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In This Issue

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Footnote Tomfoolery Mark Dunn crafts a comic gem from a literary gimmick

High Lonesome Download Bluegrass enters the world of podcasting with offbeat program

In the Hole Financing for a new downtown baseball stadium is still up in the air, but it's not to soon to talk about what it will look like

Keeping the Faith Jesus is just all right with Tennessee Democrats, too

Love And Hate Mail Campaign season

My Mother, My Child When Mom's weeping in her room, what's a kid to do?

Natural Talent A sometimes indulgent, vexing indie film succeeds thanks to its unusual family casting

 

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Country singer Mindy McCready, who is facing five charges in Arizona in connection with her alleged role in a con-artist scheme, should be recognized as the true heir of country music's "outlaw" tradition, a panel of music writers said last week.

The discussion was held as part of Belmont University's recognition of the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Wanted! The Outlaws album, featuring, among others, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

The Outlaws, known as the first platinum album in country music history, spawned a cottage industry in performers who crafted images as out-of-the mainstream, tough-guys—a shtick that continues in contemporary practitioners like Toby Keith.

But, the Belmont panelists say, almost none of these outlaws-by-marketing could point to any real outlaw behavior.

"I know Willie got sideways with the IRS a while back, but generally these guys only liked to brag about their 'outlaw' behavior," says music historian Marshall Scoppa. "Even now, Toby Keith certainly likes to strut around and talk about how tough he is, but he's really as tame as milk. By contrast, somebody like Mindy McCready has some kind of run-in with the law every few months, it seems like. She could be looking at jail time. Where are the arrest warrants for these other tough guys?"

McCready, who had a huge hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," has lately made more news by, well, being an outlaw. She was arrested a few months ago and charged with driving under the influence, and last year she pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining the painkiller OxyContin. She remains on probation from that incident.

"She should be working up a remake of Waylon's 'I've Always Been Crazy' and time it for release with her trial out there," says Scoppa. "It's a great song, and she's living the lifestyle to sell it."

(The Fabricator is satire. Don't believe everything you read.)