"**somewhere deep in the heart of Nashville, MAB stirs in his chair and feels strangely compelled to check out JPF..** "

Yes, here we go again. LET THE WHINING COMMENCE!!!! Happens pretty much as regular as clockwork. Been hearing it since 1988 when I moved here and before that when I was in Birmingham. Yeah I know. It ALL SUCKS! Country music is terrible!!! Why do they play such crap!!! It all sounds alike..." blah blah blah blah!!!!!

My question to you is, "WHY IN GOD'S NAME DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?" If you don't like it, DON'T LISTEN TO IT! there are MILLIONS of ways to get music now. There are hundreds of thousands of pod casting, web sites, PANDORA, SPOTIFY, YOU TUBE, Sirrius radio, downloads, I Tunes, hundreds of television cable stations, WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE?

It all sounds alike? Sure does. HAVE YOU LISTENED TO RAP OR HIP HOP FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS? Do one of those little "mash up" things over a couple hundred rap or hip hop songs. See what you get?

They don't measure up to your standards? Probably not. but YOU ARE NOT THE COUNTRY MUSIC TARGET AUDIENCE. Listen up folks, MOST OF US ARE OLD NOW!!!! WE ARE OUR PARENTS! Get used to it. It is part of life. Music moves past us. We think it all sucks. That is what we do. And does it? OF COURSE IT DOES. It always has. Our Grandparents and parents thought Elvis and Beatles were the end of civilization!

HANK, MERLE, WILLIE,they were looked down on IN THEIR DAY. Why do you think most of them moved OUT of Nashville? Do some "Googleing, on YOU TUBE. Watch Charlie Rich announce JOHN DENVER AS ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AND TAKE OUT A CIGARETTE LIGHTER AND LIGHT THE ENVELOPE AND ANNOUNCEMENT. It has always been this way.

Do I like all this stuff? OF COURSE NOT. I am too busy writing my own stuff, working with artists, writers and trying to create my own to worry too much about all that. I don't really get too caught up in it because most of it IS GOING TO BE GONE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. And there will be some new stuff out there you can hate and then be moaning because it is not as good as it is NOW.

That is a great post by Floyd Jane about some really great artists and songs out there. And I HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH ONE OF THOSE. Had I not worked with him and helped him get into this stuff, you might have never heard of FRANKIE BALLARD or SUNSHINE AND WHISKEY because he was known as JUST A BLUES GUITAR PLAYER and had been passed over by everyone in Nashville. I helped him find his writing chops. Do I even like all his stuff? NOPE. I wish he had recorded the songs I wrote with him, BAREFEET,MY GIRL'S HOTTER OR I'M SO AT HOME WITH YOU. Or the 15 other songs including two of mine he recorded on his first CD. But that is fine. He is doing well and I applaud him.

So the question is, what do YOU want done about it? As always my suggestion is FIND YOUR OWN ARTISTS. WRITE YOUR OWN SONGS. Help someone else build their catalogue, their career. Find people you like, support them. Tell others about them. Write with unsigned people and help them get signed. Do something about it instead of just complaining about the way things are.

But that is not what most people do. Most people complain. So if that is what you want to do, there is plenty of room for that too. Just most of the time realize you are only talking to hear yourself talk.

MAB