The River Runs North

2009 CMA's

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:25:00 +0000

I'm going to write a song about my diary, and find a sixteen-year-old girl who can sing (relatively) on-key to record it for me.

I'll make millions!

(Now, if I can only remember back that far.....)

Shelby Singleton - How To Produce A Hit

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:31:00 +0000

On October 7 of this year, famed record producer Shelby Singleton passed away at the age of 77.

Folks who are younger than me won't recognize the name, but in the sixties, Shelby Singleton was a major force in the world of country music.

Right now, if I think of the Smash label and the Plantation label, I can still picture the 45's and albums that I spun on my cheap-ola turntables. And I think of names such as Roger Miller and Ray Stevens, not to mention, of course, Jeannie C. Riley ~ but we'll get to her later.

Before his producing days, however, Mr. Singleton worked as a record plugger for Mercury Records. Here is a sampling of the music he discovered:

Bruce Channel (featuring harp by Delbert McClinton on the original recording) ~ Hey Baby

As any chick-flick aficionado could tell you, this recording was also featured in the movie, "Dirty Dancing". (I like to throw in trivia, when I can.)

Paul and Paula (nee "Jill and Ray" ~ doesn't quite have the same ring, does it?) ~ Hey Paula

"Hey Paula" was a sappy song, but it was 1963 and sap was in style. Looking back, one might think, hey, wasn't Rock & Roll getting going in 1963? Sadly, not really. A quick check of the charts shows that the top songs of 1963 included "I Will Follow Him" by "Little" Peggy March, "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs, "Blue Velvet" (!) by Bobby Vinton; not to mention "Dominique" by the Singing Nun. A sapfest galore.

Running Bear ~ Johnny Preston

As you will note by the record being placed on the spindle, this song was written by J.P. Richardson (the "Big Bopper"). J.P. (or B.B.) was kind of politically incorrect, wasn't he? Well, it was the late fifties.

Later, as Shelby transitioned into a producer role with Mercury, he recorded LeRoy Van Dyke's seminal hit, "Walk On By":

LeRoy was known as the Singing Auctioneer, but that's a different song, another day. "Walk On By" was a huge hit in 1961. I was six years old. I didn't know why somebody would walk on by if they saw someone they knew on the corner, but I guess I figured it was one of those spy versus spy things, like in my brother's Mad Magazine.

On the same day in 1961, Shelby also produced this recording by Ray Stevens ~ Ahab The Arab:

Let me just say that I am a big fan of Ray Stevens' "serious music". I just can't get on board with this one, though. It's not so much that it's politically incorrect; it's just that it's stupid.

Shelby also produced this song, by Roger Miller ~ Dang Me:

Roger Miller - Dang Me (early 1970's)

Men In Black | MySpace Video
Sorry for the crappy Hee Haw video, but it's the only one I could find. Although if it wasn't for Hee Haw in the sixties, we country fans would have never found country music anywhere on our TV dial.

Roger Miller was a great songwriter, and this hit is from the album, "The Return of Roger Miller", which was a rather audacious title, considering that Roger really didn't have anywhere to return from at that time. But make no mistake; novelty tunes aside, Roger wrote great songs, such as, "Invitation to the Blues" and "Husbands and Wives", among many others.

Shelby Singleton will, of course, always be associated with this huge hit that he produced for Jeannie C. Riley, written by Tom T. Hall ~ Harper Valley P.T.A.

If you were alive in the year 1968, you could not escape this recording. It was played ad nauseam on the radio. I could repeat every riff, dobro and otherwise, of this song in my sleep. I bet even people who didn't listen to country music have this song seared into their brains. I guess that's the mark of a true hit!

And speaking of marks, Shelby Singleton definitely left his, in the annals of country music. And to top it all off, he went and bought Sun Records!

It's nice to look back and remember, and to acknowledge those who worked with little recognition, to create what became a snapshot of the history of popular music.

Heartview - A Video

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:02:00 +0000

Here's a video for Red River's song, "Heartview". Heartview was the treatment center that my dad went to in 1976. This was his third and final try at getting sober, and this time it worked.

I really miss my dad, and I hope I did justice to his struggle by writing this song.

It's a really personal song for me, so if you don't like it, well, that's okay. I'm still glad I wrote it. And I think my dad is nodding his head, somewhere up in heaven. Somebody had to tell his story, and of course, that somebody would be me.

The Time of My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:50:00 +0000

It just doesn't get much better than this.

Rest in peace, Patrick Swayze.

The Co-Worker's Bill of Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:03:00 +0000

I have the right to expect you to leave a message, if you call. I assume you wanted something, or you wouldn't have called. Sometimes I'm in the middle of something. I drop whatever I'm doing for only two people - three, if you count God, but I'm not expecting Him to call.

If you DO leave me a message, I expect you to say more than just, "call me". Give me a clue what you want. I don't like surprises.

I have the right to not have to entertain you, because you are BORED. I would be more than happy to share some of my work with you. Or better yet, you could do some of your own!

I have the right to expect your emails to make sense. I don't have the time or money to hire an interpreter. If I have to guess what you're saying, I may just delete you.

If I walk into the copy room, and you are talking and laughing with yourself, I have the right to walk out. I'm too old and irritable to be humoring weirdos.

I have the right to expect you to get to the point. Telling me the same thing five times doesn't make your point any clearer. I'm not a dunce. If I have questions, I will ask. While you were endlessly repeating yourself, I had to stop doing the other three things that I was juggling at the time.

If you insist on carrying on personal phone calls all day long, I have the right to expect you to PIPE DOWN. Your conversations are not interesting to me.

If you are sick, I have the right to expect you to stay home. Please do not come to work, cough on me, and then brag about how much personal time you have left, because you never call in sick.

I have the right to not have to deal with your singing off-key to the song playing through your headphones.

I have the right to not have my lunch stolen out of the refrigerator. Are you a kleptomaniac or just a cheapskate?

I have the right to not have to listen to your utterances - swearing at your computer, shushing people, whistling, slamming things, sighing loudly. Try to remain under control. While it may seem like home, it's actually the office.

I have the right to expect you to learn how to spell, use punctuation, and capitalization. An email or work document is not a text message. If you can't accomplish this, U R A MORON.

Wow - only twelve? I could come up with so many more! I do admit, however, that I feel better now.

Feel free to add your own list of rights.

Baby Boomers Are So Self-Absorbed

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Don't baby boomers get on your nerves? They're so obsessed with stuff that nobody cares about. I mean, like Beatles remasters. They're all flocked around the Beatles display at Target, trying to decide whether to buy Help or Rubber Soul or Revolver. Stuff that was recorded in the dark ages. There they are, all hunched over, leaning on their canes. It's pathetic, really.

And don't even get them started on a discussion of music. Because it will bore you to tears. All they do is hark back to the time when the Beatles first appeared on some TV show called, "Ed Sullivan". Like, you know, they were the first super group ever. Like they changed the face of music or something.

It's kind of like sitting at your great-grandpa's knee, and hearing him talking about the old Model T's. And how they just don't make cars like that anymore. You pat him on the shoulder and say, "I hear ya, Grandpa", and later, you take off in your Jeep Cherokee and chuckle about how Great Grandpa is mired in the past.

Cuz you know, from what I hear, the Beatles actually recorded their stuff on vinyl! What a weird, totally unworkable concept. The strangest part, to me, is that people would actually go to the "record store" and buy something called "45's". All you'd get is one good song on Side A, and some crap "filler" on Side B. What the hell? Who came up with THIS brilliant idea? I mean, you could get, for instance, "Revolution" on Side A, and then you'd be stuck with some loser song like, "Penny Lane" on Side B. Or "Day Tripper" on Side A, and "We Can Work It Out" on Side B. Worthless.

And how good could the Beatles have been, really? I mean, if any of their songs lasted longer than three minutes, that was a stretch. You can't say much of anything in under three minutes.

And they did something called "albums". Me, I like my MP3 downloads. I get exactly what I want, when I want it. What's the big deal about albums? Is it like a conceptual thing? Is there some kind of vibe, or ebb and flow that I'm missing? Is there some coherence that I'm supposed to recognize?

Everywhere you go, you're bombarded with John Lennon this, Paul McCartney that. Get real. Like they were visionaries or something. Ooh, and George Harrison was such a great guitar player. He played the sitar! For my money, give me a good rap artist, talking over some riff that somebody else created, and I'm happy as a clam.

I just don't get it. I'm a big music fan. I consider myself to be well-informed about the music biz. I like what's hip; what's now. I don't need to be bothered with discussions about something that happened sometime before electric lights were invented.

As if that has had any influence on anything that anybody listens to now........

How North Dakota Acquired a Budget Surplus

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:06:00 +0000

Ghost Town Video

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:24:00 +0000

I don't own a video camera. Therefore, all our "music videos" are more like glorified vacation slides set to music. Yet artfully done!

Here's one I did recently for our song, Ghost Town:

Brooks & Dunn - Done

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Yes, I know it's old news, but I haven't commented on it yet, so it's new to me!

Wow - Brooks & Dunn have been around for 20 years? What the heck? Wow - I'm not 35 anymore? What the heck?

What I mean is, my, how time flies!

Well, the duo leaped to the stage (or in Ronnie's case, sauntered) with a song called, Brand New Man, but their second single, to me, was far superior.

Here's Down To My Next Broken Heart:

My all-time favorite Brooks & Dunn song will always be this one. Unfortunately, apparently the duo never bothered to make a video of this beautiful song, sung SUPERBLY by Ronnie Dunn. Here's pictures with music for Neon Moon:

In later years, B&D's output became less prolific, but they still could spring some surprises. Here's a Spanish-tinged song, called, My Heart Is Lost To You:

The boys proved they still had some "kix" left in 'em in 2004, when they released this fine piece of songwriting by Kix Brooks, Red Dirt Road:

I learned the path to heaven
Is full of sinner and believers
I learned that happiness
Ain't just for high achievers

I saw Brooks & Dunn in concert a few years back. People say that they make a strange pair, but frankly, one without the other would make for a very dull, long night at the arena.

There is no doubt that Ronnie Dunn has one of the finest voices in country music - bar none. But there is also no doubt that Kix Brooks is a great songwriter.

More than than, Ronnie is probably one of the most, shall I say, lackadaisical performers ever to shuffle onto the stage, while Kix is a big ball of energy (and probably has to be, considering).

Time will tell what will become of solo acts Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks. They're ready to move on, okay. But I have my doubts.

I leave you with this. Watching this next video, we have to apologize to Billy Ray Cyrus. He didn't SINGLE-HANDEDLY create the line dancing craze. Oh no. If you ever stepped foot inside a honky tonk in the late eighties/early nineties, you had to carefully circumvent the annoying cache of lined-up middle age "cowgirls" who were self-consciously trying to remember all the right steps, so that they wouldn't break the chain, while they danced to:

So long, Brooks & Dunn. Please don't make your farewell tour one of those "cry-fests", like the Judds did.

It was a fun and fast twenty years, wasn't it? Thanks for the fun.

Twang

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:33:00 +0000

I'm not much of a record buyer anymore. I used to be.

All the mainstream magazines review George Strait's albums, while virtually ignoring every other country release. And they all give him good reviews, every time.

How I miss the days of the defunct Country Music magazine, and writers like Rich Kienzle. Rich would have told it like it is.

I happen to own every George Strait album ever made, so I'm not here to snipe at George Strait. I love George Strait. I just want him to do better.

I recall the days when I'd buy a George Strait album, and find six or seven songs that I really liked. Nowadays, if I find two, I consider myself lucky. Three is a bonus.

Don't get me wrong. The songs he's recorded in the last few years are nice enough, and also forgettable enough. I was parked and waiting to pick up my kids from school in 1994, when a new song called, "The Big One" came on the car radio. I said to myself, "Whoa! I can't wait for THAT CD to come out!"

Those are the times I miss.

My favorite George Strait albums (I'm sure you have your own list) are Easy Come, Easy Go, Beyond the Blue Neon, and Pure Country. Those were a long time ago!

Don't get me wrong - he's had a bunch of nice tracks over the years. Tracks. Not albums.

On every George Strait CD, I can pick out (usually) at least one song that I really like. But one song does not a great albums make (or however that goes).

I think it's great that George wrote some songs for this album with his son, "Bubba". Sure George, you're one of the few country singers that employs outside songwriters anymore, but go ahead; hog those royalties! (just kidding?) George and "Bubba's" songs are okay; nothing to write home about.

The three (count 'em; three) tracks on Twang that I like are I Gotta Get To You (written by the ever reliable Jim Lauderdale; Beautiful Day for Goodbye, and El Rey (sung in Spanish!). That last one is a nice, unexpected bonus, and I like it.

That's it for me. Nothing wrong, per se, with the rest of the tracks; it's just that I've already forgotten them.

Here's George doing the required promotion for Twang, and ironically, the only song of my three that he mentions is El Rey. Trust me, the missing two are probably the best on the album.

So, my letter grade for Twang is a C+. Sorry. George is my favorite country singer. I just have to call 'em as I hear 'em.

Here's To a Class Act

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Rest in peace, Les Paul. And thanks for everything.

~~~

April Days Video

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:29:00 +0000

I played around a bit this weekend with creating a "video" for one of our songs. It's actually pictures set to music, but I'll just call it a video.

Here's April Days:

I Have A Confession To Make

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:52:00 +0000

I've talked a lot lately about the sad state of music, and why I don't buy music much anymore, except for the occasional mp3 download.

But I guess it's time for me to come clean.

The reason I hardly ever buy CD's anymore is because I CAN'T GET THEM OPEN!

I recently ordered a CD from Amazon, and it just came in the mail today. It's the new Tanya Tucker CD, called, "My Turn". The concept is, Tanya's doing songs made famous by guy singers. All old stuff; the newest being probably from the year 1977 (Ramblin' Fever).

Since I love all those old songs, and I'm a big Tanya Tucker fan, I was looking forward to hearing it, especially after a long, hard week at work.

Well, I encountered the same old problem that I always do with CD's. TRYING TO OPEN THEM!

Why the heck do they have to hermetically seal them?? What the hell?? Are they like the US Mint? Should I be putting my retirement funds into (music) CD's?? Somebody could have told me sooner.

G. Gordon Liddy should be doing commercials for CD's; not GOLD!

"THIS is a dollar bill (flicks it away dismissively). It USED to be WORTH something! Not anymore! Smart felons like ME put THEIR money in CD's! Yes! CD's by Tanya Tucker! And others! What's that you say? You can't OPEN the CD? Then you deserve to be KILLED! Just leave all the CD's to US, the ones who have sharp teeth and even sharper breaking and entering skills! CD'S! Buy them NOW from Rosland Capitol! Rosland Capitol RECORDS, that is!"

Just trying to rip off the (tightly sealed) shrink wrap is bad enough. I used a pen, because that was what I had handy. I tried to score the seam with my pen, and now I see that I have a blue pen line running the length of the jewel case. Attractive.

Then, if one somehow manages to remove the shrink wrap, they've gotta somehow peel away that little sticker that runs across the top of the CD. And it never comes off in one piece.

I used my teeth.

The sticker came off in little bits. And I had glue stuck all over my fingers, so when I tried to discard the little bits into the garbage can, I had to shake my hand vigorously to try to dislodge these stubborn remnants.

So, here I am, hand waving wildly over the top of the trash can; my cat highly alert, because hey, that might be prey that she's getting flicking off her fingers!

I finally got everything ship-shape and plopped the CD into my external drive. Well, it's a short CD, I'll give you that!

It actually took me longer to open it than it did to listen to it all the way through.

I give the CD a B minus. Good songs; mediocre production values; nice duets.

I give the CD PACKAGING an F plus. The "plus" is only because I actually did finally get it open.

So, there you have it. All this time, I've been moaning about the state of the music industry, when, in fact, it was the packaging all along.

It feels kind of liberating to finally admit it.

I don't know when the next George Strait CD will be dropped, but I hope it's awhile. With my mindset right now, I'm afraid I would end up flinging the CD at the wall, and I really don't have the money or the patience to be spackling and painting.

~~~

Is Today's Music Missing the "Feel"?

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:07:00 +0000

Other people tend to articulate things way better than I can. I browse a couple of songwriting boards every day on my lunch break (when I get one!), and a writer I admire (who's actually grabbed the brass ring, and has had at least one number one hit song), wrote a couple of days ago, "I no longer like country music as a whole and especially as a pursuit from a writers perspective."

So simple, yet to the point.

I actually don't know who likes country music anymore. At least, not the country music on the radio. I bet I could query a few icons of country music, and if they were honest, they would admit that they don't like the country music that's played on the radio.

The songwriters don't like it. They're just trying to make a living. (I do a lot of stuff I don't like, too, because I have to make a living).

Another board (that's much more amateurish) gives writers a place to post their lyrics, and for the most part, they're just awful. I think it's because they're all trying too hard. Over-thinking stuff just never really worked for me. 99.9% of the songs that I've "over-thought" have never seen the light of day. I recognize crap when I hear it, especially my own.

Music is meant to be felt. Yea, technically, it's meant to be "heard", but a true music lover knows what I mean. If you're not feeling it, forget it.

My favorite songs aren't "technically" perfect. I don't like my music sterile. It makes me wonder why the four million, five hundred thousand, two hundred and fifty two songwriters out there are so worried about finding the perfect (yet clever!) rhyme for nights. (Me included).

Just feel it, and maybe the rest will take care of itself.

On a related note, my favorite blogger, Craig Bickhardt, posted A Blissful Surrender this week. Poetic, as always.

And so, so true.

~~~

Writing Again

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:31:00 +0000

It seems like I've spent all my time lately trying to get a (any) computer to work.

It's been a QUEST. As Clark W. Griswold would say. Not a quest to find Marty Moose, but nevertheless a quest to just get things to WORK.

My "main" computer died. I haven't buried it yet, but I'm seriously thinking of taking a hammer to it, because that would make me feel a whole lot better.

My backup computer, well, it's a backup computer. What can I say? I got dang tired of the limitations of Windows ME (yes, Windows ME; that's how old the computer is), so I thought, hey, I've still got my installation disk for Windows XP. Let's try that! Surprisingly, after clicking through countless error messages, I actually got it to load!

Then, unfortunately, my computer didn't recognize my sound card. What the heck was I going to do without being able to listen to audio? So, I did a Google search and found a program that repairs stuff such as this, and again I was pleasantly surprised, because it worked.

Now, however, it won't read my external hard drive, so I'm faced with the dauntless task of re-adding all my music back onto my computer (yea, like THAT'S going to happen). It kind of makes one a bit more picky about their music. I'm currently loading Merle Haggard.

While I was messing with all this (because it tends to be time-consuming), I worked on a few songs. Four, to be exact.

I'm a gal who likes to multi-task, so why go with one song when you can work on FOUR?

The sad part (to me) is, they're sitting somewhere on my external hard drive, which my current computer doesn't seem to recognize, but I think I've got them seared into my memory anyway, so I haven't actually lost them.

And, it seems, I'm working my way through the middle part of the alphabet, because here are my current songs:

F - Fireworks Stand
G - Get Back To It
H - Hello, Old Friend
I - I Will Never Forget You

This whole computer mess has somehow allowed me to be more creative. Maybe it's because when one part of the brain is severely irritated, another part of the brain takes over. I think it keeps one from going insane. It's a defense mechanism.

I wonder what people in the olden days (before computers) did to become enraged. Surely, there must have been something. Maybe the old wringer washing machine broke down.

If the new millenium teaches us anything, it's that life is a series of frustrations. Just when you think things are going good, life smacks you upside the head, to let you know who's actually in charge.

But I've got the last laugh. Because I've got FOUR, count 'em, FOUR new songs. And, if only two of them turn out to be keepers, well, there you go. That's two more than I had before. So, Bill Gates, thanks for everything.

I am now loading George Strait onto my computer. Dwight will be next.

Starting from scratch is actually kind of liberating. It's like a do-over. I have now purged all the extraneous songs from my computer that I sort of, kind of liked.....one time. And now I can be a bit more selective.

And it has definitely liberated my creativity. So, the glass is half-full. Unfortunately, not half-full with wine, which I could really use right now.

And then I could drink a toast to creativity (yea, that's the excuse!).

~~~

Work With What You've Got

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:24:00 +0000

My recent computer meltdown has taught me a valuable lesson. I spent the latter half of last weekend with a legal pad and a hand-held tape recorder, and I enjoyed songwriting for the first time in ages.

I didn't need MS Word to spew forth lyrics for me, and I didn't need recording software to capture the essence of the song. In fact, I felt freer in my writing, and more creative, than I had in about 5 years.

Technology doesn't make creativity blossom. In fact, it often just gives us an excuse to waste time. And, for me, it fosters self-doubt. I record a song; I play it back. I'm frustrated that it's not good enough. I re-record it. It's the same song, but I somehow think that a better recording will magically make it better.

I type lines on a blank document. I notice that the first and third lines aren't matching up, lengthwise, so I throw in a few extraneous words, so that everything lines up nice and neat.

In other words, I'm constraining myself, and losing all the joy.

Last night, I managed to hook up my old computer. Now I remember why I ditched it in the first place. It kicks me offline arbitrarily. Somehow, the font size is HUGE, so I'm endlessly scrolling up and down, left and right, to read a simple news story. It doesn't have Flash, so I can't view any videos. Yes, I could install it, but this is a stop-gap measure anyway, so the ambition to upgrade and update really isn't there.

Almost all of my music is gone, and what's left (on this computer) is a strange mish-mash of mp3's, that leave me scratching my head as to why I loaded them onto my computer in the first place. But you know, I played some of them last night, and I had a good time!

And this computer actually remembers all my logons for me! My "regular" computer doesn't save any of that information. Don't ask me why.

So, I take the bad with the good, but I now realize that there's also good with the bad.

I've also been struggling with a life decision this week. I haven't formulated it all in my mind yet, but I think I pretty much know which way I will go. I had a chance to change things drastically, and I was dissatisfied and the grass was a much prettier green on the other side of the fence. But as I took a few steps onto the new grass, I found that it was kind of hard and crunchy, and it hurt my feet. My old grass may be old, but I've managed to break it in pretty well. I'm comfortable walking on it. Work with what you've got.

My main obstacle in songwriting, and in life in general, is self-doubt. I'm a mediocre songwriter at best, with occasional bursts of originality. I've spent far too much time focusing on the mediocrity, and far less time catching the original bursts. I write something, and I nitpick it to death. They won't like it. They'll say it's dumb. They won't like the melody. They won't understand it. They will humor me, and shake their heads and laugh behind my back.

When I first began writing, I would sit in the sun with a notebook and pen, and be happy. The ideas were coming faster than I could capture them on paper.

Now, I'm too focused on trying to write something that will be commercial, and I lost site of the joy of writing.

Someone (and I don't know who) once wrote this about songwriting:

"Don't EVER not write a song just because you think it's not a hit. It is a privilege to be able to write and express EVERY emotion in song. So WRITE them. And then write another one....."

So, the big lesson I've learned this week is, work with what you've got. And more than that, LOVE what you've got. You're better than you may think you are.

~~~

Thanks, Microsoft......for, uh, nothing?

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Recently (last Saturday evening, to be exact), I was working on a lovely video project for Red River's song, Ghost Town. I used Windows Moviemaker, because, well, that was really the only option available to me.

Everything was going well, until Windows Moviemaker froze up my system.

I had no choice but to shut my PC off, wait the requisite 60 seconds, then turn it back on again.

Which I did.

I got back into good old Moviemaker and continued to edit my project (it was turning out extremely well, by the way.)

But alas. It froze up my system again!

I repeated the previous steps, hoping that I could finish editing two simple frames and be done with it, never to click on the Moviemaker icon again.

This time, however, my PC told me that it needed to "check my disc for instability". Okay. Go ahead. I waited, and waited. I went downstairs, fixed a snack, ate it. Came back. Still checking my disc!

After what seemed like the turn of the seasons, it finished checking. However, now my PC told me that it was shutting down (not fatally ~ at least it didn't tell me it was fatal). Just that it was shutting down, because "something" was definitely wrong.

Well, I guess! I could never boot up windows again! Aha! So, it was fatal! I think my PC was trying to let me down gently.

After a long day Sunday of sitting around flipping through the channels on my TV, since I had nothing else to do, I packed up the stupid PC and lugged it into work with me Monday morning, because there is an IT guy who fixes computers (PC's, no doubt) on the side.

That was five days ago. I'm still waiting. He tells me that my disc is corrupted. Hey, I was kind of anticipating that! He may or may not be able to back up my files. My tens of thousands of precious files (I know; I know ~ back up your files! Oh, like we all do it every day. We don't.)

Either way, I need a new hard drive.

So, from work, I thought, hey, why not contact Microsoft and provide them with some feedback regarding their lovely, high-performing Moviemaker software?

Herewith is my communications log with Microsoft:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject : Windows Moviemaker

Message: Hi, I'm wondering if you are doing anything to make this product more stable. It managed to freeze up my computer twice in one day, and eventually led to not being able to boot my computer at all. I downloaded it from your site, so it should have been safe. Hopefully, my computer is fixable and it doesn't break the bank to pay for the repairs, but I'm really disappointed in the whole experience. Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Customer Service.

I am sorry that your experience with Windows Movie Maker was less than acceptable.

I appreciate you providing us the feedback. It will be instrumental in helping us to improve our products and services. Microsoft is committed to listening to its customers and improving its products and services based upon customer feedback.

However, for further assistance I request you to contact a Microsoft Support Professional via e-mail, telephone or chat by visiting the following web link and selecting the appropriate edition of Windows XP to resolve your issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/select/default.aspx?target=assistance&c1=509&

Please note that the support for Windows Movie maker is tied with Windows.

I hope the above information is helpful.

Thank you,
Karabi
Microsoft Customer Service Representative
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HERE IS WHERE THE LINK TOOK ME:

$59.00
Chat
Monday - Friday 5:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Saturday - Sunday 6:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

$59.00
E-mail
Always
Up to 8 hours

$59.00
Call Microsoft
Monday - Friday 5:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Saturday - Sunday 6:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject : Windows Moviemaker

Hi and thank you for responding to my complaint regarding the instability of Windows Movie Maker, and the way it caused my computer to crash, resulting in, I am assuming, several dollars out of my pocket to repair my PC, if it is even possible to fix at this point.

My quibble is that the link you provided in your response shows that I actually have to PAY to obtain assistance from you regarding one of YOUR software applications. I really think that Microsoft should stand behind its products, and not expect the buyer to pay for what is essentially YOUR issue. I have read several internet comments regarding the instability of Movie Maker, so it obviously is not just me.

I don't expect anything from you at this point, but I think the issue that I raise is valid. Thank you. I'll be going with a Mac next time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Michelle,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Customer Service.

I apologize that you are not satisfied with your experience with Microsoft.

Your feedback is very important to us. Microsoft is committed to customer satisfaction, and it is only with the help of our valued customers that we can achieve this goal.

Thank you,
Anil
Microsoft Customer Service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may think the above communications are worthless. I, however, learned some very valuable facts:

First of all, Karabi isn't the friendliest guy in the world. Note how he just said, "Hello". No personalized greeting for Karabi. Karabi is too busy reprimanding people for not using the correct link. He's also busy stating the obvious; "Moviemaker is tied with Windows". No sh*t, Sherlock! I was wondering why they both contained the word, "windows"!

Karabi also hopes that the information he provided was helpful. But I know he doesn't really mean that. Karabi is just putting in his 20-hour workday, saving up his Rupees, and hoping to one day emigrate to the US, where he can get another Customer Service job, in which hostility and high-handedness is the expected norm.

Anil, on the other hand, is a friendly sort. "Hello Michelle". Now that's more like it. I like Anil better. Unfortunately, Anil has just washed his hands of the whole matter, and doesn't even try to offer a solution. He just apologizes and reiterates Karabi's lie about Microsoft being committed to its customers. In what way? I'm sensing a real lack of commitment, personally.

And really. $59.00 to call them? What are they going to say if/when I finally get someone on the line? "Microsoft is very committed to its customers"? Uh, thanks?

$59.00 for an email response? Hey, I got two email responses in two days for free, and they were as helpful, I'm sure, as my $59.00 payout would be.

And finally, I learned more about Microsoft than I already unfortunately knew. Microsoft doesn't care about its customers. And it sure doesn't care about the buggy software it "invents". In fact, I'm wondering if the "developers" sit around laughing, saying, "Hey, wait 'til people try to use this!"

If they're truly committed to their customers, then how about offering to pay the cost of fixing my computer? I'm currently hooked up to an old (and I do mean old) PC that's running Windows ME, for pete's sake. And the fonts and displays are GIANT SIZED, which is really messing with my head. I have to scroll up to actually see what I've written above. Because it doesn't all fit on my screen.

And they get paid really well!

I, on the other hand, don't. Thus, I can hardly afford to get my computer fixed. But I will. That's just how they suck you in.

~~~

How Did I Get On These Lists?

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:27:00 +0000

A word of advice, first of all. Don't let your email go a week without checking it, because then you will find that you've got 50 new emails, and it's hell trying to weed through them all.

So, tonight I thought I would tackle the whole email project, and I found emails from a variety of sources, many of them music related; all trying to sell me something.

Broadjam - a FREE year's membership! If I want to submit any songs for their "opportunities", however, it'll cost me $20.00 per submission.

MusicSubmit - get 450 submissions when I order the "200 Package". The 200 package is only $69.95 (all major credit cards accepted!)

Join Taxi and learn how to write better songs! Only $299.95! Okay, been there, done that. Still paying off the $299.95.

ASCAP Inside Music - last day to enter the Sing-to-Win Contest (whatever that is). And get three months free of the Musician's Atlas. Oops, missed the deadline. Dang it. And that Musician's Atlas is a valuable keepsake.

I also learned that the new Music Publisher Registry is priceless (bet not). Don't know how much it really is, but what in the world would I do with that?

So, I thought I would just send a shout-out to all you music business entrepreneurs out there:

I HAVE NO MONEY.

More useful to me were the emails from Marlboro (sorry, non-smoking zealots), inviting me to enter daily to win a prize, or the New Belgium Beer (never even knew there was such a thing) contest to win a Schwinn (daily entry!)

My odds are better with Marlboro and New Belgium, and hey! Entry is free!

Look, I'm getting kind of tired of saying this, but I'll say it again:

YOU PAY ME.

That's how it's supposed to work. If my music is really worth as much as you claim it is, then PAY ME.

Or just leave me alone, and let me watch all the YouTube video links that my friends keep sending me, that aren't really very funny, but I have to watch them, so I can send my friends a nice "ha ha - cute!" reply.

~~~

Happy Birthday, America!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:42:00 +0000

The Brass Ring?

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:13:00 +0000

There is no brass ring.

The music business has changed.

If Bob Dylan were starting out today, he'd be uploading his recordings onto some internet site, and hoping that somebody would "discover" him.

He'd get lots of "friend requests" from people who never bothered to listen to his music, but want him to listen to theirs.

Money talks.

If you've got money to pay for a demo, you can make any piece of junk sound good.

If you're putting off paying the phone bill because the car insurance is due, you're not buying any demos.

No one is listening.

Even with your bright, shiny demo, who's going to listen to it?

Anybody who's got any money to pay you, isn't trolling the internet for songs.

Why bother?

Did you ever sit and doodle a nice drawing? And you thought, hey, that's nice. But what am I going to do with it?

Well, just look at it and enjoy it and pat yourself on the back, because you did a nice drawing.

That's why bother.

Please yourself.

Bad Week

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:23:00 +0000

It's been a bad week for some of us.

Milestones are often tough, because they remind us of our own mortality.

Three milestones this week, and the week's not even over!

Let me start at the beginning and work my way backwards (if that makes any sense).

In the late seventies, I abandoned my one true love, country music, for reasons that I've documented in the past, and I won't bore you with now. I switched my radio dial over to the rock station, and I tuned my TV to MTV (when MTV was still actually broadcasting music!)

Sure, I'd been familiar with the Jackson Five. Didn't do a lot for me. But it seemed that one of the "Five" (the main one) had decided to set out on his own. And what a "set out" that proved to be!

I was a young mother, sitting at home, raising the babies, watching TV, cuz there really was no money to do anything except watch TV. I watched music videos, and saw one that really caught my attention:

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (Official Music Video) - For more of the funniest videos, click here

A short time later, I saw this:

You might not remember this, but this was THE musical event of 1982:

Thriller - Michael Jackson

In 1985, I was overly excited by this video, because it featured so many music icons, and I'm just a sucker for that kind of thing.

It kind of went on from there, with:

And with:

Michael Jackson - Bad (Official Music Video) - Click here for funny video clips

So, I was a true admirer of Michael Jackson. Who wouldn't be? Sure, there was a bunch of weird stuff that came later, but as judgmental as I was at the time, I don't even want to rehash that now.

Working my way forward (by going backwards), I'm led to this:

I'd never been a "Charlie's Angels" fan. Who was, really? Sure, my nephew had the poster on his wall, and I spent a strange night visiting my sister and sleeping in my nephew's bed, with that stupid poster staring down at me, but that was really neither here nor there.

But Ann Rule? I could get on board with that. I was always a big Ann Rule fan, and therefore I'd read her book, "Small Sacrifices" and had been eternally haunted by it.

Well, when Farrah made the TV movie, and so eerily portrayed Diane Downs, I was spellbound. That's what I will remember Farrah for. That and the recent documentary, that I forced myself to watch, because it seem so exploitative. But I'm glad now that I did watch it, because I realized what a courageous and loving person Farrah was (Ryan O'Neal not withstanding).

Oh, and here's the poster (for those who care):

I'm old enough to remember when she was Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Farrah led a long, yet short life. Her passing makes me feel sad.

Pretty much, from the time that I started to form memories, I remember The Tonight Show.

Johnny Carson was a constant in my life. In the summers, when school was out, I'd stay up and watch The Tonight Show. Johnny was the best late-night TV host there will ever be.

But, you know, every genius needs his foil, and Ed McMahon was Johnny's foil.

Take a look at this:

Who can forget this?

And, of course, Carnac the Magnificent:

So, I guess, three decades. The sixties, seventies, and eighties. All wrapped up in one sad week. How damn often does that happen? Never?

I'm feeling melancholy tonight. It's hard enough to grieve for one person, but three? And I guess what I'm really grieving for is the times that are gone. I can't recapture these times, and I didn't even realize how poignant they were. At the time.

~~~

My Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:23:00 +0000

It's hard to have a Father's Day without a father.

If my dad was still alive, he'd be 85 years old. And he'd still be as exasperating and silly as he always was.

My dad was a character. There are no two ways about it. I'll never know anyone like him, because there just isn't anyone like him.

The stuff that makes me me, I got mostly from my dad.

One of my earliest memories of my dad is sitting and watching him shave. He had that old-fashioned straight razor, and he'd be looking in the mirror and singing one of the latest tunes he'd heard on the radio. "Catch A Falling Star" was a favorite. I sat there like a star-struck fan, just watching my dad shave.......and sing.

My dad was always singing......or whistling. He was a great whistler.

In my early years, my dad was a farmer. He worked really hard, from before sunup to after sundown. But he'd always drive the tractor into the yard at lunchtime, so I'd be waiting in the yard by the house; waiting for him to drive in. And I'd run out to meet him. He'd scoop me up in his arms and carry me to the kitchen.

My dad had six kids, but in so many ways, I think I am the one most like him.

My dad was the eternal optimist. Even in light of hard evidence to the contrary, he always believed that things would work out okay. Or he just figured that it wasn't worth worrying about. That's me.

He lived for small pleasures. He found endless humor in the absurd. Problem was, if he found something funny, he just wouldn't let it go. And it would leave the rest of us scratching our heads, because we didn't quite "get" what was so funny.

Remember that commercial about the Roach Motel? "Roaches check in, but they don't check out"? For some reason, he just found that to be hilarious. And he'd endlessly quote it. I could postulate that it was because, after many years of farming, my mom and dad went into business by buying a motel, so maybe that was the connection. But I still don't really get why that was so funny.

But we'd all laugh, just because it was funny that he was laughing about it. Humor in the absurd.

By no means was life a bowl of cherries for my dad. First of all, he worked really hard. There wasn't much money in the early days, and my folks got by on credit, until the harvest came in.

So, he really appreciated the small moments. Picnics in the backyard; a can of Grain Belt. A pack of Belairs in his pocket.

And then there was the inherited disease. Alcoholism. It kind of ran rampant in my dad's family, and my dad was not immune.

It didn't really get bad until the late sixties. Leaving the farm and going into business was perhaps a financial boon, but not an emotional one. Left to his own devices (and unfortunately running a bar as part of the motel complex), my dad didn't want to make his patrons feel lonely, so he'd pour himself a tall glass of whatever they were having.

As one can imagine, one thing led to another, and life got bad. Lots of drama; lots of heartache.

Finally, in 1976, my dad owned up. He knew what he had to do, and although he was sort of led, kicking and screaming, he entered treatment for the third time and got his life back.

After that, he read his twelve-step book every day. He became a sponsor. I have my dad's twelve-step book. It's one of the few things I have that belonged to him.

For the rest of his life, he never took another drink. And life was still good. He still laughed about stupid stuff. He still got tickled by things that the rest of us didn't get.

My mom and dad sold the business and retired at a relatively young age. My dad took up gardening (a flash to the farming years). He complained about the rabbits eating his lettuce.

He sat in his blue recliner with his stained coffee mug, and watched Johnny Carson, and smoked, smoked, smoked his Belairs.

He'd been in a car accident (with a Model T? or a Model A? One of those models) just before he'd gotten married. His hearing was permanently damaged, so we all dealt with his mishearing, misunderstanding stuff all through the years, but it got progressively worse as time went on. He wore hearing aids, but they didn't help a whole lot.

The thing was, if he misheard something, he'd just make up something else. He'd come up with the most absurd interpretations of what someone had said; one just knew that he was messing with us.

"Richard, do you want more coffee?"

"Toffee? You know I can't eat toffee!"

It was like Emily Latella, and just as calculated.

When Alzheimer's settled over him like a soft blanket, he'd still sit in his recliner late at night, but now he'd carry on conversations with his imaginary friend, long after my mom had gone to bed for the night.

We came to visit and stayed overnight in the spare bedroom, and as I lay in bed, I could hear him talking in the living room. I fell asleep that night to the sound of my dad's voice. It felt gentle; soothing. Just like I was a little girl again.

After my dad passed away, I sat in my rocking chair on the weekends and played Ray Price over and over. It made me happy, because I felt that Dad was there with me, and telling me, in his gentle, soothing voice; "It's all right".

Soft rain was falling
When you said goodbye
Thunder and lightening
Filled my heart inside
A love born in heaven
Had suddenly died
And the soft rain was teardrops
For the angels all cried

Happy Father's Day to all you dads. And to all you daughters and sons.

~~~

Just To Prove My Point About Critics

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:21:00 +0000

If you go back and read the two posts before this one, I listed a gaggle of what I consider to be "essential" country albums.

Well, it seems that good old EW decided to follow my lead! Hey, I love Entertainment Weekly, so I'm just happy that they decided to do a list at all.

25 Country Albums You Need To Hear (Even If You Hate Country Music)

EW is heavy on the more modern albums, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of their choices.

But remember when I wrote this?

"Essential" means different things to different people. If one is a music critic, the list will include the usual suspects ("Red Headed Stranger", "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", anything by Gram Parsons or Johnny Cash; you get my drift).

Well, here you go......highlights from their list.....

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

Critics love this album. But, I don't know. I guess if you were actually around in 1968, it may have long ago lost its cache.

I like Johnny Cash. But, to critics, he holds some kind of "original outlaw" status.

I'm not all that concerned with image. I just like good music.

I didn't include this on my essential albums list, and I still stand by that. I will say, however, that anyone just learning to play guitar should just sit and strum/pick along with "Folsom Prison Blues". You'll sound like a virtuoso to yourself in no time.

Home - Dixie Chicks

Well, "Fly" was far superior.

Critics like this album because this was released around the time that the DC just started becoming "political".

Props to "Traveling Soldier". Buy the mp3 single; skip the album.

Unless you really feel like contributing to their "cause". Whatever that may be.

Dwight Yoakam - Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.

No quibbles here. This was Dwight's first album, and it's got
a couple of Dwight classics.

I, however, would recommend one of the greatest hits packages or one of a number of other superior offerings.

Pick any one of them. You can't really go wrong.

Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose

The reason critics like this one is because Jack White produced it.

I bought it. I played it one time.

Pretty picture, though, huh?

Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger

The reason critics like Willie Nelson is that he plays and records with pretty much everyone in the world. I have a shoebox sitting here that Willie will be recording his next album with. Looking forward to it!

This album does have "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain", so that's a plus. It's a stark recording. I just like a little more instrumentation on the songs I listen to. I do like Willie, though. Just kinda wish he was a little more discerning about who/what he records with. But that's Willie.

Buck Owens - Carnegie Hall Concert

Already mentioned it. In fact, it was the first album I listed.

Nice of EW to follow my lead, though.

(EW then listed a bunch of modern-day stuff that you can or cannot buy. Whatever. It's your dollar.)

Gram Parsons - The Complete Reprise Sessions

I'm not overly knowledgeable about Gram Parsons. I basically know him as Emmylou's mentor.

That said, I appreciate his love and respect for older country music.

The reason that critics flock to his music is that he died young. Much like Jim Morrison.

Guys that write EW articles aren't exactly sitting back, grooving to classic country music. But I do give them credit for trying to appear relevant!

Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors

Weird thing about me and Dolly: I like Dolly; I just don't like like like Dolly.

It's hard to explain. While I definitely appreciate her enormous talent, and while I really loved her duets with Porter, I can't actually sit and listen to a whole album of Dolly at one sitting. I guess a little Dolly goes a long way for me.

Why do critics choose one of her albums? Because she crossed over. She recorded with Kenny Rogers, with that godawful, yet catchy! Barry Gibb song, Islands In The Stream. She starred in Nine To Five. You just know the critics aren't cranking up the far superior, Tomorrow Is Forever.

Emmylou Harris - Elite Hotel

Yea, I beat 'em to it again. But compliments from me on their good taste!

I already said that this is Emmylou's finest album. If you don't own it, you really should.

Robbie Fulks - Georgia Hard

Robbie Fulks = Alt Country.

Alt Country = Country That Used To Be Country, But Is Now Too COUNTRY To Be Called Country.

Is that clear? Cuz it seems kind of nonsensical, but that's just the way it is.

I don't actually own this album, but I own a bunch of Robbie Fulks CD's. I think I might have to get this one.

Critics like Robbie Fulks because he's "alt". I like him because he likes country music. And he's unique.

Listen to Tears Only Run One Way. That sounds like country to me. Do you think maybe Rodney Crowell was influenced by Robbie? I think that's a pretty safe bet.

Hank Williams - Gold

The only reason I didn't include Hank Williams on my lists is because it seems like kind of a no-brainer.

I mean, isn't it just assumed that Hank Williams would be included among the essential country albums?

Just listen to this, and it tells you all you really need to know about country music.

Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard

Okay, if you want to do Merle Haggard on the cheap.

I still say, buy Down Every Road. It's a tremendous bargain. Especially for the successor to Hank's throne.

Shania Twain - Come On Over

Agreed. This is Shania's best album.

When this album was released in 1997, we music fans were supposed to feel stupid for liking it. Poppycock.

This albums stands up. I don't care if you think it's poppy schlock or really, what you think of it. It's good.

I got up, like a drunken fool, with my best friend, at another friend's wedding dance, and sang this song. I had morning-after regret, but you know, it's a really good song! Recorded with Bryan White, I think it's actually the perfect wedding song!

Steve Earle - Guitar Town

It's not that I meant to exclude this album. I just sort of forgot.

Step inside any honky tonk in the nineties, and you would hear the driving strains of Guitar Town, not to mention Hillbilly Highway. All that's missing here is Copperhead Road.

Sadly, Steve Earle pretty much had one great album. He's recorded a lot of them, but I guess one shouldn't peak too soon. It kind of makes everything else you do sound like second best.

Guitar Town has some of the most clever and catchy lines ever written in a country song. It makes songwriters strive to capture that fairy dust. Alas, it's not easy.

Vince Gill - These Days

Okay, I'll admit it. I don't own this album. I know that's it's purported to be Vince's best, and a four-disc set, to boot.

Is this worth purchasing? Let me know.

What track should I listen to from this set, to make me want to buy it?

I'm a Vince Gill fan; don't get me wrong. I just sort of stopped listening to country a few (okay, five) years before this album was released, so I missed it.

I have no doubt, however, that it's as great as all the critics say it is.

Almost Blue - Elvis Costello

Why do critics like it? Well, it's a rock star doing country music.

It's sort of, you know, like how the critics latched on to country music when Keith Richards recorded a country album. It's the unexpected.

Critics don't really give a hoot about country music until one of their icons tells them that country music is cool. Then they'll listen. I'm waiting for Springsteen to record his country album. Oh, and it's coming. Trust me.

I have this album. I'm not one of those Costello worshipers. But I do appreciate what he did here. And if Elvis can get folks (like critics) to listen to country, then God bless Elvis Costello.

Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

This is one of my favorite albums ever!

I didn't exclude it from my list on purpose. I just didn't know that it was a country album!

Killing The Blues is one of my favorite songs from this LP (LP - how much does that date me?)

And, of course, Gone Gone Gone.

Why do critics like this? Well, a critic would have to be a real dunce not to like Alison Krauss. But aside from that, well, it's Robert Plant, after all. Led Zeppelin?

The juxtaposition between Robert Plant doing Robert Plant-like stuff, and Robert Plant doing T Bone Burnett stuff just boggles the critics' minds.

T Bone really deserves the credit here. Sure, if you, as a producer, have two stellar voices to work with, it might seem easy. But it's the production that really cinches the deal.

After all, before he even imagined pairing Alison and Plant, he hooked us with this song, ably lip-synched by George Clooney in the Coen (Minnesota!) Brothers movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

So, yes, I skipped a bunch of EW's recommendations. I really had no comments to make on some of them, since I couldn't really tell you if they're good, not so good, terrible, or pathetic. (I will say, for the record, however, that I do consider Big & Rich to fall into the "pathetic" column.)

My EW grade? Cuz, you know, if you read Entertainment Weekly, the critics love to give a grade to everything they review.

Actually: B+

Nice effort, for someone who is (I assume) playing catch up with country music. Whoever you are, writer, you've done an admirable job.

Those remedial courses are working out nicely!

~~~

Essential Country Albums - The Classics

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:56:00 +0000

What are "essential" country albums?

"Essential" means different things to different people. If one is a music critic, the list will include the usual suspects ("Red Headed Stranger", "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", anything by Gram Parsons or Johnny Cash; you get my drift).

If one discovered "country music" in the 21st century, the list would be, well, sad. To generalize. Which I'm famous for doing.

In Part One, I kind of sifted through my music collection and made my choices by "feel". Which isn't actually a bad way to go, because what do we do, if not "feel" music?

And, in Part Deux, I'm going to continue along that path. I could intellectualize the whole thing, but what fun is that? Kind of takes the soul right out of the music, doesn't it, music critics?

In the late hour and in my zeal to create List Number One, I realize now that I made a really big gaffe.

And the big gaffe was this:

Down Every Road - Merle Haggard

This FOUR-DISC set is currently selling for only $35.97 on Amazon. That's only $8.99 per disc! A bargain, to be sure.

One could try to isolate the best of the best of Merle Haggard (another actual CD title) by choosing only one of Merle's albums, but why do that, when you can have basically his entire career, all in one inexpensively priced box set?

If a listener is starting out "new" to country music, this is THE place to start. In fact, it kind of starts and ends with this guy.

Highlights? Well, gee, this set contains ONE HUNDRED Haggard recordings, so let's see.....

We can start with the early days and "Sing Me A Song" or "(I'm a Lonesome) Fugitive" or the classic, "Sing Me Back Home".

We can move on to the middle years, with one of the all-time greatest country songs ever, "(Today) I Started Loving You Again", or "Mama Tried" or "Silver Wings" or "Workin' Man Blues" or "If We Make It Through December" or "Always Wanting You" or "Runnin' Kind", or one of my other personal favorites, "Everybody's Had The Blues".

We can move on to the third portion of the trifecta, with "Footlights" or "Misery and Gin" or "Big City", or the Townes Van Zandt song, "Pancho and Lefty".

You see? It's kinda hard to choose.

So, yes, I'm an idiot for leaving this off Part One. I guess, if you don't buy any of my other recommendations, buy this one, and I'll be thrilled for you.

Waylon Jennings - RCA Country Legends

While only a two-disc set, this is a bargain at any cost. And the cost happens to be $24.98 on Amazon (or $12.49 per disc, my calculator tells me).

The original Nashville Rebel, Waylon, from all I read, could be a bit of a hell-raiser and an overall less-than-nice dude. Doesn't matter. In 1967, Waylon hooked me with Love of the Common People (not included in this two-disc set).

What is included in this set are songs such as, "The Chokin' Kind", "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line", the beautiful "Yours Love", the equally beautiful "Dreaming My Dreams (With You)", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Rainy Day Woman", and "Good Hearted Woman" (and that's just disc one).

Disc two has the ever-overplayed "Luckenbach, Texas", "Wurlitzer Prize", "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies...."......well, you know the rest; the lovely "Amanda", Waylon and Jessi's duet version of "Storms Never Last", and, the never to be forgotten, "Theme From The Dukes of Hazzard" (and if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: They keep a'showin' my hands, but not my face on TV.)

Seriously, Waylon ranks right up there in the pantheon. Which is kind of a cool word that one doesn't get to use much in everyday conversation. Yes, the pantheon of country music legends.

Don't leave this one off your shopping list.

Patsy Cline - The Definitive Collection

Yes, girls ALSO sing country music!

One can't really call Patsy Cline a "girl", though. It would be more accurate to call her a "dame".

And, well, wow! Since 1963, when Patsy perished in a tragic plane crash, girl singers have been trying to become "dames" like her, and unfortunately, (in my opinion, of course) only one came even slightly close. But they keep trying!

Beginning with the haunting, "Walkin' After Midnight", and continuing on to the soulful "Leavin' On Your Mind" and "I Fall To Pieces", to the unquestionably top twenty (or is it ten?) of all-time best country songs, written by Willie Nelson, "Crazy", this album will introduce novices to the only queen that country music really ever had.

Don't forget Patsy's version of Bob Wills' "Faded Love" (with that cry at the end) or Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams".

It's sad that we lost Patsy so prematurely. If she were still alive today, she'd be recording "alternative country" albums, which we would have to find in the bargain bins of our independent records stores; and she wouldn't get any press, of course. But at least those who know would still have that voice.

Storms of Life - Randy Travis

$4.97? Really? For Randy Travis's seminal album? Who could afford NOT to buy it?

Released in 1986, this album was a revelation to those who cherished, but dearly missed, real country music.

Here was a guy who obviously loved country, and who had the pipes to pull it off. Not to mention some classic songs.

"On The Other Hand"? Classic.

How about one of my other top twenty country songs of all time, "1982"? That song alone is worth $4.97 in my book. If you care to read a fan's dissertation regarding the genius of "1982", just go here.

Can't say more. Randy Travis is the real deal.

The Essential Marty Robbins

Some people love him; some people don't get him. I am in the camp of "love him". If you want to read my take on Marty Robbins, click here.

I'll admit; I'm puzzled by those who don't get him, because it seems obvious to me. But tastes are tastes.

Maybe it's because he had such an expansive vocal range. Maybe people are used to the monotoned folks of today. I guess it's all conditioning, isn't it?

But if you think that Marty is irrelevant, check this out:

So, if a now, happenin' guy like Keith Urban can get on board with Marty Robbins' music, maybe you should, too.

Missing from Keith's performance is the classic, groundbreaking, Don't Worry. Groundbreaking? Yea. Marty inadvertently gave birth to the fuzz guitar LONG before the Beatles ever did it.

You be the judge:

The Essential Tammy Wynette

There are a lot of pretenders to Patsy Cline's throne. No one comes very close. Tammy Wynette comes the closest.

Donald Eugene Lytle (aka Johnny Paycheck) wrote Tammy's first hit song, "Apartment #9" (and I love that hatchmark for "number", don't you? Gives it sort of a cache all its own).

Tammy, of course, only went on to bigger and more hit-worthy songs from there. We won't really spend any time on "Stand By Your Man". It is what it is. It was good the first 200 times. After that, I was pretty much over it.

But don't forget "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" or "My Elusive Dreams" (with David Houston) or "I Don't Wanna Play House", or another of my top twenty of all time, "'Til I Can Make It On My Own".

Like Patsy, we lost Tammy too soon. Someone may come along one day like Patsy or Tammy. It could happen. I'm just not holding my breath.

Burning Memories - Ray Price

Chet Atkins (God rest his soul) takes a lot of heat, to this day, for the Countrypolitan sound that he made famous.

Sure, sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn't.

Here, it worked.

Maybe it took a class act to pull it off. Ray Price is a class act.

At the age of 83, Ray is still touring, and still sounds good! What the heck more can you ask of someone who's 83?

My mom really loved Ray Price; and I think my parents owned maybe two LP's in the early years. One was by Buck Owens. The other was "Burning Memories". Thus, I pretty much have this album memorized, track order and all. But aside from sentimental reasons, you should listen to this album, if for no other reason, than to hear "Here Comes My Baby Back Again", a song written by Dottie West, and done superbly here by Ray Price.

After my dad passed away, I sat in my room and listened to Ray sing "Soft Rain" over and over. "Soft rain was falling when you said goodbye". Actually, rather than being sad, this is a happy memory for me. I think my dad was there listening with me.

Put this CD on your player and sit back and reflect. Really, there are no clunkers here. Every track is a gem.

Buck Owens - Together Again/My Heart Skips A Beat

Okay, if I'm going to talk about "Burning Memories", I have to also talk about this album.

Where do you think Dwight Yoakam got his mojo? Well, it started here, with this album from 1964.

"Close Up The Honky Tonks" - sorry, but two-steppin' heart-breakin' country music just doesn't get any better than this.

And, of course, there's "Together Again", featuring the timeless steel guitar virtuosity of Tom Brumley.

A couple of relatively unknown tracks that I highly recommend on this album are "Over and Over" and "Getting Used To Losing You".

If you like your country real and raw, check out this album.

Faron Young - Golden Hits

I don't know about you, but I like my country with a shuffle beat and a couple of twin fiddles. Call me crazy.

Faron Young initially made his splash recording for Capitol Records. His early recording years produced songs such as, Alone With You and If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin'), later covered by George Strait.

And, of course, there was Hello Walls.

But it was in his Mercury Records years that Faron, to me, really hit his stride.

Classic tracks, such as "Wine Me Up" and "Step Aside" co-mingled with Kris Kristofferson's "Your Time's Comin'". My sentimental favorite here is a song written by Tom T. Hall, called, "If I Ever Fall In Love (With A Honky Tonk Girl)".

And let's not forget, "It's Four In The Morning".

If you've forgotten, or don't even know Faron Young, you're forgetting the history of country music. Faron was relevant in the fifties, and he became even more relevant in the seventies. Faron was a contemporary (and friend) of Hank Williams, and he was a friend to songwriters throughout his many decades of recording.

Classic.

Martina McBride - Timeless

Surprise! An artist NOT from the fifties, sixties, seventies, or even the eighties!

Why did I include this?

Well, because it's TIMELESS.

Martina normally may be kind of boxed into recording songs that will get radio play, but obviously, her heart is with TRUE country music.

Seems to me that this is a real labor of love, because Martina includes many songs here that made my personal list of the twenty all-time best country songs. So, I guess she has good taste! Songs like, "Love's Gonna Live Here" and "'Til I Can Make It On My Own". And she even dusted off that seventies Lynn Anderson chestnut, "Rose Garden", and it actually sounds kinda cool!

My favorites on this album, however, are lesser-known (or more accurately, forgotten) hits, such as "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" and "I Don't Hurt Anymore".

And she does a killer version of Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways".

If you think you might, sorta, like older country music, but you like it jazzed up a bit with a more modern sound, buy this! You'll get a crash course in country music history, and you will love it!

So, there you go. My list of essential CLASSIC country albums.

I think it's important to not forget. Most of these guys (and gals) are the reason there even IS something called country music (although it would be a stretch to even remotely connect the two now).

But at least we have it on record.

~~~

Essential Country Albums

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Anderson) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:42:00 +0000

I find ideas in the strangest places. I went to Amazon, with the sole purpose of leaving a book review, and then I thought, oh, why bother? I thought, what if the author reads it, and her feelings are hurt? What's the point?

Anyway, the page I was on had some discussions about country music, and you know how I like a good country music discussion. One of the questions was:

"What are the first 10 CD's that are a 'must own' for anyone just starting a country music collection?"

The author went on to say that some of the artists he likes are Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, and Waylon Jennings (a pertinent point to include, since country music to me could mean something completely different to someone else).

So, I started thinking about my favorite country music albums.

The problem with country albums, as opposed to rock, is that back in the day, albums were basically a means of promoting the hit single, and the rest of the tracks were afterthoughts (a lot of filler; usually a bunch of cover songs). Sadly.

So, overall, a new country listener would be well advised to go for the "greatest hits" packages.

As time went on, and country was dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century, some of that began to change, happily.

Thence (thence?) I started to browse through my music collection, and surprisingly, I realized that ten albums is very limiting.

I've got way more than ten that fit the parameters of the author's question. But I'll stop with ten this time, and maybe do a Part Two later.

So, in no particular order, because I'm really too lazy to try to rank them, here's Part One:

The Carnegie Hall Concert - Buck Owens & The Buckaroos

Recorded live, back in the sixties, this album has the joy and the excitement that only a live recording can convey.

You'll hear the best versions of some of Buck's greatest hits, particularly because Don Rich is singing harmony, whereas, in the studio recordings, Buck tended to sing harmony with himself much of the time, and Don Rich adds a real vibrancy to the songs.

You'll get little snippets (medleys) of some of Buck's perhaps lesser-known songs, which will make you want to get the original recordings, just to hear these songs in their entirety. Songs such as, "Don't Let Her Know" and "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)".

Plus, you'll hear a kick-ass version of "Buckaroo".

Love In The Hot Afternoon - Gene Watson

This is the album that introduced us to the voice that is Gene Watson.

While it doesn't include "Farewell Party" (download this as an mp3), this is an album I listened to over and over when it was released in 1975.

I thought, hey, this new guy has quite a voice! And "Love In The Hot Afternoon" is (now) a classic country song. Back then, it was just....new and great.

A couple of my other favorite tracks from this album are, "For The First Time", "This Is My Year For Mexico", and "Where Love Begins".

Country Music - Marty Stuart

Released in 2003, this, to me, is Marty's greatest album. Many prefer "The Pilgrim", but for those who remember real country (see Buck Owens, above), this album is hard to beat.

Marty is a real country music historian, and songs such as, "Sundown In Nashville" remind us of songs we may never have heard, or like me, just plain forgot about.

Stellar tracks include, "Fool For Love", "Here I Am", the silly/endearing "By George", and, of course, "Farmer's Blues", with Merle Haggard. Not to mention, "A Satisfied Mind".

Trust me on this one. You won't go wrong buying this CD. And that mandolin will kill you.

Diamonds and Dirt - Rodney Crowell

This album got robbed of the CMA Album of the Year award in 1988, but what can I say, except this is a joyous album!

I played it over and over......and over and over.

From the opening track, "Crazy Baby", to the modern country classic, "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried", to Wynn Stewart's "Above and Beyond", to the goofy "She's Crazy For Leavin'", to "It's Such a Small World", with Rosanne Cash, it's essentially good song, good song, good song. No filler here!

Elite Hotel - Emmylou Harris

Another album from 1975. 1975 must have been a pretty good year!

This was my first consciousness of Emmylou Harris. And she was in rare form here. From "'Til I Gain Control Again", written by bandmate Rodney Crowell (see above), to the classics, "Together Again" and "Sweet Dreams", to the jaunty opening track, "Amarillo", to the last track, "Wheels", written by Emmy's mentor Gram Parsons, along with Chris Hillman, this is a classic from start to finish.

This album established Emmylou as the standard bearer of true country music, so it's a no-brainer, really.

Emmy's signature album.

Savin' The Honky Tonk - Mark Chesnutt

A 2004 release that said, hey country music, remember me? Remember country music? In case you forgot, this is what country music sounds like.

Oh, just some steel guitar, some fiddles. Some two-steppin' music. Somebody who's been sadly overlooked, but who, in years to come, will be regarded as somebody who "saved" country music for those who needed savin'.

From the opening track, "Somebody Save The Honky Tonk", to Kevin Fowler's "The Lord Loves The Drinkin' Man" (Kevin did a great recording of his song, but it took Mark to get it to mainstream radio).

Let me just say, "The Lord Loves The Drinkin' Man" is the quintessential country song. I think I heard it a grand total of ONE time on terrestrial radio, in between tracks by Tim McGruff, the crime dog, and Faith Hope Charity, his crime-fighting sidekick.

Lucky for me that I caught this song the ONE TIME it was played, or I never would have found this delicious album.

Easy Come, Easy Go - George Strait

Let me just say, I own ALL of George Strait's albums, so it was hard to pick a favorite. But this release from 1993 has all the elements I look for in a good COUNTRY release.

Number one, it's got not one, but two, songs written by the genius, Jim Lauderdale ~ "Stay Out Of My Arms" and "I Wasn't Fooling Around".

Plus, it's got the old Wayne Kemp (originally recorded by Faron Young) song, "That's Where My Baby Feels At Home".

And, for good measure, it's got a rousing rendition of the George Jones chestnut, "Love Bug".

I like this one because it's one of the most "country" of the country albums that George ever released.

I give it a 95. It's got a good beat; I can dance to it (for you American Bandstand fans).

Highway 101: Greatest Hits

If, for some unknown reason, you are not familiar with Highway 101, then it's time to GET familiar with them!

Where do I begin? With "Somewhere Tonight", written by Rodney Crowell (see above)? With "Whiskey, If You Were A Woman"? With "Cry Cry Cry"? With "Honky Tonk Heart"?

Roll the dice. You can't come up a loser with any of these choices.

Paulette Carlson is the "Stevie Nicks" of country music, with the added benefit that she's COUNTRY. I'll always be a Paulette Carlson fan. Throw in Cactus Moser, Curtis Stone, and Blackjack Daniels, and you've got a combination that can't be equaled in today's market ~ and I'll match Paulette up against Jennifer Nettles any day.

This Time - Dwight Yoakam

Much like George Strait, I own ALL of Dwight Yoakam's albums. Thus, it was difficult to choose the essential Dwight.

I chose this one simply for the fact that it includes two of Dwight's best songs EVER: "Ain't That Lonely Yet" and "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere".

Not to mention the never-to-be-ignored, "Fast As You".

You can pretty much choose any Dwight CD. You can't go wrong with any of them. This one just happens to be one of my favorites.

More Great Dirt: The Best of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Volume 2

Yes, they did Springsteen's"Cadillac Ranch". But they also did "I've Been Lookin'" by the Dirt's own Jeff Hanna, and "Workin' Man (Nowhere To Go)", and another Hanna song, "Down That Road Tonight". Not to mention, of course, the ubiquitous "Fishin' In The Dark", a song that, let me just say, is impossible to dance to.

Chockfull of hits and timeless songs, the Dirt round out my Part One list of essential country albums.

Did I forget anyone? Of course I did.

That's why there's gotta be a Part Two.

~~~