I'm in catch-up mode, listening to acclaimed albums from earlier in the year that slipped through the cracks in preparation for my Pazz & Jop ballot in December. Two albums I'm especially concentrating on at the moment are Ashley Monroe's Like a Rose and Kacey Musgraves' Same Trailer Different Park. Two young, promising country artists, and I'm quite enjoying both records. Maybe I'll pick something from Musgraves next week, but for now I'm going with Monroe's sad, sweet "Used." (I was tempted to go with the very good "You Ain't Dolly [And You Ain't Porter]" but changed my mind at the last minute. If John Prine decides to do another In Spite of Ourselves-style duet album, he needs to cover that sucker.)
