Top Ten Country Singles of 2012

10) Shooter Jennings - "The Real Me" (released in May, did not chart)
From the album Family Man
Songwriter: Shooter Jennings
His calling out of John Mayer this past year on Twitter was rather pointless, and came off as someone who thinks they should be more popular whining about people who actually are. But Shooter Jennings is not some talentless guy trying to ride his father Waylon's coattails. You cannot listen to one of his albums with realizing the amount of raw and eclectic talent that was obviously passed along from his father to him; quite literally, it's in his blood, and "The Real Me" is proof positive of this. It is a song with a great sense of humor, tongue planted firmly in cheek, about whiskey and the devil and the transformation that happens when they take over. It is 100% traditional country but is still different in enough ways that modernize it and make it appealing to an audience for today. There are hard rock elements, southern rock elements, massive changes in tempo. After the first chorus--a chorus that is frenetic both musically an lyrically--when he settles back into the verse with the sweet ring of a steel guitar, it's a thing of a beauty, and it was the point I realized this song was something special. Read the lyrics of the chorus and tell me you don't want to hear how he fits all these words into a couple bars of music:

And I'm a double-talkin', chicken lickin'
Meaner than the dickens, sick and wicked
Hole-diggin', pickin', son of a gun
And I'll love you like the devil
Bite you like a snake and then forsake
And break everything I don't take before I am done

The pre-chorus is just as good, but I will spare you those lyrics and just let you listen for yourself. Lastly, I can't help but love a song that begins with the line, "I wake up with my children, right around the crack of noon."

9) Zac Brown Band - "The Wind" (released in June, peaked at #11 in September)
From the album Uncaged

Songwriters: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Levi Lowery
It is no surprise that "The Wind" was Zac Brown Band's first single not to crack the top ten on the Billboard Country charts. With its ferocious picking, breakneck lyrical delivery, and a sound unabashedly and heavily influenced by bluegrass music, it's a small wonder that it reached number 11. The song moves so fast that it's over before you know it, like a gust of wind that blows your hat off or your skirt up before you know what happened. The bizarre animated music video made by Beavis and Butthead creator Mike Judge is also worth a watch.

8) Kacey Musgraves - "Merry Go 'Round" (released in September, currently at #20 Airplay and climbing)
From a hopefully soon-to-be-released album
Songwriters: Kacey Musgraves, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally
Who would have thought a song that is the antithesis of small-town romanticism would be one of the most talked about singles of the year, and would actually wind up being a mild success (a huge success actually, for a song like this; it's #20 and still climbing) on mainstream country radio? I certainly didn't think so. Musgraves' voice is often compared to Miranda Lambert's, but I don't think such comparisons give enough credit to Musgraves. Not to say her voice is definitively better than Lambert's, but on "Merry Go 'Round" she's able to vocally conjure up frailty and jadedness in a way I've yet to hear from Lambert. Which is a good thing, especially when you have cynical--what some would call "downer"--lyrics such as:

If you ain't got two kids by twenty-one
You're probably gonna die alone
At least that's what tradition told you

And...

Mary, Mary quite contrary
We get bored so we get married
And just like dust we settle in this town

And...

Mama's hooked on Mary Kay
Brother's hooked on Mary Jane
Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down

It takes a truly talented singer to sell such lyrics, not merely as bleak, but as realistic and heartfelt, painful though it may be for Musgraves and her co-writers to hold up such a broken mirror. The wonderfully understated production (softly plucked banjo, weeping steel guitar, simple percussion) compliments such lyrics perfectly (Nashville producers would do well to learn that even lyrically mediocre songs become instantly better when they're not loud wall-of-sound monstrosities). I look forward to the full-length album from Musgraves that hopefully releases sooner rather than later.

7) Kellie Pickler - "100 Proof" (released in April, peaked at #50 in May)
From the album 100 Proof  
Songwriters: James T. Slater, Leslie Satcher
A song about 100 Proof love, not liquor, the title track from Kellie Picker's 2012 album seems to me a good representation of what the young stars of today could do to "update" traditional country music for today's mainstream market. Not that traditional country music needs that, but let's be honest: Country radio programmers are most assuredly not going to play songs that sound like "Mama Tried" or "Stand By Your Man" in today's market. Well... umm... it turns out they aren't going to play songs like "100 Proof" either. The mix of traditional instrumentation and lyricism with classic vocals and pop sensibility (in terms of it being immediately catchy), this song still wasn't enough to impress programmers and listeners. It starts out with a killer first line (of which, if you've read this blog more than once, you know I am a huge fan of): "Ain't no rain as cold as the look she just gave him." A melody plucked on an acoustic guitar guides the verses to a soaring steel guitar-soaked chorus ending with, "We got love, 100 Proof." Essentially, it's a song about two different kinds of relationships. One is where the couple likes to go out and party and have a good time very, very often, the night usually leading to drunken fights, the man usually the arbiter of wanting to stay out later and later and get drunker and drunker, the woman begrudgingly staying by his side. The other, of which the narrator is proponent and part of, is the kind where the love is built on a more solid foundation; it's a relationship that's strong, solid, and healthy, a "beautiful truth" they get to wake up with every morning. It's a love that "ain't in no shot glass, no bottle." The song is a nice twist on what the title makes you think it's going to be about.

To give you hope about the state of mainstream country music: Pickler was dropped from her label after dismal sales of the traditional-leaning album 100 Proof and the disappointing radio performance of its subsequent singles. That pretty much sums up where we are. Pickler, an American Idol alum of all things, has proven herself in 2012 to have more balls than the hyper-masculinity of Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan (well, let's not get crazy labeling his schtick "masculine"), Brantley Gilbert, and "Truck Yeah" combined, which honestly isn't surprising seeing as Pickler was all but made a commercial outcast for doing her part in trying to bring integrity back to the airwaves.

6) Kix Brooks - "Bring It On Home" (released in September, peaked at #39 & #44 Airplay in October)
From the album New To This Town  
Songwriters: Rhett Akins, Kix Brooks, Dallas Davidson
While Ronnie Dunn was getting nominated for Grammy awards, Kix Brooks somewhat quietly released a few singles that are much better than I expected, especially this one. It shouldn't have been surprising though, with one of my favorite Brooks and Dunn songs being "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone," one of the few on which Brooks assumes lead vocal duties (and absolutely kills it, by the way). In this video, Kix calls "Bring It On Home" a tribute to his wife. It tells the oft-told story of a traveling musician who misses home, but Brooks so nails this particular version of that tale that originality simply does not matter. I heard this song on the radio about five times within the span of a week driving around in a box truck. I had no idea who it was singing the first time, I just knew that it stuck out like that guy at the party you remember was drunker than everybody else. A healthy does of steel guitar, a few splashes of mandolin here and there, and an emotionally invested yet fun vocal by Brooks truly make "Bring It On Home," and it is immensely re-listenable. The deal-sealer for me is when the "All my life" part kicks the chorus off. Great stuff.

5) Tim McGraw - "Better Than I Used To Be" (released December 2011, peaked at #5 in June)
From the album Emotional Traffic
Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Bryan Simpson
Despite releasing in late 2011, I first heard "Better Than I Used To Be" some time in May, and I honestly could not believe it was Tim McGraw. Even more surprising is that it's a track of his last and seemingly infinitely-delayed album for Curb Records, Emotional Traffic, which was released after many public scuffles with the label over artistic freedom and their releasing of countless "greatest hits" packages that were not McGraw-approved. Perhaps yet more surprising than that is it came after several flat-out bad singles over the course of a few years from the usually solid veteran: "Last Dollar (Fly Away)," "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You," "Still," and the abysmal "Felt Good On My Lips." McGraw's strength has always been as a ballad singer, and "Better Than I Used To Be" is one of his best. Co-written by progressive bluegrass band Cadillac Sky's former front man Bryan Simpson, and Ashley Gorley, who co-wrote one of Trace Adkins' best singles, "You're Gonna Miss This," this is a song about the lifelong pursuit of trying to become a better person.

From opening lines "I know how to hold a grudge, I can send a bridge up in smoke" to the climax of the chorus, "I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see/ I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm better than I used to be," McGraw gives an effortless vocal performance. These are the kinds of songs he was meant to sing. Here's hoping not only that McGraw chooses to record songs like this more often, but that Gorley and Simpson choose to collaborate as writers more often. Mainstream country music could use a lot more songs like this.

4) Turnpike Troubadours - "Gin, Smoke, Lies" (released in July, did not chart)
From the album Goodbye Normal Street
Songwriters: Evan Felker
If you like your banjo tunes to rock, then this is the song for you. I already attempted to put into words how much this song kicks ass back in July, so call me lazy if you must, but I'm just going to copy what I wrote back then here:

I hope to write a little more on this here blog about Turnpike Troubadours, though no amount of praise, written or shared, that I could heap on the band would do them justice, not to mention that said praise would often venture into hyperbole, for better or worse. Quickly to the point, this is one of the best, if not the best, country bands making music today. The lyrics are sharp: if they aren't making you chuckle then they're making you cry (or at least feel like you could). The musicianship is tight, skillful, and nuanced: I challenge you to find a band of any genre that uses instrumentation so perfectly to the degree that each song calls for as well as these guys. The vocals are... well, I'll just say that lead singer and principal songwriter Evan Felker has quickly become one of my favorite voices; twangy, earnest, and emotive (some friends I have compare him to Ryan Adams, though I enjoy Felker quite a bit more). "Gin, Smoke, Lies" is the first single from their recent May release, Goodbye Normal Street, and it's as ferocious a first single as you're bound to hear. Banjo, fiddle, and heavily pounding drums (think "We Will Rock You") round out the production, and Felker's lyrics are as biting and sharp as ever: "Well a spade is made for diggin' dirt/ and an ax is made for choppin'/ Darlin' my heart's hard as nails they hammer/ in a hardwood coffin/ In a hardwood coffin." The "coffin" line is sung twice to drive home the starkly bleak imagery, you know, just in case you missed it. In the end, it's a stone cold country song that flat out rocks, a cheating song the likes of which you've never heard before. CMT.com somewhat surprisingly debuted the video (which I believe was the group's first ever) for the song earlier this week, and if it catches any sort of mainstream traction, I can honestly say it might be the best thing to happen to mainstream country music this century. Turnpike Troubadours are simply too good not to want the rest of the world to hear. (no chart position...yet)

Unfortunately, "Gin, Smoke, Lies" still did not chart in the latter half of the year, but I'd be willing to bet mainstream commercial success isn't high on this group's list of goals. They still had great year, with the album Goodbye Normal Street debuting high on the Billboard 200 back in May, and that collection of songs going on to become album of the year on many year-end lists, including mine.

3) Chris Young - "Neon" (released in March, peaked at #23 in August)
From the album Neon
Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Trevor Rosen
"Neon" was one of my favorite songs of 2011, contained on his album of the same name and of that same year. Back then I wrote of the song: "If Young's label doesn't release this as a single in 2012, it will be a country music travesty." Well, the label did release it, and the result was probably more of a travesty than it would have otherwise been as an overlooked gem of an album cut. But as it stands, "Neon" is the first single of Young's not to reach number one since "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" hit the top spot back in October of 2009. Hell, it didn't even crack the top twenty. I mean, it had a super cheesy-ass music video and everything (the performance at the Opry embedded below is a much, much better video to watch). The single's commercial failure is pretty historic in my opinion. Young has for years been one of country music's fastest rising stars, but he released a neo-traditional drinking-song classic, and it caused his career's momentum to have the proverbial rug pulled out from under it. "The light at this end of the tunnel is neon," or at least it used to be. Now the light more closely resembles fake tans or bleached teeth or the headlights of a truck driving out to the backroads where they build the campfire and blare Nickelback over the speakers. Boom, boom.

2) Eric Church - "Springsteen" (released in February, peaked at #1 in June)
From the album Chief 
Songwriters: Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell
This is the song that will be looked back on as the one that took Eric Church to a different level of success. It's not totally country but sounded totally unique on country radio; I mean that in a really good way. I wrote a full review of the song here, and though a bit wordy, it's been the most viewed post at Abundant Ramblings since this blog's inception. Here's an excerpt:

"Springsteen" is a glorious testament to the fact that Eric Church understands music to be a powerful and emotional force rather than a commercial and formulaic one. In the musical atmosphere of country radio, such an understanding feels like a minor miracle. With Church, music's power is more than just lip service, and with "Springsteen," he does a service to fans of music everywhere, helping us to understand that though we are struggling human beings living in an insane and real world, music has the power to keep us young in spirit and at heart, which may just--in the long run--not only help us to find our way, but help us to survive.

1) George Strait - "Drinkin' Man" (released in April, peaked at #37 in July)
From the album Here For A Good Time
Songwriters: Dean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait
I have hope that George Strait won't go the way of Alan Jackson and fall completely out of the good graces (somehow) of country radio. But if the chart performance of "Drinkin' Man" is any indication, the end is nigh, my friends. It's not a happy song. It's not an upbeat song. There is no silver lining at the end of the song. There is only the silver lining that comes with going through the struggle that this song is about; the silver lining is in the journey of the fighting. Here's what I wrote about the song last summer:

It's nearly unforgivable the way radio has treated what is the best single of the past five years from country music's elder statesman. "Drinkin' Man" tells the heartbreaking story of one man's lifelong struggle with alcohol, starting at the tender age of fourteen. We sympathize profoundly with the narrator because he talks about how he's tried to quit and how he knows his reliance on drink is hurting those closest to him who love him the most. Take, for example, this chill-inducing line: "Stayed sober once for nine days in a row, I quit cold turkey/ Damn near almost made it ten/ But that's a hell of a lot to ask/ of a drinkin' man." In a similar way that Wade Bowen sings a different tune about Saturday nights, George Strait sings a different tune about alcohol. Many songs on country radio (and pop radio for that matter) glorify night after night of drinking to excess, but "Drinkin' Man" trades glory and good times for something a little more poignant, dangerous, and real. And it doesn't matter that it's sung and co-written by King George; radio programmers wouldn't touch something this authentic with a thirty-seven foot pole. And they didn't.

I still can't get over that "Damn near almost made it to ten" lyric, one of the best lines of the year, to be sure. Strait sings this song not only with the respect it deserves, but with the yearning its narrator feels compelling him toward change. By the end of it the listener realizes that quitting is going to be a lifelong struggle for this person, full of false starts and giving up and pain. And Strait and his co-writers give us no promise at the end that the narrator will ever totally conquer the demon. Perhaps the only appropriate response after hearing this song for the first time is, "Damn." Even if it's something you've never gone through personally, sometimes a song just hits you when it delves into subject matter that's dark and real. As with Kacey Musgraves' "Merry Go 'Round," sometimes it's painful to hold up a broken mirror, but that doesn't mean someone shouldn't still hold it up.

The rest of the top 40:
Numbers 40 through 31
Numbers 30 through 21
Numbers 20 through 11

Best Country Singles of 2012 (#20-11)

20) Josh Thompson - "Comin' Around"  (released December 2011, peaked at #31 in June)
Songwriters: Josh Thompson, Rodney Clawson, Kendell Marvel
This is a song about a narrator who's coming to see things in ways he never thought he would when he was younger. With plenty of banjo and pedal steel to go around, I personally enjoy this more than songs of his like "Way Out Here," which is just a little too off-putting with its countrier-than-thou-ness. There's none of that in "Comin' Around," which, in the specifics of its story, comes out as something quite universal.

19) The Mavericks - "Born To Be Blue" (released in May, peaked at #46 in August)
Songwriters: Raul Malo, James House
If you're my age and grew up watching CMT (back when they actually played videos, of course), having The Mavericks creating music together again is just damn nostalgic. Raul Malo is one of those gents with a voice that can literally be described as "smooth as honey." Add in some fantastic electric guitar work, wailing harmonies, and an accordion solo, and, well, this song about coming to terms with the fact that a life of heartbreak is your fate sounds like nothing but a bunch of talented dudes at the height of their craft having a hell of a lot of fun.

18) Tim McGraw - "One Of Those Nights" (released in November, currently at #15 Airplay and climbing)
Songwriters: Luke Laird, Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins
Even with a little bit of hip-hop swagger/faux-rapping in the verses, "One Of Those Nights" is a song I just can't help but love. From the first time I heard it there was nothing really to dislike about it: it's catchy, nostalgic, and sounds much more like old Tim McGraw than whatever the hell he was thinking with songs like "Felt Good On My Lips" and "Truck Yeah." It's been awhile since McGraw has sounded like he actually enjoyed singing on record, but he sells this one by managing to seem like he didn't even have to try.

17) Gloriana - "(Kissed You) Good Night" (released end of 2011, peaked at #2 in August)
Songwriters: Tom Gossin, Josh Kear
What can I say? Yes, this is somewhat cheesy country-pop. The theme (the "first kiss") is not new, but they explore it in a no-holds-barred sort of way; they just go for it (no pun intended). The best part of the song, and the part that hooked me, is the chorus, which is bombastic and soaring in a way that reminds the listener of something they may just be too cool to still admit: the first kiss is always a big deal. If this is a guilty pleasure, I voluntarily offer myself up for conviction.

16) Don Williams feat. Alison Krauss - "I Just Come Here for the Music" (did not chart)
Songwriters: John Ramey, Bobby Taylor, Doug Gill
This is quite simply traditional country music at its best. Two people, perhaps older, meet at a bar which they both frequent only to hear the "lonesome fiddle" and "good singer" in the band. They might talk, they might dance, they might buy each other drinks, but anything further is too risky. There's been too much pain in their pasts. But it's always nice to share a talk and a drink with a stranger. Williams' classic laid back delivery doesn't diminish the loneliness he conveys, and as always Krauss' harmonies are heavenly.

15) Alan Jackson - "You Go Your Way" (released in September, peaked at #39 Airplay in October)
Songwriters: Troy Jones, Tony Lane, David Lee
Country radio isn't and never will be the same without Alan Jackson. And honestly, I'm kind of shocked at their refusal to play any of his new singles. It seems like it all happened so suddenly; just four short years ago Jackson was tasting massive radio success with his album Good Time. Things never were the same after that. Thankfully, he still puts out fantastic albums, "You Go Your Way" being from his last, Thirty Miles West. It's classic Jackson, and if you can hear him singing the line, "I poured some bourbon in a coffee cup/ it's been too long since I drank too much," in that way that only he can, you know you're in for a treat. Go ahead and stop reading and click that link above.

14) Toby Keith - "Hope On The Rocks" (released in November, currently at #32 Airplay and climbing)
Songwriter: Toby Keith
I wasn't as impressed with "I Like Girls That Drink Beer" as much as some were, but I was quite impressed with "Hope On The Rocks" the first time I heard it. It's certainly got that old-school traditional country vibe, but I honestly couldn't picture anyone else singing it besides Toby Keith. That's saying a lot for an artist. The verses tackle some serious subjects but only on the surface, which there is nothing wrong with in a song like this. Being overly partial to songs about drinking the pain away, I am quite naturally a fan of the chorus, and really like how the whole things is framed with "hope": "They're in need of a mind bender, I'm a bartender and at the end of the day/ I'm all they got, hope on the rocks." (Edit: I had no idea Keith wrote this by himself as I was writing this blurb. That makes me like he song even more.)

13) Kenny Chesney - "El Cerrito Place" (released in September, peaked at #10 Airplay in late December)
Songwriter: Keith Gattis
Kenny Chesney followed what is perhaps the most boring single release of his career ("Come Over") with what might be one of his ballsiest: a six-minute epic with ambiguous lyrics about searching for something or someone who seems unobtainable. As a single release it feels similar to "You and Tequila" in terms of its stand-out quality and its uniqueness in the country radio landscape, but don't get me wrong--"El Cerrito Place" is produced to the max, so don't expect the minimalist guitar strums of "You and Tequila." That said, a good song is a good song, and this one is great.

12) Lady Antebellum - "Dancin' Away With My Heart" (released December 2011, peaked at #2 in May)
Songwriters: Hilary Scott, Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, Josh Kear
I'm not the biggest Lady Antebellum fan. When they hit it big I wondered why it wasn't Little Big Town, who did the male/female group thing first, and did it better (and more country, for that matter). But I have liked a few of Lady Antebellum's songs: "Looking For A Good Time," "American Honey," and "Dancin' Away With My Heart." This is pure sugary pop, to be sure, but it's pure sugary pop done well and with genuine emotion. It's a song that takes you on a trip back in time, when love was less cautious and able to be expressed--perhaps even encapsulated--in the simple act of a slow, intimate dance. "To me you'll always be eighteen, and beautiful/ And dancin' away with my heart." It's fun to go back once in a while.

11) Eric Church - "Creepin'" (released in July, peaked at #5 Airplay in late December [kinda like molasses]) 
Songwriters: Eric Church, Marv Green
This song is what it sounds like to get hit with a hammer over and over again in the face while getting doused with nastysauce. Also, it contains a contender for line of the year: "Like a honeybee beatin' on my screen door, I got a little buzz and my head is sore." Hell of a way to start a song, much less an album, I'd say. I did a full single review on "Creepin'" earlier this year. You can read it in its entirety here. Something I didn't address there: the music video is extremely well done, but the video/radio edit exchanges the lyric "your cocaine kiss and caffeine love" for "your caffeine kiss and nicotine love." Not only does the edit make no sense, but it sounds terrible. I don't think I mentioned this in that review either (maybe I did): releasing this song as a single was pretty ballsy. It sticks out like a big, beautiful sore thumb on the radio waves.

Best Country Singles of 2012:
Numbers 40 through 31
Numbers 30 through 21

The Bland, The Bad, and The Godawful: Worst Country Singles of 2012 (so far)

Warning: ranting ahead.

For the most part, I don't see the point of writing incredibly negative reviews of songs or albums. If I don't like a song or album I will usually just not write about it; I am simply not passionate enough in my hatred to waste the time. I understand the need for people to make a living and provide for their families, and sometimes that means you have to compromise when you don't want to. But the people on this list (and quite a few of those behind the scenes and not necessarily on the screens) live wealthy lifestyles that are incomprehensible to most of us. But they, or their label, or whoever, still choose to release the kind of garbage that is gobbled up by the masses all in the name of the almighty dollar -- and with the pure quantity of mediocre to bad stuff out there as evidence -- seemingly without a second thought. Anything even slightly resembling traditional or neo-traditional country music is getting booted out of the mainstream in favor of meaningless fratboy faux-machismo cock-rock, and the change is unfortunately being led by some of the format's neo-traditional stars of yesteryear.

With a tradition as strong and a fanbase as passionate as that of genuine country music (of all stripes), sometimes the creative sloths and posers just need to be called out. I am not saying that everything at mainstream radio needs to be pure country; not at all. But the format is in danger of being overrun by songs about trucks, songs about how "I'm countrier-than-thou and proud of it," and songs that sound like something Nickelback wrote at a session with flushing toilets in the background. Mainstream country music, to no one's surprise who has been paying attention, has become a parody of people born and raised in the rural areas of America's mountains and hills, pastures and fields. And I'm talking about people really from the country, not those in the public exaggerating a persona or attitude because they think it makes them badass or cool, and not those who wear a cowboy hat because it's part of  their "image."

For the record, and in the interest of full disclosure, I have no problem admitting that I was raised in the city by two parents who were both raised in the country. I have at times wished they had never moved away while at the same time understanding the desire within them that made it necessary. Country music is still what I was raised on, and my parents' roots and culture have had a profound impact on my life. And with a few detours along the way, it's still the music I love the most. So bearing that in mind, the following write-ups (which I'll admit are pretty rant-y) are not personal attacks on any one artist or fanbase, they are merely subjective personal opinions that very few will read. And trust me, I know I'm in the minority when it comes to these opinions. Also, for anyone who would say to someone like me, "Just turn off the radio," I'm well aware that there is great country music being made that, while it can indeed be bought and thoroughly enjoyed by the consumer away from radio's reaches, is still not getting the chance at mass exposure that it rightly deserves simply because it digs too deep and too far past the embarrassing cliches. The point, really, when all's said and done, is that country music is better than this, and this is what's being projected to the rest of the world.

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw - "Whatever Makes You Feel Like A Rockstar" - Two of country music's all time bestsellers and highest grossers released a song about being rockstars, and inspiring their audience to do whatever makes them feel like rockstars. Because that is totally what country music is about. As long as they've been around, these guys may literally be the last great hope of keeping good music, at least a little bit of it country (see: "You And Tequila" and "Better Than I Used To Be"), on the radio, but they insist on most of their output being thoughtless garbage like this that may appeal to the masses and to humanity's need for escapism but in reality is more shallow than the shallowest pop song or a dried up creek. Though they reference the lowly people who "bust [their] butt all week" and apparently have nothing in life to look forward to but the weekend, the song is really an affront to those everywhere with "regular jobs." It's loud, pointless, offensive, faux-escapism. McGraw and Chesney can do better. Verdict: BAD. Sample lyric: Whether your pimped up hangin' in the VIP/ or way up high in the cheapest seat/ Hey pretty mama if you roll with me/ there'll be diamonds in the sky and the radio screen. What?


Tim McGraw - "Truck Yeah" - As much as I hate the song above, "Truck Yeah" is one of the worst songs I've heard in years and the worst single of Tim McGraw's career. Hopes were held high for McGraw's new stuff, as he was quite vocal about looking forward to the "creative freedom" he would have once released from the apparently lock-tight shackles of Curb Records. And this -- this -- is the colossal bag of crap that we get. Worse than Tim McGraw recording it is the fact that it took four people to write it. I could put a pen in the hand of a one year old and they could come up with something more creative than this. But what the songwriters did was come up with something that is the equivalent to what said one year old would release into his diaper and subsequently have the audacity to call gold. And the fact that there is banjo in the mix pisses me off all the more. (FYI: I'd rather listen to Rascall Flatts' "Banjo" than this any day of the week.) I know it's just one song, and his last single was really good, but McGraw has almost lost me completely with this one. Verdict: GODAWFUL. Sample lyrics: Got Lil' Wayne pumpin' on my iPod/ thumpin' on the subs in the back of my crew cab/ Redneck rockin' like a rockstar/ Sling a little mud off the back, we can do that. Yup, I am serious.

 Brantley Gilbert - "Kick It In the Sticks" - Brantley Gilbert is not even pretending to play country music. He's just backwoods-ing up the lyrics to his favorite Nickelback songs and throwing them out there to contaminate the country airwaves. This song honestly sounds like something I would listen to when I was seventeen and thought I was cool, angsty and angry at the world (or a girl). Jason Aldean has recorded many of the songs written by Gilbert in the past, but thankfully he's never recorded anything as bad as this or "Country Must Be Country Wide." I'm not even a huge Jason Aldean fan (though I do like several of his singles), but I think Aldean's got more talent, charisma, and country sensibility in his goatee hair than Gilbert does at all. Also, I've seen him live opening for Eric Church and the guy simply cannot sing. Of course, that might have something to do with the loud, obnoxious noises coming from his band behind him. How can anyone hear over that, even with a monitor? After this, I hate to say, surefire number one, I really hope Brantley Gilbert returns again to songwriting obscurity. Verdict: GODAWFUL. Sample lyrics: So pop a top and drop a tailgate/ Yeah we crankin' ACDC, Hank, Skynyrd, and George Strait/ Where's the girls? Bout to call them up/ A little southern drawl said "Hey trouble what's up?" I mean, lyrics like this are enough to make you think God himself has given up on country music.


Chris Cagle - "Got My Country On" - I think this actually came out in 2011, but still. Can Chris Cagle come off as any more desperate to be relevant again? Could he not make a decent living touring and playing to a couple thousand people a night who'd overpay to see him just to hear the three songs of his they know? Instead he releases a song about how country he is and how awesome the weekend will always be for the blue-collar working man. If that ain't jumping on the bandwagon of what's hot right now, then I don't know what is. Granted, of all the songs there are about the exact same thing, this one sounds better than most. It's just that it's completely unoriginal radio filler from a singer who obviously decided to try and take what he thought would be the easy route back to mild country radio success.Verdict: BLAND. Sample lyrics: Trickin' my truck like a cadillac/ crankin' it up in my cowboy hat/ Rollin' and bumpin' to the man in black. Gotta meet that "namecheck a country legend" quota, eh?


Blake Shelton - "Over" - I think that for me Blake Shelton may be getting easier to rag on because of his media over-saturation. I do like the guy; he has a great voice and has released some excellent tunes. But with "Over" he sounds like he's just trying to capitalize on the success of "She Wouldn't Be Gone," which was in just about every way a better song. He traded that song's passionate vocal for a vocal on "Over" that sounds like he's trying to overcompensate for his lack of passion. Strings cascade and swell throughout the song in an attempt to overcompensate for the song's hollowness and replace it with emotional over-manipulation. Shelton is far from the worst thing on country radio these days, I just wish he'd tell NBC and The Voice to shove it so he can maintain focus on his music, and get back to releasing songs in the same vein as "Austin" and "Ol' Red." I hope we don't lose him completely to lovelorn pop-rock. Verdict: BLAND. Lyrically, the song at least strives to be a little more poetic than is normal for the mainstream.

Craig Morgan - "Corn Star" - I do get the appeal of wanting to release a fun summer song, but as hard as this song tries to get you to like it with it's uptempo beat, light-hearted banjo melody, and "fun" play on words, I can't get over how bad and borderline offensive the trying-to-be-cute lyrics are. Some have called it disrespectful to farmers and women but I won't even go that far. Simply put, it's stupid, cliche, and wishes it was Kenny Chesney's superior "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." I really don't know what else to say about it. As dumb and as giddy as it seems in embracing the lowest common denominator, it truly is a shock that it didn't catch on at radio. Mr. Morgan can do "fun" better than this; he has before. Verdict: BAD. Sample lyrics: There's gossip in town flyin' around/ she was sunset strippin' for tips in LA/ But that's just a buncha bean growers/ talkin' to the bean loaders/ Ain't got a clue about a corn star. All together now... what?

 Luke Bryan - "Drunk On You" - I used to absolutely hate this song. Let me get that out of the way first. Somehow, though, it grew on me without me ever trying to let it; it's just one of those songs that did, though it is not great by any means. But the reason I decided to still include it on this list is because of the line, "Girl you make my speakers go boom boom." That lyric right there might be worse than anything the Black Eyed Peas have ever put out, and that's saying something. I'm not sure what they could have used in its place, but I would honestly think it's a harmless and decent little love song without it. Other than that the song contains some fair (although admittedly silly as hell) lyrics, some banjo (of course at the back of the mix), and what seems to me authentic emotion. It captures the moment of being transfixed by a beautiful woman quite nicely, and Bryan even sings the words "Good God Almighy," a common expression of gratitude to the Creator when said beautiful woman captures the eye. But I just can't abide the "boom boom" line. And the whole storyline and Bryan's acting in the music video is pretty terrible and hokey, and I still hold "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" against him because he sank to Brantley Gilbert-level bad with that one. But that's all beside the point. Verdict: BAD.

Dishonorable mentions: (These singers are too young and unproven for me to take seriously. I feel bad even including these little blurbs about them, but like it or not, they have become part of the current "bad mainstream country music" problem. Not to mention, they are in high school; don't quite think I'm in their demographic.)

Scotty McCreery - "Water Tower Town" - Just sounds awkward. He's got potential though. Live a little bit of life, Scotty, and get back to us.

Lauren Alaina - "Georgia Peaches" - I don't get it. Mercifully, it seems mainstream country radio programmers and your average country radio listeners (read: not American Idol fangirls) don't either.

Best Singles of 2012 So Far (that actually had/have a chance at radio)

There are bright spots to be found on country radio; songs that don't name check trucks, songs trying to keep traditional country alive to the small degree that it can be done in the Clear Channel era, and even a few pop-country guilty pleasures. The following is a list of my favorite songs released to country radio this year that radio actually gave, or is giving, a chance to succeed, slight chance though it may be for some of them. They are in no particular order except for the top five at the bottom.

Greg Bates - "Did It For the Girl" - I just heard this song the other day and was immediately impressed with it. Sure, it's nothing new, but it sounds good and is so damn catchy. It's about as neo-traditional as country radio gets these days. We'll see what his album sounds like, but with the sound of this new single, Greg Bates has a chance at becoming the new Easton Corbin.

Big & Rich - "That's Why I Pray" - Call me crazy, but I think the new one from Big & Rich sounds unique in the mainstream country landscape, partly for the unmistakeable harmonies and a verse style that makes the song stand out. Big & Rich display here an ability to write and sing positively about personal faith without pandering or putting down those who don't believe.

Eli Young Band - "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" - Another song with a positive message, this is one that begs the listener to keep on dreaming no matter what. Failure is not only an option, it's a guarantee. But you keep doing whatever it takes no matter how many times the odds reload against you. Veterans of the Texas music scene, Eli Young Band have taken country radio by storm. Here's hoping they stick to their Texas roots and don't go too corporate Nashville on us.

Easton Corbin - "Lovin' You Is Fun" - His upcoming album is one of my most anticipated of the year. "Roll With It" and "Leaving a Lonely Town" from his impressive debut were both stunning songs. "Lovin' You Is Fun" is, well, a fun song about being in love, and probably a good choice for a first single off the new album. It's catchy, light-hearted, and confessional, and every Easton Corbin song already starts out with one advantage: his voice.

Gloriana - "Kissed You (Goodnight)" - I check the singles charts every Thursday. I kept seeing this song for a few weeks without ever hearing it, thinking, "Dear Lord, what have they come out with this time?" But much to my surprise, when I heard it for the first time I was already singing the chorus before the song was over. It tells a pretty good story, simple though it may be, that we can all relate to. Call it a guilty pleasure if you must, but this is one of the most infectious singles of the year.


Lady Antebellum - "Dancin' Away With My Heart" - Okay. I would totally get it if you stopped reading right now. Gloriana and Lady Antebellum back to back on a 'best of' country radio list? Well... oh well. This one sells nostalgia beautifully, and the group's best asset, their harmonies, really shine on this one. For me, it joins the company of "Lookin' For a Good Time" and "American Honey" as one of their best singles.

Little Big Town - "Pontoon" - Without a doubt, the song of the summer in my opinion. I'm honestly surprised at how slow it's rising on the country charts (currently it sits at number 15, but it's at number 13 on the all-genre iTunes singles chart). I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it becomes their first number one, but I also wouldn't be surprised if radio programmers shaft them yet again. Somehow they always seem to find a way. (My earlier review of "Pontoon" can be found HERE.)

Tim McGraw - "Better Than I Used To Be" - One of his best singles in years, especially coming after the lazy unabashedly aiming-for-the-soccer-mom-deomagraphic "Felt Good On My Lips," which is one of the worst of his career. "Better Than I Used To Be," with its poignant self-reflective lyrics, conjures up similar feelings to past McGraw singles "My Next Thirty Years" and "Angry All the Time." I only wish we were going to get more like this from the singer after his departure from Curb Records, rather than embarrassing, pathetically bad songs like "Truck Yeah." (Do yourself a favor and check out Sammy Kershaw's excellent take on the song as well.)


Zac Brown Band - "The Wind" - ZBB have only had two singles not reach the number one position ("Whatever It Is" and "Keep Me In Mind" only reached number two) on the charts. "The Wind" really shows the band at its bluegrassy best: they are ferocious pickers and players of their respective instruments. The song moves at such blistering speed that the lyrics at first seem unimportant. But after you hear it a few times, you realize the lyrical depth is there, which is rare for a such an up-tempo single. Try sitting still and not singing along or tapping your toe when this one comes on (careful if driving).

Chris Young - "Neon" - The best song on his most recent album of the same name, this neo-traditional classic is--to the surprise of no one-- very slowly making its way up the charts. If I were less cynical about country radio, I would blame the director and whomever else was responsible for the atrocious video for "Neon." But I am indeed quite cynical when it comes to country radio; simply put, they rarely know a good country song when they hear one anymore. If they did, this would be the fastest rising single of Young's career. (My review of "Neon" from earlier this year can be found HERE.)

Eric Church - "Springsteen" - Church's second straight number one is a piano-laced affair driven by steady drums, crisp production, and non-pandering nostalgia. It's a song that, despite desperate wishes to the contrary by some, proves Eric Church isn't going anywhere anytime soon. (More thoughts on "Springsteen" can be found HERE.)

Alan Jackson - "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" - One of the best singles of Jackson's storied career, this song was all over the video countdowns on CMT and GAC, but of course failed to strike much of a chord at radio. It's only on the "singles that radio actually gave a chance" list because it at least cracked the top 30. Depressingly, Jackson hasn't had a song reach the top ten since 2009's "Sissy's Song," (number nine) and I'm not sure which song on his latest album, Thirty Miles West, would have the best chance at breaking that streak. Another duet with Zac Brown would be helpful, but unfortunately not one that's seven minutes long (see "Dixie Highway" from Thirty Miles West). Perhaps "Talk Is Cheap"? (My earlier review of "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" can be found HERE.)

Country Singles: "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" by Alan Jackson and "Whiskey and You" by Julie Roberts

Two of the best singles currently released to country radio probably, and unfortunately, will not make a dent on the charts: Alan Jackson's "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" and Julie Roberts' "Whiskey and You." I am admittedly more familiar with Jackson's song, but when I heard "Whiskey and You" a couple days ago, I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities between the two. They both are slow ballads, they both are unflinchingly heartbreaking, and they both represent the best of what honest country music can be. Unfortunately, to release songs with those attributes nowadays risks the chance of radio programmers hesitating, or simply refusing, to spin your record. I am all for happy tunes that offer a bit of escapism and make you feel good, but I also think you need a good dose of sadness and reality to balance it out. And put quite simply, heartbreak ain't what's popular.

Written by Jay Knowles and Adam Wright (Jackson's nephew), "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" is a beautifully written ballad on par with some of Jackson's best ballads released to radio, including "Remember When," "Monday Morning Church," and "Sissy's Song." It is certainly his best single since his Good Time album. In the song, the heartbroken narrator tells his ex-lover that he'll be "the SOB" and the "bad guy" if that's what she needs to get over him a little easier. Not much background is given about the relationship, which is a good thing because it makes the song somewhat more ambiguous, a word that can hardly be used to describe most country singles. We don't outright know whose fault the demise of the relationship was, though the willingness of the narrator to take blame may lead one to believe it was the fault of the one he's saying those things to. At the same time, why does he feel the need to take all the blame in order to help her move on? There is something less obvious going on here.

What is abundantly clear is that, no matter the details lacking in the story, the emotional weight of the song is piercing and true, mostly due to a stunning vocal from Jackson; if you didn't know better, listening to him sing this song, you'd be worried about the guy. He is accompanied beautifully by understated production that includes piano and acoustic guitar played gently as if they just might break, and a steel guitar ride that, when paired with Jackson's vocal, will nearly bring a man to tears. The harmonies on the chorus bring it all home:

I will keep all those memories
Of the good times
Yea, they were some good times
So when you think of you and me
They won't even cross your mind

As if I haven't praised Jackson's vocal performance enough, there is a moment in the song where it sounds as if he is on the edge of breaking down. He sings:

If you need me to make your cry
I don't want to but I'll try
So you don't have to love me anymore

The moment is magically rendered in the video (around the 3:20 mark), as Jackson makes split-second eye contact with the camera as he sings, then looks down and away briefly, only to glance back up at the camera as his close-up image fades into an image of his darkened silhouette walking away from the scene of a fair. The moment perfectly captures the resigned and helpless sadness that can pervade the slow dissolution of a long relationship.

"So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" currently sits and #35 on the country singles chart, and Jackson hasn't cracked the top 15 since his Good Time album. Granted, his last few single releases have been less than stellar, but if radio will still play George Strait to number one (even with some sub-par single choices himself; the best single he's released in recent years has been "Living For The Night" from Twang), there is no reason the same can't be said for Jackson.

With "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore," Jackson has surely taken a risk, but at the same time he has released one of the best singles of his enduring and consistent career. And for that, Mr. Jackson deserves accolades galore.

***UPDATE: As of today, June 23rd, the song has reached number 25 on the Billboard country singles chart. Color me a tad surprised. Here's to hoping it keeps climbing.

"Whiskey and You," as interpreted and sung by the gorgeous and underrated Julie Roberts, hits the same authentic and heartbreaking notes as the aforementioned Jackson song. Written by Chris Stapleton (former lead singer of the ferociously talented modern bluegrass band The Steeldrivers) and Lee Thomas Miller, Roberts' song has many of the same qualities that make Jackson's so affective: a powerful vocal performance, a steel guitar that weeps, and the theme of two people struggling to get over the demise of a relationship. Tim McGraw also sang a version of the song for his Let It Go album, and while it's good on its own merits, Roberts' interpretation conveys more emotional truth. The song starts out with eerie and lonely lyrics:

There’s a bottle on the dresser by your ring
And it’s empty so right now I don’t feel a thing
I’ll be hurtin’ when I wake up on the floor
and I’ll be over it by noon
And that’s the difference between whiskey and you

In the second verse, the narrator says "your forgiveness, that's something I can't buy," so we know she at least feels regret for what has transpired. What we are to believe she needs forgiveness for is not spelled out, and it seems too easy to assume she needs it merely because she committed that one wrong that began the downward spiral.

Roberts' strongest -- and most obvious -- asset is her voice. It sounds from a time long past in country music, but without question belongs in today's world. Raspy, twangy, and whiskey-soaked, it is a voice that is wholly unique in today's country music landscape, yet one can detect hints of some of the greats in it: Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline. Just listen to the way she sings the word "bitter" in the chorus:

One's the devil and one keeps driving me insane
At times I wonder if they ain't both the same
But one's a liar that helps her hide me from my pain
One's a long long bitter truth
And that's the difference between whiskey and you

In the context of the song, it feels wrong to call the way she sings the word "sexy," but I can think of no other descriptor. (Heartbreak can be sexy, right?) That is simply the nature of her voice, and in a song of such emotional devastation, it does not get in the way, which is something to be admired.

Best known for "Break Down Here," a monster of a single which peaked on the country singles chart at #18 in 2004, Roberts' chart success has been virtually nonexistent since then. While she hasn't had as much success as her on the charts, and certainly hasn't had a mammoth crossover single like her, radio's reluctance to play Roberts reminds in myriad ways of their recent reluctance to play LeeAnn Womack and her more traditional single output. Unfortunately, I doubt "Whiskey and You" will rectify such an omission. I can't remember the last sad song about whiskey I heard on the radio.

I am not so cynical as a lot of country music fans when it comes to country radio -- there is some good stuff that gets played and there is some utter crap -- and I've long ago learned how to appreciate an otherwise stupid song superficially. I'm the first one to admit that peoples' tastes in music are wholly subjective. Everyone loves something, everyone thinks something sucks, and everyone thinks they are right. But it is a true shame that songs like "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" and "Whiskey and You" have such a small chance at reaching a wider audience with the help of radio. There should be room for all forms of country music on country radio, from country-pop to stone cold traditional, from let's-all-get-drunk-and-have-fun party anthems to she-left-me-and-I-feel-like-I-want-to-kill-myself pit of despair songs. Country music is many things nowadays, and whether you like it or not, that's just how it is. But hopefully one day, room will once again be made in the wide spectrum of the country radio landscape for songs like the two I've written about above. Hopefully, country radio once again will make room for sad songs sung by somebody other than the Zac Brown Band (whom I love), or the sad songs churned out by the overproduction factories in Nashville that over-compress and overload on standard instrumentation so that just enough of that real and depressing sting is taken away. That sting is too big a part of country music's heart to simply be forgotten.

If either "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" or "Whiskey and You" have any sort of chart success, it will certainly be a step in the right direction.