Posts Tagged ‘Dierks Bentley’

Sex & Death
Hot 100 Roundup—11/17/12

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

The Band Perry—“Better Dig Two”
#53

In which the group who jump-started their career with “If I Die Young” goes full bore into country gothic. The woman in “Better Dig Two” not only vows to follow her husband in death, but appears to threaten a murder-suicide if he ever dares to leave her. It’s Miranda Lambert’s “Crazy-Ex Girlfriend” taken to the emotional limit. I wish I could say it was great, but somehow it doesn’t work. The music is menacing, but their pop roots show, and the tone is off in places. They’re trying too hard.

A$AP Rocky featuring Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar—“Fuckin’ Problems”
#73

Normally I could care less about rappers bragging about how often they get laid, but this one works, largely because everybody here, even Drake, is at the top of their form. Drake, in fact, walks away with the record; bragging about his dick must inspire him. I’ll admit Kendrick Lamar sounds a little out of place—this isn’t really his zone—but he makes the best of it anyway.

Chris Brown—“Don’t Judge Me”
#95

With titles like this, you have to wonder why Brown complains so much when anyone brings up Rihanna in interviews. Uh, because you keep bringing her up in your music? Not that this is technically about Rihanna, of course; I’m sure it’s a complete fiction. Besides, it’s about womanizing, not battery. But didn’t the fight with Rihanna start because she was calling Brown on his womanizing? Maybe he should write a song called “The Ballad of Chris and Ri Ri” and get it over with. Whatever. It’s a boring record, anyway.

The Weeknd—“Wicked Games”
#96

The sound is impressive, and so is the voice, but every time I listen to The Weeknd I find myself faced with a supposed soul man who devotes himself to the same misogynistic crap as the hardest rappers, and I suspect that has a lot to do with his appeal. I admit that this time out he confesses his sins, but it’s the sort of manipulative candor that’s designed to make him look deep; even as he admits to taking advantage of you he still expects you to do whatever he wants. He’s soulful, but he’s a con man, and I don’t trust him.

Kelly Clarkson featuring Vince Gill—“Don’t Rush”
#97

Finally a decent song, and better yet, Clarkson takes another step toward fulfilling my dream of her becoming this generation’s Dusty Springfield. Her vocals are stunning: alluring, sexy, self-possessed, and smart. The ’70s easy-listening soul feel is a perfect fit for her. All the ironic yacht rockers should either give up or ask Clarkson to give them lessons—this is what you can do with the style when you put all your heart and soul and brains into it.

Thompson Square—“If I Didn’t Have You”
#98

Of all the mixed pairs in country music, Thompson Square is probably the least interesting: there’s no tension between them, and no sign of passion, either. This isn’t the worst record you’ll ever hear, but it is one of the blandest.

Dierks Bentley—“Tip It On Back”
#99

For a beer drinking song, “Tip It On Back” is surprisingly slow, almost mournful. That makes sense on the opening verse, which is about the travails of life that make you want to get good and drunk on the weekends, but the chorus, oddly, is the same. It doesn’t get any faster or more joyful, just louder. Makes you wonder why he drinks at all.

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F ‘em & F ‘em
Hot 100 Roundup—5/26/12

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

2 Chainz featuring Drake—“No Lie”
#45
Drake’s misogyny is more subtle than that of other rappers (and rockers, and country singers, and so on), but it’s still misogyny. Instead of calling women names and physically and/or verbally mistreating them, he argues that they’re complicit in his manipulation of his celebrity to test drive women who strike his fancy. They all know what he’s about, right? So fuck ‘em and forget ‘em. It’s an old story, and Drake can’t be completely blamed for it, but considering the guy has built a career on his self-doubt and worries about his moral compass his inability to cop to his own bullshit is offensive. And for all that, Drake, who is rapping better than ever, is the least offensive thing on this record and the only reason to listen to it. 2 Chainz wouldn’t recognize a woman as a human being even if she kicked him in the nuts. Though I do encourage somebody to try.

Tony Lucca—“99 Problems”
#58

Justin Bieber—“Turn To You (Mother’s Day Dedication)”
#60
I’m having a hard time understanding the new, “mature” Justin Bieber. “Boyfriend” mixes dark, sensual music with some of the most naïve, unerotic lyrics ever heard, while this tribute to his mother is more reminiscent of southern rock murder ballads than a paean to a loving parent. He’s either mistaken sounding somber with sounding adult, or his much-vaunted precocious talent doesn’t extend to an understanding of what any particular piece of music means. That would go a long way toward explaining the emotional blankness of his singing.

Adam Levine & Tony Lucca—“Yesterday”
#68

Jermaine Paul—“I Believe I Can Fly”
#83

Christina Aguilera & Chris Mann—“The Prayer”
#85

Dierks Bentley—“5-1-5-0”
#94
A lot of people are impressed by Bentley—or at least they were impressed by “Home”—but I’m not one of them. He’s a better than average country rocker, but only slightly. Put him in a battle of the bands with Eric Church or Miranda Lambert, even Blake Shelton, and they’d wipe the floor with him before the second song. On a good night he might be able to take Justin Moore, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Usher featuring Rick Ross—“Lemme See”
#98
This is a step up from “Scream”, but nowhere near “Climax” (a tall order, I admit). The beat has a jumpy, eerie quality to it, but the song itself doesn’t work. Ross’s Trayvon Martin reference is too soon, and in some ways too little. Usher himself sounds, especially when he shows off his chest, as if he’s engaging in self-parody. That would be fine if it fit with the music, but it doesn’t. Maybe he hasn’t quite figured out all this electronic stuff.

Listen on Spotify

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Hot 100 Roundup—11/26/11

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Taylor Swift
“If This Was a Movie”, #10
“Ours”, #13
“Superman”, #26
Swift’s detractors are no doubt salivating over the idea of her releasing a live album, but in the meantime they have to deal with these three new studio recordings, which overall are as good as anything she’s ever done. Her fans, though, have gotten it backwards, debuting these records in reverse order of quality. “If This Was a Movie” is an above average piece of professional pop (if there’s anything country about Swift anymore, I’m having a harder and harder time hearing it), but has nothing special to recommend it. “Ours” is as bright and cheerful as anything Swift has done, and nobody does bright and cheerful better, but it also flirts with coyness. She giggles, not once, but twice. Her giggle is cute and charming, but it’s a dangerous precedent. Finally there’s “Superman”, which is one of the best records she’s made (she knows it, too, that’s why it goes on for nearly five minutes). Superman’s mix of love, frustration, hope, and despair, each illustrated with sudden, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle changes in vocal register and key, isn’t unlike records she’s made before, it’s just better: more confident, more polished, and more emotional. And though the title suggests she’s still mining fantasy worlds, this is more down to earth than some of her previous fairy-tale-like songs. After all, she used fairy tales as a model not because she believed in them, but because fairy tales are so hopeful and optimistic. We could all use a lot more of that right now.

Update: I mistakenly thought these were new tracks, but they were actually released on a bonus disk that came with the Target Exclusive version of Speak Now when it was released last year, and have just been made available for download. That doesn’t change my opinion of them, but I thought it was a good idea to clear that up.

Matt Nathanson featuring Sugarland—”Run”
#53
As a one-hit adult-contemporary wonder Nathanson was irritating but bearable, but now he’s got Sugarland backing him up, which got him a prime spot on the CMAs, so here he is again, emoting cliches with the worst of them. You can tell how much of a hack he is by the insertion of the line “I know that it’s wrong” into the chorus. There’s nothing else in the song that suggests there’s anything wrong with what they’re doing, unless they’re using good sex as an excuse for guilt. As a culture, I thought we were over that. Or is that supposed to make the sex hotter?

Mac Miller—”Smile Back”
#55
Once again, the music is good but the lyrics ordinary. It’s not that Miller’s a terrible rapper, it’s that he has little to say and no original way of saying it. When he sayss that he’s a mixture of Lennon and UGK, all he’s telling us is that he doesn’t really understand either one.

Blake Shelton—”Footloose”
#63
At least the original was light on its feet; this galumphs in the worst mainstream country rock manner. Come to think of it, that’s what’s wrong with most mainstream country rock: they play it too heavy and too slow. I should thank Shelton for making that so obvious.

Glee Cast—”Uptown Girl”
#68

Dierks Bentley—”Home”
#70
Bentley recently performed at the White House, and I assume this was written for the occasion (country cash-ins can be so cheesy). It’s nice to have a piece of country patriotism that isn’t also jingoistic and xenophobic, but that doesn’t mean it’s any good.

Rihanna—”You Da One”
#73
Does this record actually exist? It’s nice enough when you’re listening to it (and it sounds very familiar), but it has no real peaks or valleys, or anything else to recommend it. When it’s over it’s really over, as if it were never there at all.

Faith Hill—”Come Home”
#82
Weird. This starts like a message to a loved one far away, but it turns out that the opening line, “Hello World” (never a good sign), is meant literally, and the song turns out to be about divisiveness and ideology (“a war between the vanities”), and Hill is urging everyone to get together and smile on your brother. That explains the otherwise inexplicable minute-long, psychedelic coda (if Tommy James & the Shondells is your idea of psychedelic) and the ominous fade. It’s like a countrypolitan flashback to 1969. It would be nice to blame everything on songwriter Ryan Tedder, since he’s responsible for so much bad music these days, but Hill co-produced this without Tedder, and she appears to have taken the song very seriously. I’m sure she meant well.

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Hot 100 Roundup—5/21/11

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Lady Antebellum—”Just A Kiss”
#7
Definite proof that the near-great “Need You Now” was a fluke. This one, which is both mellow and overwrought in equal measure, concerns grown-up abstinence, and should relieve those who were worried by the drunken booty call of their biggest hit. Never fear; this record contains no sexual tension whatsoever. I’m surprised they can work up enough libido for even a goodnight kiss.

David Guetta featuring Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj—”Where Them Girls At”
#14
What makes Guetta and DJs like him different from his predecessors isn’t just the music, but the culture. Guetta’s followers aren’t blissed out on love and Ecstasy, they’re hard partying drunks, and the music Guetta makes isn’t designed to harmonize with chemically stimulated synapses but to deliver a final, convulsive jolt to dying brain cells, a death rattle with a beat. It’s the techno version of “Boogie Til You Puke”, minus the knowing sense of humor. This is Guetta’s most relentless record yet, and also his lamest. Flo Rida, who has never sounded duller, borrows his vocal flow from Pitbull and his hooks from…well, nowhere, because there aren’t any. But dammit it if Nicki Minaj doesn’t almost save things anyway. It’s worth suffering the rest at least once to hear her go “dee dee dee dee” in a voice that parodies every record Guetta has ever made, his entire aesthetic encapsulated in a few nonsense syllables. I wonder if he noticed.

Bad Meets Evil—”Fast Lane”
#32
I’m not sure which is more impressive, the fact that Royce Da 5’9″ keeps up with Eminem, or that Eminem keeps up with himself. Whatever the case, though this isn’t much beatwise, it’s an amazing display of vocal technique and wordcraft on both sides. Half the time I can’t tell what either one of them is saying, but it all rhymes, and on a record like this that’s all that matters.

Glee Cast
“Go Your Own Way”, #45
“Songbird”, #68
“Don’t Stop”, #79
“Never Going Back Again”, #81
“Dreams”, #92

New Boyz featuring Chris Brown—”Better With the Lights Off”
#61
The New Boyz continue to look for a style, and what I once took for corruption, as they moved further away from their jerkin’ roots, is now beginning to look like constant experimentation. Even with both Chris Brown and Cataracs on board, this is neither jerkin’ nor hip-hop; sounds more like rock run through some sort of techno-rap filter. There are only the slightest hints of the New Boyz’ teen cleverness on display, but the record is good enough it isn’t missed much, and there’s a pleasant shock of recognition when it does appear. I’m not sure if this is a great record, but it’s growing on me.

Avenged Sevenfold—”Not Ready To Die”
#70
More metal bombast, with extra arty touches, so that it goes on for more than seven over-baked minutes. The only interesting part is the intro, which is a direct, uncredited lift from Elton John’s “Funeral For A Friend”. They may not be ready to die, but are they ready to be sued?

Jennifer Lopez featuring Lil Wayne—”I’m Into You”
#72
Pleasant enough for fluff, but that’s all. I continue to be amazed, though, at how Lil Wayne can get off the dirtiest lines and still sound charming and innocent. Who does he think he is, Katy Perry?

Don Omar & Lucenzo—”Danza Kuduro”
#82
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 11/21/10

Dierks Bentley—”Am I the Only One”
#89
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 4/16/11

Thirty Seconds to Mars—”Closer To the Edge”
#99
I’m sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you you above your ego.

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Bubbling Under—4/16/11

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Jennifer Lopez featuring Lil Wayne—”I’m Into You”
#101
I like this better than “On the Floor”, even though it’s less forward looking in style. But that’s only because I like Shakira, who Lopez blatantly imitates here, better than Pitbull. Lil Wayne adds nothing, which I’m hoping doesn’t become a habit.

Toby Keith—”Somewhere Else”
#112
Self-doubt may be the exact opposite of what Toby Keith is famous for, but he is sure is good at faking it. Helps that he’s such a craftsman: this record isn’t exactly profound, but it’s perfectly put together. He’s no genius; he’s just a journeyman.

Dierks Bentley—”Am I the Only One”
#117
No, Dierks, you’re not the only one. I’m sure somebody else must have ripped off the tune of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Jug Band Music” before this (and who knows where John Sebastian found it). They just weren’t so blatant about it.

Martina McBride—”Teenage Daughters”
#118
I’ve never paid much attention to McBride, but maybe I should, because this is a great record, low-key and warm in a way most Nashville singles aren’t these days. It’s a little too long, and I don’t think there was any real reason to repeat the intro at the end, but, with the exception of Sunny Sweeney, it’s still the best country record I’ve heard this year. The middle eight is perfect: “They’re beautiful, wild and free/Everything we wish we could be/But they’re still crazy”. I hope McBride continues down this road; it’s exactly where she should be.

Hot Chelle Rae—”Tonight Tonight”
#123
Another bunch of privileged white boys form a band, with the twist that this time they’re from Nashville–their fathers are all successful songwriters and/or session men. The results don’t sound all that special, though: clean-cut punk-pop with a heavy Cars influence. They could be stars on Nickelodeon or the Disney channel anytime they want.

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New this week—7/18/10

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

The Band Perry—”If I Die Young”
#92
For a country death song, surprisingly unsentimental. It approaches death from a naive teenager’s point of view, the perspective of someone who doesn’t understand what death really means, rejecting sentiment and adding a level of irony and pathos that the usual country lament would miss. Whether this is intentional or simply a result of the youth of the band, it makes for some startling emotional affects despite, but also because of, the occasional lyrical and musical lapses into juvenilia. It’s basically a Taylor Swift song taken to the next level of bathos, but they deserve praise for pulling it off, whether by accident or no.

Fantasia—”Bittersweet”
#94
I’ve always liked Fantasia’s records–as quirky as her voice is, she has a talent for digging down to the emotional center of her songs. This is another good one, but, once again, not a great one. The odd, little girl quality of her voice throws things off (especially in the spoken parts), the song isn’t much, and I’m getting tired of producers turning to The Stylistics every time they’re looking for a neo-soul signifier.

Rick Ross featuring Styles P—”B.M.F. (Blowin” Money Fast”)
#98
Ross’s m.o. is simple: take a good hard groove, layer a hooky, spoken word chorus over the top, stick some gangsta raps in between, and repeat endlessly. “Super High” worked because it had a more inviting groove and Ne-Yo to provide a friendlier hook than Ross can come up with on his own. Styles P doesn’t provide enough counterpoint to balance Ross’s endless repetition, and the groove is too menacing to be enjoyable. Not terrible, but not “Super High” by a long shot.

Dierks Bentley—”Up On the Ridge”
#99
I would appreciate Bentley’s much talked about bluegrass move a lot more if the song wasn’t packed with the usual cliches about sex in the sticks and if his bluegrass didn’t sound like it was trying to fill a stadium. Times change, I know, and I guess bluegrass does, too, but this just sounds like the usual country boy schtick only with more banjo picking and quieter drums. Wait a minute. Drums? I thought this was a bluegrass record.

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New this week

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Glee Cast featuring Kristin Chenoweth
“Alone”, #51
“Maybe This Time” #88
The addition of actual Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth might be expected to add a level of polish, maybe even personality, or perhaps give the songs some satirical edge, but these tracks are as bland as everything else that has come out of the show, with the added detriment—especially on “Maybe This Time”—of the most irritating kind of Broadway mugging and hokiness. I’m beginning to think the blandness may be part of the appeal. Why else would that awful Queen cover be outselling everything else from the show?

Foo Fighters—”Wheels”
#73
Dave Grohl is a sincere, intelligent guy who makes sincere, intelligent alt-rock, and who’s capable, at his best, of tweaking the usual alt-rock self-actualization cliches just enough that they sound felt and almost not cliches. This is not Grohl at his best. The problem is the tempo, which overplays the sincerity and heightens the cliches so they’re impossible to miss. I don’t say this about many people, but I prefer Grohl when he’s shouting.

Paramore—”Careful”
#78
All those rumors about Hayley Williams going solo weren’t just the result of cynical music-biz thinking, they were an obvious reaction to the reality of Paramore: that Williams is more than just the public focus of the band, but also it’s creative center. Her lyrics are realistic without being cynical, hopeful without being sentimental, honest without being cruel. The band adds nothing but precisely played, often overwrought bombast. Williams may not have outgrown them yet, but just wait.

Kris Allen—”Live Like We’re Dying”
#89
Allen has apparently decided that the best way to maintain his post-American Idol career is to choose his material and sing it as if he were still a contestant. Hell, it made him a winner once, right?

Dierks Bentley—”I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes”
#91
This is like a scene from a country-themed Harlequin romance. It follows all the rules, and it’s supposed to be slow and seductive, but mostly it’s just slow, and too carefully calculated to be sexy. Bentley sounds sincere, but then all guys sound sincere when they’re they’re trying to get laid.

Reba—”Consider Me Gone”
#96
It starts off well, but like too many country songs it’s shifted deep into cliche by the time it gets to the chorus and never recovers. Reba’s vocals are fascinating, though—who needs autotune when you can stretch vowels like silly putty the way she does here.

Train—”Hey, Soul Sister”
#98
One of those songs where the forced cleverness of the music and lyrics outweighs whatever point the song is trying to make, which wasn’t much to begin with. This is like Jason Mraz with hypertension—not a pleasant sound at all.

LeToya featuring Ludacris—”Regret”
#100
This is more a recitation over a stylized musical background than it is a song, and Ludacris, to put it bluntly, is terrible: self-satisfied, pompous, crude, and never funny. Needless to say, he dominates the record.

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