Would you like to hear a recording of the dude from Band of Horses and the dude from Grandaddy covering Townes Van Zandt's “Don’t You Take It Too Bad"? If you are me, the answer is yes, but, fortunately for you, you are not me, so you are going to have to make that decision on your own. I can't TELL you what to do.

The twelfth highest-grossing film in America this past week was Country Strong. In it, Goop plays Kelly Canter, a boozed-out, decrepit country star just looking for another chance. Tim McGraw tackles the role of James Canter, the long-suffering cardigan that also happens to be her husband, manager and occasional tormentor. Leighton Meester is Chiles Stanton, a sweet young thing making the leap from pageants to the music biz. Garrett Hedlund is Beau Hutton, a dreamy rehab janitor who lives to play the honky-tonks. It's the second film from Shana Feste—not a stage name—and Tobey Maguire snagged a production credit.

I saw it recently, on the smallest, dingiest screen at [...]