When I started doing these live blogs, I was still listening to country radio semi-regularly. Since then, I've become so disheartened by the stuff they're playing that I've learned to stick to my own music collection most of the time, save for occasional excursions outward for the purposes of education and review (running this blog means I have to sort of know what's happening out there, if only to better make fun of it). So these half hours are my way of checking in on what I'm missing by being … [Read more...]

10:21 AM: Okay, radio. You're up. 10:22 AM: Surprise! It's "Where I'm From" by Jason Michael Carroll. 10:22 AM: Hasn't this song's chart run been over for a while now? 10:22 AM: This station really needs to update its playlist. 10:22 AM: And the big brother has cancer! Gets me every time. 10:23 AM: Gosh, this song is just silly. 10:24 AM: Waiting, waiting... 10:25 AM: Commercial time already. 10:25 AM: Upcoming concert will feature Billy Ray Cyrus, Little Big Town, Julianne … [Read more...]

12:29 AM: Hello! I'm writing from the wee hours of Monday morning. 12:30 AM: Backstory: We don't get GAC, but Dish is giving us a free preview of it through July in an effort to entice us to upgrade from the 100 channel (5 I watch) plan to the 150 channel (6 I watch) plan. 12:30 AM: First video is "Boots On" by Randy Houser, in which they've clipped shots of Houser together with shots from that viral video of the little boy playing along in the backseat. 12:32 AM: I get that they wanted … [Read more...]

Health Tip of the Week: Only listen to country radio in short doses with something else (like blogging) claiming the majority of your attention. As with the sun, prolonged exposure and staring directly at it may be injurious to your health. 11:27 AM: Go go gadget radio! 11:27 AM: Right in the middle of a commercial block. 11:28 AM: "Growing taller is an important milestone for any child." 11:28 AM: Is that really a milestone? It's sort of an ongoing thing, I think. 11:29 AM: … [Read more...]

Okay, unnamed local radio station. You have 30 minutes to impress me. Let's go. 11:43 AM: Turning on the radio. 11:43 AM: "Anything Goes" by Randy Houser is starting. 11:44 AM: This is a great song, which means it can only go downhill from here. 11:45 AM: He needs to record more stuff like this. Not such a fan of all the rocking stuff on his album. Country soul is where it's at... for him, at least. 11:45 AM: Although that kid in the "Boots On" video is adorable. 11:46 AM: This … [Read more...]

This series started as a wind-up to the ACM Awards, but since it gained a bit of a following in its own right, I'll continue occasionally checking in on country radio with a live blog. If nothing else, it will be a way for me to listen to the radio and get something more out of it than a headache and a goodly heaping of disappointment - like, say, a blog post. If you're not into it, don't worry; I don't have the stomach to do these things very often. 9:07 AM: Turning the radio on. 9:07 AM: … [Read more...]