Another Year In America November 19, 2009
Lady Antebellum's excellently mushy "Need You Now" jumps to #5 (also is collectively rated the 21st best single reviewed on the Jukebox this year, and is currently #41 for the year on the koganbox, which draws from a larger sample than do the other two charts). Meanwhile, as predicted here last week, "Russian Roulette" takes a dip (to 16), though I've also pegged it to hang on for a while.
Glee Cast f. Chris Colfer and Lea Michele "Defying Gravity": I have no idea how this song works in its Broadway home of Wicked, which I'd not heard of until 30 minutes ago, but standing alone it's just "strike forth on your own" platitudes, with a soaring sing-song for uplift. (I can imagine that a sympathetic account of the Wicked Witch Of The West might give such aspirational lyrics some contextual complication - perhaps Elphaba would have been better off had she not aspired - but that's still no excuse for platitudes.) Ironically, this is by far the best Glee performance to chart, with a rockish pop arrangement that I like more than the original's because it treats "Defying Gravity" as a song rather than a showstopper. BORDERLINE NONTICK.
Kenny Chesney f. Dave Matthews "I'm Alive": Subdued, even grudging, gratitude list for being alive, it gets beauty from its hesitation. Done even better by Willie Nelson, this version nonetheless is a respite amidst the usual pop roar. TICK.
Miranda Lambert "White Liar": Her new album isn't reaching me yet. I can see how carrying on her crazy-woman alter ego might have turned the role into shtick, so reducing herself to realistically normal, and her madness to mere anger, is probably a necessity. It's still disappointing, like Eminem's abandoning Slim. I do like this track, though, the way her righteousness twists itself malignantly at the end into tit-for-tat vengeance, which stops her from being altogether right, but also stops her from feeling wronged. Smart woman. TICK.
Reba McEntire "Consider Me Gone": "What you're not saying is coming in loud and clear." The situation is analyzed but not felt ("How 'bout a strong shot of honesty/Don't you owe that to me?"), which is a reason for the protagonist to abandon it, but is also a defect in the song. Reba's enunciation is precise, but it doesn't feel like precisely anything on this one. NO TICK.
Glee Cast f. Chris Colfer and Lea Michele "Defying Gravity": I have no idea how this song works in its Broadway home of Wicked, which I'd not heard of until 30 minutes ago, but standing alone it's just "strike forth on your own" platitudes, with a soaring sing-song for uplift. (I can imagine that a sympathetic account of the Wicked Witch Of The West might give such aspirational lyrics some contextual complication - perhaps Elphaba would have been better off had she not aspired - but that's still no excuse for platitudes.) Ironically, this is by far the best Glee performance to chart, with a rockish pop arrangement that I like more than the original's because it treats "Defying Gravity" as a song rather than a showstopper. BORDERLINE NONTICK.
Kenny Chesney f. Dave Matthews "I'm Alive": Subdued, even grudging, gratitude list for being alive, it gets beauty from its hesitation. Done even better by Willie Nelson, this version nonetheless is a respite amidst the usual pop roar. TICK.
Miranda Lambert "White Liar": Her new album isn't reaching me yet. I can see how carrying on her crazy-woman alter ego might have turned the role into shtick, so reducing herself to realistically normal, and her madness to mere anger, is probably a necessity. It's still disappointing, like Eminem's abandoning Slim. I do like this track, though, the way her righteousness twists itself malignantly at the end into tit-for-tat vengeance, which stops her from being altogether right, but also stops her from feeling wronged. Smart woman. TICK.
Reba McEntire "Consider Me Gone": "What you're not saying is coming in loud and clear." The situation is analyzed but not felt ("How 'bout a strong shot of honesty/Don't you owe that to me?"), which is a reason for the protagonist to abandon it, but is also a defect in the song. Reba's enunciation is precise, but it doesn't feel like precisely anything on this one. NO TICK.