A few 'shopped hip-hop covers

John Rich's Songwriting Tips #20

I've heard some people say that you should keep a journal or some mess like that to write in every day. I call bullshit. A journal? That sounds kinda fruity to me. I just make sure to carry a pen with me so I can write at any given moment. Maybe you're having a five o'clock cocktail and you get a hook idea... just write it on the bar napkin. Or possibly you're enjoying an after-supper whiskey and Coke and you think of a great bridge, just scrawl it on one of those little cardboard coasters. Midnight Jägerbomb give you a great chorus for that hook you wrote earlier? Whip out your pen and finish up. So to summarize: journal = not straight.

Not actually written by John Rich.

Top 10 Positive Things About Rascal Flatts

10. They aren't LoCash Cowboys

09. Make the world safe for mundanity, mediocrity and milquetoast

08. Give the military an effective interrogation option now that most physical methods have been outlawed

07. Provide contrast on the radio to remind us just how damn good Jamey Johnson is

06. Keep hair gel industry afloat through these rocky financial times

05. Roughstock gave them a positive review

04. Help Rodney Atkins feel more confident about his vocal abilities

03. Country listeners won't forget about terminal illnesses as long as RF's on the scene

02. Lead singer proof that average-looking (occasionally chubby) guys can be sex symbols

01. They aren't Chuck Wicks

Oh, and I'm fairly certain I stole this idea from CM at www.countrycalifornia.com

New Adam Lambert album cover

Songs Illustrated 7