I recently caved in to the pressures from society, and all of my friends, and made myself an account on Spotify. I had never really understood what the big deal was, because I had music on my ITunes and listened to the radio whenever I was in my car. I got my fix of music, both country and other, or so I thought. I went online and decided to take the plunge and create an account just to see what all of the hype was about.
Needless to say, my life has been changed forever. I went for the Premium option since it’s half off for students, and why not spend more money as a broke college student. I didn’t really know what I was doing, as I was new to the Spotify experience, so I just started clicking random things and searching for random music.
Of course, being the fanatic I am, my first search was for anything country. I stumbled upon a playlist titled Country Nights, which contained a mix of country-dance music and many songs that you might hear on your typical country radio station. To say that I listened to this playlist non-stop in all of my free time would be an understatement because I listened to this music even when I should have been studying or paying attention to other things. Imagine my excitement when I realized the true glory of Spotify playlists; they are continuously adding new music.
In the past week, there have been five new songs added to the list: “Burnin’ It Down” and “Tonight Looks Good On You” by Jason Aldean, “Drink It Up” by Kenny Chesney, “Lonely Tonight” by Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe, and “Day Drinking” by Little Big Town.
- “Burnin’ It Down” by Jason Aldean Like a lot of Jason Aldean’s music, this song has a very pop feel, with the addition of some techno/alternative hints at the beginning of the song and a little bit throughout. It is trying to be a slow, more intimate song, but the background bass and electric sounds are leaning more toward a dance song. The words themselves are kind of country, but, honestly, I don’t think the song really fits Jason Aldean’s personality. Even though Jason has, as of 5 days ago, a fiancé 10 years younger than him, he is typically seen as more of a family man with his 2 young daughters. This song, however, is a very sexual song, which, aside from his photographed affair in 2012, is not typically Jason’s style. Overall, I’d say this is more R&B than country in its makeup.
- “Tonight Looks Good On You” by Jason Aldean Just like “Burnin’ It Down,” this song has a very techno background feel throughout the song. My feelings about this song are pretty similar to my feelings of “Burnin’ It Down.” I don’t think that this is really a country song, and honestly I think that Jason is pulling a Taylor Swift move and drifting toward pop music. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but I think these songs are definitely showing this dramatic change in his production standard. Only time will tell whether this is a good move or bad move for Jason.
- “Drink It Up” by Kenny Chesney This song is totally country in my opinion. It has a strong rock influence, but I think that in this case it really adds to the country feel. The drinking theme throughout the song is one that is very frequently used in country music, and the asymmetrical rhythm gives the song more of a rough, redneck feel. Kenny Chesney has come on to many people’s radars recently with the popularity of “American Kids,” but I definitely think that this is one of my favorite songs of his I have heard.
- “Lonely Tonight” by Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe Before I saw this song appear on the playlist, I had never heard of Ashley Monroe, so I was very skeptical at first. However, as normal, Blake Shelton did not disappoint with his song or his duet partner. This song encompasses everything that I think of when I think of a country love song. The lyrics flow without being overwhelmingly cheesy, and the song tells a story. That, plus the fact that Blake and Ashley’s voices perfectly complement each other, makes this song perfect in my eyes.
- “Day Drinking” by Little Big Town This song has been playing for a while now on country radio stations, so, having heard it before, I was very excited when I saw it had been added to the playlist. The whistling at the start of the song sets that initial country feel that is portrayed so heavily throughout the song. Like “Drink It Up” by Kenny Chesney, this song plays off of the theme of drinking and having a good time that is so prevalent in so many country songs. This is just a really happy, feel good song, which I think will stay in the country scene for a long time, especially with the catchy beat that will make people want to sing along.
Although not all of the recently posted songs are one hundred percent country in my eyes, I love how great this playlist is. I’m really looking forward to seeing what songs are posted in the coming weeks, because I have already discovered some great new music, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
