Country Bumper Stickers X

Senseless Censorship V

FTM's 3rd Anniversary Country Day

10 Most Popular Posts of 2010

I'm copying Country California with this feature but so what? These are the 10 FTM posts that got the most traffic in 2010. What stands out the most to me is that there are ZERO of the monthly "Country Album Cover Days" in the Top 10... in fact, there were only a couple in the Top 30. I've actually known they weren't as big of a draw for a while now, but plan to continue to have monthly country days in the coming year. Farce the Music began exclusively as an album cover parodying blog, but had to evolve to grow. Apparently that growth has been successful, as 2010 was FTM's best year so far (in its short history) and Nov-Dec were its best months yet. Thanks for sticking with us as we evolve!

Top 10 FTM Posts of 2010:

1. My Review of Taylor Swift's Grammy Performance

2. 99 Cent Reviews: Rodney Atkins - Farmer's Daughter

3. 99 Cent Reviews: Soulja Boy - Pretty Boy Swag

4. Jennifer Nettles' Tatt: A Closer Look

5. 10 Worst Country Singles of 2010

6. 99 Cent Reviews: Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem

7. Top 10 Things Easton Corbin is Not More Country Than

8. Taylor Swift's iTunes Playlist

9. Parody Covers of 4-27 Country Releases

10. Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song: A Warning List

Rodney Atkins' Cracker Barrel Album Cover

Rodney Atkins... Cracker Barrel... blah blah blah. Here's the cover!

3 Country Parody Album Covers

.99 Review: Rodney Atkins - Farmer's Daughter

Rodney Atkins - Farmer's Daughter

Listen HERE

The People's Take

ANOTHER HIT (5 Stars) - This song is great!!!! Another HIT from Rodney can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

-Redneck JB

Another hit! (5 Stars) - I love, love, LOVE it! ;D

-Robinson :)

Super! (5 Stars) - Another great song from country's best star!!!! Keep 'em coming Rodney!

-rodneyfan

My Take

The plusses: It's not nearly as puerile (yeah, I pulled out the thesaurus for that one) as most of Atkins' recent knuckle-draggers. Also, it's pretty catchy. One more: it's unmistakably country.

The negatives: From the moment you read the title, you know this isn't going to plow up any new cropland, and your assumptions are correct. Of course Atkins works for the farmer. Of course the farmer's female offspring is a dime. Of course Atkins gets him a piece of that sweet potato pie. Of course they get married. Of course the bridge is only there to serve standard procedure.

The WTFs: He goes from seeing the farmer's daughter to tapping it inside of two lines with little explanation of how he got from point A to point P. How romantic. I guess we should just assume that she immediately finds the dirty farmhand's potential big green tractor skills to be worth the suspicions and doubts her dad would undoubtedly have about someone he hired to shovel shit and feed bovine.

The bottom line: It's not as bad as I'd hoped it to be, and his career has probably not reached its omega as suspected in this parody. That said, it's still dumber'n a Jake Owens groupie and twice as forgettable.

Total Value: .45/.99

The Checklist:

Church/God

Mama

Boots

Name Dropping

Dying Person

County Fair

Lost Love

Love

Hometown Pride

Kindly Advice

Truck

Whiskey

Beer

Life Affirmation

USA

Soldiers

Pop Sheen

Star Power

Rodney Atkins' Parody

15 Minutes

(Parody of Rodney Atkins' "15 Minutes")

I took a fall from the music charts, late oh-nine

With all my number one singles, I really don't know why

Yeah I was going strong

Thought fame would last long

But I guess that's a lie

I used to be all jet set

Now it's coach when I fly

I had "These Are My People"

And three or four more, that's right

And it was the best

15 minutes of my life

Now I’ve heard it said

Two flops in a row 'll kill you

But I thought it was still true

That simple's always in style

My fav'rite rhyme is world, yeah, with girl

Deep thinkin' ain’t advised

Got a formula

Dopey stuff and stereotypes

I've got songs about tractors

Spilled nuggets and girls, so why

Was that the best

15 minutes of my life?

Oh why

What did I ever do to radio

Think I'm going to be cleaning my gun tonight

I had "These Are My People"

And one about hell, that's right

And it was the best

15 minutes of my life

Stardom was the best

15 minutes of my life

That’s right

Hello?

Snap Judgments: Promo Only Country Radio Dec. 09

I have a friend who worked at a country radio station in the 90's and he used to let me have these Promo Only Country Radio comp's pretty regularly but I haven't listened to one since the (non-legal) Napster days. An anonymous source sent this newest edition to me to review... can't imagine why - except that it's got 5 of my favorite targets (Toby Keith, Justin Moore, Jimmy Wayne, Rascal Flatts, Fast Ryde) on one album! Fish in a barrel and me with this shotgun! I doubt this will become a regular series, since I don't have access to these compilations (but hey, anonymous or somebody else, keep 'em coming if possible!).

Anyway, here are my snap judgments of the songs your local station will be overplaying in December if not sooner. (to be honest, I've heard a few of them before, but anyway...)

1. Chasin' Girls (Album Version) - Rodney Atkins

My IQ dropped 15 points in the 3:30 span of this song. It's not looking good for me still knowing how to spell by the end of this post. This is the dumbist song Rodney's put out yet, and that's saying sumtheeng. D-

2. Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song) - Toby Keith

Personal, moving and maybe a little surprising, given who it's from. It's a very good song, but possibly a little too narrow in focus to go any higher than top 10 for Toby. Country radio's got no soul. B+

3. Seeing Stars - Jack Ingram with Patty Griffin

Jack tries to maintain his last shred of Americana cred with this thoughtful song featuring singer/songwriter Patty Griffin. Successful? A little, but it strives to be much deeper than it really is. Still, it did help restore my IQ a bit after Rodney's track. B-

4. Hell on the Heart - Eric Church

Not the next single I'd have chosen from Eric's fine Carolina album, but a lesser Church single is miles better than, say, Chuck Wicks' best. B-

5. Angels Like Her - Trent Tomlinson

Hmmm, I get the feeling I've heard this before. Oh yeah, I have... and I still don't like it that much. The imagery in the opening lines is great though. C

6. Backwoods - Justin Moore

Opens with a greasy southern guitar lick... that's nice. Then comes the listing of all things southern... Hmmm, I get the feeling I've heard this before. Oh yeah, I have.... in 1246 previous country pride songs... and I still don't like it that much. It is catchy though. C-

7. Make it Rain - Fast Ryde

This "difficulty of farming lament" runs about as deep as the dry creek running by their dusty farm. IQ nosediving again. Worse than "That Thang." (!!) F

8. Gimmie That Girl - Joe Nichols

Fun, catchy and warm. Solid single from one of the best voices in the genre. B+

9. Why - Rascal Flatts

I'm glad that they're touching on this serious subject that affects way too many people. That aside, this doesn't work for me, but it will be their umpteenth #1 hit. C

10. Stay - Telluride

A dull track from a band that sounds like Jake Owen lite (and Jake Owen heavy ain't much to write home about). D

11. Gotta Be Somebody - Bucky Covington (full .99 Review coming soon)

I'm not prone to cliché or violence, but this makes me want to punch kittens. F-

12. Long After I'm Gone - Big Kenny

He means well, and this is a pleasant enough song, but it's probably not going to be a hit due to his less than Clearchannel-friendly voice. C

13. Sara Smile - Jimmy Wayne Ft. Daryl Hall & John Oates

I'm starting to think this anonymous source was trying to ruin my day. This is the least country song ever released as a country song, period. If not for him being a real decent guy, I might hate Jimmy, but this is just music not life. At music, he FAILS. F

14. One More Drinkin' Song - Jerrod Niemann

This is a middle of the road drinkin' song that is unlikely to get much airplay outside the barrooms that inspired it. C-

15. Julianna - Emma Jacob

Good message, good delivery, decent song overall. If sung by Sugarland, a top 5 hit. Unfortunately, contemporary radio's about as welcoming to up-and-coming females as Adam Lambert is. B

16. The Road - Aaron Watson

Once upon a time in the 90's when country radio still had a soft spot for salt-of-the-earth country songs, this could have been a one-off hit. Now, not so much. A-

17. Hard Rain - Gwen Sebastian

Not sure what I think about this one. It's okay. I like her voice and the imagery of the chorus, but overall, the song is somehow lacking. C

18. Johnny Be Good - Doug Adkins

Suffice it to say, you won't ever hear this on the radio. Interesting to see that the Promo Only comps still include these local oddities. I like that it has some rockabilly flourish, but this is an overly awkward and very lily-white rendition of Chuck Berry's classic. Cranking up some Bo Diddley now. D-