Got it right this time...
For some strange reason, I had an inkling I was going to regret having posted my Best Albums of 2006 list.
Why? Because I just listened to another 2006 release that would have made the list. And not just the Honorable Mentions. This one would've been in the top 10. Heck, it would've been in the top 5, it's that good.
It is Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing by everybody's favorite Nicole Kidman-loving, rehab-junkie* Keith Urban. This is one that I never considered buying nor even really listening to. But, I picked it up from the library for whatever reason and it's fantastic.
But what scares me about this discovery is that I now have three country albums on my top 20 -- The Dixie Chicks, The Wreckers, and Keith Urban. Well, technically, you can argue that the Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris album is also country, so it's now up to four. That's 20% of my list populated with country. I haven't listened to this much country music since I was trying to impress a girl in college. It worked for about a week.
I'm not quite sure what to make of this new-found appreciation of country. Do I embrace it and listen to more? Do I just accept it and go on with life? Do I nab a ten-gallon hat, some Levis, and boots and start signing off e-mails with "Yee haw, buckaroo"?
No, it's me you're talking to. I'm fighting it tooth and nail. I went to the library during my lunch break yesterday and picked up the new albums from Three Days Grace, Hoobastank, Jurassic-5, Disturbed, and Ghostface Killah. YEAH!
* Would the words "rehab" and "junkie" used in tandem effectively cancel each other out? They seem rather diametrically opposed, don't they?
I don't think you've changed, so much as the definition of what is country has changed. Fear not the music, Kevin. Go with the flow.
Posted by: Tracy Lynn | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 07:25 AM
Dude, country music does not belong in any "best of" list. Sorry. I think you're getting soft in your older age.
Posted by: Karl | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 07:58 AM
I say get the boots. Boots are always good.
Posted by: Dagny | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 08:35 AM
It ain't your Daddy's country anymore. Clicking through the channels one night, I stumbled across a promo featuring Little Big Town. Who knew country had four-part harmony? Who knew country had four parts?
Posted by: Rick | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 09:09 AM
I don't think I have ever heard his music and I missed your review. I will most definitely have to go back.
Posted by: Jacquie | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 09:19 AM
See what happens when you stop cussing like a rebel and start using "shucks" and "heck" like a girl...I mean...cowboy?
Posted by: Chase | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 09:30 AM
if you like J5 i can hook you up. i've got all their stuff! charlie 2Na has such an awesome rapping voice. you let me know and i'll send it all to you. ;)
Posted by: ms. sizzle | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 10:20 AM
Tracy, I'm giving it a fair shot. But I need some rock and otherwise in there somewhere.
Karl, normally I'd agree. But these have been pretty good. And I would have had Carrie Underwood's album on there, but it was a 2005 release.
Dagny, can I sing like Nancy Sinatra if I do?
Rick, yeah, and it's even progressed beyond four guitar notes, too. Who knew?
Jacquie, actually that was about it for the review right here in this post.
Chase, the heck you say! I did not use "shucks"!!
Sizzle, I'm definitely interested. Everything but the new album, pretty much.
Posted by: kapgar | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 11:59 AM
Don't fight it, just be sure not to accept any country-pop crap substitutes. Get yourself a copy of The Old 97s' "Wreck Your Life." Now. After a week when you've played that so much Katie is ready to kill you, get "Too Far to Care," "Hitchhike to Rhome," and the live double album. Those are the best worth paying for. The others are worth a download. And check out Murry's lovely wife Grey DeLisle. She's recorded a few gorgeous songs.
Posted by: Erin | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 03:31 PM
Oh no, country is infiltrating your psyche, eww!!!!
Posted by: Eve | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 08:18 PM
Erin, the Old 97's are considered country? Really? I've liked them for a while since I first heard them on WXRT, which doesn't really play country. Some light stuff, but a lot of alternative and rock, too.
Eve, I was afraid you might read this one. Why couldn't you have been on vacation this week instead? I feel so ashamed.
Posted by: kapgar | Thursday, 04 January 2007 at 09:10 PM
I refuse to judge anyone who has Mark Knopfler, Keith Urban, and Gohstface Killah all in the same music collection, because that is a collection that kicks major butt.
Posted by: francesdanger | Friday, 05 January 2007 at 04:13 AM
frances, it is rather all encompassing, isn't it?
Posted by: kapgar | Friday, 05 January 2007 at 06:51 AM