Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music Melton McMaynerbury
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- Music
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Have you always thought there was something special about 80s and 90s country music that you've never been able to put your finger on? Why does this music stand out? Well, let's don our cowboy hats, adjust our oversized belt buckles, tease that hair, and see if we can get the bottom of it, by picking apart one song at a time.
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Dissecting "Straight Tequila Night" by John Anderson
We take a shot of an all-time classic, John Anderson's "Straight Tequila Night". Anderson's signature breathy vocals anchor a particularly textural take on neotradional honky-tonk, but why does this song have a certain uncanny sound, and what does the number 440 have to do with it?
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Dissecting "Lost and Found" by Brooks & Dunn
We search through another early Brooks & Dunn hit, 1992's "Lost and Found". It's all about the flow, as this song always seems to take us exactly where we want to go, measure after perfect little measure. But we already knew Kix Brooks could write a great cut, so how exactly does this one nail the feeling of a frantic search, and what does Brooks & Dunn's signature honky-tonk sound have to do with it?
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Dissecting "Honey, I'm Home" by Shania Twain
90s icon Shania Twain takes us right back to the world of 90s feminism with her half-arena-rock / half-honky-tonk hit, "Honey, I'm Home". Twain played big, and this song plays big, but where we do get irony in her particular brand of subversion, and what musical touchpoints does this song have with a couple of hits from 20 years before?
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Dissecting "One Man Woman" by The Judds
We look at how The Judds bring their acoustic-with-attitude vibe to the sultry, electric piano-infused "One Man Woman". Slow, dark, and bluesy is the order of the day on this late-career Judds single, but what does a sonic atmosphere like that have to do with the lyrics' insistence on monogamy?
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Dissecting "Smoky Mountain Rain" by Ronnie Milsap
We take a ride with a legend in his prime in this episode on Ronnie Milsap's 1980 classic "Smoky Mountain Rain". The connection to Elvis's "Kentucky Rain" is multifaceted and deep, but how does this song use theatrical drama to color its image of a country music cliche? And what happens when you ask Ronnie Milsap to make the thunder roll?
Here a couple of videos that are referenced in the episode:
Smoky Mountain Rain on Austin City Limits: https://youtu.be/p0ZpytVUElU?si=5K88u9cBUqbjPUGl
Source of the Elvis story: https://youtu.be/0I7v2zx6ttM?si=Jyv22w9sJ34dPhwx -
Dissecting "Love, Me" by Collin Raye
In this episode, we look at how Collin Raye's signature song, "Love, Me" kept it gentle sentimental. Everything contributes, from the memorable acoustic guitar intro to Raye's smooth, sweet tenor vocals. But what do stoic farmers have to do with it? Also, who remembered that this recording had an electric piano?