COUNTRY MIKE

Forget that last second win over the Buffalo Bills.

A Tennessee Titans Super Bowl victory with veteran Kerry Collins under center would be somewhat more of a miracle, I think.

Collins, 36, was a star at Penn State under Joe Paterno and was one of the Carolina Panthers' first quarterbacks before landing with the New York Giants, leading them to the Super Bowl eight years ago.

He also had an uneventful three-year stint with the lowly Oakland Raiders, a battle with alcoholism and other off-the-field issues.

He started the season with the Titans as a backup to Vince Young, the 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who had just led the team to a playoff appearance.

Collins replaced Young - 11 years his junior - early in the season and did the unthinkable - guided the Titans to a 14-2 record and the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

All should make some good content for a country song, right?

That's exactly what Collins is doing. He's already written a song, "I Don't Need The Whiskey Anymore". and has worked with some of Music City's top songwriters. It's helped that he's always written down life experiences and may turn them into songs.

But it's likely that Collins' honky-tonk moonlighting won't fully take off until after his playing days are over.

Right now, the Baltimore Ravens stand in his way. They'll visit the top-seeded Titans on Saturday in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game. That's the same Ravens squad that gave Collins fits in the Super Bowl eight years ago.

If Collins reaches the Super Bowl, it'll mean that he's been in the Super Bowl the same year as two presidents were inaugurated - Bush (2001) and Obama (2009). His Carolina Panthers team was one win away from reaching the Super Bowl in 1997 - in the same month of Clinton's second inauguration.

In 2013, will Collins be a 41-year-old starting quarterback, a rising country star or neither?
 

Cledus T. Judd has a new song out - a political song and an interesting one, at that. It's called "Waitin' on Obama", a parody of Brad Paisley's "Waitin' On A Woman."

It reflects the general mood in the country because it's only 13 days until President-Elect Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States, and George W. Bush heads back to the Lone Star State.

So, the lyrics really aren't too surprising. But it's funny that the song is coming from Judd. Only a few years ago, he lampooned the Dixie Chicks for speaking out against Bush just prior to the Iraq War with "Martie, Natalie and Emily" to the tune of Paisley's "Celebrity."

Apparently, Judd's physique isn't the only thing that's changed over the past couple of years. His politics have shifted to the left. Or is he just capitalizing on the mood in the country right now?

But this song doesn't sound like it's written by a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, either. Given the lyrics, it sounds like a disgruntled Republican who is tired of Bush, was hoping that McCain ran a better campaign (and picked a better running mate) and is hopeful that Obama will help solve at least some of the country's problems - there are references to bringing the troops home, the high price of gas and even goes as far as saying people are ready for Bush's term to end.
 

Country music album sales have dropped 24 percent from 62.7 million to 47.7 million. Thank goodness the genre considers Taylor Swift among its ranks, because her approximately four million albums sold stopped the drop from being a lot worse.

I think it probably has more to do with digital downloads and people listening to music online than it does with actual disinterest in country music. I, for one, will always like to purchase compact discs and have the music right there in front of me. That doesn't mean I never download albums from itunes. Other people - especially those younger than me - download almost all of their music online. One visit to my apartment, and you'd realize I'm not among them.

College football's Bowl Championship Series is obviously flawed as it doesn't produce a true champion. It's so arbitrary. Texas' victory over Ohio State in Monday's Fiesta Bowl proved two things - the Longhorns are worthy of playing for the national championship and junior quarterback Colt McCoy is capable of engineering the two-minute drill. The game started off slow, but it finished like a classic with the Longhorns winning 24-21. And I'm not even a Texas fan.

But if college football is going to get a playoff, why not the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music? Some of the CMA voters may not have seen a Toby Keith concert that year.....so they're no more qualified to vote for or against him as a scribe who hasn't watched the Utah Utes play a game.

The CMAs and the ACMs should have playoffs - for entertainer of the year, you can have six finalists - give two of them byes. And then have Alan Jackson vs. Brad Paisley in the semifinals of Male Vocalist of the Year, and then put George Strait vs. Kenny Chesney in the other semifinal. Based on what they've done that year, we'd put AJ vs Strait in an epic final for the award....concert tickets sold, songs that went to No. 1, etc., etc. and then the CMA would make their selection - making one fan base really happy and another group, wanting to protest.

Wait for the ACMs, that's how I'm going to pick the nominees that I think deserve to win.
 

Every season, American Idol has a few aspiring country artists on its show....what kind of country artists - pop-leaning or traditional - would you like to see on this year's show? There's a good chance that they'll be pop-leaning, like the show itself.

What about movies? Many country stars, like Tim McGraw and Dwight Yoakam, have appeared in movies recently.

If one country artist could be president, who would you want and why?
 

I recently started playing a new Playstation 2 game called Singstar Country....I never could have imagined Karaoke on a video game.

You see, I'm not part of this younger generation where guitars are played virtually and karaoke is done on video games. I haven't been able to get into the whole Guitar Hero/Rock Band thing, but it's not the worst thing in the world to do karaoke in the comfort of my own home away from the cigarette smoke and the obnoxious drunks at the bar.

Plus, this game rates you on your singing. You get points based on how you hit the notes. The downside is there's only about 40 songs. You don't have the binder with hundreds upon hundreds of songs to choose from. It would be really cool if there were an option to unlock songs if you perform really well on the basic ones. I haven't heard about that, but I may have to look into it.

So far, I've attempted "Big Star" by Kenny Chesney and "Good Time" by Alan Jackson. Wow, it's tough to keep up with those quick-fire lyrics on "Good Time."

If I want to try a couple of classics, there's Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard's collaboration on "Pancho and Lefty" and Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" and "A Boy Named Sue."
 

About a year ago, I wrote an entry about listening to music while running. Well, my ipod is cooked, the battery is finished. The good thing is that my baby sister (at 25, can I still call her that?) got me a $50 gift certificate to Best Buy.

My New Year's Resolution is to get back in to top-shape (and stay there, this time). I've improved my strength, but my running and endurance is significantly down. And I attribute a lot of that to the fact that I've had nothing to listen to while I'm working out.

You don't need a Mayo Clinic study to determine that music pumps up certain people and inspires them to keep running and at times, to run faster. I remember running a four-mile race, in which I planned on listening to "I Go Back" by Kenny Chesney for the last quarter-mile. The battery went kaput, and I didn't have as good of a finish as I could have.

I have the oldest ipod around, and I'm going to buy a new one. The challenge will be getting all those songs on there. I'm going to have to bid farewell to this 2,600-song ipod, although all of those songs are on CDs somewhere. I'll retrieve them. Talk about your weekend project.

The other thing I was thinking about recently was the double standard between athletes and Hollywood celebrities or musicians. Athletes seem to be criticized for even the smallest offense, like skipping a practice or being caught with a small amount of wacky tobaccky.

With musicians or Hollywood celebrities, it seems like drinking, drugs and even being sent to rehab is glorified. I would love to stand here and say that country music is immune to all that. And the clean-cut, All-American image has been vastly improved by stars such as Alan Jackson, George Strait, Brad Paisley and Reba McEntire.

But what about the Country Outlaws like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, etc.? Of course, their hard-living influenced (and many - including me) would say that it positively influenced their music - although it may have caused serious problems in their own personal lives.

I watched the Cash biopic "Walk The Line" the other day. It's a great movie with some excellent performances by Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter....but it basically makes Cash seem like the hero. There was a whole 'nother side of the story that wasn't told - that of Cash's first wife Vivian Liberto. I don't think the movie did a good portraying her whatsoever.

Regardless, there was the famous scene (that happened in real life) where Cash kicked out the footlights on stage in Las Vegas. Now, people talk about that now and want to say how cool it is. If I was in the audience that night and I'd paid my hard-earned money to see Mr. Cash, I would be deeply offended. I probably wouldn't buy any more of his music until he issued an apology for those antics.

I never got to see Cash live in concert, but I did see a concert with my family in the summer of 1997 - then-newcomer JoDee Messina, Charlie Daniels Band and Travis Tritt were excellent. Hank Williams Jr. - the headliner - was awful, and I am a Bocephus fan. Other "fans" were leaving the concert venue in droves during his set. And I had a heck of a time explaining to my mother, father and sister - all of whom came to the show but none of whom are country music fans -that Junior was a giant in the genre.

The whole athlete/celebrity double standard comes down to what I call the Baker-Williams Theory. Vin Baker, for those of you who remember, was a standout college basketball player at the University of Hartford and an NBA Lottery Pick. His alcohol problem led him to become out of shape and he never reached his potential. If you walked into a sporting goods store today that had his jersey, they'd probably pay YOU to take it off the rack.

Hank Williams Sr. died at the age of 29 after hard-living and alcohol abuse...his music lives on and many feel that his life experiences provided the necessary ingredients for those sad, sad stories. So many artists cite him as an influence and namecheck him in songs. Others have written songs about his ghost - see "Midnight in Montgomery" and "The Ride."

The point is, an athlete is only important for what he/she can contribute to the team....Musicians/actors legacies are glorified - right or wrong - long after their life is over. For folks like Hank Sr. and Elvis, their bodies of work stand the test of time.
 

"Eternal Flame came on the radio, and I remember how you loved it so..." sang Mike Eli of the Eli Young Band in the opening verse of "Everything is You."

This is one song that I'd like to see a female country artist try to cover. I think it's made to be a country song.

One of my longtime hobbies is singing pop/rock songs with a twang, and then thinking of how it would sound if a real artist was performing it.

If you're looking for a country song that's socially conscious, check out Tonya Watts' "Cumberland Angels."

The Alabama native sings about the homeless people in Nashville, Tenn. and reminds us not to forget about those less fortunate than us.
 

People often want to know why I don't have a Boston accent anymore....fact is, I never did. I don't know why some folks have accents and others don't, but I don't hear a lot of twang down here in Texas, when people talk.

Occasionally, you'll run into someone with a southern accent, but that's probably because they're from a small town somewhere in the Lone Star State.

I'd like to hear more accents - of all kinds - because otherwise, every place tends to start feeling the same....just like with the same big box stores in every state.

Country Standard Time ranked 16 of the top albums of the year....unfortunately, I haven't heard all of them, but it's hard to believe there are very many better than Alan Jackson's "Good Time" release. It was a return to his signature sound, after a one-album departure (thanks a lot, Alison Krauss for producing that disappointing disc).

Jamey Johnson's album was fourth. Oddly enough, I stumbled upon it on itunes when it was a digital-only, independent release. Most of the songs stayed the same when MCA Nashville picked it up.

Hayes Carll (seventh) had a nice debut with "Trouble In Mind", but it's not for you Top 40 Country/Taylor Swift listeners. He has a quirky sense of humor, and you have to like that to get that to enjoy the full experience of his music.

I really liked Joey + Rory - "The Life of A Song" (12th), but I have to give the nod to Joey Martin - one of the duet - and her debut album from a couple of years ago - "Strong Enough To Cry." I first heard of Martin on an Internet radio station. She sang an excellent ballad called "That's Important To Me."

Four out of 16? Looks like I need to start listening to some more quality country music.
 

We're on the cusp of 2009, and the question needs to be asked.....where is country music headed?

About a decade ago, I would have told you it's on a one-way express to morphing completely into pop. With Shania Twain, Faith Hill and company leading the charge.

But tradition has made a comeback with the likes of Josh Turner, Luke Bryan and Ashton Shepard. And the Texas/Red Dirt scene can no longer be ignored. It's not the outlaw movement, but it's probably the closest thing we'd ever seen to it. And will ever see towards it.

Yes, Taylor Swift is on top of the charts, and there's no doubt that she's a CSINO - a country singer in name only.

Demographics of listeners are changing, and I think that bodes well for the Texas/Red Dirt scene. For many people who are in their late 20's/early 30's, country music is seen as very uncool. Singers like Roger Creager and Brandon Rhyder changed all that in the Lone Star State.

If Nashville were smart, they would treat Texas artists with respect and not simply try to treat it as another fad, because it has staying power.

However, the scene alone isn't enough to carry country music. The future of country, my friends, is in the diversity of the music. We'll have our Taylor Swifts, Roger Creagers, Big and Richs and Josh Turners all together - maybe not always in harmony - but always among each other atop the charts.
 

Last night's Roger Creager show was amazing. I'd seen him twice before at Ziegenbock Festivals in Bryan and Houston, respectively, but I learned there's so much more that you can pack into a 95-minute show as opposed to the hour-long set.

I'd heard there wasn't going to be an opening act, but then got there and saw the Kyle Bennett Band was selling merchandise. So I figured they were in the house. I'd never seen them before, because I was running late to the Ziegenbock at Lake Bryan and missed their set.

They're pretty talented as well. I was however, looking forward to hearing them perform their ballad, "Into Her Arms," but it didn't fit into their hour-long set.

Creager is an energizer-bunny dressed in a black cowboy hat and jeans. I doubt there's a performer in Texas (or in the United States) that has his sheer energy and desire to give the crowd every penny's worth in admission. I mean, the guy makes Garth Brooks look like George Strait when it comes to stage performance. Those of you who have seen Garth and George live know what I'm talking about.

While I count several Creager songs among my overall favorites, "Love" simply stands out. There's so much passion in that song, and it's just a country theme with rock energy and a mix of both, sound-wise.
 

What would be your perfect New Year's Eve country show?

I'd like to see Roger Creager at Cowboy's in San Antonio, but I don't think I'll drive that far.

I might try to catch him closer to Houston, either before or after his big New Year's Eve concert. If you haven't heard his hit single, "I'm From The Beer Joint," it's worth checking out.
 

Sometimes, you don't have to look too far for good country music. I'd heard of Amber Digby before, but I didn't realize she was based here in Houston.

Her music is as traditional as anything out there, recalling stars like George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

Ironically, she has a song called "I Can't Used To Getting Lonely." She'll be lonely as a traditionalist in 2008, but that's OK. What would we do without such sounds?

She also does an impressive cover of Tanya Tucker's "Cowboy Lovin' Night."

It's good to know that a singer - and a fellow Houstonian - is carrying the torch.
 

My parents are visiting from Kansas City. They drove 12 hours down here one way, and that's dedication. I want to start to look back at the year in country music, but I don't have time until Thursday (Christmas Day) because I'm entertaining them. But please send your thoughts, ideas, comments, etc., and I'll make sure we get them on to the blog
 

The Detroit Lions could become the first team ever to finish an NFL season with an 0-16 record. They're 0-15 now, so please don't jinx them. I want to see this happen in my lifetime, and to boot, I actually got to see them play live - which increases my sentimental stake in the Worst NFL Team Ever.

Who in country music is having a year like the Lions? Mindy McCready might be having a decade like the Lions' 2008 season. She can't seem to catch a break or get on the straight and narrow.

On the flip side, one of the AFC East teams may finish 11-5 and still miss the postseason. What's the equivalent in country music? I'd say Gary Allan....an incredible talent who's had hit after hit, but because of his outside image (he's a surfer dude from California), he's never going to get the appreciation that Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney receive. I enjoyed Allan's music better when it had more of a Bakersfield-influenced traditional feel.

What about a rookie of the year? Y'all haven't heard of Minnie Murphy yet, but you will. She's Jamie O'Neal's half-sister, and wow, can she sing. Her new song is "Take Me To Texas Tonight," and it's outstanding.
 

A gateway song is one that you hear on the radio that opens up your musical tastes to an entirely new genre.

Two that I can think of are "Down at the Twist and Shout" by Mary Chapin Carpenter; it got me interested in Cajun Music. Ditto for "Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old" by Garth Brooks. It name-checked Chris LeDoux, and introduced me to that legend's music.

What gateway songs have y'all heard?
 

Sean Hannity. He's a polarizing figure - on one hand, he has legions of listeners across America but is also widely disliked by political opponents.

I'm not here to talk politics, but rather to give credit where credit is due. Hannity's Freedom Concerts raise money for the Freedom Alliance with country artists that have included Billy Ray Cyrus, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, the Charlie Daniels Band and more.

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund raises money for college scholarships for the children of fallen soldiers.

I look forward to the show when it comes to Houston next summer.
 

I was just thinking about it, and I reckon that country singer Pat Green and San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito have a lot in common.

Both were fan favorites, fun-loving guys who had the freedom to do what they wanted - and more importantly showcase their talents and personalities - in Texas and Oakland, respectively.

But they both choose the big bucks when they came calling....nobody can fault either of them for wanting to significantly improve their financial standing. The way things have turned out - from this fan's point of view - makes me think that both made a deal with the devil. Or at least compromised much of what makes them who they are.

Green is just another artist on a long list of them on Music Row.....he crossed over the proverbial bay that divides Texas Country and the Nashville Establishment. Zito took a big contract and has spent the past two seasons on the other side of San Francisco Bay at AT&T Park in San Francisco (which is a beautiful ballpark if you ever get the chance to go there).

Zito hasn't looked the same, and the Giants probably wish they could send him to Fresno half the time.

Maybe, they should. And maybe Nashville should send Pat back to New Braunfels. It would do both of em' good.

In the words of pre-Nashville Green, "Everybody needs to get away sometime, forget about yourself for a while.....OK, alright, Carry On."
 

I can't wait to see these guys again. A few months ago, I attended their CD Release Party and stood right in front of the stage at the Firehouse Saloon in Houston. How long will it be until folks know about these guys from coast to coast?

Right now, I'm listening to their single, "In My Arms Instead." I think it'll go down as one of their classics right along with "Somebody Take Me Home" and "Kiss Me in The Dark."
 

Howdy,I have some honky-tonk questions

I love buying compact discs. Someday, they're going to stop selling them, because of duh - the Internet. And it's going to become as commonplace as the vinyl records that our grandparents owned and the cassette tapes that our parents did.

When that day comes, I'll have plenty of CDs remaining as souvenirs of the good ol' days (and also a handful of cassettes, too).

I will miss that day, because I love opening up a new CD and reading the lyrics as I sing along. But I understand business and know that itunes beats overhead any day of the week.

Speaking of which, if y'all hadn't noticed yet, we have a lousy economy.

And that's why it doesn't surprise me that Clint Black's Equity Music folded. What does this bleak economy mean for the future of independent labels or for the future of country music in general?

George Strait, the King of Country Music, will be making only one appearance in Texas, according to the dates he's announced to this point. He'll be at the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, which I looked up on the map.

That's on the Texas-Mexico border. Logistically, it wouldn't be too easy for me to make the 10-hour trip southward to see this legend.

I would make the trek if I had some good company, specifically a female who enjoys country music and the company of a country blogger.

I've given up on long distance relationships (don't ask), but if you know someone who's looking for a country blogger to ride in on a White Horse, you know where to find me
 

I recently took a trip to the heart of Cajun Country - Lafayette, Louisiana. I had such a great time, listening to CDs during the entire 3.5 hour trip from Houston. It wasn't very scenic, unless you enjoy looking at oil refineries, but it seemed like the traffic moved a lot quicker as soon as I crossed the Sabine River.

For those of you who don't know, that's the river that separates Texas and Louisiana.

While in Louisiana, I dined on some excellent Cajun foods - at Prejeans in Lafayette and Cafe De Ami in Breaux Bridge. The latter was a brunch, and for the first time since I can remember, the meal was so good that I didn't eat again for 24 hours. The easiest fast ever.

I also had the opportunity to listen to some live Cajun/Zydeco bands. Is there a difference between the two? If so, I don't know what it is.

I asked someone at the bar if the band would play "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams, and they looked at me strangely and said there wouldn't be any "English songs" played on this night.

I'd still like to explore Louisiana another time, but Im certainly glad to be back in the great state of Texas.

Fellow Texans Clint Black and George Jones lended their voices to an important project -"We Are Enterprise" - a fundraiser for the high school in Enterprise, Ala. that was destroyed by a tornado in 2007.

The 11-song album has a gospel feel to it, with Jones singing "Amazing Grace" and others like Tracy Lawrence ("Dear Lord"), Richie McDonald ("God's Still in America) and Aaron Tippin ("Mighty Good God") going in that direction.

One of the more interesting selections is Joe Diffie's cover of Carole King's "You've Got A Friend."

Enterprise High, which is scheduled to be rebuilt in 2010, certainly has a friend in these Nashville artists.
 

Hey y'all.....I'm back. Things have been really hectic down here in Texas, but I've heard some good country music, most of it on the pop side of things.

I recently bought Taylor Swift's new album and enjoyed the song "White Horse", about a girl realizing that life isn't a fairytale. I also liked the energy of the title track, "Fearless."

Eric Durrance has a new album with a strong mix of uptempo songs, balanced with some very somber ones.

I'll update y'all more with some more new tunes I've heard. Thanks for sticking around even though I've been busy here in the Lone Star.