Music Monday: She Used to Love Me a Lot by David Allan Coe

David Allan Coe is known for being hardcore.  He served time in prison both as a juvenile and as an adult.  He lived in a hearse after he got out of prison and moved to Austin.  He has an infamous dirty CD.  He dropped the n-word in a song on a regular CD.  He’s been known to ride a Harley onto the stage at his concerts.  He looks like an elderly Rob Zombie these days.

But he has also recorded some absolutely killer slow songs.

Not my pic

New Music Friday: Shooter by Shooter Jennings

Shooter’s dad is one of the all-time greats, Waylon Jennings (already featured here for Music Monday).  Remember those good old days?  War?  Protest?  Going to jail?

Out today: Shooter by Shooter Jennings.

Music Monday: Dwight Yoakam by Sarah Shook & the Disarmers

Speaking of sinful omissions from Music Monday, my wife is going to kill me when she finds out I’ve gone two months without singing the praises of Dwight Yoakam.  But, if only to avoid having to change the subtitle of my blog from “Texas Country” to “Kentucky Country,” I’m going to leave the Kentucky boys be and show some love to my home state instead.

Sarah Shook grew up in a fundamentalist household, fell in with the right wrong element when she moved to North Carolina, and looks like a character from a country noir story.  And she kinda sings like Dwight Yoakam with a little more Hank and writes like Chris Knight.

Pic by Jillian Clark

New Music Friday: Lifers by Cody Jinks

Country music radio is a vast wasteland.  But country music has never been better.  It is just that you won’t hear on the radio the vast majority of the great stuff musicians—more in Texas than in Tennessee—are churning out.  Where, then, do you find out about it?  Here.  I mean, other places are better, but here too.  To that end, I will regularly feature Texas country (and Red Dirt and Americana and Cowpunk and Old Time…) albums on the Friday they are released (Every Day Should Be Friday?).

Out today: Lifers by Cody Jinks.

Music Monday: Luckenbach, Texas by Waylon Jennings

After a couple heavy music posts, talking about my dad and my sister, let’s go with something a little lighter.  But not too light, because it is almost the Fourth of the July, and that means it is time to double the ‘Murica, fuck yea!

Thankfully, country music has never lacked for patriotic verve.  [/scribbles note to address a certain controversy around patriotism involving artists with the initials D.C. and T.K.]  So I have a lot of grist for my patriotic mill.  But, while it may not be overtly patriotic, there is only one country song intimately related to an annual tradition of lawn mower parade on the Fourth of July.

Music Monday: Was It 26 by Chris Stapleton

Last week I talked about a great song that is special to me because of what it means in relation to my relationship with my dad.  Today I talk about a great song that is special to me because of what it means in relation to my relationship with my sister.

I wasn’t exactly doing poorly in my mid-20s.  I had a good job and a bad girlfriend.  I was self-sufficient and away from home and didn’t want much more from life.  But I was spinning my wheels.

My sister called me on a Sunday night.  I didn’t get the message because my cell phone’s voice mail was jacked up for whatever reason.  My mom called and left me a voicemail Monday evening.  It spurred me to reset my voicemail password.  I listened to the voicemail from my sister, deleted it.  It was the last time I ever heard my sister’s voice.

All my mom’s voicemail said was, “It’s your sister.”  The quiver in her voice said the rest.  I was 25.