It's difficult to keep up with Billy Ray Cyrus. The singer clearly has the chops and energy to record relevant country music, but with every new album comes a new direction -- and perhaps a new haircut. 'Change My Mind,' the title track from his new album (in stores this October), finds the singer playing the bad boy, as a storm of edgy banjo and electric guitar playing swirls around him.
Summer is winding down, but there are still plenty of great movies, TV shows, games and more to fill your brain hole! Allow us to point you to this week’s best new entertainment and pop culture releases. Here are 10 Things To Check Out This Week:
A solo album every four or five years leaves Heidi Newfield sounding like a new woman with each lead single. Much like ‘Johnny and June’ in 2008, the former lead singer of Trick Pony throws every ounce of herself into ‘Why’d You Have to Be So Good,’ a heartbreakingly wonderful ballad.
Men and women will be divided on ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,’ Taylor Swift‘s new single. On one (woman’s) hand, it’s an empowering breakup song that slams the door on every no-good loser who’s come crawling back with apologies and “I love yous” (and maybe flowers or a sack of White Castle hamburgers) at all hours of the night. From the male perspective: “Get over it.”
The new single from the Lost Trailers continues down a singer-songwriter path the now-duo began to cut with ‘Underdog’ in 2011. While once a party band, their new sound is more Jason Mraz than Jason Aldean. The change fits.
We’re feeling positive today, so we decided to chuck the bad stuff and focus on ten awesome things to check out this week in the world of entertainment and pop culture. We’re headed for a week full of good comedy, fun reality shows (yeah, really) and gratuitous shots of Kate Beckinsale’s breasts. Enjoy!
It’s difficult to overstate how important ‘Kick It in the Sticks’ is to Brantley Gilbert‘s career and the direction of country music. It’s a line drawn in the red Georgia clay — after two releases that held back — to allow those not previously familiar with the Jefferson-born singer to get acquainted with his pacing and style. This is his ‘Free Bird,’ in that it’s the first song fans and critics will mention in association with this talented artist.
With singles from his new album ‘Back in the Saddle,’ Chris Cagle is successfully reinventing himself as a country bad boy. ‘Let There Be Cowgirls’ picks up the loud and rowdy that dropped ‘Got My Country On’ in the Top 20. The spirit of this rock-country jam gets one past a clunky melody.
Gretchen Wilson may not be one of country music’s top female vocalists any longer. No, she’s transcended the genre, in a way Alison Krauss did hers years ago. Except Wilson’s not getting any of the recognition, until maybe now. ‘One Good Friend’ is a brilliant ballad about the meaning of friendship. However, it’s perhaps too professional to fit between the stars on modern country radio — a problem Krauss, and more recently Vince Gill, know very well.
There’s a thread of instability that weaves in and out of each song on ‘Edens Edge’ that makes it an album you look forward to finding in the morning. Lead vocalist Hannah Blaylock tells stories like a woman who’s lived through a few too many bad boyfriends, but still wants to show her friends she can smile about it. She’s all over the place — country’s equivalent of Jess from ‘New Girl’ on Fox.
May 22, 2012
Even if you use Facebook every day, you still might not be doing it right. The website Lifehacker.com has a list of things a lot of Facebook users do wrong. Here are the top four.
It’s hard not to wonder if ‘More Life’ was chosen as a single from Randy Travis‘ ‘Anniversary Collection‘ album to allow the singer a chance to respond to his recent brush with infamy. The introspective ballad finds Travis asking for forgiveness from those he has hurt. Is this another case of art birthed from real life?
