Growing up in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Dan Colehour spent time playing in country, rock and even polka bands, so it’s perhaps no surprise that labeling his music is a bit of a challenge. And while most retailers have filed his debut album, “Straight to the Highway” (Carnival Records) in the darker corners of the country aisle, it’s difficult not to entertain the obvious comparison to the young, pre-Nebraska Bruce Springsteen. Look no further than the new music video for the album’s opening track, “Quarry Town,” where a roughened Colehour walks dusty country roads, is backlit by American flags, and of course, pursues the all-American love affair with the rusted-out pickup truck:

Although Colehour’s album debuted in 2004, his relative commercial disappearance cannot be reasonably attributed to a lack of critical acclaim. “Straight to the Highway” was written entirely by the artist, and was both produced and engineered by Mike McCarthy of Patti Griffin and Spoon fame. Also contributing to the ten-track album’s raw and edgy production is David Grissom, known for his work with the Dixie Chicks and John Mellencamp. Much of the Dixie Chicks’ “Taking the Long Way” and Mellencamp’s recent “Our Country” and “Life, Death, Love & Freedom” can be heard here, with Colehour’s sparse lyricism tackling the darker corners of Midwestern life head on. In “Quarry Town,” Colehour channels Springsteen’s “Youngstown” and “Born in the U.S.A.”:

In the name of God and country

We buried our friends in the ground

We never knew any better

In our quarry town

Although Colehour doesn’t achieve melodies as immediately catching as Springsteen (can you really blame him?), “Straight to the Highway” does not disappoint fans of the country rock genre with the undeniable promise of its production team. The tracks “Father’s Son” and “The Likes of Us” are prayers delivered to the Midwest at seventy miles an hour out a rolled-down window, and the stripped-down acoustics of “My America” meander like the Mississippi as the narrator rediscovers a sense of belonging in the land.

Colehour’s voice itself is a perfect fit with the album’s changing moods - raw and self-assured at its peaks, wounded with yearning in its valleys. The strength of his range is particularly apparent in “This Time,” a narrative on feeling trapped in small town America and, yes, the escape of the highway:

Just lie and listen to that engine burnin’

Turnin’ those four wheels just as fast as they can go

And roll down the window and you might just feel the morning

Blowing in from someplace that the likes of us will never know

Do yourself a favor and check out Dan Colehour’s “Straight to the Highway.” The album may not prove to be the needed commercial break he’s obviously deserving of, but if these ten tracks are any indication, this guy’s born to run.

Rating: 5/5

Now that Senator Hillary Clinton has conceded the Democratic Presidential Primary and endorsed Senator Barack Obama, it seems appropriate to take a moment to look back. Dubbed the “Long, Flat, Seemingly Endless Bataan Death March To The White House” by the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, the primary race was the longest in recent memory, spanning nearly six months and more than 50 contests. Slate.com has put together an entertaining 8 minute review of the entire season. Watch and enjoy:

In case any of you political junkies missed it last month, the following is my pick for Most Hilarious/Tragic Political Video of 2008 So Far. Watch below as Chris Matthews eviscerates right wing radio host Kevin James (”The problem with you, Kevin, is that you don’t know what you’re talking about”). Cases such as this transcend political affiliation. Bottom line: do your research, especially if going on live TV.

“Appeasement!”

Enjoy…

Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the eve of winning the California primary. Kennedy was seen by many to be on his way to the White House, where he hoped to advance an agenda more ambitious and progressive than that of his older brother, John.

For a gorgeously directed film dissecting some of the characters at the Ambassador Hotel that fateful day in 1968, check out “Bobby,” Emilio Estevez’s Golden Globe-nominated drama:

Highlights from Detroit’s 2008 Stanley Cup Championship series with Pittsburgh, provided by NHL.com:

On the heels of Sen. Barack Obama’s victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton, ABC News offers a look back at the historic battle for the Democratic nomination: