COUNTRY MIKE

The song that is currently stuck in my head, "I'm From The Country," is by James Lann. It's not a cover of Tracy Byrd's hit about 10 years earlier.

In the chorus, Lann sounds like Kenny Chesney. It's a simple, upbeat song that talks about keeping the simple life regardless of where you live.

In other words, country is a way of live, not a locale off some dirt road.
 

It's about time that another country singer emerged out of the Seattle-Tacoma area. The only others I recall are Lila McCann and Blaine Larsen.

Ludwick, who hails from Kirkland, Wash., makes the Pacific Northwest proud with her "When The Circus Leaves Town" album. My favorite song is "Circus Leaves Town," and it makes an interesting observation about life - how it goes on after the circus leaves town. I think that's a pretty cool analogy.

Another thing to note is that Ludwick's sound is steeped in tradition. According to Country Weekly's "Who's New" profile of Ludwick, she was first introduced to the genre by her stepfather. Together, they listened to the classic stuff together.

I hope to hear "Circus Leaves Town" on my local country radio station. I've already heard it, but I hope other listeners in California will be exposed to the sound of their fellow West Coaster.
 

I can't wait to see the video for Lee Brice's new song, "Upper Middle Class White Trash." If done correctly, the video to the tongue-in-cheek song should be hilarious. The song is kind of a modern day, Beverly Hillbillies tale of a guy who wins the lottery than starts living it up without changing his style.

Speaking of other videos, you've got to love the new Alan Jackson, "Good Time," where he's trying to set the world record for longest line dance, Brad Paisley's "Letter To Me," where he goes back to his old high school in West Virginia.

The thing that stood out to me about the Reba McEntire/Kenny Chesney duet, "Every Other Weekend," was that the actors were played by Reba's co-stars on her since-cancelled sitcom, "Reba".
 

I was running in a four-mile freedom run on July 4th and listening to my ipod. I wanted a great song for the final stretch, and what do you know, Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back" comes on. But just around the last few meters, the ipod froze so I didn't get to hear the rest of the song. And I didn't get that final push.

Which country artists need to release live albums? I heard Joe Diffie's coming out with one next month. I think Brooks & Dunn are due for a live release.

Are live albums worth it if you already have the studio versions of the songs? I happen to think so, but that's just my opinion. I always like hearing the song a little bit differently, and I often purchase the live versions off itunes, even if I have the studios.

Obviously, there's more energy. And it's something different.
 

The old saying goes, 'Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." Apparently, Nashville Star judge John Rich never got that memo.

He verbally undressed contestant Coffey for not being country enough, saying that a cowboy hat doesn't make you country. He then told the Texan that there's a show for aspiring pop stars, and it's called American Idol.

Interesting, since Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and other American Idol alumni now populate the Country Top 40.

Look, I'm not saying Coffey (pronounced Cof-fay) is George Jones by any stretch of the imagination. But country's boundaries have expanded, and Rich, one half of the duo Big & Rich, built a career completely based on that premise.

John Rich criticizing others for not being country enough? It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

I can almost attribute it to two things - Rich's big ego and the Simon-ization of shows like Nashville Star where saying disparaging things is in style. Simply issuing criticism of a performance isn't enough - judges need to totally berate contestants.

Kudos to Coffey for answering Rich, and telling viewers about his country credentials, growing up in a town of 1,100. It's about time someone stood up to this hypocrite who played second fiddle to Richie McDonald in Lonestar.
 

When you have a large music collection, a lot of albums get lost in the shuffle. Or more accurately, sitting on the shelves collecting dust.

So on Saturday, I went through my CDs that I'd maybe only listened to once or gasp....not at all. And I put them in my five disc changer while I started a Madden 2008 dynasty with the Houston Texans.

What did I get? How about a lot of pleasant surprises. Canadian female singer Joey Daniels was unbelievable on "Believe," and Chuck Wicks is more than a wedding ballad singer as evidenced by his performance on "She's Gonna Hurt Somebody."

What about Deryl Dodd singing about outlaw music on "Into Outlaw" and his musical upbringing, "Songs of The Family,"?

The highlight, however, was listening to the Essential Marty Robbins' double CD. Robbins, who died in 1982 at the age of 57, doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. He's so versatile and was truly one of the greatest country singers of all time.

Based on the experience, I should do this more often. Good thing I have a bunch of albums to with which to acquaint myself.

As for the dynasty? I made some great trades and acquisitions, and I'm currently 1-1 with a game coming up against the game's defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts.
 

Do you ever wish that a country singer would cover one of your favorite pop songs? I'd like to hear someone tackle Richard Marx's "Endless Summer Nights." or James Taylor's "Never Die Young." Those are two songs that I think would translate well with a little bit of twang.

Which pop songs do you think should be covered by country artists?

Whatever happened to Gary Allan? I remember the guy once carried the torch for Bakersfield/neo-traditional country music, but when I saw him open for Kenny Chesney earlier this month in San Francisco, he was more Rock than Buck (Owens). Oh well, happens to the best of them, I guess.

A hidden gem on Blake Shelton's The Dreamer album is "In My Heaven." I just found earlier tonight that Mark Wills also recorded the song.
 

Who would have thought that Montgomery Gentry could successfully cover Kevin Fowler's "Long Line of Losers." I like the new version of the song, on their latest album, "Back When I Knew It All." It's got these great harmonies that the original version was missing.

2006 Nashville Star winner Chris Young hasn't hit paydirt in country music, but I don't know why. He's got a great, traditional country sound, and his new song, "Voices," is further evidence of that.

A few months ago, I downloaded Jamey Johnson's digital-only album off itunes. Apparently, the single "In Color" has been picked up by Mercury Records, and the rest of the album is no longer available on itunes. Good thing I got it when I did. "In Color" is an excellent song, and hopefully, Johnson, an accomplished writer, will finally get the attention he deserves as a performer.

I can't wait for the Toby Keith tour with Carter's Chord, Trailer Choir and Mica Roberts. If Keith never has another hit, he got still be doing well with these three acts. Trailer Choir is probably even more entertaining live, with fun songs like "Rockin' The Beer Gut" and "In My Next Five Beers."
 

Tim McGraw is a certified country music superstar, but what is it with all these outlandish situations that he gets involved in during concerts?

Earlier this week, McGraw helped eject an unruly fan. Then, you had the "family jewels" incident where McGraw's wife, Faith Hill, confronted a fan. And who could forget the infamous "Buffalo Horse Incident" with good buddy, Kenny Chesney.

One show that won't feature any such drama is the Honky Tonky Tailgate Party. The show has a different lineup every year, but the latest edition features Mark Wills, Trent Willmon, Ray Scott and inaugural Nashville Star winner Buddy Jewell.

Scott and Jewell recently recorded independent albums, and from what I've heard, they both sound pretty good.

Scott recorded a relatively traditional debut, "My Kind of Music," in 2005 for Warner Bros., but now he's able to stretch that sound a little bit further.

Jewell gets both historical, "The Southern Side of Heaven," and political, "This Ain't Mexico," on his latest 13-song album, "Country Enough."
 

Jessica Simpson thinks Nashville is a weigh-station on her way back to a successful pop career. Her country debut, "Come On Over," is mediocre at best, and it proves that Simpson has no business in the genre. The only thing that makes her mildly country is the fact that she was raised in Texas.

Hey, at least, she could have picked a more original song title. The title she chose was already performed by Shania Twain, although it's a different song.

It's not that Simpson has changed much of her act to become country. Sadly, Nashville has changed so much that the lines between country and pop are so blurred that few will notice or care that the former pop star has gone country.

Former pop artists like Jewel, Darius Rucker and Michelle Branch of The Wreckers, have contributed positively to country music, and they can all be taken seriously as artists. Simpson, not so much.