COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

TAYLOR SWIFT is in Teen Vogue and tells them she suffers from "girl-next-door-itis"-the social disease that keeps nice girls from finding love. "I'm the girl who ... the hot guy is friends with and gets all his relationship advice from but never considers dating." She also told the magazine "I thought I'd have so many more friends, but I feel like I'm less popular than I've ever been. It makes me value the people I can trust even more."

CRAIG MORGAN wants to act. He thinks it "would be fun," saying, "I see guys like Jackie Chan and Chris Rock and some of the stuff that they do and think, 'God, I'd love to hang out with those guys and make a movie with them!'" He is studying the art in a roundabout way. "I have kids that are taking acting lessons, so rather than pay for me to do it, too, and not be cool, I let them go. Then they come back and tell me everything they've learned." Of course, he can also count making videos as acting and he just shot the video for his latest "God Must Really Love Me" at The Drake Hotel in downtown Nashville on Monday.

MERLE HAGGARD isn't shy and he says he's not really fond of the modern country sound. He told the "Wyoming Tribune Eagle" technology has made it possible for anyone to make a record, and, "you don't really know who can sing or can't until you see them in person, then you're like, 'Oh my God, what happened?'" He says it's "kind of sad in some ways," because, "it's so perfect, and there are no surprises." The real problem according to The Hag is that this obscures talent, and that, "you have to get past the belly buttons and the videos and somewhere in there there's some kind of music." He does like Carrie Underwood but says he doesn't find anything special in her material. Really, not even "Just a Dream?" I wonder what he thinks of Miranda Lambert's music. She is such a die hard fan of his that one of her biggest compliments came from a reviewer who called her "Merle Haggard with lip gloss." I'd also like to know what he thinks of Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. Both are such huge triple threats - singers, songwriters and guitar players. Keith's last album "Love Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing" was very much like he is in concert with his guitar jams just continuing on, and of course Brad's last album was the phenomenal "Play." Ahhh, the questions I'd like to ask.