Monthly Archives: August 2015

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 22nd)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 1)
2. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 2)
3. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy”
4. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 4)
5. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 2)
6. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (down 5)
7. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 2)
8. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (down 3)
9. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (down 3)
10. Chris Janson–“Buy Me a Boat”
11. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
12. Brett Eldredge–“Lose My Mind” (down 1)
13. Kenny Chesney–“Save It for a Rainy Day” (up 1)
14. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (down 1)
15. Maddie & Tae–“Fly”
16. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight”
17. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 2)
18. Cole Swindell–“Let Me See Ya Girl”
19. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (down 2)
20. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You”
21. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
22. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 1)
23. Kip Moore–“I’m To Blame” (down 2)
24. Cam–“Burning House”
25. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You”
26. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over” (up 2)
27. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (down 1)
28. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine” (down 1)
29. Blake Shelton–“Gonna” (entering top 30)
30. Tim McGraw–“Top of the World” (entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “Kiss You in the Morning”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Loving You Easy”
  • Jana Kramer’s “I Got the Boy” and Hunter Hayes’s “21” fell temporarily out of the top 30 this week

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
2. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
3. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
6. Eric Church–The Outsiders
7. Little Big Town–Painkiller
8. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
9. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
10. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
11. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
12. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
13. Ashley Monroe–The Blade
14. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
15. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
16. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
17. Luke Bryan–Spring Break…Checkin’ Out
18. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
19. Big & Rich–Gravity
20. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
21. Big Smo–Bringin’ It Home (EP)
22. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1
23. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
24. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
25. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real

  • Zac Brown Band’s Greatest Hits So Far… moved up from No. 17 to No. 3
  • Ashley Monroe’s The Blade fell from No. 2 to No. 13
  • unfortunately, Sam Hunt is back at No. 1

Source: Billboard

Commentary

Random Thoughts of the Week: My Opinion on Zac Brown Band Releasing “Beautiful Drug”

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Zac Brown is widely known for having called out Luke Bryan’s 2013 bro country anthem “That’s My Kind of Night” as
the worst song he’d ever heard.
So this week, when the news broke that the Zac Brown Band would
release the EDM single “Beautiful Drug” to country radio,
many fans were disheartened and felt betrayed. This subject has been discussed over and over on other blogs, and I debated whether or not to bring it up. But it needs to be addressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOOcd62KpA4

Zac Brown Band is one of my favorites in any genre, so the moment their new album, Jekyll + Hyde, became available, I purchased it. I didn’t preview any tracks ahead of time; it was ZBB, they always deliver. It should be noted here that while they have never done EDM or pop country, the group is known for experimenting with their sound. In fact, one of my favorite songs from them is “Overnight” from 2012’s Uncaged, which is an r&b bedroom song featuring Trombone Shorty. They also do many songs tinged with reggae, and having seen them live, I’ve seen them play Southern rock as well. So as a ZBB fan, it really did not come as much of a shock to me when “Beautiful Drug” came on. Even when the EDM beats kicked in at the chorus, I was not terribly shocked. A lot of people criticized Zac Brown then, saying he should never have started an album with this song and that this was a betrayal to his core fans. As a core fan, I can say that although it was a surprise, I did not consider this a betrayal. “Beautiful Drug” is indeed a club song, but it is a love song; a betrayal would have been a song about tailgating in the moonlight. I actually like “Beautiful Drug,” although it is not country. Jekyll + Hyde was all over the place in terms of sound and can be criticized for not being country, or not really sticking to any genre. Having said that, I liked “Beautiful Drug” as an EDM song, I liked “Home Grown” as a country song, and I liked “Junkyard” and “Heavy as the Head” as rock songs.

The real betrayal of Zac Brown was when he announced that “Beautiful Drug,” an EDM club song, will be released to radio as a crossover hit. I should mention that “Heavy is the Head” was released to rock radio and gave the band a No. 1. Why then does “Beautiful Drug” need to be on country radio? They should have sent it to pop radio where it belongs. This is a betrayal. This is not the Zac Brown that called out Luke Bryan. When I turn on the radio, I can usually count on hearing good singles from Zac Brown Band mixed in with all the crap being marketed as country. They stand out as hope for country music, even if they experiment with other genres. The statement they could have and should have made would have been to release “Beautiful Drug” to pop radio, as well as another single to country radio. This marks a difference in genre and sets up boundary lines, which is something Zac Brown seems to have stood for in 2013. Most people who have called out this song hate “Beautiful Drug” and/or think ZBB should have never recorded it in the first place. As someone who was not offended by its appearance on a Zac Brown Band album, I am here to say it does not belong on country radio. Zac Brown Band has been the biggest bright spot for country music in the last five years, managing to break the airplay barrier with fiddles and lyrics of substance. The news of this release to country radio means that the Zac Brown who would once fight for country music has now surrendered to a trend. This is disheartening to say the least and a slap in the face to Zac Brown Band fans who count on them as the last hope for country music.

Tomato of the Week: Gwen Sebastian

She flies under the radar a lot, but I think she could have real potential as a good pop country artist. Her full article will be featured on Female Friday.

Random Country Suggestion: Tyler Farr: “Suffer in Peace”

The excellent title track from his new album that will never be a single because it has too much heart.

Non-Country Suggestion: Zac Brown Band featuring Chris Cornell–“Heavy is the Head”

The previously mentioned No. 1 on rock radio that stayed where it belonged.

Reviews

Album Review: Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights

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Rating: 2.5/10

When an album is preceeded with “Kick the Dust Up” and
“Strip it Down,”
you can only assume the album will be more of the same. So when I listened to Kill the Lights, I was expecting an album of trend-chasing, radio-ready singles and hoping for at least one or two good country songs thrown in at the end as an afterthought. I should expect more from an artist like Luke Bryan, but that’s unfortunately not the case. I can be thankful, I guess, that the album does offer a few good songs at the end, although this leaves me wondering why Luke Bryan uses his status and potential to churn out shit like “Kick the Dust Up.” Oh, wait…because quality doesn’t equal airplay. So unfortunately, most listeners will not get to the end and hear the good on this album.

“Kick the Dust Up” opens the album, and I am not going to waste my time explaining why this is horrible. If you’ve heard it, you know it’s terrible bro country garbage, and if you like it, you aren’t going to be persuaded by my bashing of it, so let’s move on. Next is “Kill the Lights,” which is another boring bro country anthem, infused with more pop elements so that it is hard to tell whether he’s trying to keep his core fans or appeal to Sam Hunt fans. It mixes the worst of both of those trends to make a completely obnoxious song that will probably be a massive radio hit. Also, the chorus sounds remarkably close to his 2013 hit “That’s My Kind of Night” in terms of rhythm. I hated that song the first time, and this version isn’t any better. I already explained my problems with “Strip it Down,” and actually, hearing it in the context of the album, it’s not that bad. This speaks to the quality of the album rather than the quality of “Strip it Down.” It is another trend-chasing song, only now he is chasing the “Burnin’ it Down” trend established by Jason Aldean. Three songs, and I haven’t heard any country whatsoever–unless you count the references to back roads, present in all three songs, which I don’t.

The scene shifts from the back roads to a club with “Home Alone Tonight,” a duet with Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. This had potential to be one of the better moments on the album, but it boils down to a song about taking a “payback picture” and sending it to their exes, followed by a text saying they aren’t going “hhome alone tonight.” Instead, they are going “shot for shot for shot” with a stranger and then hooking up. Karen Fairchild should be embarrassed to be included in this song; this is the same voice that gave us “Girl Crush,” and now she is using it for evil.

From there, Kill the Lights moves up from terrible to songs that are more mediocre and forgettable. “Razor Blade” is a straight pop song that deals with a woman who “won’t cut you like a knife, like a knife, that little look in her eyes will cut you like a razor blade.” “Fast” is a boring song infused with hip-hop beats about how life goes by too fast. Six songs in, and still no country. Next is “Move,” a rocking song about watching a girl move in the moonlight. Aside from being a bro country dance mix, this song loses hope when Luke Bryan does a spoken-word bit in the middle; also he says “M-o-v-e” way too many times. Having said that, it’s much less annoying/offensive/obnoxious than his previous bro country material. Next is “Just Over,” a breakup song that uses the word “over” to explain that he thought she would “come over, stay over, wake up hung over, still head over heels for me” but “it’s just over.” This is decently written, but its main problem is production; eight songs in, and no country. However, he could release worse singles than “Just Over.”

“Love it Gone” brings in the first country touches. This is a song about “loving gone” all of his woman’s troubles. This is still a forgettable song to me, but at least it sounds like pop country. “Way Way Back” reverts back to pop and sings of getting “way way back” to the early days of a relationship. Apparently their relationship started on a back road though, as he goes to this yet again.

All of a sudden, “To the Moon and Back” comes on. I hear acoustic guitars and stripped-down instrumentation. Here is a country love song about loving a woman “to the moon and back.” I hope this will be a single. It should be noted that this is the first time Luke Bryan sounds like he is not bored singing. This is the Luke Bryan that sang “Do I,” “Rain is a Good Thing,” and “All My Friends Say.” “Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day” is next, and you will either hate it because it has clichés, or you will like it because it has country instrumentation and sounds believable. Personally, I enjoy this song because Luke sounds like he believes what he is singing. It talks about country life, but not in the cartoonish way that “Kick the Dust Up” does. It proves a song can be lighthearted and talk about country life without being offensive. Last is “Scarecrows,” a song that reminds me of Florida Georgia Line’s “Dirt.” It reflects on the mark left on those old back roads, saying, “we’ll always be here wherever we go, just like the scarecrows.” This is a heartfelt country song and one of my favorite Luke Bryan songs to date. You will never hear “To the Moon and Back” or “Scarecrows” if you do what I would have done and ignore this album because of “Kick the Dust Up” and “Strip it Down.” I only heard these songs because I reviewed it, and they proved that Luke Bryan is capable of so much more than the crap he releases to radio. So, I would not recommend this album by any means, but do listen to the last three songs.

Listen to Album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCRmSaUSU7I

charts

Texas Music From Oklahoma: A Look at the Texas Music Chart (August 10th)

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Texas Music Chart

1. Wade Bowen–“Sun Shines on a Dreamer” (second week at No. 1)
2. Josh Ward–“Highway” (up 1)
3. Pat Green–“While I Was Away” (up 3)
4. Rich O’Toole–“Talk About the Weather” (up 1)
5. Aaron Watson–“Freight Train” (down 3)
6. Cody Canada and the Departed–“Easy” (up 2)
7. Granger Smith–“Back Road Song”
8. William Clark Green–“Sticks and Stones” (down 4)
9. Matt Kimbrow–“Livin’ the Good Life” (up 1)
10. Sam Riggs–“Long Shot” (down 1)
11. Cory Morrow–“Old With You” (up 2)
12. Whiskey Myers–“Shelter From the Rain”
13. Kyle Park–“What Goes Around Comes Around” (up 1)
14. Turnpike Troubadours–“Down Here” (up 3)
15. Prophets and Outlaws–“Texas Home”
16. Bart Crow–“Life Comes at You Fast”
17. Reckless Kelly–“Real Cool Hand” (up 3)
18. Matt Hillyer–“If These Old Bones Could Talk”
19. Curtis Grimes–“Smile That Smile” (up 2)
20. James Lann–“Let it Rain” (down 9)
21. JB and the Moonshine Band–“Shotgun, Rifle, and a .45” (up 1)
22. Uncle Lucius–“Don’t Own the Right” (up 2)
23. Sundance Head–“Darlin’ Don’t Go” (up 5)
24. Aaron Einhouse–“I Could Fall” (up 3)
25. Asleep at the Wheel with Randy Rogers, Reckless Kelly, and Shooter Jennings–“Bob Wills is Still the King” (down 6)
26. Adrian Johnston–“Avalanche” (up 3)
27. Miles Williams–“Teasin’ Me” (up 5)
28. Stoney LaRue–“Easy She Comes” (up 8)
29. Scott Taylor Band–“By Now” (up 4)
30. Adam Fears–“Golden Gravel Road” (down 4)
31. The Statesboro Revue–“Undone” (up 10)
32. Josh Grider–“You Dream I’ll Drive” (up 2)
33. Jesse Raub Jr.–“Plead the Fifth” (down 2)
34. Tori Martin–“Woman Up” (up 1)
35. Kylie Frey–“The Chase” (down 12) [biggest loser]
36. Caleb McIntire–“Ozark Mountain Stomp” (up 2)
37. Kevin Fowler & Deryl Dodd–“Damn This Ol’ Honky Tonk Dream” (up 11) [biggest gainer]
38. Judson Cole Band–“Time to Run” (up 1)
39. Mike Ryan–“Girls I Date” (up 3)
40. Saints Eleven–“I Don’t” (up 7)
41. Thom Shepherd–“Little Miss Everything” (down 4)
42. Chance Anderson Band–“245 Miles” (entering top 50)
43. Jeremy Steding–“Love Love Love”
44. TJ Broscof–“Phone Calls” (up 2)
45. Callahan Divide–“Happy”
46. Cody Joe Hodges–“One More Drink” (up 4)
47. Paul Thorn–“Everybody Needs Somebody” (re-entering top 50)
48. Luke Robinson–“Roses on the Radio” (entering top 50)
49. Doc West–“Whole Lotta Bull” (down 5)
50. Dalton Domino–“Jesus & Handbags” (entering top 50)

  • Wade Bowen’s “Sun Shines on a Dreamer” stays at No. 1, after gaining 133 spins this week
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Highway”
  • Turnpike Troubadours have gotten to No. 14 in five weeks
Reviews

Single Review: Jana Kramer’s “I Got the Boy”

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Rating: 9/10

It’s not every day that a good song cracks the top thirty on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, so now that one has, I feel it deserves to be reviewed. Jana Kramer has flown under the radar somewhat, and although she has broken the airplay barrier, she has not had consistent chart success. Her debut single, “Why You wanna” hit No. 3, but since then, she hasn’t had one single crack the top twenty. Enter her latest effort, “I Got the Boy.”

“I Got the Boy” features a more traditional sound than most of what we’re hearing on mainstream radio. In fact, it’s even different among the current list of women getting airplay lately–there’s Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town’s 80’s pop/soft rock “Smokin’ and Drinkin’,” Kelsea Ballerini’s straight pop “Dibs,” and Carrie Underwood’s pop rock “Little Toy Guns” (that’s nothing against “Little Toy Guns,” as that was actually a great song.) This is more similar to Cam’s “Burning House” and Maddie & Tae’s “Fly.” The acoustic guitars blend nicely to make this something I could picture playing on the radio ten years ago. In other words, it sounds modern without taking the giant leap that the last few years have introduced. The instrumentation also allows the listener to focus on the lyrics, which is something that I have said many times is a lost art in country music.

A song like this especially benefits from the traditional arrangement because it tells a story. Jana sings about seeing a “picture in the paper” of her high school boyfriend getting married to someone else. She recalls how she knew him when he was young and fearless, with “fake ID’s to get into those Spring Break bars.” Now he has grown up and is “cleaned up with a haircut, nice tie and shoes.” The song talks about how the man has changed so much, and Jana reflects, I got the boy, and she got the man.” She does not seem to be jealous of the other woman; it’s more of an acknowledgement that each of them got to have a part of the guy’s life that the other will never experience.

The only drawback with this song is the vocals. Sometimes it seems like some of the words are forced. That seems to be true in most Jana Kramer songs, and I have actually never liked her voice until this song. This is easily my favorite song she has ever done, and I hope it stays around on the charts for awhile.