Two topics traditionally to be avoided in conversation.
Politics.
Religion.
There's a new topic in town.
Ladies and gentlemen, country music.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Miranda Lambert has reached new heights as a female country performer: The fiery singer is the most decorated female artist in the history of the Country Music Association Awards.
Lambert's four wins Wednesday night give the 30-year-old a total of 11 CMA trophies throughout her career, putting her ahead of any other female act. Lambert's fifth consecutive win for female vocalist of the year Wednesday beat a record set by herself, Reba McEntire and Martina McBride.
Lambert also took home album of the year for "Platinum," single of the year for "Automatic" and music event of the year for "We Were Us" with Keith Urban.
"It's really unbelievable," she said backstage. "I felt like this whole night was about really celebrating music."
Lambert lost the night's top award to Luke Bryan, giving the 38-year-old his first CMA. The win for entertainer of the year marked a shift in the genre, which has shunned the party-boy singer who is the leader the contemporary pack of bro-country performers, which includes acts like Florida Georgia Line.
Bryan beat out George Strait, Blake Shelton and Urban for entertainer of the year, and his successful year included the top-selling album "Crash My Party," a string of hit songs and a top-grossing tour.
Bryan also was named last year's entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. He was snubbed when the Grammy Awards revealed their nominees last year, but his CMA win could help him earn some love from the Recording Academy when they announce their nominations next month.
Lambert, too, could be bringing home some Grammy gold since she was the reigning queen of Wednesday's awards show. She stole the night with fashion choices that were winners, too, and performances. She sang twice onstage, including a country-tinged version of "All About That Bass" with breakthrough singer Meghan Trainor, where Shelton looked up and bopped his head.
Shelton, like his wife, made CMA history: He tied Strait and Vince Gill for five wins for male vocalist of the year. "For me and my family, this may be the biggest night of our lives as far as music goes," Shelton said backstage.
"I told my wife when we were walking off the stage, I go, 'Miranda, I'm sorry, you only won four CMAs tonight. I mean, I'm really sorry," he said as reporters laughed.
The theme of the CMAs seemed to be paired performances: Shelton sang with Ashley Monroe; the Doobie Brothers performed with Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott, Jennifer Nettles and Hunter Hayes; Strait and Eric Church performed "Cowboys Like Us"; and pop diva Ariana Grande sported a mini top and skirt as she sang the hit "Bang Bang" alongside Little Big Town, who won vocal group of the year.
But the night's best collaboration was Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. The white-hot duo, hosting the CMAs for a seventh time, earned laugh after laugh for jokes that ranged from Ebola to Taylor Swift to Underwood's baby bump.
Swift's switch to pop from country was referred to as "Postpartum Taylor Swift Disorder," or PPTSD.
Kacey Musgraves, who won two Grammy Awards earlier this year, won song of the year for "Follow Your Arrow," which she co-wrote with Brandy Clark, who is openly gay and was among the contenders for new artist of the year. "Follow Your Arrow" features the lyrics, "So make lots of noise, kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls, if that's something you're into."
"For a song that I was told could never, and would never, be a single, it just blows my mind," Musgraves said. "It's just an anthem for all kinds of people so I could not be more proud."
Musgraves switched gears backstage, closing with a story about a malfunction before her performance Wednesday night.
"Just saw y'all now, my panties totally came off," she said as reporters laughed. "They were the stick-on kind. Look at this dress, there's not much to work with."
I didn't watch the awards show last night, primarily because my personal enjoyment of and/or interest in those kinds of things waned a long time ago.
Sparing you the yada yada, I'll just offer that somewhere along the line they all began to come off to me like little more than very long infomercials for product coated in a thin candy shell of self congratulations.
And did I mention that they were very long?
I did, though, find some amusement and not just a little interest in watching some of the back and forth on social media while the show was in progress.
And not your usual fan based blather about what hottie totties the boys from Florida Georgia Line are or how cool Miranda Lambert looks since she lost weight.
Every four to seven minutes or, put another way, each time she headed back up to the stage to accept another award.
I noticed, and for the first time, actually, a noticeable amount of disdain for the whole thing from some of Nashville's more accomplished talents.
To name a couple, songwriter/singer Mary Ann Kennedy who, with partner Pam Rose, has had a very successful career writing hits for country stars through the years, not to mention some recording and performing success of her own.
And Angela Kaset, one of those folks often referred to as "a songwriter's songwriter" which, truth be told, is just a kind of five dollar term for "she's really good at what she does"; again, a lady whose songwriting resume boasts some very impressive credentials.
(BTW: both of these ladies posted either on Twitter or Facebook and since I assume they knew their posts were "public", I'm using their names without having rung them up to say "hey, ladies, can I use your names?")
Neither of these talents were what you'd call "knocked out" by what they were hearing/seeing.
One post, in fact, went so far as to opine "I don't know what you call this...but it ain't country music."
Okay.
Let's save ourselves some time here.
Any discussion of the current state of country music that includes anything other than rabid, drooling worship of the current state of country music is, at best, a slippery slope and, at worst, a waste of time.
Because (and get ready for a fun burst of comic irony here), the feelings that folks have about that current state have, for my pesos, been summed up best by the aforementioned former country, now pop, chanteuse Taylor Swift in her latest number one pop hit.
And to paraphrase the postpartum pop princesses' lyrical observation:
"...Purists gonna hate/hate/hate/hate/hate...
.....While the kids just think it's great/great/great/great/great....
.....So whichever side you take/take/take/take/take....
.....try to understand that the name of the game is fame and fortune here......."
And if something in the way of actually memorable, non disposable music happens to get created along the way, it's kind of a "penicillin was discovered by accident" sort of thing.
Personally, my age, tastes, experiences and proclivities put me squarely on the side of Team Kennedy/Kaset.
But intellectually, and professionally, I totally understand what's going on here.
That said, I can't help but feel a little nostalgic, even a little petty.
Miranda Lambert seems like a nice kid.
But 11 CMA Awards (so far?).
It's kind of the same way I feel about Hillary Clinton.
Okay. She's got her good points
But the best of the best?
Hmmm.
And while I'm willing to concede that every generation brings its own attitudes to bear on the culture and I'm not going to rant poetic on the inclusion of Ariana Grande and the Doobs, et al, on what is still promoted as a "country music" program, one thought does poke me a little on this day after.
I honestly never thought I would get the feeling that Loretta Lynn was out of place on a country music program.
Mary Ann...Angela....I hear ya, sistahs.
Best we try to shake it off.
Shake it off.
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