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Apart from commenting that James' ode to a kinky groupie provides an unusually apt framework for 'grassy reinterpretation-modified by Hornrsby's piano, of course-words fail me to express just how cool, funny and weird this collaboration is. Should I ever get backstage for another Skaggs concert, I'd better remember to ask him about this! 

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In his bluer hours, does BILLY RAY CYRUS ever wish that he could earn another multi-platinum album as his daughter MILEY, albiet in the guise of Hannah Montanna, has in recent months? Maybe having a supporting role on his daughter's Disney Chanel show isn't quite enough sometimes for the man best rememebered for the combination of his mullet, swayng backside and song about his achey-breaky pulmonary organ. 

Conversely, might Miley be a wee bit jealous of her dad's forthcoming stint on Dancing With The Stars?  

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On the subject of Christian teens upon whom the favor of Disney has smiled, per La Miley, what has become of JUMP 5? Could their career momentum have become stymied when they technically became Jump 4 ? Or have they all gone on to lives free of choreography and harmony singing?  

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Since MICHAEL W. SMITH has proven his mettle as a movie actor, wouldn't it be a natural for some director to cast him as a brother to a character portrayed by George Clooney? You can see the resemblence, too right? And think of the on-set conversations the two guys could have about George W. Bush!

And have you ever wondered about just how much Clooney and his sister-in-law, DEBBIE BOONE hang out together? OK, I just did.

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Does anyone out there miss MARK LOWRY doing his best to be cCm's answer to "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC? 

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Have any of you ever heard THE MELODIANS' Psalms 137-based reggae oldie, "Rivers Of Babylon," later remade by West Indian/German popsters BONEY M and lately SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR , and mistook the line about remembering Zion to be a line about remembering baseball great CY YOUNG? 

Apart from me, that is, which was before I had much Bible knowledge. And FYI, Boney M's was the first version I heard. 

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Have you ever bought a board game, and you didn't know anyone who'd play it wth you?  Such is the case with Hype, the earlier '80s game developed by the late STEVE FAIRNIE, who was a gadabout in England's Christian (market) music scene through such acts as Fish Co. and, wife Bev Sage, The Technos. Admittedly, I bought the game at least as much for the Technos' 12-inch single that came with it as to experience Fairnie's snarky vision of life in the U.K. music business. And the inclusion of ska and rockabilly as two of musical choices players can make certainly make it a product of its time (1983, to be exact).

If you have a copy of the game, how about playing a round postally or by e- for postal mail, like some folks do with chess? 
And even if I've said it before in this space, a vault-plumbing box set of Fairnie's music would be a revelatory treat. If someone could get it to a pressing plant.

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It would be rather silly or pathetic now maybe, but back at their platinum sales career apex, wouldn't it have been killer were there a STRYPER comic book? Or, better still, a Saturday morning cartoon show? Come on, they dressed like androgynous bees on a leather bender, making them perfect for kiddie media in the same decade that brought Smurfs and Gem And The Holograms.

The fear, of course, would have been that the God-content to their artistry would have been washed away like their Aqua-Net after a concert. Kind of like Veggie Tales on general market TV now. 

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With European-American blondes such as MARTHA MUNIZZI, AMY RUSHES, VICKIE YOHE and MARY ALESSI making strides there, you know what the  world of soul gospel music needs? Apart from a doctrinal-theological check-up from the neck up, that is? There aren't many of the preachers these ladies assoiciate themselves with whom I'd trust regarding spiritual matters any farther than I could throw them. 

Redheads! Maybe CRYSTAL LEWIS could go back to her original hair color (if that's what it was...) and record a comeback album of duets with folks such as DARYL COLEY, KIRK FRANKLIN (again,kind of), DONNIE McCLURKIN, BISHOP PAUL S. MORTON et al  and maybe other henna-tressed divas with the appropriate power in their pipes would follow suit into the primarily African-American church market.

Either way, Lewis is long overdue for another hit, yes?

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Is the ERIC DAWKINS on a reality TV show as a consultant and judge finding a new member of THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS the same Eric Dawkins who, with his brother Anson, were '90s gospel R&B duo DAWKINS & DAWKINS?

If so, I could take that in any number of directions, but I'll let a non-committal "Interesting..." suffice for now. 

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Staying on the subject of TV, is it me, or has saintly supermodel KIM ALEXIS been keeping a lower than low profile since her, ahem, attempt to sing on a certain, thankfully short-lived VH1 competition? 

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Were there any young male gospel R&B vocal groups making bubblegummy soul records similar to those of THE JACKSON FIVE in the early '70s? If so, somebody hip me, as I'd sure like to hear them. 

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Whatever has become of Sparrow Records' great teen hope from not that many years back,  JADYN MARIA? Saw her on NewSong's Winter Jam tour, bugged a label rep' for a sampler of her then-to-be-forthcoming album, liked that, and then... 

She sung a jingle for a shampoo company, which I wouldn't have known to be her singing had I not been looking at the corner of the TV scren at the right time.Then the label publicist's story was that she was being groomed for a Chrstian/general market croissover and working with production team The Matrix.

Websearching just now, it looks like she was on an amateur singing contest called The One on ABC last year and didn't win. But is she still Christian? Does she still want to sing cCm? If you know, let me know, eh? 
 
Jamie Lee Rake