With the Academy of Country Music Awards (and another free-form live blog chat thing, if anyone’s interested?) coming up on Sunday, this seemed like a pretty good time to remind myself that music doesn’t have to suck. So, I set my media player shuffling (14,000+ tracks) and listened to… and wrote down… the first 20 songs that came up. And you know what? I do feel a little better now.
If you’re so inclined, give it a try for yourself and share the results below. Most doctors agree that filling your ears with good music now will minimize the post-schlock hangover come Monday morning.
- Mark Chesnutt – Halfway Back to Birmingham
- Adam Carroll and Michael O’Connor – Tired of Myself
- Bruce Robison – Go to Your Heart
- Moot Davis – One of a Kind
- The Maddox Brothers and Rose – Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down
- Jeff Carson – Scars and All
- Randy Travis – Send My Body
- Townes Van Zandt – Talking Thunderbird Blues
- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Jimmy Martin
- Steve Young – Shopping for Dresses
- Jerry Seinfeld – Chinese People
- George Strait – One Night at a Time
- Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers – Love Will Find You
- George Jones – It’s All In My Mind
- Kris Kristofferson – Johnny Lobo
- Tim McGraw – She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart
- Montgomery Gentry – Break My Heart Again
- Patty Loveless – (We Are All) Children of Abraham
- Gary Allan – Don’t Leave Her Lonely Too Long
- Alan Jackson – If You Want to Make Me Happy
1. Guys Do It All The Time – Mindy McCready
2. The End Of My Pirate Days – Mary Chapin Carpenter
3. Sweet – Trace Adkins
4. Angry All The Time – Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
5. Burning Bridges – Garth Brooks
6. San Antonio Rose – Reba
7. The Prettiest Thing – Norah Jones
8. Borrowed Angel – Lorrie Morgan
9. Wish I Knew – Shelby Lynne
10. One – Faith Hill
11. Does He Love You – Reba & Linda Davis
12. New Again – Brad Paisley & Sara Evans
13. Thank You – Keith Urban
14. Kingdom Of Days – Bruce Springsteen
15. Blowin’ In The Wind – Dolly Parton
16. Amazed – Lonestar
17. The Weight Of Love – LeAnn Rimes
18. Goodnight Irene – Ernest Tubb
19. Harlem’s Nocturne – Alicia Keys
20. We’re The Kind Of People (That Make The Jukebox Play) – Amber Digby
My iPod had a fit of great taste. I think this is the best selection I’ve gotten so far when I’ve shuffled.
1. Johnny Cash-San Quentin
2. Roger Wallace- Don’t Tell Me You’re Not Crying
3. Hank Williams- Calling You
4. Roger Wallace- So Long (Be Gone)
5. Dwight Yoakam- Stop The World (And Let Me Off)
6. Hank Williams w/ Jr. & Hank III- I’m A Long Gone Daddy
7. Waylon Jennings- Come Back & See Me
8. Marty Robbins- Ballad Of The Alamo
9. Desperate Times- Charlie Robison
10. Dallas Wayne- Here I Am In Dallas
11. Johnny Cash- Jacob Green
12. Doug Supernaw- I Would Have Loved You All Night Long
13. Johnny Gimble- Do What You Did, What You Did
14. BR5-49- The Price Of Love
15. C.W. McCall- Four Wheel Drive
16. Chris LeDoux- This Cowboy’s Hat
17. Wayne Hancock- Little Lisa
18. Eleven Hundred Springs- Thunderbird Will Do Just Fine
19. Dale Watson- What if…(Legends)
20. Dale Watson- I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am
“The Maddox Brothers and Rose – Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down” – LOVE THIS!!!
1. Mother Truckers – Put the Gun Down
2. Poor Man’s Whiskey – Let You in the Door
3. Slaid Cleaves – Working Stiff
4. Bob Dylan – Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (alt. take)
5. Girls, Guns & Glory – Brown Bottle Blues
6. J.B. Beverley & the Wayward Drifters – Before They Get Those Cuffs on Me
7. Rachel Harrington – Farther Along
8. Mark Jungers & the Whistling Mules – Green River
9. Dave Alvin – Don’t Look Now
10. Hickman Dalton Gang – Old Border Town
11. Elizabeth Cook – What Do I Do
12. Jim Raby – Good Whiskey
13. Ryan Bingham – Dollar a Day
14. Bill Kirchen – Devil with the Blue Dress
15. Emmlylou/Mark Knopfler – Donkey Town
16. Hillbilly Idol – Another Chance at Paradise
17. Randy Thompson – Songbird
18. Levon Helm – The Mountain
19. Beatles – Love Me Do
20. Paul Thorn – Crutches
Think I’ll do this again during the ACMs
Your shuffles were so good that I decided to try again for one that doesn’t include Jeff Carson and Tim McGraw… but instead I got Bryan White and Kenny Rogers. Hmph. I guess both of the lists are fairly representative of the mix in my music collection, though.
1. Chris Knight – My Old Cars
2. Tracy Byrd – Someone to Give My Love To
3. George Jones and Tammy Wynette – Two Story House
4. Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers – Honky Tonk Gal
5. Pat Green – Carry On
6. Merle Haggard – Stardust
7. Old Crow Medicine Show – That Evening Sun
8. Marty Stuart – Sometimes the Pleasure’s Worth the Pain
9. Townes Van Zandt – Tower Song
10. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – When It’s Gone
11. Bryan White – Dustbowl Dreams
12. Joe Nichols – My Whiskey Years
13. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Sourwood Mountain
14. Mitch Hedberg – The Pipe
15. Kathy Mattea – Green Rolling Hills
16. Kenny Rogers and Dottie West – All I Ever Need Is You
17. Terri Clark – Life Goes On
18. Jimmy Martin – Losing You
19. Mark Chesnutt – Too Good a Memory
20. Robert Duvall – Live Forever
1. Steve Earle – Sparkle and Shine
2. Toby Keith – That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy
3. Hootie and the Blowfish – Please (x3) Let Me Get What I Want
4. Todd Snider – I Want Out
5. Sam Cooke – Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha
6. Tift Merritt – Keep You Happy
7. George Jones and the Jones Boys – World’s Worst Loser
8. The Bellamy Brothers – When I’m Away From You
9. Darryle Singletary – How Can I Believe in You
10. REM – Near Wild Heaven
11. Alejandro Escovedo – The Shelling Rain
12. Melanie Doane – How You Cried
13. Artimus Pyledriver – Ride On
14. Wrinkle Neck Mules – Bottomland
15. Weezer – Getchoo
16. AC/DC – War Machine
17. John Fogerty – Jambalaya
18. Kris Kristofferson – Billy Dee
19. Jimmy Buffett – Gravity Storm
20. The Lonely Island – Normal Guy
Umm, I don’t have an MP3 player and don’t have any plans to get one either. Guess I’m a Technosaur…
I never watch country music awards shows, but I do plan on watching this week’s “Celebrity Apprentice” to see what one of the teams does to Emily West in trying to re-make her image! (lol)
1. Radney Foster – Angry Heart
2. Eddy Arnold – Make The World Go Away
3. Chris LeDoux – I’m Ready If You’re Willing
4. Slim Dusty – Sweeney
5. Marty Robbins – Return To Me
6. Brad Paisley – You Do The Math
7. Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter – Storms Never Last
8. Ray Charles – Hit The Road Jack
9. Keith Urban – Got It Right This Time
10. Brandon Sandefur – Don’t Talk Back To Me
11. Reba McEntire – I Keep On Lovin’ You
12. Blake Shelton – What’s On My Mind
13. Slim Dusty – Losin’ My Blues Tonight
14. Gary Stewart – Out of Hand
15. Mark Chesnutt – Bubba Shot The Jukebox
16. Sonny Burgess – The Request
17. Reckless Kelly – Broken Heart
18. Billy Joel – Summer, Highland Falls
19. Toby Keith – You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This
20. Jason Aldean – No
1) Jackie Brown – John Mellencamp
2) Sing Me Home – Tim McGraw
3) Last Call – Lee Ann Womack
4) No One Else On Earth – Wynonna Judd
5) Lyin’ Eyes – Eagles
6) Don’t Take Your Guns To Town – Johnny Cash
7) Promise Broken – Gary Allan
8) One Wing In The Fire – Trent Tomlinson
9) Too Country – Brad Paisley
10) Paint Me A Birmingham – Tracy Lawrence
11) Is There Life Out There – Reba McEntire
12) Lost In The Flood – Bruce Springsteen
13) House With No Doors – George Strait
14) Forever Hasn’t Got Here Yet – Toby Keith
15) Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley
16) Scenes From An Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel
17) The Streets Of Baltimore – Bobby Bare
18) Fire On The Mountain – The Marshall Tucker Band
19) Mr. Radio – Trisha Yearwood
20) Wayfaring Stranger – Trace Adkins
Haha, these are always fun!
1) “State of Grace” by Reba McEntire
2) “Crystal Ball” by P!nk
3) “Don’t Let Me Get Me” by P!nk
4) “Sometimes” by the Noisettes
5) “Te Amo” by Rihanna
6) “Sin Wagon” by the Dixie Chicks
7) “Joey” by Sugarland
8) “Would’ve Been the One” by Solange Knowles
9) “Permanent Monday” by Jordin Sparks
10) “Why Should The Fire Die?” by Nickel Creek
11) “Cold” by Maxwell
12) “Honey” by Mariah Carey
13) “Wish I Could” by Norah Jones
14) “Building Bridges” by Brooks & Dunn
15) “Sleepless Nights” by Patty Loveless
16) “Guardian Angels” by The Judds
17) “You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain
18) “One Honest Heart” by Reba
19) “I’m Still A Guy” by Brad Paisley
20) “Two Doors Down” by Dolly Parton
That was weird.
1. Reba McEntire – ‘New Fool At An Old Game’ (Live)
2. Holly Williams – ‘Let Her Go’
3. Emmylou Harris – ‘Two More Bottles of Wine’
4. Patty Loveless – ‘The Color of the Blues’
5. George Strait – ‘if You Can Do Anything Else’
6. Dolly Parton – ‘You Are’
7. Shelby Lynne – ‘It Must Be You’
8. Clint Black – ‘A Better Man’
9. Tim McGraw – ‘Suspicions’
10. Joe Diffie – ‘Texas Size Heartache’
11. Tammy Wynette – ‘Alive and Well’
12. Roseanne Cash – ‘Radio Operator’
13. Vince Gill – ‘When I Call Your Name’
14. George Jones – ‘A Little Bitty Tear’
15. Garth Brooks – ‘Something With a Ring To It’
16. Hank Williams Jr. – ‘The Blues Man’
17. Carolyn Dawn Johnson – ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’
18. Linda Ronstadt – ‘Heart Like a Wheel’
19. Wynonna – ‘Till I Get It Right’
20. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant – ‘Stick With Me Baby’
… Very good choices. But, I don’t think we’ll hear any of these coming from the MGM Grand stage tonight.
My library consists of about 7000 songs, maybe 40% country. I only keep about 1000 songs on my iPod and 100 – 200 of them are country so I’ll list the first 25 of those that come up.
1. Passionate Kisses – Mary Chapin Carpenter
2. Dead Flowers – Miranda Lambert
3. That’s All She Wrote – Reba
4. Down in Mississippi – Sugarland
5. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia – Reba
6. How Long Gone – B&D
7. Take It To the Limit – Suzy Bogguss
8. Saturday Night – Billy Dean
9. Life in a Northern Town – Sugarland
10. All I Want to Do – Sugarland
11. Does My Ring Burn Your Finger – Lee Ann Womack
12. Want To – Sugarland
13. Deep Down – Pam Tillis
14. Lyin’ Eyes – Diamond Rio
15. I Like It – Dixie Chicks
16. You’re Not In Kansas Anymore – Jo Dee Messina
17. Long Time Gone – Dixie Chicks
18. Waitin’ for the Deal to Go Down – Reba
19. I Hope – Dixie Chicks
20. Justified and Ancient – KLF (I’ll count it since it includes Tammy Wynette.)
21. I’ll Think of Something – Mark Chesnutt
22. Wide Open Spaces – Dixie Chicks
23. The Hard Way – MCC
24. Cry Like a Rainstorm – Linda Ronstadt (Close enough to a country artist, not a country album though.)
25, Blues Man – Alan Jackson
Not really fair since most of these songs are among my favorites. Is there a way to shuffle my entire library? That would at least yield a more interesting result.
1. Hey You – Pink Floyd
2. Whipping – Pearl Jam
3. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2
4. Don’t Look Away – Gary Allan
5. Goodnight My Love – Ella Fitzgerald
6. Magpie To The Morning – Neko Case
7. So Young – Elvis Costello
8. Sowing On The Mountain – Ramblin’ Jack Elliot
9. Lovesick Diagnostician – Ben Folds
10. Rambling Rose – Nat King Cole
11. Thank You Very Much – Kaiser Chiefs
12. I Got My Brand On You – Muddy Waters
13. Nobody Knows Me – Lyle Lovett
14. Runaway – Gary Allan
15. My Wife – The Who
16. That’s What She Gets – Brooks & Dunn
17. Lady Madonna – The Beatles
18. Volare – Dean Martin
19. Only You – John Lennon
20. Why Do You Love Me – Dierks Bentley
21. They Call It Stormy Monday – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
22. I Shall Be Released – Bob Dylan
23. Words of Love – Buddy Holly
24. The Devil’s Inside My Head – Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
25. Wham Bam Thank You Mam – The Small Faces
That’s the kind of things any typical 20 year old Australian boy has on his iPod.
1.Ain’t That A Shame – Rich O’Toole
2.The Night I Called The Old Man Out – Garth Brooks
3.Bubba Hyde – Diamond Rio
4.Better Life – Keith Urban
5.I See Me – Travis Tritt
6.Ashes By Now – Leann Womack
7.Stay Gone – Jimmy Wayne
8.That’s My Story – Collin Raye
9.Shakin’ – Sawyer Brown
10.Why Ain’t I Running – Garth Brooks
11.I Thank You – Phil Vassar
12.Country Club – Travis Tritt
13.High On You – Jackson Taylor Band
14.Bed That You Made – Whitney Duncan
15.When It Rains – Gretchen Wilson
16.Good Woman Bad – Josh Turner
17.Would You Lay With Me In A Field Of Stone – David Allen Coe
18.Jesse Dunn – Rebel Hearts
19. Outlaw Band – Jason Boland & The Stragglers
20. Everything Takes Me Back – Trace Adkins