I’m tentatively toying with the idea of doing a year-end Best Posts of 2008 feature to highlight some of the great things happening in the country music blogosphere. The list would probably focus on the indies (The 9513, Country Universe, etc.) rather than the corporate blogs (CMT and the like). There’s still a lot of year left and this is still very much just an idea, but I’d like to solicit some early feedback.
What do you think are the most memorable or noteworthy blog posts of 2008? When you look back at this year, what will you remember? If you wanted to convince some skeptical friend that the blogworld is more than an ugly step-cousin to the professional world of print, what posts would you use to make your point? We’re looking for the best of the best.
The volume of posts is such that the vast majority will necessarily go unmentioned. Don’t let it get you down. If you think you’ve been unfairly omitted, plug your own post. We’re not voting, so you won’t throw off any official tabulation or anything. The whole point is to call attention to deserving posts others might have missed the first time around or forgotten about in the intervening weeks or months.
The first two posts that come to mind for me:
- Jim Malec’s Ray Scott article at The 9513.
- Blake Boldt’s Patty Loveless interview at Country Universe.
I’m sure I’ll think of more later. In the meantime, what say you?
Very cool idea, and I absolutely agree with the two choices you’ve highlighted. I would also throw in a shout-out to Kevin’s 100 Greatest Women feature at CU, with the final Dolly Parton post probably being the best showcase of that feature’s strength.
I don’t know how serious you want to keep these, but another one that comes to mind is Photocrap’s first Country Day (or really whichever your favorite country-related Photocrap day was; you can’t really go wrong):
http://photocrapper.blogspot.com/2008/08/country-music-day.html
And personally, I think this blog is consistently high-quality and absolutely deserves a mention among the year’s best work, though you might feel awkward including yourself, I don’t know. My favorite entry that you’ve done is probably the “Sugarland Almost Got it Right” one, but from a more academic standpoint, the Keith Whitley legacy piece is also top-notch.
And I’ll probably think of more, as well. Keep up the good work!
Okay, update on my search. Going through the 9513′s recent archives, I think you might consider pulling one of the always-entertaining mailbag entries, or this excellent editorial by Matt C:
http://www.the9513.com/rucker-proves-that-sometimes-the-best-marketing-is-no-marketing-at-all/
I think a Best Posts feature is a great idea. I’m sure there are lots of great posts I’ve forgotten about.
The discussion of gender in country music at Country Universe was one of my favorite posts this year.
http://countryuniverse.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/discussion-carrie-underwood-shania-twain-and-gender-in-country-music/
Wow, Dan. You practically wrote the whole feature for me. ;) Seriously, I like your choices and think they all deserve to be part of the conversation. In fact, I did think of the 100 Greatest Women series, but didn’t mention it because that’s a hundred options and I’m a very indecisive person. My inclination now is to say that I’d feel silly including me on my own list, but perhaps if I manage to publish something amazing in the next few months… I don’t know. In any case, thanks for the ego boost.
KC: Good one! Hard to imagine that not making the list.
You might just ask Kevin which posts he thought were the best of the series and work from there, since 100 options is indeed quite a lot to leaf through.
Another possibility: You could have categories such as Best Post, Best Feature, Best Discussion, Best Interview. So many of the sites, yours included, do such great work that it would be nice for all the blogs to receive a little pat on the back.
Nice idea, Blake. It might even be easier to break it up that way than to try to force all sorts of different things into one category. Definitely something to consider.
And of course, thank you for the mention. I have tremendous respect for everyone who makes up the country music blog community and gratitude for Kevin for allowing me to write at Country Universe. Keep up the great work.
A year-end retrospective is a most-awesome idea. I’d also like to nominate Craig Bickhardt’s “Finding Reverence” editorial.
Oh, that’s a good one. If anyone wants to check out the Bickhardt editorial, it’s here.
Actual planning for the Best Of is still far off, but for the time being I’m really liking this thread as a place to appreciate some of the fine work being done out there.
Here’s another by Matt C. at The 9513:
Carrie Underwood’s Exclusive Inner Circle Threatens Her Career
Very good idea John! Now I’ll be looking for good posts.
That Carrie Underwood one was a great article. How about the one on country universe comparing Carrie’s rise to fame to Shania Twain’s? I enjoyed that one.
I also liked the 9513′s review of “Bob That Head”.
Also, after rereading “Sugarland Almost Got it Right”, I agree that that is a great post. I hat later deluxe editions, and now Kenny Chesney’s new album is doing the same thing! (But I still won’t be getting it)
I also put in a vote for your Sugarland post. I also love your Tour Names post as well (too lazy to find the real name of the post). For the moment, I’m thinking that Dan’s Lost Trailers review could fit in a category of your creation! And of course, I agree with Kevin’s 100 Women and Blakes Loveless interview.
To be less CU centric, The9513 has a ton of great articles. I’ll have to sift through them and choose my favorites when I’m more awake.
You could always reveal a list of nominations for each category and allow a panel of voters to vote on the winners. Of course, in order to make this work and properly parallel the beloved CMA awards, you’ll have to allow us to block vote for our own blog content! May the richest and most powerful blog win! Dang it, it’s gonna be those 9513 boys again!:)
–Leeann
It seems like quite a few people have been periodically checking in on this post since Tuesday, so I’ve added a static link in the sidebar to make it more accessible. Please do come back as you think of more possibilities.
Since the Sugarland piece has come up a few times (thanks!), here’s a link for those who might have missed it.
I just read Matt B’s interview with Charlie Allen on Roughstock and thoroughly enjoyed it:
http://www.roughstock.com/blog/roughstock-interview-charlie-allen
Hey, I just wanted to thanks for the mention of my Ray Scott piece. And also, thanks to all for acknowledging our work at The 9513.
I agree wholeheartedly that Blake’s interview of Patty should be in there.
Great idea. I’ll be thinking now …
(Hollerin’) Ben Cisneros’ Red Dirt: The Power of Infrastructure at The 9513.
I hate to self-pimp my stuff, but since a couple of you have noted the Ray Scott piece, I thought I’d point out that it has a cousin–actually a piece that caused some considerable rumblings inside the ‘Ville, and which paved the way for the candid discussion I had with Scott.
Joanna Cotten’s Impossible Question: http://www.the9513.com/the-malec-minute-joanna-cottens-impossible-question/
Self-pimping makes good sense for those who want to cut down on business expenses and increase revenue. Eliminate the middleman.
Also, that’s a great piece. Thanks for mentioning it.
I’m a bit behind in my blog reading, so I only found this today …
Over at the Melodic Sunburst blog, the ‘I Don’t Like Any of the Women’ piece is superb. Definitely deserves a mention.
I’m with you on that one, JR. Here’s a link for those who missed it.
Sorry for being OFF TOPIC … which Word Press template do you use? It looks cool.