Due to a death in the family, Notes From Nashville will be posted this Sunday.

You know, I have a lot of thoughts, most of which do not pertain to this blog for they are not country music related. However I must go out of line to say this. What happened to politics in America? Does anyone remember from history class how every member of Congress was always present? How the government was built by the people FOR the people.

And what ever happened to free speech? Every entertainer is afraid of being "Dixie Chicked". No country star has endorsed a candidate in the '08 election, although I'm sure that's coming, and very few are even brave enough to endorse a cause. Kudos to Keith Urban for addressing global warming. Every artist can support the troops (very important mind you), but not every artist will stand for something controversial. And kudos to Willie for Farm Aid. Still going strong.

Sure, they want to make a difference. But Tim and Sammy looking for gubernatorial positions isn't the ticket right now. The country is partisan and everyone is afraid to speak their part. I just spoke part of mine and I'll leave it at that. If you disagree, fantastic! That's what makes this country tick.

I heard today that the West is on fire. Over 1,000 fires burning. Hell on Earth, but not at the hands of the terrorists. We need some of that fire to hit album sales. Down again this week. I could go on and on and on but let's pray that the water is coming October 23rd if not September 25th.

Can't wait for CMA ballots to be announced. Anyway...

What happened to the times of good country music, no, great country music?! I've been in a mood for "Amarillo By Morning", "Crazy", "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain", "Jolene", and "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma".. they sure don't make country songs like they used to. Sure, we have had some standouts and some phenomenal albums this year (or album), but something is missing. Where have the Bobby Braddock's gone? John Rich is good, but he's not great.

Maybe life is about looking for ticks and getting drunk. My life isn't quite that easy though. And just because I can rhyme doesn't mean I'm a songwriter. First graders can see Spot run, mind you..

This week has had some promising news -- and some not so promising news. I'm an optimistic kinda guy so we'll start with the promising news.

You know, I always knew that country music was the heart of America, and once again the artists are showing it. Did you get to see Garth and Trisha on Live Earth? (Youtube has it). That was a big event for the people of this planet. Jo Dee's joined up with the special Olympics tonight in Nashville and Trace Adkins is the spokesperson for raising awareness about food allergies. And now I hear Big & Rich are receiving the President's Award for Excellence in the Arts next week for their single "8th of November". Good for them. It's been a good week for Big & Rich.

Now let's get to the bad.. no bleak.. news of the week. The RIAA issued its semi-year figures and things just don't look good for the music industry. Record sales are off almost 15% from last year, and country music is down almost 30%. That's not good y'all. I'm not all too concerned with digital sales.. the truth is digital sales won't provide the income like albums will. And let's set this straight. Illegal downloading didn't kill the music industry. Corporations killed the industry with all their subsidizing and rules and regulations.

Sony BMG has filed a lawsuit against two of the companies involved with the label's failed effort to place DRM (copyright protection) on its music. Sony says it cost them millions. Let me tell you something: if I buy a cd, that music is mine to do as I please with it. No wonder the attempt was ill-fated.

But here's the silver lining: Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, and Reba McEntire are all issuing highly anticipated albums this fall. That's always good news.

Shania's "Starlight" perfume will bring the singer back to the States in September. We miss you Shania. And we need your big numbers. Hopefully the lovely lady is working on her album right at this very moment.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is breaking all the records this week. $12 million in one night; $45 million in one day. A Wednesday, mind you. The movie is set to break the highest debut record set by Captain Jack Sparrow and the gang earlier this year.

And J.K. Rowlings 7th installment in the series will be a monster hit. Already 12 million books pre-ordered through Barnes and Noble's alone.

I have an idea for the fledgling industry. Let's have Rowling write 10 songs and have Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Jack Sparrow, and Orlando Bloom sing the songs. That should save the industry. Wizards and pirates: can't beat that!

Hey hey hey! Welcome to "Notes From Nashville". My name is Derrick and well, here's what you need to know:

I am the senior editor here at Country On-Demand. You'll be seeing a lot of me: I'm in charge of the news podcasts, the Top 12 countdown, and I assist in posting news. I'm also an assistant webmaster. And hey! I have my own blog!!

In this blog, I'm going to provide my thoughts about this and that, these and those, in the world of country music. That's basically it. I would love to give you a schedule, but I don't know that I will have one. I will, however, post a blog every Thursday giving my thoughts about the week's happenings. But come back often! I may post more than once a week!

I also want to encourage you to send me your comments. You can do that by emailing me. My email is derrick@countryondemand.com. I'll post and respond to your comments in my blog. You can also ask me any questions you may have. Those will be posted in the "Questions & Answers" section of the site. Send your questions to questions@countryondemand.com.

Well I think that does it. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy making it!