I had a fun weekend, thanks for asking.  I guess I'll talk about it, or, technically, blog about it.  I visited New Orleans this weekend and I got to see my fiance and some old friends.  A stop by Dos Jefes cigar bar and Harrah's casino trigger a certain tune about a nun-named-Maria's favorite things.  I ate brunch at a place called Surrey's which featured some eclectic but distinctly New Orleansy artwork, with clay sculptures of architecture and paintings of skeletons, alligators and birds playing brass instruments all colored with bright pastels.  Yes, the food was great too.

My fiance got me some Beats by Dre headphones, and they are everything they are hyped to be.  Super distinct sound with low bass and bright treble, the clarity and definition is hard to beat in any sound environment.  As I simultaneously tested my new headphones and checked the Twitterverse, I ran into a tweet by Dierks Bentley and CMT promoting Dierks' newest album, "Riser"  and the album's namesake song (yes, "Riser") and I am really excited about it.  The album will be released, at least on iTunes, on 25 Feb and I will be putting "Riser" in my country playlist.  It features an awesome set of guitars with combinations of picking and strumming that was nothing if not enhanced by my new Beats.  Dierks talks about it being an inspirational song and album, about rising after failure.  Wait for it... maybe Kentucky's Basketball team will be a "Riser" after that miserable showing on Saturday.  There it is.

I watched the promotional video, which is great, linked from the tweet. but you can click straight to it here.
This album includes his newest singles "Bourbon in Kentucky" and "I Hold On", and Dierks has proven he is more than relevant.  This is going to be a great new album of country music.

I was lucky enough to visit Colorado with my family this winter.  We went to Steamboat Springs, a big gorgeous mountain that's famous for its consistent "champagne powder" snow.  Even during "mild" winters when we visited there was deep powder to be found just off the beaten trails, but usually we would get fresh, dry powder dumped on us more than once during a 5-or-so-day visit.  See below.

We all (7 in our group, with 5 to join us later in one packed condo) flew into Hayden/Steamboat Springs airport, a tiny little tarmac that I think was converted from a helicopter pad.  Some 20-somethings had been drinking and talking loudly with each other throughout the flight, all with slight but noticeable Texas drawls, and when we piled into the shuttle I was slightly dismayed to find they were joining us for the 30-45 minute ride into town.  You see, Steamboat was promoting their mountain with a big Texas music festival, so there were more cowboy hats than usual (even for a western Colorado town) and these boisterous folks were in town to listen to local Texas country stars.  I thought, "Great!  I love country music!"  After my personable brother befriended and lent the group his mini-speaker to use to play music, we learned that this wasn't what we were used to hearing in the South.

You see, there is Nashville country, and there's Texas country, and now I'm sure there are plenty of other sects where the local sound differs from other regions.  I think our (somewhat ironically) favorite song that was played was called "Snake Farm" (click to watch the YouTube video and listen to this weird song).  It's kind of hard to describe sounds, but either trust me when I say this ISN'T Nashville country, or watch the video.  There were some comments about Nashville being superior, but mostly the odd western twang and the inebriated early-20s girl trying to sing every word with an exaggerated drawl drowned them out.

But we did find a diamond-in-the-rough.  The photo above is inside a ski-in bar and grill where we were gathered to watch the Florida State/Auburn BCS Championship (RIP BCS Championship, welcome NCAA Playoffs!).  The first picture has the name of one Josh Ward.  He's the guy playing in this photo.  His big album is called "Promises" and features some great songs; some of hurtin', some of cryin', some of whiskey and some of love.  There are great fiddles crescendoing throughout a western Texas twang, but I swear to you the man sounds like Travis Tritt, and that's what I loved so much about him.  I recommend "Promises," "Pony Town," and of course "Hard Whiskey."  The album is on Spotify, so if you want to hear a new country singer that you won't hear on southern radios and sounds like the guitars and pianos are echoing off of wooden slats in a small western saloon, give it a listen.  You won't regret it.  

I attached a GoPro to my helmet and snowboard while I rode on the mountain all week, and yes, it's as awesome as it sounds!  I'm currently cutting the video with some music that I hope to show to friends and family.  I'll definitely try to embed a video here when it's ready!

Today was a solid day of golfing and sitting on my rear trying to come up with something to write about.  

So here's a new list of some country songs that are pretty new that are deserving of my noble recommendation, as well as one of Mumford and Sons' newest songs, and lastly an under-rated song with a link to the music video because VEVO hates free internet.

Dierks Bentley:  if you know anything about country, you've heard this guy.  Maybe not the best, but he has longevity.  This is a newer one that's on the top 40 right now.  I love any song that references Kentucky, and I'm sure most of you guys appreciate a little bourbon reference.  The song is called "Bourbon in Kentucky", and it features a modern country/rock guitar sound but in the spirit of the sad old country songs "There ain't enough bourbon in Kentucky for me to forget you".  Listen on youtube, Spotify, or iTunes if you must, but listen to it somewhere.

Have I really not talked about any of Mumford and Sons' songs on here yet?  I know I've mentioned the group at least, but maybe this is the first full song recommendation.  Anyway, one of the most amazing things about Mumford is that all of their songs sound almost the same, but are still unique and incredible to listen to.  A funny meme parodies the band here: http://cheezburger.com/7264897280.  I can't guarantee that that link is G-rated, there's some enthusiastic language, but it definitely made me laugh.  If you have go to restaurants or bars like normal humans, or have access to the radio, you've probably already heard this song.  Let this be a reminder that it's awesome.

Mumford and Sons "I Will Wait" from the album "Babel".

I can't get over how alike this guy sounds to George Strait.  It's uncanny.  It's also great for our ears.  The song "All Over the Road" is kind of a humorous romantic song where Corbin sings about a woman distracting him while driving.  It's not explicit, but the music video is definitely a bit suggestive, but still fun.  I believe the last time I mentioned him I recommended "Roll With It."  The guy just has a great voice, you should listen to him if you haven't.



Easton Corbin "All over the Road"
Photo from this Site: http://bigfrog104.com/inside-easton-corbins-tour-bus-video/

Now, finally, the most under-rated song and music video of the decade:  Brad Paisley and Keith Urban "Start a Band."  I know, I know, it's not a new song, but this isn't your blog.

The song starts like a few other of Paisley's storylines, like "Cooler Online", but the beauty of this song is with the guitars and the video.  (Also that beautiful Telecaster that Paisley plays, seen to the left!).  You can hear some nice, twangy riffs that song distinctly like Keith Urban and Brad Paisley (Watch Keith Urban's "Stupid Boy" video on YouTube to hear how his guitar usually sounds).  Come about 2:45 into the song, the two start going into solo-battles, and if you watch the video you can just see how much fun they are having, playing off of each other's leads and even playing each other's guitars in the middle of the solos.  It's incredible, and these two are easily the best guitarists in mainstream country music.  The video has great shots of their hands while they are playing and folks who have played guitar know what's going on and folks that haven't should get a little better appreciation for what goes into learning these instruments.  So like I said, click here to watch the YouTube video of these two in action and maybe you'll see what I'm talking about.  

Remember, I'd love to hear any of your own recommendations or thoughts on music, country or otherwise.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqIRpnsUvP4

This is the VEVO music video on youtube for Kenny Chesney's new song, Pirate Flag.  The sound is great, the imagery is great, and it makes you feel good.  This song, especially when you watch the video, gives you the same feeling as "I Go Back" but with a Caribbean feel, not unlike every classic Jimmy Buffet song, but also without sounding like just a remake.  It's great and new but also invokes so many nostalgic feelings about the beach, clear blue water and hot summer days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSTPIUz_QY4

This guy on the left is Easton Corbin, and he's starting to become my favorite new country artist.  He sounds like George Strait.  Seriously.  This guy is to George Strait what Michael Buble is to Frank Sinatra.  If you don't believe that last analogy, or don't understand it, listen to this.  The song above isn't as new as 'Pirates above, but it's called "Lovin' You is Fun", and he's also well known for "A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It."  I love them all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6IGH53PZ6Y

On the left is the one and only Eric Clapton, and the link is to a video of him playing "Further on up the Road" with The Band.  If you don't know who the Band is, you were either born after 1980 and you have bad taste in music, or you were born before 1980 and you also had bad taste in music.  But in all seriousness I didn't know them by name until only a few years ago, but I recognized them immediately.  You most likely have heard "The Weight" or "Ophelia", and they are just as varied and popular as Creedence Clearwater Revival.

This video is from The Last Waltz, a very famous ending tour for The Band which featured a lot of music celebrities.  Here we see Eric Clapton 'battling' it out with The Band's guitarist Robbie Robertson.  You see them go back and forth and it's incredible how much talent they both have.  You can also tell they are both trying very hard to keep up with the other and you from their looks back and forth that they have an immense amount of respect for each other.  Plus they are having a blast creating some of the most timeless, legendary music of all time.  

Above is the lead guitarist of a new band out of San Diego called "The Tilt."  Here he's playing a Fender Stratocaster, the classic rock n' roll guitar (he also played a Fender Telecaster and a mandolin throughout the night).  In my humble opinion he's very good.  This little solo above is only one style he played in one of the songs.  I've got a few more throughout the post!  They were celebrating their first album at a concert and beer fest at a nice little venue called "Belly Up," about 20 minutes north of San Diego, in Solana Beach.  Here's some pics of Belly Up:

The beer fest was a neat little marketing opportunity for different brewers, and the cost of my $15 ticket got me in the tavern the whole night with ten free samples of these local and around the country micro brews (my favorite one being this one, called "Hazed and Infused."  It was actually a delicious fusion of an IPA and an ale out of Boulder, Colorado.  When it came time for the music, though, I got ordered up Maker's Mark straight, with some ice on the side (can't do it room temp, I do need a little bit of ice!).

This little bit has a great outlaw country sound with the deep twangy guitar.  Unfortunately they don't have a huge playlist, so they played plenty of songs that weren't on their album.  Two good ones I like are "Oil Man"and  "The Flood" (not shown on this post).  I can't emphasize enough that this girl actually sounds really great live and on the album, but my phone can't pick up these loud noises very well...  Below I would describe the left video as blues and the right as some classic rock; these guys are super versatile and it was great getting to hear them live!

Finally, here's some really nice string music; the lead guitarist is playing a mandolin and they sound great.  They remind me of Yonder Mountain String Band in this one.  I get excited listening to good string music, and so if you listen to the beginning here you can hear my dorky mouth yell "Aww hell yea!"

It's about time I post about music!  I won't get into too much detail, but this is one of my favorite songs right now:

What I love about it is its old-timey sound, with lots of twang, 'strang' pickin' and steel guitar slides, especially in the opening.  The three girls (Pistol Annies) make a beautiful trio and it's worth listening to if you like anything bluegrass, country, or string bands.  

This song is unfortunately being overplayed and I think the radio will soon ruin it for most people, but I love the pick of the banjo at the beginning, and the transition from the first to the second half of the first verse (about 0:33 in video time) where they build momentum and energy with some power chords on an electric guitar; it's a modern sound of a crunching guitar to compliment the simple plucking on the banjo strings.  

Okay so this last one I included for several reasons; it's fun, upbeat, fast-paced, and it has another stringed instrument that I love that hasn't been represented in the other songs:  the fiddle.  Zac Brown Band does some magical things with a fiddle and I challenge anyone who loves stringed instruments but can't stand mainstream country music to listen to the instruments and not be moved by the sounds they make.

These are some great songs that are relatively new; nothing cutting-edge but you can't beat some good southern twang in both voice and strings.  If anybody knows of some good string bands (like Yonder Mountain, Old Crow, or Mumford) that may not be mainstream yet or maybe I just haven't heard of them throw them at me, I'd love to hear them!  As much as I love country music I think "New Country" or mainstream (there's that damn word again, how else would you describe it?) is often overplayed on the radio and many of the new songs aren't to my taste to begin with.  If country turns you off completely then don't worry, I will talk about a wide variety and I am very open to any discussions and suggestions about new stuff!