a music blog
Since starting my Dolly Parton project a few years ago, I have been an avid reader of all things related to the Queen of Country herself. Many of these books are worth recommending so I thought I would write a post grouping these into categories to help the average reader choose what might be best suited to their reading taste!
Continue reading “Dolly Parton Book Guide”
‘Better Day’ was Dolly’s 43rd solo album and came three years after the fantastic return to form that was ‘Backwoods Barbie’. Some of the songs on ‘Better Day’ were written for the musical version of ‘9 to 5’ which Dolly had been working on around this time. The intention of the album was to be an uplifting collection of songs, all written by Dolly, that would help people escape from their troubles.
Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – Better Day (2011)”
Miko Marks’s last release ‘Our Country’ was a welcome return for an artist who had suffered setbacks in her country music career, never finding the opportunities or success her talent deserved. That album was a classic mix of country, soul and gospel influences showcasing an artist who had renewed hope for a late career resurrection.
Continue reading “Album Review: Miko Marks & the Resurrectors – Feel Like Going Home”
The end of the year is fast approaching, list season is here and we are already hearing some new songs from albums ready to be released in early 2023. Read on for some new songs and thoughts from this week in my music listening…
Continue reading “Three Songs and the Truth About List Season”
In her first album of new music since the career defining exploration of her musical heritage that was Musas Vol 1 & 2 and her passion project Un Canto Por Mexico Vol 1 & Volume 2, Natalia Lafourcade cements her status as one of the most vital voices in Latin roots music.
Continue reading “Album Review: Natalia Lafourcade – De Todas Las Flores”
The opening song on this 2007 album ‘Backwoods Barbie’ is a perfect distillation of the appeal of Dolly Parton as a cultural icon. ‘Better Get to Livin’ offers up some insight into how she keeps her positive attitude and offers some advice for others, all within one of the catchiest and most infectious melodies in her catalogue.
Dolly’s mantra is that we all better start ‘livin, givin, forgivin and ‘lovin’ on the way’. But there’s also a steely core to her lyrics – she doesn’t want to hear your ‘whining’ or ‘pining’, instead she believes that healing comes from a positive mental attitude. We must all ‘shine, design, refine’ to bring our dreams to life. Self-improvement becomes more than some platitude, it is exactly how Dolly has risen to the top and stayed there.
‘Don’t waste one minute of your life,’ she reminds us as the song draws to a close where she has recast herself as the best minister, motivational speaker, life coach, therapist you’ll ever have in your life.
The concept of this album was an attempt to reclaim the Barbie image which was often used to mock or deride her, but Backwoods Barbie works because these songs sum up everything which has been part of her appeal across her whole career.
Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – Backwoods Barbie (2007)”
News broke this week that some Taylor Swift fans are actually suing Ticketmaster after their recent ticket buying trauma.
Some of the problems which occurred on that day have been brewing for a long time: buying tickets now involves navigating a confusing and complex system of presale codes and ticket sale opportunities, all of which allow bots to buy tickets and resell them for inflated prices. It’s wrong and it has to be stopped.
Continue reading “How to Solve The Ticketmaster Problem”
Earlier this year I ordered country music star Carrie Underwood’s book ‘Find Your Path’, which was marketed as a wellness and lifestyle guide. On the cover she is standing in a meadow, smiling in the sunshine, holding a flower, wearing white and looking like an angel come to inspire us all to live a happier and healthier life.
Inside we have more pretty pictures of her beautiful husband and children. So far, so aspirational.
However when I read the introduction sentence, the alarm bells started ringing immediately. She begins this book with the admission:
‘Sometimes I go a whole day without sitting down once.’
Okay, that doesn’t sound good to me. Not good at all.
The advice only gets more concerning from this point onwards. ‘Find Your Path’ reads like a brutal lesson in how the music industry (or fame itself) sends people to extreme perfectionism just in order to survive.
Continue reading “On Carrie Underwood’s Problematic ‘Find Your Path’”
Recently when contemplating some issues around social media, and Twitter in particular, I was reminded of an old episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the episode ‘Earshot’, Buffy is infected by a demon and wakes up with the ability to hear the thoughts of everyone she meets. At first her new power is exhilarating and exciting, a way to gain knowledge and insight. Soon, however, the gift becomes a curse. She can’t block out the constant noise of everyone’s internal chatter and eventually the horror, suffering, pain and violence inside other people’s heads overwhelms her. She ends up bedridden, unable to function, hovering on the edge of insanity.
Continue reading “The Trouble With Twitter”
Highway Queens 