Country Boy

Today we'll be traveling to Bonner Springs Kansas to the Warped Tour this afternoon. That means I'm writing this Tuesday evening as we are leaving by five in the morning. I'm fine with early hours driving, I'm more of a morning person anyway. That's when I'm the most creative and the most alert.

However I'll just not have the time to get everything written out in a timely fashion. The subject of this blog is Aaron Lewis and his song Country Boy. The official video seen here features Lewis singing along with cameos by legendary country stars Charlie Daniels and George Jones.

Lewis proudly sings about his upbringing outside a small Massachusetts town. It's not Staind at all, the flavor isn't depressed nor hopeless, instead it offers glimpses into his rugged lifestyle as an individualist and self sufficient. That's America my friends.

It's not preachy but it's not lyrically complex either, instead it plays more like a modern version of Bocephus' signature anthem A Country Boy Can Survive. Instead of Lewis' nine or forty five Hank sings of a rifle and a shotgun. The album cover in Lewis' video even features the album cover of Hank's Greatest Hits.

A very pale but more contemporary attempt is Dirt Road Anthem by what I'd consider the developmental league of country music. Neither the heart nor power is present in such top forty trash. Anthem is a strong word as forgettable is more applicable. The testosterone fueled anthems by Williams and Lewis aren't even in the same category as Aldean which is seemingly more along the lines of movie of the week.

In fact when Aldean drawls out biscuits it's actually laughable while you actually know that Lewis lives the lifestyle he sings about. It's heartfelt and genuine and that's the difference. It's as if Aldean has painted his portrait in pale and sickly watercolor pastels while Lewis and Williams have laid out masterpieces in deeply saturated oil colors.

All in all that's my blog today and as we've just awoken to undertake this trip for Thing 1's birthday the family is all astir and waking. We'll return home Thursday afternoon so wish us luck and I'll report back tomorrow:)