A friend and I were having a discussion about how every kind of music (except, perhaps, opera and classical -- though I could be wrong) somehow find a way to reference alcohol and drugs. She said country music doesn't talk about people getting stoned. I had to shake my head. Ahh, youth. And thus it came to be that I had to prove her wrong.
Now, I don't have to go back all that far for my first reference. We'll start with an old favorite, Charlie Daniels. (I could have gone Willie Nelson, but where's the challenge in that?)
So I got the nod on that. "But where's a current song?" she asked. I had to think for a moment, and then it came to me. Eric Church.
Now, listen carefully: I don’t like Shania Twain. Or rather, I hated what she became. That super polished and fashion-y poser. The songs below? A look at how good she once was. The second video is one of my early favorites from CMT.
I understand the desire to capitalize on whatever gifts one has been given, but to bank so heavily on looks rather than substance, well, it rubs me the wrong way. Especially because Shania possesses a great deal of talent. Yes, she reached a whole new level of fame and was able to make great money, however there were many people who turned away because they couldn’t just enjoy the music without having all that Twain-ness constantly rubbed in their faces. I was one of those people. Sure, there were a couple songs here and there that I could listen to and separate from her, mostly after I stopped watching any sort of music TV or country awards shows, but the damage was done.
Instead of dwelling on the negative, I’ve decided to embrace what I liked most about Shania Twain in the first place.
