Taking the Next Step (yet another country-related post)

Bluegrass and alt-country may be gateway drugs to the fearful world of Froggy and Y-108. Luckily, I haven't yet been drawn that deep. But with my belated discovery of Jamey Johnson's latest album, I might be considered "at-risk".

Nonetheless, I march onward to Mr. Small's for tonight's show, and I urge all readers with a healthy appreciation for American music to do the same.

Johnson is without a doubt heir to Waylon Jennings' coveted crown, and the Country community at large seems slowly to be realizing that, along with standard rock rags SPIN and Rolling Stone.

If you are not a frequent Froggy listener, please skip over or ignore this next sentence: Johnson penned Trace Adkins' 2005 hit, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk."

If you are not a frequent Froggy listener and read that one anyway, forgive him his past indiscretions. A man's got to make a living.

In his defense, I give you the following tracks, both of which foretell a catalog of songs which should safely render names like Brooks and Dunn forgotten by history when we someday look back on the music of the early 21st century.

Jamey Johnson - "High Cost of Living"

Jamey Johnson - "Between Jennings and Jones"