5 Albums You Should Be Listening To

These days who knows what country music really is anymore. I just want artists who are in it for the music, not the fame or money, because that's what makes a real artist. I want them to make music they are proud of and have it represent who they are. That concept is so lost in today's mainstream pop country music. The list below are some of the best albums I've heard this year. I don't care if it's the "countriest" sounding thing in the world or not. I just want it to be good music. Here are 5 albums that are very different from each other. I guarantee you will find something you like and will not be disappointed.  

 Like A Rose - Ashley Monroe 

Even though Ashley Monroe is best known as a member of the Pistol Annies, she proved that she can do just as well, if not better as a solo artist. The Pistol Annies gave her enough exposure to really reach out to the mainstream country fan base, and they listened. Her video for "Like A Rose" was on CMT Top 20 Countdown and she performed (very briefly) on the ACM awards. It's a start. It was great to see her amidst all of the other "types of music" in mainstream country. This is a short, simple, sweet 9 track classic country sounding album that really hits home. With personal stories being told in the the title track and others it's hard to tell how much is truth and how much is just good songwriting. She has you believing every word that comes out of her mouth that's for sure.  

The Other Life - Shooter Jennings

I'll admit to the fact that I don't love everything Shooter Jennings has ever released. Some of his songs are a little too hard edged rock for my taste. He has some really great country songs but asking him for an entire album of them would be crazy, that's not who he is. This album is the perfect combination of country and rock. Mainstream country tries to make country rock work. For the most part it doesn't go over well. (Listen to any Brantley Gilbert song if you need an example) Shooter is one of those people who can successfully defy the genre lines because they can make it work and create unique music that really fits who they are. Unquestionably this is his best album yet in my opinion. 

In The Throes - John Moreland  

A singer/songwriter from Oklahoma you probably never heard of wrote one of the greatest albums I've listened to this year. The combination of the simple acoustic instrumentation with his Bruce Springsteen-like voice and his heartbreaking lyrics just isn't fair. There isn't one bad song on this album. Every single sentence is beautifully written like lines from a poem. The whole album is the story of broken dreams, lost love, and running low on hope. It will leave you sad and heartbroken but inspired at the same time.

Southeastern - Jason Isbell

Jason Isbell is one of the most talented songwriters I've come across, probably ever. The musical style of this album is definitely in the alt country/Americana category. It's different from his other solo albums and very different from his early days as a member of the southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. The one thing has always remained the same is his hauntingly beautiful songwriting. I don't care if you call it Americana, rock, country, alt country, it doesn't matter it's just good music, music that continues to evolve into something more and more brilliant. It's stuff like this that really made me hate mainstream music. Why are these money driven pop singers getting all the attention when music like this exists? I guess we'll never know. If you are looking for a good way to transition into real music, then look no further than this album.

High Top Mountain - Sturgill Simpson

I love Americana music, I really do, but my all time favorite little sub-genre of country music would have to be from the Waylon, Willie, Billy Joe Shaver, Paycheck, etc. Outlaw Era country. If that existed today this album would be what it would sound like. It's new music that shadows the music I love that was long before my time. This is pure, real, country music. It seems like all the people who want to make actual country music are drifting off into Americana or some other genre. That's okay, but I love the ones that are still doing it this way. There are many great underground singers and bands like Hank 3, Dale Watson, Hellbound Glory, Rachel Brooke, and so many others that are keeping real country alive. People like them give me hope. It just shows that it will be hard to kill country music. There will always be someone out there still doing it right, and for the right reasons. Sturgill's sound is so unique for today's music that I think this is quite honestly the best album of the year so far, it'll be hard to top it. I think there's an Eric Church song that goes "We need a Country Music Jesus to come and save us all." Alright Nashville, I've found him. I can only dream that one day you can accept him. 

Does CMT Actually Care About Music?

This Fourth of July I was very pleased that many of the main music TV networks were doing a 12 hour musical independence day from 6AM-6PM. MTV, VH1, and CMT all gave independent label musicians a chance to share their music with the world, although it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I thought it would be all indie artists but that wasn't the case. There were about 5 mainstream videos for every 1 indie video. In a way it was cool to see both kinds of artists side by side, but for calling it "Musical Independence Day" it definitely lacked Independent music. I wasn't even aware of it until the night before. I think with better promotion from all of the networks they can make this a real full blown annual deal. I think it is a great way to showcase artists who originally wouldn't receive any airplay at all. Little steps like an annual Independent music day on major networks are little rays of hope for the future of all music in general. Big major networks like those rarely play music anymore let alone Indie music. In a world where "Music Television" plays shows about teenage pregnancy and "Country Music Television" plays shows about vacationing rednecks "Musical Independence Day" shows they actually care a little about quality of their music instead of the size of their wallets. CMT also has another website called CMT Edge for Americana, Bluegrass, and other real country music. Maybe some day the music they talk about on there can make it's way into the mainstream network. I do watch videos on CMT and GAC time to time and sometimes they do throw in some of the good stuff. If they can continue to do things like that a little more maybe soon the public can catch on and start enjoying some great music by amazing artists who deserve a chance like everybody else.

 The main reason I knew the Indie day existed was because one of my new favorite singers Sturgill Simpson announced that his video for his song "Railroad of Sin" would air around 6:30 AM. I was flipping out because I thought CMT was actually picking it up. Turned out it was just for Indie day but it was cool nonetheless. Even though I already saw the video online, I'll admit to the fact that I camped out in my living room and stayed up all night until the 2 minute piece of pure country heaven graced my television screen. (I'm a total fangirl for that kind of stuff okay) I rewound it probably about 10 times as I sat in awe. I was witnessing Country Music Television playing real and I mean real country music, it was crazy! There are literally no words to describe the amazing, genuine hard country twang in his music. A modern day Waylon is about as good of a description as I could give you. Watch for yourself. Another great song I came across was called "Stripes" by Brandy Clark. I already heard her music but I didn't know it at the time. She co-wrote "Better Dig Two" for The Band Perry and "Mama's Broken Heart" for Miranda Lambert. She also co-wrote some of my favorite songs off of Kacey Musgraves's album Same Trailer Different Park including "Follow Your Arrow" and "It Is What It Is." Her song "Stripes" is a woman getting revenge song, well almost. It is similar to Miranda Lambert's song "Kerosene" but it has a very different ending. Songs like this prove that you can have a fun, upbeat, catchy song that does have a meaning, is still country, isn't stupid, and doesn't make me want to jab my eardrums out with a fork. Another good song I discovered was "Not the One" by the young country duo Striking Matches. They aren't super country, but I'd prefer them to most things on country radio these days. This song shows off their nice vocals with only two acoustic guitars to back them up. They tell a pretty believable story with this simple "love done gone" song.