Onomatopoeia in country songs

I know a lot of folks are going to roll up on this review hoping to see a crime scene unfold, hoping that I show no mercy and draw blood on this embarrassment of American country music. But the truth is, I dont have much to say about it. Ive got no dry powder here. What could be said that hasnt been said many times before to the point of being redundant, or that isnt obvious to the clear-minded listener? And the truth is this song is bad, but its not awful. Theres nothing really offensive here. Its more par for the course for todays country music. Its this, or Taylor Swift. That is what passes for variety for mainstream country music fans these days.

The Only Way I Know is the self-coronation of Jason Aldean, Eric Church, and Luke Bryan as the new male country music superstar triumvirate. Not entirely off base considering popularity, influence, and commercial success [though Blake Shelton might have something to say about that], this songs and these artists are a fairly spot-on illustration of where corporate country music is today. Its hard to think that Jason Aldean could loosen his standards any more, but thats the way his decision feels to include Luke Bryan in this collaboration. Meanwhile what happened to Eric Church being an Outlaw and a rebel? Wasnt it folks like Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan he was calling out in his song Lotta Boot Left To Fill?

Get-ups, gimmicksPretty boys acting toughAnd if it looks good on TV. Itll look good on a CD.Shape it up, trim it down. Who gives a damn bout how it sounds?You say youre the real deal. But you play what nobody feels.

Yep, pretty much sounds like what weve got here.

Some have been accusing this of being a country rap song. Im inclined to respectfully disagree. The verses feature talking and not singing, but they dont feature the type of cadence that usually connotes rap. As Ive pointed out before, spoken word and rap are not always the same. You also dont hear the same hip-hop references to things like booming speakers, or the Ebonic/urban jargon or purposeful mis-speaking like in Tim McGraws Truck Yeah, Blake Sheltons Sure Be Cool If You Did, or Florida-Georgia Lines Cruise. This song is simply the generic arena rock approach to popular country music that happens to include speaking parts, possibly to benefit from the popularity of the country rap trend, but technically not part of it.

Its not really a typical laundry list country song either, where countryisms are rattled off like rounds from a Howitzer. It has some of those elements, and make no mistake, the lyric full throttle is no less cliché these days than pickup trucks and ice cold beer.

Some critics have tried to glean a message from this song and Jason Aldeans music as a whole, but theyre missing the point. Aldean isnt trying to say anything here, hes simply trying to release a song that will be commercially successful. It happens to be that the message of the song itself is a pretty straightforward story of people from the country working hard and pushing themselves. Aldean doesnt deserve praise for this because he didnt write the song. Nonetheless, the lyrics are not terrible.

Jason Aldean has been successful enough now that he doesnt have to chase the trends, the trends chase him. Hes been making the same generic arena rock and calling it country for many years now, and just happens to find himself as the beneficiary of the flight from substance in popular country music. Hes a shallow man, and this appeals to a shallow world. But The Only Way I Know is not Jason Aldeans worst, nor is it countrys.

1 1/2 of 2 guns down.

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