5 Five-Second Single Reviews: Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, The Dirt Drifters, OCMS, Darius Rucker
Trace Adkins, “Just Fishin'” (Listen)
Written by Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell and Ed Hill
Wish this weren’t quite so heavy-handed about driving home the theme; a subtler approach could have made it a Strait-ish classic. Still a nice, fresh idea, though.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 30
And so it comes to a close, with the final category:
A Song That Makes You Want to Be a Better Person.
Here are the staff picks:
Tara Seetharam: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Aretha Franklin
Maybe it’s the way the gospel arrangement evokes a guttural reaction or the way the lyrics are shamelessly selfless. As with the best songs, I can’t quite put my finger on why it moves me – but this song makes me want to live for others.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 29
Today’s category is…
A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love.
Here are the staff picks:
Dan Milliken: “3 Peat” – Lil Wayne
My friends all think I’m a big wimp. They’re right. But I do like Wayne. (Though even in this case, I’m drawn to the vulnerability in the song more than the aggression.)
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 28
Today’s category is…
A Song From Your Favorite Songwriter.
Here are the staff picks:
Leeann Ward: “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” – Darrell Scott
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 27
Today’s category is…
A Song That Expresses Your World View (Or Somethin’ Like That.)
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “Something Worth Leaving Behind” – Lee Ann Womack
Live your life for yourself, your life dies with you. Live it for others, it lives on long after you’re gone.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 26
Today’s category is…
A Song About Time.
Here are the staff picks:
Tara Seetharam: “For the Good Times” – Jamey Johnson
About a man spending one last night with his lover, frozen in the “good times” instead of thinking about the pain that will inevitably ensue. There are plenty of versions of this song that I enjoy, but Johnson’s hits on the exact swirl of genres that just gets to me.
The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 25
Today’s category is…
A Great Song That You Discovered After Everybody Else Already Heard It.
Here are the staff picks:
Dan Milliken: “Lord I Hope This Day is Good” – Don Williams
What can I say? I like to think I have a strong overview-type knowledge of country music, but I guess everyone’s got some inexplicable holes in their cultural patchwork. I’ve known of this classic by name for years and have listened through a fair amount of other Don Williams, but I’d never actually bothered to fire the song up until Leeann used it as her pick for one of these categories the other day. Good stuff, though.