Showing posts with label Jake Owen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jake Owen. Show all posts

Dec 9, 2014

Three Up Three Down: December '14



3 Up


Maddie & Tae - Girl in a Country Song
This is both a good song and a culturally significant song. Rarely do those two things equal a popular song, but here we are with it sitting at #1 on the Mediabase charts and others. Are listeners grinning a little and moving on to the next booty-on-a-tailgate song or nodding their heads in acknowledgement? It's hard to know right now, but I suppose we'll see in time. The fact that these thoughts about sexism and clichés in country music are now out there beyond FTM's constant complaining and the occasional newspaper website think-piece is a good start. The fact that Maddie and Tae have proven on their recent EP to be more than the vehicle for what some surely consider a novelty song is even more favorable. Fingers crossed.
B+


Eric Church - Talladega
Eric Church does nostalgia better than anyone on the charts right now because he starts with the personal and makes it sound universal, while everyone else seems to be taking the opposite approach. "Talledega" sounds like a big ol' yeehaw, NASCAR loving anthem if you just pay attention to the high points, but it's really a small story wrapped in a big idea. The chorus might call on everybody to sing along and it may beg for sponsorship opportunities, but the verses actually make you miss the fun and friends from that trip you may or may not have ever even made to watch cars turn left. It's wistful and epic and everything this kind of song should be.
A


Jake Owen - What We Ain't Got
Co-written by Travis Meadows and Travis Jerome Goff, "What We Ain't Got" is a powerful ballad about never being satisfied with with one's situation, possessions and relationships. It's a simple longing that falls into several categories of the Christian concept of sin, but one that no one is immune to. Jake Owen spoke of this song as a harbinger of change and he wasn't over-hyping it. The song opens Owen's field of view and enlivens the possibilities for his future work being more varied and deeper than flip-flops, summer flings and tan lines. It's also great for country radio, since its frequent play forces dunderhead bro's to listen to something with actual artistic merit and positive moral implications. Jake's vocal talent and commercial momentum combined with a truly great song make this a release of considerable importance.
A+


3 Down


Parmalee - Close Your Eyes
They rhyme "hotter" with "water." That's enough to disqualify this song from being anything I'd ever listen to on purpose, but worse than that, "Close Your Eyes" is a color-by-numbers. bro-country lite song created specifically to be airplay filler. And now, it's top 10 airplay filler. The emperor has no clothes and nobody gives a shit. Sing familiar words with a familiar melody that fits into the current sonic model and don't make anybody think negative thoughts and you've got a hit. Well done, Parmalee, former rock band who couldn't hack it without switching genres to take advantage of country radio's doldrums. Take a bow.
D


Scotty McCreery - Feelin' It
I've said it before: Scotty McCreery has a fantastic country voice. Much like his vocal doppelganger, Josh Turner, he's struggled to find material that both fits his rich delivery and the whims of commercial country music. He's done it with this track - if by "done it" I mean, focused entirely on the whims portion of that last sentence. Not that he sounds bad singing this craptacular song, it's just that any minuscule thread of artistic quality is foregone for a steady run up Bob Kingsley's countdown. How bad is this song? Well, Ray-Bans are rayin' and cut-offs are cuttin', whatever those two statements mean. The build to the chorus is basically saying "here, I will continue to sing you this song about how we are enjoying chilling in the sun and drinking beverages." The chorus is basically saying "We are greatly enjoying chilling in the sun and drinking beverages." Then he rhymes "hotter" with "water" and you already know my disdain for that sort of thing. This song can take its "glossin' lip gloss" and kiss my ass; it's completely embarrassing and pathetic. Scotty, if you're going to use your gift to unleash tripe like this upon the world, I'd rather you go back and give minor league baseball a shot. "Screwball's screwin', catcher's chewin'…."
D-


Florida-Georgia Line - Sun Daze
I'm sure I've already said enough about this one with memes and whatnot, but hey, it still sucks. While I did actually like "Dirt," I'm starting to think these guys are just lowering the bar with nearly every single to make their mediocre work sound like classics. "Sun Daze" is stupid, derivative, artless, and is only catchy in the way that kidnapping sometimes brings about Stockholm syndrome. FGL's previous low-water mark was "This is How We Roll." That song was at least interesting with its obvious critic trolling slang and attitude. This song is just spectacularly awful and further proof that you can never underestimate the taste of the American public.
F

Nov 26, 2014

New Video: Jake Owen - What We Ain't Got

Jake Owen's stark new clip for one of FTM's favorite songs of the year (mainstream or otherwise) features an extended cameo from the song's writer, Travis Meadows, who I got to see perform last weekend. Watch the whole thing... it seems simple at first, but the slow reveals are quite moving.

Nov 21, 2014

YouTube Gems: Travis Meadows

Here's Travis Meadows performing his song "What We Ain't Got," which is Jake Owen's current single. I'm going to see Travis perform tonight!


Sep 8, 2014

Jake Owen - What We Ain't Got (Live)



and here's Travis Meadows' singing the song he wrote with Travis Jerome Goff:


Aug 9, 2014

More Saturday Night Music: Travis Meadows

If you don't know of Travis Meadows, now's the time to meet him. He's a Mississippi-born songwriter with an amazing story. He writes killer tunes about real life. He's currently experiencing quite a year for a writer - the title track on Dierks Bentley's newest album, Jake Owen's new single, and one of the stronger tunes on Eric Church's recent album. Here's "Learning to Live Alone."

Jul 28, 2014

Bummer Song of the Summer (Poll)

While I think it's silly that a debate arises every year about which pop or country song is the "Song of Summer," here's your opportunity to vote for the anti song of summer. It hasn't been quite as terrible a summer as usual for country, but that's kinda like saying a truckstop bathroom smells better than a Port-a-john. Anyway, let us know what you think! The loser might get a little extra hatin' in the coming weeks.


What's the worst mainstream country song of the summer?
  
pollcode.com free polls 


May 15, 2013

3 Up 3 Down: May '13



3 Up

Jake Owen - Anywhere With You
Really, Trailer? My selection of this song is more an example of how bad the charts are right now than an indicator of how good this song is. It's a catchy bastard for sure, but it's nothing new. It echoes umpteen songs that came before it about the place a love interest resides/visits being where the singer wishes to be. Owen's solid vocals and the wailing guitar hook make the song. I should hate it, but I can't. "Anywhere With You" would probably have fit in fine in the 90's (with the guitars dialed down a touch), and that's probably the reason for its guilty pleasure status with me. As long as Jake stays away from crap like "8 Second Ride," he's one of the few bright... well, um... not dim, lights on the country charts, if only because of his selection of hook-laden, semi-country tunes and his impassioned delivery.
B-


Easton Corbin - All Over the Road
Corbin's reluctance to record songs that glorify pasture parties or feature hip-hop breakdowns seems to be holding the talented singer back quite a bit. Hard not to root for somebody like that. This is a breezy, nearly weightless bit of country-lite goodness that (required Strait comparison coming) wouldn't have sounded out of place on an earlier George Strait album. It's hummable, foot tappable and so polite that it has a hard time elbowing its way into the forefront of the average listener's mind through the crowd of blazing guitar solos and moonshine references all too prevalent around it on the charts. It's also a gem.
A-


Kacey Musgraves - Blowin' Smoke
A no-doubter. Kacey's latest single that won't go any higher than #10 on the charts (mark it down) is smart and sneaky while sounding relatable and lightly cynical. It's clever and real, working both as a snapshot of a day at the diner and a prod at people who are always making plans and proclamations but never following through. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at a level that makes Jane-soccermom or Jeff-collegeguy not feel depressed while listening to it so we'll just have to be happy it's charting at all.
A

3 Down

Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift (ft Keith Urban) - Highway Don't Care
This tries hard to sound deep. Modern radio listeners mistake intent for effect, so expect lots of soulful, eyes half-closed singing along in the carpool lane. Unfortunately, "Highway Don't Care" is neither insightful nor tuneful, so this is a dud on all counts. Taylor's refrain is as grating as you might expect, the chorus is annoying and repetitive, and Keith Urban's guitar playing is nearly unnoticeable on this throwaway.
D


Florida-Georgia Line - Get Your Shine On
I've been over songs or phrases about "getting your anything on" since the late 90's so this is a non-starter for me. I'll give FGL one thing: they've crafted a signature sound that is unmistakable even in a sea of sound-alikes. It's not a signature sound I approve of, but it's certainly caught on beyond reasonable expectations. Also, these guys don't even pretend to go any deeper than the above ground pool half-filled with Pabst empties in the back yard of their trailer. So there's that. No pretense. Does it sound like I'm praising these guys?
Well...
D


Blake Shelton - Boys 'Round Here
The most dangerous song released to country radio in a decade or more, "Boys 'Round Here" is a genre-shifter disguised as mindless entertainment. It has a far more universal theme than Aldean's similarly hick-hopped "1994" and also comes from a pop culture icon with less baggage. On the surface, it's just another laundry-list country song whose verses happen to be rapped (not spoken, as BS bs'es). Beyond that, it's a top ten smash that will make dollar signs appear in record executives' eyes and slowly rewire the synapses of the easily-led masses to expect more urban sounding "country." When stuff like this becomes the norm, SCM's long-predicted monoculture will be at hand. Dress accordingly.
F

Jan 24, 2013

I'm Sorry, This Exists - Jan. '13

Nickelback "Bottoms Up" Onesie.
For the kid who's got everything ...but good parents.



Florida-Georgia Line laptop bag. That's assuming Florida-Georgia Line
fans know how to use a computer.

OMG!!!!!

"Pontoon" t-shirt

Plies "Goon" Necklace. For classing up your job interview outfit.

The Farm "Farm Party" Hot Pants. Nothing says sexy
like "hot pants" and "farm" in the same description!

Jake Owen "fence art." I didn't know fence art was a thing.

This Hunter Hayes t-shirt transfer that features several photos of
OH DEAR GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS HEAD?!?!

"Sexy" and "vintage" Rascal Flatts shirt

Nicki Minaj "Life is Sweet" stripper heels

Puke. All over everything.

Yes, this is real....
Taylor Swift Ex-Boyfriends Prayer Candle
Thanks to @n8van2 for bringing it to my attention.

And finally....Stay classy, HER and Kings County!

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