Christmas Music

“It’s begining to look a lot like Christmas…”  Sing it if you know it!  I love Christmas music!  My girls do, too.  They each have Christmas CD’s that you may hear playing anytime after Labor Day.

We got into a discussion on the air this morning about what constitutes “good” Christmas music.  Much like the Christmas tree entry below, Jesse is a purist and only likes the classics.  Not me!  I get excited about the new music that comes out each year.  Granted, I still prefer the standards, but I’m always willing to hear new spins on celebrating Christmas.

And how long does it take for something that isn’t a Holiday music staple to become one?  Where would we be without “Please Come Home for Christmas” by the Eagles or “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Vince Vance & the Valiants. “Thank God for Kids, Pretty Paper, Christmas Cookies…” the list goes on and on!

The rest of the crew was making fun of me because I like the Taylor Swift remake of Wham’s “Last Christmas”.  I LOVE THIS SONG!  I’m so glad someone finally updated and remade this song.  To me, it’s a classic!  The guy from Savage Garden did a version on one of Rosie O’Donnell’s Christmas CD’s(I’m embarrassed to say I have them both.).  Of course there is a great version of “Santa on the Rooftop” with Trisha Yearwood on there, too.

So go ahead and belt out “Jingle Bells”. I’ve got great versions by everyone from Tracy Byrd to Barry Manilow & En Vogue.  Don’t be surprised though if I break into a little Wham or even “The Chimney Song”.

Happy Holidays!

Real or Fake?

I put up our Christmas Tree yesterday. It’s a fake. Jesse and I get into an argument about this every year. He is a Christmas Tree Purist.  Not only does he get a real tree every year, he actually goes into the woods and cuts one down.

When I was a kid, I used to trek into the woods and do the same with my mom & step-dad. I hated it!  Cold, wet, and all to get a scruffy looking tree. Then it had to be shaped, trimmed and turned a certain way so the “bad side” was against the wall. More than one Christmas we had the tree tied to a wall or worse falling over.  You haven’t lived until you’ve spent a half an hour holding up a fully decorated tree while someone tries to find something to tie it to. And don’t even get me started on the pine needles!  Everywhere – constantly falling – impossible to clean!

My tree on the other hand, looks nice every year.  I go and get it out of storage, put it up and string the lights a level at a time so it looks great. I can put it up as early as I like without worrying about it dying.  It’s nice and full top to bottom without patchy spots, and the best part is – no trekking through the snow!  Plus my girl’s cats don’t eat it.

I miss the smell of pine, but I’ll never go back.

Food, Family, and Football!

I love Thanksgiving! 

It’s funny how closely you associate family with Thanksgiving.  It’s the one holiday of the year that is the hardest to compromise on.  When you start dating someone new, get married, have kids, etc. you can change your plans for Easter or even Christmas, but giving up Thanksgiving dinner with your family is the major hurdle.

My favorite memories of Thanksgiving come from when I was a kid.  I still used to hunt then, so I’d be out on the road with my dad and his brothers well before dawn.  I’d trudge through the woods til early afternoon trying to scare up whitetails for the rest of the guys to shoot.  Then we’d all head to Grandma Shannon’s house for dinner.  The food was amazing!  She had this special recipe for stuffing that came out tasting ok, but was moss green.  To this day my aunts and uncles fight over who will get the last of it.  Tons of potatoes, green bean casserole, and the softest dinner rolls you’ve ever tasted.  Grandma used to make tons of pies.  A mincemeat for my aunts, pecan for my uncle Dan, pumpkin for my dad and a special apple for me.  We’d all eat way too much and find a comfortable spot in the living room to sit and watch football.  Sooner or later, we’d all be asleep. 

I remember being the biggest kid at the kid table and taking care of my younger cousins.  I’ll also never forget the first year I got to sit at the adult table… or the first year I wasn’t there.

I haven’t been able to make it home for Thanksgiving in many years.  With all my cousins growing up and starting families of their own, I hear it’s down to just a few people at Grandma’s house.  Every year, I still go there in my heart though, and I miss them all very much.

Some People’s Kids!

I love my children.  I really do!  But there are days the tax deduction is the only thing keeping me from shipping them off to the circus.

Take today for example.  I was in my home office working on some things for the website and Monday’s show, when my wife calls upstairs.  “Honey, can you come down here a minute?”  As a husband and a father, you know that there are only two things that can come of the vague “come down here”.  Either something is broken, or something bad has happened.

“What is it?”

“Gillian (my 6 year old) has something to tell you.” There is NO way this is going to be good.  I go downstairs.

As I hit the bottom step, her lip starts quivering. Yep, it’s bad.  I ask her what it is and she proceeds to tell me that she and the two little girls next door decided that rather than ask for one of us to unlock the gate to get into the back yard, or go through the house to the back yard… they would just rip several boards off my fence to get through.  Had one of the other girls not gotten a sliver, I probably would not have even heard about it!

I went out to survey the damage.  Nice work!  They ripped down SEVEN boards off the side fence and broke three of them.  I was furious!  In fact, I gave my daughter the “I’m so angry I don’t even know what to DO with you right now” speech.  After several deep breaths, and a trip next door to let the other girls mom  know what happened, I had a talk with her about respecting other people’s property and making good decisions.  Then I made her help me fix the fence.  She’s also grounded til she’s thirty.  

If you need any good demolition work done, I’ll rent her out to you.  She’s pretty good at it.

The Kellie Pickler Mystery

I’m not a huge fan of Jeff Foxworthy’s show, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader”.  Like most primetime quiz shows, I think they take too long to answer the questions and drag the show on far too long.  The bright part of this show is that Foxworthy uses his ample repertoire of redneck humor to rip on the contestants. What really bugs me is that most contestants start with the early grade questions and use up all their “cheats” leaving them with the harder questions and no help.  It’s FRUSTRATING to watch!

Kellie Pickler was on the show last night – looking fabulous, I might add.  As I watched Kellie, it got me thinking.  Kellie has gotten a reputation stemming all the way back to the American Idol days of not being the brightest bulb.  I disagree.  As the saying goes, I think she may be “crazy like a fox”.  She’s a talented performer and a descent song writer, so who’s to say she’s not smarter than the general public gives her credit for?

A few points to ponder… Her innocence and (for lack of a better word) simple demeanor make her very likeable and make her stand out from the crop of other new female artists.  Also, who is Kellie Pickler’s idol?  Dolly Parton!  Ask yourself, when you see Dolly, and hear her talk – do you not see the similarities?

As for me, I’m going to continue to think Kellie Pickler is beautiful, talented, and a lot smarter than you think.

Keith Urban is not Country?

So Jimmy Carter, our Nashville correspondent, was talking with Jesse and I like he does every weekday morning at around 5:50 and 7:50 and he was talking about a review that Keith Urban got from a recent show.  The reviewer said that Keith put on a really good show “but don’t call that country!”

On a quick side note: Jesse and I have commented on the air about the “concert reviewer” subject many times on our show.  I have a good deal of respect for people who write columns, it’s not easy to come up with material to fill what the newspaper industry calls the “news hole” every day.  I do take issue (pun intended) with newspapers sending people who are not fans of a certain music genre out to see a show by one of its artists.  For example, I’ve been playing country music on the radio since the late 80’s and I could not possibly give a good and unbiased review of a concert by Slipknot.  The same holds true for the Yngwie Malmsteen loving concert reviewers being sent to country shows.  Can I get an amen?

Sorry, back to Keith Urban.  I first met Keith as part of The Ranch at the Riverside Ballroom* in Green Bay, WI, late October ‘97.  He was opening for Ty Herndon at the time and a relative unknown.  He is the same today as he was then, shy, unassuming, polite.  The kind of guy you walk away from thinking “what a nice guy.  I hope he does well.”  I had a chance to hang out with Keith, Jerry and Peter for a while before the show.  What a great group of guys, excited to be out making music and having fun.  I’ll never forget that show.  I’ve seen many three piece bands in my day, but I have never seen one that was able to make so much wonderful noise with so few people.  I was blown away and a dedicated Keith Urban fan from that day forward.  I still pull out that Ranch CD from time to time and listen to it.  It’s great music.  Keith sure has come a long way.  I’ve seen him in concert many times in the last ten years and he’s never failed to impress me.  I think his songwriting is unique and spot on for what country fans are looking for in the new millennium.

It’s fitting that Keith has a new Greatest Hits package coming out next week as I write this blog.  It’s great to see an artist that has done so much for the country format reach such an impressive milestone.  Congrats, Keith… and many more!

I leave you with this Keith Urban memory.  Any of you who have listened to Jesse & I on the WOLF have probably heard me say this, but Keith Urban is one of the single greatest guitar players of all time.  During that show with the Ranch, I saw Keith play “Devil Went Down to Georgia” ALL ON GUITAR!  It was amazing!  I found this video of him playing the song so you could see it, too.  The hair is shorter, and there are a few less tattoos, but he sure could wail.  Check it out!

*As an interesting side note, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper played The Riverside Ballroom on February 1, 1959.  They headed to Clear Lake, IA that night, and would all be dead 24 hours later.

CMA Thoughts from my La-Z-Boy…

The Country Music Association Awards are the premiere awards show for our format.  I look forward to watching it every year and seeing how far off the “industry” is from my own picks.

I’m writing this as I watch the show and I’m impressed, so far!

Random Thoughts on the show:
Rascal Flatts sounding much better than usual!
Darius from Hootie and the Blowfish sitting next to Clay walker?
What was Marty Stuart doing there?
Loved the marching band with Brad Paisley for “Online”.
The whole “no host” thing is clunky.
Why do they keep flashing on Sheryl Crowe?
I’m glad Vince Gill was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He’s a class act!
Reba, who looked fabulous, sings with LeAnn and not Justin Timberlake?  Was he unavailable?
Jessica Simpson looks like she’s terrified!
The Vince Gill underwear adds are hysterical!
Is black the new black? Everyone is wearing it tonight. Maybe cuz it’s slimming. LOL.
Highlight of the night for me? Taylor Swift saying winning the Horizon Award was the highlight of her Sr. year.  She’s going to be a superstar!
Little Big Town does a song that’s four years old?  I dig it, but there’s newer material from them.
Apparently it’s vogue to say how much you like Alison Kraus.  Whatever.
Jennifer Nettles blew me away with her performance of “Stay”!  My wife called her outfit “unfortunate” though.
God, I’m jealous of Brad Paisley!  His wife is SOOO HOT!
Is it just me or does Kenny look uncomfortable not wearing a t-shirt or tank top?  Are those dress slacks?
Is it bad that I like it when they cry?
Around the time the Eagles performed, they seemed to get the sound right.  Everyone since then has sounded really good!
Kid Rock could have at least walked past the shower on his way to the show.  For crying out loud!
I am SMOKING Jesse James in our CMA picks! Whoo-Hoo!
Apparently the writers strike has affected the jokes.  OMG!
Brad Paisley is the coolest guy ever. I’m so glad he won Male Vocalist!
Gary and Jamie Foxx used to be roommates? I didn’t know that!

We’ll have complete post coverage on the air Thursday morning.  I’ve got to get up for work in four hours… goodnight.

Pick Hit of the Week: Brad Paisley “Letter to Me”

I have been a big fan of Brad Paisley since the first day I met him.  He was a brand new artist just signed to the same record label as Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio and others.  These guys don’t make mistakes and it was apparent from the beginning that Brad was soon to follow in the superstar steps.

Brad’s introductory song was called “Who Needs Pictures”, and he came into my office and played that song, “He Didn’t Have to Be”, and the song that solidified me as a fan… “Me Neither.”  Brad has always had the ability to transition between poignant ballads like “She’s Everything” or “Whiskey Lullaby” and catchy, fun songs like “I’m Gonna Miss Her” and “Online”.

Brad’s newest release is a song called “Letter to Me” which takes a look back at all the things you’d like to tell yourself if you could go back in time.  Brad proves himself an excellent storyteller once again with this song which is sure to be another be hit.  Listen for “Letter to Me” on 92.5FM The WOLF!

P.S.: If Brad tells you the first place I took him when we met was Hooters… not true!