Author, recording artist, and political advisor Tommy Womack posts what he refers to as "rants" on his website often to my amusement. They range from philosophical musings, anecdotal stories, to open letters to Jesus. Sometimes they make me laugh a wry little laugh of approval, others times they lead me to believe that I need more work before I can really call myself a writer. Aside from being a fantastic songwriter, these little rants are one of Tommy's more endearing traits--his sense of humor arrives in various forms and each are equally entertaining.

But then again, is that just petulant whining from a guy who doesn't have the Great American Novel in him? Is that just looking for an excuse to fail instead of a reason to succeed? I don't know. I've been under fluorescent light so long now I don't know where it's insidious effects stop and my own failings begin.

Tommy's funny, witty, and smart. Go read his stuff and if you don't have his music, buy several copies of each CD. You won't regret it.

BR549's new CD, Tangled In The Pines, damn near caused a major accident on I-95 this morning. Amid the throngs of mocha-loving cellular-dependent drivers I was attempting to keep up with traffic that just moved a little too quick for me. Paying attention to the road was tough because this CD is not meant for those not currently on a dance floor--this is a shake-your-hiney barroom blast.

After undergoing a little change in lineup, BR549 is back with a true honkytonk treasure. The title track is bona fide boogie as is much of the album. There's a distinctive Dick Dale meets Bob Wills thing going on here with a little more edge than the former albums. I also really enjoyed one of the darker turns on the album, "Run A Mile" which follows a man running from a man angry over his daughter's indoctrination into the adult world. Overall, the sound is slightly updated and best of all the energy of their well-known live performances seeps into the work.

For fans, this is a must have. For those not on an open dance floor you should really be careful and listen only with trained professionals.

This disc arrives from Dualtone on March 9th.

Memphis was shaped by music and music was shaped by Memphis. Neither would have been nearly as successful if it not for Stax Records and co-founder Estelle Axton who died yesterday at the age of 85. Axton, known affectionately as "Lady A", was a gentle guiding hand at Stax that helped critical acts like Booker T and the MGs, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, and Rufus Thomas. Many hailed her progressive attitude toward racial harmony as a monumental moment in the rise of rock-n-roll, funk, and the revival of the blues.

A few weeks ago I walked the cold streets of Memphis during the International Blues Championship and felt the eternally cool vibe flowing from each door on Beale Street. For some reason, I think today Memphis may be just a little bit more blue.

You can read more at CNN.com

Studio work makes a musician, live shows make the artist. Today there aren't very many performers who can hold court over a crowd with just an acoustic guitar. Even more rare is a performer who can do just that and actually catch one of those perfect nights on tape.

With Acoustic Motel Jack Ingram has done just that. The Houston native best known for his expansive, yet warm view of what music should be generally performs with one of the finest touring bands of our generation. For his most recent tour, also titled Acoustic Motel, he ventured out on the road with just his acoustic guitar, a pocketful of bravery and a backpack full of stories. It's clear that he's just as comfortable and capable at the helm of a small acoustic show as he is a full band.

My favorite part of this live show is Jack's honest rendition of his work. It comes through in his delivery of each song and shines when he shares a little story--listen for the one about album reviews. You can also hear an amazing amount of passion as he sings and can almost hear him smile as he banters with the audience between songs.

I would be remiss if I didn't say this has quickly become my favorite Jack Ingram album. It's his first effort on his new label--Real American Music--and it seems the artist in him is alive and thriving on the newfound freedom.

In 1995 a little quarterly magazine was birthed with hopes of spreading the word about a genre of music that simply could not be clearly defined. The musicians chronicled in the black-and-white pages of that magazine were mavericks shunning commercial music wisdom in favor of ground-breaking sound with a nod to the roots music of their past.

Almost ten years later, that magazine now hits the doorsteps of over 30,000 readers every other month and shapes the careers of those fortunate enough to be featured within. The modest ambition of sharing the honest music they loved has blossomed into an international standard bearer for the music that shares their name: No Depression.

If you plan to head to Austin, TX for South by Southwest (SXSW) you'll find 25 wireless hotspots around town streaming some of the hottest shows for free! All you need it iTunes to hear over a day and a half of free music.

Read more here.

BuffettNews.com has located Jimmy's lost party wagon for sale on eBay. The 1994 Town and Country minivan is in great condition with no visible stains, dents, and only has 72,000 miles on it. Current bidding is up to $4000.

Too bad the Conch Cruiser from the 70s isn't up for bid...

Country Standard Time reports that Lari White will be making her return on Compadre Records who will distribute her self-produced album titled Green Eyed Soul due June 1, 2004.

Lari enjoyed modest commercial success in the mid-90s Nashville landscape, but soon found her artistic and commercial goals at odds with one another. After several years of soul-searching and family building, Lari is back with a more distinct vision of her music.

If you can't wait for the album, visit Lari's website where you can snag one of the few remaining copies today before it enters mass distribution.

For those Jack Ingram fans around the world (and we know there are plenty of them), there's a new spot you can gather to chat about the world of the Beat Up Ford Band.

Benjamin Schooley, an "enterprising" fan, has created BeatUpFordGarage.com as a place for fans to review shows, discuss Jack's music, and solve life's woes.

Differentiating an album from others can be a challenge when artists receive a small bin among aisles of albums in the mega-music stores that dominate sales today. If an artist isn't particularly well-known, quality cover art can help.

In some cases, bad cover art can turn heads as well. Check out the 10 worst album covers of all-time and decide for yourself.

Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupleo and Son Volt fame is making last year's July 24th appearance in Seattle available as an MP3 download on February 27th, 2004.

The Showbox in Seattle on July 24, 2003 (including "Barstow", "Gather" and a version of Townes Van Zandt's "White Freightliner Blues". Eric Heywood and Mark Spencer accompanied Jay during this show.

Prices have not been stated but stay tuned for the latest on the new album.

My hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana proclaimed yesterday Brooks and Dunn Day.

Words don't come easily regarding this sad event. I can only say that the spirit of hope resides in each of us; that some day decent country music will be played on radio stations around this land; that some day the joy of Steve Earle, Todd Snider, and the Jayhawks will warm our lives. Until then, may Brooks and Dunn not suck as badly as I remember...

Strange pairings come along infrequently, but when they do it generally leads to a little fun. Country Standard Time reports that Brad Turcotte, head of Compadre Records, recently introduced Kid Rock to Billy Joe Shaver which has lead to the two writing together with plans to record.

Kid Rock mingling in country music is far from new given his collaborations with Sheryl Crow, Leann Rimes, and Allison Moorer. Rock also has worked with country outlaw Hank Williams, Jr.

While a far more traditional turn for Rock, driving music isn't new to Billy Joe Shaver. Shaver made his name as a songwriter-extraordinaire in the 1970s with hits for Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, but found a new audience with his late son Eddy with an album called Electric Shaver featuring soaring guitar work and sharp-edged writing.

UPDATED!
An insider from the Billy Joe Shaver camp says that Billy Joe Shaver and Kid Rock are planning a tour as well.

Todd Snider recently set down with Dave Tianen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to discuss among other things his rehab stint and newfound focus.

As much as Kurt was (angry), he was one of the first punkers to come along and always talk about bands he liked. . . . He was funny, but then it spawned a whole three years of guys who were mad at their dad - at age 30.

Sure, I was mad at my dad, too. But if you're not over it by 30, I can't believe you have a job in entertainment.

You can find the article here.

You can read my earlier interview with Todd here.

In 2002 the recording industry settled with 40 states over price-fixing in the CD market. If you signed up as part of this suit your check is finally in the mail. Also of note, part of the settlement stipulates 5.6 million CDs be given to music education programs across the country.

Read about it here.

The debate over music and copyright continues to rage as next Tuesday has been declared "Grey Tuesday."

Popular hip-hop artist Jay-Z released an acapella version of his Black Album to encourage young DJs and artists to remix his work. The up-and-coming DJ Danger Mouse has taken Jay-Z up on this opportunity by blending his work with the Beatles famed White Album resulting in a creation he's calling the Grey Album.

As with all that tread upon the fiercely guarded rights of the Beatles, this has encited EMI to disperse cease and desist orders. This equally angered those who oppose copyrights and resulted in a new website declaring next Tuesday as the day on which we each should distribute as many copies of DJ Danger Mouse's Grey Album as we possibly can.

You can follow the action here.

Balancing rising fame with the looming figure of sophomoric failure is something every musician faces after their first taste of success. No one has ever faced expectation as intense as jazz darling Norah Jones on the eve of her second release Feels Like Home.

Jones introduction to the world was a smoldering wildfire that sent her on a whirlwind tour of award shows and magazine covers. Selling over 5 million copies and garnering her eight Grammy awards, Come Away With Me propelled the native Texan from smokey New York clubs to a household name.

To say that Jones' second release was highly-anticipated is as understated as her band's capable backing work. Fans clamored for more of the sultry sound that her first album oozed. Critics waited with baited breath to give it deadpan reviews--nothing sells magazines like a "Behind The Scenes" fall from grace. Jazz purists grimaced when told it would be a turn toward her Texas roots. Still everyone waited for the album to arrive, for one reason or another.

Now living in Brooklyn, Jones and her subtly capable band have compiled a perfect balance between her ballyhooed Texas legend and their eclectic New York reality that is a perfect outgrowth of Come Away With Me--a blossom on a beautiful tree. The songs certainly nod toward Texas but with such perfect arrangement to please any jazz fan. Even the southward swing of "Creepin' In" with Dolly Parton will be fun for almost all listeners.

This album is if anything a tremendous balance of sound that clearly shows a more mature and musically broad band. Her first album was riddled with country songs reimagined as smoky jazz. This time they are more jazz-influenced songs blended with fantastic country textures. Also, Jones takes a bit of a back seat and lets the fusion of hollow jazz and rich guitar fill in the spot formerly reserved for her piano skills.

This album may not win her eight Grammys or sell 5 million copies, but it's sure to win her fans.

In a day when media companies seem to only grow and local DJs are as common as whitewall tires, Jenny Toomey's outspoken defense of small artists is coming through loud and clear even if the FCC's Michael Powell isn't listening.

Toomey, punk rocker, label head, and activist at-large, was recently the guest of NPR's Neda Ulaby on Morning Edition. Toomey spoke about her fight as well as her music.

You can read excerpts of the interview or listen it here.

In my inbox this morning was a link from a friend to a nice video for the title track to Jimmy Buffett's new album, License to Chill.

The video is a production of Sports Illustrated in conjunction with their annual swimsuit issue and features lots of gorgeous women mixed with behind the scenes of Buffett and the gang making the song in the studio. OK, it's mostly girls but it's quite a stark contrast to see haggard looking rockers immediately following some of the world's most beautiful women.

Hormones aside, the song is a promising look at the upcoming album. It's upbeat and fun as expected from Jimmy Buffett. Most importantly, it's the best group of performing musicians I've heard in many years on a Buffett album. You have Sonny Landreth, Will Kimbrough, and Mac MacAnally playing guitar along with Doyle Grisham.

Dare I say it's the best thing we've heard from Jimmy since 1974? Well, maybe I won't go that far but it's certainly the best studio effort since Barometer Soup.

In the recently heralded Lost in Translation we find our sleep and love-deprived main characters at a Japanese karaoke bar singing among other songs "Peace. Love and Understanding" written by Nick Lowe and "stolen" by Elvis Costello. As we painfully watch the unhinging of classic songs, the characters seem to bask in the glory that performing brings.

Not everyone can get up and sing before even a crowd of drunk wannabe singers at a karaoke bar, let alone become a rock star. Those anxiety-prone singers trapped inside the bodies of accountants, teachers, and postal delivery workers could always exude their unnoticed singing abilities with a home karaoke machine.

Apple has taken this concept a bit further with GarageBand--a $49 song sequencer that allows users to create their own songs without instruments or worse yet, download MIDI backing tracks of their favorite songs which to add their own vocals. Those same people can then unleash their horrors upon the world at several sites dedicated to sharing user creations.

Want to join the crowd? You'll need a Macintosh, GarageBand, and a few links:

• Tips for GarageBand Karaoke
  
• MacJams.com
  
• iCompositions.com
  
• MacBand.com
  

Have fun!

Music journalism has long been dominated by a few mammoth rags that have long-since lost their edgy appeal. All of that has changed with the introduction of Tracks.

While fumbling through an airport gift shop's magazine rack at an obscenely early hour recently, I picked up what appeared to be a well-established music magazine that I had never read. It was attractive and the few selections I read while looking over my shoulder as if someone would dissapprove of my actions were very well written. So I scurried off to my gate and settled into my undersized seat and began the fight to claim an armrest.

It turns out that the pub was actually in its first run even if the quality suggested that it was a cagey veteran. Knowing that if I ever published something I'd kick open the door with guns blazing only to leave after a few seconds of unmitigated fury due to my lack of ammunition, I decided to reserve my opinion until the second installment of the magazine.

Well the folks at Tracks appear to have a nice weapons cache. In my hands is my recently-read second issue with the lovely Norah Jones on the cover. Like it's earlier sibling, this too is well-written with great pieces like Steve Earle's Beatles flashback, a smart Mindy Smith detour, and a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the real School of Rock. Most impressive is the range and depth of reviews that cross genres and give the discerning listener a bundle of worthy music to track down. There's more intelligent reading in one issue of Tracks than you can find in a whole year's worth of other music magazines.

Tracks may be the new gun in town but from my window I think the sheriff may need to assemble a posse to beat this scrappy newcomer.

When it comes to the Beatles you either loathe Phil Spector's production of Let It Be or you despise McCartney's protests regarding the album. It's as polarizing as any topic related to the Fab Four.

Now there's an album for each set: Let It Be...Naked. The redux of the 1970 snapshot of the world's most famous band collapsing under the weight of personality conflict strips the Lennon-endorsed production and leaves behind a quick glimpse of a band attempting to return to their original sound. Gone are the soaring strings and the heavy orchestration and in their place is a quietly beautiful album by four exceptionally able musicians.

To be fair, I was a fan of the original album with very few opinions of Lennon, McCartney, Spector, or Yoko Ono for that matter. I had grown up knowing nothing of the conflict nor the controversy surrounding the album. The song versions on the original were magnificent in my mind.

That was until I heard the new McCartney-backed version. It's superb in nearly every way to the original. It exudes the Beatle sound...

Winter doldrums can get anyone down. I live in Florida and the mild dip in temperatures and accompanying rain have painted my world grey. It's not as depressing as the barren places I used to live, but it still prevents me from enjoying the stereotypical tropical weather. That depression makes working very difficult.

Recently, that dull grey feeling has lead to a bushel of songs about trains, drinking, and thieving. Johnny Cash made a living doing those songs but for some reason I'm struggling with it. Not once have I stolen anything except a glance down some girl's shirt. Trains? I love the thought and hate living near them--too damn loud. As far as the drinking goes I'm pretty sure I've already consumed my lifetime limit. Yet with each passing day of rainy weather I write more songs that make the blues look happy.

I have a plan however to write something happy. I'm actually going to rob a train while drunk to eleviate my propensity to ponder these dire situations. Perhaps then I'll have something else to daydream about...

Friday night I caught Todd Snider and the Nervous Wrecks in their second show since Todd Snider's November return to drug rehabilition. The band rolled through the set effortlessly as if the act was a nightly occurrence. To be precise the event was far from common--Todd Snider has only appeared with his longtime band three times since their disbanding almost 5 years ago.

While the show was a fantastic performance, more special to me was seeing a friend return to his lifework with vibrancy and triumph. Instead of fighting the demons of drug addiction, he was fighting a cold. Now bearded and sober, his famous smile was every bit as cynical as it had ever been. His once-bewildered gaze now is now clear, bright, and fixed on staying clean. And unlike some who clean up from an addiction, his sense of humor and creativity seem even stronger. He left me feeling good...