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Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Melton McMaynerbury
100 episodes
1 day ago
For our milestone 100th episode, we take on a song and singer both of whom are in the conversation for Greatest of All-time. And it's no coincidence: in "He Stopped Loving Her Today", the sheer weight of Bobby Braddock & Curly Putman's composition, set in the legendary Billy Sherrill's production (with an assist from unsung hero Millie Kirkham), could have been carried by no other voice than that of George Jones. It's known as the saddest song ever written and the cut that put George Jone...
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Music Commentary
Music
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For our milestone 100th episode, we take on a song and singer both of whom are in the conversation for Greatest of All-time. And it's no coincidence: in "He Stopped Loving Her Today", the sheer weight of Bobby Braddock & Curly Putman's composition, set in the legendary Billy Sherrill's production (with an assist from unsung hero Millie Kirkham), could have been carried by no other voice than that of George Jones. It's known as the saddest song ever written and the cut that put George Jone...
Show more...
Music Commentary
Music
Episodes (20/100)
Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones (featuring Millie Kirkham) - 1980 (Episode #100!)
For our milestone 100th episode, we take on a song and singer both of whom are in the conversation for Greatest of All-time. And it's no coincidence: in "He Stopped Loving Her Today", the sheer weight of Bobby Braddock & Curly Putman's composition, set in the legendary Billy Sherrill's production (with an assist from unsung hero Millie Kirkham), could have been carried by no other voice than that of George Jones. It's known as the saddest song ever written and the cut that put George Jone...
Show more...
1 week ago
43 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "I Let Her Lie" by Daryle Singletary
Daryle Singletary lets life happen to him in this mid-90s gem: 1995's "I Let Her Lie". No one can deny the Randy Travis influence in the vocals, but how does the fruit of that influence align with the passive lyrics and common chord progression, to give us a taste of irrevocable loss due, at least in part, to our own refusal to act?
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3 weeks ago
19 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Some Girls Do" by Sawyer Brown
Sawyer Brown remind us how to have fun in the early 90s, with their catchy, lowish-class anthem "Some Girls Do". Mark Miller paints a vivid picture of connecting within one's lane, in this classic of 1992, but what does the abrupt resolution in the chorus tell us about how his narrator wrestles with his station in life?
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1 month ago
21 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Little Rock" by Collin Raye
As we close in our 100th episode (this is #97), we tackle another listener request, and one of Melton's all-time favorites, Collin Raye's gut-wrenching 1994 hit "Little Rock". Raye delivers a wallop of emotion with Tom Douglas's poignant lyrics taking center stage, as we don't know whether to cheer or cringe at what this recovering alcoholic is proclaiming. But does he believe what he's saying? And if so, what's so diminuitive about this guy's new foundation?
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1 month ago
29 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Let Me Let Go" by Faith Hill (with Vince Gill)
Faith Hill showcases her powerful and versatile vocal stylings on her plaintive 1998 hit "Let Me Let Go". Vince Gill's harmony vocals don't hurt a bit either, but what are we to do with all these unorthodox chords? And what does Ray Charles have to do with it?
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2 months ago
25 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Texas Tornado" by Tracy Lawrence
By request, we're finally chasing down thoroughbred Texas honky-tonker Tracy Lawrence, and his 1995 hit "Texas Tornado". Steel guitar and soaring strings collide on this Bobby-Braddock-penned, Tracy-Lawrence-produced amalgation. But how does Braddock's wild chord progression pick this chorus up, spin it round, and put us right back down again where we started from? Also, if you're into this sort of thing, you can find Melton's other podcast here: Propaniacs: A King of the Hill Podcast.
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2 months ago
22 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Every Once in a While" by Blackhawk
By request, it's the smooth sounds of Blackhawk's 1994 hit "Every Once in a While". The instrumentation, the vocals, and the overall sound are all Blackhawk. But how do all these things lend support to these lyrics' understated confidence? And while you're at it, why not roll over to Melton's other podcast, Propaniacs: A King of the Hill Podcast? He publishes an episode every now and then...
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3 months ago
22 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "The Heart Won't Lie" by Reba McEntire & Vince Gill
The requests keep coming in, and this time it's Reba & Vince's 1993 powerhouse ballad, "The Heart Won't Lie". In the canon of country duets, this one holds a unique place. Conway & Loretta this ain't, but how does this arrangement fit the adult contemporary context leading up to it, and what does Disney have to do with it?
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3 months ago
34 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Independence Day" by Martina McBride
It's about time. In this special July 4th episode, we finally tackle 90s icon Martina McBride, and arguably her signature song, 1994's "Independence Day". Rarely has a song been so committed in every aspect to its interwoven themes of justice and judgment, and from so many different angles and perspectives that we had to bring in a PhD to help us unravel them! (Seriously.) Dr. Victoria Reynolds Farmer joins Nashville Anthems as our first ever guest! So you're going to want to stick arou...
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4 months ago
59 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Take It Like a Man" by Michelle Wright
By request, we take on a classic one-hit-wonder (in the U.S. anyway). It's Michelle Wright with 1992's "Take It Like a Man". Rarely has a song done more with a single note than this one does with the note G. But this cut is much more than a just G thing. How does this catchy number shift seamlessly between eye-rolling frustration and empowered assertion? And how do Wright's outstanding vocals tie it all together? Here's the video we mention in the episode, in which Wright tells the stor...
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4 months ago
25 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Don't Be Stupid" by Shania Twain
In the first of a trilogy of feminine perspectives in the 90s, we tackle Shania Twain's lighthearted 1997 hit "Don't Be Stupid". Twain puts a twist on stereotypical gender roles, and not for the first time, but how does her protagonist's response to her man's stereotypical suspicion give us a perfect example of Twain's brand of 90s feminine empowerment?
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4 months ago
15 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait
We follow one "Pure Country" hit with another: 1992's "I Cross My Heart". George Strait doffs the pyrotechnics (or something like that) and gets intimate in this one, but how do these rolling harmonic and melodic hills frame this speaker's specific message of commitent? And what about that key change??
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5 months ago
26 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Heartland" by George Strait
George Strait takes us back to his acting days, with 1993's "Heartland". Strait's signature honky-tonk style sounds right at home on this Texas-sized arena astage, but how do this song's lyrics try to take us somewhere else? And what tensions might this song encapsulate between the journeys of "Dusty" and real-life George Strait?
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5 months ago
27 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "I Know Where I'm Going" by the Judds
It's vintage Judds, with their 1987 classic hit "I Know Where I'm Going". This cut is a prime example of the Judds' signature acoustic-with-attitude shtick, but how does heavy harmonic ambiguity in this one leave us less sure of our destination that Wynonna and Naomi seem to be?
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6 months ago
18 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Addicted to a Dollar" by Doug Stone
Our first encounter with Doug Stone taps into his rowdy side, with 1994's indignant, deliciously unhinged, "Addicted to a Dollar". Stone shows us what angry, working class honky-tonk sounds like in the mid-90s, but what indications do we have in this song that this first person narrator is ever actually going to muster the courage to tell anyone to take this job and shove it?
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6 months ago
20 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Here in the Real World" by Alan Jackson
One episode after exploring Brooks & Dunn's explosive debut, we turn our ears to Alan Jackson's more toned down entrance onto the scene, 1990's "Here in the Real World". As we'd expect, Jackson writes the book here on Jones-inspired neotraditionalism, as melody, harmony, instrumentation, lyrics, and phrasing all work together on this heartbreaker. But how does all that combine with the very idea of neotraditionalism, to give this one a nostalgic feel that seems to break the fourth wall?
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7 months ago
30 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Brand New Man" by Brooks & Dunn
We examine the song that introduced Brooks & Dunn to an unsuspecting country music world in 1991: their debut single "Brand New Man". In some sense, Kix & Ronnie were just continuing what George Strait, Randy Travis, and the famed Class of 1989 had already brought to the fore, but what is it about this high-octane Texas honky-tonker that yet felt like the ushering in of a new, or maybe a consummate, era of neotraditionalism?
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7 months ago
16 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Amarillo by Morning" by George Strait
In this episode, we explore why George Strait's career-defining 1983 classic "Amarillo by Morning" isn't just a great song, isn't just Strait's own favorite, but is in the conversation for greatest of all time.
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8 months ago
42 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" by Randy Travis
We tackle a listener request: Randy Travis's all-time great "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart". From melody to harmony, instrumentation to lyrics, everything works about this neotraditional classic. And we didn't even talk about Randy Travis's smooth, effortless phrasing! Only country music would lay bare the sort of righteous indignation the unfaithful might feel, on days when shame turns into anger. It's brilliant.
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8 months ago
27 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
Dissecting "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson
We finally tackle the song that's been at the top of our list all along, Alan Jackson's 1994 hit "Gone Country". Is this classic the straightforward celebration it sounds like? Or might the on-the-nose harmony and melody hint at something more satirical in the lining of this new kinda suit? Watch this video, listen to this episode, and let's find out!
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9 months ago
32 minutes

Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music
For our milestone 100th episode, we take on a song and singer both of whom are in the conversation for Greatest of All-time. And it's no coincidence: in "He Stopped Loving Her Today", the sheer weight of Bobby Braddock & Curly Putman's composition, set in the legendary Billy Sherrill's production (with an assist from unsung hero Millie Kirkham), could have been carried by no other voice than that of George Jones. It's known as the saddest song ever written and the cut that put George Jone...