Music. According to Kim.

Finally! This post is about four years in the making! We are fast approaching the end of October and Halloween and every year I've wanted to do a post highlighting some of my favorite creepy, dark country songs. And it's never happened. Until now. As I said in my video spotlight on Two Story Road's wonderful a cappella version of their song "Arson", I've always found dark songs to be the most interesting of songs, particularly from a songwriting perspective. Especially in times like this when there's so many party songs out there. I like listening to dark country songs to balance that out sometimes. In fact, I actually have a playlist made up of 59 of these kinds of songs. I know there's a lot more to be found out there. Maybe it's weird, but I genuinely enjoy listening to these kinds of songs. Not all the time. It definitely requires a certain type of mood. I feel like I always listen to them more this time of year because what better time of ...

All right, so we covered day 4 and what I dubbed as JakeCarrieStormGate 2013. Now we move backwards to Saturday, day 3, which gives us yet another controversy. This time involving the surprise guest. A guest which has me wondering just what on Earth the CMA was thinking. Actually, scratch that, I can guess what they were thinking: having this artist showing up on the TV special airing August 12th will make for good TV. Or rather, what they believe will be good TV. I may be way off base here, but lately it feels like there's people out there who seem determined to prove that country music is cool. And do so by trying to cater to fans of other genres. It's the only explanation that makes sense. The problem? Well, first it implies that country music isn't cool already and that's nonsense. Country may in fact be at the height of its coolness. Look at how just about every singing competition has a country judge now. People say that having Keith Urban on Idol or Blake Shelt...

I was just thinking about this list and thinking about all the great artists who didn't make the cut. And there's a lot! I keep saying it: 2012 was a very good year for country music. It seemed to be a year of artists discovering exactly who they're supposed to be, musically speaking. I get so excited when that happens. It just makes everything that much better. Finding and creating the music one is supposed to make increases their confidence. You can see it. They start seeming a lot more comfortable and in that, having more fun. 2012 was a great year for that. In saying that, it is my hope that those who found their sound keep it. And that the ones who are still looking, still trying to figure it out, find it. That's my hope for 2013. One of them anyhow. Of course, now it's time to look back. But first it's time to make a change. See, I really wanted to keep this at 12 artists. 12 for 2012. I deliberated over my choices and had to make some tough cuts. Ther...

I'm going to start this off with mentioning that the eligibility period for this years CMAs started on July 1st, 2011 and ended on June 30th, 2012. I point this out because I was pretty surprised by a couple of the songs up for this award. Not because I don't like the songs, but because it seems like it's been so long since they were released. Come to find out, when a song comes out doesn't really matter. What matters is when it reaches its peak chart position - which has to be somewhere in the top fifty. So there we go. I still think it's weird that a couple of these songs are in the running, but then, I am not a member of the Country Music Association. For anyone interested in how the voting process works and what the criteria for all the awards is, you can read about it  here . That all said, my picks have more to do with my own personal preferences and factors that I think should be considered. That should go without saying, but I wanted to make it clear. Me...

This category kills me. It was so easy to choose my picks for Entertainer and Female Vocalist - I knew what my pick was the first time I saw the nominees. But then we get the Male Vocalist and I really like all five nominees. Three of whom are my favorite artists right now; not just in terms of male artists, but period. And the other two aren't terribly far behind. In all honesty, I wouldn't have much of a problem with any of them winning. It'll be a mixed reaction no matter what. Happiness for the winner and sadness for the losers. More so than any other category for me. This choice was a tough one and I've changed my mind more than once. A lot more than once, in fact. But after so much consideration, I have finally made my final decision. The nominees? Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. My pick for CMA Male Vocalist of the Year? Eric Church. First, my thoughts on the other nominees. Starting with Jason Aldean, who I'd argue...

As my title states, band members deserve attention too. They deserve to be appreciated and loved by the fans as well. Especially when they're as involved as these guys are. I mean, you seem them in pretty much every video that Jason does and not just in the background either. They tend to get featured pretty heavily. And when you go see them live, it's the same thing. These guys are more than musicians, they're entertainers. Jason's right to use words like we and ours when it comes to their show because that's what it is: their show. Obviously Jason is always going to be the main attraction, but I promise you that you could focus on any of the band guys and still be entertained. In fact, I'd recommend doing that. At any concert you go to. Take some time to watch everyone on that stage, if only for a little while. Musicians are pretty interesting to watch. There's so many different kinds of players out there. Different kinds of bands. So what kind of band i...

The case for Aldean...almost sounds like the title of a book or Lifetime movie, doesn't it?

Anyone who knows me well is not going to be surprised by my pick for this category. At least they shouldn't be. There's been a couple of categories where I really had to think about who I was going to pick, but in this case there was absolutely no hesitation. I knew what my pick was right away. But before I reveal who that is, let me remind you of the five nominees: Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift. And my pick for CMA Entertainer of the Year? Georgia's own, Mr. Jason Aldean. Now I'm going to be presenting my case for why I believe he deserves it after the cut, but first I want to say a little something about each of the other nominees. Kenny Chesney. Probably one of the favorites for this award. He's already won it four ties and the only other artist who has won this four times is Garth Brooks. So if Kenny wins, he will set a new record for most wins in this category since the awards began in 1967. Impressive. That fact ...

Last post! I enjoyed the ACMs this year, but to be totally honest, I'm going to be happy to be done with them. I said I was going to write about every performance and that I have - took a little longer than I wanted it to, but  that's all right. I'm going to get to the remaining five performances shortly, but just a heads up for what's coming. In two words: album reviews. I have a bunch in my list to do and am hoping to get at least four done this week, if not more. I'll be starting off with Craig Morgan's This Ole Boy , Amy Dalley's Coming Out of the Pain , Casey James  by Casey James and Chase Rice's Dirt Road Communion . That's more than likely going to be the order I do them in. Also on the lineup: Changed  by Rascal Flatts, Hard 2 Love  by Lee Brice, Up All Night  by Kip Moore and Josh Abbott Band's Small Town Family Dreams . I might do one where I review a handful of EP's since there's been some new ones put out lately as well. Al...

I've dubbed Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party album the energizer bunny of albums because it's the album that just keeps going and going and going. It's not just that they've released a fifth single when most of the time they release four, though that's a part of it. It's more the fact that this album has been in the top five country album since it came out over a year ago. And as much as the people who don't like him would hate to admit it, that means something. Namely that this is a fantastic album that is well worth the money spent buying it. Yup, I am a fan, something that I've not exactly kept under wraps here. A fan of this album, yes, but also Jason himself. I remember seeing the "Hicktown" video and thinking the he was different in an interesting day and hoping that he'd do well. Think it's safe to say he ended up doing pretty well, eh? I actually have a Jason story that I debated sharing, but chose not to for space purposes,...

Okay. Now. I said that I basically knew what my top three would be when I started making the list for this. Out of those three, I knew that Blake would come in 3rd. I figured that out early. But I have to admit that I went back and forth on the top two for a while. They're pretty equal in my eyes and what makes it harder is that they're both songs I love by two artists I love. What it ultimately came down to is the fact that one of them used "the twist" and the other did not. But really, both videos are fantastic and the difference between the two is pretty small. So let's get to it!

What I like about this next part of the countdown is that each song/video kind of highlights one part or aspect of the genre. You have a song about a girl getting revenge on her no-good boyfriend/husband/whomever. You have a song about the end of a relationship that should probably never have begun in the first place. You have a song that features a life lesson and one looking back on days long gone. And you got a love song. All themes that frequently pop up in country music and for good reason. These are the kinds of things that just about everyone can relate to. And if you haven't found yourself in one of these situations yet, just hang in there because I'm positive that you will at some point. So, get yourself a nice beverage, get good and comfortable and come check out the next five videos in the countdown.