This is not going to be the typical end of month Bird Bites. 2021 is nearly over. The calendar will turn over and insurance deductibles will reset. This is a lull period for the ever present release cycle of music. Apropos of nothing, Corey Kent compiled his six singles released throughout the year and added a few more and released an album on the 28th of December. It’s an unusual launch date and I wonder if his marketing team wishes to take advantage of the empty slate. Savvy move. Hopefully his duet with Kolby Cooper can elevate his profile. I’m rooting for him. I greatly enjoyed his 2020 album and highly recommend it. It has weaknesses, but the writing really stands out amongst the younger Texas crowd. Otherwise the only real newsworthy releases are holiday related. Country music has plenty of holiday material, but that genre as a whole doesn’t really speak to me. To clarify, I certainly enjoy the big band and jazz influenced sound of holiday music, but the holiday versions of that style aren’t my favorite manifestation. Usually this lull period combined with the changing number on the calendar invites end of year lists. So many lists.
I really don’t think another end of year list with a slightly reshuffled order of the same 15-20 albums the consensus has chosen as worthy is an accurate way of encapsulating the collective musical experience of 2021. So much of the modern experience is about chasing the high of discovery. Most of the music that we listen to requires little investment. We glance at our release radars or new music Friday playlists and check out anything mildly interesting.
Compare this to the pre-internet era. One or two songs would be heard on the radio. From there, a decision would be made. Will I invest hard-earned money into this unknown entity of an album? A costly question. In that era, a curated list of 10 albums would be helpful. If you wanted to invest 100 dollars into a hobby, you’d want to know where to apply those monies.
These days we only need spare time. Consequentially, we listen to a more diverse array of music than generations previous. Get into a mood that you want to listen to some random artist recommended to you? You can cheaply listen to the entire artists discography that night and have something to talk about to that girl tomorrow at at school and all it cost you was a few hours. In this climate, a straightforward list isn’t as useful. We are all exposed to the top albums of the year daily. We saw when they were released and have had algorithms push them down our throats all year long. What is really appreciated is the unexpected moment. Scrolling though long lists of assorted tracks and one just stands up and punches you in the gut transporting you to a different plane of existence. That is an experience that doesn’t get old. These moments are the fuel for our long dives into the depths of the 40 million track deep streaming libraries in our pockets.
We at Today I Heard would like to share some of those moments that had a visceral impact on us in the year Two Thousand and Twenty One. And maybe also some more comedic categories as well. That too is a real part of how we relate to music.
The following albums are hand selected not just for the delightful vocals or wry writing but because they did more then the sum of the parts. Music can inorganically be broken down into static components. Writing, production, vocals etc. All are crucial but to focus simply on the parts and tally them up only tells part of the story. These following albums represented the More of country (and country adjacent) music in 2021 for us. We felt words offered a limited pallet to convey the depths of our experiences but in lieu of a better form of communication, we chose a single word that we felt properly imparted the emotional resonance of the project.
Glasshouse Children- Sam Williams
Haunting
29 (Written In Stone)- Carly Pearce
Vulnerable
Self Titled- Jon Randall
Restless
Dos Corazones- Jon Wolfe
Cinematic
The Ballad of Dood and Juanita- Sturgill Simpson
Swashbuckling
How the Mighty Fall- Charles Wesley Godwin
Vicarious
The Marfa Tapes- Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall
Cozy
Sunshine State of Mind- Brian Kelley
Breezy
Reckless - Morgan Wade
Poignant
Long Time Coming - Sierra Ferrell
Flowing
The following are categories or “awards” showcasing songs and albums that provided unique experiential moments one way or another.
Best Frankenstein Country Song Reference:
“Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round” – The Road by Jon Randall
No matter what trend Nashville tries, indie can do better. All kidding aside, the recent meta trend of name dropping songs in song lyrics has reached a fever pitch this year. It’s pretty dumb. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but the absurdity of this song name being featured on a relatively serious track from Randall provided delicious irony.
Strongest Region:
Texas
It may not have had the highs of years past but Texas this year was rock solid. From neotrad upstarts like Tristan Marez to established stars like Cody Johnson, career best performances from Mike and the Moonpies, typically excellent albums from Charlie Crockett, and a whole host of fresh, diverse, and thoroughly country music, Texas reigned supreme in our minds all year long. Appalachia was a close second and the other centers of country music (East Nashville, Pop Nashville, Red Dirt etc.) didn’t quite stack up this year.
Best Instrumental:
Fiddle: I Can Be That Something- Alan Jackson (about 3:20 in, the attack of the fiddle is about as good as fiddle gets)
Steel Guitar: You’re Lucky She’s Lonely- Summer Dean ft. Colter Wall ( so expressive it is as if a third singer was featured)
Harmonica: Ya Heard- Thomas Rhett (Yeah, it surprised me as well. A great song, misgivings about prosperity gospel aside, and the harmonica adds a folksy layer which really helps the song)
Drums: Something I'd Do- Drake Milligan (The runner up for best new artist. The drum fills on this track are joyously infectious, lacing the songs with fun upbeat energy)
Most Unexpected Song:
Ain't Even Met You Yet- Chris Lane
Who could have seen this one coming? Chris Lane has been one of the most pop-forward, trend-chasing, milquetoast vanilla blah artists of the post-Montevallo era of Southern pop. His big hit this year was the obnoxious boyfriend proposal song Big Big Plans. It seemed mining his personal life for the most basic of ideas wasn’t enough for him as he followed that up with a track about his, at the time, unborn child. Surprisingly, given his history, the song absolutely worked. It’s a powerful father and child song that summons the emotions (and tissues) quickly. Bravo to him on the most unexpectedly delightful career twist.
Favorite New Artist:
William Beckman
He’s from Texas. A voice evocative of the most powerful of baritones in country music history and elegantly crafted songs that hearken back to older styles while maintaining modern touches all wrap up into a most compelling package from the young balladeer. His tasteful music videos also are an appreciated touch, reminding us that the visual medium can actually be used artfully and not just for pickup truck and alcohol branding purposes.
Best Old Album Discovery:
Stardust- Wille Nelson
It’s a classic of genre bending. What Sturgill’s Metamodern Sounds wishes it could be. Willie is in his prime here and his delicately precise vocal performances add subtle grace to reimagined pop song covers making it patently Willie and distinctly incredible. If you have never heard it, there really is no excuse.
The How Country Feels Award:
I Love My Country- Florida Georgia Line
This “award” is for the track which embodies the popular aesthetic of loudly proclaiming how country you are on a song that displays none of the character traits of an actual country song. It’s named after the AC/DC inspired “country” song How Country Feels from Randy Houser which was the peak form of this sub genre. Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean have kept this style strong over the years. As FGL is slowly descending, Hardy looks to bring this deservedly maligned style to the next decade. Yay.
I Love My Country embodies every cliche in this type of music. The George Strait shoutout, the fiddle and steel references in a track that doesn’t actually have them in it... Just perfect. Next!
Random Word Of The Year:
“Hedgerow” in the song Waiting on a Dog to Bark by Jon Wolfe
My fellow Artemis Fowl fans, you know why this stuck out to me.
For others, it’s simply a cool word that amidst the truck, beer and pretty girl lyrics was memorable.
Pop Country Can Be Decent:
Song- Buy Dirt
Album- The Country and the Coast (Side A) by Morgan Evans
No actually, pop-country can be decent.
Deflategate:
Hixtape 2- HARDY
The HARDY hype fizzled fast this year. Last year’s golden boy couldn’t do anything right this year. His solo releases tanked, his cowrites flopped and his pet project sequel devolved into a maddening string of cliches beat down upon by loud programmed guitars and booming impersonal drums.
Couldn’t Figure Out A Category But It Has To Be Talked About:
Pressure Machine- The Killers
We all had this record near the top of our personal lists. I never heard a song from The Killers before but on recommendation from a rock loving friend of mine I checked it out. After listening, I immediately bombarded every thinking music fan I knew to listen to it. The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers created this tapestry of small town Utah that is a wonder to behold. Every nook and cranny is explored with the wondering eyes of a native son who returns years later and re-examines both his own upbringing and the culture of the small town. At times with wonderment, at times horror, but most often heady bewilderment and a sense of three dimensional humanity rarely seen in popular depictions of this culture. The realities as displayed in song are spliced with interview footage that lends a humanity and real gravitas to the project.
In the pantheon of great music, there are concept albums devoted to telling stories. This worthy admission is less of a novel and more of a landscape painting or a mosaic. It covers the realities of a small American town in all its facets. Cultural, economic, religious, romantic, personal, the dreams and despairs, with the scars and all else that is passionate and meaningful. Not with praise, not with hate, but with respect and sober clear eyed reflection. Almost nothing I have heard has been as meaningful. In fact I don’t consider it music. I consider the displaying of humanity with a slight musical backing.
Music is a part of all of us and I am glad to be able to have a place to share my musings and discoveries. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.
In the vein of discovering more music, I am pleased to introduce an idea. I am a firm believer that in order to understand something, you need to understand its history. Country music is the most flourishing among the commercial genres of its age. Rock has waned. Jazz has waned. Swing is gone. Golden age pop has died aside from Christmas material. Folk is niche. Country is still here and it is growing. CMA analytics show that over 160 million Americans will be in the country music fandom tent in the upcoming years. Some are casual listeners who merely twist the dial for a quick change of pace from talk radio and some others are devoted fans. There are many stories that have yet to be told. If we are to understand why the genre has stuck around, listening to the best of years past can teach us about where the genre has been and where it is headed. I wish to begin to plumb the depths of country music history and there is no better way to do so then with others. I aim to listen to two artists per month. One album per week, two albums per artist plus a few additional essential singles. The hope is that we will all gain and discover new favorites and perhaps learn something about music and ultimately ourselves. I have created a spreadsheet. I will link it below with the artists and albums. Please join along and leave a comment if you enjoyed.
Happy New Year,
Joe
This month’s artists are Merle Haggard and Ronnie Milsap
Week 1- Mama Tried
Week 2- Swinging Doors
Week 3- Night Time
Week 4- Lost in the 50s Tonight
There are additional playlists with a selection of essential singles linked in the spreadsheet.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EgqwFPPKAhKO9rOfG2RezlWAiTglvSp85c2Xsj-T2M4