averyfineline

This story in the New York Times about country singer John Rich cutting a populist protest tune about the greedy gall of our banking overlords helping wreck the economy and then taking performance bonuses reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to ask: is there much of a history in gospel music of writing songs […]

Later this morning I’ll be giving a talk by that title at the NEA Higher Education conference (don’t worry, the confessions aren’t forced or coerced at all; in fact, they’re treating me magnificently, and this year the conference is in Portland, OR, which is officially my new favorite city). The presentation is about the convergence […]

That’s how much Elvis’s Madison Square Garden jumpsuit sold for at auction. You’ll recall we discussed a bit ago this item and a few others that belonged to the late sg songwriter Dottie Rambo going up for sale. Bidding for the jumpsuit opened at $100K. The karate card opened at $10,000 and sold for almost […]

I’ll have limited time and access to blogging for the rest of the week while I’m at a conference, so you’ll have to talk amongst yourselves. Some places to start:

DBM already commented on Bobby All’s passing. All was one of those names that hopeless sg junkies  like me grew up seeing in liner notes, and […]

I refer, of course, to the new Miley Cyrus song that is being released to sg. I caught on the local top 40 station on the way home from work the other day. And the short answer is that there’s nothing about the song to shake my initial reaction that it will go exactly nowhere […]

Andrew Dubber makes the (persuasive) case for understanding music (and rights management) as a cultural good and not just a commercial interest (h/t, M). Money quote:

The British Library have a sound archive that includes thousands of pieces of recorded music. Unfortunately, researchers and scholars are unable to use a great deal of that material in […]

For anyone interested in Chapter 4,291 of why CCM is sinful according to southern gospel orthodoxy, you’ll want to check out this thread over at sogo (yes, that site does still exist), where a wide swath of CCM is described as a bunch of groups that “get drunk, use foul language, and watch those dirty […]

Writing about Jesus and John Wayne, Daniel Mount says:

The problem with “Jesus and John Wayne” has nothing to do with the topic addressed or the Hollywood reference. The problem is that the song isn’t that clear whether we are fighting or accepting the fact that most days we’re not as close to conquering our sin […]

So a radio station has now pulled Gaither Vocal Band’s “Jesus and John Wayne” from the air after listeners complained about the song’s allegedly bad theology. What rubbish.
Regular readers will know that I don’t like the song one bit, but reading this kind of nonsense nearly roused me into a fit of defensive pique, just […]

In response to our recent discussions about piracy and piety, a commenter wonders:
Why couldn’t a group or record label allow a few songs (maybe one from each album) for free mp3 download. That way a person could sample the music or if a fan wanted to introduce the music to a friend the fan could […]

Kyle Boreing has a delightfully geeky post about ephemeral recording oddities that only other careful listeners can truly appreciate.

If this entire Wade Weaver story (latest update via DBM) had been concocted for a parody news site, they would have rejected it as too perfect by half. I mean, c’mon. A guy who looks like he was sent straight from central casting for this story, running an outfit called the “Heaven Bound Talent Agency,” […]

This reader may be painting with a slightly overbroad brush, but the point is not inapt all the same:
Everybody is up in the air about someone “stealing” by copying an artist’s CD. All the while, most artists and so-called labels are not paying the songwriter royalties due from the CD’s they did sell at full […]

Watching this clip that Kyle Boreing dug up on youtube of Roger Bennett describing strategies for southern gospel pianists (particularly letting the bass guitar keep the down beats and learning to play in the hold), I recalled the set of instructional videos Bennett put out 15 or 20 years ago. I don’t think this clip […]

Whenever the issue of piracy and gospel music comes up, it’s only a matter of time before you hear some version of this story (via southerngospelblog):

I’m small-time compared to some of you folks. Still, it’s all I can do to hold my tongue when someone stands at our product table and says to his buddy, […]

Regular reader CVH nails it:
You can’t have a blog about an industry, even an industry that is based on religious music and its related culture, unless you look at it from a critical point of view. The people here who immediately take a thread and hyperspiritualize it miss the point. We’re not in a masters […]

Kyle Boreing has joined David Bruce Murray’s (mostly silent) group of blogging partners. Good luck, KB.

This two-man quartet clip (via DBM) that’s been making the round is really just wonderfully delightful. Take a look.

I’ve failed to mention this for a while but you may (or, more likely, may not) have noticed that the never quite […]

A reader calls out some fellow commenters for overplaying the “Love of Jesus” card, and in the process raises the dilemma that the orthodox believer faces when confronted with unorthodoxy, particularly in online conversation:

Every time any of us click on the site in our browsers or  take the time to post a comment, we’re endorsing.  […]