Quarta-feira 14 Jan 2009, 11h:32
We're getting to the point that the three constants in life are death, taxes and Sugarland at or near the top of the 9513 charts. That's no different this week, as 17 listeners listened to the duo. Following them, it's a veritable who's who of neo-traditionalists, most notably Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood with 16 plays apiece.
Excavating down further into the charts, you get some interesting strata. A little further past the neo-trad layer, you start to see elements of pop-country appear, with Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift among the artists in 9th place. Beyond that, you get a layer of pretty traditional music, with Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless and Dolly Parton packed closely together. Alt-country starts to make an appearance around 8 plays, with Reckless Kelly and Hayes Carll showing up. Beyond that, it's a total free-for-all, with any genre you can think of making an appearance. Three people in this group listen to The Ditty Bops? Fantastic.
Over on the albums side, Ashton Shepherd is dominating with Sounds So Good. Its 15 plays place it well over Swift's self-titled debut, which came in second with 11 plays. The Underwood fans put her two albums, Some Hearts and Carnival Ride, into a tie for 3rd with Tim McGraw's Let It Go.
The top tracks for the week were Lee Ann Womack's Last Call and George Strait's I Saw God Today. If you favor the drinking & depression or the God & family side of country music, you're got your options.
As long as this recap is becoming a regular thing, let's add a little something to it. There's a lot of free music available here on LastFM, so I'll recommend some when I come across something worthwhile (or I get a recommendation from one of you, *hint hint*). This week, I'd like to direct you to Blanche, an alt-country, rather gothic band out of Detroit. Lead vocalist Dan Miller has been kicking around the alt-country scene for some time, in a few different bands (Goober & The Peas, Two Star Tabernacle). He shares vocals with his wife Tracee, with other members joining in on occasion. Bass player Jack Lawrence also plays with Jack White (a one-time Tabernacle member) in The Raconteurs.
Blanche has released a couple of albums, and they've got a bunch of free music available. The World I Used to Be Afraid Of puts a spin on the traditional country murder ballad, and I'm Sure of It and Another Lost Summer are two of my personal favorites. The World's Largest Crucifix is a good example of why my little girl refers to them as "spooky music", while I Can't Sit Down uses multiple singers on a pretty faithful version of the gospel standard. Check them out if you like, especially if you're a fan of Neko Case or The Sadies, and we'll see you next week.