Mar 17
AndrewMusic Album Reviews, country music
I have always had a soft spot for Willie Nelson, who knows his way around a tune. And dude can sing.
His voice is showcased front and center on his latest collection of tracks, Naked Willie, 17 stripped down songs that he originally performed in the 60′s. Most, like Following Me Around and The Local Memory, are just brief, two-minute drills through folk rock. But there are some surprises. The opening track Bring Me Sunshine will put a bright smile on your face. Happiness Lives Next Door, with a piano-heavy arrangement, has been transformed into a track worthy of Frank Sinatra.
Yet Nelson manages to avoid sounding like a nostalgia act despite the long years on all of these tunes. Somehow, stripped down doesn’t mean washed out, just simple. The arrangements work to great effect on tracks like When We Live Again showing the artist’s connection to these classic tunes, several of which were culled from his 1970 album Laying My Burdens Down. And just when the album almost grinds to a halt, Nelson infuses it with new life in a big way with two energetic tracks, the spiritual Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down and the closing track Laying My Burdens Down.
Nov 07
AndrewHumor country music, lyrics
The girl that cuts my hair listens to country music. Now, I don’t think all country music is bad, but some of it is really bad. It’s amazing how a country music writer can take any sort of innocuous household interaction and turn it into song.
“I turned to my honey,
and handed her the phone and told her daddy’s calling from pen
She started to cry,
how could I have known? It’s just her way with men.”
So while the girl that cuts my hair is doing her thing, in my head I’m thinking I could write country music. I mean, how hard can it be? It’s a bit like improv really, you call for an action “phone call,” a location “jail,” a term of endearment “honey,” an emotion “regret” mention God and the story practically writes itself. (If you think I’m begin glib, you ought to google the lyrics to the No. 1 country song in the nation this week: Carrie Underwood’s Just a Dream. See if you can identify the action, location, term of endearment, emotion and mention of God. Answer at the bottom of this post.)
“And I told my honey,
Don’t be a fool
Not every guy you meet
gonna do what your daddy done do”
The variations on country music, like rock n’ roll, are boundless, and I acknowledge that radio isn’t necessarily a fair marker of quality country music. Categories of “country” sounds run the gamut from bluegrass to outlaw country, so it’s unfair to overstate that all country music is simple and repetitive. Yet actual lyrics from what passes for popular country songs always seem to be so obvious and laughable. I know the storytelling quality is supposed to be part of its charm (and please, country songs are always so virtuous. It’s always someone else committing adultery, murder or bearing false witness against his neighbor.) But somewhere along the way, country music has become contrived, a mockery of its own style.
“You may be the velcro, but I’m the glue
and honey, I’m stuck on you”
In fairness, I should mention that there are a couple of country artists that I absolutely adore. Dolly Parton, of course. I mean, it goes without saying that she is a gifted songwriter and a talented performer. Brooks & Dunn were the only country act I have ever seen in concert and that was a great show. Couples were making out in the aisles, doing everything but dropping trou, which apparently is a requirement at a country music concert (I don’t remember who I went with, but I’m sure there’s an inappropriate joke in there somewhere.) The other country artist I love is Reba. All of them are mainstream artists, admittedly, of the megastar variety, and I do not think that is besides the point.
“So I turned to the Lord,
to see us through hoping He was listening
Not every guy you meet gonna do what your daddy done do
It’s not your way, just his”
But after listening to the country station after numerous trips to get my hair cut, I now know that there is a lot more crap in country music than there is star quality. Maybe it is an inevitable result (and not much different on pop and rock stations) of mainstream radio appealing to the lowest common denominator. But I am struck by how easily a person could take a simple lyrical formula and in moments, write a country music song that would be fit for the airwaves. I mean, I could write that.
“You may be the velcro, but I’m the glue
and honey, I’m stuck on you”
See, that wasn’t hard at all.
Answer: action=marriage, location=church, term of endearment=baby, emotion=distress and mention of God in the line “Lord please lift this soul and heal this hurt.” Amen.
RSS
