iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 16h

Lord, the mental gymnastics some of her diehards did after the inauguration to try to say she isn't who she is.

Marsha Blackburn posts to IG, "Such a pleasure talking with Carrie Underwood and her husband during our lunch..."

Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 23h

Also, by the by, real ones like our pal @beedelores.bsky.social know that the 2019 Black Christmas remake is an absolutely ferocious and unapologetic act of feminist rage against the collegiate Greek system, and it *rips*.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 30/09/2026

Not to get intersectional about the two Discourses, but I've been loudly beating the drum for the last 3 years that Music Row's embrace of Pledge Week Country via the collegiate Greek system (B Zimmerman, M Moroney, H Westbrook) is a function of its patriarchal white supremacy as a $$$ driver.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 30/09/2026

Not that national-level pundits ever listen to people Actually From Here, a map of KY6 since 2023 redraw that further eroded the influence of bright-blue Lex (the state's 2nd-largest pop center) and purple Richmond and G-town by pulling in that deep-red NE wing. *BIG* for us to be "leaning" R.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 30/09/2026

Oh, is this the famous Kansas City here in central KY, or...? More riveting local-first news from one of the papers that just gutted its pool of journalists.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 29/09/2026

[slow clap] Best way On Here to remain willfully incurious about a subject is to Main Character dogpile someone who's an actual published authority on that subject until they're no longer On Here. But some white men felt *scolded*, so...

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Elana Levin @levin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

New uptempo Willi Carlisle with (unofficial) Muppets is exactly what we need.

youtu.be

"Gas Station" - Willi Carlisle

YouTube video by Willi Carlisle

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WUKY @wuky.org · 29/09/2026

The Trump administration wants to eliminate a series of programs intended to help disadvantaged students in Kentucky and across the country complete degrees beyond high school.

wuky.org

Federal support in danger for first-generation Kentucky students

The Trump administration wants to eliminate a series of programs intended to help disadvantaged students in Kentucky and across the country complete degrees beyond high school.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 29/09/2026

The *depth* of this interview! An essential read that truly does right by one of the all-time greats.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 29/09/2026

Three albums so tremendous that there's no wrong way to cull a best-of list. (And I have similar feelings of foreboding about the new Lambert album, fwiw.)

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 28/09/2026

Latest from the local paper, whose owners gutted the (deep, quality) bench of actual reporters this month.

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Todd in the Shadows @shadowtodd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

"Choosin' Texas" sucks and I *like* country musi-- no you fucking don't, shut the fuck up

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 28/09/2026

Absolutely stunning. As always, Kacey's vocal tone is a wonder.

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Alex @purplechrain.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

anyway, in the last month or two, some of the best country albums of the year were released, and the country singers who put out the albums in question are queer, Black, women, and/or some combination thereof.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

I. Noe, ... Band (****1/2): Concluding his trilogy of E KY tributes with a full-on concept album speaks to Noe's uncommon ambition and skill. What impresses most about this record is the depth of Noe's world-building: It's less about that dreaded "authenticity" than about believability and honest...

Ian Noe's "Canyon Falls Trailer Band" album cover.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

Re-upping this thread. Required reading-- the quoted DRtI piece, especially-- on the day for a whole lot of y'all.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

For #CountryRockSunday, multiple concurrent truths: Yola has said that she did not have a good experience working w Dan Auerbach on her first two albums, and she's pivoted since. But the things she does with her voice in the final third of this? My God. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMa2...

youtube.com

Yola - "Stand For Myself" [Official Music Video]

YouTube video by Easy Eye Sound

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Ronald AKA DJ Regularity @djregular.tech · 27/09/2026

I should say IMAGINING someone calling you a snob. As most writing that gets people's backs up on here, beyond the headline isn't exactly that.

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Ronald AKA DJ Regularity @djregular.tech · 27/09/2026

We can't spend a slick 80% of the time on here having some variant of "the death of monoculture" as a conversation, then spend the weekend taking someone calling you a effete snob for not being aware of a Billboard hit serious. That's pervert (derogatory) shit. I do not consent.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

The hit dogs are really hollerin' on here today. Christ.

Someone quote replied, making an argument that in no way counters what I actually said.

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TLC @tarantical.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

BlueSky should really love this particular song. youtu.be/KzeGCmiMLYQ?...

youtu.be

Everywhere Isn't Texas (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by August Ponthier

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Niko Stratis @nikostratis.com · 27/09/2026

Ok either none of you guys have heard of a song before or it’s worth talking about for like 4 straight days but it can’t be both things

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

A big day for pruning the list of folks I follow on here, it turns out. People showing their entire ass.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

Maybe don't quote post the Denny Carter screenshot from the Rolling Stone article, saying something about monoculture without reading the entire article first, since it addresses that point for three full paragraphs prior to the one he screenshots. But, y'know, follower counts gonna follow.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 27/09/2026

Oh, good. We're doing a 3rd round in the span of a week of people who by their own admission do not engage at all with country music or people who write about or who talk about it on here, playacting like they're authorities on the subject, run through w "good liberal" class condescension, misogyny.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 26/09/2026

P. LaFarge, Rent Money (***): Have never been convinced that he understands what "schtick" really entails, and this does nothing to challenge that perception. Maybe a bit more meat to the songwriting here than has been his norm, but that's not exactly the highest ceiling. It's fine for what it is.

Pokey LaFarge's "Rent Money" album cover.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 26/09/2026

K. Pruitt, ... Fleeting (****): The arrangements aren't quite as sharp here as on her last record, but her singing and writing absolutely are. Hers is a unique skill set: No one is better at unpacking complex (religious, queer, social) trauma histories with such moral clarity or such *songcraft*.

Katie Pruitt's "Fools for the Fleeting" album cover.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 26/09/2026

J. Scott & High Heat, Play Boy (****1/2): Lord, every second of this absolutely *rips*. And if we're seeing acts like Flatland Cavalry and Muscadine Bloodline making mainstream inroads, then there's honestly no reason why this crew's perfectly crafted, clever country-rock shouldn't do the same.

Jason Scott & The High Heat's "Play Boy" album cover.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 25/09/2026

A good 9 to 5 Day to all y'all, from Lego Dolly.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 25/09/2026

Already on record that ... Showgirl is Swift's worst album since her debut; there's a 4-5 track EP to be culled from it, and the rest is heinous. These new "Encore" tracks all fall into that latter group and scan as uncommonly lazy from someone who's always shown her hustle.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 25/09/2026

Anyway, I maintain that dating actual Morgan Wallen in the immediate wake of the N-word tape is an even more telling choice a person could make and is worth interrogating a whole lot more than what color someone has chosen for an album's visual aesthetic, but so it goes.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 24/09/2026

I'm sure people On Here will be super normal about this after a lively weekend of being super normal about Ella Langley. But also: Dating Temu Morgan Wallen sure is a choice.

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Natalie Weiner @natalieweiner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

attn denizens of dfw: creekbed carter hogan is playing poor davids this weekend, and as someone who wants more freaky folk touring acts here AND for poor davids to thrive i'm highly recommending you attend. also creekbed carter just makes great music (obviously) www.prekindle.com/event/23294-...

prekindle.com

Creekbed Carter Hogan | Poor David's Pub — Dallas, TX | Prekindle

Creekbed Carter “There’s no fiction as stran...

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Nonesuch Records @nonesuch.com · 22/09/2026

@rhiannongiddens.bsky.social was on @npr.org's @nprfreshair.bsky.social to discuss her new album, 'Hope Is the Thing with Feathers,' and perform a few tunes live, and on NPR's All Things Considered.' You can hear both and the 'All Songs Considered' review at www.nonesuch.com/journal/list...

nonesuch.com

Listen: Rhiannon Giddens on NPR's 'Fresh Air,' 'All Things Considered' | Nonesuch Records

The official site of Nonesuch Records

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KL @kliakos.com · 24/09/2026

People sleeping on anything she’s been doing the last few years are missing it. What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow was one of my favorite albums of last year

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 24/09/2026

D. Baldridge, FFF (**): A couple of years back, he had a viral hit that turned into an actual radio hit that was noteworthy for taking the stance, far too novel for country radio this century, that women are people. So it's noteworthy, too, that this album has a song that directly addresses...

Drew Baldridge's "FARM FAITH FAMILY" album cover.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 23/09/2026

D. Seals, ... Last Duet (****): With both Easy Listening and early 80s pop-country having a moment of re-evaluation, why shouldn't an artist like Seals capitalize and get some late-career flowers? The roster of collaborators on this is *deranged* in the best ways: Vince Gill, Suzy Bogguss, and...

Dan Seals' "Dan Seals & Friends: The Last Duet" album cover.

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Rainbow Rodeo Magazine @rainbowrodeo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

REVIEW: Arend (they) reviews Everything All the Time -- the stunning new queer exvangelical album from Maddie Zahm, which teaches us that living is an art, not a dogma. rainbowrodeomag.com/...

A white woman with long blonde hair leans over the back of a couch, smiling into the camera. The couch has a yellow blanket and black and white checked fabric. Over her shoulder is a purple-painted living room and a traffic light. The camera is pointed slightly up, revealing that the room is actually a TV set.

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Rachel Cholst @rachelcholst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Honored to reviewed the new Joy Oladokun album for @nodepression.bsky.social! She has never been more herself than on Hope Is a Heavy Thing. It's a triumphant statement of what she can accomplish when she works on her own terms nodepression.org/album-review...

Angular hand-painted black text on a white background reads: Hope Is a Heavy Thing

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Tessa Duvall @tessaduvall.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

An editor’s farewell to Bluegrass Politics:

What I remember is how many journalists were packed into the Capitol, either outside of the Secretary of State’s office or waiting in the rotunda. One reporter even brought a folding camp chair. I was there with my colleagues and competition alike and felt such a sense of camaraderie.

Statehouse press corps across America are not as robust as they were in years past. That’s true in Kentucky, too.

But on that Friday afternoon, local journalism felt so alive. I wish more days in Frankfort had that kind of buzz because the halls of power need a vibrant Fourth Estate to provide a watchful eye — every day, not just when there’s the potential for drama.

I will always believe in the importance of local news.

You still need to read John Cheves, who is tireless in his work holding elected leaders and government officials accountable. You still need to read Taylor Six, an incredibly talented criminal justice reporter who is always finding an interesting cases to cover. You still need to read Beth Musgrave, who can do it all, whether that’s grilling UK leaders over secretive travel or monitoring ICE’s impact in the commonwealth. And of course, there is nowhere better to get your Wildcats coverage than the Herald-Leader.

Thank you for sharing your stories with me. Thank you for giving me your trust.

Thank you for following along, and please, don’t let this be the last Bluegrass Politics you read.

Tessa Duvall
Politics and Public Affairs Editor

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I Walked with a ZomBee @beedelores.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

NBD just Heather Graham sharing my review on Insta 😭

Screenshot of Heather Graham sharing my review of What Happened to Doris on her Insta story with the added words:

Thanks for this awesome review for What Happned to Doris

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 22/09/2026

T. Hannah, Love It... (***1/2): Love the distinctive point of view in her writing and the effortless cool of her retro vibe; even in an era of throwback artists, her style stands apart. Could leave the relatively thin vocals, though she does clear most contemporary bars. Definitely one to watch.

Tony Hannah's "Love it or Leave It" album cover.

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Country Universe @countryuniverse.net · 22/09/2026

Whole lot of people on here today who don't follow either us or our Don't Rock The Inbox pals play-acting like they have informed opinions about country music.

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