Single Review: Luke Bryan, “That’s My Kind of Night”

ThatsMyKindofNight_ Luke BryanLet’s start with the positives.

It has a banjo. I like banjo.

It has hand claps. I like hand claps.

It has an energetic vocal performance. I like that.

Unfortunately, it also has unabashedly dumb, mind-numbing lyrics that insult the history of the country genre and the intelligence of its fans, shamelessly recycling cliché after cliché right from the opening verse – as if the rest of the world should care about the narrator’s ice cold beer, jacked-up truck, hot country girlfriend, and his musical-whiplash-inducing country-hip-hop mix tape. Feeding on yesterday’s leftovers that were never any good to begin with is something that I do not like at all.

Sorry, Luke, but Zac Brown was right. Thanks for the dignified genre representation, Entertainer of the Year.

Written by Dallas Davidson, Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley

Grade: D-

33 Comments

  1. Ben you are so right! But I would like to say one thing about Luke Bryan: he could, if given far better material, make a good country singer. Of all of them out there singing frat country he has the most earnest voice. I only wish he was smarter, less greedy, and more of an artist to start picking songs that his voice would lean real country to.

  2. When they bury all of the traditonalist sound that makes country music good under a mass of “hick-hop” production and insulting lyrics, friends, this is the end result. Why more country music fans don’t demand something much better than this much more often than they do, I don’t understand.

  3. I really find this song atrocious (“little Conway and little T-Pain, might just make it rain”). Seriously. It also quickly joins the ranks of “Boys Round Here,” “1994,” and “Cruise” (ft. Nelly as the most horrible songs of 2013. I cannot believe that these songs were released in the same year; an all-time low for country radio, perhaps.

    But for some reason, I find this more tolerable than the other songs I mentioned. Probably because Luke is a likeable guy with a nice voice. He’s not as obnoxious as Blake Shelton and as bland as Jason Aldean. So for that reason alone, I am willing to tolerate this over the other country-rap songs released this year.

  4. This song is an atrocity in all rounds. A “D-” is generous, to be honest.

    What makes the drama behind this song even funnier? The people stepping to Luke Bryan’s defense are Jason Aldean and Justin Moore. I’m pretty sure Jason Aldean has released the same single over and over again and Justin Moore is just as guilty as Bryan is.

    Sorry. I know Zac Brown Band is the home to “Chicken Fried”, “Knee Deep”, and “Toes”, but “Highway 20 Ride”, “Colder Weather”, “The Wind”, “Whatever It Is”, “Sweet Annie”, “Goodbye In Her Eyes”, etc. all save him and give him all of the room in the world to say what he said.

    Oh, and since when is it bad for an artist to express disliking towards a song? Didn’t realize it was such a crime.

  5. But for some reason, I find this more tolerable than the other songs I mentioned. Probably because Luke is a likeable guy with a nice voice. He’s not as obnoxious as Blake Shelton and as bland as Jason Aldean.

    You know, as much as I find all of those songs deplorable, it makes sense to me that this is the one Zac Brown chose to call out. Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean are obnoxious, but at least they have a POV and a personality, even if they’re not ones I can get behind. I don’t feel that from Luke, and this song is, exactly as Ben said, a contrived mash of leftover elements and lyrics. From an artistic standpoint, there’s just no way to defend it; it doesn’t even sound like an actual song.

  6. How many times can Dallas Davidson take the same material and work it into a song? Is there a Dallas Davidson checklist for song writing or something out there that must include these 10 to 15 details? Is Dallas Davidson a non-huminoid android that just churns out the same stuff over and over and over and over again or is he really that unoriginal.

    I’d make a pretty mediocre songwriter myself, but if you gave me a couple of days or a week I’m sure I could put pen to paper and come up with something that isn’t singing about
    back-roads
    beer/liquor/feel good stuff
    biscuits
    boom-boom
    cars/fast cars
    chicken
    corn
    fishing/fishing hole
    fist-fighting
    girl with a big butt/money maker/shaker
    grandaddy
    name-dropped country artist
    respecting mama
    some girl at a random, inconsequential place and time
    tailgates
    the boys
    the way life used to be
    trucks

    Did I miss anything Mr. Davidson?

  7. I guess thanks to Dallas Davidson we need to update David Allen Coe’s line about the perfect country and western song. Update and say that in he hadn’t written anything about biscuits or gravy or girls or mama or back-roads or shakin’ a money maker or drinking feel good stuff.

  8. You were not exaggerating. I’d heard snatches of this during my daily commute and thought it fairly dull, but I’ve just looked up the complete lyrics, and the cliches begin, literally, in the first two lines (“I got that real good feel good stuff / Up under the seat of my big black jacked up truck”), and they just don’t stop. Well, actually, they do, when the song ends.

  9. This song should be given the F grade or the U grade – ungraded, if there exist one. It’s everything I hate about country music, all in one song repeating itself again and again.

    Jason Aldean, Justin Moore and all those fake country rockers can come kick my ASS. Seriously they are all so ignorant and destroying the genre.

    I totally agree with Zac Brown.

  10. Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton have a lot in common.

    Both make the top 10 quite easily today despite singing pure drivel.
    Both before they made it into the upper deck of stardom had quality songs.

    “Austin”, “Ol’Red” “Don’t Go Loving On Anyone Else But Me”

    “Country Man”, “All My Friends Say”, “Do I?”

  11. Ok, The best thing I can say about this song is that it is not as bad as “1994” or “Boys Round Here”, but it’s pretty bad. The producation is even worse than the lyrics. The lyrics wouldn’t be so bad if we hadn’t heard the same ones a hundred times over the past couple of years. I suppose songwriters no longer take pride in their work. I guess it’s just a job and they are trying to get a bigger paycheck. Good review.

  12. Ba-ha-ha! When I heard the Zac Brown comments, I thought what did he say wrong? He is friends with Luke and he’s probably trying to hit him up side the head so Luke can wait up and smell the real country music. So I listened to the song and couldn’t wait for y’all to review it. Kudos to Zak for having the guts to say what most true country fans want to say and to Gary Allen for telling the truth about the whole Heart Radio genre busting crap that is putting a final nail in the country music coffin.

  13. I think it’s hilarious Jason Aldean came out and said no one cares about what Zac Brown said. Um, then why did Jason feel the need to address it? LOL!

  14. Jason,

    If country music cared about traditional/Christian values, Josh Turner “Find Me A Baby” would have charted. Songs about real relationships are passé in today’s country music world.

  15. ^ So, like most Christians, country music people use the Bible to justify their beliefs when it’s convenient, but the reality it isn’t really about the Bible. Got it.

  16. I predict that Luke Bryan will open the CMA Awards with this song and the production will involve hundreds of female dancers, light shows, and of course Luke’s booty shakin’. Yes, on the country’s biggest night.

  17. This is worse than “1994” for the following reason.

    As terrible as “1994” was with its haphazardly crafted, non-sequitur-induced lyrics and blatant pandering to Rhythmic listeners, it was a flop at Country radio peaking at #14, and also had a lukewarm reception digitally. In terms of impact, “1994” has had a most miniscule effect.

    “That’s My Kind of Night”, however, is a whole other breed of terrible. Not only are the lyrics shamelessly built on laundry-list cliches, but he has the gall to name-drop T-Pain in the same breath as Conway Twitty in the second verse only to immediately exclaim: “I might just make it rain!” Add on top of that the blatant sexism at the end of the first verse (“Get your hot self over here, girl hand me another beer…”) and it eclipses “1994” both in how aggressively it tries to court crossover demographics as well as objectify women as servants.

    And unlike “1994”, this is a runaway commercial success. It already has helmed the Hot Country Songs mongrel chart for over a month, has achieved Platinum status and will be a #1 Hot Country Airplay hit in October as well.

    “That’s My Kind of Party” is a much more dangerous song in that its commercial impact is much more domineering. This and “Boys Round Here” truly are arguably the worst songs in the history of the country radio format.

  18. Jess,

    I mostly agree on that a good majority of country singers use the Bible for songs only but I vehemently disagree that most Christians treat the Bible that way.

    Either way, I think it is better to agree to disagree. This review isn’t the proper forum for a religious debate.

  19. Luke Bryan is probaly my favorite new male singer. this is embarassing trash. It’s a little better than “Boys Round Here” and “Truck Yeah”, but this is still an F.

  20. Couldnt agree more with the above comments. Cheesy comes to mind over and over and over. Its obvious lukes never ambled down the flint river, at least near me number one no catfish number two luke wouldnt eat the women that went in that water. I long for some good old country id settle for travis trit,vince gill and the like. Todays market is clearly dumbed so far down this song is even being discussed let alone recorded. Might take alittle heat for this consider it my zak brown moment, in my opinion tim mcgraw is the cheesiest joke ever foisted upon the country music industry.

  21. The hilarious part in all of this is that, despite being a ten-week long #1 hit on the mongrel Hot Country Songs chart………this is going to miss #1 altogether on the Billboard Country Airplay chart! ;)

    The mongrel mess is surely depressing, but it’s still humorous to see even all the hype and bought airplay in the world can’t ensure another #1 for him.

  22. The catfish dinner river winner part is the same melody of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, which makes this embarrassment to country music even more embarrassing…..

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