FM Country

There are a couple of things you can usually say to a group of music snobs without risk of putting your foot in your mouth: one is to denigrate the 1980s phase of any artist whose career began prior to or ended after said decade (Miles Davis, Bob Dylan*, Elton John, Billy Joel, Bruce to a degree, etc.) The other thing you can almost always get away with is criticizing contemporary country while praising Johnny Cash, or Merle Haggard, or Hank Williams, or any number of other more “authentic” country musicians.

While it’s true that modern country is basically pop, I actually consider it a bit of a guilty pleasure. I enjoy thinking about the fact that there are people who professionally write songs for others – ghost songwriters, essentially. These are people who build songs carefully, with attention to detail, with the occasional bit of clever wordplay. The songs need to be well-structured, and they often have very formal bridges and solos. And a good one can be just as gratifying as a good pop song.

Three of my current guilty pleasures in this realm are Jamey Johnson, Taylor Swift, and Kathleen Edwards. Jamey Johnson writes dark stuff – his oft-quoted line is about how he had a wife and home but traded it all for “cocaine and a whore.”



Kathleen Edwards is Canadian and writes beautifully and honestly, with the occasional bit of wit: her song “I get the dough, you get the glory” has to be the only country song to mention Chateauneuf.



I only recently discovered Taylor Swift, convinced to give her a chance by Sasha Frere-Jones’s recent New Yorker piece on her. She seems like the real deal: she writes most of her songs. She’s got a great voice. The production on her album is good without being tacky. And she seems to relish playing all the roles available to her: seductress, bitter ex-, good friend, devoted lover. While anything produced in Nashville can get a touch saccharine very easily, none of the songs are outright offensive. The album has that great defiant attitude that you only get from someone who is young, talented, and knows it.

She had me from the opening song on her new album, named “Tim McGraw.” It’s a harmless song about a great summer fling. The rhymes aren’t that obvious, the chorus is generous and warm, and it had me thinking back to how Ms. Abstract Citizen was once fond of loudly playing Tim McGraw, back when we first met.

The second tune, "Just another picture to burn," opens with a bit that made me laugh out loud.

State the obvious,
I didn’t get my perfect fantasy
I realized you love yourself
More that you could ever love me
So go and tell your friends
That I’m obsessive and crazy,
That’s fine
I’ll tell mine
You’re gay

So, remember: Lyle Lovett is safe. Being into Taylor Swift? Totally edgy.^

*But not "Foot of Pride" or "Angelina." So help me God if you do so in my presence. In fact, let's just scratch Dylan from that list: you all should know by now that being into 80s Dylan is the new prog.

^Only applies to her first album, which I am two years late in hearing. The new one comes out...TUesday! And I probably won't get around to it till late 2009 or something, so, uh, stay tuned.