Loretta Lynn Play on Broadway, More Country Info
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Notorious bigots Westboro Baptist Church got a rise out of hunk of burnin' love Blake Shelton for threats to picket his concert and charging him with sinning with adultery by divorcing and remarrying. They charged Vince Gill with the same "sin." Guess they're too ignorant to realize divorce and remarriage are legal. Shelton really let them have it via tweets on "Twitter" ( it still feels silly to say or write that). He tore into them, sometimes humorously. The WBC also picketed a Ke$ha concert recently because she has a pro-gay pop song. Ke$sha sent out a few guys from her crew of backup dancers, scantily clad, to perform provocative dance moves in front of the picketers, some of whom were seen to move around a little bit to the beat (!) despite themselves. The WBC obviously has become addicted to (bad) publicity from their antics. The very lowest and worst, to me, is when they protest at funerals. Oh yeah, Jesus would really love that (?)--
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Read that a musical/dramatic play on hard rockin' Janis Joplin "the first female rock star" is planned for Broadway--will be a big contrast to the show about country songbird diva Loretta Lynn-- and although Loretta did put on her inner Judy Garland with her pill-poppin' mania, she didn't shoot up H like Joplin. Seems like virtually the only celebrity whose memoirs I've read who didn't become a drug fiend was Gene Wilder, who actually wrote that he "hates" drugs-- and possibly Ingrid Bergman, although if I recall correctly she started hitting the booze pretty heavy at one point. But nothing like what Richard Burton and various other great (often British) actors did. I don't see how anybody can drink that much (I tried, long time ago, but was unable! I couldn't binge drink night after night, it made me get too sick. Darn it. (LOL). Don't know why I started this gossip column thingie about country stuff. It's far from one of my very favorite musical genres. Not all that cool, possibly, to write about
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CBS Sunday Morning show on the Arts tomorrow will feature Janis Joplin (they showcased Metallica last Sunday) and also discuss the new play about Janis.
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Loretta Lynn performed recently at the Johnny Mercer Theater in Savannah, Ga. She invited Paula Deen and her husband to meet her backstage, I saw a pic of them online. Johnny Mercer was from Savannah, but didn't write country stuff--he penned classic standards with an aura of urban sophistication, he'd moved to Manhattan, I think. I need to google him and find out for sure.
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Taylor Swift the top contributor to charities for 2013--she's very generous and altruistic, apparently. I still dislike her singing voice, but appreciate her more as a person, now. A lot more.
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Dolly Parton got in a car accident. She's okay. She was on Queen Latifah rapping in a big white Afro wig the other day--she was funny
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Don't know exactly why, but have an uneasy feeling about Kelly Clarkson marrying that Blackstock boy, Reba McIntyre's son. Don't feel it will permanently work out. I just got a vibe. Although their wedding site on that serene lake was beautiful, and Kelly's gown was gorgeous. Another weird thing, she didn't invite her own mother to the wedding
even though her mother is reportedly very sweet and supportive. -
Carole King will have a show on Broadway devoted to her music, too. Called "Beautiful" maybe it's currently showing. King is not really country, but she did "get back to the land" for years in rural Idaho living without electricity and such, really roughing it as a big part of her ideals. It's described in her autobiography. It's very interesting.
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Willie Nelson, 80, had put out a critically acclaimed album six months ago, and now he's come out with another, duets with various women singers called "All The Girls..." Five new Willie Nelson albums have been made and come out in the past three years. Wish Paul Mc. would follow his lead! Willie's not wasting any time! The Associated Press hailed his previous album of new music, "Let's Face the Music and Dance," as superior to his latest effort, and "among 2013's less-recognized highlights," but "plenty of gold nuggets shine through (in "All The Girls") for those willing to pick through the miscues and throwaways."--(Michael McCall, AP) "The ever-productive 80-year-old keeps pouring out new music." Recall Willie's sterling "concept" album "The Red-Headed Stranger." Paul Mc. could try his hand at a concept album, would be something new for him as a solo artist. He could loosely base one on "The Professor" by Charlotte Bronte--something English Literature majors and scholars would drool over--that is, if he has any interest in turning on that nerdy bunch. Or on a Jane Austen novel. (Willie's " The Red-Headed Stranger" was placed in the Old Wild West 1800s.) Or McCartney could choose a contemporary Brit author like Martin Amis or J.K. Rowling (her non-Harry Potter "adult" novel is a good'un) to give the concept album treatment. Christopher Hitchens was an English nonfiction scribe but his life story is poignant and intriguing. For McCartney to follow Willie Nelson's lead and start putting out more albums in shorter intervals of time would be a treasure beyond measure for the world of music
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Carrie Underwood will play the lead in a "The Sound of Music" remake on t.v. this week. This show might be a little too wholesome for some
Others will find it refreshing, probably. At least it'll feature melodic music. If Underwood doesn't screech too sharply and ruin it -
Kenny Chesney will be featured shortly on "CBS This Morning" (Sunday, today). I usually don't like really deep male singing voices, you know, like Scotty McCreery's, but somehow I like Chesney's. (LOL) He's got this dumb song called "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" You know, tractors they ride to grow crops.
A picture online shows Carrie Underwood with Ronan Farrow 
She's smiling broadly and said she was thrilled to meet him. I guess so! I tried to "follow" Farrow on Twitter but for some reason was unable to--rejected by Ronan Or a Twitter glitch -
I caught just a little of the CMA awards last nite. That's all I wanted to catch. The corny dialogue and skits seemed witless and dumbed down, Carrie Underwood was still a bit stiff on stage and was heavily spray painted with fake tan--she's not quite as skinny now, though, and showed off her pretty legs at every opportunity. Her legs somehow a bit plumped up. The rest of her still pretty twig-like, actually. Country song lyrics seemed way too simplified. The snippets I heard. Also the melodies. Taylor Swift was bowed down to and lavishly honored, yet again. They appreciate all she's done for country music, broadened its variety and appeal, and all that--and her massive success has trickled down to other artists, increased sales for them. That last is probably the major reason they honor her. That and her making country music more popular. "We're on an upswing now, " Keith Urban gloated. Carrie Underwood looks totally the "anti-Miley" in her commercials for "The Sound of Music" that's going to be on t.v. live. She looks like a Swiss milkmaid. Not an inch of flesh shows, LOL and what an old-timey hairstyle
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Taylor Swift is proclaimed "the biggest singer in pop music" on the cover of New York magazine
Well, they called her "the biggest," not "the best." That's not the same, is it? I found this out online, about the New York mag feature. Many commenters complained about her weak nondescript singing voice and griped about her always using the same subject matter for song themes. One dissenter even claimed she "buys all her big awards" and even opined "someone else" pays for her major contributions to charities. Taylor Swift has written a number of catchy appealing songs (not a huge number)--well, maybe more than I think. I don't have her albums. She should have procured real singers to sing them. -
The Carrie Underwood remake for t.v of "The Sound of Music" --will it be charming and wholesome and tuneful, mildly entertaining--or a snooze fest, or almost laughable? I might hafta check this out, from curiousity. 'Cause I saw a clip of Underwood rehearsing a song surrounded by youthful co-stars, and the kids were all trying to drown her out. (laughs) They were pretty much successful. Another snippet of Underwood singing a snippet of a "Sound of Music" ditty was a big snooze, but t'was just a few seconds, unfair to judge on just a sound bite of "Sound," I guess. Carrie laughed about legions of Twitter haters spewing out disgusted tweets: "I know I'm not Julie!" she smiled. I wouldn't care enough about this to really hate it. Would you?
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Garth Brooks looked the opposite of glam as he stomped around on stage during his Vegas t.v. special the other night--he must have some charisma still, though as his Vegas show has lasted three years. He didn't even finish any of the songs he did--only sang song snippets, of various covers through the decades, but the big audience seemed delighted. Babs Striesand did a concert called "Back to Brooklyn" the same night on P.B.S. and looked a bit wild and woolly and didn't sing top notch. Has lost it some. Still sounded like herself on some bits. Not fair though as I only caught a few minutes of each. Might have got better as the night wore on. Barb Striesand's concert will be shown again on P.B.S. I saw some of Andrea Bochelli's on P.B.S. He sings like an angel
P.B.S. had a program on "Americana" music, a popular new-ish combo of "country and roots," had some blues, bluegrass and country rock and folk tinges to it too I thought. More on that later -
Carrie Underwood ought to fix her flat snub Angie Dickenson nose...I suddenly thought while watching a commercial for her upcoming "The Sound of Music" (Live) I'm petty minded tonight.
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Underwood's called her many detractors "mean" who berated her "acting" or rather non-acting, and said they "need Jesus!" One smarty tail responded in a comment, "Why should I need Jesus Ricardo who lives down the street?" (The poster actually gave a different Mexican surname, but I can't recall how to spell it.) I didn't even find her singing all that great in this. She's a "country singer," right? Well, she sounded fairly good in the opening numbers. I didn't watch the whole thing and now I wish I had. Sort of. Online article amusingly stated the success of this thing (18 million viewers!) could spawn more "live" t.v. musicals to be "hated on" while watched, LOL--but maybe this time they'd pick a lead actor who can act as well as sing. The Von Trapp family had wanted Ann Hathaway in the role of Maria. I get tired of Hathaway getting so many plum parts, though. In a way. Would like somebody else to get a chance.
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Underwood's "The Sound of Music Live" gets a repeat this week, that was fast! The network is claiming "38 million viewers" the first time around--I'd read it was 18 million. Underwood worked very hard on this thing. If she'd been able to act, it might not have felt like such hard work to her. So hard that she couldn't stand any criticism. If I see Kelly Clarkson in that red dress singing her new Christmas song one more time!--actually it's an okay song. Doesn't she have any dresses besides that red one? It's Christmassy, though. Taylor Swift got to run around with Lorde in Australia. They're pals. Maybe Lorde will give her singing lessons--she sure needs 'em
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Vanessa Carlson, who turned to country music to try to revive her career, was married in a ceremony presided over by Stevie Nicks, who officiated. Nicks must have ordered a mail order minister diploma. I sure hated Carlson's first big hit, but later on liked her hit with Carlos Santana, the one that went "it's all in the game of love." Stevie has had Carlson sing with her on stage before. I saw that somewhere. Carlson used to live with the foxy lead singer of "Third Eye Blind" who lived with Charlize Theron, before that. Vanessa married somebody else, though.
