Miller is married to Nashville singer-songwriter Julie Miller, and the pair have a duo album coming out on New West Records on March 3. (source: tennessean.com) Update: Word is that Miller didn’t actually have a heart attack, but was experiencing chest pains when he was taken to the hospital.
Buddy Miller – Written in Chalk
I remember the comedian Chris Rock on a cable filmed stand-up special saying something like what is the world coming to when the top rapper in the world is white (Eminem) and the top golfer in the world is black (Tiger Woods)?
I felt sort of like that the other night when Sen. Barack Obama’s historic speech at Mile High Stadium was capped off by ”Only in America” by the NashVegas version of Hall and Oates, Brooks & Dunn. This is the same song George Bush used at the Republican Convention last election. One half of the duo, Ronnie Dunn is a staunch Republican but the song’s co-writer, Don Cook, is a founder of the Music Row Democrats so I guess it’s a Nashville pop-country equivalent of bi-partisanship.
Here’s a note to the DNC and Democratic candidates everywhere, there are great artists that make country music that actually LIKE you and stand for at least some of what you advocate. Ever hear of Steve Earle or the Dixie Chicks?
If that wasn’t enough I read that Mr.”Boot in the ass” Toby Keith has thrown his support behind Obama (though it seems it’s only because Obama is able to act white.) Keith states that he’s a life-long Democrat but he appears to be more like the right-wing Dixie-crats I remember when I was growing up in Dallas. Mr. Keith apparently gets peeved when people accuse him of being a GOP fan. I wonder where they might have gotten that idea?!
Thank goodness there’s some things you can still count on with Nashville pop-country music and uased as a backdrop for patiotic symbolism- John Rich. the shorter half of the insipid duo Big and Rich, and raging homophobic weasel, penned a love song to John McCain cleverly entitled “Raisin’ McCain,” The song will be featured at the GOP convention and it predictably sucks.
Toby Keith’s Pro-Obama Anthem (a parody)
I’ve said in the past that I though the Dixie Chicks‘ “Taking The Long Way” was their move towards the soft-country rock of the Eagles. Seems the transformation may be coming to completion.
Dixie Chicks will be part of a special grand opening concert event this fall to open downtown Los Angeles’ new 7,100 seat state-of-the-art venue NOKIA Theater L.A. Live. Dixie Chicks will be teaming up with The Eagles to co-headline these special shows, and the Nokia Theater appearances will be both groups’ only concert performances in 2007. Tickets for October 18th and 20th concerts go on sale Monday, August 13th at 10:00 AM via ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000, and at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers. Additionally, tickets will be available at the STAPLES Center Box Office and the Box Office at TEAM LA at Universal CityWalk starting Tuesday, August 14th.
I love discovering roots/country music from across the world. Baskery does their thing in Stockholm, Sweden with such passion and fire that you could be forgiven for mistaking them for Tennesseans or Texans reared on equal parts Carter Family and Tanya Tucker.
Think a Swedish version of the Dixie Chicks…wait…what was I saying? Oh yeah…great arrangements and sweet harmonies make Baskery shine. Check ‘em out.
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