The court also rejected the Bellamys’ contention that the statements on their website were truthful and did not constitute defamation. “The statements on the website strongly imply that there is evidence of a pattern of copyright infringement by Gottwald, because the website omits the facts that the plaintiffs in those cases publically stated that he did not infringe their songs,” Bucklew wrote.

The court ruled that the Bellamys’ statements, which implied that the plaintiffs had committed an illegal act, intentionally omitted publically available facts and could not qualify as “pure opinion,” thus supporting a defamation claim.

I guess life really is like a jar of jalapenos.

It seems like in the country world, there seems to be a big hesitation to just do straight-up old-school country. I’m not one of these anti-Nashville guys. I’m really not. But when it comes to doing old-school country, there seems to be this big fear of doing that. It’s not cool enough or it won’t appeal to the right demographic. I really wanted to make a record that proves that you can still make a traditional country record and that people still really want to hear that stuff. That’s really the point I wanted to make.

Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she rejected prosecutor Kit Bramblett’s suggestion that Nelson resolve the case by pleading guilty and paying a $500 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dean-Walker claims the prosecutor “doesn’t do that for anybody else.”

The judge says Nelson should be charged with the misdemeanor marijuana possession, which carries up to a year in jail.

If at all disoriented, yell, “WOOOO!” until you feel well again.

At times, Shelton’s so charming, he could sing his way down a To Do list — and he kinda does on ”Get Some” (where he gets up, gets paid, gets off, etc.) and ”Drink On It” (where he drinks on it, thinks on it, sleeps on it). Schmaltzy power ballads don’t suit him, and there’s too many here (”Over,” ”I’m Sorry,” ”God Gave Me You”), but mix some goofball into his cornball and he’s golden.

Is [it] as good as the all-time classic country drinking songs? Debatable. Will it stand the test of time? We’ll see. Is it a competent, fresh take on a classic theme, not to mention one great slice of barroom country-rock? Definitely.

“I came here to try and write hit country songs,” he says. “I met with Jody Williams, who was at Mercury back then, and played him some songs. He said, ‘These are songs I’d listen to around my pool, but they’re not songs that are going to be hits on country radio. We can teach you how to write the stuff that we write here, but I don’t think you should do it. You should find a way to start making records.’ ”

MARTINA FUN FACT: If you’re playing “Independence Day” at your 4th of July picnic, you probably don’t understand the song very well.

“Connie Smith possesses one of the most powerful and recognizable voices in country music,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “Her body of work includes more than 50 albums, and her signature song, ‘Once a Day,’ remains one of country music’s most popular classics. When Connie sings, she takes us on an emotional journey, wringing every teardrop and ounce of feeling from her lyrics. We are thrilled that she will be bringing those talents to the Ford Theater for three one-of-a-kind shows.”

Her new album, Long Line of Heartaches, comes out August 23.

What’s a bit alarming is that we seem to have cultivated a generation of young, male country performers who are preoccupied with displaying Outlaw attitude and Outlaw posturing, as opposed to developing real Outlaw musical content. Some belligerent song titles graphically tell the story: “Kiss My Country Ass,” “If You Don’t Like My Twang,” “You Ain’t Seen Country Yet,” “Blame It on Waylon,” “For the Outlawz,” “I Could Kick Your Ass.”

The whole thing is worth a read.

So we took the band to Nashville and recorded the same songs, but they said “country radio won’t play this because it’s a folk rock album.” So they put Jett & The Jewels, which was this girl background group on all the songs. And it just wasn’t rootsy or cool anymore. So when it came out we told people we weren’t happy about it, that it wasn’t the record that we made. It broke our hearts. I called my attorney and asked him “What should I do?” and he said, “I suggest you start drinking.” So I did.

The songs were there, but it was recorded kind of “Nashville slick.” So when we heard they were re-releasing it, they hadn’t really talked to us. Of course I guess they don’t need our approval. So I just needed people to know. They’re kind of pretending like it’s some sort of landmark album and that people really want that record, and there’s no reason to want that record at all. It was a mistake, a wreckage of the past. I just couldn’t let people think that it was something that I approve of.

It speaks to the reach of Randy Travis that he is able to bring such a deep and far-reaching pool of talent together in one place. The fact that it combines so many varied voices and talents and remains cohesive and grounded in Travis’ traditional country sound is impressively rewarding and makes this collection quite worthy of its celebratory billing.

How refreshing it is to hear such an enjoyable display of originality and talent at such an early stage in a career! It’s only their first single, but “Amen” goes a long way toward establishing a distinct artistic identity for Edens Edge. In a radio landscape that could hardly be more slick and predictable, a new act like Edens Edge is a real breath of fresh air.