Country Music

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Review: Country Strong

Pretty weak
Too-soon-out-of-rehab country star Kelly Canter (a bronzed Gwyneth Paltrow) attempts to twang her way back from a drunken stage dive in Dallas that resulted in a miscarriage.
By BRETT MICHEL | February 24, 2011

Coming back to life

MSMT rolls out a wonderful Patsy Cline
The season at Maine State Music Theatre opens with the beautiful music of Always...Patsy Cline , Ted Swindley's feel-good celebration of the remarkable singer (Jenny Lee Stern) and her charms both on and off the stage.
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | June 16, 2010

Voice of the County

Travis James Humphrey gets local in Nashville
How boys who grew up a few miles from each other in the County wound up making a record together in Nashville is one of those vagaries of the music business that will never make sense.
By SAM PFEIFLE | May 12, 2010

The Big Hurt: A big country lesbian pissing match

Music news in brief
Reports began to surface recently that a major country star was set to come out of the closet in People magazine. I had high hopes for Chris Gaines, but no such luck.
By DAVID THORPE | May 17, 2010

Phosphorescent | Here’s To Taking It Easy

Dead Oceans (2010)
What was once an aching, drowsy fireside croon fest (2007’s Pride ) has taken a blatant leap into hoedown territory on singer/guitarist Matthew Houck’s latest effort.
By CARRIE BATTAN | May 11, 2010

Cowboy junkie

In his paintings and music, Jon Langford resurrects and pays respect to a vanished American past
England in the mid-’80s, gray and depressed by Thatcherism and the Smiths, wasn’t a place folks typically dressed to the nines in ten-gallon hats, bolo ties, and Nudie shirts. But such were the sartorial choices made those days by the members of the Mekons.
By MIKE MILIARD | April 08, 2010

The Big Hurt: Say anything

The week in YouTube comments
It’s almost impossible to read a single page of YouTube comments without being confronted by society’s ugliest afflictions: ignorance, pointless fights, horrifying racism, and unfair criticism of Justin Bieber’s haircut.
By DAVID THORPE | April 12, 2010

Hello, we’re Johnny Cash

Stacked all-star tribute/benefit at the RISD Auditorium
The Nave Gallery in Somerville kicks off its month-long salute to the Man in Black next week.
By CHRIS CONTI | March 31, 2010

Heart keeps beating

Novelist (and RIC professor) Thomas Cobb recalls the origins of Bad Blake
Storytelling is largely about character, and writer Thomas Cobb came up with a doozy when he conceived Bad Blake.
By JIM MACNIE | January 27, 2010

Massachusetts: You might be living in a red state if

31 signs that Scott Brown’s victory is changing the face of the commonwealth for the worse
Scott Brown’s Senatorial victory is merely the latest sign that red tides are creeping upon our once-progressive Commonwealth. Don’t believe us? Consider that Kenny Chesney sells out Gillette Stadium every summer, and, of course, that wealthy Republican presidential hopeful with the fantastic hair was recently our Governor.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 25, 2010

Lightning strikes

Weather the storm with Roy Davis's third LP
When Hank Williams sang a song like "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy" he could sell it because he'd been down low: born with spina bifida, father with a paralyzed face thanks to a stroke, brother he never knew because he was already dead.
By SAM PFEIFLE | January 20, 2010

The Relatives | Don't Let Me Fall

Heavy Light (2009)
Does the Devil really have all the best tunes? Go tell that to Bach, or the Sensational Nightingales, or Johnny Cash!
By GUSTAVO TURNER | November 10, 2009

Lowe life

Nick Lowe on growing up and growing old in the music business
Nick Lowe is a rare creature, a punk rock founding father who has endured and evolved gracefully.
By MICHAEL ATCHISON | October 07, 2009

The Bigmouth strikes again

Kanye acts like himself; nation loses shit
Given all the conflicting emotions, it was tough to form an opinion on Kanye West's VMA bum rush against Taylor Swift.
By DAVID THORPE | September 22, 2009

Music Seen: The Record Family

At the Silver Spur (Mechanic Falls), September 12
When the economy suddenly found us working Saturdays, Saturday night out became all the more important. Enter the Silver Spur in Mechanic Falls.
By BRIDGET M. BURNS | September 16, 2009

Review: Castanets | Texas Rose, the Thaw and the Beasts

Asthmatic Kitty (2009)
Although based in a rustic, country-western sound, Ray Raposa's Castanets are irreverent, using familiar elements like pedal-steel guitars and gospel choruses in defiant ways.
By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | September 15, 2009

The Big Hurt: Checking the Billboard Hot 100

Who charted?
As usual, I won't be able to make it through the full 100, but seven is just as good, right?
By DAVID THORPE | August 25, 2009

A. A. Bondy | When the Devil's Loose

Fat Possum (2009)
I just don't get most of alt-country — what is it even alting us out of at this point?
By MICHAEL BRODEUR | August 25, 2009

Music Seen: Neko Case + Haru Bangs

Neko Case and Haru Bangs last weekend
First things first: Neko Case is the complete package, an unmitigated bombshell (gorgeous, wry, self-effacing) with a singular artistic vision (country/folk songs so heavy on metaphor and animistic and obscure mythological references that you could — and should — unpack them for months) and a voice like an air-raid siren.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | August 12, 2009

Music Seen: Neko Case + Haru Bangs

Song of herself

Kaki King adds her voice to the mix
"Listen, I will go on record saying I love Feist, I love Neko Case. I love that music. But that shit's easy listening for the twentysomethings. It fucking is. It's not hard to listen to any of that stuff."
By RICHARD BECK | August 05, 2009

Jodi Explodi, Meantone, Tony McNaboe and more

Sibilance
JODI EXPLODI 's Shipyard EP is out and available, after a few delays here and there. It's the first disc from the band since the four-song Demo-Arigato from 2006. It appears to have some kind of zombie theme to it, but we haven't caught a listen yet.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX STAFF | July 08, 2009

Elvis Costello | Secret, Profane and Sugarcane

Hear Music (2009)
There are few genres into which Elvis Costello hasn't delved over the years, but he's always seemed particularly comfortable within the traditional back-porch country that occupies this latest session.
By JEFF TAMARKIN | June 08, 2009