Clik here to view.
Single Review: Little Big Town, “Little White Church”
I’ve gotten so used to being bored by mainstream country music that listening to “Little White Church” was a bit of a jolt. Thematically, it’s essentially the country spin on “Single Ladies (Put a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ACM 2010: Ladies Night
Female artists dominated this year’s ACM Awards in a way that would have been unimaginable just five years earlier, with nearly all of the major winners of the evening coming from a female solo artist...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Picking the CMA Nominees: Female Vocalist of the Year
In the Entertainer and Male Vocalist races, I’ve been making the case for fresh blood. In those categories, the routine nominees are mostly past their peaks, and there’s room to let some rising stars...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bushel o’ Belated Single Reviews
Sometimes – most of the time – I fall behind on my planned CU work and wind up with a backlog of opinions. And it can be so mentally taxing carrying all that around, you know? Gotta clean out the file...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Best Singles of 2010, Part 4: #10-#1
Our look back at the year’s best singles comes to a close, with unprecedented CU consensus at the top of the list. The top two singles of the year were ranked in that order by three of our four...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sincerity
Earlier this year, a discussion with a colleague of mine revealed a mutual affinity for country music. It was a typical conversation that I have with fans that are around my age. We fell in love with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Best Country Albums of 2010, Part 2: #10-#1
There was a lot of good music out there in 2010, provided you knew where to look. Sometimes, you could even find it on the radio. Here are the top ten albums of 2010, according to our staff: #10...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Good Girl”
Usually with country records, you know what to expect after the first twenty seconds. “Good Girl” toys brilliantly with those expectations. It starts off as a typical Carrie “attitude” song, but even...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Single Review: Laura Bell Bundy, “Two Step”
Laura Bell Bundy made a distinctly memorable impression when she blew into Nashville fresh off Broadway four years ago. Of all the major label country albums released in 2009, few were more polarizing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Country Universe’s Best Singles of 2013, Part One: #40-#21
For the second year in a row, our seven writers – Kevin Coyne, Leeann Ward, Dan Milliken, Tara Seetharam, Ben Foster, Jonathan Keefe, and Sam Gazdziak – individually listed our twenty favorite albums...
View ArticleDaily Top Five: Texas Songs
Texas is the most sung about state in country music. Musicians and singers can even make a good living by just touring around Texas. So, it’s no wonder that even those of us who have no physical or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Year-End Rodeo 2015: Individual Ballots
Now that our final lists of the 40 Best Singles of 2015 and 20 Best Albums of 2015 are posted and open for discussion, we have decided to post each of our seven writers’ individual ballots for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sunday Selections: February 7, 2016
We just kind of can’t with this year’s ACM nominees. 2015 was a terrific year for country music, but you’d never know it from the often inexplicable and just as often indefensible slate of nominations...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sunday Selections: March 13, 2016
tl;dr: This week is heavy on new singles and music videos for those who, y’know, don’t like to read. But that isn’t to say there isn’t still plenty of good reading material, too. Loretta Lynn took over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Country Music Conversation, Day 8: “For the Good Times” to “He Stopped...
A Country Music Conversation: Introduction and Index A Country Music Conversation: Spotify Playlist (thanks to reader Justin Lai) Previous Entry: Day 7: “Even the Man in the Moon is Crying” to “Follow...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Single Review: Laura Bell Bundy, “Two Step”
Laura Bell Bundy made a distinctly memorable impression when she blew into Nashville fresh off Broadway four years ago. Of all the major label country albums released in 2009, few were more polarizing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Country Universe’s Best Singles of 2013, Part One: #40-#21
For the second year in a row, our seven writers – Kevin Coyne, Leeann Ward, Dan Milliken, Tara Seetharam, Ben Foster, Jonathan Keefe, and Sam Gazdziak – individually listed our twenty favorite albums...
View ArticleDaily Top Five: Texas Songs
Texas is the most sung about state in country music. Musicians and singers can even make a good living by just touring around Texas. So, it’s no wonder that even those of us who have no physical or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Year-End Rodeo 2015: Individual Ballots
Now that our final lists of the 40 Best Singles of 2015 and 20 Best Albums of 2015 are posted and open for discussion, we have decided to post each of our seven writers’ individual ballots for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sunday Selections: February 7, 2016
We just kind of can’t with this year’s ACM nominees. 2015 was a terrific year for country music, but you’d never know it from the often inexplicable and just as often indefensible slate of nominations...
View Article