My Page: R. Keith Rugg
Rugged Stuff
Drivin’ and drinkin’? Highway 101 and ‘Whiskey’
“Whiskey, if you were a woman…
…I’d be a stand-by-my-woman man.”
-Country deejay John St. John, segueing from Highway 101’s “Whiskey, If You Were a Woman” into Ronnie Milsap’s “I’m a Stand-By-My-Woman Man.”
[more]
Rugged Stuff
Rugged Stuff, Illustrated (6-9-2009)You've got to be careful, because those homophones will turn around and cause no end of trouble. Something to keep in mind, all you folk who bid on items at the Mule Deer Foundation and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation dinners... [more]
Rugged Stuff
The Dixie Chicks Have Flown the Coop
Back in November, I stated that “…the Dixie Chicks seem to have dropped entirely off the radar…” and there were a couple of outraged comments arguing with me. Now, I know that this brave new world of citizen journalism is more about opinion and off-the-cuff blog comments than it is about the facts of any given subject, but I’ve just got to ask- What’s your proof? Where’s your evidence? And what the hell are you talking about? [more]
Rugged Stuff
David Ball’s got a problem
It’s the fact of alcohol as such a strong presence in the country music lifestyle that allows one great country song to make a metaphor out of the whole situation: Drinking isn’t the REACTION to his heartache, drinking IS his heartache over the loss of his woman. [more]
Rugged Stuff
Rugged Stuff, Illustrated (6/2/9009)'Cause they've got a 'no animals allowed' policy down at the Starbucks... [more]
Rugged Stuff
Drunk on Country Music
Anyway, got me thinking about just how very, very many country songs have to do with alcoholic beverages in general, and with alcohol and broken hearts in particular. I suppose it says something about the cowboy lifestyle. And following the deejay's hangover prevention tips was an advertisement for an alcoholism treatment program, so I guess I'm not the only one to take note of the deep-running connection. [more]
Rugged Stuff
Randy Travis’ “I Told You So” becomes a triple-threat
The rejuvenation of Randy Travis’ “I Told You So” piqued my interest enough to get me to do a little bit of digging on it. [more]
Rugged Stuff
Rugged Stuff, IllustratedThink of it as the Wild West meets Mother Goose and Grimm... [more]
Rugged Stuff
So Long, England Dan
One of the latest losses suffered by classic country music is the death of Dan Seals. Yes, before you even start in on me, I do know that he started out on the soft rock/pop side of the fence as England Dan of England Dan and John Ford Coley. Whatever successes he had in ‘70s with that music, though, isn’t what I’m concerned with. It’s the ‘80s and early ‘90s that I’m talkin’ about, when he had more than 20 singles on the country charts, with 11 of them hitting No. 1. [more]
Rugged Stuff
John Rich vs. Rodney Atkins
John Rich's "Shuttin' Detroit Down" vs. Rodney Atkins' "It's America"
Yes, both are simplistic and cliched. But I like 'America' and hate 'Detroit' and here's why.
[more]
