Category Archives: Music Videos

by | February 5, 2015 · 8:00 am

Country Salvation

As a long time country music lover I feel the need to introduce ya’ll to my all time favorite Kenny Chesney. His newish album shows his free spirited personality. He really hit the jackpot on this one because his songs are still on the top 20’s chart and the album was released back in September of 2014. I’ve compiled a few songs I think everyone should hear on the Big Revival album and given them my two cents.

‘Wild Child’ has been named one of his signature songs for the Big Revival album, which in my opinion matches him perfectly. Girls listen up because, “Chesney admits the song kind of describes every girl he’s ever been attracted to.” He opens up to the world revealing a life of chasing and running. He chases girls that are free spirited while he is the same, unable to be tamed. Maybe he’s calling out to tell all the girls how to treat him?

Another song in his album that I feel truly captures the essence of Kenny is ‘American Kids.’ Barefooted for this entire video, Kenny invites his audience to come and celebrate life with him. I think almost everyone can relate to this song from riding school busses to making out on your living room couch. I know I can. It brings back memories that make me want to sway with the music and clap along.

‘Til It’s Gone’ adds on to Chesney’s emphasis on living life to the fullest. “One life, one chance… You and me still holding on right down to the last song.” He’s not going to quit living early. Instead he is going to hold on till the very end and enjoy every bit of it. I always feel like life passes by so quickly, moving from semester to semester not stopping or slowing down.

“It’s the little things that make life worth livin” sings Chesney in ‘Beer Can Chicken.’ Bringing it back to the roots, Chesney reminds me of the times I would spend in the back yard giggling when my dad would pour some of his beer on the chicken. These memories remind me that it’s not always about the big things in life. Something as simple as BBQ chicken can make your life worth living.

I find ‘Save It For A Rainy Day’ empowering. I wont let anything or anybody hold me down. There will be days that I can think about the people that hurt me, but for now I am going to enjoy my life and these perfect sunny, spring days. This song picks up its listeners with a big smile and a pat, sayin’ chin up kid and keep on kickin’ butt.

Overall this album is refreshing and makes me want take my life and live it to the fullest every day so I don’t miss a beat. I hope everyone finds it as uplifting as I do. P.S. to all my southern girls who ever need an uplifting Chesney says, “Southern girls are God’s gift to the entire male population. There is absolutely no woman finer than one raised below the Mason-Dixon line and once you go southern may the good Lord help you-you may never go back.” Kenny loves us, what more could we ask for?

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Filed under Music Videos, Song Analysis

by | November 25, 2014 · 4:28 pm

Making a Music Video

Scene from video 2

When I registered for the Rhetoric of Country Music class last spring, I figured that we would be listening to lots of music, reading lyrics, learning about the history, and watching videos to learn about the rhetoric of music. I never would have thought that we would have an assignment where we would have to make a music video to a country song. At first, I had no idea what I would do with my group, or what song we would choose, but I knew this would be an interesting and fun experience.

My group was made up of Jessica Jakobeit (JJ), Tori Horvath, and myself and we started looking for a song that we would like to make a video for. We could have chosen a song with a video already but we wanted to make one for a song that does not have a video already. That part was a bit complicated because there were a lot of songs that we liked but they already had a music videos. Eventually we started looking into Carrie Underwood songs and I mentioned one of the songs from her first album, Some Hearts. I had always liked her song “Starts With Goodbye” because I could relate to that song at one point in my life, so I thought that that song would be interesting to make a video for. We listened to the song as a group and started brainstorming ideas for it.

Picture from video

Kyle and JJ laughing while recording the video

The next class day, we started to record the different scenes that we would have in our songs. Since we did not have a guy to play a role in the video, we got a friend of ours, Kyle Moore, to be a part of it. I thought he was a good choice to be in the video because he loves country music, maybe even more than some of us in the group. We had to record some scenes outside, well all of the scenes outside and it was not the best weather to be outside because it was so cold. It took us the entire class period to record and I even had to meet again with JJ after our dance class to finish up. After we had all the scenes we needed, we started to put the video together, which was my favorite part. We used the footage that we got and got to add some transitions and other details to it to try to show a story that the song was talking about. It was fun getting to play with different features on iMovie and it was just fun in general, mostly because we were laughing at ourselves. Well we would laugh at Kyle and JJ but it was in a friendly way and I think they did amazing acting. I believe it took us like 3 hours in total to finish the video but I think it came out pretty good for not having almost any experience in making videos.

This project is definitely one of my favorites ever and I am really proud of what we did. I hope everyone else in class had as much fun as we did and I would love to hear about your own experiences about making a video.

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Filed under Class work, Music Videos, Reflection

by | · 10:04 am

Student-Made Music Videos

If you’re joining the Country Music Project for the first time, welcome! The students enrolled in the “Rhetoric of Country Music” course at the University of Texas have spent the last couple of class periods preparing music videos for some of their favorite country songs. The purpose of the activity was to give them an inside look at the process of making a video to accompany a song, and to practice their skills at bringing their favorite songs’ stories to life. Please note that these videos were created for entirely educational purposes and do mean to infringe upon the rights of any of the artists involved in the original recordings.

Miranda Lambert’s “Dry Town” (2007). Video by Gerrit Cook, Brittany Fietsam, and Lejla Pracic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnN7BtGxNLU&feature=youtu.be

Kacey Musgraves’s “Follow Your Arrow” (2013). Video by Mikey Casarez, Carilu Martinez, and Elizabeth Stack. [Note: The video includes footage from Burning Man (Nevada) and Austin’s Zilker Park.]

Taylor Swift’s “Jump Then Fall” (2008). Video by Alyssa Hazen, Minsu Kim, Dena Lipper. and Tamar Oren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68Feq1PYHgY&feature=youtu.be

George Strait’s “Here for a Good Time” (2011). Video by Amy Burt, Hannah Parmer, and Ramie Payne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0HVtZGCkzs&app=desktop

George Strait’s “I Saw God Today” (2008). Video by Holly Kern, Zane Gurwitz, and MaKayla Markey.

Carrie Underwood’s “Starts with Goodbye” (2005). Video by Tori Horvath, Jessica Jakobeit, and Alina Monzón.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrq4JevLcQs

Hank Williams’s “I Won’t Be Home No More” (1953). Video by Mark Anderson, Brent Borman, and William Glass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7lcrg5BZho

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Filed under Class work, Music Videos

by | October 25, 2014 · 8:00 am

Murder On Music Row

Artists“Murder On Music Row,” is a popular song originally written by Larry Shell and Larry Cordle in 1999 and later covered by George Strait and Alan Jackson in what came to be a hit duet. When I first heard this song I didn’t fully understand the point it was trying to get across. However, when I heard this song for a second time on one of George Strait’s ‘greatest hits’ CD, I became aware of its lyrical meaning.

This song created much controversy in the music industry because of its criticism towards mainstream country music at that time. The lyrics criticize the on-going trend of pop music integrating it’s way into country music. Strait and Jackson agreed with the meaning behind this song by making their own cover together.

Country music tends to have this reputation of “twangy” songs, fiddle playing, drinking and love stories. The lyrics state, “For the steel guitars no longer cry and fiddles barely play.” It seems as if the country sounds were being taken out of country music around the time the song was written. “They said no one would buy them old drinking and cheating songs.” Traditional country music was slowly dying due to the new style of music and new upcoming artists. The song refers to Meryl Haggard by stating, “Why, the Hag, he wouldn’t have a chance on today’s radio.” Because of the way country music was changing so much, if people heard Meryl on the radio they wouldn’t know what to think.

Murder_on_Music_RowIf you listen to “Murder On Music Row,” which I suggest you do, the sound ties back into the meaning of the song by keeping the true country sound. With the twang in their voices, the fiddle in the background, and the acoustic guitars, Strait and Jackson relay a message to the country music industry, striving to keep the traditional country music alive. As two true country artists, they saw what country music was turning into and what it was soon to become. Strait and Jackson may be seen as the saviors of traditional country music in the era of its changes.

As it seems, many agree that pop country has taken over and “murdered” true country music. It has changed drastically in the past decade, leaving fans questioning, “what is true country music?” If the new music is not classified as country, then what is it?

Lyrics found at: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/georgestrait/murderonmusicrow.html

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Filed under Movies and TV, Music Videos, New Country, New Traditionalism, Song Analysis

by | October 23, 2014 · 12:00 am

Girl in A Country Song

Maddie and Tae's first single - "Girl In A Country Song"Ever listen to the lyrics of country songs? I mean really listen? I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes, I just play music and sing along without even knowing what I’m singing about. It becomes second nature after you hear a song a couple of times; the lyrics are constantly stuck in your head, the beat is catchy, and you can’t help but belt out the latest Luke Bryan song at the top of your lungs in the car. But when you really listen to the lyrics, sometimes you catch things that you overlook during a normal, relaxed listen.

To combat this lack of awareness, new duo Maddie and Tae released a song titled “Girl In A Country Song” in July. When I first heard this song on the radio, I couldn’t help but laugh and turn it up, because every single lyric was SO TRUE. Here’s a sampling of the lyrics:

“Bein’ the girl in a country song / How in the world did it go so wrong? / Like all we’re good for / Is looking good for you and your friends on the weekend / Nothing more / We used to get a little respect / Now we’re lucky if we even get / To climb up in your truck, keep my mouth shut and ride along / And be the girl in a country song”

And that’s not even the best part. The song takes so many jabs at the typical lyrics of a male-sung country song, from Luke Bryan’s “That’s My Kind of Night” to Thomas Rhett’s “Get Me Some Of That.” These girls take sarcasm, humor, and attitude to a whole new level, but at the same time, they really are trying to draw attention to a huge issue in modern-day country music.

Role reversal from the music video

When objectifying women is the norm of a genre and people don’t think twice about it when singing along, that’s a problem. Most people associate lyrics like that with rap songs, where they constantly talk about women shaking what they’ve got for the men around them. So when did it become so accepted in country lyrics? The sad part is that I’m completely guilty of the “in one ear, out the other” habit when listening to songs. But this song really made me stop and think about the songs that I listen to, especially this lyric:

“Aww no, Conway and George Strait / Never did it this way / Back in the old days / Aww y’all, we ain’t a cliché / That ain’t no way/ To treat a lady”

They said it perfectly. What happened to the old George Strait songs when a woman was treasured? The Conway Twitty songs about his “darlin’” rather than the generic label “girl.” You know, I honestly couldn’t even tell you. All I know is that I genuinely wouldn’t want to be the girl in a country song.

Girl In A Country Song – Maddie and Tae (music video)

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Filed under Bro Country, Music Videos, Women