Listen, just because Chris Stapleton has a big beard and he ain’t a pretty boy don’t mean I’m gone drop too my knees and go “Oh savior of country music, slap me daddy!” I didn’t listen, as usual. He’s a pure ass pop singer. If you get played on the radio your automatically not a real country singer. Also, I heard he wrote a big hit song for Luke Bryan, whoever she is. If that ain’t enough for every one of you reading this too not listen to him, you should probably never claim too be a country fan again.
Too me, their’s no difference between Chris Stapleton and Florida-Georgia Line. Sure, maybe Chris doesn’t sing about getting nookie in a Silverado, but in this song he’s driving and I bet its in a truck. I drive a truck myself but I don’t sing about it. This dude suck's ass.
Reading over the lyrics, he’s not as terrible as some other pop singers pretending too be country, but their still isn’t no lines about fighting or silos, or methamphetamine production, so its for sure not country music. And I bet the production is all professional and the band is pro fishin at playing there instruments. Who wants that? Give me a rag tag bunch of loosers recording on an old tape recorder in a storage room somewhere anyday!
One last thing. I herd Chris Stapleton wants to personally come too my house and take my Gatling style Minigun from me. It is my by God right as a citizen of America too protect my family even though I don’t have one. He must be a straight up socialist! Its like that book 1985 all over again! But that’s besides the point.
This song is terrible and stop trying too tell me Chris Stapleton is different from the rest of country radio. If I don’t listen to it, it all sounds the same too me!!
It was a
wonderful year for independent music, and yet.
The year
was spoiled by politics at the end. I speak, of course, of the phony
hoax election shenanigans at this fake news satire blog site:
Sturgill Simpson – who was totally honest about his FOUR ALBUM
pledge until he wasn’t – hired a bunch of bluegrass ringers and
re-released a covers album. Should his bogus record be up for
current awards? No.
The
election was rigged. I know this because my side didn’t win. I’d
go on, but Trailer is chanting “Lock him up!” in the background.
I know better than to take on fascism.
Anywho,
this is the best year of music in the five years I’ve been
privileged to comment for FTM.
And I do mean privileged. This year in particular, I’ve interviewed
some wonderful artists who made the best of an awful year. It’s
been a great year for music in spite of the virus, and the vaccine’s
gonna make 2021 even better. On to the list.
----------
15.
Caleb Caudle, Better
Hurry Up
Caudle went
to the Cash Cabin to record his follow-up to Crushed
Coins. The
contrast is evident; the quality, enhanced.
14. Ward
Davis, Black Cats and
Crows
Davis
played the Nashville game for a while, and now emerges as an
independent tour-de-force.
13. Gabe
Lee, Honkytonk Hell
An
impressive initial wide-release effort. I’m looking forward to more
of these haunting vocals to go with the poignant songwriting.
12.
Great Peacock, Forever
Worse Better
Warm,
ethereal vocals and a mid-90s power-pop ethos. These guys make great
records. I’m kinda waiting for a full Collective Soul retro thing
to make me fall in love.
11. Ray
Wylie Hubbard, Co-Starring
We should
all celebrate the improbable signing by Big Machine of one of our
godfathers. He celebrated with a star-studded triumph. Good for him.
About time he got paid.
10.
Skylar Gregg, Roses
Saucy
blue-eyed soul from an authentic
Tennessee diva. This album was a decade in the making; my money’s
on another high-caliber offering inside the next two years.
9.
Western Centuries, Call
The Captain
Country
music’s bi-coastal supergroup went to Nashville for their third
album and emerged with yet another keeper. It’s an eclectic
collection of often topical songs, done with nuance and perfect
three-part harmonies. All they do is make great records.
8.
Waylon Payne, Blue Eyes,
The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me
When Texas
Jonny Tyler told me, “That new Waylon Payne album is pretty
good,” I thought, “’Waylon Payne?’ That sounds like a great
pro wrestling name.” On reflection, (1) this album is damn fine,
with sharp lyrics and a honky-tonk sensibility; and (2) the name of
the album sounds like a stable of wrestling villains.
I look on
Stapleton as the Miles Davis of country music. Seems like he can show
up in a studio and just churn out high grade stuff. (Sturgill is a
lot like that. But Sturgill didn’t release any new material this
year. Did I mention that there was a RIGGED ELECTION that allowed for
cover albums this year? Oh. )
This record
dropped in December and re-ordered my top 10. Stapleton’s a beast.
5.
Zephaniah Ohora, Listening
to The Music
It was a
high bar to cross, but Ohora’s sophomore effort exceeds 2017’s
lofty This Highway.
On Listening to The Music,
Zeph channels Merle Haggard, both vocally and spiritually. I’m not
sure what was more 2020 about the song “All American Singer: (a)
that it’s genuinely courageous in woke America to say “not
everything has to be about politics;” or (b) that some
pussy at No
Depression put Zeph on
blast for NOT being political enough, smearing Merle Haggard in the
process.
And by the
way…by “some pussy at No
Depression,” I mean the
whole outfit, run by the hyper-political Grant Alden and Peter
Blackstock, or whichever woke pansies are in charge of that shit site
now. Zeph sang a song about avoiding politics. Shame on you for
shaming an artist for not being woke enough for your standards. You
guys suck, and are no fun.
4. The
Wilder Blue, Hill
Country
A late add
to my list, but wow. There’s a lot of purity here in these
harmonies and spot-on acoustic guitar licks. A half-dozen of these
songs should be on mainstream radio right now, but what can you do?
3. Sam
Morrow, Gettin’ By On
Gettin’ Down
On making a
record in such an insane year, Sam
Morrow wanted his new album “to be a refuge from” a constant
deluge of information and drama. “I just wanted to make a fun
record.” Channeling Little Feat and Lowell George like no one has
since the great one’s passing, Morrow does just that. Swampy,
bluesy and with a tough swagger, it’s a heaping helping of American
rock ‘n’ roll.
America
needed many things in 2020. At or near the top of that list is The
Bakersfield Sound, and Jesse Daniel delivered both a faithful send-up
and a high standard for others to meet going forward. Rollin’
On exudes hope, as you’d
expect from an
artist who’s emerged on the redemptive side of addiction. The
best pure country album of the year.
His was the
last real show I saw B.C. (Before Corona), and I remember how
excited I was about Daniel’s future. At the turn of a bad year,
I’ll emulate his optimism: 2021 is gonna be a great year for this
troubadour.
1.
Tennessee Jet, The
Country
A cinematic
masterpiece from a Renaissance
man, Tennessee Jet draws on the likes of Sergio Leone and William
Faulkner to craft his characters. This is literary
songwriting combined with punchy production and execution. The crown
jewel on an album of gems? A grungy, scary, 3 ½-minute movie
soundtrack about the creepy death of Johnny
Horton. And of all the covers of “Pancho and Lefty,” -- I’ll
plant a flag right now – none equals the four-headed monster
version here by TJ, Jinx, Elizabeth Cook and Paul Cauthen.
A poop emoji is negative. A strike-thru is positive.
The current Poop Rating of the Mediabase Top 20 is (-4) overall which is a 5 point improvement from August (the previous time we did this chart). The worst song by a long shot is Dan + Shay’s “I Should Probably Go to Bed.” The best song is Jon Pardi’s “Ain’t Always the Cowboy,” edging out Stapleton’s latest by a hair. There are some decent tunes here and the chart should improve a little more over the fall and winter. On a negative note, there’s only 1 solo woman, so we’re back to square one on that front. Do better, Nashville.
Roots rock singer/songwriter Alessa Torrance is facing a problem not new to artists of her ilk. Fans and casual listeners alike are constantly telling her to “shut up and sing.” In most cases, that phrase is used to express discomfort with the political opinions a singer is putting forth on social media or between songs at concerts. However, in Alessa’s case, it seems like a good idea.
“She’s always talking about her toenail fungus.” said Jerry Lucas, a fan of Torrance since 2008. “It’s really disgusting and I’d rather hear her misguided opinions about the border wall than foot hygiene.”
Another concert-goer told us Alessa was obsessing about a mole on her back during the show he attended. “She even stopped mid-song one time to pull her shirt up and show it to an RN in the audience.” said Bill Phillips of Des Moines, “She was convinced it was skin cancer, but I just wanted her to entertain me.”
Many country and Americana singers are met with disapproval for sharing their thoughts on Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Covid-19, the economy, and other topics in these divided times. Artists such as Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton have faced backlash for their songs and comments regarding racial tensions. Perhaps Ms. Torrance is the proper focus of this ire.
“My snot is green… is that normal????” read a concerned tweet from Torrance this past Tuesday. She has also had recent rants and worry sessions about: periods, migraines, pimples, a bout of diarrhea, ingrown hairs, toilet paper, scabs, nausea, and many other personal matters.
“I’d rather have her call me an inbred idiot for supporting Trump than listen to her talk about ear wax on stage.” said Marcy Peterson of Tallahassee, “Her hypochondria is very tiresome; she may need some counseling.”
At press time, Torrance was considering Instagramming a rash to see if anybody thought it was scabies.
We’ve got a video premiere for you from countrified roots rockers The Joe Stamm Band today. Joe’s rich, character-filled voice is the centerpiece of the band's new single “Bottle You Up,” a love song from the heart. It’s a commercially accessible sound without kowtowing to the trends of the day, instead keeping it real with an in-the-pocket rock ’n roll band playing the hell out of this catchy country rocker. RIYL: Chris Stapleton, Whitey Morgan, Cody Jinks, The Steel Woods.
Joe on “Bottle You Up” -
"There’s been a grand total of two times that I’ve done one of them, “I just wrote this song and now I’m posting a video of me playing it to Facebook” type of things. One of those times was just yesterday (as I’m writing this up). The only other time was a couple years ago and the song was 'Bottle You Up.'
I’d just got home from a Sunday afternoon gig, and I sat down at my kitchen table with a little glass my mom had recently purchased for me. It said, “Apple of My Eye” on the side of it. I started pouring Busch Light down into it. Then emptying it. Repeat. Pretty soon I was writing a song and about 25 minutes later, I had “Bottle You Up” down on paper.
All them beers convinced me I should take the song straight to social media. So I did, and pretty soon folks were requesting “Bottle You Up” at shows. It didn’t take long to realize we were going to have to cut it on our next record.
While you can still find that old acoustic performance on YouTube, we did decide to go down to Nashville and have our buddies at Midtown Motion put a bonafide music video together for the song. We’re pretty happy about the results. Though I’m not sure the feller in the video was by the song’s end…"
More information about the Joe Stamm Band and their upcoming album below the player.
Joe Stamm Band - The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny)
The Joe Stamm Band makes countrified roots-rock with an emphasis on the roots, drawing on Stamm's small-town upbringing in rural Illinois for a sound that blends heartland hooks with Nashville twang. It's a sound that's taken the songwriter from the college apartment where he strummed his first chords to venues beyond the Midwest, sharing shows with personal heroes like Kris Kristofferson and Chris Knight along the way. With his debut studio LP, The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny), Stamm begins building his own legacy, leading his band of road warriors through an album rooted in all-American storytelling and guitar-driven swagger.
Recorded in a converted barn outside of Iowa City, The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny) is a studio album that owes its electrified energy to Stamm's live show. It was there — onstage, guitar in hand, headlining a club in Peoria one night and playing with artists like Tyler Childers and Easton Corbin the next — that Stamm sharpened the edges of his self-described "black dirt music," rolling Americana, country, and blue-collar rock & roll influences into his own style. Some songs were autobiographical, spinning true-life stories of love, loss, and life in Middle America. Others, like the barn-burning "12 Gauge Storyline," were character-driven and fictional. Whittled into sharp shape by a touring schedule that kept Stamm and company on the road for as many as 150 days a year, those songs took new shape in the recording studio, shot through with amplified riffs, grooves, and arrangements that rolled just as hard as they rocked.
Fiction and autobiography come together on the album's title track, a coming-of-age anthem that finds Stamm writing about the humor, heartache, charm, and chaos of youth in America.
"Everyone falls into at least one — and usually several — of those categories," he says of "The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny)." "That song really captured a sense of things, a sense of people, and a sense of what it's like to grow up in America."
For Stamm, growing up in America involved a good amount of time on the football field. A teenage quarterback in a sports-obsessed town, he led his high school team to back-to-back state appearances, becoming a local celebrity along the way. When an injury brought his sports career to an end during his college years, though, Stamm found a new passion in music, diving into the work not only of classic country crooners like George Jones and Johnny Cash, but also the modern-day heavyweights of Texas' country scene, including Randy Rogers Band, Pat Green, and Reckless Kelly. Before long, he was writing his own songs — and just like his favorite Texas artists, he rooted his music in a strong sense of place, bringing a midwestern spirit to his own brand of country music. Stamm was soon packing venues across central Illinois, trading the athletic fame of his teenage years for an equally rewarding — and longer lasting — brand of recognition.
"I like writing about characters and coming up with stories," says Stamm, whose diverse past — including his time in an evangelical Christian household, his athletic days behind the line of scrimmage, and his creative rebirth as country music's newest rule-breaker — is woven throughout The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny), lending personal details to even the most fictional of songs. "Songwriting is where experience and imagination meet," he adds, "and each song finds a different spot on that spectrum."
With The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny), the spectrum is as wide as it is compelling, with Stamm roping together a range of honky-tonk hooks, rock & roll guitars, heartland twang, and country swagger. He's a songwriter. A bandleader. A storyteller. And while he'll always be a proud midwestern native — a man shaped by the creek bottoms, fields, and fence rows of Metamora, Illinois — he writes from a more universal perspective on his full-length studio debut. These aren't just his stories, after all. They're all of ours.
Joe Stamm Band's The Good & the Crooked (& The High & the Horny) is due out September 25.
