Showing posts with label Blake Shelton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blake Shelton. Show all posts
Oct 3, 2024
Sep 25, 2024
Sep 11, 2024
Every #1 Country Song of the 2000s: 2008
2008
February 2: "Letter to Me" by Brad Paisley
As frustratingly inconsistent as Brad can be -- as seen by my previous reviews -- he is nearly untouchable when he's at his best. And this song is definitely up there. The concept of being able to write a letter to your past self is fascinating on its own merits, especially for someone like me who struggled in their teenage years. But what goes in said letter is where this shines. Individual lines evoke sadness ("go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can"), subversion ("these are nowhere near the best years of your lives"), introspection ("Pain like that is fast and it's rare"), and humor ("When you get a date with Bridget, make sure the tank is full / On second thought, forget it, that one turns out kinda cool"), and it's all wrapped up by a gentle, relaxing, acoustic-driven read. Literally every damn thing works on this song, and its central message of "life may not be perfect, but it'll still get better" is universally relatable. I still tear up a little every time I hear this. A+
March 1: "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)"
This is a legitimately funny spin on the "overprotective dad" trope. This guy doesn't remember much from high school except threats from an equally suspicious father figure, who'll be "up all night still cleaning this gun." And now the narrator is in those same shoes, knowing his daughter is going to be with some horny young boy who might take things too far. At no point does it feel like there's any danger of the narrator going postal; after all, he goes out of his way to say nobody will actually get hurt. And as someone who's deathly afraid of guns, the fact that I laughed at the punch line is proof that he got his point across without sounding angry. I think Rodney's rough-edged delivery with a hint of a chuckle to it helps the message go down; it's also way stronger melodically than is the norm for Casey Beathard (who, for the record, does have a knack for good father-centric songs). Why has this guy's discography aged so well? A-
March 15: "All-American Girl" by Carrie Underwood
March 29: "Small Town Southern Man" by Alan Jackson
Just like the previous song, this one succeeds by being a straight-ahead, no frills story about an everyday American life. Only this time, it's about the narrator's father. It's almost like an expansion of "Home" from much earlier in his career, telling of a hard-working father (his own, obviously) who settled into the "natural way of life, if you're lucky." I also like the actual detail of how Alan was the fifth child after four daughters, raised in a house the father himself built. "He said his greatest contribution is the ones you leave behind" is also a winner of a line. You know the father's going to get old and die, but both the father's and narrator's observations of his high spirits even in his twilight years keep the story moving along. The fact that AJ's voice is a little softer and weaker by this point only emphasizes that world-weariness he sings about, and the production smartly stays out of the way. This song emanates humility and selflessness, two qualities that should appeal to all parents and children alike. A
April 12: "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins
And speaking of positive portrayals of fathers... This one finds the daughter being embarrassed by her dad when being dropped off at school, being visited by him in her apartment in adulthood, and then having an observation on childhood from a plumber in the third. The setup sounds smooth and natural, each time reflecting on the ups and downs of parent-child relationships. As macho as Trace was in this timespan (again, "I Got My Game On"), it was refreshing to see him drop the posturing and go for a calm, introspective bent again. And that line from the plumber when he's being bothered by the children -- "I've got two babies of my own; one's 36, one's 23" -- is a hell of a payoff. No matter how old you are, you're always somebody's "baby." I'm glad his stint on The Celebrity Apprentice gave a signal boost to one of his best songs. A+
May 3: "I Saw God Today" by George Strait
Sometimes it's the small things in life that remind believers of the existence of God. Unlike Lee Ann Womack's awkward "There Is a God" a year later, this one avoids implying that only believers can get cancer cured, or that science goes against God's will or something. The narrative here actually has cohesion, as the guy is taking a break while accompanying his heavily pregnant wife -- only to come back and witness the birth as another example of the Big Man's existence. If it's a predicable payoff, it's one that King George sells with a slightly poppier yet still charismatic read. I may be an atheist, but I believe he saw something that day just because he's so convincing at telling me. A-
May 17: "Just Got Started Lovin' You" by James Otto
How did this guy only have one hit? With a soulful delivery and great groove -- gotta love that Wurlitzer electric piano -- this is one of the coolest sounding songs to have hit the top during this stretch. Everything about it is just so chill yet sensual, never feeling gross or lazy. It hits that "just right" groove that says "sex" without rubbing it in your face. "I'm thankful for the weekend, but two days in Heaven just ain't gonna do" says a lot about how he isn't in it for just a one-night stand. This is someone he loves. Maybe it's not quite as classy or as set on the far future as "I'd Love to Lay You Down," but the fact that I'm able to invoke that song at all is proof that he's doing something right. I'm at a total loss as to why he, of all acts, had to be a one-hit wonder -- because he had the goods to go a lot longer. A
May 31: "I'm Still a Guy" by Brad Paisley
I think this song is one of the reasons I came out as non-binary. I've always had a disdain for conventional gender roles, and I'm willing to poke fun and subvert the hell out of them. But just like other forms of comedy, you need to actually remember to write a joke. And this one starts out as a bunch of played-out "battle of the sexes" lines that were even more stale now than they were back at "I'm Gonna Miss Her." Just like with "Online," I don't actually think Brad is the kind of guy who would un-ironically use the word "sissy" or punch someone for hitting on his wife. And while this could just be a rewrite of Alan Jackson's "Work in Progress," it's the last verse that really rubs me the wrong way. You know, the verse where he calls out men who accept more conventionally feminine roles. Again, I don't think Brad is the kind of person who would have called an effeminate man or a transgender person a slur (even in 2008, when trans awareness wasn't a fraction of what it is now), but just the fact that he thought it was okay to write a line about "men linin' up to get neutered" at all is more than a little bit icky to me. C-
June 21: "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood
I've seen this derided as "Before He Cheats Part II" but I'm not seeing it. If anything, it's Alan Jackson's "I Don't Even Know Your Name" only with the sexes reversed and a more Shania Twain-styled performance. She gets so drunk that she ends up marrying a guy in Vegas without even bothering to find out that much about him. It's kind of gaudy and over-the-top, but damn it, it's fun enough for me not to care. Plus, I like how "I don't even know his last name" becomes "I don't even know my last name" on the final chorus, which is a bit more of a payoff than this kind of song usually gets. Just from "Before He Cheats" to here, you can tell she's gotten a bit better at gruffness, and it works in this song's favor. Songs like this have done wonders to make her feel a lot less like a Stepford wife in my book. B+
June 28: "Better as a Memory" by Kenny Chesney
This song is one mixed metaphor away from greatness. I like the "I can't settle down" narrative here, and unlike most, I don't feel that Kenny overplayed it. And besides, "my only friends are pirates" is a good twist on his usual beach bum formula. This guy knows his restlessness and self-destructive nature are what's keeping him out of the loop, and he expresses it through a mix of colorful ("I move on like a sinner's prayer") and direct ("I don't want to be that mistake"). It never feels like it's pretentiously propping up the vague, superficial, or exceedingly obvious as if they were deep meaningful truths, unlike "Troubadour" or Rodney Crowell's "The Obscenity Prayer." The vibe is low-key, allowing the mixed emotions to shine. Unfortunately, one line trips up this whole song: the one that begins with "goodbyes are like a roulette wheel" and ends with "left holding a losing hand." That's the most blatant mixed metaphor I've seen in a song since Kathy Mattea's "Clown in Your Rodeo." How did a co-writer who's a music critic never catch that? Oh well, it's just one line; everything else here is great. A-
July 12: "Back When I Knew It All"
by Montgomery Gentry
I never got a sense of machismo from most of MG's songs. It's probably because they take time to reflect and poke fun at themselves, as is the case here. "I'm learning so much more than back when I knew it all" is humorous yet introspective, summarizing this look backward at their past cockiness and current maturity. I also love how Eddie and Troy trade off on the verses, making it sound like two buddies bonding over a conversation. Sure, the guitar riff sounds a little close to "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds, but that's a good riff worth drawing inspiration from. I liked this song so much that I once wrote an answer song called "I Never Knew It All." So yeah, I get where these guys are coming from, and I'm here to laugh and think along with them. A
July 19: "Home" by Blake Shelton
I admit, I'm not much of a Michael Bublé fan; this is probably the only song of his I ever liked. His version actually cracked the country charts in his native Canada, so it made sense to serve up a cover. This was a weird transitional phase for Blake, shedding the hard country of his early years but not yet shifting into the more formulaic releases of the 2010s. He doesn't reinvent the wheel here, but his warm and slightly gritty voice is a perfect match to this aching lyric about being a traveling musician who misses his lover. It's a theme that fits perfectly into country, and while the arrangement isn't exactly traditional, it's still very charismatic and inviting while also having that yearning sensation that the lyrics call for. Let's just forget the ham-fisted Christmas rewrite existed and take in the goodness of this song, whether in its original or Blake's highly likable cover. A
August 2: "Good Time" by Alan Jackson
August 16: "All I Want to Do" by Sugarland
Whether or not you like this song may have a lot to do-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh with how much you're willing to put up with Jennifer's extended melisma. My mom hated when Aaron Tippin did that on "My Blue Angel," but she never had a problem with it here. And I don't mind it, either. It's not trying to be anything more than a lighthearted look at just relaxing after household chores and enjoying the company of your partner. Does that sound fluffy? Yeah, but Jennifer's vocal is on point, and I like the production -- mostly just clicking drum sticks and a guitar figure with a lot of suspended chords. For being a low-stakes ear-worm, it's got a bit more texture than you might think, and is all the better for it. B+
August 23: "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift
I still think Taylor Swift's debut album is her best. It just had the charm of a talented teenager doing something she was passionate about, and showing a wisdom beyond her years. However, I still consider this song the only weak link on it. Her voice sounds even thinner than usual, with odd phrasing on the word "weakness," not to mention lines like "You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her get back to me" that are as clunky as they are grammatically incorrect. While the production is an interesting mix of country and post-grunge (and surprisingly, not a brick-walled mess unlike Nathan Chapman's more contemporary work), the lyrics and tone (especially how she sings the title) are probably the only time I can describe a country song as sounding "bratty." This was the only time on the album that I actually went "yeah, this is totally a teenager" (well, other than the "I'll tell mine you're gay" line in "Picture to Burn"), and while it may have appealed to the iCarly crowd, I don't think it held much merit beyond that. D
September 6: "You Look Good in My Shirt"
by Keith Urban
I'm still a bit bitter that Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing didn't have any #1 singles on it, because I find that stretch to be his strongest (including the stunningly kinetic "Once in a Lifetime," my personal favorite). But I'll accept this as a consolation prize. The image of a woman waking up in her boyfriend's shirt is a well-worn one (pun intended), but it's one worth repeating. And this song keeps it simple by leaving the verses short (why yes, Mark Nesler did write this), and hinting at how early in the relationship it even is for the two of them: "Maybe it's a little too early to know if this is gonna work / But all I know is you're sure lookin' good in my shirt." The song was originally recorded for his Golden Road album in 2002, but this version is superior by having a more charismatic, playful delivery and slightly tighter production. It's cute, charming, and never over-stays its welcome. Seriously, go buy a copy of Greatest Hits: 19 Kids off Amazon or search up the bootleg upload of this on YouTube, because that seems to be the only way to find this verison. A
September 13: "Do You Believe Me Now"
by Jimmy Wayne
Jimmy Wayne is a fascinating person -- a man who has lived through homelessness and a suicide attempt, and who had a lot of journal entries about the same play a role in his early music. But other than "Kerosene Kid," his life never seemed to come off on record. I get on the surface how he wants to play the "I hope my ex is miserable" narrative à la Chris Cagle's "Miss Me Baby," but to say he sounds more like Dan + Shay in fedoras would still be too nice. When he sings "I knew what I was talkin' about...he's the one that's holdin' you, baby; me, I'm missin' you way across town," you expect the line to end with "milady." It's like only he has the right to tell this woman what she can and can't do, because only he can be right in any situation. You can just hear the scumminess in his voice, and even see it in that stupid haircut. The bloated production doesn't help things either, and it gets almost ear-splitting with the wall of guitars on the chorus. If this had a line about how all humans are worthless except for the ones he wants to have sex with, I'd totally believe Onision wrote it. F
September 20: "Waitin' on a Woman" by Brad Paisley
This is yet another case where a sluggish melody drags down an otherwise great song. And it's a shame, because it's one of the only times I've seen "men vs. women" humor played with a sense of self-awareness since The Red Green Show ended. Even in an era where the term "dead mall" was already well-known, the image of a husband waiting for his wife to finish shopping at the mall is relatable. The fact that the old man is amused by his situation shows a degree of sympathy and tolerance that such a setup usually lacks. And it leads to the narrator realizing that he's been doing a lot of "waiting" on his woman, too -- again, without the tiniest bit of cynicism or degradation. I even like the punch line, where he imagines himself up in Heaven waiting for her, which manages to be funny, sweet, and a little sad all at the same time. Given how utterly condescending "Little Moments" was, it's refreshing to see Brad taking a warm and sympathetic tone on similar content. It just could have used a little more seasoning in the melody and production. A-
October 4: "Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
by Darius Rucker
Hootie going country seemed so bizarre, but you listen to "Let Her Cry" and tell me (outside the Michael Stipe name-drop) that's not a country song. This is a little less glossy and free from the "hunger dunger dang" singing, with Darius giving a very charismatic read. That hook is great, and while the rest of the lyrics don't quite measure up -- the shift from "heard you found a real good man and you married him" to "I wonder if sometimes I cross your mind" is particularly jarring -- but the relaxed production and vocals make them seem a lot less stock than they look on paper. While the subtext of this being the first #1 country hit by a Black artist since 1983 is admittedly more fascinating than the song itself, I think it's still an enjoyable enough song on its own merits. B
October 18: "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven"
by Kenny Chesney feat. the Wailers
I remember some critics back in the day savaging this song for the reggae production, and how mismatched it seemed to the lyric. But I don't see it at all. I haven't heard a song lean that hard into such an influence since, well, "Get into Reggae Cowboy," and the whole concept of relaxing and having fun because "nobody wanna go [to Heaven] now" practically screams "reggae" to me. The song also gets major points for its criticisms of religion. A holier-than-thou preacher tries to nag the narrator into redemption and swindle extra money out of him (instead of coming at him with love and compassion), only to get shot down by the narrator's savage retort. This is probably the sharpest anti-religion country song since "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex." Laid-back, funny, satirical, and distinctly produced all at once, this song finds Kenny laying a whole lot of new ground. A+
November 1: "She Never Cried in Front of Me" by Toby Keith
November 8: "Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood
This one gets full marks out of the gate for its concept alone. After the first half of the decade was swamped with cartoonishly pandering jingoism, we started getting songs about the soldiers themselves and the impact their lives have -- whether they return with PTSD ("I Just Came Back from a War") or don't return at all ("If I Don't Make It Back"). This one twists things even further, starting out sounding like it's about a bride headed to her wedding -- only to drop the revelation that the husband-to-be died in combat. I love the details of her putting a sixpence in her shoe, and the military salute feeling "like a bullet in her heart." It's all clever but never feels manipulative or contrived; this is a story line I can believe actually happened. Carrie's voice is already a lot more nuanced by this point, finding times to restrain herself before amping back up, and the "dreamy" production keeps up with her. That one long "just a dream" drawn out at the end feels a lot less like an "impress the Idol judges" long note and more like a scream of frustration from the woman in the song. Great stuff. A
November 22: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift
Can we please stop using Romeo and Juliet as a metaphor for love, unless the actual interpretation you're going for is "they rushed into things and both paid the price"? To be fair, she tries to balance it out with another reference to The Scarlet Letter, but that only feels even more disjointed. And to be even fairer, I don't think I was that good at literary analysis at age 19; hell, I don't think I'm that good at it now. I do genuinely like the banjo-heavy production mixed with the poppy hook, showing that Taylor was clearly from the Chicks/Shania school of "add pop without subtracting country" at the time. There's really nothing that memorable about the boy-meets-girl narrative, making it feel like a step down from the cleverness of songs such as "Tim McGraw" or "Our Song." Overall, it's not really good or bad, just kind of forgettable. C+
December 6: "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band
December 20: "Roll with Me" by Montgomery Gentry
Just like "Roll with Me," MG are doing a great job taking stock of their lives. I never had trouble following the hook "maybe it's time to be livin' a rhyme / when I'm singin' a song about nothin' but right," as clunky as it may look typed out. It's nice to hear a lyric about settling down, and how the motivation to do so is the transience of life after witnessing one taken away prematurely -- a lyric that hits all the harder after the death of Troy Gentry. The production is gentle and relaxed, and it's a bit more harmonious than usual thanks to Five for Fighting joining in on the vocals. (And in a way, it does feel like a pleasant complement to his own "100 Years.") And if you want to live your best life, why not have someone to share it with? It's a shame this one (and their career) fizzled out so quickly, because they were really on a roll. A
Aug 13, 2024
Every #1 Country Song of the 2000s: 2004
2004
February 7: "Remember When" by Alan Jackson
I don't know why, but Alan tends to hit hardest for me when he's being romantic. "Song for the Life" and "I'll Go On Loving You" are among my favorites of his, and so is this one. Maybe it's because I know about his temporary separation from long-time wife Denise, which is the kind of personal detail these songs often lack. Maybe it's just how naturally flowing the progress of this song is, from first meeting to various life changes to children to advancing age. Maybe it's the tender melody, with plenty of mandolin and just enough string section to sound lush without being bombastic -- not to mention the way the instrumental drops into a lower key before the last chorus raises it back up. Maybe it's the sense of finality with that last line "We won't be sad, we'll be glad / For all the life we had / And we'll remember when." All of these ingredients combine to make a country wedding standard that rivals "Look at Us" in how heartfelt and beautiful it is, touching even a heart as un-romantic as mine. A+
February 21: "American Soldier" by Toby Keith
I remember when this first came out, my immediate dismissal of it was "oh, he's just trying to placate those of us who didn't like 'Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue'." But then I heard Toby discuss the song on Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40, and he pointed out something I didn't notice the first time around. He doesn't actually get into the soldier stuff until the chorus. That whole first verse is just your standard family man, doing the best he can, working tirelessly... but it's not until the chorus that we find out it's because he's a soldier. He doesn't even add a verse after that; he just lets the twist stand on its own. Maybe the production is a little bombastic and on the nose (such as the bells), and maybe the lines about the soldier's duties aren't the most inspired either. But you know what? He got me with this one. And if he can nail the slow-burn on a patriotic song, then yeah, I'd say this one's all right. B+
March 20: "Watch the Wind Blow By" by Tim McGraw
This has to be the most forgotten of Tim McGraw's #1 hits. But I'd say that's more from being stuck in the shadow of an even bigger hit than anything else. This one has a very easy-going production style full of glassy guitar fills, Hammond organ, and a bit more drums than usual -- even before he starts singing, it just sounds like an easy-going walk with your lover on an autumn day. Sometimes it's okay if a song has low stakes like this; it's refreshing to just take in the everyday and enjoy the beauty of nature. I like that there's still some emotional investment in lines like "All your troubles and your sorrows, they won't last" to give the song a little more weight. It's a shame the wind blew this one away so quickly, because I think it's one of his most overlooked gems. A
April 3: "When the Sun Goes Down" by Kenny Chesney
feat. Uncle Kracker
May 8: "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban
While this one isn't as guitar-heavy, it's still a beautiful, evocative, calm look at a relationship that isn't working out. I like that it starts out with him driving around to clear his head, and even works in a "you'll regret it" to his ex. He walks an emotional tightrope between introspective and bitter, never sounding too light or too harsh. Lines like "I guess I'm getting just a little tired of this / And all the baggage that seems to still exist" and "take your cat but leave my sweater" -- the latter line being one I see singled out the most in talks about this song -- reveal a high level of detail. There is an incredible amount of emotion in every note of this, and it perfectly threads every single one. This is probably the most dramatic nuance crammed into a single song since "All These Years," and it's one of the most vivid takes on a breakup in the entire genre. A+
May 22: "Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts
Usually, it bothers me when people pine for a sanitized, Norman Rockwell-esque picture of "the good ol' days" when they're far too young to remember such a time. But this one goes out of its way to establish that the image longed for is a fictional one -- the setting of The Andy Griffith Show, for those of you not in the loop -- and that makes it go down easier. While lines like "Sunday was a day of rest / Now it's one more day for progress" come dangerously close to setting off my "OK, boomer" alarms, the desire to get away from it all is instantly relatable enough to pull it back. I also like that the image fades away at the end, driving home that this song's message is not a lecture, just escapism. It helps that Rascal Flatts were still pretty laid-back at this point, enhancing the "get away from it all" feel. B+
May 29: "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Wilson offered an enjoyable amount of grit right out of the gate. She prefers beer to champagne and she'd rather shop at Walmart than Victoria's Secret. She listens to Tanya Tucker and Lynyrd Skynyrd. This just sounds like the kind of people I know and have associated with, and I like that -- unlike most other songs of this sort -- she goes out of her way to explain why she's proud to be what Jeff Foxworthy once defined as a "glorious absence of sophistication." And for a novelty song -- especially one with the MuzikMafia's fingerprints all over it -- that's a surprising amount of nuance. The melody is anthemic, and Gretchen's rough, slightly off-pitch delivery works with the material instead of against it. Sure, she immediately went cartoonishly over-the-top with "Here for the Party" and "All Jacked Up," and her ballads almost entirely rang false. So maybe in the end, there wasn't much more to her than this. But what there was in this song is so damn different, relatable, and self-aware that I can't help but like it. B+
July 3: "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" by Montgomery Gentry
I'm surprised it took Montgomery Gentry so long to get a #1 hit, because it certainly wasn't an issue of quality. I could waste this entire review listing off all the songs of theirs I didn't get to rave about. Of course, that doesn't mean this one's unworthy. Right out of the gate we get one of the catchiest acoustic guitar riffs of the decade. The opening lines lay out that this is a tough man who withstood parental abuse and street fights to make him tough -- but just before you think it's going to be a machismo anthem, he drops this winner of a line: "Only God knows where I'd be / If you ever stop loving me." The late Troy Gentry has the right amount of swagger, playfulness, and grit to make the song hit just right, and the production's on point with its heavy bass, banjo, and even a turntable scratch. This was more than worthy of finally getting them to the top. A
July 10: "Whiskey Girl" by Toby Keith
July 17: "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw
Given my historic dislike of motivational mega-hits, you'd probably think I'd hate this one too. But unlike most, this one actually has a narrative instead of succumbing to sound-bites. It tells of a man who, faced with an unfavorable health diagnosis, gets (in Rick Trevino's words) a real bad case of carpe diem and goes off doing all the things he's previously denied himself. It's an uplifting message that I can't really fault, and I don't think the execution is terrible here, either. (It helps that a friend actually did have a cancer scare when I wrote this.) I may question how good of an idea it is to do such strenuous activities as skydiving when faced with a life-threatening illness. I may question why we needed to know the name of the bull he rides. I may question the odd scansion of "gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'." And I may question how much of that long note at the end was done without studio trickery, while also thinking the song gets just a tad bombastic at the end regardless. But at the end of the day, this one is just too likable and relatable for me to really get bothered by it. B+
April 7: "Somebody" by Reba McEntire
This is a bit of a different song for her, but it works. I like the acoustic guitar and Dobro intro, which give Reba a slightly different sonic palette. The narrative is believable, too: the guy's in a bad relationship he wants to get out of , and a waitress offers the solution: "somebody in the next car / Somebody on the morning train / Somebody in the coffee shop that you walk right by every day." After a failed attempt with someone else at his apartment complex, who does he end up falling in love with? You guessed it, the waitress. If you can see that ending coming, then chalk it up to Reba's warm, casual tone -- easily leagues above the plastic read of Mark Wills's original -- to get you there. I could totally believe this happening, and that's ultimately what makes it work. Reba didn't have her eyes on the charts for most of this decade, but I'm glad she got to the top again with a song strong enough to make me forgive the blatant chart manipulation scheme it took to get her there. A
September 11: "Girls Lie Too" by Terri Clark
Battle of the sexes humor was already played out at the time. I've heard literally every joke in this song a billion times by hack comedians, and Terri adds absolutely nothing new to the proceedings -- other than a really weak-willed attempt at subversion in the title. But said attempt is little more than a half-baked "NOT!" joke from Wayne's World, which also was tremendously played out long before 2004. Oh, you "like Hooters for their hot wings too"? Never heard that one before. "Size don't matter anyway"? TMI, Terri. I don't think I've heard so many jokes bomb so hard since the last time I scrolled through my own Twitter feed. And Terri's oddly square-jaw delivery doesn't really help matters either. This one also got to #1 entirely through a chart manipulation scheme (to the point Billboard re-factored the chart entirely to stop it from happening again), but unlike "Somebody" it's just an inexcusably bad song. F
September 18: "Days Go By" by Keith Urban
I love everything about this song. All of the lyrics tie into a fast car on the freeway in some fashion, with some real gems like comparing the speed to holding your hand out the window -- an image memorable enough for me to forgive the chorus for rhyming "by" with "by." It's this unusual mix of urgency and introspection, of living in the moment because they all go by so fast, that makes this song so compelling. And that mix is even reflected in the instrumentation, which pits Keith's guitar wizardry against some well-placed mandolin on that hard-driving chorus, then calms down for a more relaxed bridge and acoustic reprise of the chorus before kicking back into full gear. Literally everything on this track works, and it's songs like this that make me realize why I grew to like him so much in this era. A
October 16: "Suds in the Bucket" by Sara Evans
Teenage love can make for some really great songs. I just love the down-home image of the girl running off to Las Vegas (a detail saved until the last verse) without even finishing the laundry -- which itself is done the old-fashioned way, in a washtub and all. I also love the added detail of their elopement spreading through the small-town rumor mill. Even the beauticians and preachers are in on this one! This song is cute, charming, and retro without ever sounding forced or anachronistic. And it's helped by Sara's distinctive twang and the equally twangy production -- lots of baritone guitar, steel, fiddle, and banjo in the mix here. The melody is way above the norm too, with a few dips in and out of Mixolydian mode. This is an absolute charmer on all accounts. A
October 23: "I Hate Everything" by George Strait
No, this isn't about the British YouTuber who reviews bad movies. It's a left-of-center story song between two men at a bar. The one of the two who isn't the narrator is bitter to the point of nihilism, drinking and going on about all the things he "hates" now that he's divorced. Instead of trying to offer advice, the narrator just lets the guy ramble. (I love the line "If it weren't for my two kids, I'd hate my ex-wife.") At the end, we find out the narrator was in a rough relationship himself, and was inspired to patch things up because of the other guy, whose drinks he even pays for. (I also find it interesting that by 2004, we were already casually writing cell phones into country songs.) It's an inspired yet relatable character sketch with a great twist ending -- just the kind of thing that makes for a great country song, especially one sung by King George. A
November 6: "In a Real Love" by Phil Vassar
After a long gap, Phil Vassar finally returns to the top. This is probably his best set of lyrics since his debut album, showing his knack for uncommon vernacular. It's an everyman sketch of a struggling man and woman -- the well-worn "we don't have much, but we have each other" trope. Like most of his debut album and the songs he wrote before he made it big, it shines through uncommon vernacular ("spendin' dollars and makin' dimes"), along with plenty of other uncommon terms, such as it being probably the only song to specifically call a pregnancy test an EPT. The arrangement is also a tad grittier than usual, something I remember many reviewers commenting on during this album cycle, and something that enhances the personality of this track. While he hung around for quite a while afterward, it's a shame he almost never returned to this level of quality. A-
November 20: "Mr. Mom" by Lonestar
It says something about the decline of Lonestar when their first #1 name-dropped the KKK and their last name-dropped Barney. (Although if someone name-dropped Bluey in a modern song, I doubt I'd complain.) The mom has just taken up a job, so it's now the father's turn to run the house, and of course he fails miserably. It's the same stock trope you've seen in a billion sitcoms, and like "30 minutes or its free" pizza delivery or "they're going to build a mall," it stuck around as a stock sitcom plot long after real-life situations (namely, the fact that even in 2004, nearly every two-parent household had both parents working) made it obsolete. Richie gives a cloying, over-the-top vocal read, and the production is way too clean even by Dann Huff's standards. I will say that the final verse's overt admiration for the woman in this scenario is a mark in this song's favor, but by then it's too little, too late. Go listen to Cledus T. Judd's "Where's Your Mommy?" instead if you want this played for self-deprecation instead of pandering. C-December 4: "Nothing On but the Radio" by Gary Allan
The best of Gary Allan's #1 hits by far. Admittedly, with how bad "Man to Man" and "Tough Little Boys" were, that's a low bar to clear, but Gary went for something a little different here and nailed it. While the hook isn't the most original thing -- I remember an obscure hit from 1982 by the Younger Brothers with a slightly different arrangement of words in the title -- this one has a lot going for it. That guitar riff is catchy as hell, and Gary sounds like he's having fun singing it. Maybe the individual lyrics aren't the most inspired -- fire/higher/desire rhymes and all -- but this song's just too likable for me to let that bring me down much. Being lighthearted yet sensual is a tough needle to thread, and I'd say this one did the trick. B+
December 18: "Back When" by Tim McGraw
A lot of Tim's songs had a somewhat progressive edge to them, so it's jarring to hear him suddenly become this preachy and retrograde. He longs for the "old and outdated way of life" and then makes borderline tasteless jokes about words like "ho," "coke," "crack," and "screw" (fun fact: did you know the use of "screw" as a euphemism for sex dates to 1725?). I especially have to call into question the utter hypocrisy of him calling out "pop in my country" in the same year he cut a duet with Nelly and had one of the biggest country crossover hits. And unlike "Mayberry," there's no sense of escapism. Thankfully, this isn't nearly as problematic (or hypocritical) as, say, Miranda Lambert calling for female subservience and shunning divorce in "Automatic." It is, however, still whiny and played-out pandering with a side of "get off my lawn!" D
December 25: "Some Beach" by Blake Shelton
Joke songs can overstay their welcomes if the joke doesn't land, but thankfully this one does. The way "some beach" sounds like "som'bitch" is clever and just edgy enough to work without having a Helluva Boss-esque "we have to swear in every sentence because that's what adults do" energy. All the situations that come up are realistic ones that tie into each other -- driving down the road to the dentist's office, only to spend too long waiting and then have a mishap in the dentist's chair -- showing a sense of continuity that puts this head and shoulders above most joke songs. Blake's delivery is cool, the production is cool, and I still laugh the thousandth time I hear it. What's not to love? A-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
