Tag: Country Pop
-
Sheryl Crow ‘Tuesday Night Music Club’ (1993)
Tuesday Night Music Club has a lot of simple charms to it. Take the music itself— it’s unpolished and throws a lot of different genres together, like alternative rock, country, pop, and more. This was Crow’s debut album and introduced her knack for blending pop hooks with a laidback country twang and a touch of…
Written by
·
-
Tim McGraw ‘Two Lanes Of Freedom’ (2013)
Tim McGraw is definitely on my Mount Rushmore of country artists (you can read more about that here) and while Two Lanes Of Freedom represents some of his more recent pop-oriented work it’s still a killer album. Go flip on “Southern Girl” and listen to that hook and tell me you aren’t singing along. Go…
Written by
·
-
Glen Campbell ‘Southern Nights’ (1977)
In many ways Southern Nights served as Glen Campbell’s mainstream follow-up to the success of the impeccable Rhinestone Cowboy, especially since it arrived at the peak of his crossover influence in early 1977. Produced by Campbell alongside Gary Klein (a figure instrumental in broadening country’s reach into mainstream pop) this release blended Campbell’s guitar virtuosity…
Written by
·
-
Carrie Underwood ‘Blown Away’ (2012)
If you’re a football fan like me you’re going to immediately recognize Carrie Underwood– she’s been the voice of the NFL’s flagship program Sunday Night Football for over a decade now, with her iconic opening line “I’ve been waiting all day for Sunday night” leading viewers into the league’s biggest game of the week. Bursting…
Written by
·
-
Ingrid Andress ‘Good Person’ (2022)
If you’re at all plugged into the internet over the past 24 hours you probably saw Ingrid Andress get absolutely roasted for her performance of the National Anthem at last night’s MLB Home Run Derby. The internet can be a pretty cruel place and oftentimes more critical than is actually deserving, but this time they…
Written by
·
-
The Judds ‘Rockin’ With The Rhythm’ (1985)
The Judds are somewhat of a country music trope– a mother-daughter duo whose saccharine sweet vocal melodies and downhome lyrical content feel right at home on a lazy Saturday afternoon lounging around with the family in the backyard. Their ability to tug on these familial heart strings was purposeful, and led them to achieve an…
Written by
·
-
Trisha Yearwood ‘Trisha Yearwood’ (1991)
Nowadays a lot of people who watch Trisha’s Southern Kitchen on Food Network may be relatively unfamiliar with her music career– the show features her downhome charm walking viewers through relatable and easy-to-execute Southern dishes and does an admirable job of not trying to incessantly cross-market her music career. But damn did Yearwood ever have…
Written by
·
-
Tim McGraw ‘A Place In The Sun’ (1999)
In many ways Tim McGraw has been a guiding force in my life in the same way Thrice has been since my middle school years. Despite the obvious dissimilarities (there’s about a mile and half between them sonically), their collective music has been through critical life moments akin to a friend who never leaves your…
Written by
·
-
Luke Combs ‘This One’s For You’ (2017)
Luke Combs debut album This One’s For You took the country world by storm when it was released in 2017, staying at Number 1 for 50 weeks which ended up being an all-time record for a male artist. It’s easy to understand why– Combs is an incredible vocal talent, filled with tone for days and…
Written by
·
-
Dan + Shay ‘Dan + Shay’ (2018)
Dan + Shay is the pinnacle of modern country pop. Lush vocal arrangements transposed over expertly manicured production, with nary a note out of place. It’s effective as hell at being excellent background music that’s easy to listen to and just frankly beautiful in the most inoffensive way. It’s perfect coffee house ambiance music. “Tequila”…
Written by
·
-
Florida Georgia Line ‘Anything Goes’ (2014)
I have pangs of self-loathing every time I listen to Florida Georgia Line for the very simple reason that intellectually I understand what they’re doing is just tapping into sounds that don’t challenge my brain at all, but emotionally I can’t help getting amped up and start singing along every time one of those big…
Written by
·
-
Old Dominion ‘Happy Endings’ (2017)
Good country music has a tight narrative structure that tells a compelling story with a satisfying conclusion. Great country music has a tight narrative structure that tells a compelling story with a satisfying conclusion, but (and this is important) at some point the song introduces a pattern interrupt along the way. This is the bucket…
Written by
·
