Features
Wednesday, December 15 2010
The Best Country Music of 2010
The synthesis of the past, present and future is so much of what country music is about these days. The traditions haven’t disappeared, but the music is changing all of the time.
Thursday, December 18 2008
The Best Country Music of 2008
The year's best country music may be topped by archival releases from deceased artists, but the living managed to offer a strong alternative to the Nashvegas machine.
Wednesday, November 19 2008
Prisoners Are the Best Audience: The Challenge of 'At Folsom Prison'
Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison wasn't a pivotal live album or country album or Cash album -- it was a piece of history unto itself, flaws and all.
Friday, January 25 2008
The Best Music DVDs of 2007
The last few years have seen some mind-blowing DVD repackaging of a wide variety of musically projects. 2007 is the best yet.
Saturday, December 23 2006
Best Albums of 2006
At long last, the annual rite of passage, the "best of" list... Here's PopMatters picks for the best 60 records of 2006.
Columns
Wednesday, November 17 2010
Rosanne Cash: More Than Just a Legend's Daughter
Rosanne Cash’s lyricism plays on the page as if she’s on stage with guitar in hand. You can hear the music as you read. PopMatters Jaime Karnes talks with this gifted writer of songs and stories.
Monday, April 27 2009
Killing Him Didn’t Make Her Love Go Away
Violence in music begets violence in music: female artists reclaim the murder ballad.
Wednesday, November 26 2008
Who Says Country Can't Hip-Hop?
Poverty, crime, disenfranchisement, sinning, saving, and no-account women: Stereotypical subjects of the average country song, or the average hip-hop song?
Reviews
Tuesday, December 6 2011
Johnny Cash: Bootleg Vol. 3: Live Around the World
This two-disc set provides a pretty compelling look at Cash, sometimes as a study, but often simply as a strange sort of concert.
Tuesday, July 12 2011
'Johnny Cash's American Recordings': The Man in Black Comes Back Around
After Tony Tost gets all the God -- versus-Devil, dissolution and drugs -- versus rightousness and good works, and sancity -- versus-sex metaphors and references off his chest, he settles down to offer opinionated insights into each individual song on the album.
Wednesday, May 11 2011
Johnny Cash: From Memphis to Hollywood: Bootleg Vol II
It's both as flawed and as necessary as you'd think. And Rick Rubin's got nothing to do with it.
Friday, January 28 2011
Wanda Jackson: The Party Ain't Over
It's no shock that teaming Jack White with one of the great rockers of all time would yield great results, but the surprise is in how natural they sound together.
Friday, February 26 2010
Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain't No Grave
The last installment of the American series contains no surprises, but it's stronger than its predecessor, making it a moving and fitting cap to a priceless set of albums.
Blogs
Thursday, August 19 2010
Johnny Cash Sings About a Flood (with help from Biff)
Unfortunately, floods are back in the news. Over 20 million people in Pakistan have been impacted by the high water and more than 1,500 people…
News
Monday, February 22 2010
Johnny Cash: The Hospice Sessions
Let me tell you a story about my dad and Johnny Cash. Many American music lovers of a certain age could spin out such a…
Thursday, January 14 2010
Johnny Cash's final studio album, 'American VI,' coming Feb. 26
"American VI: Ain't No Grave," the final studio album by Johnny Cash, will be released Feb. 26, timed to what would have been the Man…
