koganbot | Yes, "See You Again" is country

Current Music: Billy Currington "Tangled Up"

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Yes, "See You Again" is country

Frank Kogan's Top 20 Country Singles 2007

(I may dick around with this list a bit more. Waited to the last minute; really had to struggle to get twenty.)

1. Miley Cyrus "See You Again" (Walt Disney)
2. LeAnn Rimes "Nothin' Better To Do" (Curb)
3. Taylor Swift "Teardrops On My Guitar" (Big Machine)
4. Miranda Lambert "Gunpowder And Lead" (Columbia Nashville)
5. Reba McEntire f. Kelly Clarkson "Because Of You" (MCA Nashville)*
6. Gretchen Wilson "You Don't Have To Go Home" (Columbia Nashville)
7. Sarah Johns "The One In The Middle" (BNA)
8. Toby Keith "High Maintenance Woman" (Show Dog Nashville)
9. Gretchen Wilson "One Of The Boys" (Columbia Nashville)
10. Tim McGraw "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" (Curb)
11. Eric Church "Sinners Like Me" (Capitol Nashville)
12. Rissi Palmer "Country Girl" (17-20 Entertainment)
13. Carrie Underwood "So Small" (19 Recordings/Arista Nashville)
14. Faith Hill "Lost" (Warner Bros.)
15. Sarah Buxton "That Kind Of Day" (Lyric Street)
16. Big & Rich "Between Raising Hell And Amazing Grace" (Warner Bros.)
17. Alan Jackson "Small Town Southern Man" (Arista)
18. Tim McGraw "Suspicions" (Curb)
19. Rodney Atkins "Cleaning My Gun" (Curb)
20. Billy Currington "Tangled Up" (Mercury Nashville)

"See You Again" is unmistakably rockabilly to my ears: the reverb, the melody, the chords, the delivery. Even has a stammer, albeit with an intent that's different from Elvis's. Maybe someone who knows music theory better than I can help me explain what I'm hearing in the chords that make them rockabilly. Key is A minor, with F a crucial chord, F being the subdominant of C, which is A minor's relative major. Having just said that, I have no idea if it's significant or not. I do know some music "theory," but not in a way that I can put to any useful critical use.

*I linked the vid here to "Because Of You"; one way to interpret it is that Kelly is playing Reba's mother, and, though Reba and Kelly are singing together, what Kelly is acting out is what Reba's mother went through. As a bonus, here's the "Fancy" vid; still gives me the "Rosebud" creepy crawlies.

EDIT: I've posted MySpace links for most of these (correcting about 10 of my posting errors; apologies if you tried links that went nowhere), linked the vids for the ones that either weren't on the MySpace page or were only there in abbreviated versions. Linked both for "Nothin' Better To Do" because I especially like the vid.

Will possibly post commentary in the comments as the day goes on.

BIRD REPORT: You should know that one of these singers flips a bird ("The One In The Middle," duh) and one of them gets the bird flipped on her ("That Kind Of Day"). Add Craig Morgan's "International Harvester," and that's three bird flips I've heard in one day.

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i keep wanting to like cleaning my gun, but it seems to jokey, too obvious, and frankly sort of creepy, it reminds me a lot of ticks sort of like brad paisley.

what made you rethink last dollar, because when we talked about it, you were totally on the fence about it?

did you ever find that corb lund album, because its really good, i should send you a copy of it, do i still have yr address?

how do you split the diference b/w pop and country--because i thot for a long time abuot including some work that i decided was pop and not country, but i did include rockstar--to be more specific, why'd you think that miley cyrus was country, was it her daddy?

i want the soul revival as much as the next guy, but i keep wondering, if rissi palmer was white, would you liker her as much, because it seems really generic, a collection of barely strung together cliches...which kind of pains me to say outloud.

sinners like me is v. v. good.

I'm not sure how much I do like "Cleaning My Gun," but it definitely makes me feel something - of course, the lyrics are a cliché about what dads are like and boys are like, and I'm pretty fed up with the way that country music lies and keeps telling you that these clichés are unquestionable fact, when actually country is consistently defensive about these very same clichés, trying to assert continuity (this is what dads were like then, this is what dads are like now; this is what boys were like then, this is what boys are like now). But I like several things about the lyrics, the fact that the choice of "continuity" is dads threatening daughters' boyfriends, and of course modern country is full of songs about teenage loves where the sex is actually happening (Taylor Swift's "Tim McGraw" sure implies that something more than holding hands went on in that pickup truck that kept getting stuck) and full of songs about sexual loving (Currington's "Tangled Up," in which the bods are getting all "Tangled Up"), neither of which were rampant in the country music of forty years ago. So "continuity" is that, well, everyone still has William Demerest for a dad.

But also, the guitar lines are wicked and Atkins has a great delivery (not the most amazing throat, but the man is very good at warming you to his storytelling). But it's a borderline pick; last year it wouldn't have had a chance at my top twenty.

I'm still on the fence (rather than ranging wild and free like the song advocates) about the lyrics to "Last Dollar," the way it ducks the issue of poverty, and it ain't no "King Of The Road," but I like the pop melody and real pretty harmonies. Real good fun poppy novelty number, I'd say, though I don't think it was taken as a novelty.

Address is still the same, if you want to send Corb Lund.

I don't necessarily think that Miley is country, since most of her stuff isn't country (or isn't what people are currently calling country), but the song itself - this specific song - practically jumps up and screams WE ARE PLAYING ROCKABILLY GUITAR, USING ROCKABILLY REVERB; and as I said, listen to the chords and melody: as an example, go listen to the line "I wanna do bad things with you" last year in Jace Everett's "Bad Things" and Miley Cyrus singing "I just can't wait to see you again." That's as country - or a lot more country for those who define country as what country was doing in the past - than most of what's on the country charts. Of course, the song makers (Armato & James are Miley's co-writers and producers on it) obviously have heard their Moroder too.

(And while you're visiting her MySpace, listen to "G.N.O. (Girls Night Out)," which if she'd only given the song something as a vocalist would have been my number one overall single of the year of any kind.)

I'm actually pretty disappointed with the Rissi Palmer album, but I like "Country Girl" a lot, low-key blues (and interestingly, it's the most stereotypically "black" stuff on her album that seems to work best). Also, when I first heard it I didn't know she was black.

Yes, "Sinners Like Me" is very very good, but not as good as his "How 'Bout You" (number 4 on this list last year) or "Pink Lines" (number 13) or several more tracks on Eric's album.

Trace Adkins does have a great voice, and regardless of the gender stuff, i am always impressed in how he can tell stories--how good he is at constructing, building up, pulling out a narrative, his Arlington from last year was a masterpeice

I wrote in my left hip review of last dollar, that i dont think it escapes or evades the poverty struggle, because its more of a carpe diem then it is a this ol world is bleeding us dry--i kind of want more of the economic sadness but i think also, a we're all fucked, we might as well enjoy it is legitimate. (i really want a daddy wont sell the farm update about the subprime morgatge crunch)

i will send the lund and the george canyon via TO when i get out there. (i dont have a burner here)

yr right about the miley, its really rockabilly--more so then br549, a good point about not letting the categories of genre be too firm.

i think i meant that as the royal you, not the frank kogan spec you, but it does lead to the uncomfortable question about the lack of hispanic and native and AA country on the charts right now--though there is a great album (like 11 on my top 10) by Shane Yellowbird, and he comes from real poverty, off a reserve near Red Deer I love his voice, and his joy, and all of that sort of out side of politics stuff. http://www.shaneyellowbird.com/ (also an anthology of first nations country music is coming out this year, and im really looking forward to it.) But we haven't had any Latino/a since Fender, any AA since Pride, and Yellowbird is the first aboriginal to break thru well ever (unless you count Buffy St Marie) so its a problem.

"Cleaning My Gun" is Rodney Atkins, not Trace Adkins; really good at storytelling (think he spent a while as a writer before breaking through as a performer; this is something that only seems to happen in country). I reviewed him back in 2004, if you're interested.

that might explain things

To confuse things, Trace Adkins "I'm Tryin'" was one of the best story songs (well, not a narrative, but a picture of the man's situation) of the decade. Made my Pazz & Jop whatever year that was ('91 I think).

that is a damn good song

Er, not '91 but '01.

Haven't heard Yellowbird yet. For a second I thought you'd meant J.D. Blackfoot's Yellowhand, and was surprised to hear it had broken through (which I'm sure it hasn't: far to idiosyncratic; I found it scattershot and naive but pretty interesting nonetheless).

Also, the type of "rockabilly" I'm hearing in "See You Again" is more Cash and Orbison than Elvis and Jerry Lee.

"So Small" probably should be a little higher, but I'm still miffed at Carrie's album for not being better than it is. The big brassy voice pours too much brightness on the track. She'll probably outgrow that in time and become a better singer.

So I just raised it two spots from 15 to 13.*

*I realize that I am a compulsive neurotic.

I finally got to hear "Teardrops On My Guitar" at the weekend (it's only when I tune into Paul Gambaccini's US charts show that I get to hear any country at all - this is also the only place I've ever heard Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley*). One play was insufficient obv, but it sounded promising enough that I'll probably go buy her album now.

*I know, I know, youtube.com - but my online time is too precious

I'd put "Teardrops" as the fourth or fifth best on the album (which made my last year's Pazz & Jop).

Have now acquired the LP - only £9 in HMV, not bad for an import - and had much fun decoding the secret messages in the lyrics last night. Based on one listen, I'd say the album is 50:50 great:hmmm. But it seems to be a good entry point into country for non-experts like me; very much a cross-breed with the teenpop confessional records I know and like.

I'd put "Teardrops" as the fourth or fifth best on the album
That sounds about right. "Tim McGraw", "Picture to Burn", "Tied Together With A Smile" and "Our Song" were the standouts for me on first play.

I'd subtract "Our Song" from that list (haven't warmed up to it at all, though it's the current single, and Xhuxk likes it more than he likes "Teardrops On My Guitar"), would add "A Place In This World" (Taylor Swift as Jordan Pruitt!), "Cold As You," "The Outside," "Stay Beautiful," and especially "Should've Said No" (a track that got me three points in the League Of Pop). (This leaves "Mary's Song" as the one other song on the outside looking in.)

As for "Teardrops," the way she sings "Drew looks," "Drew talks," etc. at the beginning of lines is some of the most beautiful singing ever. The song loses itself a bit in the chorus, getting too sing-songy. By the way, there's a second version of the song with more harmonies and guitars which is the one that's getting the airplay on Radio Disney. I'm not sure which version is the one that's getting Top 40 play (the song started on the country charts, jumped pop about half a year ago, rose and fell and then rose again).

"Teardrops" is Jimmy Draper's least favorite track on the album. Jimmy's the fellow who first told me that I had to pay attention to Taylor, said that he was getting the same feelings he'd gotten from listening to Ashlee's Autobiography.

By the way, I forget if I ever linked you to "Come In With The Rain," the best of the Taylor Swift outtakes. Let me know.

Speaking of country bands you might find accessible, you should try Little Big Town; I'm ambivalent about them, but their best stuff is like a cross between Lynyrd-Allman and California-era Fleetwood Mac. No one in the band comes close to singing as well as Fleetwood Mac, however. I reviewed them back in my Voice days. And we've argued about them a bit on rolling country - their most recent album was Xhuxk's number one of any kind for 2007.

I heard the Tim McGraw version of Suspicions for the first time the other day. It took me about a verse to figure out what I was hearing. I knew the lyrics but the arrangement threw me.

I have to say that I really like it as a true re-imagining of the original (and that's saying a lot because I still love the Eddie Rabbit version).

I'd say that Tim's voice sounds strained and struggling to get to the song's emotion, but somehow he gets through. He's on much better voice on some of his other tracks, but this one reached me.

About Miley: Duane Eddy?

Definitely.

Definitely, still (but with a new link 'cause the other clip was deleted).

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Yes, "See You Again" is country

i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

I don't know what decade I'm in

Re: i will post my nashville scene ballot in a second, but some comments about yrs

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Teendrops on my guitar

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