• Nashville Tennessee’s The Bittersweets - Chris Meyers (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Hannah Prater (vocals, guitar) and Steve Bowman (drums) - are offering a song “Wreck” from their upcoming release “Goodnight, San Francisco” ( 9/9/08)  produced by Lex Price, Mindy Smith. Personally I take the title of their new release as a good omen for my new home.

“Wreck” mp3

• The Americana Music Association has announced that Austin City Limits producer Terry Lickona will be their recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award.

• Not sure how I feel about Johnny Cash Remixed (10/14.) If it’s anything like the Nina Simone or Blue Note remix releases it could be cool. Featuring Buck 65 and Moceon Worker and John Carter Cash involvement in the project makes me think it’s a step in the direction of very cool. Cash often jumped and defied genres his entire career so this release could make a certain amount of sense.

• Right now I’m watching “The Last Waltz,” the Martin Scorsese’s film of the final concert of The Band, 1978, Thanksgiving Day in San Francisco. Featuring guest appearances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, The Staples Singers, Dr. John and many more. Can muisc ever be this essential again? I doubt it.

Originally released in 1961 as Five Minutes to Live, this low-budget crime drama was later re-released as Door-to-Door Maniac. It’s a bit cheesy but is worth watching for Johnny Cash’s performance as a sadistic hit-man. The entire movie is on YouTube and is cut into 8 segments.

Front man for the th’ Shack Shakers Col. J.D. Wilkes’ trailer for his new movie “Seven Signs”, about movie stated to be about the “Music, Myth and The American South.

20th Century Fox has set a Walk the Line: Extended Cut DVD for release on 3/25. The film will feature 17 minutes of additional footage and the 2-disc set will also include audio commentary with co-writer and director James Mangold. The Johnny Cash Jukebox  feature offers 8 extended musical sequences from the film with new introductions, including Lewis Boogie, Get Rhythm, You’re My Baby, Jukebox Blues, Rock and Roll Ruby, That’s Alright Mama, Jackson  and Cocaine Blues and there is 2 more deleted scenes with optional commentary, the film’s theatrical trailer and 7 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Becoming Cash/Becoming Carter, Sun Records and the Johnny Cash Sound, The Cash Legacy, Folsom: Cash and the Comeback, Ring of Fire: The Passion of Johnny and June, Cash and His Faith and Celebrating the Man in Black: The Making of Walk the Line).

I loved this book by the brilliant Cormac McCarthy (don’t believe me? Ask Oprah!) and I love the Cohen Brothers. I don’t see how this can be anything but great!

Popmatters.com has an excellent review of Robert Elfstrom’s documentary Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, and His Music (1969). The film highlights Cash at his career pinnacle and looks back at his upbringing in rural

Arkansas.From the review: More than that, he was content to dwell in contradiction; he didn’t try to resolve all his warring selves. He was equally the outsider rockabilly and the establishment patriot, the social protestor and the Billy Graham crusader. He gave us a model of cultural ambivalence that we could all identify with. He didn’t solve America’s identity problems, he showed us how to live with them. 

“No Country For Old Men” is on of my favorite Corman McCarthy books and the Coen brothers (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Brother Where Art Thou) are some of my favorite film makers, so you know I’m anticipating thier adaptation of this book about a drug buy gone wrong in rural West Texas. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson.

It was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival to great reviews.

“Freedom of speech is fine as long as you don’t do it in public.” From Shut Up and Sing.

Come with us back to a 2003 when the US was ramping up to a war that turned out to be unecessary wasted many young peoples lives, billions of dollars and trashed the reputation of this great nation for years to come.

Most celebrities played it safe and said nothing, just did goofy celebrity shit, you know..wearing silly clothes, getting divorced and starving themselves. But not Natalie Maines.

From a London stage lead Chicks singer Maines offhandedly said “Just so ya’ll know, we’re ashamed that President George W. Bush was from Texas. Funny, when I read that on a news web site I thought to myself, “Yeah, me too.”

After the statement the News show and web sites fanned the flames like they do everything else to get eyeballs to sell to their corporate masters, the rabid Right-Wing blogs picked it up because, we’ll they’re thin skinned and hate our freedoms
(especially that whole freedom of speech nonsense.)

This documentary follows the Chicks in performance around the U.S. and London between the years 2003 and 2006. And show the events leading up to the war and the personally, political and, yeas, professional ramifications of that statement heard round the world.

Filmmaker Barbara Kopple brings a real behind the scenes view of Maines and sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire in
dressing rooms, on stage, and in recording studios, and hanging with Chad Smith, Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer who played on the Chicks latest “Taking The Long Way”, and a very guru looking Rick Rubin (complete with prayer beads), who produced the album.

Recently the Chicks played at the Grammy’s and walked away with 5 Grammys for their efforts. Was it worth it? The worry, the heartache, The death threats? Only the girls can know. But it must feel nice to know your not alone and that not all country fans are Right-Wing zombies programmed to wave a flag at the strain of the Star Spangled Banner. Some of us actually remember what that flag preresents and can think past simple-minded slogans.

In the end Natalie turned put to be right and 70% of the  American public are finally comfortable enough to agree with her publically. Excpet when Natalie did it when it was not comfortable to do so, it was unpopular, it was unwise for their career and it was dangerous.

The Dixie Chicks embodied the American spirit at that moment, and that’s what being an outlaw is all about.

Yeah I know I’m really late to this, bit I just watched Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and besides being a great parody of NASCAR and Southern culture it has a damn fine soundtrack. Things kick off with Roger Miller’s classic ” “King of the Road.” Then there’s Waylon Jenninings’ “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line.” Lot’s of Steve Earle, Classic Bon Scott AC DC, and the creidts run over a great cover of “Gentle on My Mind” by Lucinda Williams. The soundtrack doesn’t seem to be for sale. Drag!

The Dallas Morning News did a nice write up on my dad, Jerry Max Lane and his wife Jeannie for their song which was included on the soundtrack for the new Naomi Judd movie “Come Early Morning.” From the article: After more than 20 years together, Jeannie and Jerry Max Lane are singing a new tune.

The south Irving couple is celebrating the release of their new song on a movie soundtrack that also includes popular country artists Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson.

“It’s a love song, and I think the melody draws the listener’s ear to the lyrics,” said Mr. Lane, who noted he wrote it in about 15 minutes.

Titled “What’s Done Is Done,” the song is featured in Come Early Morning, the recently released independent film written and directed by actress Joey Lauren Adams and starring Ashley Judd. In the film, Mrs. Lane can be seen performing the song with a house band in the background while Ms. Judd dances with co-star Jeffrey Donovan.

“I love her [Jeannie's] voice; it’s so powerful,” said Ms. Adams, well known for her roles in Big Daddy and Chasing Amy. “Their song sort of sums up the movie without being too much.”