Monthly Archives: April 2015

by | April 6, 2015 · 8:00 am

Nashville: A Taste of the Country Music World

Country music has always existed in their own world, separated from the publicity and paparazzi of Hollywood or New York City. The hub of country music resides in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Bluebird café and the Grand Ole Opry. Two years ago, I didn’t know much about Nashville or the country music world to be honest. And then, the show Nashville premiered on ABC. Last week, after a month or so hiatus the show returns for new episodes, and I am still as hooked as when I watched the first episode.

I will admit I first tuned into Nashville because of its star, Connie Britton (and her beautiful hair). I am a massive fan of Friday Night Lights and would watch pretty much anything that has Tami Taylor in it. But after the first episode I was drawn in by the world of Nashville and country music.

raynaAs a casual listener of country I was naïve to places like the bluebird and other Nashville country music sites that have launched the careers of many greats. But I love that the show films in Nashville so I wasn’t looking at sound stages and recreations of these legendary places, but the actual sites.

The music of Nashville was also a draw to me. Not all of it…unfortunately some of the singers are better actors than they are singers. But I was surprised by how good of a singer many of them were. And I found myself loving the more folk-y songs that the show produced. The show, while fictional, actually mirrors the music industry in a lot of ways especially in regards to the struggle for album sales and the dichotomy of the country music industry. There is not one specific sound of country today in my opinion, but rather a few popularized sounds and singers must struggle to find their place and success within those areas.

The show also deals with the pitfalls that surround Nashville including the different type of expectations that surround country music stars in comparison to other famous singers. Country music is known for appealing to a more conservative audience and more simplistic roots than rap or pop music. One of the shows main characters, Juliette, constantly is at odds with fans and parents of her fans for this very reason. She is a great country artist, but does not line up ideologically with her fan base. She has learned the hard way though, that with no fan base, she has no career.

Nashville is probably not winning any Emmys anytime soon, but because of it’s interesting take on the city of Nashville and country music, I am sure I will keep tuning in!

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Filed under Movies and TV

by | April 4, 2015 · 8:00 am

Too Lesbian for Country Radio?

As I checked Facebook for the millionth time today, I saw two topics that really interested me. The first was that The Walking Dead now has a spinoff show called Fear the Walking Dead set to premiere sometime in the summer, while The Walking Dead is in between seasons. The second topic of interest was about the Little Big Town song “Girl Crush”.

People in Idaho, and I imagine elsewhere, were demanding “Girl Crush” not be played on the radio, because “the lyrics promote the gay agenda”. As I read the article, I couldn’t help but think of the close-mindedness of my fellow country music listeners. And the second thought in my head? Were these people even listening to the lyrics? I can understand if people were using their selective hearing and thought it was about a lesbian romance. However, if you actually listen to the song you should be able to tell that it is about a jealous woman who wishes, essentially, that she was the woman her ex now loves. “I want to drown myself in a bottle of her perfume” is not because the narrator of the song wants to be with said woman, but because the ex likes this woman and perhaps if the narrator smelled like this woman the ex might like her more. That’s why the lyrics, “yeah ‘cuz maybe then you’d want me just as much” make sense. If the song were about lesbians, that line would not make sense.  I, myself, enjoy the way Charlie Worsham words his opinion on the situation:

girl crushExcuse me if this sounds rant-y, but it is 2015. Why do people have to complain every time they hear something they do not like? Why are people so easy to offend? Let’s look at more components to this little ordeal. The song was written by three women Lori McKenna, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey. I can’t think of any other song out right now that has this much girl power backing it. Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild said this back in December, “there are not many women on the radio and not many ballads with that kind of lyrical content. I’m excited.” Is this song facing backlash just because it is “about pushing the gay agenda” or is it just too “sexy” for some people.

The song is currently ranked 17th on the Country Billboard charts. I would think it would be ranked lower had it actually been about lesbian lovers just due to how conservative the country music audience tends to be, but who knows. On the reverse of this argument, I do understand why the radio stations are complying with these demands for the song to not be played. The radio needs to have listeners to make money. If one song keeps the audience from listening, you can bet that the radio will stop playing it. I just think if we keep complying with people to get offended like this, when they really shouldn’t be, it will be harder for people to accept one another and be more open minded. If you think this song is about lesbians and it angers you, I just hope you will  listen to the song again with an open heart and open ears. And if this song was about a lesbian romance, how is that bad?

What do you think about “Girl Crush”? Why do you think this song is receiving so much hate? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

9 Comments

Filed under New Country, News, Song Analysis

by | April 3, 2015 · 8:00 am

Drive Down Memory Lane

I have traveled back in time a bit with my album analysis essay. When I was deciding what album to write about I decided to ask my dad what artist I should choose. My dad was the first person to introduce me to country music and I am very thankful for this. I ended up choosing Toby Keith’s Greatest Hits Volume One. My dad had a cassette of this in his blue pickup truck. I can vividly remember my tiny self sitting in the passenger seat as he drove me out to the small town of Nixon, Texas to visit family. Down the dirt roads we went singing along to “Should’ve Been A Cowboy.” In memory of the country music that influenced my childhood, I present a few of the songs I loved to sing along to back then.

First, sticking with the intro, is “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” by Toby Keith. I just remember him singing about “Miss Kitty” which I automatically thought at the time was about my Pre-K teacher who went by the same name. I loved this song, and still do.

Another one of my favorites was “All My Exes Live In Texas.” Sure I didn’t have any “exes” like  George Strait, but it was a catchy song. I loved songs about the state where I lived and since King George was from my beloved Texas, I appreciated it even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMNw_-yUm_0

My dad took me to my first rodeo when I was six years old. The performers were Brooks and Dunn. I loved every minute of that night. I remember my dad and I dancing around the house to their music. He’s the one who taught me how to two step. The song that he and I dance to at every family event is “Neon Moon.” It is not necessarily anything about the message, but for some reason this has stuck as our dance song.

One of the greats, Garth Brooks, also played an important role in my upbringing. “Friends in Low Places” was a favorite. I was fun to sing with my whole heart to. I loved performing when I was little. You can bet this was one of the songs in my lineup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKScA_OIsRI

This final song was and still is one of my absolute favorites. Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take the Girl” is a sad song, but nonetheless one I never tire of hearing. McGraw is one of my favorite artists and I think it is because of this beautiful song.

You have now experienced a little bit of my childhood. I hope you enjoy listening to these songs as much as I do. Thanks to my dad for bringing me up as a country girl living in the city.

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Filed under Lists, Reflection, Texas, Uncategorized

by | April 2, 2015 · 8:00 am

What will the ACM Awards bring this year?

This Monday, March 30th, the second round of performers for this years Academy of Country Music Awards was announced. This year will mark the 50th ACM celebration so they are going all out with the performers. The academy is bringing back veterans, having new artists perform, and creating crossover duets with pop artists. The ACM’s will take place on April 19th at the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas.

However, the interesting part of who will be performing is whom they chose for the duet performances. As of right now it is Nick Jonas with Dan and Shay. And then Christina Aguilera is said to be performing with a surprise artist for a surprise duet. Aguilera will also be appearing as a guest star in Nashville, on April 15th. This is especially interesting because the ACM’s are only four days after her country music debut. Granted on the show Aguilera’s character will be an already established pop artist that wants to record a country album.

Last years best duet performance was with Shakira and Blake Shelton. It turned out to be more of a rock tune than country but still people went wild for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1rAVitAwiA

They also performed this song on The Voice. I think that this performance was awesome. Personally, I just like how their two voices blend together because they are so different. With Shakira’s Spanish accent shining through and then Shelton’s country accent, together I think that they create a very unique sound.

For the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards there were two crossover duet performances, the first by Hunter Hayes and Stevie Wonder and the second by Brad Paisley and John Mayer. Hunter Hayes and Stevie Wonder performed “Sir Duke”. Hunter Hayes also did a solo performance of “I Want Crazy”, however, the duet with Stevie Wonder completely overshadowed his solo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0jhYZniYeo

Brad Paisley and John Mayer performed “Beat This Summer”. This performance was primarily sung by Paisley. Both Mayer and Paisley contributed to the guitar solo and Mayer took over one verse of the song.

Maybe it is because this is not one of my favorite Brad Paisley songs but I did not enjoy this performance as much. However, I think that the Hayes and Wonder duet was much better, got the audience more into the performance, and had a much better sound to it.

I think that duet performances are unique because of how they bring two different voices together. Especially the duets performed at the ACM’s because they usually take artists from two different genres. This is great because the performances combined two opposite sounding vocals and creates an amazing crossover sound. I am very excited to see how the duet performances for this year turn out.

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Filed under Awards, Movies and TV

by | April 1, 2015 · 8:00 am

The Many Sounds of Zac Brown

A few days ago, one of my friends, who is a huge Zac Brown fan, shared a video with me on Facebook. It was of a performance they did a few weeks ago on Saturday Night Live with Chris Cornell. A song from their new album called “Heavy is the Head”.

This song sounds more like a heavy metal song than a country song, and my friend seemed rather shocked with this new Zac Brown sound. I can’t say I really blame him, and he probably wasn’t the only one. I think most people are accustomed to the “Chicken Fried” Zac Brown, and while I also think that he does a phenomenal job writing and performing country music, it’s pretty clear that he’s trying to move on and develop a new sound. I don’t think this is the first step he has made toward developing that new sound, either.

A few weeks ago, I picked up the latest album from the Foo Fighters called Sonic Highways. Now I know what you’re thinking, the Foo Fighters are not even remotely close to being a country band, and I completely agree. However, they have a song on this new album called “Congregation” which was written and recorded in Nashville and features Zac Brown on guitar.

This is clearly not a country song. Even before this new album though, Zac Brown and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters have been playing together. When Zac Brown debuted his song “Day For the Dead” on the 2013 CMA awards, it featured Dave Grohl playing drums onstage with the rest of the Zac Brown Band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhU-fvEMHvM

This song, to me, has a bit more country sound to it, and it features the classic Zac Brown beanie that everyone knows and loves. However, I think this is about the time that Zac Brown started moving out of country music and more into rock. If you go on YouTube, you can find a ton of videos of Zac Brown covering Metallica, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and a lot of other classic rock bands, and he does an excellent job of it.

Personally, when I got to high school I kind of started listening to more classic rock along with some country music, and to see someone like Zac Brown who seems just as comfortable performing new country music as he does performing oldies rock hits is pretty awesome. There are some people who probably think of Zac Brown as a purely country artist, but the truth is he and his band are extremely talented. With that kind of talent, I say if they want to mix in some rock and roll with country, more power to them.

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Filed under Country Rock, Live Music, Music Videos, Southern Rock