Tag Archives: little big town

Country Firsts

In honor of my first blog post of the semester, I am going to write about some of my country music firsts. I have loved country music for my entire life, and some of my favorite memories include it.

I knew pretty much every word to every song on this album.

Going back to my early childhood years, immediately I think of Shania Twain, my first idol. In 1998 I was 4 years old in Charleston, South Carolina, and Shania was launching her first world tour for her third studio album, Come on Over. I thought she was just about perfect, and everything I wanted to be when I grew up. My mom had a tape, yes a tape, of her songs that she, my sister and I would sing right along to any time we were in the car for an extended period of time. Even now, whenever I’m starting a road trip I love to play some Shania. For my birthday I got one of her CDs, and for a couple years after it remained my top choice, along with the Back Street Boys, to lip sync my own concert to.

A few years later came my first country concert. By then I was living in New Hampshire, but as Brantley Gilbert says, ”country must be country wide.” One Friday after school my dad surprised me with three tickets to the Martina McBride concert, and Little Big Town, still one of my favorites, was the opener. I got to invite my best friend, and Dad sat a few rows back, so we could feel all grown up sitting by ourselves.  I remember that night so clearly, from what I was wearing to the car ride home recapping every moment. My personal favorite was when Little Big Town played “Boondocks,” which I played on repeat for weeks to come.

By high school I was happily back in the south in a small town outside of San Antonio called Helotes. I lived right down the road from Floore Country Store where Willie Nelson can frequently be found, and I could hear the music being played from my back porch. It’s also where I two stepped for the first time. I have to admit, it was pretty awkward. The steps are simple enough, but I had a hard time with being lead and kept trying to go in the wrong direction. When it came time to spin things just got messy. Luckily, my partner was a doll and we both laughed the missteps off. Since then, I am proud to say I have greatly improved. Spinning around a Texas dance floor to good music is one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday night. If you’re ever in San Antonio, and have never been to Floore’s, I highly recommend stopping by to see artists such as Randy Rogers Band, or Whiskey Meyers.

You can't miss it.

You can’t miss it.

So there they are. A few of the many good memories I’ve had that country music played a role in. If you have any you’d like to share, I would love to read them!

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Filed under Dancing, Reflection, Texas

Country Nights on Spotify

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.

  1. 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.85fcc9e1717888a8ccbb031dab8eb44398e12a85
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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!

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Filed under Lists, New Country, Song Analysis