Good Article about Country Carpetbaggers

And our pal Triggerman from Saving Country Music is featured in the article!

Gwyneth Paltrow and the Rise of the Country Carpetbagger

Excerpt:

Lately, Gwyneth Paltrow has been behaving like a country-music star. It began in November when Paltrow slipped into a tiny dress and delivered a warbling performance at the CMA Awards. The next chapter comes Friday, in the movie Country Strong, in which Paltrow sings in front of a video screen filled with wild horses, swills booze at a roadhouse, and approvingly quotes Waylon Jennings. We could chalk it up to a mid-career crisis, except that Paltrow isn’t the only one wearing a new pair of boots and affecting a twang. These days, country music is filled with country carpetbaggers.

YouTube Gems: Todd Snider

From the wonderful upcoming double live album Live: Storyteller, here's Todd Snider with "Stuck on the Corner."

YouTube Gems: Hayes Carll

From his upcoming album KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories), here's the fantastic Hayes Carll with "Hard Out Here."

Ice Cube Venn Diagram

And if this simple diagram doesn't do the trick, check this out! Ice Cube Flow Chart (not by me..)

John Rich's Songwriting Tips #47

Imagery is very important part of country music songwriting. It's not enough to say you drive a tractor, you have to describe the sweet ass sound system you put in it and how cold the air conditioning is in that bad boy. It's not enough to say "she's so pretty." Tell us how firm her buttocks are, how her gazongas fill up her sweater, how her supple skin looks in the moonllight... uh. I gotta go take care of something. Just remember to give the listeners the details. The devil's in there, and so is the cold hard caaaaash.

*Not actually written by John Rich