Country vs. Wrestlemania!

Jimmy Carter in his homebase Nashville

Had to take a pass on the ACMs this year. I like them ... I like Vegas. Need more to go to the NAB show in two weeks ... Two trips to Vegas within three weeks is too much for my budget and brain.

Tickets were still available for the George Strait salute, which seems odd. But in this economy ... Southwest is hardly cheap to fly anymore, either.

Some things are better on TV anyway. "60 Minutes." has a Morley Safer Dolly interview that I know will be good. Then the ACMs.

Is it me or did there seem to be fewer promo shots for the show on CBS? It should do well in the ratings despite going up against Wrestlemania pay-per-view and "Celebrity Apprentice." "Desperate Housewives" is some kind of rerun and the NASCAR race from Texas should be over by even "60 Minutes" time.

Will Carrie win the Entertainer of the Year. Fan voted. VERY possible. Taylor may beat Carrie in female vocals -- too close to call -- Miranda might split the vote. Keith win at Male vocals? His CD should debut #1 pop and country this week.

The ACMs are a little hard to predict now. It used to be more of a rebel show ... not so much anymore. Trace and the West Point Glee club sure looks good on paper. Ditto Reba ... as long as she doesn't get too many corny jokes from her writers. (Will Ms. Rimes be spared?)

The Miley movie will be out in a few days. Miley did a pre-tape for "Idol" this week. Kellie Pickler on Wednesday the 8th. Kellie has a great shot this year and her music must get played on the big-city Country stations.

Kellie played Wilmington this week and got good reviews. Lots of outdoor shows starting now and hopefully the weather will calm down --14 inches of rain at Dothan, Alabama in the last 10 days. Almost 6 inches in Atlanta. Both cities have a lot of outdoor events neat few months.

Will Taylor Swift do a movie in 2010? I bet she does.

Ted Nugent has a CMT show coming in August ... Kenny Chesney is in a new Corona commercial in the ACM show Sunday. Find the Chesney Playboy interview unedited.

It's the best interview of him ever. ( 60 Minutes 2nd)

Elvis drummer DJ Fontana will finally go into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend in Cleveland!

Wild weather in Nashville this week ... all over the South in general. Heard good wall-to-wall radio coverage on a CC station Thursday. Good for them; service broadcasting is so critical!

The ratings I read here on AllAccess are interesting lately. Anyone notice Country music in Nashville? If there was ONE station, it would be very dominant ... but with four ... what is it now, 5th, 6th, 7th, etc... Same in lots of places. Not sure what it means, but interesting.

Some could say that the music or the choices radio stations make of what they play is the reason for the drops. The County stations, in some cases, are half-assed pop stations. Jukeboxes with voice tracking. Can't imagine why people are not fighting to listen.