Top 60 fave songs + hon. mentions breakdown

Okay, let's commentary this bitch! First, some stats. These apply to the top 60 only.

Oldest song - A Lover's Concerto, 1965
Newest song - I Can Feel it Calling, August 2018 (!)

Songs by decade:

60s - 3
70s - 8
80s - 11
90s - 10
2000s - 18
2010s - 10

Well, that was interesting. I was always "80s pop girl," then "90s country girl," but I seem to have settled into "2000s indie girl." Progress? Or maybe that's just the mood I've been in for the last... two or three years. I know I will never be "2010s girl," unless I decide I just wanna listen to Creeper forever. Which is possible, actually. There are the same number of songs from the 2010s as the 90s though, so that's something!

I wanted to break it down by genre too, but so many songs fall into a gray area, where would I even put them? "Indie?" Under the general umbrella of "rock?" What are the New Pornographers, or the Shins? What is Fleetwood Mac? What is Tom Waits? What is love, baby don't hurt me no more?

If this list made one thing clear, it's that I like big, anthemy-feeling songs. I like wistful, hopeful melancholy. I like songs I'd get tattooed on my body, if I had the slightest bit of pain tolerance (srsly, I might as well be made of tissue paper). I like the "carry on, we'll carry on" of "Welcome to the Black Parade," the "it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going" of "Last Hope," the "everything will be alright in the end" outro of "Foolish Father." I like the chills I get from "House on a Hill," particularly "I am not afraid, I won't burn out in this place. My intention is to fade, and I will." I like the righteous "fuck you" of "forget your high society, I'm soakin' it in kerosene." I like the comforting yet heartbreaking "what a beautiful face I have found in this place." I like to yell "let's get hexed, let's hang out!" to no one in particular. These songs are all iconic to me, and I can't imagine life without them.

A few more notes -

9. The hardest choice for this list was between Tom Waits' "Time" and "Take it With You." I could have easily picked either one.
12. This is actually "Pizza Cutter" by Letters to Cleo, not "Little Rosa." Spotify oopsed up. "Little Rosa" is also great through.
13. I think "Hotel California" and "Welcome to the Black Parade" are the two greatest rock songs ever written. That shit sets MOODS.
18-20. Some Boston band love. Also, how many times can I include my girl Kay Hanley while still sticking to my rule? The answer is three.
24. Yes, my favorite Green Day song is from Uno! Sorry? rofl.
25. Yes, a song released this month made my top 60 of all time. This isn't something I'd usually do, but sometimes you just know, y'know? This has so many of those anthemy-feeling moments I can't even narrow it down to one. This is the best Killers song the Killers never made.
27. The second-hardest choice was between "My Maria" and "Neon Moon." I went with the upbeat one, but it could have been either. There isn't a lot of country on this list for two reasons. 1, it got hit hard by the one song per artist rule and 2, no Garth on Spotify.
35. There's only one hip hop song, and it's Macklemore. Sorry? rofl. But "Downtown," damn. This is a hip hop song with a glam rock chorus about buying a moped and riding it through the streets of Seattle. That is a thing that exists, and it's gloriously weird and I can't imagine it not existing. This is the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of the 2010s. Mow yer damn lawn and sit the hell down!
47. This song calls back to my #22 song, "Crimson and Clover." That's awesome.
52. I used to joke "ALL songs are about death," because of "The Way." Like, what a happy-sounding song! Where are they going, Disneyland? To have a picnic? Yay! ...oh, wait. This is about death. They're not coming back from this picnic, ever. So, any song can be about death. "It's a Small World?" Yeah, we all share the fact that we're all gonna DIE. And I never explained the joke, so plenty of people probably think I'm crazy. Yay!
57. If your favorites list doesn't include at least one ABBA song, you're not living your best life.
60. And we end with more Boston love, a song specifically about the Red Sox. This song has the most personal meaning for me than any other really. I moved to New England in 2004. I was already a big Sox fan. This song also came out in '04, and I basically adopted it. When the Sox eventually won the World Series that year, I took partial credit (for being there, y'know) and gave the rest to this song. I kinda blended the two together. Am I the reincarnation of Tessie? Maybe! I used the name "Tessie" on social media for years. This was my shit. Damn I miss the Sox.

Hon. mentions -

2. "Hotel California" was an easy pick, but if it didn't exist, "Take it to the Limit" would have easily made the main list.
3. Same deal with "Strawberry Fields" and "Blackbird." Some bands just write too many amazing songs.
7. "The House that Built Me" is probably a better Miranda song than "Kerosene," and it's also deeply meaningful to me, but "Kerosene" is such a huge song in my life. I might never have gotten back into country after 9/11 if I hadn't heard it.
11. I also managed to fit Kay Hanley in twice on the honourable mentions, teehee. I probably should have included the Dropkick Murphys' "Dirty Glass" to make it another three.
19. "After Hours" has some of my favorite lyrics and yeah, I'm pretty sure this one's about death too. "If you close the door, the night could last forever." But "Science vs Romance" was MY song for years and it got me through some tough times. So many hard choices!

This was a lot of fun to put together and make. Long live music. Peace!

Top 60 Favorite Songs EVER! (1 per artist)

Been working on this for awhile, super excited to have it done! One song per artist for the sake of my sanity. A solo member of a band counts as a different artist. I'll do some commentary in a new post. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/user/emperorcupcake22/playlist/4pOfmu4suTRXgDPNlhkWPR

Honourable mentions, the toughest songs I had to cut:

https://open.spotify.com/user/emperorcupcake22/playlist/5HFNkxErdOGIVGRKJ5pwJf

New music Tuesday ~ Halestorm, Trash Boat, Trophy Eyes, and Houndmouth

I think I've listened to four new albums since the last one I mentioned, which was Gorillaz. (Side note: I decided to relisten to Taylor Swift's Red and man, that album is so much better than I remembered. Just skip the pop singles and enjoy.) Okay, let's talk new music!

First we have Vicious by Halestorm. If you like good, straightforward rock n roll with killer vocals, this is an easy listen. To me, Halestorm has always been good but only made great by Lzzy Hale's vocals. They're not doing anything new and the songs aren't the most standout or creative, but that's kind of the point. With that comes consistency. Sometimes you just wanna rock, and you can rock right out to this. Definitely recommended - I think it's my favorite of their albums - and I'll be spinning it a lot come Rocktober. That's what this is, an album made for Rocktober. You want that vibe, you got it.

I don't dislike any song here, but a few favourites are "Killing Ourselves to Live" (great 80s singalong chorus), "Black Vultures," "White Dress," and "Vicious" ("what doesn't kill me makes me vicious" YUSSSSSSSSSSSSS)

Next up is Crown Shyness by UK band Trash Boat. I'd seen this name pop up in relation to Creeper, but only checked them out after positive buzz about their new album. And yeah, I dig the hell out of this. Pop punk that rocks, or rock that... pop punks? Despite my love of some of the older pop punk and emo bands, I haven't gotten into a lot of the newer stuff. Maybe my tastes have just matured since then, though I do still listen to the old stuff. Just not much was clicking with me on that front - until Trash Boat. They're not that "standard" pop punk sound which can get old and samey pretty fast. They're also not that screamy hardcore sound which makes me feel like someone's trying to jam large pieces of furniture in my ears. There's an element of that, but it's not overdone. I really like the balance they strike here - easy to listen to, but enough edge to keep it from being boring.

Again, this is a good listen all the way through for me, but a few favourites are "Undermine," "Old Soul," "Inside Out," and the slower, very feel-y title track if you want some old school emo vibes.

I continued in a similar vein with another buzzy band, Australia's Trophy Eyes. These guys hit me upside the head (in a good way!) with the opening of their song "You Can Count on Me" - "Some of my friends sell drugs, but I just sell sad songs" they shout, in one of the most singalong, anthemic choruses I've heard in awhile. So I checked out The American Dream hoping to find more of that attitude and well, on the whole this album isn't for me. It has too much of those modern poppy touches I don't like, the gang vocals and the "whoa ohs."

However! In addition to "You Can Count on Me," there are two songs here I really love and want to shout out. Continuing with the "sad song" theme we have "Autumn" - "Keep your home in your heart, keeps you out of the rain, don't let those sad songs rot your brain." Yeah, that's about as emo as it gets but it's also GREAT. And it references The Killers' Sam's Town which I've been playing the hell out of all year, so yeah. THEN there's "I Can Feel it Calling," a six-minute fucking rock n roll anthem I've been listening to almost nonstop. Seriously, if you like big, arena-ready songs, check this out. It has the crashing guitars and drums your little rock n roll heart has been craving. Also, this Killersesque kind of song suits the singer's voice way more than the poppier stuff does. I hope they go more in this mature direction in the future, because they are way too talented to just pander to "the kids." This is a legit rock band that I hope is in the process of coming into their own.

Last we have Golden Age by Houndmouth and ummm... did no one tell these guys MGMT already released an album this year? Pop production strikes again. :( It's worse than kudzu. Look, this is not a band I want to be snarky about; I want to support smaller bands and I still have their song "Sedona" in heavy rotation. It's also fine that they changed their sound. They weren't an easy band to label in the first place. But... I couldn't get through most of this album. Several songs, including the opener, are just a distorted mess over an electropop beat. The song "Golden Age" literally sounds like a straight MGMT rip. I like MGMT in small doses, but I don't need another one. And that's one of the more listenable songs. "This Party" gave me horrible flashbacks to Weezer trying too hard in the 2000s. Like Raditude, who is this album even FOR?

HOWEVER! There's one song on this album I love, and another I like, so let's end on a positive. "Modern Love" is a lovely, hooky guitar song with an easy summer vibe, and when the hints of distortion come in they really work in contrast to the more organic sound. If the album had been more like this, I would have loved it. "Waiting for the Night" is also pretty interesting. You have a catchy chorus that sounds straight out of the late 70s or early 80s, a riff that really reminds me of early Belle and Sebastian for some reason, and fuzzy, distorted guitars that again work in contrast to the rest of the song, rather than swallowing it whole. This is a cool, layered track that shows what the band can do when they're trying. I really don't know what they were doing on most of this album though.

So overall, the past month has been pretty great for me. Three full albums I dig (including Gorillaz), and a handful of cool songs from albums I was middling-to-negative on. I'm generally a full album person, but when I can mine even a few new songs from an album I'm pretty happy. I just want fresh music.

Here's a summer playlist featuring all this* and more! A few of the songs are from last year.

*except "Autumn." I can't put a song called "Autumn" on a summer playlist, my aesthetic will explode into a black hole.

https://open.spotify.com/user/emperorcupcake22/playlist/7pW57VXuMCYSs3PX5g0vy6

tbt ~ My Favorite Year

You'd think picking a favorite year in music would be really hard for someone who has heard and loved so much music over four decades, not to mention all the great years before I was born. But nope, it's really easy - 1994.

I don't wanna hear about that awful Jason Aldean song that sounded NOTHING like 1994, but he's right that it was a good year for country and an even better year for alternative rock. 1994 was the first year I heard what would go on to be three of my favorite bands to this day - Weezer, Letters to Cleo, and Green Day. I like to take myself back and think about the first time I heard "Buddy Holly," or "Here and Now," or "Basket Case." Songs I played so to death that year and the ensuing years that I'd be fine with never hearing them again. But the legacy of those three songs... damn. They, and the albums containing them I immediately rushed out to buy, and all the albums that came after, made me the music listener I am today more than anything else. That all three bands released new, quality music in the past couple years says a lot. It says, "dang girl, you've always had good taste." And then I feel good because I love my music. :)

So while those three albums alone would cement 1994 as "my year," what else of note to me came out?

Whip-Smart by Liz Phair - This album was so on heavy rotation I could have put it up with the top three, but it was not my introduction to Liz. Just a fantastic follow-up to one of the greatest albums ever.

Rubberneck by Toadies - WHY couldn't these guys stick around? This has been described as "Southern gothic doom" and oh my lord, am I all about this album. Any rock fan today should listen to this immediately, it will sound so fresh and sick and not "90s dated." Truly its own beautiful, unique little piece of music history.

Sixteen Stone by Bush - Okay, this thing sounds 90s af, but that's part of why I love it.

Mellow Gold by Beck - Honestly, I don't love this album. It's a little messy and weird for my taste. BUT it did introduce me to Beck, a favorite artist to this day, and I was right on top of the classic Odelay! when it came out thanks to this debut.

Definitely Maybe by Oasis - Oasis' first album and their second-best. These guys fell off, but man were they great in 1994.

American Thighs by Veruca Salt - The introduction to another of my staple 90s bands, and still my favorite of theirs.

Purple by Stone Temple Pilots - My second-favourite STP album (after Tiny Music). They were my favorite of the grunge bands cause they had more of a, classic rock mixed with grunge sound? I dig it.

Okay. I brought up the Aldean song, so where's the freakin' Joe Diffie, huh?? It's okay, I got your Diffie. Let's get into 1994 country. Well, here's the thing about 90s country. As much as I love it, I never had a whole lot of albums. It was more of a singles thing. Oh I had some Garth and Alan Jackson, but it was more about the radio. And oh yeah, greatest hits albums. I had a lot of those, actually. Are they even a thing anymore?

Was 1994 the best, or even an especially good year in 90s country? No, not really. But that's not putting it down; it's just that every year of the early-to-mid 90s was a great year. 1990-97 all kinda run together for me, y'know? But it was a very good year for Joe Diffie. This was the year of "Pickup Man," "John Deere Green," and "Third Rock from the Sun." Oh Lordy, that is Peak Diffie right there. They named an entire tv show after one of his songs! It ran for five years! #rememberthediffie

So before I get into my favorite songs of the year, here are a few notable albums I remember owning.

Garth Brooks - The Hits. Yeah yeah, a greatest hits album, but you don't understand, man. This was THE greatest hits album. This thing was like an event. This had ALL the big songs on it, and I played the hell out of it. This is a must-have for every country fan, in my totally not humble opinion.

Who I Am by Alan Jackson - Still the definitive Alan Jackson album for me, featuring "Livin' on Love," "Gone Country," and "Song for the Life." Classic. Maybe this was an especially good year.

Waitin' on Sundown by Brooks and Dunn - Maybe a somewhat overlooked entry in their catalog between Brand New Man and Borderline, but a darn good one. Featuring the classics "She's Not the Cheatin' Kind" and "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone."

And some favorite songs that I didn't already mention -

"Callin' Baton Rouge"
"Every Once in Awhile"
"Fast as You"
"Hangin' In"
"I Just Wanted You to Know"
"Life #9"
"State of Mind"
"That Ain't No Way to Go"
"Trying to Get Over You"
"When You Walk in the Room"
"Wish I Didn't Know Now"
"You Will"

1994. An unmatched year in alternative rock, and part of a string of great years in country. So many artists that helped form my taste and I still love to this day. It was a bad year for Tim McGraw though, yikes. Oh, not commercially, but... "Indian Outlaw?" "Down on the Farm?" Yuck! No, he'd have to wait til '95 for that pure 90s goodness, with songs like "Can't Be Really Gone" and "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart." Eh, not even the best year can be perfect.

You'll notice I didn't say anything about pop music. Well I didn't listen to it, I was all rock and country. Okay, I love "The Sign" by Ace of Base. There, I said it.

EDITED TO ADD: The #50 song of 1994 was "Loser" by Beck. Of the YEAR. On the POP CHART. That alone proves my case, 1994 was COOL AF. You know what the #50 song of 2017 was? That braying goat song! 2016? A dull, already forgotten whinefest by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez. 1994 will murder you in your sleep, 2016! Oh! And #51 was "Found Out About You" by the Gin Blossoms. Remember when you could get big making melodic guitar songs? 1994 does.

And, if I wasn't on social media, I'd be blissfully unaware of all of this. It has nothing to do with my everyday life. I think about that a lot, yet I still go back every day in some attempt to stay connected, I guess.

I wonder how many other Gen-Xers feel the way I do rn. We're caught between these two EXTREME sides, the pro-Tr*mpers in our parents' generation and the "cancel culture" of teens and college kids. And I'm like, I just wanna wear flannel, listen to tunes and chill, y'know?

Don't meet (or tweet) your heroes

Social media + fan culture = toxic stew.

The phrase "don't meet your heroes" has existed for as long as I can remember. It's not something to take 100% literally, more of a caution. If you're gonna meet your heroes... be prepared.

Fan culture has also existed forever but hoo boy, has social media made it awkward. And intense. All the scary, tribal ways we process politics now is happening in pop culture too. Most people don't see it because it tends to be very young people. I only see it because music youtubers I follow occasionally point it out. And it's a problem, folks.

We have become so unbelievably homogeneous as people, just in the last 10 years. Must every single thing in our lives match up to our personal beliefs? What kind of narrow-ass way is that to live? Social media is clearly the catalyst here, but I'm not blaming social media itself. We can still learn to think for ourselves and not join the mob.

Social media essentially lets us "meet" our heroes every day. This is not a good thing. This is why I only follow two of my favorite musicians on twitter, Kay Hanley and Hayley Williams. These are people I've been familiar with for years and feel comfortable letting into my home via computer. Hell, Paramore even does a great song on this subject called "Idle Worship." I think some of their fans need to listen to these lyrics.



But social media is just the tool. How you use it is up to you. I choose to follow a small amount of people to keep the noise level down. It seems a lot of high school and college kids just get into a band and start following every member. You see the problem here? What are the odds that every member of a band you like is gonna say only stuff you approve of? And then you're gonna stop listening to them when they don't? It's almost like a trap. Human beings are not perfect, and they don't all agree. It's called fucking life.

I'm a pretty progressive person and I'm not coming from the "LOL TRIGGERED SNOWFLAKES" perspective. I HATE that shit. But I bet a lot of people would I assume I am coming from there, simply because I disagree with "cancelling" someone over one dumb tweet. I think people have become so sensitive because of our awful cultural/political climate right now - and I mean, rightly so - that they're having these extreme reactions over everything. And that doesn't help, it only serves to alienate us further from each other.

There are cases where I would stop supporting someone over "one tweet." If they used bigoted hate speech, or threatened violence against a person or an animal. But here's what happened yesterday. I've never heard either of these bands and again, I only know about it from music youtubers, so I'm not naming names. I don't care. One guy in a band on Warped Tour said something about another guy in a band on Warped Tour who I guess had spoken out about his performance anxiety. First dude basically said "We're out here doing what we love every day, why is this guy complaining about it, suck it up." Yeah, he actually said suck it up. It's a bad tweet and a bad look and as someone who suffers from anxiety, I sure as hell wouldn't follow someone who's so intolerant of it.

But would I stop listening to his music? No. No I wouldn't. Because that would imply I have to stop listening to everyone I don't agree with. I read a couple months ago that Shania Twain was all pro-Tr*mp, and I rolled my eyes and moved on. I didn't delete her songs. The two things have nothing to do with each other for me. As for what this guy said - it's insensitive, but it sounds like he doesn't understand anxiety and is just coming from a "count your blessings" kind of place. It's ignorant, but does it make him a bad person? I don't think so. And does it really even matter, if you like the music?

Don't meet your heroes, and if you accidentally meet them and they step on your foot, just let it go man. There are more important things to worry about. Don't get so caught up in these people's lives. I mean, think about it. Unless the only bands you follow are straightedge and deeply religious, your favorite musicians probably do some fucked up shit. Drugs, sleeping around, excessive drinking, etc. But we don't judge that stuff because we don't see it. We don't want to see it. But then we follow them on social media and expect them to be perfect angels?

Let's contrast this with two bigger things that have happened recently. First there's the case of Roseanne. While I found her racist tweet reprehensible, at first I wasn't sure if she should lose her whole career over one tweet. Like wow, that seems a little witch hunty. But here's why an actual bigoted tweet is different from one insensitive tweet. If you make a mean-spirited racist joke, you're probably a racist. And if you're a racist, there's probably a pattern of it going back years that just wasn't made public. I don't think Roseanne was fired over one tweet. I think it was a public catalyst to get rid of someone who's been toxic for years. I mean, if you're a bigot, you're a bigot, you know? It's not limited to twitter. There's no evidence the guy who made the dumb tweet is actually bigoted against people with mental health issues over that one comment. He was saying focus on the positive and stop complaining, in that wrongheaded way that people who don't understand mental health issues do. But ignorance and being actively bigoted are two different things.

My second example has nothing to do with social media, but still serves to contrast. Roberto Osuna, the Jays' former closer who (allegedly) physically abused his wife. I say allegedly because he has not been convicted yet, but there's no gray area here, he obviously did it. Anyway, as soon as I realized "yup, this guy I had so much stock in yesterday actually did this thing" I wanted him gone from my team and life. I didn't know if I'd be able to root for them anymore if he was there. THAT'S the kind of situation where you stop being a fan - or "cancel" to use the annoying AF lingo. It's very important we make these distinctions between actual violent crimes, or actual hate, and someone just making a bad tweet, or down the slippery slope we will go. Best case scenario, this dude was misunderstood, misspoke, or will learn from his mistake. Worst case, he's just an asshole. Imagine if we stopped listening to all rock stars who are assholes. OMG.

Don't meet your heroes unless you're prepared to know they're human. Some humans are assholes, but can still do great work. This is part of life. And unless it's an extreme case - like the kind of thing that would make the news - let's keep music, film, art, sports, etc. about what they are. They're some of the few purely enjoyable things we have out there. Let's just accept that the people involved aren't perfect and take the gift they've given us anyway. Otherwise, we're all gonna be living increasingly narrower lives. And that scares me.

Feel Good Friday ~ best musical moment of 2018 so far!

Where else are you gonna find a "feel good" post dedicated to a song from an album about the plague? Nothing but Quality Content™ here, folks.

But seriously, is there a more cathartic moment in music this year than at 1:39? *drums* THIS IS THE MOMENT OF JUST LETTING GO! That's how music is supposed to feel. I'm glad someone still gets it.

Another thing I was thinking about - I don't think musical tastes have actually changed much, if at all. What's changed is how we listen to music and how it gets popular.

Imagine if streaming, memes, and viral hits were a thing in the 80s and 90s. I don't think people would have had any better taste, maybe it would have even been worse! But thankfully those of us who grew up then were spared, and presented with mostly music that took actual effort. Because in most cases, you HAD to make an effort to be heard then. Of course there are always dumb novelty hits and exceptions, but how many "Ice Ice Baby"s would we have had? How many Milli Vanillis? (That they even had more than one hit might be the biggest shame of my generation.) But that goes along with my point. People will always listen to shit, and there was probably a TON of shit we never heard back then because there was just no way for it to circulate. MTV mostly used its power wisely. Probably the worst thing they did was promote a lot of terrible late-stage hair metal, but I think they were as glad as everyone else when Nirvana came along.

So it's no wonder those of us who grew up back then, and still have a hunger for new music, are put off by today's scene. For kids it's just normal cause they've never known anything else, but I'm glad I remember a time when quality was still a factor, not just clicks. And I'm glad there was no Zombie Challenge or whatever dumb viral shit back then giving the lowest common denominator control over music. And children. I think that's the biggest reason for the change. Kids will click on any dumb thing, and they don't have to pay anything for it to count. And then we all pay for it. How many dumb things would I have uncaringly clicked on as a kid, if I'd had the chance? Probably a lot. System be broke, fix it, blah blah blah.

And now I'm gonna have a rockin' weekend with some Trash Boat, Halestorm, Killers and Weezer. Peace.

"Music taste doesn't matter, listen to whatever you want!"

Sometimes I see comments like this, boldly proclaimed as if from a mountaintop, and you know, it's my job* to think about them and break them down.

*not actually

This is one of those statements that seems obvious on the surface, the "all lives matter" of music hot takes (without the baggage), but like that, it doesn't really stand up when you question it.

My knee-jerk reaction: of course you can listen to whatever you want in private, you can listen to Hitler's Greatest Hits (there's a pun in there somewhere) and ain't nobody gonna stop you. That's just a basic right we all have. How does it hurt anyone else? And have I already lost my own case by bringing up Hitler? Dammit. Well the answer is probably obvious - what you buy and/or stream affects what's popular and therefore, affects other people.

I already made a whole post about why what's popular matters. Unless you live in a bubble, you WILL hear it. In a shop, a restaurant, the gym, out of someone's car, whatever. I never once voluntarily listened to "Shape of You" and I heard it approximately 1635345 times the past couple years. Thanks, people with terrible taste!

Also, if one kind of music gets popular, it tends to push out a lot of other music you might want to hear. Like rock. Or actual country. Or hip hop that doesn't suck. Look what's happened just in the past 10 years. Rock has all but disappeared from the mainstream except for a boring Nickelback clone or two. If you hear a rock song in a public space today, it's probably from the 90s or before. Country radio pushed out women and more traditional sounds to court bro-country and a slew of interchangeable t-shirted and ballcapped dudes. Hip hop - okay, I don't know what hip hop sounded like 10 years ago, but I know it CAN sound good and not like this boring shit that's taken over today. Basically, your shitty taste actually CANCELS OUT music I like. Why am I supposed to not care, again?

So yes, musical taste matters because popular music is played in shared spaces. It can either be like secondhand smoke, or a really nice perfume. Of course that in itself is dependant on taste. Which brings me to -

The other main point I want to make: some musical taste IS measurably better than others. And no, I'm not about to say mine is better than yours. I've said before that one way to actually judge "good" and "bad" music is the amount of effort put in. If it sounds lazy, like rap that's nothing but the same words repeated three times for the whole song, then it's bad. That doesn't mean you can't like it, but I won't say that buying or streaming it doesn't harm our shared musical culture. I'm not saying you have to think deeply about all the music you listen to, but maybe think a little? Ask yourself if the "artist" is looking to make art, or just money? Lazy can apply to music listeners as well.

So yes, if you just mindlessly listen to whatever comes your way in the background and don't really care about it, then your music taste is worse than mine. And I like "MMMBop."

People are gonna listen to what they want to and in the name of freedom, they absolutely should. But it's not all equal. That's a dumb thing to say. Some possible solutions to this, other than calling the Music Police, would be making chart position mostly dependant on purchases, so the dumb throwaway trendy streaming stuff doesn't catch on outside its little niches. If you're actually buying something, you're probably gonna think about it more. But that probably won't happen. People stream now. And it's something I find so weird - having all this music available should be amazing, it should open up the mainstream to all kinds of varied artists. But instead it's made the focus SO MUCH NARROWER. One thing catches on, and then that's all you hear. I'm guessing that has to do with greed, as most evil things do. But man, does it suck. Such squandered potential of a medium.

The other possible solution would be for the music industry to not be greedy and LOLOLOL I can't even finish. I mean hey, you gotta make a profit. But maybe instead of doubling down on garbage you can put some different stuff out there? Because honestly, I don't like blaming some random person listening to music alone in their house for the woes of modern music, even if they are listening to Post Malone. But I'm also not gonna say their taste is equal to someone listening to a band that spent hours writing their songs and days rehearsing them rather than just slurring random nonsense over a beat and going out for a smoke. No.

Annoying pop song alert!

Man, it's been a while since I've talked about an annoying pop song. Most of what I've heard this year has ranged from good to boring, with little really sticking out as bad. And if you're not gonna be good, go all the way and be bad, dammit. Boring is the worst, and that's what so much popular music has been recently. (From what I've heard, anyway. I don't think I've heard that rapper who died and if I did I might disrespect the dead, so let's just move on.)

The annoying song in question is called "Friends." *deep breath* So no one told you life was gonna be- NO! *slap* We are NOT doing that. Simmer down. So what makes this song so annoying? First of all, it's a spelling song, which is pretty much universally annoying.* If you grew up in the 80s, chances are hearing the letters "M-E-T-H-O-D" will trigger some kind of P-T-S-D. And that was an actual decent band. Duo. Whatever. What happens when this "Marshmello" fellow tries it? (I'm assuming it's a fellow anyway, it's one of those EDM producers who presents itself as an amorphous blob. We'll just go by Ghostbusters rules and say it's a Marshmallow Man.)

And this is the form of destruction we've chosen - stupid pop song. Okay, maybe it's not New York-crushingly bad, but a lot of things about this tweaks my nerves. Full disclosure - I had a previous, fleeting familiarity with Marshmello with his song "Wolves" ft. Selena Gomez. That song is... okay. Yeah, it's kinda catchy, I don't mind it. But this. First of all, this "Anne-Marie" chick makes Selena Gomez look like she has a personality. I don't know how she pulls that off but it's impressive. We're talking Bebe Rexha levels of generic here, which I'm sure means she'll be on the next huge "country" smash with that guy who did "Singles You Up" or whatever. These are the times we're living in. (Hmm, maybe I wasn't so far off with the "choose your form" thing...)

ANYWAY, we've got some weird EDM dude and a generic female pop singer, that's just another Tuesday, right? But no, according to Anne-Marie, this is the "friendzone anthem," and the world NEEDED a friendzone anthem. Since most of the world is not in the 8th grade I assure you that no, no we did not. And what's the deep, impactful, anthemic chorus of this... anthem? She spells out the word "friends." Except... if you're gonna make spelling out a word the centrepiece of your song, maybe you wanna enunciate a little better so it doesn't sound like you're misspelling it?? "F-R-I-N-D-S!" she proclaims proudly. I just wanna be "frinds," which sounds like some kind of weird kids' food from the 90s, like frozen pork rinds. "Try Frinds! They're extreeeeeeeeeme!" and then some kid with floppy 90s hair shoots down a waterslide with one.

via GIPHY

(While also playing a video game.)

If you listen close you can kiiiiinda hear her slide into the "E," but I don't recommend listening to this thing close or even far away. It's the epitome of a vapid pop song. I was gonna wait and talk about it on my worst of the year list, but I'd probably have forgotten everything I wanted to say about it and maybe even the song itself. And oh yeah, how could I forget this questionable lyric - "You really ain't going away without a fight
You can't be reasoned with, I'm done being polite." Umm honey, I think he's gone past F-R-I-N-D and into S-T-A-L-K-E-R at this point. Maybe it's time to just cut your losses?

*D-I-V-O-R-C-E is a good spelling song, because there's an actual reason she's spelling stuff out. Oh and "Respect," because Aretha is so fire she burns the spelling bee down.

W E E Z E R T I M E

So yeah, I like both of the Toto covers. Obviously I do. I love Weezer and I love 80s rock, you might as well ask me if I like sunshine and unicorns. DUH.

Of the two, I like "Africa" better. The "Rosanna" cover makes it a liiiiittle more obvious that Weezer's drummer is um, not quite on par with Toto's drummer. But putting that aside, I mean when you talk about Weezer you're pretty much talking about Rivers, and I think he brings the goods. This is what "Weezer covering 80s rock" sounds like all right, yup. It doesn't make me go "OMG BEST THING EVERRRRRR," but if they did a whole album of 80s covers I'd buy it. Oh yeah. Man, they'd do a mean "Surrender." I think that's actually a 70s song but w/e, same aesthetic.

How men and women can help each other out!

So I keep seeing this comment an actor made about flirting all bloody day and felt compelled to write about it. Pardon me, music lovers, let me get this off my chest and then I'll get back to talking about Weezer or whatever.

"I don't want to go up and talk to her because I'm going to be called a rapist or something."

No, the simple act of talking to a woman will not get you labelled a rapist, unless she has severe emotional issues. In which case she could accuse you of something without you ever even talking to her, and then do the same to your dog. That seems unlikely so you're probably safe, bro. If you flirt with a woman and she flirts back, that's okay and always will be okay. If she doesn't seem interested, step the eff off. That doesn't seem so complicated, does it?

Except maybe it kind of can be? I started thinking about how men and women have been socialized for so long and it's really kind of sick. A lot of discussion of this has fallen on men - men are socialized to feel they're entitled to women, to be persistent, to "break her down" til she says yes. Which can be true, and also really gross. But what about how women are socialized?

I wasn't personally raised this way, but a lot of women my generation and previous generations were - and that is to be coy. To say no or maybe when they mean yes, to string guys along because God forbid you actually act like you like a guy. Women must be pursued, or else be seen as forward, or desperate, or "not a good girl." Yeah, a lot of women were taught that being "good" means playing games with people. Being "good" means lying, or at the very least denial. All for what? To be a virgin, or appear like one? What century is this, anyway?? These old timey social mores kinda encourage stalking - and we wonder why things are so fucked up.

And even for those of us who weren't raised that way (and I really hope this next generation isn't), it's aaaaaallllll over entertainment. "Romantic" comedies can be poison. How many times has the plot of one of those things been "wearing someone down" til they get together in the end? This not only teaches women they can't be honest about being attracted to a dude, it teaches dudes that sometimes women lie about not being attracted to them. It encourages them to keep at it, which CAN lead to a woman feeling like she's being harassed. (Harassed, NOT "raped." Really wrong word to use there, Superman. Not one ya wanna throw around like a football.)

So while I think you should generally be able to tell if someone wants nothing to do with you and stop talking to them, there are gray areas here that need to be addressed. Let's stop playing games with each other. It isn't romantic, it doesn't make you "good," it just reinforces stereotypes that have done subtle but pervasive and long-lasting damage. Be honest and treat people the way you want to be treated. It's time to change the narrative. There won't be as many awful romantic comedies, but... yeah, there's really no downside to it at all! :)

tbt ~ Bush

Don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, since they're not talked about as much as some other 90s rock bands, but I think Bush's first two albums are really good. If you haven't revisited them for a while or heard them at all, check em out!

Feel Good (Inc) Friday

This long weekend, you could listen to 25 Drake songs, or you could listen to this fun, funky, fresh new album from Gorillaz, The Now Now. I know what I'll be doing.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to discuss the one album I've listened to since I moved, Panic! at the Disco's Pray for the Wicked. Man, that is a cool ass title wasted on a pretty mediocre album.

Why does it seem like most music now is either severely underproduced or overproduced? You've either got that droney, tinny stuff that sounds like a gnat cursing in your ear, or you've got this thing, which sounds like a bomb going off. Panic! at the disco, indeed.

Why did I listen to this instead of probably 50 more deserving albums that came out this year? Well, there's that cool title. I liked the first two songs I heard, "Say Amen" and "Silver Lining." And honestly, I have a pretty good history with this band. Pretty. Odd. is a beautiful Beatlesesque album that fits nicely on a playlist with early of Montreal. A Fever You Can't Sweat Out has that classic mid-2000s emo vibe, complete with ridiculous song titles you'll never remember. It was kind of a silly, over the top time, but by God it was something. There were guitars. There were live drums. There was a sense of deranged fun, which could almost make you forget that the songs were called things like "There's a Rock In My Heart and a Hole in My Shoe and You Put it There, Darling."*

*not a real song but I bet you had to look it up to be sure.

I wouldn't say I loved their (or I should say his, it's just Brendan Urie at this point) album Death of a Bachelor, but I liked a good half of it, maybe a little more. It had a good vibe, and while the pop production was definitely there, it didn't rub me the wrong way. I called it dance rock, and I think that's accurate. It's fun. This new album, I think, is trying to be fun but... that's just it. You can feel it trying, straining at the seams to be noticed. It's loud, but it doesn't say anything and it sure as hell doesn't rock. This is the first PatD album that hasn't felt organic to me, and I don't just mean instrumentally. Ultrapop production aside, there's just no there there.

I don't think Brendan Urie had much to say this time.

That might be okay, if more of the songs were like "Say Amen" (or "Victorious" from the last album). Songs that make you want to stand up and shout out their meaningless anthemic choruses, because you are drunk and happy. But I don't find the majority of this album infectious, and it definitely doesn't forward the cause of rock. They/he isn't rock anymore, and yeah, they were always pop rock at best. But they put out some good pop rock. Memorable. And while I wouldn't call this album "trendy" or "selling out," it somehow manages to be just as forgettable as if it was. I wasn't expecting this one-man "band" to save rock and roll, but by moving farther away from it, nobody wins. It's too pop for the old fans and not pop enough for the trend eaters. In the end, it just kinda makes me scratch my head and wonder why these bands don't even try to rock anymore. Music doesn't have to say anything, but it does have to make you feel something, even if it's just "wheeee this is fun!" And when the music is empty, making it louder does not make it seem bigger. Just the opposite, really.

I guess we'll see where he's at next album cycle, cause I feel like it's time for a change.

I wonder if we'll ever have another mainstream rock revival like in the early-mid 2000s with bands like The Killers, The Strokes, White Stripes, etc. (which probably led to later bands' success, like MCR and Paramore). What happened? Why did rock's relevance completely disappear with the new decade? Is this just another music "cycle," or has the current generation lost interest in rock? I feel like it's timeless and we'll have another revival in a few years, but I guess we'll see. Which isn't to say that rock is dead, by any means. A lot of these bands are still making good music, as well as newer bands like Creeper. It's just waiting underground til it becomes cool again, I guess. I'm sure eventually people will realize every trap song is actually the same damn song, and they'll get bored and be all, "what's that? a guitar? Hey, I haven't heard one of those in a while..." I swear that's all music trends are, just waiting for people to get bored with whatever's popular. Next! (And the good stuff usually comes back.)

Edited to add: Why does it matter if music I like is "popular," when I can stream or download and listen to whatever I want, whenever I want? Because I'm not a hipster. I like to feel like part of a society. Sure, there's some unusual stuff I like that I wouldn't expect to hear in the mainstream, and I like having some "on my own time" music. But I also like hearing music I connect to when I'm out in the world, at restaurants, shops, bars, etc.

Obviously no one wants to be constantly pummelled by shit they hate - for me, this droney trap rap trend has been misery - but it's more than that. You can somewhat tune that out. But - I don't want to tune out music. I want the "hey, that's my song!" feeling. The shared music experience. It's not like I hang out at places that are all teens and 20s, where I might not expect to relate to the current trends. These are shared spaces with people from all walks of life, yet they're still being controlled by these lowest common denominator trends. A little more variety would be nice, is what I'm saying. A little more organic music that some of us still relate to. And not just on 90s night! I love 90s night, but I hear that shit all the time. That's what I already have on heavy rotation. Play some NEW music that evokes the 90s or early 2000s, if that's what you're so hungry for, you know? I don't know why 90s ROCK = COOL, but any rock put out this decade is no longer relevant. Nostalgia has its place, but it's nice to feel you belong in the here and now*, too.

*Of course, that won't stop me from sneaking in a Letters to Cleo reference. :)

tbt ~ The Killers

This album may be from 2012, but the sound is rooted firmly in my childhood.

*a tumbleweed blows by*

So, I appear to have bought a house. Wait, how did that happen?? This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. How did I get here? Letting the days go by, water flowing underground.

So. There's that. Hence the large tumbleweed population 'round here. I will resume blogging after we're settled in and my cats stop hating me. I haven't really listened to much new music lately. Stuck in the 90s and 2000s, doop de doo. There's an Oasis song FIRMLY lodged in my head right now. Those new FGL songs? Haven't heard em, can't say I really care. However, I did listen to my first ever Ghost song, "Dance Macabre." It's 80s AF and I dig it. Like, we're talking right out of one of those old Metal Mania videos.

Here's the thing. I like some harder rock, but "metal" is one of those musical descriptors that makes my brain shut off, like "trap" or "k-pop" or "industrial." I just associate it with screaming and noise. But what can one song hurt? And yeah, I guess it's "metal" in the 80s sense, not that current hardcore screaming shit. It's very melodic, and that's what I look for. So I'll probably check out the album, but for now at least I have a cool "new nostalgic" song in heavy rotation. It kinda feels like the right thing to start this new chapter in my life with, you know? Something that reminds me of the comfort of the past, while still being fresh. Old and new.

Total side note: I'm pretty sure IKEA is one of the circles of Hell.

Top 10 favorite cover songs

In no particular order, except maybe the top 3 or so. Enjoy!

10. Not Fade Away ~ The Rolling Stones, originally by Buddy Holly

Both versions are great. Holly's is a bouncy bop, while the Stones grunge it up a bit.

9. Crimson and Clover ~ Joan Jett, originally by Tommy James and the Shondells

This is one of my favorite songs, so why not higher? While I love the cover, nothing beats the Tommy James version.

8. All Along the Watchtower ~ Jimi Hendrix, originally by Bob Dylan

Yeah obvious choice, but it fucking shreds, so what else can I do?

7. In Bloom ~ Sturgill Simpson, originally by Nirvana

THIS is how you play around with genres. This is a musical breakthrough, not the mere chasing of a buck.

6. Daydream Believer ~ Shonen Knife, originally by The Monkees

A bit of an obscure one, but give it a listen if you can find it. It's rockin' and fun.

5. Who's Cheatin' Who ~ Alan Jackson, originally by Charly McClain

I love the original as much if not even a little more than this cover, but... it's Alan Jackson. It's great.

4. You Better Run ~ Pat Benatar, originally by The Young Rascals

I could make a top 5 of just Pat Benatar's covers, but I'm only doing one song per artist. She'll be back in the honourable mentions though!

3. The Dangerous Type ~ Letters to Cleo, originally by The Cars

This is probably only LTC's third most popular cover (and yeah, their versions of I Want You to Want Me and Cruel to Be Kind are awesome), but this one's my favorite. Maybe because I associate it with The Craft. Probably because I associate it with The Craft, yeah. Great song, anyway.

2. All I Have to Do Is Dream ~ R.E.M., originally by The Everly Brothers

R.E.M. took this beautiful, dreamy early 60s hit and somehow made it even dreamier by making it sound like it was recorded in someone's garage on a Saturday afternoon.

1. I Will ~ Alison Krauss, originally by The Beatles

This cover is transcendent. I get chills every time I listen to it. As good as the original is ~ I mean, it's The Beatles ~ her version just takes it to a whole new level. It's like a band of angels covering The Beatles. I hope I'm greeted with this song in the afterlife.

Honorable mentions:

~If You Think You Know How To Love Me ~ Pat Benatar, originally by Smokie
~No You Don't ~ Pat Benatar, originally by Sweet
Pat has so many classic songs, I'm not sure if people realize what a COVER QUEEN she was.
~Take it Easy ~ Travis Tritt, originally by The Eagles
~Ol'55 ~ The Eagles, originally by Tom Waits
~Landslide ~ Dixie Chicks, originally by Fleetwood Mac
A beautifully harmonized version, but nobody beats Stevie Nicks.
~Strawberry Fields Forever ~ Candy Flip, originally by The Beatles
My fave Beatles song covered by some 90s acid dance band?? That should be SACRILEGE, but it's actually awesome. So was the 90s Manchester scene in general. Fun music, and I never had to take drugs to enjoy it! #PSA
~Always on My Mind ~ Pet Shop Boys, originally by Willie Nelson
Another one that should be SACRILEGE, but sounds awesome. Yeah, I have no issues with taking a classic country song and making it electronic. Just make it sound GOOD and don't call it COUNTRY (*cough*cough*KeithUrban)

And just because, the two WORST covers I've ever heard!

Cancer ~ twenty one pilots, originally by My Chemical Romance
Ghostbusters ~ Fall Out Boy, originally by Ray Parker Jr.

Dear God. Save your ears.

Think I'll start doing occasional, random top 10 lists, just to exercise the ol' blog muscle. Favorite songs by an artist or of a certain year, movies by decade or genre, etc. I think the first will be top 10 favorite cover songs. Coming soon!

Spring into horror! Part 2

They Look Like People -

Like Boys in the Trees, this was a surprisingly touching story about friendship. This is not a horror movie, but it's very suspenseful at times. It's what happens when the horror is in your mind... or is it?

That's what you're left wondering the whole movie. Just what is going on here? These characters are pretty screwed up, in different ways, but in ways that make them compatible with each other. You can see why these guys are friends. There's no judgment, only trust. And that plays into one hell of an ending that's about as perfect a wrap-up of a psychological film you can get. If you want a more action-oriented movie, skip this, because there isn't any. But if you want suspense, characters you root for, and a compelling, well-resolved psychological story, check this out.

It Follows -

Holy. Shit. This movie has been on my to-watch list for a long time. While I heard how great it was, I think I avoided it because... a sex demon? Really? While sex is the underlying motivating factor, the movie isn't super-sexualized. It is, once again, more psychological, though I'd put this one firmly on the horror side. This thing is SCARY.

This could be called They Look Like People, Sorta, Really Gross Disturbing People Though. Because this demon that follows you around after someone passes it to you during sex was so disgustingly well done I actually had to turn away a couple times. In a shitty movie, the demon would be a fakey-looking CGI thing that jumps out and goes BLARGH! at you. In this movie it's just different people, but these grotesque half-naked people from your worst nightmare. Thank you for understanding that ONLY THINGS THAT LOOK REAL ARE SCARY.

Beyond the scary-ass demon, this movie is all kinds of weird in these amazing, subtle ways. I was so thrown by the atmosphere that I googled just what the hell was going on, and found this great article explaining it. https://thoughtcatalog.com/m-j-pack/2015/08/heres-why-you-missed-the-scariest-part-of-it-follows/. Basically, while the movie takes place in Detroit, that's the only constant you get. The time period seems to shift. At first I thought it was the 80s for sure, but nope, there are modern vehicles mixed in with the classics. They watch nothing but old black and white movies. There are no cellphones, but there's this weird sort of clamshell kindle reader that doesn't even exist. Seasons and weather shift. While the article doesn't mention it, I swear it went from day to night in at least one scene with no actual time shift in the movie. And it's all so well made that you KNOW it's intentional and they're fucking with you. It's like this movie doesn't take place in one parallel universe but ALL of them at once.

Another interesting element is the Detroit backdrop with all the abandoned buildings. It looks like the level of decay that exists there today, bringing a sense of reality to a world that feels unreal. And abandoned stuff in horror movies is just cool. I've seen movies that were so dumb, the abandoned setting was the ONLY enjoyable thing.

Wow, I am on a roll with these modern movies! 5/5 so far and all recommendations. Don't let anyone tell you the horror/thriller genre is dead, sheesh. I think it's the best it's been since the 80s.

Spring into horror! Part one

I'm putting my Netflix membership on hold til the new season of MST3k comes out, so I'm watching my queued movies before it runs out. That means scary movies in May, baby!

Creep -

I watched this right before I went to bed. I make poor life choices. :( Seriously, this thing unsettled the SHIT out of me and I don't usually get that scared by scary movies. This is some next level psychological horror. The uncomfortable unpredictability will get under your skin, and you will like it.

I have never seen a character like this in a movie before, where I had NO clue what he was going to do or what was going to happen at any time. Even the best movies will sometimes telegraph certain things, but this actually felt like walking blindfolded through the woods. I love this movie. And Mark Duplass is amazing.

Creep 2 -

I watched this one during the day. IT DIDN'T HELP. :( While this didn't unsettle me down to my toenails like the first one did, that's not because it's any less creepy. I actually think it's creepier in some ways with the psychological manipulation. But in the first movie, much of the tension comes from not knowing who the creep is, what he's capable of. That gets answered in movie one, so while what he's capable of is super fucked up, at least you're prepared for where things might be going.

That said, this movie still goes to some crazy places. This time, the creep approaches his victim as if he's trying to confess, maybe atone for all the terrible things he's done. And Duplass is so good that despite seeing the complete mindfuckery he played in the first movie, YOU DON'T KNOW IF HE'S TELLING THE TRUTH THIS TIME OR NOT. Maybe part of him is. He's such a bizarre, unpredictable character that you never really know where he's coming from. Sara is also fascinating and unpredictable. This time he has a fellow weirdo to play off of, instead of the poor hapless guy from part one. It creates a whole new dynamic that really works well.

Boys in the Trees -

Well I am 3 for 3 so far, because this one was the best. This is not a horror movie or even a thriller. Despite taking place on Halloween night and having a lot of tension, there's only one actual "scare." I'd call it a supernatural drama/fantasy. And holy crap, is this thing good. And deep. And weirdly beautiful. It takes place in the 90s, so you get to hear songs like "Lump" and "Glycerine." That won me over pretty fast for nostalgic feels, and then it just gets better and better.

This had the kind of heart, sensitivity and realness that you don't often see explored in movies about teens. At first you think you're looking at the usual teen tropes but then it dives deep. Everyone here is very real; they let their guard down and you see the person behind the front. It shows the tragedy of how teens, and maybe everyone to some extent, has to front just to survive. And the beauty that happens when you... stop doing that. And even if you at least somewhat guess what's going on, like I did, there's still a lot of suspense and mystery that is a joy to explore along with the two main characters. You will come to know and love these boys like friends during the course of this movie. This will be a new Halloween staple for me. While it isn't really "scary," it captures the essence of Halloween with some beautiful shots and set design, as well as perfectly capturing that limbo between childhood and adulthood through the lens of Halloween.

Update

Well my life is being... lifey again, except maybe in a positive way this time? So yeah, updates here may be few and far between. I'm glad I got that Kacey Musgraves post out. In case I don't update for months, here are a few points.

~ Ashley McBryde's album is fire and a half. I love it. A contender for my album of the year and song of the year for "Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega." I will talk about it more at length in my year-end review, if not sooner. Let's just say, when I heard "Dive Bar" it kinda felt like a "Kerosene moment." The first time I heard Miranda was that song, and it was... not really life-changing, but life-affirming? Reaffirming my love for country music that was kinda dormant at the time? Yeah, that's what happened with Ashley McBryde. And, like Miranda, her album lived up to my hopes.

~ I listened to Brandi Carlile's album a couple months ago. While I did like it, it didn't stick with me the way her last album did. I think part of it was the production. I will listen to it again with fresh ears towards the end of the year. Sometimes there are just albums where you go, "it's good," but don't feel compelled to listen often. idk.

~ The next album I listen to will be Blackberry Smoke. I haven't been in much of a new listening place lately, other than singles. Sometimes I really like the low commitment factor of singles lol. I'm digging the new Carrie Underwood and Drake. Having Carrie back just feels right. The new Weeknd songs aren't doing much for me, too downbeat and moody. "Pray for Me" is still great though.

What else is coming out this year? I had heard Best Coast at some point, but that info seems to have vanished. hmmm. Apparently something is going on with System of a Down, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up about that. Would be amazing, and timely, if they did release new music though. Oh! Pistol Annies later this year, I think? I hope so. Panic at the Disco in a couple months, that could be a fun summer album based on the two songs I've heard. Oh and Ashley Monroe soon, I think.

Other artists I really want new music from ~ Eric Church, Cage the Elephant, The Pretty Reckless, and um, Weezer, but only if it doesn't suck 😇

Movie-wise, A Quiet Place was AMAZING, and the trailer for Hereditary also looked amazing. Fresh new horror movies give me life.

Okay, I think that's it! If something blows my mind I might pop in to talk about it, but this place will probably be tumbleweeds for awhile.

New Music ~ Kacey Musgraves

Okay, I was gonna do a multi-album review later, but I think I need to talk about this one now. Not because of all the noxious internet bluster - noxious internet bluster's just another Tuesday - but because I keep listening to it. In fact, ima do myself a happy little mental health favour and ignore all the bluster entirely. Turn off the noise, turn on the music.

Because this album - I've been trying to figure out just the right way to describe it. "It sounds like spring" was my first thought, one that was echoed by ARTV on his review. (I really enjoyed his video on the album BTW - none of the toxic "country vs non-country" stuff, he just talks about the music.) My second thought, and one I'm a little surprised more people haven't picked up on, is that it sounds like a happier Rilo Kiley album. Maybe I'm the only person who still cares about RK in 2018, idk, they were a very meaningful band in my life. But I'd be shocked if Kacey wasn't somewhat inspired by Jenny Lewis.

My third thought, and the one I think best describes the album, is it's the living embodiment of one of those "no bad vibes" signs. Cause this album is good vibes, and the fact that it's making some people lose their shit (apparently) is kind of hilarious.

I will say this once, despite some country instrumentation I don't consider this a country album. I'll call it indie pop with Americana leanings, and mostly, I DON'T CARE. I'm done with the whole "this isn't country" thing. If I like it, I like it. If it has a drum machine on it it's probably not country, and I'm probably not gonna like it either, so who cares? This isn't that at all, this isn't a sell out, there's nothing on here that even sounds like a radio single. This is an album. One of my favourite Kacey songs is "Dandelion," so I've always been a fan of her airier side, and that's mostly what we get here. The main focus is Kacey's voice, literally and figuratively, and the instrumentation and production is nice and subtle in a way that lets her breathe.

When I discussed Pageant Material, I was generally positive but felt she was a little stuck in the same rut of Same Trailer. There weren't a whole lot of thematic differences, despite standout songs like "Dimestore Cowgirl" and the title track. Golden Hour doesn't have those real standout tracks to me, but it works better as an album overall. At the end of my Pageant Material discussion, I said I hoped she would go in a different direction on her next album for fear of growing stale. There are only so many songs you can make about small-minded people in small towns and mind your own biscuits. And she did it. This album is a departure, and it works.

My biggest fear with Kacey, despite her beautiful voice and miles of talent, was her songwriting would prove one-dimensional over time. This album reveals a new dimension, and somehow shows more depth in lighter, more transcendent songs than yet more snarky or dour material would. They're different, but still introspective. This isn't dumb, fluffy pop music. Nor is every song happy. "Mother" is a simple but affecting song about separated family members missing and thinking of each other, with kind of a cosmic vibe. "Lonely Weekend" isn't really a sad song, it's more about learning to be okay with being alone sometimes. "Happy & Sad" is an incisive and relatable look into Kacey's mind, "I'm the kind of person who starts getting kinda nervous, When I'm having the time of my life." SAME, girl, same. Damn, I feel that song.

She lets herself be fully open and thankful on "Oh What a World," a breath of fresh air I would call the biggest standout of the album. She just wants to take a moment to be happy and feel the magic of the world. Such a simple thing, yet how often do any of us really do it? "Rainbow" is another favorite, a quite beautiful song that assures us storms will pass and we'll be alright, there's always been a rainbow there. (The "rainbow" kind of seems like God, and faith? Maybe that's just how I took it. Maybe it's just about positive energy. Either way, it works.) Believe me, I know the feeling of being so deep in a rut, you don't even realize when you're happy cause you're so used to being sad.

This album won't have any "hits," but I do think it will resonate with people in this weary world. Because while it is uplifting overall, it isn't empty platitudes. Kacey knows how hard life can be, she clearly understands anxiety and depression, and while there are no easy answers sometimes the only answer is to just let yourself feel. Let yourself be happy, even if sometimes it's hard and we're our own worst enemy. As she says on "Slow Burn," "I'm gonna do it my way, it'll be alright." On her past albums there was kind of this theme of "the world is theirs" (the small-minded, conformist types) and we just have to roll our eyes and get high or whatever. On Golden Hour it's more "the world is OURS." Her perspective seems bigger, brighter, and more open.

While I wouldn't say this is my favorite Kacey album, at least not yet, I got a lot out of this. I loved seeing this different side of her and relating even more. It's a change, but as we saw with Paramore and Kesha last year, sometimes a change will do you good. Now that we've seen this more personal side of her music, I'm more excited than ever to keep following... I'm sorry I'm sorry... her arrow. Sigh. You know I had to do it.

New music ~ Miranda Lambert & Panic!

I was gonna discuss Keith Urban's horrifying new Frankensong more, but meh. It's bad. Don't listen to it. The end. If you want a new take on "Mama Tried," listen to Angaleena Presley's kickass "Mama I Tried."

DO listen to Miranda Lambert's "Keeper of the Flame," which is not a new song but her latest single, and one of my favourites from Weight of These Wings. Not only is it good, it sounds like it could genuinely be a hit. (That is, if radio actually plays it.) It's catchy, anthemic, and the theme fits the Stapleton-led direction I think country is trying to go right now. While the song itself sounds much more modern than traditional, the sentiment comes across in the tasteful instrumentation and Miranda's always-impassioned vocals. It's a good look for 2018, and I hope it sticks around. (I should probably relisten to Weight of These Wings, but damn it's so long...)

Soooo I can't lie, I kinda like Panic! At the Disco, random punctuation and all. I know, I know. Their last album Death of a Bachelor was kind of a guilty pleasure for me, not because I think it's bad - in fact, Brendan Urie is an amazing vocalist - but because this band is kinda for teenagers, right? I feel a little silly listening to them, it would be like listening to my old Smurfs albums and wait I would totally do that, never mind.

Anyway, they released two songs from their upcoming album and I gotta say, they're energetic and infectious AF. Not the kind of thing I usually listen to, but that's the beauty of it. It's not organic, like at all, but it does interesting, creative things with the production and Brendan Urie is as dynamic as always. I guess I'd call it dance rock, if something so synth-y could be called rock at all. It just goes a little harder than anything I'd call "pop." I think this might be what Fall Out Boy was trying to do, once again proving that Panic is better. And now that I'm done rambling like a 13 year old on livejournal, I'll just say this music probably isn't for most people who'd be reading a country and rock blog, and that's okay. If I dig it, I'm gonna talk about it. I'm actually looking forward to this album, with the most intriguing title of Pray for the Wicked.

2018 has been a decent year for music so far, and it's primed to get even better. Don't let me down.

tbt ~ 2000s country (Warning: unintended rant)

I've been having serious 2000s music nostalgia lately. It started with indie stuff like The Shins, New Pornographers, of Montreal, etc., and eventually drifted into country. I still listen to a lot of these songs, but there were also some half-forgotten gems. Lady Antebellum's early stuff sounds so pure and good. Catchy, well-produced pop country at its best. Randy Houser used to have grit and swagger to complement his vocal chops. And, because I'm the queen of bad timing, I was all set to praise Keith Urban's old stuff for actually being a cool mix of pop sensibilities and country instrumentation. Then he released something that can only be described as an atrocity, a desecration of the sacred "Mama Tried." With the "Issues" chick, of all people! Not just a pop singer, a TERRIBLE one! Don't go looking for it, I beg you. It's unholy. It will haunt you forever. But hey, that early stuff's still pretty decent.

A link, since the mythical "embed playlist" option has never shown up for me.

https://open.spotify.com/user/emperorcupcake22/playlist/41R14VqvoS5Zbc2mMIvlDU

A few notes on the playlist. It's mostly in order by year, with a few exceptions of songs I forgot. Why you can't reorder songs is beyond me. We sent people into space 50 years ago but I can't have the technology to move a Chris Young song up a playlist. Okay, sure.

...I think that Keith Urban song made me a little salty. Can you blame me?

The list is not necessarily "the BEST country hits of the 2000s!" but the ones I know and remember most fondly. Nostalgia plays a part in some cases, but they're all songs I like. Mostly just the hits, though I did include a few album cuts from certain artists.

Notable exclusions:

As I've stated many times, I left country music almost completely behind in the early 2000s, due to the post-9/11 divisiveness. I started to come around in the mid-2000s but didn't fully come back until I heard Miranda Lambert the first time. So NO songs that remind me of the awful "stick a boot in yer ass" era of country were included. Not even Alan Jackson's comforting, apolitical "Where Were You," the only one of those songs I like. Nor the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice," which I also like but reminds me of bad vibes I don't need in my life. I'm a forgiving soul so I did include Toby Keith's "Beer for My Horses," an actual good song. (The same cannot be said for "She's a Hottie," which should by all decency be Toby Keith's worst song, but isn't.)

This last one hurts. One of the first songs that drew me back into country was Buddy Jewell's "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)," a beautiful, simple song based around a child's questions about death, the afterlife, and God. This could be overly sentimental if done wrong, but it was done just right, with a beautiful melody and instrumentation to go along with it. The kind of song you come to country music for.

Cue a few years ago when I heard the song and was like, "HMM, I WONDER WHAT BUDDY JEWELL IS UP TO, HE WAS PRETTY GOOD," and BIG MISTAKE, guys. Maybe don't look up people from the past unless you wanna be disappointed, cause... look. I'm not gonna shun an artist for having different beliefs than me. I hate politics, and when you let it get in the way of music, politics wins, not you.

That said, I can't stress enough that bigotry is not a belief or political stance. White supremacy is a mental illness, as far as I'm concerned. So if you must, google Buddy Jewell "This Ain't Mexico," but I recommend you don't. I'm careful to not throw the word "racist" around like a football, but if this song is any indication, the man is an honest-to-God racist. I can maybe forgive "stick a boot in yer ass," but I can't forgive outright racism. Dude actually talks about loving fajitas and margaritas but DON'T SET FOOT OVER THE BORDER, AMIGO. So... how are they supposed to deliver the food you wanna shove in your taco hole without actually being there, genius? Chuck it over the border and hope someone in Texas catches it? "We like your food, but we don't want you here." FUCK. YOU. IN. YOUR. TACO. HOLE. So yeah, that's why a song I like isn't on my playlist. I can't even listen to it without thinking that the little girl must be white or he wouldn't be singing about her, and all the sentiment goes out the window along with your margarita puke, you fat redneck fuck.

Okay. That felt kinda good. I'm done now. :)

You know, I considered skipping the early years of the decade and starting in like, '04 to avoid all these ugly feelings coming back. But there were just too many good songs to leave out, so I'm gonna end on that positive note instead. I'd say overall it was a pretty good decade for country music, especially the mid-to-late part. Definitely worth revisiting.

Two more new country singles

By two more dudes, obviously.

Here we have Jake 'n Blake, which I'm sure makes delicious fried chicken (and I helped!), but how is it musically?

Well, ever since his promising start back in the day, Blake Shelton has gotten both worse and more famous. Maybe someday I'll understand why that's a thing. (See also: Luke Bryan.) From egregious bro-pandering like "Boys Round Here" to all the forgettable mid tempo AC sludge that I've, well, forgotten, Blake is someone I've long stopped caring about. His new song is called "I Lived It," and while it may be just more forgettable AC sludge to some, this one actually kinda speaks to me.

It gives me a 90s feel, not because it necessarily sounds like a 90s song, but it takes me back to those days when I loved country music. Which is maybe the point, considering it's about nostalgia and growing up in a bygone era. I mean #relatable, amirite?? But it's nothing that hasn't been done before, from Bucky Covington's "A Different World" to ironically, Miranda's "Automatic." And nostalgia is a tricky subject for me. If you hit my sweet spot you got me, but if it strikes me as "80s/90s kid pandering," it really pisses me off. I don't like some cynical asshole trying to cash in on my nostalgia. And some people may see this song as just that, but to me it feels real. Real enough. It's not as good as "Automatic," or something like Trace Adkins' "You're Gonna Miss This," but I enjoy listening to it. It gives me a good feeling. And Blake has always had a good voice that's been sadly wasted. Please, keep giving these songs to him and not no-talent personality voids like Cole Swindell and Thomas Rhett.

I'd like to say I like Jake Owen's new song, but... hooooo boy. Why are we still trying to make "American Kids" in 2018? I liked that song more than most, but it wasn't THAT great. This is another nostalgia song, and this time it hits all the wrong notes. It wasn't enough we had to endure Keith Urban's assault on John Cougar, now Jake here is taking a crack at him. What has he ever done to you guys?? Can these kind of songs just die already? At least Blake is talking about a unique experience and not piggybacking off an 80s song. (I know Blake didn't write "I Lived it," but he sings it like he did, which I guess counts for something.) Jake can do so much better than this, so why doesn't he?

I guess the bright side is, at least they're giving me stuff to talk about. I don't remember a single hit "country" song last year outside of the highest highs ("Tin Man" and Stapleton) and the lowest low ("Body Like a Pothole"). Everything else was so boringly in the middle.

I also want to make one more point about this whole Bebe Rexha/FGL debacle before hopefully retiring the subject forever. While I think country radio should be for country and country-adjacent music (no, Chris Stapleton isn't purely "country," but he fits), I don't mind artists going outside their genres at all. If pop and country people wanna work together, why the hell not?

The problem is, more often than not this has the opposite result of what you might think. Expanding beyond genre should push down walls and open up creativity, right? But that's not what's happening. Instead we're getting the most flavourless, middle of the road songs imaginable, from "Meant to Be" to Maren Morris' almost tragically aptly-named "The Middle." Since it's clearly not about exploring creative options, the only logical conclusion is it's about making a buck. So I don't wanna hear any sanctimonious crap about "pushing boundaries" from people like Bebe Rexha. BULL. SHIT. That's one of the least "boundary pushing" songs I've ever heard. You wanna genre-hop, do it, but MAKE GOOD MUSIC. This lazy monogenre crap is killing creativity rather than igniting it.

Friday Random Silliness

When you're a kid, sometimes the first place you hear a classic song is in a commercial. So now, no matter how many years go by or how many times I hear the song, the words to Love Me Tender will always be "love me tender, love me true, feed me something new." Curse you, dog food industry!

Music Update

My current plan is to do a three-fer review of Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, and Blackberry Smoke in probably mid-April, so the albums have time to sit with me. That will still be one album per month, but gives me more listening time.

A nice February surprise for me was the Black Panther soundtrack, especially since I'm not usually a hip hop fan. Well some of the songs have a more r&b vibe, like "All the Stars" and "Pray for Me," and I've been listening to those a lot. I won't be doing an album review, but it's always nice when something pulls me into different genres. I can feel my mind expanding. It's a little tingly. Ahhhh.

I looked at the country chart today. Why, why did I do that. Okay, here we go.

I've heard good things about Ashley McBryde, I need to check her out.
EDIT: Yeah, I like this. I like this a LOT. Her album's coming out in March, so I might just make that review a four-fer. "Here's to the breakups that didn't break us." This is my kind of country song. Beautiful strong voice, a little Sara Evans. Okay, this is why I look at the charts. Every once in a while there's a gem I might miss.

That new Zac Brown Without the Band song is in the country top 40. Seriously, screw him for saying one thing and doing another for the almighty profit. I'd be fine with him making a pop song for pop radio, but this shows an utter lack of integrity from an artist I used to count as a favorite.

There's a Chase Rice song called "Three Chords and the Truth." Ha. Hahahahaha. I haven't heard it, but I'm guessing it's another attempt at de-broification. More like "Three Chords and the Truth Is I Haven't Known What the Hell to Do With My Career Since 2015." Live by the Axe body spray, die by the Axe body spray, bro.
EDIT: Okay I broke down and listened to this thing and it's still pretty bro-ey, just more toned down. But it's a girl in a car and drinking and name-dropping old songs and YAWN. Do these people ever do anything but travel in cars? I'm getting some Birdemic-level driving here.

Morgan Evans. Dylan Scott. Michael Ray. Chris Lane. Morgan Wallen. Jordan Davis. Devin Dawson. This is all the same person. Prove to me it isn't, I'll wait.

Dierks Bentley has a song called "Woman, Amen," apparently following in the footsteps of Keith Urban's "Female." How nice. Now can we have more actual women on the charts who aren't Bebe freaking Rexha? Amen.

I feel like I'm too old to unironically listen to someone called "Scotty" tbh.

In my last post I raised the question, Will Maren Morris ever make another good song? The answer appears to be no, no she will not. This "Rich" song... okay, I will say it has more personality than anything else I've heard from her since "My Church." But it sounds bad, like really really bad. The production is a mess, just noise being thrown in my ears. Like it genuinely sounds like it wasn't mixed right. I guess we have "busbee" to thank for that, whoever and whatever that is. I'm going with "cartoon bee from the 90s." And to that I say, buzz off! Hahahahahahkillme.

And um yeah, this thing totally takes from "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band, of all things. As a classic rock fan, this is something I could get behind if done right, but it sounds awful and her level of rock swagger is nil. (With the right production, Carrie Underwood could maybe pull this off.) And it's not awful because it's "not country." I'm no purist, there's plenty of pop country and rock country I dig the hell out of. Just make music that sounds good, that's all I ask.

Artists should be able to express themselves and make the music they want without feeling pigeonholed. Telling an artist they MUST make country music, and it must adhere to some arbitrary standard, is about as conducive to creativity and making good music as all the shit I hate on the other side of the argument (autotune, drum machines, etc). But here's the thing. If you're gonna lay claim to a defined genre of music, by all means feel free to experiment with it. But do it with some form of respect. If you give off the impression you don't actually care about country at all, then you shouldn't be marketed that way. The point of country shouldn't be to be as not-country as possible while still maintaining the tiniest shred so you can go, "See? See, that's country!" I mean... why do it if you don't like it?

Country music isn't about somebody hitting you upside the head with a banjo and telling you to play it or else, it's about taking the banjo and other traditions and making them your own. It's about having enough passion for what the genre is, and has been, to find your own lane on the highway. If your music shows no actual connection to country, why lay claim to it at all? I mean, I'm not gonna fly to France and say I'm French.

You know what's a WAY better song and sentiment than "Most People Are Good?" Montgomery Gentry's "Some People Change." This is a more realistic view of the world that still has a positive message without the whitewashing. Don't give up hope, some people change. You know, the ones that aren't good... at least not all the way through.

The Inevitable De-Broification of Bro Country

Before I comment on the quality of the music, can I just say lol? Like, lololololol? Because sometimes pop culture is so predictable and stupid I'm ashamed to be a part of it.

Bro country's been (mostly) dead for a while now, but it's like all the poor lost bros suddenly got torches lit under their asses to not be bros anymore, and stat!, and come up with something Deeper. Deeper, with a capital D. But is there any actual substance here, or just pandering?

Case 1. Marry Me, by Thomas Rhett

I already talked about this one, which turned out to be the warning shot. The non-bro Bat Signal to the rest of the Bat Bros. Or whatever. I'm losing this narrative fast, but not as fast as country music lost its narrative. Zing! Anywayyyy... my takeaway was that, while the song is decent, Rhett's vocals do nothing for me and he has the emotional range of a wicker basket. A photo of a wicker basket was posted, to much snickering glee on my end because I am twelve. And yeah, that's how I still feel. Give the song to a more emotive, gifted vocalist, say Chris Young, Darius Rucker, or Randy Houser, and you've got something.

Case 2. You Make It Easy, by Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean's a weird one for me. This is the guy who made "The Truth" and "Night Train," two songs I love. I don't love his voice, but it's fine enough to carry some good songs. But this is also the guy who made "Burnin' it Down" and "Dirt Road Anthem," and the tonal dissonance kinda makes you think he's just a singer for hire, not an Artist with Something to Say. And never have I felt that more than with this song. Oh it's way, WAY better than either of the latter, but... dude is trying to be Chris Stapleton. It's like, SO OBVIOUS. And there's only one Chris Stapleton. His voice and songwriting come from a real place, a desire to create and express genuine emotion through music. Aldean is riding a trend, and he'll ride the next trend, and the next. While he's not devoid of talent, it's hard to have much respect for him. Also, the couple times I've heard this song I finished the chorus off with a rousing "like Sunday morning!" which was oddly satisfying.

Case 3. Most People Are Good, by Luke Bryan

Well, there's a pandering title for you. Look, this isn't a bad song, and I do like an opportunity for Luke to remind people he can actually sing. I used to like this guy, after all. I just wish he'd show off his voice on something a little less middle of the road. Like "all lives matter," "most people are good" seems like a fitting rallying cry for these divisive times, ON THE SURFACE. I mean, most people want to hear they're good. But it's pretty easy to compartmentalize this shit, you know? Take Mr. Middle America Johnson, he's a good guy, always helps his neighbours, always donates to the church bake sale, claps extra loud for his kids in the school play even though they suck, you know, a great guy.

But dig a little deeper and all his neighbours and congregation and kids are white, and he doesn't know any people of colour or gay people (that he knows of). And maybe he's got some subconscious, casual bigotry that causes him to vote for those who actively seek to harm such people who are outside of his own circle. Does this make Mr. Johnson a bad person? Not necessarily, but it doesn't really make him good either, and that's why these sweeping messages don't work for me. I realize the point was probably to make it not political, but I don't think my point is political. THAT'S the problem, that things like being a bigot or not are considered "politics." I say this because I feel this song is for Mr. and Mrs. Middle America Johnson, and I think you have to look below the surface level there. Saying someone is good doesn't really help anyone; bursting the bubble they live in does.

I do like how he said no one should be ashamed for who they love. That's actually... really damn progressive for Luke Bryan and this kind of song, so good on ya. But overall, I think "Humble and Kind" does this better. It's reminding you to BE humble and kind, not saying that most people ARE humble and kind. Which is a flat ass lie, obviously.

I'll end this with how Tom Servo replied to "Only the good die young:" "Most people are morally ambiguous, which explains their random dying patterns." Because there's a MST3K quote for everything, and it's gonna be my new (non)hit country song.

Case 4. Break Up in the End, by Cole Swindell

AKA The Dance 2018, but with all the power stripped away. Okay, this isn't a bad song either. If it hadn't immediately struck me as wanting to be The Dance, and failing, I'd probably like it more. I'd definitely like it more if, like "Marry Me," it was sung by a more emotive vocalist. Bless his heart, he's trying, but Cole Swindell wishes he had the emotional range of a wicker basket. He has the emotional range of a bowl of poi.

This isn't Cole's first non-bro rodeo, in fact "You Should Be Here" was probably one of the first big shifts away, back in 2015. I feel bad criticizing that song, it's about his actual dead dad, but look... like these other songs, it just didn't hit me emotionally. The detail wasn't there, there was no raw emotion in his voice. If anything, this new song hits me a little more, just because it IS the same theme as The Dance, and it actually has pretty nice sounding production.

EDIT: I discussed "You Should Be Here" here. I called it "grief lite." Damn, 2016 me was cold. http://mrsrowsdower.blogspot.ca/2016/05/#7215373552480327262

Actually, another thing I wrote there pretty much sums things up. "If you wanna have a hit, make a song that will somehow resonate with everyone despite actually resonating with no one."

We're at the point where the biggest compliment you can give a song on country radio is that it "sounds country". That sucks, but maybe songs like these are how we start to equalize. These are probably some of the best, if not the best songs on country radio right now, and you can either take that as a sad indictment or a stepping stone. Things aren't great yet, but maybe this will lead to some actual great songs being heard. Or maybe it won't. I mean, I wish it didn't all feel so calculated. But I'll give these bros the same grade I gave Justin Timberlake: "You tried." It's better than "You're a lazy sack of shit," at least. We still have to solve the woman problem, but maybe having less toxic songs on the radio is at least a start? idk. I mean, there's also something out there called "Singles You Up," so we might just be heading for the apocalypse.

So what's next? Will Sam Hunt's next single just be a tastefully EDM-laced recording of him singing in the church choir? Will Florida Georgia Line ask to duet with someone actually talented, and get laughed all the way to Alabama? Will Brantley Gilbert find his way out of his own asshole? Will Maren Morris EVER make another good song??

Stay tuned, I guess?

RIP Daryle Singletary :(

Well shit, I just saw that Daryle Singletary died. What the hell?? He was younger than Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, and Keith Urban. Man, I wish his career could have stuck around like theirs did. He was great. "Amen Kind of Love" is in my top 10, if not top 5 favorite 90s country songs. I mean, if I was gonna use a single song to illustrate the kind of feel good country I like, here it is. Time may have passed him (and many other 90s artists) by, but I never forgot him and never will.

Music randoms

Okay, what's been going on here. Well, I've mostly been going over The Shins' discography and enjoying myself. Sooo many amazing songs in their catalogue, and Heartworms just grows on me with every listen. But then I got tired of enjoying myself, I guess, and decided to look at another trainwreck. Or at least a minor wreck, not the complete derailment and everything on fire sort of wreck that Fall Out Boy was.

So, I've never listened to a Justin Timberlake album. He's not my kind of artist, I never cared about 90s boy bands, I listened to pretty much nothing but country when the whole N*sync vs Backstreet Boys war was raging. Perhaps someday we'll read of it in history books. Anyway, I didn't pay him much attention until his duet with Chris Stapleton on "Tennessee Whiskey," which blew me the hell away. It's a good song to begin with, and wow did their voices sound great together. So having heard that the album would be more organic and rootsy (no, I never expected it to be "country"), and that Stapleton had a feature, I gave it a listen. Or rather, other than "Say Something," I gave it a preview, cause there was no way I was listening to that whole long ass album.

I didn't like "Filthy", and it seemed that releasing one of the least organic, rootsy songs I've ever heard as a leadoff single was either terrible marketing or an indication the album would not be as advertised. Turns out, it was kinda both. The song sounds like there's a robot drowning in the background, which makes me sad honestly, and who the hell wants to think about filthy hands preparing meat? You might as well just call your song "Salmonella." The overly obvious sexual metaphor is not sexy or helpful; I'm still just thinkin' about bacteria. Overall, I will give JT props for trying something a little different. I think he failed, but so many pop stars don't try at all since they don't have to, and I feel like there was at least an attempt at genuine artistry here. I mean, it doesn't feel cash-grabby, which automatically lends it sincerity. I just wish it was any good.

The only song I really care about, "Say Something" with Stapleton, is... okay. Just okay. Their voices still sound good together but it's nowhere near the powerhouse that "Tennessee Whiskey" was. I'm mostly left underwhelmed and feeling like I should just listen to a Stapleton album instead. What it did do is put Chris Stapleton in the top 10 of the pop charts. I don't think it will last, but at least we can say that happened in 2018.

What I got from the rest of the album wasn't so much "OMG this sucks!" as "You tried." I feel like in trying to be "deeper," he only revealed how shallow he is. He's the Anti-Kesha. Any attempted rootsiness does not feel organic, it feels like more of a pose. And the thing is, I don't think it is a pose, because to what end? I think it's genuine but still comes off feeling tryhard, because it just doesn't work.

On a more positive note, I finally checked out two more albums from last year, thanks to the Grammys of all things. First up was Lorde's Melodrama. I don't know if I've talked about Lorde here, but I like her. I enjoyed her first album, with "Tennis Court" being my favorite track. Her minimalist style doesn't blow me away, but it definitely has its place. It's a much better coffee house soundtrack than your typical boring White Guy with Acoustic Guitar. You know, like Arthur Johnson or whoever that guy was. Jack James? Anyway yeah, Lorde. While nothing hit me quite like "Tennis Court," I think Melodrama is overall a stronger album. It's very listenable if you're in the right mood, without any bad tracks. My favorite is "Homemade Dynamite." In fact, the little interlude where she goes, "Now you know it's really gonna blow *boom*" is probably my favorite two seconds in music last year. I also liked "Liability," "The Louvre," and "Perfect Places."

Next was Awaken, My Love! by Childish Gambino and yeah, this one's an honourable mention for my favorite albums. I put off listening to this because I loved "Redbone" so much and was afraid the album wouldn't hold up. Happily that was not the case, the whole album has that sweet vibe. There are a couple skippable songs here - his voice sounds really annoying on "California" - but overall this is a soulful, funky and dare I say, groovy experience to let wash over you. Groovy with a deliciously dark edge that sets it apart. I'll be playing this a lot come summer. Favourites other than "Redbone" are "Me and Your Mama," "Boogieman," and "Have Some Love."

Finally, "Finesse" keeps growing on me more every time I hear it. I LOVED New Jack Swing and still listen to quite a few songs from that era. So Bruno Mars making a Bell Biv Devoe style song? Yeah. HELL yeah. Not only do I hope this is the huge hit of the year like "Uptown Funk" was, I hope it brings back more of that sound. Fun, upbeat pop music with a great beat, what??! Pop music doesn't have to be dour, depressing, midtempo sludge? Why that's just crazy talk, sir. 🧐

New Brandi Carlile in a few days, so that will likely be my next post.

tbt ~ Patty Loveless

A reminder that mainstream country used to sound like this, and there were women who weren't pop starlets. Lots of 'em.*



*just off the top of my head - Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Pam Tillis, Sara Evans, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alison Krauss, LeAnn Rimes, Highway 101 (female vocalist), The Judds, Reba, and Tanya Tucker. And yes, Shania, who is pop but totally has her own sound and personality. You're not gonna confuse Shania with anyone else, unlike today's few "country" women who aren't Miranda or Carrie.

Am I gonna keep hammering this into the ground? You betcha! This post was partly inspired by this lovely rant. https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/its-a-commercial-its-a-pop-song-its-zedd-maren-morris-in-the-middle/
Maren Morris quickly went downhill for me after "My Church," and now she's working with "Zedd." Pretty sure he's come up here before but I don't remember for what. Ah right, the "feral cat playing a didgeridoo" song. Lovely. http://mrsrowsdower.blogspot.ca/2016/12/#8949893238014244308

I think the "bro" era is well and truly done with, Body Like a Mud Pit killed it once and for all, but there's still a long way to go in bringing women back. So I'll be back in the 90s, or listening to artists like Angaleena Presley, til the industry gets its head out of its butt. Well, you'll be waiting a mighty long time, you might say, but the 90s weren't THAT long ago. Is the road between there and here really so broken it can't be fixed? I know THE INTERNET is always the big scary monster that killed everything, and radio is scrambling to stay afloat, but... women WERE successful in the 90s. It's not like, "oh we can't afford to carry women anymore, sorry," when they've already been proven hitmakers. I don't get what's changed about that. All I know is country women deserve to be more than just be a throwback.