Exploring the Country

One thing that’s always boggled my mind is how some people are vehemently opposed to the very idea of possibly hearing a note from a genre that does not fit their musical preferences.  I like to think I’m fairly open-minded about such things but one genre I’ve never really explored is country.  That’s why I was even more surprised when I ended up liking it.

I’ve dabbled with music that has country leanings, Shania Twain to be more specific.  In her case however, I feel her music is watered down country with heavy pop and rock elements that allow her to appeal an extremely broad audience, her 1997 mammoth seller album Come on Over being a perfect example.

Miranda Lambert was something else.

I’d been aware of Miranda Lambert since her fiery debut album Kerosene but I largely ignored her since it was country.  That was until her second album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend began appearing on a bunch of top albums of the year and earned her oodles of acclaim.  I was intrigued as I am with nearly every album that appears on the top of these lists, regardless of genre.

Last year Zune Marketplace offered Miranda’s “Dead Flowers” off of her most recent album Revolution as the free song of the week.  I always download these songs because they’re free and as I’ve discovered on more than one occasion they end up being songs I really like such as Neon Neon’s “Raquel”.

This year I finally got around to actually listening to “Gunpowder & Lead”, the first single from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and instantly loved it.  I decided it was worth purchasing both this album and Revolution.  After listening to both of them, I am now exploring similar artists like Miranda Lambert and adopting a new genre I once did not care for.

I understand that there are some genres that are not everyone’s cup of tea and are difficult to appreciate but people should at least take some time to listen to it as opposed to simply refusing altogether when it comes on the radio or is suggested by someone.  I decided to go exploring the country and lo and behold, a new world of music awaits.

Now, can someone please explain to me why Miranda does not sell as many records as this Taylor Swift girl?

Related Articles

• Album Review: Miranda Lambert – Revolution (the9513.com)
• Miranda Lambert – Live Performance (countrymusicnewsblog.com)

Literal Music Videos

Back when I was a teenager MTV was really the only way to check out the latest music videos, and thankfully then it still played them on a regular basis. The kids from The Hills were still in diapers, YouTube was still a glint in someone’s eye and the World Wide Web was still catering to 28.8 modems.

The modern music video can now be found easily all over the world and shared even easier but is it still an art form or just a promotional tool? To illustrate, I’ve gathered some literal music videos here where some or all of the lyrics are yes, literally translated into the song itself. What’s the point in that?

Pink – Just Like a Pill (2002)

Sure enough, just as the song begins and P!nk tells us that she’s lying on the floor where someone left her….she’s lying on the floor.

Hilary Duff – Come Clean

Yes Hilary, the song talks about cleansing and starting over. But when you’re telling us to “Let the rain fall down”, does it really need to be raining throughout the video for us to understand what you’re trying to say?

Taylor Swift – Teardrops on My Guitar

Poor Taylor Swift, that Drew is such a loser. At about 3:14 we don’t actually see the teardrop fall on the guitar but considering she was holding it inches from her face throughout the entire video, there’s a good chance it probably did.

Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire

Such a liar that Billy Joel! Just as he starts to try and excuse himself for not starting the fire, everything just gets worse and worse by the end.

Shakira – Objection (Tango)

At about 2:00 Shakira unleashes her inner bitch and explains that her natural breasts don’t compare to the other woman’s “cheap silicone”. How do we know? They actually pop and deflate!

What are some other examples? I’d love to make this an ongoing thing.

I’d Rather See You Bare Your Soul

Whitney Houston has been making the headlines for her triumphs as well as for nearly drop kicking her comeback efforts with a less than stellar performance on Good Morning America.  Oh yeah and then there’s I Look to You, her first new album of original material since 2002’s Just Whitney.

I Look to You has so far garnered generally positive reviews but many reviewers have singled out one notable aspect: rarely does Whitney actually address the ups and downs that caused her image and career to nosedive.  In the end, we’re left with a satisfying and certainly welcoming comeback that does little to shed any new light on Whitney Houston aside from hearing her now slightly huskier voice again.

These reviews got me thinking of Britney Spears.  Britney has built a successful career out of using her sex appeal, dance moves and the right team of producers to craft appealing pop music.  And still, we have yet to know anything about Britney except for her public meltdowns and that one heartbreaking moment when she broke down in tears and admitted she was “sad” in her “Britney: For the Record” documentary.

Madonna once told Britney “I’d rather see you bare your soul” (see: “Me Against the Music”) but even now after the release of Circus,  we don’t know very much about Britney Spears except for the all the names people use to refer to her as she stated on “Piece of Me’”.

Being a confessional singer/musician doesn’t necessarily have to translate into a sacrifice of album sales.  Madonna proved this when she released the deeply personal Ray of Light album back in 1998.  Tori Amos may not appear on the radio nor achieve major sales figures anymore but most people will agree that her songs like “Me and a Gun” are amazing pieces of music.  Below is the video for Madonna’s “Drowned World / Substitute for Love” video which was not released here in the states.

Perhaps the current pop music landscape simply doesn’t allow music artists to say how they really feel.  After all, Kelly Clarkson tried it and nobody cared.  Mariah Carey may not necessarily fall under the category of pop music but I question why a woman who’s now pushing forty can’t release something a bit more mature than a song where she feels the need to attack Eminem (see: “Obsessed”).  Did she forget about the tremendous success she enjoyed with “We Belong Together”?

I can thoroughly enjoy a frothy pop song as much as the next person but is getting personal in pop music a surefire way of obliterating any remote chance of getting radio airplay?  I always thought that music was at least partially about discovering songs that you can identify with and often reflect your own life experiences.