Shelby Lynne has signed on to play Johnny Cash's mother Carrie in the "nontraditional biopic" currently filming called Walk the Line. She joins Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny, Reese Witherspoon as June and Robert Patrick as Ray Cash. Director James Mangold's next film will be a remake of the classic Glenn Ford western 3.10 To Yuma which featured the song of the same name by Frankie Laine.

Neko Case is releasing not one but two new albums between now and early next year. She opened for Nick Cave here on his last tour and was brilliant.

Lyle Lovett's Country Roots

Lyle Lovett is one of the most idiosyncratic country music stars in the last 20 years, but some of his otherwise country-hating fans bristle when Lovett is dropped into the same category as Nashville's stars du jour.

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Some Lovett fans - possibly the same ones who shiver at the thought of having to wander into the country section in music stores - like to consider Lovett above classification. Good luck with that. On his last album, he included a love song about a truck and drops names like Robert Earl Keen. And Lyle's still nursing a leg that was shattered two years ago when he rescued an uncle who was bucked off a bull.

So, apologies to David Allan Coe, but if that ain't country, you can kiss my ...