Today’s category is…
A Song You Used to Hate But Now You Don’t.
Here are the staff picks:
Leeann Ward: “What Was I Thinkin'” – Dierks Bentley
When this song was making its chart run, I didn’t like it at all. Apparently, my ears were clogged then. About three years ago, I suddenly realized that I loved it. How couldn’t I love it, especially with Randy Kohrs’ riveting slide guitar action?
Today’s category is…
A Song You Hate by an Artist You Love.
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “Honk if You Honky Tonk” – George Strait
Not even Trace Adkins would cut this.
Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he would.
But it should be beneath the stature of a legend like George Strait. His talent helped him pull of “Write This Down” and “Don’t Make Me Come Over There and Love You”, but there was no saving this one.
Any review of this single anywhere is like begging for site traffic from impassioned fans/haters. I don’t do nearly enough favors for Country Universe most of the time, though – so allow me to greet you down on my knees, Scottyfolk.
A preface: I didn’t watch this past season of American Idol, so this single is basically my first exposure to its winner, and I feel no sour grapes that he beat out So-And-So or What’s-Her-Face, and I don’t care about his adorable TV backstory or any of that. The only metric I’m using is whether “I Love You This Big” sounds like something I’d want to hear on the radio between “Teenage Daughters” and “Amen.”
Today’s category is…
A Song You Love By an Artist You Don’t.
Here are the staff picks:
Dan Milliken: “Ticks” – Brad Paisley
He was one of the first country artists I got into, but I’ve developed a sourness for Paisley over the years. With each successive album, his songwriting voice has tended to sound a little more self-impressed and a little less self-aware. “Ticks” is a nice exception to my ears, though. For once, Paisley seems to get that he’s playing the machismo creep, so a listener can take perverse pleasure in listening to him be creepy rather than balk at the fact that they’re expected to sympathize with him. It helps that it’s one of his cooler-sounding singles, too.
Today’s category is…
A Song That Describes You.
Here are the staff picks:
Leeann Ward: “Lord, I Hope This Day is Good” – Don Williams
There might be a song that technically describes me better than this one, but this is the song that perfectly describes how I feel each morning before I start my day. I don’t know why, but I relate to it on a guttural level.
Today’s category is…
Your Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure.
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “Sashimi” – Keyboard Cathy
Look, here’s the thing. It started out as a joke. I was laughing at it. I swear. Then I started singing it to myself more often than I care to admit…until now.
We’re halfway done! Today’s category is…
A Song Used Well in a Film or TV Show
Here are the staff picks:
Dan Milliken: “Hold On” – Wilson Phillips
Today’s category is…
The First Song You Remember Liking.
Here are the staff picks:
Tara Seetharam: “She’s Not Cryin’ Anymore” – Billy Ray Cyrus
Cyrus released “Achy Breaky Heart” when I was seven years old, and I fell for it. The upside? My mom bought me his Some Gave All cassette tape, and I fell in love with “She’s Not Cryin’ Anymore.” It was the first song in my life to grip me with emotion, which would later come to define my bond with music.
Today’s category is…
A Leaving Song.
Here are the staff picks:
Leeann Ward: “She’s Crazy For Leavin'” – Rodney Crowell
For me, this song plays out like a movie scene in one of those wacky romantic comedies. The guy is over-the-top trying to convince his girl not to go, saying that “she’s crazy for leaving”, while everyone else at the bus stop pretty much knows he’s the crazy one and tells him to just let her go. I especially love the hook, “You can’t stop a woman when she’s out of control.” Few can write tongue in cheek like Crowell and Guy Clark, I tell ya.
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