Okay, so we've had a lot of great artists and videos featured so far and now it's time for a whole new batch of people as we head into the 20s. But we can't get there until we finish the 30s, now can we? I feel like I usually have more to say at this point, but I think I'm just going to jump back in.
Coming in at #30 is Zac Brown Band with "Colder Weather. This was directed by Darren Doane & found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouFE51HcqM&ob=av3e:
This has to be my favorite video of Zac Brown Band's. I really like the song itself to start and I thought that this video was just so unique. I love the shots of the band in front of that bleak gray sky, especially with how the guys themselves are presented in color albeit muted. Directly contrasting with the rest of the video, minus the fire. The coloring is so different than what you usually see in videos and I think it was just so effective. Beautiful ending shot too.
Next up at #29 is a favorite of mine and, I'm positive many others as well. I'm talking about Randy Travis and his video for"Everything and All", which was directed by Peter Zavadil. This one you'll have to watch by clicking on the link since I've been using the official youtube accounts for each artist or their official VEVO account and while you can watch this video, you cannot embed. And it didn't feel right to post it from any other sources that might be out there. But you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBJNWGBH0YU&ob=av2e
It feels like it's been forever since Randy Travis had a new video and song out on country radio and it's so good to have him back. As I said, he is a definite favorite of mine. This one feels like a slight departure for him, in that it has a bit of a different feel than some of his other stuff, but there's enough of him in there that it feels like an authentic Randy Travis song. So he managed to change things up a bit while staying true to himself as an artist. I love the groove of this song, it makes it very easy to move along to. I think the video is a great compliment to it. The words appearing every so often and the ever changing imagery behind him and the band; the shots of him surrounded by all those screens (my favorite shots, I think); the images on the buildings and the speeding up of other images - there's just so much going on visually here, but in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming which I think is impressive given all that going on. A very cool video. Good to have him back!
At #28 I have one of my favorite groups ever. It almost pains me that I didn't end up ranking this higher because I have so much love for this band, so much so that I've seen them over 50 times. If you read and remembered my very first blog (in which case, bravo...or brava if you're a girl and I'm being correct), than you know who I'm talking about. Three words: Little Big Town. Here is their Becky Fluke directed video for "Shut Up Train" found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW7sJpr7NlI&ob=av2e
Well. Where do I begin? First, I think this is a fantastic song and one that I can relate to on multiple levels. Karen Fairchild took the lead on this one and I think it was a great choice. Her delivery is great and the harmonies are stellar, but then this is Little Big Town and that's what they do. Now as for the video - the decision to shoot this in black and white was absolutely the right one. There's something about black and white that can capture emotion so much better than color a lot of times and this is a good example. There's a slight awkwardness here, an almost uncomfortable intimacy when the camera zooms in for the solo close up shots. It almost feels like you're intruding during those shots and I get the impression that they were all pulling from personal experiences here. The pain and sadness just feels so real to me, real and very raw.
Now this is the stuff I like. Maybe it's weird, but I like when videos get a little uncomfortable like that because of that realness. I love when it doesn't feel like there's any acting, there's genuine emotions playing out here. I'm going to be honest and try to put aside any LBT bias I may have and say that I feel like this video had the potential to make even more of an impact. Put the group together around the mic; have the close up shots be as they were though maybe not quite as zoomed in. The hotel room shots kind of pulled me out of the video at times, thought I can't explain why. If someone didn't understand the song, I don't know if the video would've helped or not. But all in all, this is still a beautiful, real, emotional video for a song that didn't get the airplay it deserved.
Moving on. I'm going to say that this next video and "Shut Up Train" were sort of on the same level for me. It very could have easily been this video at #28 and "Shut Up Train" here. In all honesty, the deciding factor as to who ended up where was the fact that this was the bigger song of the two.
So here at #27 is country music's favorite redhead and the woman who made a big impact on me with her performance of "Fancy" at the first country concert I remember going to. You know who I'm talking about and if you don't...well why are you reading a blog about country music? I am of course talking about the lovely and multi-talented Reba McEntire with her version of "If I Were a Boy". This was directed by Peter Zavadil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWCZB08UW0
This song, as you may be aware, was originally done by Beyonce and while I like her version, I prefer Reba's. Which may have more to do with the fact that it's Reba McEntire who has been a longtime favorite of mine. I think her recording this was a very interesting decision and a great one. This video is pretty simple...simple and yet so beautifully done. I don't know where this house they shot it in is, but wow. What a location. I love the color of the dress she's wearing, though as I watch this again I wonder just how long that train was. My goodness. The moving pictures add a touch of Harry Potter to this which is a little odd, but I'll go with it. That all said, as beautiful as this video is, what really sells it for me is Reba's performance which I'd say is perfectly spot on. And why should that surprise me? It's Reba. I expect nothing less from her.
So now here we are at the last video for this section and it's brought to us by a man with two last names. Only one of those last names is a first name. That man is Dierks Bentley. The position is #26. The song is "Home" and the video was directed by Deaton-Flanigen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSJoZiB-UGY
I think this may be one of the best songs he's done. It's up there for me. I think it's a sentiment that everyone can relate to, regardless of wherever one stands politically, and if I'm not mistaken that was something they were going for when they wrote it. It's a beautiful lyric and sung so honestly by Dierks, I believe. The video was very well done and I love all the images they used with the fireworks getting everyone's attention and making them stop to watch. I think that the video perfectly sums up what the song is about and that is one of the most important functions of the video. This is one that I like more the more I watch it. I feel like it becomes just a little more poignant with each viewing. Love that ending shot of Dierks looking at the fireworks himself. Another beautiful video.
And so, here we are, at the end of another portion of the countdown. We have officially reached the halfway point now and I know that I'm looking forward to writing about all the videos still to come. If there's one thing doing this has reiterated to me, it's how talented and wonderful this genre is. We've seen such a variety of songs and moods, spanning a pretty wide range, and there's some that we haven't quite touched on yet, but will. People are forever going on about the state of country music and there's a lot of opinions out there about that, opinions that go from the most negative to the most positive. As for me, you can count me on the positive side. I think that there is so much good things going on in the genre right now, great things even. Times change, yes, but in all sincerity I believe that country music is in good hands.
Thank you to any and everyone who may be reading and again I say that comments would be very much welcome. I don't bite, I promise. I really want to know what you think. So don't be shy. Let me know! Hope you enjoyed this part!
Coming in at #30 is Zac Brown Band with "Colder Weather. This was directed by Darren Doane & found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouFE51HcqM&ob=av3e:
This has to be my favorite video of Zac Brown Band's. I really like the song itself to start and I thought that this video was just so unique. I love the shots of the band in front of that bleak gray sky, especially with how the guys themselves are presented in color albeit muted. Directly contrasting with the rest of the video, minus the fire. The coloring is so different than what you usually see in videos and I think it was just so effective. Beautiful ending shot too.
Next up at #29 is a favorite of mine and, I'm positive many others as well. I'm talking about Randy Travis and his video for"Everything and All", which was directed by Peter Zavadil. This one you'll have to watch by clicking on the link since I've been using the official youtube accounts for each artist or their official VEVO account and while you can watch this video, you cannot embed. And it didn't feel right to post it from any other sources that might be out there. But you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBJNWGBH0YU&ob=av2e
It feels like it's been forever since Randy Travis had a new video and song out on country radio and it's so good to have him back. As I said, he is a definite favorite of mine. This one feels like a slight departure for him, in that it has a bit of a different feel than some of his other stuff, but there's enough of him in there that it feels like an authentic Randy Travis song. So he managed to change things up a bit while staying true to himself as an artist. I love the groove of this song, it makes it very easy to move along to. I think the video is a great compliment to it. The words appearing every so often and the ever changing imagery behind him and the band; the shots of him surrounded by all those screens (my favorite shots, I think); the images on the buildings and the speeding up of other images - there's just so much going on visually here, but in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming which I think is impressive given all that going on. A very cool video. Good to have him back!
At #28 I have one of my favorite groups ever. It almost pains me that I didn't end up ranking this higher because I have so much love for this band, so much so that I've seen them over 50 times. If you read and remembered my very first blog (in which case, bravo...or brava if you're a girl and I'm being correct), than you know who I'm talking about. Three words: Little Big Town. Here is their Becky Fluke directed video for "Shut Up Train" found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW7sJpr7NlI&ob=av2e
Well. Where do I begin? First, I think this is a fantastic song and one that I can relate to on multiple levels. Karen Fairchild took the lead on this one and I think it was a great choice. Her delivery is great and the harmonies are stellar, but then this is Little Big Town and that's what they do. Now as for the video - the decision to shoot this in black and white was absolutely the right one. There's something about black and white that can capture emotion so much better than color a lot of times and this is a good example. There's a slight awkwardness here, an almost uncomfortable intimacy when the camera zooms in for the solo close up shots. It almost feels like you're intruding during those shots and I get the impression that they were all pulling from personal experiences here. The pain and sadness just feels so real to me, real and very raw.
Now this is the stuff I like. Maybe it's weird, but I like when videos get a little uncomfortable like that because of that realness. I love when it doesn't feel like there's any acting, there's genuine emotions playing out here. I'm going to be honest and try to put aside any LBT bias I may have and say that I feel like this video had the potential to make even more of an impact. Put the group together around the mic; have the close up shots be as they were though maybe not quite as zoomed in. The hotel room shots kind of pulled me out of the video at times, thought I can't explain why. If someone didn't understand the song, I don't know if the video would've helped or not. But all in all, this is still a beautiful, real, emotional video for a song that didn't get the airplay it deserved.
Moving on. I'm going to say that this next video and "Shut Up Train" were sort of on the same level for me. It very could have easily been this video at #28 and "Shut Up Train" here. In all honesty, the deciding factor as to who ended up where was the fact that this was the bigger song of the two.
So here at #27 is country music's favorite redhead and the woman who made a big impact on me with her performance of "Fancy" at the first country concert I remember going to. You know who I'm talking about and if you don't...well why are you reading a blog about country music? I am of course talking about the lovely and multi-talented Reba McEntire with her version of "If I Were a Boy". This was directed by Peter Zavadil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWCZB08UW0
This song, as you may be aware, was originally done by Beyonce and while I like her version, I prefer Reba's. Which may have more to do with the fact that it's Reba McEntire who has been a longtime favorite of mine. I think her recording this was a very interesting decision and a great one. This video is pretty simple...simple and yet so beautifully done. I don't know where this house they shot it in is, but wow. What a location. I love the color of the dress she's wearing, though as I watch this again I wonder just how long that train was. My goodness. The moving pictures add a touch of Harry Potter to this which is a little odd, but I'll go with it. That all said, as beautiful as this video is, what really sells it for me is Reba's performance which I'd say is perfectly spot on. And why should that surprise me? It's Reba. I expect nothing less from her.
So now here we are at the last video for this section and it's brought to us by a man with two last names. Only one of those last names is a first name. That man is Dierks Bentley. The position is #26. The song is "Home" and the video was directed by Deaton-Flanigen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSJoZiB-UGY
I think this may be one of the best songs he's done. It's up there for me. I think it's a sentiment that everyone can relate to, regardless of wherever one stands politically, and if I'm not mistaken that was something they were going for when they wrote it. It's a beautiful lyric and sung so honestly by Dierks, I believe. The video was very well done and I love all the images they used with the fireworks getting everyone's attention and making them stop to watch. I think that the video perfectly sums up what the song is about and that is one of the most important functions of the video. This is one that I like more the more I watch it. I feel like it becomes just a little more poignant with each viewing. Love that ending shot of Dierks looking at the fireworks himself. Another beautiful video.
And so, here we are, at the end of another portion of the countdown. We have officially reached the halfway point now and I know that I'm looking forward to writing about all the videos still to come. If there's one thing doing this has reiterated to me, it's how talented and wonderful this genre is. We've seen such a variety of songs and moods, spanning a pretty wide range, and there's some that we haven't quite touched on yet, but will. People are forever going on about the state of country music and there's a lot of opinions out there about that, opinions that go from the most negative to the most positive. As for me, you can count me on the positive side. I think that there is so much good things going on in the genre right now, great things even. Times change, yes, but in all sincerity I believe that country music is in good hands.
Thank you to any and everyone who may be reading and again I say that comments would be very much welcome. I don't bite, I promise. I really want to know what you think. So don't be shy. Let me know! Hope you enjoyed this part!
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