“They're powerful, those songs. At times they've been my only way back, the only door out of the dark, bad places the black dog calls home.” -Johnny Cash
I've always been a huge fan of Chuck Wicks and I will be the first to say that he is highly underrated.
You may remember him from his 2007 top ten hit "Stealing Cinderella" or his not-so-successful stint on the 8th season of Dancing With the Stars.
Hey, at least he tried.
Like most things in my life, it all started with Brad Paisley. I got great tickets (thank you fan club membership) to Brad's show and wanted to make sure that I knew all of the opening acts. You know, to make sure I got the most out of my concert experience. Chuck's name was on the ticket so I raced out to Target the week his CD was released and quickly fell in love with him his voice. Chuck not making it huge in country music doesn't really add up:
He writes his own songs with lyrics we haven't heard a million times.
He's good-looking.
He has a beautiful voice.
He's super good-looking.
He uses a unique mix of Country, R&B, and Soul.
He's ridiculously good-looking.
So here's my prediction: I don't think we've heard the last of Chuck Wicks. His new EP "Rough" is even better than his debut album and if his new music is any indication of where his careers heading, he will have another radio hit. Guaranteed. It may not be this month; it may not be this year but Chuck is coming back with a fire and determination that will that eventually get him to the top of the country charts.
To give you a taste of what Chuck is all about, go listen to one of his new songs called "Always". It's a very powerful song that will make you ache, even though the lyrics are pretty upbeat.
While I was attending my school's graduation this past week it hit me: Next year that's going to be me. I'm going to be the one walking across stage to receive my (somewhat) well-deserved diploma, the one crying unashamed as I say goodbye to my friends, and the leaving home to brave this world on my own.
After I realized this I almost ran home, hid under my covers, and cried thought about all of the people who have supported me through the years and made me the person I am today. I remembered the song "Those I've Loved" by Eric Church and I suddenly wanted everyone I've ever known to listen to this song and know that I would not be who I am without them. Heck, even the people I didn't really love, like the girls that were mean to me in middle school, helped to shape my life. I guess it just goes to show you that everything truly does happen for a reason and God deliberately puts people in your life that will help you grow as an individual.
Maybe there are people in your life that you simply cannot stand or that annoy you to no end. Today instead of cursing them under your breath or gossiping about them with friends, try thanking God for putting them in life (then ask him for patience when dealing with them). Because who knows? Maybe they'll help you become the person God wants you to be.
I'm sorry, guys. I offer my deepest, heartfelt apologies for my inexplicable absence these past few weeks. I'm not quite sure how time got so far away from me but I'm thinking that if I blow these next few blog posts out of the water this whole fiasco will be forgivable in time. Ok, here we go :)
You know that paid program that advertises a box set of country songs from the '50s and '60s and plays like 24 hours a day? It draws you in by showing up as "Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and more" on your TV guide and you click on it excitedly thinking that it is a TV special on their lives or their music, only to find that it is actually just an advertisement (let's just pretend like I'm not the only one who gets fooled into clicking on paid programs).
Look familiar?
Even though half of me had this unjustified resentment toward the program, the other half really wanted the CDs they were advertising. Lo and behold, my wonderful parents bought me the set for my birthday and I discovered some amazing country music. One of my favorite songs in the collection is "Once a Day" by Connie Smith. The song stuck out to me because of the uniquely country lyrics in the chorus ("The only time I wish you weren't gone is once a day, everyday, all day long"); they are quirky, clever, and sad. What more could you want in a country song?
I didn't realize until later how important this song is to the history of country music. It was written for Connie by Whisperin' Bill Anderson, a legendary songwriter who has written modern hits such as "Give It Away" for George Strait and "Whiskey Lullaby" for Brad Paisley and Allison Kraus, and was the first ever debut single by a female to reach No.1. Pretty impressive stuff. For 48 years it also held the record for the country record with the most weeks spent at No.1 (for a female). Taylor Swift broke this record last December when "We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together" stayed at the No.1 position one week longer than "Once a Day" (Whether or not "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" should even be considered a country song is a discussion for a different day, I suppose).
Remember, we're talking about 1964 here. Record companies still didn't totally buy the idea that women could be just as successful as men and women had to fight hard for respect in the music industry. "Once a Day" was influential in breaking down these boundaries and helped pave the way for the female singers we love today.
This morning I woke up to my local country station and heard some super exciting news. MIRANDA LAMBERT IS PREGNANT! I shot up in bed and turned up the station only to hear them follow up this announcement by saying that there is some speculation over the legitimacy of these claims. They then said that the true announcement should be 'Miranda Lambert might be pregnant'.
Well, dagum.
After a quick google search, I concluded that Miranda isn't pregnant, yet the mystery continued when I stopped into Target and saw Blake and Miranda smiling on a big old magazine with the caption "Baby Bliss" under their beautiful faces.
It seems like rumors of these two expecting a kid have been randomly showing up every other month since they got married and I really don't know what to believe this time round. However, regardless of whether or not they're going to have a baby soon, I think everyone can agree that these two are perfect together in almost every way. They look adorable together but even more importantly, they sound great together.
Awww
I have to say, I'm surprised by how few Blake/Miranda duets there are considering that they must have jam sessions, like, all the time. Now, of course I'm not saying that they never sing together. They'll sing background vocals on each other's songs, like Miranda does for Blake in his cover of "Home" and who could forget their great live performance of "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" way back in 2005. But they've only officially recorded two duets in the studio and, unsurprisingly, they are fantastic!
They recorded "Draggin' The River" in 2010 (before they were married) for Blake's album "All About Tonight", a very light-hearted song that is slightly reminiscent to Johnny Cash and June Carter's playful duet, "Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man". But the real magic comes from their 2011 performance of "Better in the Long Run". It's one of those songs that you want to listen to again as soon as you finish it the first time and their voices blend perfectly. Surprisingly, neither Blake nor Miranda, two exceptional songwriters, didn't write the song. It was actually written by Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum (yes, the attractive one) and Ashley Monroe of the Pistol Annies (ADD Moment: I would LOVE to hear Charles and Ashely sing this song together) . Regardless of who wrote it, Blake and Miranda make it their own and pour their hearts into this song. Hmmm could this possibly be Miranda's next single??
Kacey Musgraves is one of the best things to happen to country music in a while. This is a bold statement, I know, but it's true. What's great about Kacey is her incredible songwriting ability. I am a sucker for singer/songwriters and she truly has a rare talent. If you've been keeping with the weekly drama unfolding on the show 'Nashville' you might remember a song that Juliette and Deacon "wrote" together called 'Undermine'. This song was actually written by Kacey and you can see her performance of the song here if you'd like:
She also wrote Miranda Lambert's current hit "Mama's Broken Heart", a song full of angst that is well on its way to becoming a #1 song for Miranda.
Knowing how good of a songwriter she is and loving her first single "Merry Go Round", I was really looking forward to her album. But I was also a little nervous about it because of an incident that occurred only a few months earlier that changed me in a very deep and profound way...
There was an artist (whom shall remain nameless) not too long ago who released a song to country radio that I adored for the same reasons I love "Merry Go Round". It was honest, personal, and most importantly, it had a very different feel from any other country song on the radio. I was on fire for this artist. I sang his praises for months before his album was released, telling people grand stories about how he was going to change modern country as we know it and usher in a wave of new, unique artists with strong musical convictions (I tend to get carried away with things). I was living in a beautiful fantasy world until.... this person's debut album was released. To say the least I was disappointed by it and the pedestal I had built for this person along with the imaginary world I had created came crashing down.
I walked away from that album.... wiser.
I was determined not to make the same mistake with Kacey and tried not to let myself get too excited for her CD's release. Fortunately, she came through for me :) I adore her album and really respect the acoustic/folksy country feel she has, which shines through in adorable songs like "My House" and cheeky songs like "Step Off" and "Blowin' Smoke". But if you're looking for something a bit edgier, you should listen to "Stupid". It's prominent drum kick is contagious and the beat immediately pulls you into the song. There's a dark tone to the song but it isn't your average my-boyfriend-was-a-jerk-and-now-I'm-going-to-disgrace-him-in-front-of-the-whole-world kind of song because Kacey's frustration is aimed both at a man and herself. Much like in "Merry Go Round" Kacey uses repetition and simplicity extremely well in the catchphrase of the song, "Stupid love is stupid/Don't know why we always do it." Notice the use of we not you.
Which brings up another reason to love Kacey. Her songs are unashamedly honest. She'll write about mistakes other people have made, but also about mistakes she's made. I really hope after you listen to "Stupid" you listen to the rest of her CD because it is fantastic. Dare I say, it's the best all around country album I've heard in a long time. Wow, that was really bold too...
Before we
really get going with this blog thing, I should probably warn everybody that I
am a huge Elvis fan. Please, please, please tell me that you didn’t just picture a middle aged man in a white jumpsuit who may or may
not have (but definitely did) eat one too many peanut butter and banana
sandwiches. Well, I guess I can’t be too
upset if that’s what you pictured because that’s what I thought before I
actually started listening to him. That's when I discovered how much more there is to Elvis and his music than the stereotypical Elvis-like character you see walking around Vegas these days. I’m
not quite sure how I evolved into such an Elvis fan, but before I could stop
myself I was obsessed. Vinyls. Movies. Sweatshirts.
The whole nine yards.
Now, you may be
wondering how a man deemed the King of Rock n’ Rollfits into a blog about country music. Well, Elvis was born and raised in the south
and started his career singing rockabilly music in a struggling recording
studio called Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. In the early 1950s, when Elvis was still a
teenager, he went into Sun Records a couple times to make a record for his mama’s
birthday. While he was there the owner
of the record label, Sam Phillips (who also discovered Johnny Cash, Roy
Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis- yeah, he’s pretty awesome), told Elvis that he
was an “interesting” singer and told him that he might call him sometime to
make a record.
When Elvis was
finally called back a year later (in 1954, I believe) he went in there with his
little beaten up guitar and started singing every song he knew for
Phillips. Unfortunately, nothing was
really working out too well and Phillips thought he had made a mistake in
asking Elvis to come in that day. He
told Elvis and the two other band members with him (Bill Black and Scotty Moore)
to take a break, hoping that they would do better after the break.
Here’s where the story gets good.
Elvis started
messing around during the break and began to play an old song from the ‘40s called
“That’s All Right”, except he didn’t use the original arrangement of the song. He played it faster and added a lot of energy
to the song. As Scotty Moore recounts.
“All of a sudden Elvis just started singing this song, jumping and acting the
fool, and then Bill picked up his bass and he started acting the fool, too, and
I started playing with them”. The song
was very different from anything Phillips had heard before and he knew that it was
the sound he had been searching for. The
sound that he knew had been in Elvis all along; all he needed was the right
song to let it rip. Knowing that he had
struck gold, Sam Phillips quickly turned on the recorder and told them to
repeat what they had just done. That’s
the recording you’ll hear now and the recording that jumpstarted the career of
arguably the greatest entertainer of all time.
And guess what? Because of Elvis’
unique blend of blues, country, and gospel in “That’s All Right”, he was billed
as “the freshest, newest voice in countrymusic”.
Let me just say how huge of a fan I am of Brad Paisley. I can’t remember a time in my life when I
didn’t listen to his music and I've seen him in concert more times than I can
count. Believe it or not, last year I saw his
Camobunga tour three times. Yes, the
same show three different times and I was blown away by it every single time. When I was in 6th grade my
incredible uncle surprised me and got me a backstage pass to meet Brad after one of his shows.
It. Was. Incredible.
The highlight of my life thus far? Why yes. Yes, it was.
I know I look heinous, but in my defense I didn't know I was going to meet him :)
Brad was such a gentleman and my love for him and his music
was amplified that day. As the years have gone by I’ve
enjoyed hearing the evolution of Brad’s music and have been anticipating his new album, "Wheelhouse" for quite some time. It came out on Tuesday and I raced to Crackerbarrel after school to pick up my copy. Brad's been receiving some heat for this album but I honestly believe that it is one of his greatest records to date. All recording was done at his home in Franklin, Tennessee and it is obvious that he poured his heart and soul into these songs. Heck, he was involved in basically every aspect of creating the album. He wrote, played, sang, and produced the album.
Some people are really opposed to this album which upsets me but it seems like Brad is totally cool with it. He even predicted it. In the booklet of his album Brad says "This record is the sound of an old farmhouse. It is the sound of 7 band members creating, collaborating, fighting, and high-fiving. It is a digital journal of the shattering of comfort zones and collateral magic. It is the sound of creaky old floorboards, screen doors, and immutable songwriting minds opening. We only had one rule with this record: To throw out the rules... When we began, I hung a sign above the door : This place on earth, This moment in time, has never been recorded before and will never happen again. Now as it leaves our house and finds its way to yours, I can't wait to see what you think. This album may not be for everyone but I hope it is for you".
As you've probably guessed, I would recommend any of his songs from "Wheelhouse" but the one that stuck out to me the most when I first listened to the album is the last track called "Officially Alive". It will immediately give you an optimistic view on whatever is bothering you and is perfect to listen to on a bad day. Brad says that we should celebrate those moments in life where we experience unbridled enthusiasm* or even when we experience intense pain because those are the moments that make us human. Once you've experienced a wide range of emotions, you know that you've really lived. You've taken chances and haven't let fear hold you back from enjoying life- even if some of those chances didn't pan out the way you had hoped. Also, the last verse about holding his kids for the very first time is adorable.
*Shout out to hard core Seinfeld fans who picked up on that reference
