Boo Ray's Songs to Cure Your Christmas Hangover

Americana artist Boo Ray shares with us his Christmas playlist of some of his favorite holiday tunes. See what he has to say about these great song below and his Spotify playlist is directly below that. 

While you're there, make sure to check out Boo Ray's new song "Don't Look Back" from his forthcoming (Feb.15) album Tennessee Alabama Fireworks (which can be preordered here)! 

Boo Ray – Don't Look Back

Elizabeth Cook & Boo Ray "All Strung Out Like Christmas Lights" 

Because Elizabeth Cook is the coolest

Dwight Yoakam "Santa Can't Stay" 

I love the line “he threw a present really hard and almost hit mama’s new boyfriend Ray”. This song’s full Yoakam’s signature rockabilly vocal licks too, which I love. That 80’s production will complement any Christmas sweater, from the gaudiest candy-cane/snowman aplique to the homeliest moth eaten Uncle Fester pea-green cardigan.  

Merle Haggard "If We Make It Through December" 

Since I was a kid i’ve always liked how contemporary and musical Merle Haggard’s arrangements and songs are. There’s a singer songwriter quality to Hag and an virtuoso ensemble sound akin to the way James Taylor, Leland Sklar and Jim Keltner made music sound. 

Erin Enderlin "Cowboy Christmas"

Cowboy songs have some specific criteria for me. The language, vernacular and meter have to be just right. I heard a Tommy Lee Jones interview where said the language of Cormac McCarthy’s characters is perfect. Erin’s Line “Barb wire and fence posts like garland on trees” gets right to me.  

Nikki Lane "FaLaLaLaLove ya"

I totally dig the song. The Christmas bells, the production, the melody and Nikki’s vocal are real stylized like a Hollywood Christmas TV Show number with fake snow falling and lens flares in holiday colored lights.   

John Prine "Everything Is Cool"

John Prine’s meter is kind of like what Brandlford Marsalis said about Louis Armstrong’s minimalist trumpet playing, “There’s a whole lot of information in those couple of notes.” “I was walking down the road... man” is so plain t’s actually funny” almost like a Steven Wright bit. In contrast, the next verse “I saw a hundred thousand black birds just a flying through the sky- they seem to form a teardrop from a black-haired angel’s eye” is brooding poet/ bleeding heart romantic territory. I love that Prine covers those two nearly opposite poles

of perspective with complete dexterity. 

JD McPherson "All The Gifts I Need"

Great sounding recording. I dig JD’s songs and style, the way his vocal melody rides on Jason Smay’s drum beat is a thing for sure. The songs got a smart lighthearted spirit to it. 

Johnny Cash Family Christmas "Opening Dialogue" 

The first thing that really got to me about Johnny Cash was that antique automotive/farm equipment machine sound that he made with his band, seeming to emulate the sound of V-8 motors, tractors, horses hooves, and the click clack of trains. It's powerful, clever, creative, real singer/songwriter sounding, intricate and simple at the same time. Then I got into his rockabilly look and wearing all black. But it's always really been about the sound of his voice and his story telling. Even as a kid I'd watch that gospel series he filmed in Jerusalem because I just liked the sound of his voice and listening to the way he'd spin a yarn.   

Corb Lund "Just Me And The Ponies"

Excellent cowboy Christmas song. Corb's cowboy correct to me like Wynn Varble, Willie Nelson & Chris Ledoux are. That stuff has to be handled just right; the meter, vocabulary, vernacular and stoic nature of the story teller.   

The Band "Christmas Must Be Tonight" 

Rick Danko's bass sound just slays me. It's the deadest, most flatulent sounding thing ever. I'm damned crazy about it. I dig Danko's vocal on the verse a bunch and I love how Levon's accent and tone jump out on "how a little baby boy"... Yeah man this is a perfect ramblin', good stiff eggnog of a song. Cheers!!!

Little Feet "Six Feet Of Snow"

It'd makes sense to me if someone called Lowell George a musical humorist. His subtle, clever impish wit is my favorite. The honk, plink and twang of the guitars on this track are funny as hell to me. It's absurd and wonderful because of it, and Lowell leans into it too with lines like "It's raining in stilettos from here clear down to Mexico". Maybe if you could trace the DNA of a particular kind of humor Lowell George and Billy Gibbon might be kin. 

Lindi Ortega "Blue Christmas"

The 6th tuned lap steel/dobro can't help but suggest the Hawaiian pacific sound. And who doesn't want to waller in the extra bittersweetness on another holiday not spent on a deserted island with Lindi Ortega. Can you imagine what she'd look like wearing coconuts and palm leaves? For real though, Lindi Ortega's Christmas album "Tennessee Christmas" is a blast. 

The Mavericks "Baby Please Come Home"

I'm crazy about The Mavericks and think they're on fire right now musically. Raul sings with a belting cheers and the Christmas bells and sleigh bells through the whole song deliver a fully manic holiday experience. Their whole Christmas album is a must have. 

Dale Watson "Santa And My Semi"     

Yep, lets finish off this playlist with a swanky texas sounding Dale Watson number. I dig when certain Texas singers have a particular kind of crooning voice and the way their accent sounds real Trucker. Merry Christmas and shiny side up to all the truckers out there working in tough weather this holiday season.  

New Country Act "Megadeth" Signs With Big Machine

"David" Mustaine

by Trailer - Originally posted on Country California March 03, 2011

Scott Borchetta today announced the signing of Megadeth to a three-record deal with Big Machine. Lead singer Dave Mustaine was on hand for the press conference, wearing a Megadeth logo-emblazoned (now in the Bleeding Cowboys font) pearl snap shirt and cowboy hat. 

"We're just excited to explore this awesome genre. For years, Megadeth has been a mainstay in hard rock and thrash metal, but we've always had a soft spot for the music that truly makes this country great," explained Mustaine. "If you look back at uh, well... the liner notes for Peace Sells... you'll see that we've always thanked people for their support... and uh, that kind of appreciation is a tenet of country music." 

The newly clean-shorn Dave continued: "I've got all of Johnny Cash's records, and I just love the subject matter of country. Murder, drinking, death, spirituality, murder... you know, those are things I love to sing about." 

"We'll have to maybe dial down some of the political rhetoric and bloodshed a bit, but I think this established band's work translates well to the country market," said Borchetta. "Besides, most of the older demographic we're shooting for grew up listening to Metallica and Megadeth, so that's where the money is!" 

He added: "Oops, did I say that out loud?" 

Megadeth's single "Sweating Budweiser" will be sent to country radio on April 1, with a full album entitled Vic Rattlehead Loves America to be released in early summer. A supporting tour for Rascal Flatts will follow. 

The Worst Country Songs of the Decade (2000-2009)

The Worst Country Songs of 2000-2009

By Bobby Peacock a.k.a. TenPoundHammer

"Bob That Head" by Rascal Flatts

If Gary LeVox screeching "BOB THAT HEAD!" at full blast doesn't scare you away immediately, then you must be the most stoic person alive. Not that the rest of the song is any better. Even after the label wisely sent out an edited version, it still didn't change the dopey, meatheaded proto-bro-country lyrics about riding around town with a hot girl in your car -- a theme that fits Gary LeVox about as comfortably as a pair of size 36 slacks from Ross Dress for Less.

"Bonfire" by Craig Morgan

Like I pointed out in the 2010s list, this is the point where Craig decided that screaming everything in an over-exaggerated drawl was the same thing as singing. To be fair, "party in the woods" songs weren't nearly as omnipresent as they would be in later years, but the harsh sonic surroundings do nobody any favors. Can you believe Kevin "That's Just Jessie" Denney wrote this?

"The Bumper of My SUV" by Chely Wright

As the AV Club once pointed out... how does Chely in the song know that she's being flipped off because of her bumper sticker? Why does she act so bluntly defensive over something she's only assuming? Why does she turn around and make such broad assumptions about that person? Maybe that person doesn't go to a private school. Maybe they don't give two shits about your bumper sticker. Or your stance on war. Or that fact that this song just drones on and on without any melodic changes.

"The Christmas Shoes" by NewSong

Most CCM is just too slickly produced and stridently sung for my tastes. But rarely can I hate it on message alone -- if you find something like "I Can Only Imagine" (which I took off this list at the last minute) uplifting, then I won't fault you for it. But what exactly is uplifting here? We've all heard the Patton Oswalt routine so we all know what's wrong with its message. But the sterile production, the pompous lead vocals, and the zombie children singing on the last chorus just really send it over the top, don't they?

"The Climb" by Miley Cyrus

I hate motivational songs. I hate pop songs being sent to country radio for no reason. I... actually don't hate Miley at all. But this is just a mountain of motivational clichés with no real narrative thought or emotion, and it certainly feels like a climb to listen to.

"Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride

I would never make light of child abuse. But like so many of Martina's songs, it feels like it was inserted into the song just to manipulate a bleeding-heart fanbase instead of tell an actual story.  Every second of this song is bombastic and overwrought and, as I've said before, it's like watching a Lifetime movie where everyone is screaming their dialogue.

"Country Boy" by Alan Jackson

When the first thing a 50-year-old man says is "I'm not a stalker", and then he follows it up with a blatant innuendo like "climb in my bed, I'll take you for a ride", all I can ask is why Herbert the Pervert got to record a country song. Not that the clunky melody, God-awful slant rhymes (asphalt/red dirt, help you/take you), and overlong verses (why does the song have two bridges?) do it any favors.

"Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)" by Toby Keith

Spoiler alert: this list will have a lot of 9/11 and Iraq War songs on it. I have no problem with love of country. I have no problem with anyone who is pro-war or anti-war. What I have a problem with is over-the-top jingoism. (You do know that the Statue of Liberty would have to set down either the torch or the tablets to shake her fist, right?) But what really sent this song over the top for me was the "boot in your ass" line. It just promotes an aggressive, violent, xenophobic mindset and to me, reinforces all the negative stereotypes of the "MURICA" crowd.

"Girls Lie Too" by Terri Clark

I ultimately took the cringeworthy Gretchen Wilson knockoff "Dirty Girl" off this list (come to think of it, "Gypsy Boots" was pretty dreadful too). I decided that two factors make this song even worse: 1.) uninspired attempts at battle-of-the-sexes humor that are either trite or misandristic, and 2.) the blatant chart manipulation that got this song to #1 in the first place.

"God Bless the Children" by Wayne Warner and the Nashville All Star Choir

This guy's slick, strident, overly touchy-feely delivery makes the lead singer of NewSong sound like Leonard Cohen. He both looks and sounds like that child counselor that ends up flashing you. The song was done for an adoption charity, and as my sister is an adoptee I have no issue with his support. But as a musical product, this is cringeworthy in how unlistenable it is.

"God Only Cries" by Diamond Rio

"God only cries for the living 'cause it's the living that are so far from home." So He doesn't cry for the dead because they're no longer with their loved ones? He doesn't cry for the living because He wants them to be comforted in their loss? Does He want everyone to die so the angels can all be happy and no one has to cry anymore? The more I look at that one line alone, the more problematic it comes off.

"The Good Lord and the Man" by John Rich

I was way too soft on this song when I reviewed it for Roughstock in 2009. Where do I even begin? Describing Pearl Harbor as a "sucker punch"? Or how about saying that we'd "all be speaking German / livin' under the flag of Japan" if not for our soldiers? Maybe it wouldn't be too bad from another singer, but from someone who released a song called "Shut Up About Politics" and never managed to follow his own advice, this seems like a fine line between pandering and trolling.

"Have You Forgotten?" by Darryl Worley

Tired of hearing me rant about political songs yet? Just about everyone's picked this one apart for how much of a wrongheaded straw-man argument it is. And I agree -- regardless of the intentions, the song just adds up to a confused mess of patriotic rah-rah lines. And WHY IN GOD'S NAME am I still hearing "You say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden" on the radio in 2020?!?

"Here for the Party" by Gretchen Wilson

I actually kind of liked Gretchen Wilson. Her grit was refreshing even if a bit calculated at times. But this song was easily the weak link in her debut. It was one of the only times that she sounded forced and over-the-top, instead of letting the fun come naturally, and the whole song just fell flat. And it's probably also her shrillest vocal performance.

"I Ain't No Quitter" by Shania Twain

"My man does literally everything wrong, including excessive womanizing and infidelity. But I'm not getting rid of him because... uh, I'm stubborn?" What a wonderful positive message to send out. Especially when Shania gives one of the most deadpan, lifeless deliveries of her entire career.

"I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack featuring Sons of the Desert

I hate songs that consist entirely of motivational platitudes with no narrative or through line of any kind. This is one of the biggest, and one of the most infuriating simply for how antipodal it is to the rest of her discography. Even if I weren't as vehemently opposed to this kind of song, I would still find it as out-of-character as I would if George Strait suddenly started recording gangsta rap.

"I'm a Survivor" by Reba McEntire

Starting off the song by declaring yourself to be a premature baby when you clearly weren't absolutely smacks of manipulation. It's the only thing that even gives this song any semblance of flavor, as the rest is sub-Jo Dee Messina level "you go girl" empowerment the likes of which does not fit Reba at all.

"I'm Already There" by Lonestar

Usually in the "when you coming home, Dad?" kind of songs, the father actually does come home at the end. But instead, this one just has the father coldly dismissing the family's valid pleas to come home. (At least I can see how "My Front Porch Looking In" could be uplifting...) Add some of Dann Huff's most bombastic, string-drenched power ballad production and Richie's overwrought singing, and you're just left wondering how this is the same band that did "No News".

"In My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride

In my daughter's eyes, everyone lives in peace and harmony with puppies and sunshine and rainbows. My daughter is going to be so sheltered and doe-eyed when she becomes an adult, because she thinks such syrupy drivel is the truth. Maybe her daughter in this song is actually RaeLynn? This explains so much. At least this one wasn't an ear-splitting belt-fest.

"Iraq and Roll" by Clint Black

Yeah, you probably don't remember this song. It was only on his website for a short time. But lucky for you, the Wayback Machine saved it: Link... if you dare

The song actually starts off inoffensively enough, but then launches headlong into some absolutely laughable lyrics ("If they won't show us their weapons, we might have to show them ours / It might be a smart bomb, they find stupid people too") that seem like the insane ramblings of someone who's been locked in a pod watching nothing but Fox News since 2002.

"Jeep Jeep" by Krista Marie

What would happen if you made a bro-country song before bro-country was even a thing, but flipped the sexes? And gave it a really dumb dumb hook hook that repeats repeats words words for no reason reason? You'd get "Jeep Jeep", of course course. At least she ended up making far better music in The Farm.

"Kiss My Country Ass" by Rhett Akins

Country pride songs are a dime a zillion. Most of them are inoffensive enough, or sometimes even guilty pleasures. Some are even quite well-written. But this is infuriatingly dismissive from its title alone, and it only gets worse with the overly MURICA second verse. It's okay to be country; just don't be a dick about it.

"The Little Girl" by John Michael Montgomery

Nothing good can come from a song based on one of those sickeningly manipulative e-mail stories that got circulated in the early 2000s (nowadays it'd be on Facebook). Even at the time, I read Snopes enough to know how manipulative (both parents get murdered!) and unrealistic (how does he know that's Jesus?) the story is. In the words of Weird Al, "Stop forwarding that crap to me."

"Love Is" by Katrina Elam

Getting back to the subject of ear-splitting belt fests... how about an oversung, over-the-top power of love anthem that brings literally nothing new to the subject other than awkwardly shoehorning in the word "bling"? This sounds like the kind of Celine Dion/Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey knockoffs my mom used to listen to back in the late 90s, only at least 10-15 years too late.

"Loud" by Big & Rich

Horse of a Different Color is one of my all-time favorite albums for how balls-to-the-wall madly creative it was. But as early as the second album, I could tell that Big & Rich were starting to run out of ideas. And by "Loud", they were reduced to a bunch of party-hearty clichés without any semblance of creativity other than a couple of interesting guitar textures. Even their voices sound strained and off on this.

"Mr. Right Now" by Povertyneck Hillbillies

Hey, remember that time you heard what sounded like a local bar band that somehow got on your radio? No, not "I Loved Her First". That one's actually okay. This one, however, just sounds like an utterly uncreative bunch of guys who somehow snuck onto a few playlists. From the unoriginal title to the groan-worthy dance/chance/romance rhyme to the name-drop of Popeye the Sailor Man, this song just screams "not ready for prime time".

"One Voice" by Billy Gilman

Yet another entry in the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" country song movement sparked by "Holes in the Floor of Heaven". Lyrics about as subtle as a ten-pound hammer to the face (mom won't watch the news, meaning she's sheltered and oblivious), all sung by a kid too young to even know what's going on in the world as it is. Maybe an adult singer could have made this at least palatable, but Gilman just wasn't ready for prime time yet.

"Sideways" by Dierks Bentley

One of the most atonal guitar/banjo intros I've ever heard, a chunky melody that flows like a year-old container of cottage cheese, a weaksauce hook, and one of Dierks' dullest deliveries. Maybe on the surface it just sounds mediocre, especially considering how phoned-in the entire Feel That Fire album was, but this song just has that extra degree of not caring that sends it over the top for me.

"Streets of Heaven" by Sherrié Austin

Another song with a perfectly valid topic: a mother's grief about possibly losing a child. But where it fails is in its attempts to browbeat God ("Don't you know one day that she'll be your little girl forever / but right now I need her so much more"). I'm an atheist and I still know that's not how you talk to God. Also, I thought Heaven's streets were made of gold. Not exactly the kind of thing that has a lot of traffic.

"Then" by Brad Paisley

This is actually one of Brad's better vocals and it has a good arrangement. Shame that the lyrics are absolutely unimaginative pap. (No lie, I correctly predicted nearly half the chorus, down to the insipid whole life/whole world/without you, girl rhyme on the first listen.) Even "When I Get Where I'm Going" had some flavor to it, but this is just beyond bland. What makes it worse is that overplay of this one kept the massively superior "Welcome to the Future" from going to #1.

"This Ain't Mexico" by Buddy Jewell

"You can call me a closed-minded, old-fashioned, flag-waving gringo". Yes, because that's what you are. By stapling on stereotypical mariachi sounds to your xenophobic rant against immigrants, along with head-scratching namedrops like Johnny Rodriguez (who was born in Texas, by the way). Oh yeah, and your desire to have that wall built... how's that working out for you 12 years later? I'm surprised you didn't work the word "wetback" in there somewhere.

"This One's for the Girls" by Martina McBride

Can I nominate "living on dreams and Spaghetti-Os" for one of the worst lyrics of all time? If not, then that still doesn't help this song's case. Messina had already beaten girl-power anthems into the ground by this point, and Martina makes it worse with some of the cheesiest lyrics I've ever heard, combined with a gaggle of girls on the obnoxious chorus.

"Troubadour" by George Strait

No, that's not a typo. Everyone hypes this up as one of his best, but I really, really don't get it. This song just feels like it barely exists. Like they just came up with 10% of an idea and left it at that. So you're a troubadour -- what does that mean in this context? Why doesn't the mirror tell the whole truth about you? Why did you rhyme "mirror" with "mirror"? What's your backstory? Why are you telling us so very little?

"The Way You Love Me" by Faith Hill

"If I could grant you one wish / I wish you could see the way you kiss." Um, that's not how wishes work. How did nobody involved in the creation process catch this? While there is an admittedly very clever use of key change on the chorus, that is instantly snuffed out by the bubblegum-pop lyrics (baby/crazy, never seen that one before) and the incessant "ooh"ing to stretch out the meter.

"What I'm For" by Pat Green

Yay, a list song of stock country-boy tropes. Never heard that one before. Let's see: technophobia? Check. Jingoism? Check. Random regional food and drink name-drops? Check, twice actually. Respecting your elders? Check. God? Check. And this is the song you pulled "Country Star" for?

"What If She's an Angel" by Tommy Shane Steiner

One of the last waves of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" movement and one of its worst. Ripping off "Don't Laugh at Me", a song I already dislike, in its first verse, and then somehow also forcing in abuse and cancer. It's like a genderflipped Martina McBride.

"When It All Goes South" by Alabama

Hey, who wants to hear a band of middle-aged men strain for cred by doing a G-rated ripoff of Kid Rock's "Cowboy"? Nobody, that's who. Not even their collab with 'N Sync was this embarrassingly bad.

"Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews

I tore this one when I wrote about Jessica Andrew forRoughstock back in 2013. It's always felt like two men writing what they think teenage girls think about because they haven't seen any teenage girls in 20 years. No teenager is going to be upset about not seeing the Seven Wonders or not winning a Grammy. Jessica did have good songs in her, but she just sounded dull and lifeless on these facepalm-worthy lyrics.

"You Are" by Jimmy Wayne

When it comes to cliché storms, this is Hurricane Katrina. (Too soon?) "It breaks my heart in two". "You are my love, you are my life." "Heart and soul." "My fantasy, my reality." It's like if you tried to write a country wedding song with a random number generator.