Rhymes With Five: Ladies love their mamas, too

As Ben Gibbard ponders the meaning of life in our May issue, Brian Howe explores the nature of mother through the song lyrics of rap stars, indie rockers and, uh, Glen Danzig. Though the most important conclusion I drew from the piece is that I am really glad Danzig is not my son, it also reinforced for me the notion that, much like armpits, everybody has a mom—and like armpits, some people’s moms stink. Like, really stink—Ghostface Killah’s mom beat him for peeing the bed! Harsh, Mama Killah! Quite unlike armpits, though, mothers are the subject of a few great...  read more

Dolly Parton to major labels: "You're history."

Country legend Dolly Parton outdid her last major-label album Those Were the Days (2005) with her new self-released Backwoods Barbie, which hit # 2 on the U.S. album chart last week. After being dropped by Sugar Hill Records because of her decline in mainstream success, the enterprising Dollywood theme park owner culled her resources to put out an album “tailor-made” for her fan-base. As a result, digital sales made up 16 percent of the album's sales in the first week, high for a country album but not for a straight-to-fans release. "Now the majors are what they used to think...  read more

Dolly Parton

At a stop on Dolly Parton’s last tour, I sat, amazed, at the people who filed in next to me. To my left...  read more

Dolly Parton - Live and Well DVD

Few women in Country music have navigated the great rhinestone highway from “girl singer” to entertainer like Dolly Parton...  read more