Put a Record On: Big Lips, Big T*ts, Big Hits

Lauren Rearick

Welcome back to Don’t Rock the Inbox. Here’s this week’s music recommendation post and playlist, which are for paying subscribers only. If you’re interested in paid content but not able to afford it, shoot us an email.

The Good

"Never Really Mine," Kaitlin Butts: What if I told you one of the most country-ass weepers of the year opens with the lyric "big lips, big tits"? In Kaitlin Butts' hands, it's true. Written with other newsletter favs Maggie Antone and Lola Kirke, it's a classic wandering eye ballad with a twist because, well, its Kaitlin Butts: and lord, what a vocal performance! - MM

Don't Let It Die, Vol. 1, The Deslondes: The Deslondes make music that sounds good, and this collection of off-the-beaten-track covers is no exception. Shelby Lynne? Swamp Dogg? Yes and yes. The arrangements are rich and eclectic and unforced, just the way we like 'em. — NW

"Think As You Drunk," Riley Green: I liked this song from the first couple of notes, which is how the best honkytonk numbers tend to go. This is fun as hell - love the little drop before the chorus, love the humor, love the little sing-talk part along the winding keys. (And, once again, boy did Midland walk so everyone else could run). - MM

'An Old Cowhand,' Sonny Rollins, and Jazz and Country Music's Overlapping History

Who's a real cowboy? The question has been central to American culture (popular and otherwise) for almost as long as it's existed, filtered through novels and songs and (of course) endless Westerns, where myths around the tough, rugged and macho American West were consolidated by posh

Put A Record On: The 2026 Summer Playlist (Spoiler, It's Disco)

The summer playlist is a pretty beloved (by me, at least) tradition here at DRTI — paying subscribers have access to all the previous ones here — and as we've discussed quite thoroughly, the country trend of this summer seems to sync up with our pre-existing interest in disco country

When Will Women in Country Music Get to be Mediocre?

Lainey Wilson works her ass off. This ability to keep going, at first against all odds and now to keep up with the ravenous demands of her career, is the centerpiece of a new documentary about her life, Keepin’ Country Cool, which debuted last month on Netflix. Working hard is