off the stage. The incident quickly became something of a running joke among members of the town’s well-connected songwriting community.

After weeks of seeing Hill walking around town by himself, apparently deep in thought, many came to believe his story. Around the same time, patrons of several downtown bars reported watching him take a table by himself, remove a blank sheet of paper from his bag, and fill the sheet with lyrics without ever conversing with other customers or communicating through any sort of concealed earpiece.

“You mean he has to, like, start his own thoughts and complete them?” marveled popular committee tunesmith Aimee Mayo. “I don’t even see how that’s possib…” Mayo stopped to receive a text message on her phone. “Sorry, that was Kellie. We’re writing a new song together while she’s out on tour. I can’t say too much yet, but it’s about keeping a positive attitude in the face of adversity. Anyway, what was I saying again?”

Mayo remains skeptical of the solo approach: “I had this great idea about a red umbrella one time, but I knew that it was such a brilliant thought that I wouldn’t be able to manage it on my own. Without the help of my three cowriters, that song never would have come to fruition. And where would the world be then? My point is that there’s only so much you can do by yourself. All the best songs are written by committee these days.”

When it was mentioned that Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, and Kris Kristofferson penned most of their famous songs by themselves, Mayo flashed a baffled expression and resumed texting with Kellie.

Coe is also, of course, an exceptional songwriter. While his most well-known songs came out of the ’70s and ’80s, one of his finest albums is of more recent vintage: 1999’s wryly titled Recommended for Airplay finds an older, wiser Coe showing a younger generation of would-be outlaws how it’s done.

He’s settled down a bit. “Song for the Year 2000″ finds him considering various alternative lifestyles and arriving at something like bemused acceptance (though given his history, some won’t buy it):

But it takes all kinds of people to make the world go ’round
I’ve been the whole world over and that’s one thing that I’ve found
Color does not matter, black or white, red or brown
It takes all kinds of people to make the world go ’round.

Similarly, “A Harley Someday” is a send-up of those weekend warriors and “bona fide wanna-be tough guys” who immerse themselves in motorcycle culture without actually, you know, riding. But the most important lines come near the end: “And the truth is it’s hard to remember/That we all started out just like that.” Nice.

Other highlights include break-up ballads “The Price We’ll Have to Pay” and “She’s Already Gone,” the latter of which ranks among Coe’s best songs ever. (”If she’s talking about leaving, she’s already gone,” he advises like a man who has been there too many times.) Drinking songs “Drink My Wife Away” and “Drink Canada Dry” aren’t far behind, both infectious honky tonk home runs worthy of Merle or George… or David Allan at his very best. Meanwhile, Coe has never sounded more tender than he does on love songs “Let Me Be the One You Turn To” and “In My Life.” While much of the music on Recommended for Airplay fits neatly in the traditional country vein, the blues burn of “We Can Talk” reminds of his tendency to reach across genre boundaries.

Recommended for airplay? Well, yeah, but that won’t happen. So I’ll just recommend it for you.

Download album from Amazon MP3

1. Dan
2. Bonnie Jean
3. Chris D.
4. Annie
5. Jordan Stacey
6. Trailer
7. Paul W. Dennis

I’ll email all of you within the next day or two to get the prize selection process started. The closer you are to the top, the better the chance that you’ll get your first choice.

Just like to party? My buddy Trailer at Farce the Music is kicking off his own first anniversary celebration (July 5), so be sure to head over there for some free cake and music. While you’re there, congratulate him on an amazingly prolific year of music-related humor. We need more of his sort of creativity. I don’t know how he does it.

Thanks, everyone. Country California isn’t a spring chicken anymore, but then again… it never was. What is it with all these nonsensical cliches? Anyway, I’ll keep on trying to deserve your attention in Year 2. Cheers.

There are a couple of blonde gals now signed at Universal South Records. One is Bailey Brown and the other is Ashley Ray. I don’t know these girls. I’ve never even seen their picture. ●
- - That much is obvious from the fact that Ashley Ray is a brunette, Hazel. (Brody beat me to this one.)

Yadda yadda yadda ●
- - Hundreds of comments on a CMT article about Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. Yawn.

I get really restless when I haven’t worked for a day and a half. I have a recurring dream that people are lined up next to my bed, waiting for autographs and taking pictures of me! ●
- - Taylor Swift is a workaholic (says a man who gets restless when he works for more than a day and a half).

And his wife came up to my wife and said, ‘I’m a little tired of this bromance that my husband is having with your husband.’ ●
- - Darius Rucker and Dierks Bentley are having a bromance. Pass it on.

Harlan Howard used to say, ‘Write them with three chords and the truth,’ but we beat him on this one — we only used two chords, and it might not be the truth! ●
- - Two chords and a lie just doesn’t have the same ring to it as three chords and the truth, does it? Songwriter Dennis Morgan on “River of Love.”

Republican or Democrat, on Nov. 4 you had to be moved. People stood there in disbelief at the turn our country had taken. There was a sense of pride, no matter who you were. I remember having discussions on my bus, in my household: Could he really win this? A lot of people were saying, ‘I don’t know if it’s time, if the country’s ready.’ And then all of a sudden, I guess we’re ready. Welcome to the future. ●
- - Brad Paisley on the election of Barack Obama.

The good news is it is not just about celebrating ghosts and legends. I promise you, go to Shipshewana and take a look around the parking lot. I guarantee you will find kids that are playing the banjo and the mandolin, singing traditional songs. There are a lot of young people that are playing the real deal. That is what interests me. ●
- - Marty Stuart on the future of traditional country music.

They start their career with a record… and then they go out on the road. I started my career in a nightclub. I worked seven nights a week before I got a record. Today, they’re handling it more like rock and roll. They’ve got young girls and young good-looking guys. They’re like the army — they find somebody to enlist, they get them a record, get them a song and they don’t know what to do about it. ●
- - Merle Haggard on kids these days and the industry that’s courting them.

I mean, there is no Mary Chapin Carpenter, no Emmylou Harris on country radio right now filling that void. I would like to do that. But I would also still hope to play on a Steve Earle tour and then maybe a Keith Urban tour. At the end of the day, I’m singing these simple songs that I feel can be played to any audience. ●
- - All the good things you’ve been hearing about the new Holly Williams album? Pretty much true.

I think I waited for the right time in country music to come along. People like Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts paved the way for what I’m doing. ●
- - Way to not make me want to investigate you any further, Eric Durrance.

It might be the first ever female southern rock record. ●
- - Gretchen Wilson on her own “I Got Your Country Right Here.”

He didn’t try to do ’80s rock on the country format. Everybody thinks that country music is really exclusive and that we get mad when they cross over, but we really don’t. We just want them to give us a country song. ●
- - KRTY (San Jose) program director Julie Stevens on the success of Darius Rucker.

Q: You’re a country music fan. There’s a YouTube clip of you singing …
A: Oh dear. (Laughs.) I’ll never live that down. I went on TV and sang Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” which I do in the shower. It was the first time I did it in front of the public with my clothes on and dry. ●
- - I’m having a little trouble parsing that last statement from George Takei (Sulu). Had he done the song in front of the public - but wet and naked - prior to his appearance on Secret Talents of the Stars?

You find two different kinds of people: People who will lay down on the railroad track for me, and people who want to tie me down to the railroad track. Hopefully, more people are on my side, and there are. But some don’t like it when a guy as loud and raging as I am comes blasting through town. ●
- - John Rich on being John Rich. There’s something really arrogant about thinking you’re a big enough deal that everybody either loves you or hates you. Personally, I just think you’re a tool, John. No hate here.

The transient, described by other attendees as filthy and disheveled with a long unkempt beard, sat quietly and respectfully through the show, almost seeming to belong there despite his askew appearance.

“I figured he’d snatch the whole tray of hors d’oeuvres when they brought it around, but he politely declined,” said Faith Hill, who was seated near the vagrant.

“That was one scruffy looking brother,” laughed R&B singer, jokester and show performer Jamie Foxx. “I was glad he was there. Compared to him, all those white folks felt safe around me.”

The bearded panhandler stumbled onstage at one point in the show, drawing gasps and giggles from the stunned audience. Miraculously, he held his own on a duet with an obviously startled Lee Ann Womack before hopping off the front of the stage and exiting the venue through the crowd.

“He sounded pretty dang good,” said the always lovely Womack, “but I think I saw a rat in his beard.”

The head of event security was forced to fire a couple of guards after the debacle, despite there being no criminal incidents. The homeless man is not being sought by police at this time. Numerous sightings of the same bum have been reported at similar industry gatherings in recent months.

Reported by “Trailer” Parkman of Farce the Music

I’ve subscribed to Emusic for a number of years and credit the service with turning me into a regular downloader. Their indie focus and reasonable pricing structure won me over. For $25 per month, I could get 100 song download credits to use as I saw fit; for the cost of about two CDs, I could download about eight digital albums in restriction-free MP3 format. That was the sort of deal that even a CD fiend like me couldn’t pass up.

It was a small enough investment that I could justify paying for the download now and the CD later, if I decided that I really needed it. Plus, the independent focus meant that these usually weren’t albums I could pick up for $8 or $10 at Target. Because indie CDs are produced in smaller quantities and move fewer copies, they often cost more than your typical fast food music, which made Emusic an even better deal.

Emusic led me to try lots of artists that I otherwise wouldn’t have discovered so soon (or perhaps at all), like Amber Digby, Roger Alan Wade, Walt Wilkins, Ralph Stanley II, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. My positive experience with the service also warmed me up to the idea of buying MP3s instead of CDs, making me a customer of digital music stores by Amazon and Walmart as well. Emusic was the gateway.

Having so thoroughly won me over, now Emusic seems hellbent on chasing me away. And not just me. In a move that has provoked a great deal of complaint (to the tune of more than 1,700 comments on this blog post), they’re simultaneously straying from their indie mission by embracing the Sony back-catalog and jacking prices up rather considerably (nearly doubled in my case).

While Emusic contends that the price change would have been coming regardless of the Sony deal, on the consumer end it seems like suddenly being asked to pay a lot more to fund the addition of a bunch of music that is already readily available elsewhere. Oh, and did I mention that this is happening as money’s already pretty tight for most people (present company included)? Emusic is getting flack for the changes themselves and for the rather clumsy, thoughtless way they’ve gone about rolling them out. Judging from the comments, they’ll lose many of their most faithful customers over the whole ordeal.

I’ll be cutting back on my Emusic spending dramatically, probably opting for the minimum plan just so that I keep my account active and retain the ability to re-download all the stuff I’ve downloaded so far in the event of something catastrophic happening to my computer (it wouldn’t be the first time). Whenever I get around to making my own back-ups, I might cancel completely.

I wouldn’t be opposed to the price increases if they were rolled out gradually and I knew that the extra money would be going to the indie acts. But they weren’t and I don’t. The way Emusic has handled the announcement and ensuing fallout has shaken my confidence in the company.

I’m a music junkie and have to get my fix somewhere, so for now I’m returning to Rhapsody, a service I first tried out some years back. That was before I had an MP3 player (probably even before they were offering To Go service), so Rhapsody was effectively a personal music listening station that I had to remain tethered to at the computer. Not the most convenient thing in the world, but I stuck with it for a year or so.

Now, they offer the To Go service for a mere $2 more than the base Unlimited Listening plan. As an Apple skeptic, I already happen to have a Rhapsody compatible MP3 player (this Sansa Clip) rather than the ubiquitous iPod. So for $15 a month, I can load up my Clip with all sorts of music I might have never gotten around to purchasing outright and listen to it in places other than a desk. Tuesday morning, I loaded it up with the latest releases from Brad Paisley, Tanya Tucker, and Cledus T. Judd without paying anything or using up any song credits. I may buy those albums eventually (definitely Paisley), but it’s nice to have them available for portable listening immediately.

Of course, there are a few restrictions. I don’t actually own the music, so I can’t burn it to CD unless I purchase the MP3s from Rhapsody separately. I have to connect my player to the computer at least once a month to update the licenses. It’s not quite as seamless or idiot-proof as the iPod/iTunes combo… but it’s much cheaper, especially if you’re the sort of person who goes through music like Julianne Hough goes through lip gloss. Buy the player once and then $15 per month will cover you. Unless you’re really into making mix CDs or something, it seems like a pretty good way of keeping up on the latest releases without going broke.

So it’s Rhapsody for now, but I’ll still be waiting for some company to come along and fill the low-cost, exclusively indie space recently forfeited by Emusic.