COUNTRY-Country Music

Start of an ongoing series of 'Artist Spotlight' mini episodes where we each discuss an artist we're listening to at the moment. Might be a new artist, might be someone we just saw live. This week we start with The Chattahoochies and Emily Zeck, a bunch of brand new honky-tonkin' gals we're digging quite a bit.

Pop stars are crossing over to make country records, Yellowstone was the biggest show on TV, supermodels are crossing over to rodeo competition, and fashion trends are saturated with country and western music and style…is country cool again? And what are the upsides and downsides of this? Simpsons references abound with Düff beer from Sweeden and a spontaneous a capella rendition of Cletus The Slack-Jawed Yokel adjusted for Morgan Wallen. A high water mark if we do say so ourselves.

Our thoughts on Cowboy Carter as a country record after its release last week. This follows our Part 1 discussion on Beyoncé's foray into Country Music which focused on her past controversy with country music, the genre's black history, and initial impressions whether it is country music from the first two tracks. Part 2 was recorded Monday April 1st, 4 days after the full Cowboy Carter release and prior to all the credits being released on Friday April 5th.

Part 1 of 2 part discussion ahead of "Act II: Cowboy Carter" release. The biggest question everyone has been asking about Beyoncé’s latest music has been: "Is it Country?" Beyoncé has said herself “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” Yet everything about it from the horses, hats, boots, and initial tracks, are signalling full-out country record. There’s a complicated history with Beyoncé and the country music establishment and an even more complicated hidden history of black artists and innovators in country music. We discuss her initial Country Carter tracks as well as 2016’s Daddy Lessons in the context of country music, but also her broader mission of reclaiming black contributions to country music. A Part 2 follow up episode with a discussion of whole record will follow!

A bonus mini-episode this week from our Midnight Mastermind guest spot on BBC Radio 2 in the UK. It’s a nightly segment on OJ Borg’s show where random guests quiz him on their expert topic. We were honoured their producers contacted us for some questions on country music and had a fun time doing it. Turns out OJ loves cowboy hats as much as Andrew and we pioneered an all-too-nice Canadian scoring system! Just a note that BBC Radio of course had the clearance for the music that was played for the research portion, and for the George Strait song that played us out, but our podcast does not. So we did our best to cut the songs from the podcast without ruining the conversation over top.

This week we give our hot takes on the Follower Submitted Hot Takes on Country Central's Instagram account. Lots of polarizing polls that make for some good discussion.

After a year hiatus the podcast is back with a chat about Andrew's serendipitous trip to Austin as the Ameripolitan Awards were happening. Highlights include Summer Dean, Brennen Leigh, The Golden Roses, Dale Watson, and Hannah Juanita.

Andrew and Sean discuss The Panhandlers after their 'West Texas Is The Best Texas' EP made their Top 5 albums of the year. The super group of Flatland Cavalry's Cleto Cordero, Josh Abbott, John Baumann, and William Clark Green are all successful in their own right, but arguably greater than the sum of their parts as The Panhandlers. This is capital C, Country-Country Music that is as entertaining and witty as it is poetic and endearing.

2022's top 5 country-country albums and singles for Andrew and Sean. From Ronnie Dunn to Lost Dog Street Band, Emily Nenni to The Panhandlers, or Morgan Wade to Zach Bryan, there was lots of great music in 2022.

Andrew and Sean are developing a bold opinion that we are currently living in the greatest era of country music ever. This is no longer 2012 where bro-country and pure pop-country dominate the genre. Building on their discussion in episode 32, there might be more legit country music being produced and more accessible than ever. From easily discovering new underground artists on music streaming platforms or YouTube, to even Top 40 Country Radio is more honky tonk influenced than it's been in 20 years.

A month late with this podcast, but Andrew and Sean talk about Zach Bryan's dynamite September show in Ottawa, and more broadly about his awesome band, unique sound, and how ravenous his young fans are.

For 10-15 years people have been talking about how there's no good country music anymore: the radio is all pop, all the best music is from decades past, etc. To be fair, there was always good country music being made, but there was less and you had to look harder for it. But that doesn't hold water anymore. There is so much good REAL country music these days readily available on the radio, streaming, live shows, etc. So Andrew and Sean begin to lay out an argument for us currently living in the greatest era of country music. From OG's like Alan Jackson still kickin' it, to newcomers like Emily Nenni, to Garret Hedlund making a strong comeback into country music.

After quite a hiatus from the podcast, Andrew and Sean get back into it with a chat about their life-altering trips to see George Strait at the Houston Rodeo and then George & Willie Nelson live in Austin. Also, The Golden Roses live at The White Horse, Lone Star Lights, an afternoon visit to The Broken Spoke, and Cowboy hats at natural wine parties in Austin.

General grievances on Kacey Musgraves fully selling out, Ingrid Andress catfishing country fans, and Walker Hayes still existing with his stupid song and tiktok dance.

Live from Sean's Cabin deep in the heart of Quebec, Canada. It's the first podcast since covid hit. Andrew and Sean decided to come back with an Instagram live podcast from Sean's cabin and catch up and talk about some music they've been listening to over the last few months. They discuss new music from Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Hailey Whitters, Jake Owen, Sam Hunt's 'Hard to Forget", and Morgan Wallen's recent douchebaggery.

Better late than never! Sean and Andrew's 'Best and Worst of 2019' Lists. Some expected hits with some common cross-overs on both their individual lists, and some unexpected surprises!

Country Music is always evolving, and when it evolves well it incorporates modern influences but retains significant traditional components that make it country (pedal steel, fiddles, lyrical themes). In this episode the boys mostly debate Jenna Paulette. Is she the new Country-Country for the mainstream or just a different flavour of Pop-Country? Also a discussion of the best non-alcoholic beers for Dry-January, and how Big Data and Algorythms affects the Equal Play campaign.

This week the boys partially renege their hard-line stance on unnecessarily re-doing classic holiday Christmas songs from last week. After hearing Stephanie Ryann and Layla Tucker slay a couple of the old standards, they draw some exceptions to the rule. They discuss Randall King's killer new Christmas song that is COUNTRY-Country AF. They circle back on a conversation about Jenny Leigh and woodworking. And they talk through their Jenna Paulette problem.

It turns out Andrew and Sean hate most of the over-done, reproduced Christmas standards: the White Christmas and Rudolph songs. But they love the original country Christmas songs and in this episode they rant (and rave!) about what's to love about these seasonal songs. This episode comes with a companion playlist on our Spotify page to bop along with over the holidays, check it out!

This week Andrew talks about his favourite new country tune, "Old Oak Tree" by Jenny Leigh that tugs at his woodworking heartstrings. Sean introduces us to Karen & The Sorrows and her very country-country queer country debut record. We learn about "Gimme Country" with guest hosts like Brandy Clark and Joshua Hedley. And Andrew rants about cowboy hats (again)...and a whole bunch more!

After 'The Players' were inducted to the Musicians Hall of Fame in October, Andrew and Sean decided to dedicate a whole episode to these gods of country music. They are: Paul Franklin, Brent Mason, Eddie Bayers, John Hobbs, Michael Rhodes and any one of them probably played on most of your favourite records from the last 5 decades. Buckle up and get ready to geek out on the history and style of these players that instrumentally shaped so much of country music. Serious honky-tonk nerd alert! 🤠🤓

While nursing pretty nice hangovers from going to his show the night before, Andrew and Sean sit down with Del Barber and his steel/guitar player Ryan Funk at the Country-Country head quarters and chat about his music and just country music in general. Del has been a staple of the Canadian Country and Americana scene for years and recently Rolling Stone named his song "Everyday Life" one of the "10 Best Country Songs to Hear Now". (Go check it out!) It was a fun conversation, but please excuse the ice clinking around in their Caesars...they were necessary for everyone's functionality.

This week the boys catch up and discuss Jenee Fleenor (their favourite Nashville session fiddler they never knew about) and her recent CMA nomination! They think about a Kickstarter to buy George Strait's house in San Antonio, discuss up-and-coming Texas honky tonk gal Kathryn Legendre, and the 2019 Musician Hall of Fame inductees...and lots more. Check it out and let them know what you think!

A bonus Halloween episode for all you Honky-Tonkerinos! The boys welcome Andrew's wife Amelia, a lawyer and true crime enthusiast for a chat as an homage to her favorite podcast genre. They each present a Country Music related murder and discuss over several (many) beers. Remember: Stay Country and don't get Murdered! ;)

This week the boys discuss George Strait breaking more records and making history (again), They review Jon Pardi's 'Heartache Medication' album, discuss the new podcast about Dolly Parton, Bob Kingsley's passing, another rant about 'Americana'...and much more!

A continuation of our off-the-cuff discussions of random things in Country Music news. This week Dr. Jada Watson, professor of Country Music at the University of Ottawa sits in with us and we discuss more about Women in Country Music, The CMA Awards, Sturgill Simpson's upcoming big screen cameo, Netflix 'The Ranch', Mickey Guyton, and more.

Andrew and Sean sit down with Dr. Jada Watson, professor of Information Studies and Digital Humanities who studies Country Music at the University of Ottawa to talk about Women on Country Radio. She has published several articles about women's representation in the genre, in airplay and on the charts. She brought an impressive amount of empirical data to illustrate what's happened to women in the industry and she's also a great conversationalist to boot!

Our first "Country Catchup" off-the-cuff discussion of random things in music news. This week: Kelly Clarkson rant about country music today, Storme Warren's contrived hype for The Highwomen, Big Machine Records sale, Hayes Carll & Corb Lund, Ken Burns PBS Country Music documentary, and more!

This week Andrew and Sean discuss their all-time favourite cheating songs, one of the most famous tropes of the country music genre. The theme often borders cliche, but when done well it is some of the most iconic music in modern culture. Check out the Spotify companion playlist to listen to all the songs!

Part 2 of what was supposed to be a single episode...but we had too much to say about each of these songs we love...so we split it into 2! If you haven't yet, go back and listen to Part 1 first. This picks up the conversation from there about our top Country-Country songs of summer 2019!

This was supposed to be a single episode but it looks like we had too much to say about each of these songs we love...so we're splitting it into 2! This is Part 1 of our favourite Country-Country songs of summer 2019!

Recorded live on stage at The Ottawa Podcast Festival. Andrew and Sean discuss some recent and historic controversies in country music featuring the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Sturgill Simpson, The Dixie Chicks, and more.

The last but definitely not least in our 3 part series looking at the major historical movements in Country Music. This week we're talking about The Outlaw movement and how it came to be. There's a lot of misconceptions about how and why this happened, or what it even means. We disuss the seeds that were planted by Bobby Bare, how Tompall Glaser pioneered the vibe, how his publicist named it, and how Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson made it the biggest selling phenomenon in country music.

The 2nd in our 3 part series looking at the major historical movements in Country Music. This week we're talkin' slick shiny suits, sparkling twangy Telecasters, dim lights, thick smoke and loud loud music! The Bakersfield Sound was California throwing down the gauntlet, bringing a whole new badass edge to Country Music that Nashville had never seen before. And this week we look at most the characters who made this a thing: Buck Owens, Don Rich, Merle Haggard, Red Simpson and all the other key figures behind one of country music’s biggest movement.

The 1st in our 3 part series looking at the major historical movements in Country Music. This week, a deep dive into the origins of Pop-Country with an explanation of The Nashville Sound that was born in the 1950's and 60's and the effects that movement has had on country music still to this day.

This week we discuss some of our favourite heartbreak songs in country music. The raw feelings that separate country music from most other kinds of popular music. Check out the Episode Notes online for links and references at www.countrycountrymusic.com

A little Cold Beer Conversation this week as we discuss our favourite beer drinking songs! From pre-drinking tunes, to honky tonk party songs, to relaxed beer tunes for chillen out. A little something for every beer drinking mood.

This week we discuss our favourite female country artists. A demographic that has seen a decline on the Country Charts over the last 2 decades or so since the 90's and early 2000's. But with so much established talent, undiscovered artists in the underground, and those already doing well on the cusp of stardom we feel like so much of the best music in country today is by the ladies. And it feels like the future of *real* country music is being driven by female artists.

Follow on our last discussion of our favourite country artists who are enjoying mainstream success while keeping it country, today we discuss our favourite underground artists. People that might be new, or been doing it for years but never really broke out on the mainstream that are making some *real* Country-Country Music!

CBC Radio 'All In A Day' interview with Alan Neal about L'il Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Billboard Charts, and the 'Old Town Road' controversy. Clip courtesy of The CBC.

We discuss our favourite artists who are enjoying commercial success while still keeping it country. It's easy to sell out and go entirely pop to sell more records, but who are the new pioneering new country traditionalists? Those going against the grain of popified mainstream country radio and still winning? References and details in the Episode Notes at www.countrycountrymusic.com

There's a lot of BS around this whole Lil Nas X controversy, and we dig into most of it. Have a listen, let us know what you think... References and details in the Episode Notes at www.countrycountrymusic.com

We wish we could simply tell people that we just liked 'country music'. But nowadays the genre is muddied and grey as ever with R&B vibes, snap tracks, trap beats, drum machines, rap verses, and yes, now the Backstreet Boys too. Since all that BS apparently counts as country music, we need to highlight the COUNTRY in country music. This week we take a crack at defining what we mean by Country-Country Music. REAL country music is difficult to define. Styles change and evolve, but there are limits on what should still be considered country and what should NOT be part of the genre....like the Backstreet Boys, for one. More on all that inside the podcast!

A debate about who is the greatest country singer of all time: George Jones or George Strait. Join us and comment below, let us know who you think is right! Check the Episode Notes for links to songs and references throughout the podcast at www.countrycountrymusic.com