bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on May 3, 2024 3:16:17 GMT -5
"Worst Way" - Riley Green
"Worst Way" was the next highest debut on HCS this week. Not that that's a huge accomplishment; I'm pretty sure Shaboozey was in the top 6, and this next highest was like bottom 5, lol. Honestly, I can't even tell you why this one would be popular enough to chart, but here we are.
This song is supposed to be a classic celebration of lovemaking. In this song, our narrator and their romantic partner are ready to get it on! While they love to wine and dine and build up the romantic tension, right now the tension is about to boil over... So they're skipping the flowers and the conversation, and getting directly down to business... It is definitely steamy, and one that I am sure many will find relatable if they're in a passionate relationship.
But like, it's also soooo bland. Every criticism I had for "Damn Good Day To Leave", crank it up to 11 for this song. The instrumental arrangment has literally no identity, and Riley's vocals have not even a fraction of the personality needed to turn this from steamy to sexy. And where DGDTL had a catchy melody, this one really does not. I do like it overall, but I have no idea why this is randomly popular enough to make the HCS chart.
With that, I am caught up on Riley Green's output on the modern country charts! Between these two and "Different 'Round Here", he has proven to be pretty polarizing thusfar. That one got a D (66.88%), while this one got a C, and "Damn Good" got a B+.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 5, 2024 17:01:57 GMT -5
"Damn Good Day to Leave" is exceptional. I find myself enjoying male country hits few and far between, but Riley's definitely picked a great one this time around. "Different 'Round Here" was mid and forgettable af, but "Damn Good" is a total melodic earworm and so fun. He's a polarizing artist for me as well in that he has just as many misses as hits, but when he's on, he's definitely got the potential to be great (loved "I Wish Grandpas Never Died" i.e.).
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Post by bboat11 on May 7, 2024 21:00:12 GMT -5
"Devil You Know" - Tyler Braden
"Devil You Know" is the new song on the HCS chart by Tyler Braden. I don't know a lot about him other than I enjoyed "Try Losing One", which charted in 2023 just before I started doing this series (I'll try to go back and catch up with the first few months of 2023 someday!) Overall "Devil You Know" is not as immediate of a standout for me as "Try Losing One" was, but I do like it! This song has a dark, almost Southern-Gothic vibe to it, especially with the "oh oh oh"s in the intro melody. In this song, Tyler puts himself in the shoes of someone who is underappreciated and underestimated, and points out that he should be taken seriously. It's kinda like President Theodore Roosevelt's "speak softly and carry a big stick" quote. Like, just because I am kind does not mean you should try to take advantage of me. I have no problem standing up for myself if I need to! And that's really all there is to this. It's a simple song, that at its heart seeks to remind us that everyone is going through their own struggles and deserves to be respected for where they are at. Although, it also has a swagger and machismo to it that makes it a lot less "Don't Laugh At Me" than it sounded when I just wrote it out, lol.
The fiddle and the steel guitar are very nice, and I like Tyler's swagger and the dark vibes! Definitely not one that I will seek out a lot on my own, but I would probably support it if it went to radio.
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Post by bboat11 on May 7, 2024 21:18:25 GMT -5
"Hangin' On" - ERNEST ft. Morgan Wallen
"Hangin' On" debuted on the HCS chart last week, probably thanks to it being a new collaboration with Morgan Wallen. ERNEST has built quite a partnership with Wallen so far, with "Flower Shops" being a HUGE hit recently, and "Cowgirls" climbing the airplay charts now. "Hangin' On" is from his new album that just dropped on April 12th, causing this song to debut on the HCS chart within one week of "Cowgirls" hitting the airplay charts. And with "Cowgirls" being a Wallen-led song and this one being ERNEST-led, I would not be surprised to see this one potentially take off and start climbing simultaneously. For now it's just on HCS, but we'll see!
"Hangin' On" is a song about heartbreak, depicting a narrator who is unfortunately barely hanging on by a thread in the wake of a breakup. He goes to a bar, and in the glow of the dimly lit lights, the sound of the clinking of glasses, and the smell of whiskey in the air, he seeks solace and distraction from his troubles. But he finds it incredibly hard to do, because the memories just keep hanging on, causing him to keep hanging on. It's a very typical country theme, handled in a very typical way.
The best thing this song has going for it is ERNEST's desire to position himself as a bit of a traditionalist! At this point my assessment of him is that he's no Alan Jackson, but he's also definitely no HARDY either, and after a decade of artists like Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean and FGL pushing their arrangements in an increasingly vanilla direction, ERNEST feels like a little bit of a nice pivot back towards fiddle and steel. That being said, melodically this is nothing special. It's catchy in the way that some of Morgan's recent releases are catchy. Like, it feels like it's almost designed to go viral, rather than being something that you genuinely would crank up and belt along to. I should probably check out ERNEST's album, because he talked a big game on Sara Evans' podcast recently about his desire to keep it country and focus on good songs! This song isn't bad, but it falls pretty short of that promise, imo. If he's trying to be an innovator, this is a pretty average effort.
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Post by bboat11 on May 8, 2024 3:13:19 GMT -5
"Cowgirls" - Morgan Wallen ft. ERNEST
Well speaking of Morgan Wallen and ERNEST collaborations, I figured I may as well tackle "Cowgirls" next. And yeah... Same old complaint I feel like I have been making a lot lately. This feels like it is designed specifically to go viral rather than being genuinely catchy. And that may feel like a silly thing for me to say. But I consider something that's genuinely catchy to be something like "Blue Clear Sky" or "Check Yes Or No". There's something a lot less organic about the catchiness of "Cowgirls", "Thinkin' 'Bout Me", "You Proof", etc. Topically, this is a song about yearning, using cowgirls as a backdrop. In this song, "cowgirls" represent women who are free-spirited, strong-willed, independent, unpredictable, and a little bit dangerous. Man, do these women have a certain allure to them that you simply can't deny! And yet, relationships with them are fundamentally bittersweet because it's impossible for you to settle down with an adventurous spirit who would rather tear up the desert than stay in one place with you.
It's a tried and true theme for country music. When listening to it, I can't help but compare it to "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls" by King George, for obvious reasons. But by comparison, this song just feels like it gives the women less agency and less credit. In "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls", George mentions several aspects of the "cowgirl" personality, but I want to focus specifically on how each singer describes her approach to relationships.
George makes her feel realistic and complex yet attainable and worthy of love. "She don't need you and she don't need me. She can do just fine on her own two feet. But she wants a man who wants her to be herself. And she'll never change. Don't know how to hide her stubborn will or her fightin' side. But you treat her right and she'll love you like no one else." Compare that with Morgan's lyrics, which contain lines like, "Long live cowgirls, never gonna settle on down girls. Leave you in a lonely ghost town world where the sun don't shine. Rodeo for one night, love you like a mustang," etc. While both songs obviously come from a place of admiration for the women, the reason for that admiration is different. In George's song, they are real women who are valued for their independence and their strength, and the value that they can bring to a relationship. In Morgan's song, they are an unattainable ideal that is impossible to tie down and therefore fundamentally incompatible with relationships. And the latter example is focused almost exclusively on sex appeal as well, with references to loving you for one night like she's riding a mustang in the rodeo. I mean, the bridge literally goes, "Come on, cowgirls. Don't you wanna take me away? Lay me on down, girl, with the wild kind of lovin' you make, for God's sake." Jesus, could this narrator be any more of a simp?!!!?!!
Of course there is a time and a place for each perspective, and I'm definitely not saying that "Cowgirls" is one of George's best songs (in fact, I've always found it to be one of his most substance-less hits.) But if you are wanting your kids to grow up hearing about strong family values and respecting women, the choice is obvious. Morgan's song is basically one step away from being an incel anthem, treating women like they're not worthy of having or capable of sustaining loving relationships because they are strong-willed and independent.
Oh, and sonically it's a mess. Easy D-.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on May 8, 2024 3:35:19 GMT -5
"Pride" - Sara Evans
Before I go to bed, I wanted a palate cleanser from "Cowgirls" So let's bring Sara Evans to the front!!!!! Y'all KNOW I've been listening to this song on repeat the last few weeks, since Sara is my second-favorite artist right behind Martina! And "Pride" is freaking haunting, too
First of all, at its core this is a song about empowerment and resilience. As the female artists who I stan for tend to do, Sara absolutely rips open all your wounds, but then turns it around and leaves you with a positive feeling that you can get through whatever it is you are going through.
In this song, what she is going through is the extremely intimate emotional abuse of her own toxic marriage. With it comes heartbreakingly REAL lyrical moments, such as "Nobody saw the other side. You'd turn into Jekyll, and I'd run and hide." Or "Are you insane or are you brilliant? Am I crazy or just resilient?" "You'll take whiskey, you'll take wine. You'll take anything as long as it was mine." Etc. I could literally list every line of this song if we're looking for standout moments.
Through it all, the picture is painted of a relationship in trouble, where one side is giving everything they have and the other side is taking all of it and more, without owning up to or acknowledging their own flaws. This is one of those songs that is just so raw and realistic that it is going to be very hard for some people to listen to. But as I mentioned earlier, Sara turns it around with a message of empowerment. You feel a little triumph start to develop in her voice as she declares in the bridge and the third chorus that she is leaving.
The biggest flaws with this song, imo, lie within the arrangement. This is a veeeeeeery low-key arrangement, to the extent that there literally might as well not even be an arrangement. This could be completely a cappella for all that the arrangement brings to the table. Personally I hear a calm wave of synthetic keyboard noises buried way in the background and a strummed acoustic guitar front-and-center. There is a litle bit of electric guitar in the mix too, of course. But, it quite literally does not matter. None of it is interesting or innovative. The good thing is, it allows the lyrics and vocals to shine!!! The bad thing is, the melody is not quite immediate enough for this song to grip a wide audience from the lyrics alone. This is going to be a polarizing song as a result.
Nevertheless, I think this song is AMAZING, and I am SO EXCITED for Sara's triumphant return <3 Based on this song and "21 Days", I can tell already that this is going to be an incredible album!
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kluen
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Post by kluen on May 8, 2024 21:21:01 GMT -5
I always assume that Reba is your second-favorite...hhhh
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on May 9, 2024 2:18:47 GMT -5
I always assume that Reba is your second-favorite...hhhh I have a top 5 that is iron-clad and untouchable, and they are all more or less interchangeable at this point, lol. But I think this is how I would rank them if I absolutely had to!
1. Martina McBride
2. Sara Evans
3. George Strait 4. Terri Clark 5. Reba McEntire
These five artists hit home runs with me with nearly everything they touch! The only reason Reba is at the back is because her albums were a lot less consistent in the '80s, while the other four have been consistent for their entire careers. But from 1990-onward, Reba's consistency is right up there with the rest of them <3
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Post by bboat11 on May 11, 2024 18:18:16 GMT -5
"Wind Up Missin' You" - Tucker Wetmore
Tucker Wetmore has a couple songs getting attention right now. As far as I can tell, he is a new kid on the block, so I know literally nothing about him. But I checked him out for the first time the other night and ranked both of his current songs. First up, "Wind Up Missin' You", which debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart for 4/13.
This is a song about longing, featuring a narrator who has had a history of being a bit of a heartbreaker, and now he is feeling a sense of remorse and a desire for a second chance at love. The hook is telling her all the things she looks like ("you look like waves on a sunset", etc.), followed up by "you look like I'm gonna wind up missin' you", which shows that he is worried he might lose this girl and have to miss her, which makes him a little sad and shows us that he is starting to really like her. It is a fine theme, nothing noteworthy or groundbreaking in the songwriting department, but nothing objectionable either.
One thing that holds it back a little for me is Tucker's vocal. He's not a very good annunciator. There's a spot in the second verse where he actually makes every vowel sound like it has a slight "e", and then doesn't follow them with any consonants "I bet you heard the stories, en can't say I'm prou o theeea, but I've turned the page on the ol me, and now I ain't lookin' beeeeaa cau..."
The song is just fine, definitely no worse than average! But leaves me with plenty to be desired, for sure.
"Wine Into Whiskey" - Tucker Wetmore
The second Tucker Wetmore song debuted on the 5/4 Airplay chart, and is called "Wine Into Whiskey". It is another song about a heartbreaker, although while the protagonist of "Wind Up Missin' You" is already moving onto somebody else and trying to make up for his sordid past, the narrator of "Wine Into Whiskey" is actively reeling from the aftermath of hurting his latest victim. He is regretting it, and has not yet started to move on.
Due to that slight difference in positioning of the narrator relative to a major heartbreak, in my opinion "Wine Into Whiskey" is a MUCH more interesting song lyrically. The hook of "I turned her love into pain and her wine into whiskey" is particularly cool to me! It speaks to the depth of despair that he put this woman through. Not only did he turn love into pain, but he completely changed her habits! Where she would usually prefer white wine on a relaxing evening at home, now he has "dipped her wings into Tennessee Brown" and caused her to start preferring whiskey because it helps her numb the pain. To make it worse, he mentions throughout the song how much faith she used to have in him, no matter how much he used to warn her about his demons. The fact that she tried so hard to help him and he still chewed her up and spit her out is just devastating imo.
As strong as the lyrics are, the arrangement is quite a bit less country than "Wind Up", and those few extra credit points for country instruments helped push "Wind Up" like one percentage point higher, even though I would say I enjoy "Wine"'s melody and lyrics a lot more. Both songs are C+ efforts though. He seems to be a pretty average artist so far!
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.indulgecountry
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"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 11, 2024 22:18:32 GMT -5
The name Tucker Wetmore has me every time I see it. Both songs are decent, though I prefer "Wind Up Missin' You" of the two. He definitely fits right into the comfortable groove established by Morgan Wallen and seems to already be reaping the rewards of that given his streaming numbers thus far. Wouldn't be surprised if one of these or something else blows up into a big smash sooner rather than later given the way he's already moving the needle in such a big way.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on May 17, 2024 1:05:48 GMT -5
"Use Me" - Dallas Smith
Towards the end of April, Dallas Smith entered the Canadian charts with a new song. "Use Me" is a song about a man who is willing to be a comforting shoulder for his female friend who is going through a difficult period in her relationship. The title is exactly what he is telling her! "If you want to use somebody, use me." He knows that she is struggling and going off the rails, so he would rather be used than have her out brokenhearted in the world where she might make some other bad decisions. At least he can keep her safe and loved while she's going through this, even though he knows that she ultimately might go running right back to her ex once the dust has settled. It's a song about offering selfless support, and Dallas sells the theme well vocally. This song is pretty catchy too! I particularly like the verses, as the way Dallas delivers the rather quick lyrics just has a really nonchalant and warm vibe to it, like "no big deal, you know I've got your back girl. Come on over!" The big blemish on this song, imo, is the production. While the verses are pretty well-mixed, the entire production job goes off the rails with the chorus. Wall-of-sound on steroids, complete with unnecessary vocal processing and a swing towards slightly more generic lyrics. With this production job it is really difficult to pick out individual instruments, but I do think there is a piano buried in the background at least. It is a catchy listen, that is held back by its production job and would have ultimately done a lot better with more of a focus on an engaging arrangement rather than an ambiguous wall-of-sound.
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Post by bboat11 on May 17, 2024 1:23:03 GMT -5
"Love You, Miss You, Mean It" - Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan's newest song debuted the same week in America that Dallas' did in Canada. Let me tell you, I am quite impressed with this one! This is definitely in the top tier of Luke's career! It's nowhere near the highs of "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", "Play It Again", "Drink A Beer", etc., but it is WAY closer to those than it is to the lows of "Kick the Dust Up", etc.
This is a classic 3-part story song that is such a fundamental part of the country storytelling tradition. It is a song about small-town childhood sweethearts. In the beginning, they are falling in love in high school, proclaiming their undying love. Part 2, they go off to college, the calls slow down and Luke wonders what happens to the promises they made. Part 3, years later, she calls him up and admits that the feelings never went away, ultimately wrapping the song up with a happy ending!
The only flaw with this song is that the story is a little clunky. Sometimes these 3-part stories feel pretty organic (like George's "Love Without End, Amen", Patty's "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye", etc.) but in this instance the plot feels a little forced. Or maybe it's just rushed? Idk, I'm not a big fan of "the years went by" being used as a throwaway storytelling device. It's essentially like, "I wondered where our love went. But then the years went by and she called me up again!" There's just not much payoff when the tension is resolved with a simple "the years went by and our lives changed".
That's a minor flaw though, in a song that is otherwise quite a refreshing take from the artist in question! Luke, as always, sounds perpetually unengaged, but this song is not as noticeable as some of his more boring recent singles. The melody is catchy, the message is sweet, and the blatant steel guitar and piano are awesome! Solid B+!
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on May 17, 2024 2:15:16 GMT -5
"Fixer Upper" - Dallas Smith
I decided to look back at any Dallas Smith songs that are on my list, and I noticed that I missed his last song, "Fixer Upper" in the second half of 2023. This song is from the same album, and honestly it suffers from the same problems. A charming vocal in the verses, and then the whole atmosphere is interrupted by massive overproduction in the chorus.
"Fixer Upper" is similar to "Use Me" in that it is about a vulnerable man. Where "Use Me" is about a man offering to be used by a woman that he loves, however, "Fixer Upper" features a man who is in a happy relationship even though he doesn't really feel like he always deserves it. In this song, he admits to being a fixer upper and mentions a lot of his flaws, and expresses gratitude and admiration towards his partner for choosing him and loving him anyway. She is gradually transforming his imperfections into something beautiful with her love and acceptance.
Unfortunately, the melody is completely at odds with the message. This melody feels more like a stereotypical bro country melody to me. I'm not totally sure why, but for some reason the melody is just annoying to me. It is a little catchy, but not in a way that makes me want to keep revisiting it. In the end the steel guitar and Dallas' charm are just enough to carry this into the C-range, but that's about all it's worth imo.
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Post by bboat11 on May 17, 2024 2:56:47 GMT -5
"Cowboys and Plowboys" - Jon Pardi ft. Luke Bryan
Since I cleared out my Dallas Smith backlog, I figured I may as well do the same for Luke Bryan! "Cowboys and Plowboys" was one that came out last fall riiiight about the time I got busy and stopped reviewing for awhile. It was one of the oldest songs right at the top of my list.
What a straight-up country JAM! This is Jon Pardi's song, of course, featuring Luke, and similar to "Love You, Miss You, Mean It", this is easily one of the best things Luke Bryan has ever attached his name to. The fiddle and steel are both iconic and standing out in a big way in this song! It could have been taken directly out of the '90s or '00s country industry.
The lyrics are simple. The two singers take on two personas, Jon being a cowboy, and Luke being a plowboy. They point out the differences in their lives (one rides a horse, one rides a tractor, one takes his girl dancing, the other takes his girl out into the fields to watch the sunset, one drinks whiskey and the other drinks beer, etc.) But what quickly emerges through all these comparisons is the fact that both men share the same respect for the country way of life! While their professions might be different, their rural hearts are the same, their nostalgia is the same, their love of the countryside is the same....
It's a very basic theme, but it's also a good one. Tied together with a catchy melody and the perfect instrumentation to make such a song feel authentic, this was an easy B+! The only thing keeping it from the A-list is that it's just kinda hokey, and wears on me kinda like a novelty song.
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