Losing a major label record deal can be a mixed blessing. The heartbreak that accompanies the deferred dream of stardom is often balanced by the hope of finding greater artistic freedom outside the confines of the big label machinery. After recovering from the initial disappointment of being dropped, many artists go on to record some of their most honest and vital work.

That’s what happened with Jamey Johnson, whose 2006 debut on BNA scarcely hinted at the revelatory That Lonesome Song, which Johnson self-released late the following year (his short stint on BNA by then already a distant memory). In fact, that home-brewed sophomore effort was so good that it won Johnson critical acclaim and a new major label deal with Mercury in 2008.

For every story like that, though, there’s a story of things heading south when an artist goes indie. Consider Clint Black, whose 2004 Equity debut (after more than a decade on RCA Nashville) took his already spotty, largely self-penned catalog to hitherto unknown lows. Or Buddy Jewell, who was a solid up-and-coming star on Columbia Nashville before becoming a shrill voice for love-it-or-leave-it nationalism on My Little Jewell Music. One more? Toby Keith, whose Show Dog stint has revealed the extent to which the Big Dog Daddy’s personality and musical sensibilities are best buried beneath layers of focus groups, overbearing producers and people willing to boss him around. Was the guy who gave us “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” and “Who’s That Man” just a Nashville factory creation? Whatever. I want him back.

The anti-establishment revolutionary in me has long held that sometimes the smartest thing a middling mainstream favorite can do is get off of a major label (willingly or otherwise) and take a long, lonesome walk toward self-discovery on the indie road. But sometimes that’s not how it plays out once the ties are broken.

Reported by “Trailer” Parkman of Photocrap News Service

What is the best thing that’s crossed my desk this year? The image of Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson, smiling after singing together in the studio, was tied with Jamey Johnson’s great album, That Lonesome Song. Johnson’s album contains the powerful “In Color,” a song that still makes me cry. Kenny and King George Strait’s no-frills “Shift Time” was also great. ●
- - CMT’s Hazel Smith is a profoundly confused woman. An image of Kenny and Willie - just an image! - is as good as an entire album from Jamey Johnson, and “In Color” and “Shift Time” are of equal importance even though Hazel can’t trouble herself to recall the real title of the latter song. I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach.

I’ve always loved Trisha and loved having her and Gwen in my kitchen. My son Billy, who assists me with the TV show, was so impressed when Trisha placed the dishes she used in the sink. He still talks about it. ●
- - Forgive me if I’m not impressed by the fact that a grown woman put her own dirty dishes in the sink. I hear Toby Keith recently learned how to tie his own shoes, Hazel. Better chat with him about it for next week’s Hot Dish.

[Charley Pride] was wonderful to me, introduced me to a lot of folks and let me open his show all over the world. It was a great opportunity and I kind of fell into the country thing although I was not a huge country fan growing up. And being from Northeast Texas, you’d think I would be. ●
- - Neal McCoy confirms what we already know: people who don’t like country music don’t end up making very good country music.

There were the requisite patriotic moments, beginning with “America the Beautiful.” The audience sang along, Larry Gatlin noting that a California audience was also asked to sing along.
“They didn’t know the words,” he said, then added: “It’s good to be back in America.” ●
- - Oh, har har. Good one, Larry Gatlin.

To me, I don’t call it country anymore. ●
- - Taylor Dayne reasons that it’s okay for her to go country since “country” no longer means anything anyway, which seems to me sort of like deciding that there’s no harm in dropkicking an amputee.

I’d rather sing a sad song than eat. ●
- - What a coincidence. I’d rather listen to George Jones sing a sad song than listen to him eat.

Most of them singers [in Nashville] spend three or four months in the studio. I figure anybody who would spend that much time on a record couldn’t be a very good singer. They just can’t be. If you can’t get it right quicker than that, what are you doing up on stage? ●
- - Studio time required for Wayne Hancock’s upcoming album: 2 days.

And of Taylor Swift, [Mark Chesnutt] said, “Nothing against her, but Taylor Swift is not traditional.” The singer best known for some biggies in the ’90s also admitted that “Nashville is signing the youngest kids they can, leaving a void in traditional country music,” and that to find his albums in a store, “You just have to dig behind the Kenny Chesney albums.” I always liked Chesnutt, but now that he’s taken to badmouthing other country artists, it may be a little too late and he may be a little too wrong. ●
- - Alison Bonaguro apparently believes that Taylor Swift is traditional country, radio playlists are weighted heavily toward honky-tonkin’ baby boomers, and Chesnu- does not follow Chesne- alphabetically. If you disagree with her on any of these points, you’re not just wrong but also bitter.

[Keith Urban] thanks everyone for the cards and letters from his fans — and especially one that says he’s the entertainer of the year forever and always. “Eat that, Kenny Chesney,” Urban jokes. Nothing like a little healthy competition right there in my voicemail inbox to brighten my day. ●
- - Bonaguro again. The ability to properly alphabetize makes you “bitter” but telling another singer to “eat that” is just a “joke” made in the spirit of “healthy competition.” See how that works?

Then [this sweet elderly couple I know] said they’d actually cut my Top Five Country Albums list out of the paper, and taken it with them when they went Christmas shopping this year. I was so touched, and so honored, that my story was folded up in this 82-year-old woman’s purse like a shopping list. ●
- - If you’re ever in a pinch and need a list of Bonaguro’s favorite albums to take shopping with you, just choose randomly from the first ten entries on this list.

[Haggard] gave up [pot] a few times over the years, but “nothing was funny,” he said. He quit again, four days before going under the knife on November 3, and prays that he does not lose his creative mojo. ●
- - You have to admit that “nothing was funny” is a pretty amazing reason to go back to smoking pot.

Songwriting, both in Nashville and indie country, is held in nowhere near the reverence that it once was. This isn’t just some rehash of the age-old “these damn kids today” argument – it’s bigger than that. Songwriting has gone from something that came from the heart, had thought and relevance, and actually added something to the world, to something that exists for the sole purpose of making people go “hell yeah!” It’s dumb, it’s juvenile, and it’s an insult to those who mastered the craft and those of us who strive to do so. ●
- - Roger Wallace puts a country spin on Craig Bickhardt’s “Finding the Reverence.”

In other Rodney Atkins news, Curb announced yesterday that the singer’s first greatest hits collection will hit shelves in February, with a second to follow in July. Atkins issued a statement calling this “awesome.”

Needless to say, things have changed quite a bit. In the past 8 months or so, I have started my own blog, grown it week by week, made a bunch of super cool virtual friends, discovered all sorts of good music, joined the staff of The 9513, been featured pseudonymously in Country Weekly, and kind of even figured out what I’m doing. If you’re reading this now, you deserve some thanks for making my 2008 such an exciting trip. So, thank you.

Since you’re an important part of what happens here, I’d like to solicit your feedback as I consider 2009. What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of? If you could give me one piece of advice for the blogging year ahead, what would it be?

Let me know what’s on your mind. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Kix Brooks was surprised to receive a text message from Ronnie Dunn on Tuesday with news that the duo’s next single would be “Drop in the Bucket” from 2007’s Cowboy Town. Brooks, who has not sung lead on a Brooks & Dunn single since “South of Santa Fe” hit the charts with a resounding thud in 1999, reportedly bootscooted around his living room in wild jubilation for ten minutes before noticing that a second text from Dunn had arrived. That follow-up message, which had in fact been sent just a few seconds after the first, was devastatingly short and to the point: jk. As of press time, the two men are not yet back on speaking terms.

I know there are a few albums I’ll be listening to more closely on the recommendation of my colleagues, and I’m sure you’ll find a lot to like too. The individual lists are especially interesting. Check it out.

What’s the last song you heard?

Remember: if you’re going to answer, you have to do it now. No reading this now and coming back to answer after you listen to something cool.

According to last.fm, the last track I played was “This Is Goodbye” by the Randy Rogers Band.

1. Arrangements tend to be more sparse and acoustically based.
2. In the freshly decluttered musical settings, many singers have room to deliver some of their best, most nuanced vocal performances.
3. Artists more willingly embrace the subtle humor and whimsy of material like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Christmas Cookies,” which is far removed from the brazenly stupid slap-your-Grandma humor favored during the rest of the year.

Those few thoughts don’t cover everything, but they go a long way toward explaining why I find Christmas albums by the likes of Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and others a lot more enjoyable than their recent regular albums. Sure, there’s also the fact that I just like Christmas songs and would enjoy hearing most anyone perform them, but there’s certainly something to be said for the artistic and production decisions that get made when it comes time to record such material.

In fact, it’s unfortunate that such good musical sense is being confined to the holiday season and squandered on rerecordings of the same old classics. Come December 26, country music will amp its sound back up, adding all sorts of distracting layers. Singers will compete to be heard over their cluttered arrangements. Few will attempt humor, and those who do will usually favor that of the Grandma-slapping fratboy variety, forgetting the subtle charm and wit of a song like “Christmas Cookies.”

The good news? You still have today and tomorrow to soak up all the Christmas music you can stand. Okay, fine, I’ll give you until New Years, but if you’re still listening to Christmas music after that, you’re officially a nut.

Merry Christmas from Country California.