trebor
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Post by trebor on Apr 16, 2015 13:21:54 GMT -5
Not super catchy and immediate but sports an accomplished country instrumentation and really good lyrics to go with. I'm already in it! His best work in some time. Radio should gobble this up pretty easily and push him into Top 10 territory. I'm not really sure how I feel about this song yet, but even if I thought it were a really good song, I wouldn't expect it to make the top 10. Toby's career at radio is all but done, and I'd be surprised if he ever scores another top 20 hit (unless one of the current A-list artists does a duet with him). Heck, I don't even know if Toby can get back to the top 30 on his own again. "Drunk Americans" barely squeaked into the top 30 and that was after it got the hourly spins debut from Clear Channel. "Drunk Americans" debuted at #31 and only peaked at #27...and it spent 20 weeks on the chart, too, just spinning its tires on the cusp of the top 30 the whole time. J. & sabre14 Thanks for your comments; and obviously I'll bow at your never ending wealth of knowledge. In the future, I'll try to be more precise when expressing personal feelings and mere wishful thinking. Seeing this to tank (sort of speaking) outside the Top 10 would really break my heart. LOL
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Apr 16, 2015 21:30:00 GMT -5
Maybe this will grow on me, but as of now I don't like it at all. I really wouldn't be surprised to see this die out before the top 40.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2015 22:55:22 GMT -5
^I personally think Show-Dog would have reason to celebrate if this even came close to top 40. At best I see this matching the peak position of "Shut Up and Hold On" but with how crazy the congestion at the bottom of the chart has gotten I don't think a label as poor as Show-Dog is even going to be able to get this into the Billboard top 60 easily. It also doesn't help that Toby Keith is trying to save his career by releasing a song with a pretty polarizing, offensive message.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Apr 17, 2015 0:54:35 GMT -5
^I personally think Show-Dog would have reason to celebrate if this even came close to top 40. At best I see this matching the peak position of "Shut Up and Hold On" but with how crazy the congestion at the bottom of the chart has gotten I don't think a label as poor as Show-Dog is even going to be able to get this into the Billboard top 60 easily. It also doesn't help that Toby Keith is trying to save his career by releasing a song with a pretty polarizing, offensive message.I don't think is going to be a polarizing song to the majority of country radio listeners at all.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Apr 17, 2015 5:39:54 GMT -5
^I personally think Show-Dog would have reason to celebrate if this even came close to top 40. At best I see this matching the peak position of "Shut Up and Hold On" but with how crazy the congestion at the bottom of the chart has gotten I don't think a label as poor as Show-Dog is even going to be able to get this into the Billboard top 60 easily. It also doesn't help that Toby Keith is trying to save his career by releasing a song with a pretty polarizing, offensive message.I don't think is going to be a polarizing song to the majority of country radio listeners at all. Could not agree more. If anything, I feel like he is almost pandering to the majority of country music listeners.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2015 6:23:34 GMT -5
^Maybe you two are right about this one. I personally didn't feel the lines were offensive as I've stated earlier, but I still found the message to be a pretty bold assertion that could rub listeners the wrong way. Normally I'd definitely say country listeners wouldn't be offended, but then again who would have thought that "Beer with Jesus" or "Girl Crush" would strike a nerve with listeners? (Granted, the GC controversy was at least 75% made up by the anti-country radio media and our friend Bobby Bones.) Judging by the fact that out of the handful of Pulse members already discussing this song, at least two or three have agreed that the message is wrong, I'd be just a bit surprised if absolutely no one called in to their radio station after hearing this and said something along the lines of, "Is he saying I'm not a good Christian because I don't put the Bible out enough?" I'm just basing this prediction upon past experiences with some pretty petty objections country listeners have raised to lyrics, although there's also the possibility I'm totally over thinking this, lol. I definitely don't see how this is "pandering" though.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Apr 17, 2015 7:25:16 GMT -5
^Maybe you two are right about this one. I personally didn't feel the lines were offensive as I've stated earlier, but I still found the message to be a pretty bold assertion that could rub listeners the wrong way. Normally I'd definitely say country listeners wouldn't be offended, but then again who would have thought that "Beer with Jesus" or "Girl Crush" would strike a nerve with listeners? (Granted, the GC controversy was at least 75% made up by the anti-country radio media and our friend Bobby Bones.) Judging by the fact that out of the handful of Pulse members already discussing this song, at least two or three have agreed that the message is wrong, I'd be just a bit surprised if absolutely no one called in to their radio station after hearing this and said something along the lines of, "Is he saying I'm not a good Christian because I don't put the Bible out enough?" I'm just basing this prediction upon past experiences with some pretty petty objections country listeners have raised to lyrics, although there's also the possibility I'm totally over thinking this, lol. I definitely don't see how this is "pandering" though. I actually am a person who doesn't like the song. I think it panders to people much like "Southern Voice" did for Tim McGraw. Hits up Jesus references, how old times were better than now, a reference to "mama," etc. I also find it weird that the song talks about how the world is safer now and mama has to now lock her door. And in the second verse, he talks about stealing cigarettes and underage drinking as it's a good memory (I get that it happens and most of the time it's harmless - it just sits with me the wrong way when you're trying to say people had better morals years ago). However, I almost hope this is a hit for Toby. I still think he has some years left in him on radio. He's been down before and made huge comebacks ("How Do You Like Me Now"). He can still tour so that will always help making sure he still releases albums.
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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 Apr 17, 2015 14:17:06 GMT -5
This doesn't really strike me as pandering, personally. I think something like "Made in America" would be a better example of him pandering. I really like "35 MPH Town" and overall enjoy all of the lyrics, the vocals, the production, etc. about it and to me it comes across as an honest, original song.
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Zazie
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Post by Zazie on Apr 18, 2015 21:35:14 GMT -5
It doesn't seem like pandering to me. I think it's sincere, but confused. As is often the case with a heartfelt position, I don't think the argument holds up very well. If kids today get high, that's the devil taking over, but the previous generation did just fine with their own sinning.
We called that "special pleading" when I studied logic. But even if the logic is flawed, I do think the concerns are expressed with some originality and a lot of sincerity, so I have no reason to think it panders. Also no reason to think it will be polarizing -- but country radio is so intent on playing it safe that they'll probably worry about this song's negatives and will avoid it -- but that's not a sign of real polarization, just a sign of country radio being unable to play almost anything that isn't dull.
I like listening to some songs whose lyrics I disagree with. I wish there were room for songs like this at country radio, but probably there isn't any.
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Kentucky25
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Post by Kentucky25 on Apr 19, 2015 10:42:37 GMT -5
I mean I haven't really seen any problem with this song, to say that today's generation has a different (and poorer) moral value than that of his time isn't that far off (imo)...this is speaking as someone who has grown up in the generation he talks about in the song. Sure we have improved in a lot of areas, but I think my generation has less morals and more focus on "me" than "we".
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jesster
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Post by jesster on Apr 19, 2015 11:48:10 GMT -5
Or with the mama intro, it's even harking back to values perspective of his mother's generation musing over how things have changed ...
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Kentucky25
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Post by Kentucky25 on Apr 19, 2015 12:15:13 GMT -5
Or with the mama intro, it's even harking back to values perspective of his mother's generation musing over how things have changed ... I mean even still, she's referring to this generation.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Apr 19, 2015 13:03:10 GMT -5
I mean I haven't really seen any problem with this song, to say that today's generation has a different (and poorer) moral value than that of his time isn't that far off (imo)...this is speaking as someone who has grown up in the generation he talks about in the song. Sure we have improved in a lot of areas, but I think my generation has less morals and more focus on "me" than "we". Without making this too political, it seems like the iyounger generation isn't the group that wants to cut welfare or healthcare or say only a certain people can get married. It's the older group like "mama" who tend to want that. So again, I see what you're saying, but in my view, the "me" and "we" generations are reversed.
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Kentucky25
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Post by Kentucky25 on Apr 19, 2015 14:03:39 GMT -5
I mean I haven't really seen any problem with this song, to say that today's generation has a different (and poorer) moral value than that of his time isn't that far off (imo)...this is speaking as someone who has grown up in the generation he talks about in the song. Sure we have improved in a lot of areas, but I think my generation has less morals and more focus on "me" than "we". Without making this too political, it seems like the iyounger generation isn't the group that wants to cut welfare or healthcare or say only a certain people can get married. It's the older group like "mama" who tend to want that. So again, I see what you're saying, but in my view, the "me" and "we" generations are reversed. I avoid politics...lol My statements are more concerned with helping others and being absorbed with doing things only for the benefit of ourselves. Maybe it's just the advent of social media making it more present, but to me, it seems like things are worse off morally than they were in "the good ol' days"
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on May 3, 2015 20:15:52 GMT -5
Anybody know why this has not debuted on the chart yet? Because the charts are crowded and Toby's not an A-Lister at radio anymore.
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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 4, 2015 0:25:21 GMT -5
I heard this on the radio yesterday for the first time. I was a little surprised to hear it already, but Wichita radio does a fairly good job of playing songs that I'm not really expecting to hear. I think I only ever heard "Drunk Americans" like once or twice during its run, too.
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Zazie
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Post by Zazie on May 4, 2015 12:14:24 GMT -5
Anybody know why this has not debuted on the chart yet? The #60 song on the May 9 Billboard country chart has 1.165 million audience impressions. Toby with well more than .900 million came close, but not really close, to debuting on the chart. Most weeks, half of his audience total would be enough to chart. It's bad timing and bad luck when you don't get a top 60 chart position with such a high total. Let's see what happens tonight -- I think Toby will debut this time with ease.
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on May 4, 2015 17:59:38 GMT -5
I wasn't expecting to like this for whatever reason, possibly due to the title, but I heard it on the radio a few days ago and actually thought it was Montgomery Gentry for a second, which is definitely a compliment coming from me. I love it.
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jesster
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Post by jesster on May 8, 2015 5:43:51 GMT -5
this is listed as #59 hot shot debut this week if I'm reading the right Billboard data
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 6:00:15 GMT -5
this is listed as #59 hot shot debut this week if I'm reading the right Billboard data Yes, the Billboard chart is posted every Monday night in this thread. There were only 2 debuts this week--Toby at #59, and Chris Janson at #60.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Jun 12, 2015 13:26:57 GMT -5
I don't know what Toby's plans are for his album, but I do know if he's waiting for a sizable hit to release it, he better not hold his breath. "35 mph Town" is really not going to be doing much from here on in and I think he should have gotten his album out when "Drunk Americans" was out. His name recognition is his best bet on album returns, since radio airplay his just not there anymore (outside of the hourly debut curiosity of his lead singles). Country radio is just not willing to give Toby's singles heavy or even medium rotation any more. Looking at the leaders for "35 mph Town" ( here), the highest spin total is a measly 18 and the highest audience total is 150k. Toby fell to #59 on Billboard this past week (#57 was its highest position so far) without a bullet and sat at #54 on MB, with one add. It's been said before but his seniority and label situation is his downfall right now. Right now "35 mph Town" would be fortunate enough to just crack the top 50.
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Post by drummerman2009 on Jun 13, 2015 15:37:32 GMT -5
This update for today looks encouraging.
58 50 Toby Keith "35 MPH Town" 536 517 19 1.496
First time I've seen it in the Top 50.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Jun 13, 2015 15:45:55 GMT -5
This update for today looks encouraging. 58 50 Toby Keith "35 MPH Town" 536 517 19 1.496 First time I've seen it in the Top 50. Toby's audience is really low though, especially for the amount of spins he's received. "35 mph Town" is on 83 monitored MB stations, but the problem is everybody has it in light rotation (with a majority of spins coming during the overnight hours), thus you get an audience below 1.5 million. It's no surprise it's much higher on MB than Billboard. This looks like a chart run from a brand new artist who's on a smaller label, rather than a well known artist like Toby. I still say top 50 is the highest this gets.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 18:46:30 GMT -5
This update for today looks encouraging. 58 50 Toby Keith "35 MPH Town" 536 517 19 1.496 First time I've seen it in the Top 50. "Encouraging" is a bit of a stretch, I'd say. He's only gained 19 spins in the last 7 days. Somehow that's allowed him to move from 58-50 on MB, which I find quite shocking--a gain that small virtually never results in an 8-position jump let alone a 2-position jump, but it looks like Toby just got lucky with how the MB chart has played out the last week or so. The #49 song has almost twice the audience that Toby does, even though it's only 100 spins ahead. I certainly don't expect Toby to have the same luck on Billboard. He might move up a few spots, but I'd be surprised if he's any higher than 55-57 or so. I don't see "35 mph Town" ever making it into the Billboard top 50.
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trebor
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Post by trebor on Jun 19, 2015 14:47:56 GMT -5
The official Lyric Video has been released:
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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 Jun 20, 2015 3:12:51 GMT -5
Very neat lyric video, and it cleared up a few lyrics for me that I didn't even realize I had heard wrong, lol.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Jun 20, 2015 13:23:50 GMT -5
Oh, "printed a prowler" is the lyric towards the end of the song, lol.
You learn something new everyday. :)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2015 18:11:25 GMT -5
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Kanenrá:ke
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Post by Kanenrá:ke on Jul 6, 2015 23:10:43 GMT -5
I don't hate the site lol he can be a little extreme in his stances but I've rarely come across a country blogger more honest in his opinions which is refreshing even if I don't agree 100% of the time.
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Ten Pound Hammer
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Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Jul 15, 2015 20:45:04 GMT -5
So now that I've heard this song a few times and really analyzed it, here's my verdict.
As you may have gathered from my repeated bashing on "Automatic", I generally have a dislike for hearing people complain that the world is getting worse and that "the old way" was better, mainly because I'm at the far other end of the spectrum. I have a very idealistic outlook on the world, and I could easily name dozens upon dozens of ways that the world has gotten better merely within the 28 years (and counting) that I've been alive. (I believe I've mentioned that I'm a transhumanist, if you want an idea for just how idealistic my outlook is.) That's not to say that I'm blind to any "bad" things in the world — poverty, sickness, overpopulation, destruction of nature, etc. are most certainly worthy concerns — nor do I inherently believe that anyone with a more cynical outlook is "wrong". Our world is more inter-connected than ever, so it's easier than ever before to see things from all sides. Present an opinion to me in a reasonably coherent fashion, even on something as simple as why you prefer Pepsi to Coca-Cola, and I can at least see where you're coming from and respect you even if I ultimately disagree.
And that's why I think this song succeeds for me. The mother outright admits that her generation wasn't "perfect", and doesn't try to pin the blame on drugs or alcohol. The emphasis on concern for safety is a valid one in my opinion. I think it could've just used a little more polish and maybe brought up another point or two to drive its message home better, but overall I think that it's fairly well-written and well-focused on its central topic. I even think it's interesting from a musical standpoint: the rhyme scheme is somewhat irregular, and the change to a different melody pattern on "Oh, we can't blame the babies for growing up lazy" keeps the song moving along, which is often hard to do on a song that doesn't have a real chorus.
tl;dr: I don't agree with every word of the song, but I think the execution is strong enough for my disagreement not to affect my enjoyment of the song.
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