WEBVTT

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Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that

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takes the classic mixtape approach to building

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a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.

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Joining me tonight is Leah Jones, host of The

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Struts Life. Leah, welcome to the show. Thanks

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for having me. I'd like to start by asking you

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my first -time guest question, and that is, what

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does the word mixtape mean to you? I am 31 years

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old, so mixtape for me was the age when In middle

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school, we would all LimeWire a random conglomeration

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of songs for our friends and then pass them out

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at lunch so that we could load them up on our

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iPods that night. The views and opinions expressed

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by Leah do not necessarily – I constantly – I

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mention like all the time that I used to LimeWire

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things and I feel kind of bad about it. But I

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also don't because I was 13. I couldn't afford

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that. There you go. Well, tonight we're going

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to be talking about a topic that is outside of

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the Struts universe in many ways, and that is

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the year in country music for 2024. So I guess

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my first question is, where did your love of

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country music come from? And then with that,

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what were you looking for in the songs you brought

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to the table this evening? Okay. So I have loved

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country music literally as long as I can remember.

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My parents love to talk about how the first song

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I was ever obsessed with was Faith Hill's This

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Kiss. I was probably five. I had a Walkman with

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the tape and I don't even know what other songs

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were on that tape because I would just listen

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to the same song on repeat. I'd be like, can

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you rewind this so I could listen to it again?

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Thank you. And when most kids my age in middle

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school were coming home watching MTV, I spent

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every day after school at my grandparents' house

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and we were only allowed to listen to country

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music because pop music was like bad and I don't

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know, it was a whole thing. And so I would watch

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CMT and GAC for hours a day. I had like the entire

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countdown memorized. I only listened to the local

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country radio station for a solid two or three

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years, about 2006 to 2009. And then I like got

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my own. music taste and branched out a little

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bit just outside of country. It also helped that

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Taylor Swift branched out of country about the

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same time I started exploring other genres. But

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this year, to quote Lainey Wilson, country's

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cool again. Everyone's doing country. I feel

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like it kind of got a little lackluster in the

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early 2000s, but I feel like it's back. There's

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a lot happening, a lot of really cool stuff happening

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in the space. Couldn't agree more. For me, my

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country music love came from when I spent several

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years living down in North Carolina when I was

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in college. Obviously, most of the radio stations

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down there in the 90s were country music stations.

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So as you're flipping through, it's like country,

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country, country. Oh, there's a rock station.

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But with other people that lived in the area

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and I became friends with, they started going,

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no, man, you need to. Check out some stuff. You

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need to become a local and listen to what the

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locals listen to. And when I moved back to New

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Jersey and I went to college up here and joined

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the radio station, they said, we really don't

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have any airtime for you unless you could do

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something that's not on our current roster of

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shows. So I looked at all the shows and every

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rock show, hip hop show, alternative punk metal,

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it was all taken, but nobody had a country show.

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So I said, How about country? And they said,

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we'll give you a Monday morning, 7 a .m. to 9

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a .m. I'm like, I'll take it. I called all my

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buddies down in North Carolina and said, send

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me everything you can about country. And doing

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that show weekly for the last three years of

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college made me fall in love with the genre because

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then I started branching out looking for stuff

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myself. And the thing I like about 2024 country

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is it does have a modern sound, but there are

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definite moments of throwback to the 90s country

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sound that i fell in love with and i feel like

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that balance is what really helped me pick my

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songs for this evening because there's definitely

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a mix of stuff that leads us into the future

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but also gives me that little hit of nostalgia

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So with that said, let's get down to business.

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As I mentioned at the top of the show, Leah and

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I will be curating the ultimate 2024 country

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music mixtape, and we're going to use that old

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cassette deck approach. Leah, as my special guest,

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will begin side A with her first song choice,

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and then I'll add a song that I feel best follows

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up that choice. We'll then flip -flop choosing

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songs until we've mapped out 10 songs for side

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A. We'll then give our mixtape a proverbial flip

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and we'll map outside. Be only this time. I'll

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kick things off with Leah choosing second. Our

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overall goal for this episode is to craft the

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best 2024 country music mixtape possible through

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only 20 songs. at the end of the show you can

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take our conversation to the next level by visiting

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the episode page at myweeklymixtape .com to give

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our final mixtape a listen via the embedded playlist

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and if you like what you're hearing on the show

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you can help me out by either telling a friend

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leaving a show a five -star review wherever you're

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tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at

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patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. There

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you can find ad -free episodes of the show, gain

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early access to upcoming episodes, chime in on

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future topics, become a guest curator, and so

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much more. And a few of the Patreon mixtapers

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chimed in with the songs they would use to kick

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things off tonight, and I want to give a quick

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shout -out to some of those. Sean Goff chimed

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in with Austin by Dasha, calling the song a good

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old foot stomper with a familiar and catchy chorus.

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Brandon from Virginia chimed in with Orville

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Peck and Willie Nelson's duet Cowboys Are Frequently

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Secretly Fond of Each Other. Chad Lamas is going

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with Sarah Evans' Pride off her Unbroke album.

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And Chris Pizik is using the Americana angle

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and running with the old 97s where the road goes.

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Once again, if you want to chime in for future

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episodes of My Weekly Mixtape, come join the

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fellow mixtapers at patreon .com forward slash

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My Weekly Mixtape. Now with that, Leah, I'm officially

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pressing the record button on our mixtape and

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the floor is yours. Maybe it's Faith Hill's This

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Kiss, even though it's 2024. But what song are

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you kicking off our 2024 country music playlist

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with? I'm going to open with a song that I feel

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like came from the movie of the summer to become

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the song of the summer. I feel like I heard this

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everywhere. I heard it literally as I was leaving

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work today to come record this. And that is...

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Ain't No Love in Oklahoma by Luke Combs. Nice.

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This song is one that every time I hear it, I'm

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like, yeah, this is a good song. I feel like

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the ones that they play on the radio a lot, they

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can get really, really grating really fast, but

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not this one. Luke Combs is one of the main names

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in country music. So I love that we're starting

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with this. The lead single from Twister's The

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Album. In a strange synergy with Canada, the

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song reached number 13 on the Billboard US Hot

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100, as well as the Canadian Hot 100, and number

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one on the US country airplay charts, as well

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as the Canada country charts. It also reached

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number 21 on the Australia ARIA charts, and charted

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in Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK, which is

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pretty big for a country song. To me, this is...

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country rock to its core. And it definitely sets

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the tone for one of the best. I guess we'll call

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it soundtrack events of the year, meaning this

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is one of the few soundtracks that if you go

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into Walmart today or into Target in that tiny

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little CD or vinyl section, they have carved

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out in the back of the store behind like the

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clearance aisle, because, you know, they try

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to they're not in on the physical media anymore.

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You'll still find a copy of this. And it's also

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in all the record stores still. Hell, it's. out

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longer than the movie's been in theaters. You're

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not wrong. The soundtrack's incredible. It includes

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Lainey Wilson's Out of Oklahoma, Jelly Roll's

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Dead End Road, Megan Maroney's Never Left Me.

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I mean, I think you nailed it with the album

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opener because it's the album opener from Twisters

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and it's a great tune to set things off for tonight.

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And to follow that up, I like where you're going

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with this. And I'm going to follow that up with

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a song that is also an album opener, but has

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the same groove and drive that I think flows

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nicely out of Luke Combs. But I think it's going

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to give you a little bit of room to move out

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of the country rock vibe and maybe more into

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some straight ahead country. And I'm going to

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go with the opening track from his first album

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in over a decade. And that is Uncle Cracker's

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High on My Horse from his Coffee and Beer album.

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Uncle Cracker had a huge resurgence this year.

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He was part of Kenny Chesney's 2024 Sun Goes

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Down tour with Zac Brown Band and the person

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I just mentioned, Megan Maroney. And it really

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brought his music back into the spotlight. Now,

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while we didn't specifically talk about this

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song, if you're a fan of Uncle Cracker, I'd be

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remiss not to mention episode 48, the ultimate

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Uncle Cracker playlist, because. He joined the

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show to talk about stories from his days as DJ

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for Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker, all the

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way to the first few singles from Coffee and

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Beer. But High on My Horse has the groove that

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I think flows perfectly out of Ain't No Love

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in Oklahoma. Keeping the party going. I think

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that's a great summer song as well. I feel like

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country music is just a summer genre. I always

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find myself reaching for my playlists when the

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temperature starts to climb. And it's a great

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segue into my next pick because there is only

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one person who can accompany Uncle Cracker when

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the sun goes down. And that is Kenny Chesney.

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So I chose Just to Say We Did, which is from

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his 2024 album, Born. And I feel like growing

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up listening to Kenny Chesney, he has a lot of

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nostalgic songs. When I was younger, I always

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looked ahead like, wow, I can't wait to have

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these cool memories with my friends. And then

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this album dropped and this song specifically.

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And I was like, oh, I have those memories now.

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Like I listen to these retrospectively now. Like

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I think about doing really dumb things with my

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friends in my early 20s. His 20th. studio album

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try to wrap your mind around that this song reached

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number 28 on the billboard us country airplay

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chart and number 56 on the billboard canada country

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chart lyrically the line so let's raise our hands

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up to the sky stay on this roller coaster ride

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just to say we did i mean that gives me goosebumps

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because it really brings me back to just a completely

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different time in my life Kenny's been doing

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this since 1994. So when you talk about the artists

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that I played on my radio show back in the 90s,

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he was one of them. And if you told me back in

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the late 90s that 25 years from now, he would

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still be putting out the same vibe and selling

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out stadiums across the country. I don't know

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if I would have believed it, especially in New

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Jersey, because I had a hard time convincing

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people that country music was a viable genre

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in New Jersey in the late 90s. And here we are,

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every country music concert, pretty much an instant

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sellout at MetLife Stadium. So I absolutely love

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this pick. And coming out of that, I'm actually

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going to go with something that doesn't remind

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me of the 90s. It's something that I would say

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falls into the more modern country era. And I'm

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going to go with something that, when I say the

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name, might even raise some eyebrows as to, come

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on, dude, are you really doing a country music

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playlist here? And that's Post Malone. And I'm

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going to go with his first foray into country

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music, the hugely popular F1 Trillion album.

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And I'm going to go with I Had Some Help, which

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features Morgan Wallen. It was a worldwide hit.

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It topped the Billboard Global 200, as well as

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hitting number one on the Billboard US Hot 100,

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Adult Airplay, Country Airplay, Hot Country Songs,

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and Pop Airplay charts. It also hit number one

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in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Norway, Bolivia,

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and South Africa. One of the biggest songs of

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the year that I think safely establishes Post

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as a force to be reckoned with in the country

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music space. Whether you're a fan of his music

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or not, I've actually told people who are not

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a fan of his pop music to give this album a try.

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And it shocked a lot of people. And I'm guessing

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this is going to be one of the few instances

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tonight that I can actually break out a cover

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song. Because all these songs came out in 2024,

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but as quickly as the song dropped, Goldfinger

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and less than Jake teamed up and dropped a ska

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punk cover version of it. So if you're a fan

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of ska punk songs, you definitely want to check

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out that cover. It's really, really wild. Okay.

00:13:53.529 --> 00:13:55.570
First off, you beat me to putting post on the

00:13:55.570 --> 00:13:58.990
playlist because. I love this album, the whole

00:13:58.990 --> 00:14:01.710
album. I love it so much. Ever since Post Malone

00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:03.970
first posted, I think it was two years ago, he

00:14:03.970 --> 00:14:06.690
did a Brad Paisley cover on TikTok that caused

00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:09.549
Brad Paisley to change his TikTok bio to say,

00:14:09.629 --> 00:14:13.289
I write songs for Post Malone. I was like, there's

00:14:13.289 --> 00:14:15.450
been whispers of this album happening and I've

00:14:15.450 --> 00:14:17.690
been dying for it. So when it finally happened,

00:14:18.009 --> 00:14:21.870
I put it on and the whole thing is just, it's

00:14:21.870 --> 00:14:24.070
a masterpiece. Like he's so respectful for the

00:14:24.070 --> 00:14:26.429
genre while still adding in these little like,

00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:28.860
Post Malone flares. I don't really know how else

00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:31.159
to describe them. My pick for the album would

00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:33.279
have been the song with Luke Combs, but Luke

00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.460
Combs is already on here. So I'll give you a

00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:38.100
Morgan Wallen. All right. And to be perfectly

00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:42.000
honest, I'm actually not the biggest Morgan Wallen

00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.139
fan, but this song, the two of them work really,

00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:47.159
really well together because a lot of the stuff

00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:50.539
he put out, I was kind of not, not bad. It's

00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:53.389
not for me. And I understand why people like

00:14:53.389 --> 00:14:56.190
him. Hell, he sold out MetLife Stadium as well.

00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:59.809
So I get why people like his music, but I don't

00:14:59.809 --> 00:15:02.289
know. Maybe it's too many headlines. Maybe it's

00:15:02.289 --> 00:15:05.149
just too much TMZ drama. I don't know. There's

00:15:05.149 --> 00:15:07.529
other artists that I gravitate to, but this song,

00:15:07.669 --> 00:15:10.389
I was like, okay, you got me. You got me. The

00:15:10.389 --> 00:15:12.570
song is a party. It's so, you can tell they had

00:15:12.570 --> 00:15:14.429
fun making it and they had fun making the video.

00:15:14.590 --> 00:15:17.549
Like it's just, it's so much fun. All right.

00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:19.350
So what are you going to follow up post with?

00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.980
We're going to keep the fun vibes going. And

00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.720
we've got to add some girls into this mix. And

00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.940
so I'm going to add Lainey Wilson's Hang Tight

00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:31.419
Honey. I stole Lainey from you. You stole Post.

00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.980
I stole Lainey. I had to beat you to it. That's

00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:36.440
what started this whole country conversation.

00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:39.360
I did not get into Lainey until this year. And

00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.200
it was this song specifically when it dropped.

00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:44.399
It was the lead single off of her Whirlwind album.

00:15:44.830 --> 00:15:47.210
that came out this year. It came on, I guess,

00:15:47.230 --> 00:15:49.429
my Spotify weekly radar. And I was like, oh,

00:15:49.450 --> 00:15:52.429
this song is really fun. I think I get it now.

00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:54.789
I think I get the Lainey hype. And so it caused

00:15:54.789 --> 00:15:57.750
me to do a deep dive into her previous works.

00:15:57.830 --> 00:16:00.490
I'd only really heard the radio hits. It's just

00:16:00.490 --> 00:16:03.990
got that Western country vibe. There's so many

00:16:03.990 --> 00:16:06.490
different flavors of country. And all of her

00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:08.090
songs kind of gave me just this mental image

00:16:08.090 --> 00:16:13.009
of sunsets and horses and deserts. And this is

00:16:13.009 --> 00:16:17.039
no exception. My favorite country album of 2024.

00:16:17.340 --> 00:16:21.379
You definitely scooped me. This track is absolutely

00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:23.960
incredible. Reach number 61 on the Billboard

00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:27.139
US Hot 100, number 13 on the US Country Airplay

00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:30.779
Charts, number 81 on the Canadian Hot 100, and

00:16:30.779 --> 00:16:34.399
number three on the Canada Country Chart. Obvious,

00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.419
obvious scoop for me. I could have picked...

00:16:37.629 --> 00:16:40.669
Pretty much any track off the album. I mean,

00:16:40.669 --> 00:16:43.710
the title track's incredible. 4x4 by You was

00:16:43.710 --> 00:16:47.629
incredible. Good Horses, her duet with Miranda

00:16:47.629 --> 00:16:50.330
Lambert. I love it. Like you mentioned at the

00:16:50.330 --> 00:16:53.029
top of the show, Country's Cool Again's another

00:16:53.029 --> 00:16:56.370
one. And if you picked up the CD at Walmart,

00:16:56.590 --> 00:16:59.269
because every now and then they include bonus

00:16:59.269 --> 00:17:02.389
tracks, there is a song, Where the Sun Don't

00:17:02.389 --> 00:17:05.529
Shine. is just as good as anything on the album.

00:17:05.670 --> 00:17:08.710
And I'm actually shocked that this didn't make

00:17:08.710 --> 00:17:11.670
the initial album. It's that great of a song.

00:17:11.730 --> 00:17:15.789
So bravo on the pick. And I feel your female

00:17:15.789 --> 00:17:18.650
country vibe. So I'm going to stay in that lane

00:17:18.650 --> 00:17:21.289
right now. And I'm going to go with something

00:17:21.289 --> 00:17:24.490
that one of the Patreon mixtapers chimed in with.

00:17:24.589 --> 00:17:26.529
And I'm going to give a shout out to Sean Goff,

00:17:26.529 --> 00:17:28.960
who chimed in with this one. And we're going

00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.359
to go off of her second studio album, What Happens

00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:36.000
Now. I'm going to go with Dasha's Austin, Boots

00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.980
Stop Working. In 40 years, you'll still be here,

00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:45.519
drunk, washed up in Austin. This is truly a 2024

00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.319
song because you can't talk about this song and

00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:51.460
not bring up the TikTok connection. The viral

00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:54.819
nature of this song propelled it to number 16

00:17:54.819 --> 00:17:58.779
on the Billboard Global 200, number 18 on the

00:17:58.779 --> 00:18:01.940
Billboard U .S. Hot 100, number three on the

00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:05.420
U .S. Hot Country Songs charts, number 11 on

00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:08.779
both the Canadian Hot 100 and Canadian Country

00:18:08.779 --> 00:18:12.559
Artist charts, number 10 on the Australian Aria

00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:17.690
chart, and number one. Number one on the UK country

00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:21.990
airplay charts. And it also charted in 20 additional

00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:26.490
countries. This is TikTok taking a song and making

00:18:26.490 --> 00:18:31.069
it a global smash. And to me, you have to acknowledge

00:18:31.069 --> 00:18:34.349
that because you don't think about country music,

00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:36.829
at least maybe here in the US. I always think

00:18:36.829 --> 00:18:40.069
of country music as a US thing. But when a song

00:18:40.069 --> 00:18:43.599
goes global like that. It shows that country

00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:46.680
music is loved all over the world. And this song,

00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:49.579
had it not been for TikTok, I don't know if she

00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:52.660
would have had the exposure. Yeah, I agree. That's

00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:56.259
how I found her, found the song, found her entire

00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:59.079
album, which is so good. You did scoop this one

00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:02.460
for me. So payback, I guess. My personal favorite

00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:05.599
is Didn't I from the deluxe version. But this

00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:09.619
probably is the 2024 song, quote unquote, because

00:19:09.619 --> 00:19:12.119
it was everywhere. I mean, I couldn't scroll

00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.500
through TikTok without seeing two or three videos

00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:17.359
of people dancing in their boots, like boot sales

00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:20.640
rose. It had all kinds of crazy impacts. But

00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:24.059
it always fascinates me how global country music

00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:26.920
is because I feel like it's a southern U .S.

00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:29.480
thing. And then you find out that the Brits go

00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:33.869
crazy for country music. Sure. We just trade

00:19:33.869 --> 00:19:35.470
artists. We get the ones they don't understand.

00:19:35.609 --> 00:19:38.869
They get our country music. Yeah. Hey, look,

00:19:38.950 --> 00:19:41.930
as far as I'm concerned, the more music that

00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:44.289
goes global, especially for artists that are

00:19:44.289 --> 00:19:46.029
really struggling, having a hard time making

00:19:46.029 --> 00:19:48.950
a name for themselves. If TikTok is the way that

00:19:48.950 --> 00:19:52.630
you find global stardom, so be it. I mean, artists

00:19:52.630 --> 00:19:55.049
need to find new avenues to get their music out

00:19:55.049 --> 00:19:58.059
there because. The traditional get signed to

00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:00.240
a record label and become an overnight sensation.

00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:03.759
It just doesn't happen anymore. No, it doesn't.

00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.839
You have to have TikTok presence. There's not

00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:08.960
even a social media presence anymore. It's TikTok

00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.839
presence. Sadly, my TikTok presence is, well,

00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:15.619
let's not even get into that. Following up, Dasha,

00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.299
you have? Let's keep the My Favorite Female Artist

00:20:19.299 --> 00:20:23.720
vibe going. And this song that I've chosen next

00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.279
is from one of my... Truly one of my favorite

00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.680
artists. Megan Maroney, Am I Okay? The title

00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.779
song from her 2024 album that just had a deluxe

00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:37.319
version drop not that long ago. This whole album

00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:39.940
is incredible. But the opening track, it's the

00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:42.180
opening track and the title track. It kind of

00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:45.380
flips her previous album. on its head a little

00:20:45.380 --> 00:20:47.259
bit because her first album was all about being

00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:49.400
sad and heartbroken and telling all these stories

00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:52.619
and then she opens with this song of oh my god

00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:56.440
am i in love am i actually okay now it's spoilers

00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.880
she's not by the end of the album but it was

00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:03.539
such like a fun album opener coming off of an

00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:05.619
album that was a little depressing and a little

00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:09.720
sad and the whole package is phenomenal she did

00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:11.819
such a good job with this rollout i get to see

00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:16.039
her next June, I believe. And I cannot wait to

00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:18.680
hear the song live. Well, considering it reached

00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:21.460
number 71 on the Billboard US Hot 100, number

00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:24.640
20 on the Hot Country Songs chart, number 100

00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:28.259
on the Canadian Hot 100, and number 38 on the

00:21:28.259 --> 00:21:30.740
Canada Country charts, I don't see any universe

00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:33.019
where she's not playing this song. It's the name

00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:36.500
of the tour. Yeah. And I would have to think

00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:40.180
that the earlier tour I mentioned, Kenny Chesney

00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:43.480
with Zac Brown Band and Uncle Cracker, had to

00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:45.519
get her name out there a lot more throughout

00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:48.500
this year because that was a stadium tour and

00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.900
she was on the bill. So that's like instant credibility.

00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:54.940
And I feel like I've heard this song a lot more

00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:59.440
than those chart positions that I mentioned indicate.

00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:02.980
Only reaching number 71 on the Billboard US Hot

00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:05.339
100 actually surprises me. I would have assumed

00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:07.440
that this song would have tracked much higher.

00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:10.299
I think it was more of a sleeper hit, fan favorite,

00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:14.140
almost a deep cut. But I think it got its own

00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:17.140
legs from the fans. Well, I think I'm going to

00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:19.900
stick with what you just said there, an album

00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:22.839
cut, a deep cut, if you want to call it. And

00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:25.980
I'm going to go with my oldest favorite country

00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:28.900
artist, at least for right now, because she's

00:22:28.900 --> 00:22:31.059
in high school. That favorite artist status could

00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:34.579
change by the week. But right now and for the

00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:36.740
last several months, it's been this artist. And

00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:41.319
I've heard. probably more Zach Bryan songs this

00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:44.299
year than any other country artist. But if I

00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:46.420
were to pick one song of his that might, cause

00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:48.240
my daughter's like, you got to hear this one.

00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:49.660
You got to hear this one. You got to hear this

00:22:49.660 --> 00:22:51.700
one. So I've heard pretty much every album in

00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:54.200
its entirety several times. But the one song

00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:57.180
that really jumped out to me this year from his

00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:00.779
2024 album, the great American bar scene would

00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:04.279
be better days featuring John Mayer. Well, don't

00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:08.119
get angry. Listen to the sounds. Them good times

00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:11.299
will find their way back around. I've had kind

00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:13.140
of a tough year this year. I've gone through

00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:15.019
some personal stuff that I'll get into a little

00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:18.339
later on, but that line really resonated with

00:23:18.339 --> 00:23:21.599
me. And I'll also throw out there that John Mayer

00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.140
is by no way, shape or form a country artist.

00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:27.119
But if you listen to his Born and Raised in Paradise

00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:31.769
Valley albums, this song. fits into the vibe

00:23:31.769 --> 00:23:34.710
of both of those albums. And his guitar work

00:23:34.710 --> 00:23:37.109
on Better Days is very reminiscent of what he

00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:39.809
did on both of those albums. And I adore those

00:23:39.809 --> 00:23:45.269
two albums. So I think as a shout out to my oldest,

00:23:45.329 --> 00:23:47.750
I'm going to go with Better Days. However, I

00:23:47.750 --> 00:23:50.210
know she's going to immediately, if she hears

00:23:50.210 --> 00:23:52.990
this episode, yell at me for not picking Pink

00:23:52.990 --> 00:23:55.509
Skies featuring Watch House. So I have to acknowledge

00:23:55.509 --> 00:23:58.029
that one as well. I'm with her. You should have

00:23:58.029 --> 00:24:02.609
picked Pink Skies. Sorry to both of you. Zach

00:24:02.609 --> 00:24:05.690
Bryan is an amazing lyricist and his music captures

00:24:05.690 --> 00:24:08.289
such a, to go back to being nostalgic, a nostalgic

00:24:08.289 --> 00:24:12.190
feeling, but like a very specific niche of this

00:24:12.190 --> 00:24:15.009
nostalgic feeling. And he's incredibly talented.

00:24:15.410 --> 00:24:18.150
This song is not one that I gravitate towards

00:24:18.150 --> 00:24:21.309
myself, but I do get where he's coming from and

00:24:21.309 --> 00:24:23.869
get the appeal. So I'm going to stay in that

00:24:23.869 --> 00:24:27.750
vein. We're mellowing out the mixtape here before

00:24:27.750 --> 00:24:31.109
we flip it. So I'm going to go with an artist

00:24:31.109 --> 00:24:34.509
whose 2024 album is actually not quite out yet.

00:24:34.910 --> 00:24:36.450
But by the time you're listening to this, it

00:24:36.450 --> 00:24:38.089
will be out. So I haven't heard the rest of it.

00:24:38.250 --> 00:24:41.910
But Kelsey Ballerini's collaboration with Noah

00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:45.869
Kahn, Cowboys Cry 2. And we were talking a lot

00:24:45.869 --> 00:24:48.089
about 90s country. And this is a song that would

00:24:48.089 --> 00:24:50.609
not have made it in the 90s because it is the

00:24:50.609 --> 00:24:53.529
opposite of everything that 90s country... Stood

00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:55.869
for men showing their feelings. How dare we?

00:24:56.250 --> 00:25:00.170
So I love this song because it shows such a progression

00:25:00.170 --> 00:25:02.269
in the genre. It got really, like I said, it

00:25:02.269 --> 00:25:03.730
got really stagnant there for a while. It was

00:25:03.730 --> 00:25:07.230
very much beer and trucks and that's it. That

00:25:07.230 --> 00:25:08.730
was kind of all we had for a couple of years.

00:25:08.769 --> 00:25:11.789
And now we're back to writing emotional songs

00:25:11.789 --> 00:25:14.970
about deep topics that people need to hear. And

00:25:14.970 --> 00:25:18.250
I love the two of them together. They did a collab

00:25:18.250 --> 00:25:21.210
on an award show and I'm blanking on which one.

00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:23.880
And they kind of kept hinting at a song together.

00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:26.119
And when they dropped this one, it turned out

00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:29.259
better than I could have imagined. Couldn't agree

00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:32.420
more. I love the perspective that this song takes

00:25:32.420 --> 00:25:37.180
on that just brush it off form of toxic masculinity,

00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:40.099
because I'm a father of two daughters. And to

00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:43.500
me, that hits home. I don't ever want to give

00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:45.559
off that vibe to them. And I don't want them

00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:48.599
to ever think that that vibe is something that's

00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:52.160
OK. That's just my personal. feeling. I want

00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.859
them to know that, you know, hell, your father

00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:58.099
has feelings too. It's okay. And this year, like

00:25:58.099 --> 00:25:59.920
a lot of things, they've seen a lot of those

00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:01.859
feelings out of me. And I'll get into that again,

00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:04.680
like I said later, but this song reached number

00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:07.759
50 on the Billboard US Hot 100, number 16 on

00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:11.279
the Hot Country Songs chart, number 49 on the

00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:15.240
Canadian Hot 100, number 36 on the Canada Country

00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:18.900
chart, and back over the pond, number 48 on the

00:26:18.900 --> 00:26:22.269
UK Singles chart. Kelsey, to me, is one of the

00:26:22.269 --> 00:26:25.910
most, I'd say, consistent female country artists,

00:26:26.009 --> 00:26:28.990
along with Lainey Wilson. Ever since I first

00:26:28.990 --> 00:26:32.390
heard Hole in the Bottle back in 2020, I was

00:26:32.390 --> 00:26:35.349
instantly taken back by her style and her vibe.

00:26:35.450 --> 00:26:38.250
And I'm going to be honest. In 2020, I was late

00:26:38.250 --> 00:26:41.349
to the game. I had no idea that she had albums

00:26:41.349 --> 00:26:44.250
before that. So I had to go back and listen to

00:26:44.250 --> 00:26:47.650
Unapologetically and The First Time over the

00:26:47.650 --> 00:26:49.509
last couple of years. And I've fallen in love

00:26:49.509 --> 00:26:52.549
with her music ever since. So I love this pick.

00:26:52.809 --> 00:26:54.750
And yeah, I can't wait to hear the rest of the

00:26:54.750 --> 00:26:56.690
album when it does drop. Unfortunately, when

00:26:56.690 --> 00:26:59.109
the mixtapers are out there listening to this,

00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:01.289
they've probably already heard it already. So,

00:27:01.289 --> 00:27:07.190
oh, well. I hope so. So closing out side A. I

00:27:07.190 --> 00:27:10.089
am going to stay with this female vibe we're

00:27:10.089 --> 00:27:12.109
going with, and I'm going to stay with this,

00:27:12.210 --> 00:27:17.630
I don't know, more deep topic of country music.

00:27:17.710 --> 00:27:20.920
This is not the beer and trucks and. partying

00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:24.079
type song. And it's one of those songs that might

00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.000
end Side A on a little bit of a downer. But you

00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:29.220
know what? Country music has some downers and

00:27:29.220 --> 00:27:32.500
we have to respect those. And this is the lead

00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:35.359
single from her fourth studio album, Hummingbird.

00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:38.039
And I'm going to go with Carly Pierce's We Don't

00:27:38.039 --> 00:27:41.140
Fight Anymore, which features Chris Stapleton.

00:27:41.950 --> 00:27:44.109
This song reached number 67 on the Billboard

00:27:44.109 --> 00:27:46.910
US Hot 100, number nine on the country airplay

00:27:46.910 --> 00:27:50.369
chart, number 35 on the Canada country charts,

00:27:50.450 --> 00:27:53.849
and number 19 on the UK country airplay charts.

00:27:54.930 --> 00:27:57.829
Everything Chris Stapleton pretty much touches

00:27:57.829 --> 00:28:00.509
is gold. I think we can agree on that at this

00:28:00.509 --> 00:28:04.880
point. Last year, His feature on Alana Springsteen's

00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:07.480
Ghost in My Guitar was one of my favorite country

00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:12.500
songs of 2023. And here we are again, as this

00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:15.299
song is just as haunting and just as powerful.

00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:19.240
And the thing that gets me about it is it's not

00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:23.579
a tear -jerking breakup song. It's not a love

00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:29.019
song. It's pure indifference. And that is a powerful...

00:28:29.769 --> 00:28:32.950
vibe to go for in a country song that I don't

00:28:32.950 --> 00:28:36.150
know if you were getting five, six, seven, eight,

00:28:36.170 --> 00:28:39.490
maybe even a decade ago. No, I agree. I don't

00:28:39.490 --> 00:28:42.009
think this would have worked maybe until this

00:28:42.009 --> 00:28:45.529
year, the last year or two. I'm not a ballad

00:28:45.529 --> 00:28:48.289
person at all. I do not gravitate towards ballads.

00:28:48.549 --> 00:28:52.349
The exception is a country ballad about dying

00:28:52.349 --> 00:28:55.250
or breaking up. I will eat that up every day.

00:28:55.349 --> 00:28:59.650
And this is one of them. Their harmonies on this

00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:04.009
song are just perfect. Well, the only word I

00:29:04.009 --> 00:29:06.410
could use is perfect harmony. Chris Stapleton

00:29:06.410 --> 00:29:09.670
has this magic about him when he features on

00:29:09.670 --> 00:29:12.650
a song that he can add so much while kind of

00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:15.329
barely being there. I don't mean that in a negative

00:29:15.329 --> 00:29:17.990
way. He doesn't try to steal the spotlight on

00:29:17.990 --> 00:29:20.730
his features. He's just there to add exactly

00:29:20.730 --> 00:29:22.950
what it needs, and he knows when to back away

00:29:22.950 --> 00:29:26.059
and not steal the show. And to me that you can't

00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:28.400
get a better collaboration than that using those

00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:31.940
ingredients. Well, that mixtapers concludes side

00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:35.180
A of the ultimate 2024 country music mixtape,

00:29:35.180 --> 00:29:37.980
which consists of Luke Combs. Ain't no love in

00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:41.529
Oklahoma. Uncle Crackers, High on My Horse, Kenny

00:29:41.529 --> 00:29:44.750
Chesney's Just to Say We Did, Post Malone's I

00:29:44.750 --> 00:29:47.630
Had Some Help featuring Morgan Wallen, Laney

00:29:47.630 --> 00:29:50.970
Wilson's Hang Tight Honey, Dasha's Austin, Boot

00:29:50.970 --> 00:29:54.769
Stop Working, Megan Maroney's Am I Okay?, Zach

00:29:54.769 --> 00:29:57.829
Bryan's Better Days featuring John Mayer, Kelsey

00:29:57.829 --> 00:30:01.009
Ballerini's Cowboys Cry 2 featuring Noah Kahn,

00:30:01.150 --> 00:30:04.509
and Carly Pierce's We Don't Fight Anymore featuring

00:30:05.049 --> 00:30:07.230
Chris Stapleton. A lot of features there. Head

00:30:07.230 --> 00:30:09.930
over to myweeklymixtape .com to hear all the

00:30:09.930 --> 00:30:12.650
songs we've discussed in this mix through the

00:30:12.650 --> 00:30:16.650
playlist embedded on the episode page. And now

00:30:16.650 --> 00:30:20.450
to kick off Side B. Like I said, we had a lot

00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:23.390
of collaborations on Side A. Four out of ten.

00:30:24.069 --> 00:30:25.950
And I'm going to keep that going. I'm going to

00:30:25.950 --> 00:30:27.630
go with another collaboration here. And I'm going

00:30:27.630 --> 00:30:30.630
to go with a collaboration that, to me, was one

00:30:30.630 --> 00:30:34.700
of the more... Huh? collaborations to come out

00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:39.200
in 2024 and this is the lead single from his

00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.660
album california gold but i'm actually going

00:30:41.660 --> 00:30:43.859
to go with an alternate version of this song

00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:46.579
because it really caught my attention over the

00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:49.819
summer because of that wait a minute avril lavigne

00:30:49.819 --> 00:30:53.309
is on the track And I'm going to go with Nate

00:30:53.309 --> 00:30:56.650
Smith's Bulletproof featuring Avril Lavigne.

00:30:56.750 --> 00:30:59.589
It reached number 37 on the Billboard U .S. Hot

00:30:59.589 --> 00:31:02.750
100, number three on the U .S. Country Airplay

00:31:02.750 --> 00:31:06.569
charts and number 52 on the Canadian Hot 100.

00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:11.220
The intro of this song has a pretty unmistakable

00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:14.420
vibe. It's along the lines of Tom Petty's Mary

00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:17.359
Jane's Last Dance. And anybody who knows me knows

00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:19.420
Tom Petty's my favorite artist of all time. So

00:31:19.420 --> 00:31:22.359
as soon as I catch that vibe, you have my attention.

00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:25.680
And I couldn't get this song out of my head.

00:31:25.779 --> 00:31:30.079
And I'm used to the girlfriend, losing grip,

00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:34.500
complicated, love sucks version, pop punk Avril

00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:38.289
Lavigne. Hearing her sing country. I was kind

00:31:38.289 --> 00:31:41.930
of taken back by it. This was kind of what you

00:31:41.930 --> 00:31:44.809
would expect from a modern country rock slash

00:31:44.809 --> 00:31:48.549
pop song in 2024. But hearing her voice on a

00:31:48.549 --> 00:31:52.190
country song, I think it worked. And it had to

00:31:52.190 --> 00:31:56.210
work because they duetted again on the same album

00:31:56.210 --> 00:31:59.410
on the track. Can you die from a broken heart?

00:31:59.730 --> 00:32:03.230
So I don't know if this is Avril's way of saying,

00:32:03.309 --> 00:32:05.789
you know what? I'm going to try to dip my toe

00:32:05.789 --> 00:32:08.430
into the country music waters the way Post Malone

00:32:08.430 --> 00:32:11.710
did or not. But her voice actually works with

00:32:11.710 --> 00:32:14.089
this. So Nate Smith, bulletproof to kick off

00:32:14.089 --> 00:32:17.549
Side B. I was going to say, I feel like everyone

00:32:17.549 --> 00:32:20.549
needs to dabble in country folk music a little

00:32:20.549 --> 00:32:23.789
bit at some point in their career just for for

00:32:23.789 --> 00:32:26.210
something different. And her voice really does

00:32:26.210 --> 00:32:28.109
work on this. I heard some of her slower stuff

00:32:28.109 --> 00:32:31.890
like Head Above Water. It kind of. lends itself

00:32:31.890 --> 00:32:34.289
to that style. So I can see how she could very

00:32:34.289 --> 00:32:38.049
easily make a segue into country music. And she

00:32:38.049 --> 00:32:40.930
made two good excuses with the songs that she

00:32:40.930 --> 00:32:42.589
featured with Nate Smith. So we'll be curious.

00:32:42.769 --> 00:32:45.130
I'll be curious to see if that happens in 25.

00:32:45.750 --> 00:32:48.549
Maybe she'll pull a post. So what are you going

00:32:48.549 --> 00:32:52.049
to follow up Nate Smith with? How about we break

00:32:52.049 --> 00:32:55.950
away from collabs and into a band? We haven't

00:32:55.950 --> 00:32:58.549
had a band yet, have we? No. I don't think so.

00:32:58.609 --> 00:33:02.660
No. Brothers Osborne, Break Mine. This is from

00:33:02.660 --> 00:33:05.099
an EP that they released this year. I think it's

00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:07.619
called Break Mine. I should look that up. Good.

00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:10.500
Got that right. And something about this song

00:33:10.500 --> 00:33:15.279
production wise, it just gives me like the best

00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:17.740
feeling. It's a really sad song because it's

00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:19.700
talking about basically if you want to break

00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:22.779
a heart, I'm here. Please break mine. But the

00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:27.299
guitars and just sonically. Going back to what

00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:28.640
you were saying about the previous song reminding

00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:30.660
you of your favorite artist, something about

00:33:30.660 --> 00:33:33.019
this reminds me of The Struts, and I don't know

00:33:33.019 --> 00:33:35.299
where the connection is, but every time I hear

00:33:35.299 --> 00:33:39.380
it, I think of The Struts. So, break mine. Reach

00:33:39.380 --> 00:33:43.000
number 59 on Billboard's US country airplay charts.

00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:46.319
I think this is a song that flows perfectly out

00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:48.579
of Nate Smith. It's got that mid -tempo drive,

00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:52.480
and it fuses. Kind of that 90s country sound

00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:54.339
because you could hear that in their voices.

00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:58.160
Obviously, they have that Brooks and Dunn 90s

00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:01.240
country sound to their voice. And I'm talking

00:34:01.240 --> 00:34:04.240
tonally in their voices. But the music is that

00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:07.279
modern country slash pop. And I can actually

00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:11.239
hear the pop side of the struts coming out in

00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:14.739
this song. It's very, very interesting. This

00:34:14.739 --> 00:34:16.599
is something that Brothers Osborne has been doing

00:34:16.599 --> 00:34:19.659
across all of their albums. So I'm kind of curious

00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:22.800
to see if this is the first piece of the puzzle

00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:25.260
to the next Brothers Osborne album, because they

00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:29.059
haven't done anything since their 2023 Brothers

00:34:29.059 --> 00:34:32.320
Osborne album. So I'll be curious to see where

00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:35.139
they go from here. But this is definitely kind

00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:37.699
of a bridge between country and pop, and they

00:34:37.699 --> 00:34:41.420
do it extremely well. But following that up.

00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:44.400
I'm going back to the solo artists. And yeah,

00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:46.699
I'm going to go back to the collaborations because

00:34:46.699 --> 00:34:49.980
there's just been so many amazing collaborations.

00:34:50.739 --> 00:34:53.260
And this song was originally featured on this

00:34:53.260 --> 00:34:56.860
artist's album, Keeping the Lights On. But again,

00:34:57.059 --> 00:35:00.820
an alternate single was released. And when you

00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:03.760
include the incredible Marcus King on the track,

00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:07.360
you have my attention. And I'm going to go with

00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:11.280
Cameron Marlowe's High Hopes featuring Marcus

00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:16.159
King. If you're a fan of NBC's The Voice, you

00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:19.000
might remember Cameron as he was a contestant

00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.539
on season 15. I was not introduced to him via

00:35:22.539 --> 00:35:26.099
The Voice. I was introduced to him via You Might

00:35:26.099 --> 00:35:29.300
Like This Song on Apple Music. And when I heard

00:35:29.300 --> 00:35:32.960
Marcus King, I'm like, ooh, Marcus King dabbling

00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:36.760
in country music here? I'm a huge fan of his

00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:39.579
blues rock stuff. I mean, we talked about him

00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:43.119
on episode 55, the modern blues rock episode

00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:48.099
of My Weekly Mixtape. He has got that genre on

00:35:48.099 --> 00:35:50.920
lockdown. But hearing him branch out and do something

00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:54.179
like this, it's very interesting. And believe

00:35:54.179 --> 00:35:57.300
it or not, it made me want to check out more

00:35:57.300 --> 00:36:00.179
of Cameron's music and more of the Keeping the

00:36:00.179 --> 00:36:02.679
Lights On album. And it's a great album. This

00:36:02.679 --> 00:36:05.139
song didn't chart anywhere. And I don't even

00:36:05.139 --> 00:36:08.000
know if it's a cut that a lot of people are familiar

00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:11.400
with. And it's such a great track that I want

00:36:11.400 --> 00:36:13.400
more people to be familiar with it. So if this

00:36:13.400 --> 00:36:16.280
is my quote unquote deep pick of the night, so

00:36:16.280 --> 00:36:19.260
be it. Because yes, we could just rattle off

00:36:19.260 --> 00:36:22.340
the top 20 songs on the country charts for the

00:36:22.340 --> 00:36:25.900
year. But I feel like to personalize it a little

00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:27.940
bit, here's a song that you might not know, but

00:36:27.940 --> 00:36:31.340
damn it, you should. I agree. Marcus King is

00:36:31.340 --> 00:36:34.300
an artist that kind of I knew of, but have never

00:36:34.300 --> 00:36:37.719
sat down to listen to in depth. And now I feel

00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:39.300
like I need to listen to him in depth because

00:36:39.300 --> 00:36:41.579
this song, we've had a lot of collabs on this

00:36:41.579 --> 00:36:43.559
list, but I think this one might be one of my

00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:46.980
favorites. And it's really hard to follow. That

00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:49.219
it is. There's a definite blues edge to this

00:36:49.219 --> 00:36:52.940
song. But I think I have a song that weirdly

00:36:52.940 --> 00:36:55.760
is going to pair with this very nicely. And that

00:36:55.760 --> 00:37:00.119
is Kacey Musgraves' Deeper Well. Oh, okay. Title

00:37:00.119 --> 00:37:03.860
track of her early 2024 release, Deeper Well,

00:37:04.039 --> 00:37:07.760
which has been one of my favorite albums this

00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:11.760
year for many reasons. When she announced that

00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:14.579
album, I was cautiously excited because I love

00:37:14.579 --> 00:37:18.380
KC, wasn't super crazy about Starcrossed. And

00:37:18.380 --> 00:37:20.860
so when she started hinting at kind of this return

00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:25.900
to maybe golden hour -esque folky sound, I was

00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:28.360
like, okay, you have my attention. And then this

00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:31.440
song dropped and I was like, oh, how is this

00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.659
song relating so perfectly to my life? Because,

00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:37.059
you know, every 30 years, if you're into astrology,

00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:39.360
which I'm not really, but I'm aware of this because

00:37:39.360 --> 00:37:41.940
the song, your Saturn that you were born under

00:37:41.940 --> 00:37:44.340
returns. And that's when you start to experience

00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:47.019
like. big changes in your life and your perspective

00:37:47.019 --> 00:37:51.139
on life. And as I've said, I'm 31. So my Saturn

00:37:51.139 --> 00:37:53.679
has returned. And like, I feel like this year

00:37:53.679 --> 00:37:56.900
has been a year of growth and changes and kind

00:37:56.900 --> 00:38:00.639
of getting out of maybe some of the worldviews

00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:03.179
that I had growing up, which she talks about

00:38:03.179 --> 00:38:05.019
in the song as well, where it was like the world

00:38:05.019 --> 00:38:07.500
was really flat growing up, but I've had to make

00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:09.820
my own way and figure out things for myself.

00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:14.500
And the song for me has to be on the top. Country

00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:17.880
songs of 2024. Well, the album debuted at number

00:38:17.880 --> 00:38:21.739
two on the Billboard US Hot 100 as a whole. I've

00:38:21.739 --> 00:38:24.559
been a fan of Casey's since 2013. Same trailer,

00:38:24.639 --> 00:38:29.199
different park. And like you, I. enjoyed but

00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:31.559
didn't really gravitate to some of the poppier

00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:33.760
stuff he did so i was all in when she went back

00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:36.559
to this kind of more americana style sound because

00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:40.099
i think it just suits her voice so so well you

00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:42.380
scoop me on the artist i actually had the song

00:38:42.380 --> 00:38:45.980
too good to be true on my list for tonight because

00:38:45.980 --> 00:38:50.039
that track interpolated breathe 2am by anna nalik

00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:53.940
from the early 2000s and i loved that kind of

00:38:53.940 --> 00:38:58.019
folksy take on those lyrics i really really liked

00:38:58.019 --> 00:39:00.019
it but you can't go wrong with anything from

00:39:00.019 --> 00:39:02.719
this album and i would highly suggest if you're

00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:05.880
going to dive into deeper well go with the expanded

00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:08.420
edition deeper into the well because there's

00:39:08.420 --> 00:39:11.719
just more greatness on it casey's back and i

00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:15.199
think she took 2024 by the horns and ran with

00:39:15.199 --> 00:39:17.780
it with this album and i hope it continues down

00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:21.449
this path because this is where i feel like She

00:39:21.449 --> 00:39:23.130
really knocks it out of the park. And I'm not

00:39:23.130 --> 00:39:25.949
disrespecting her pop stuff. I understand that

00:39:25.949 --> 00:39:28.929
some fans definitely gravitate more to that style.

00:39:29.190 --> 00:39:32.070
She had some stuff to work through on that album.

00:39:32.210 --> 00:39:34.130
It was her divorce album. We'll let it pass.

00:39:35.869 --> 00:39:38.570
But you brought up something on this song and

00:39:38.570 --> 00:39:41.710
what it meant to you and how this year was a

00:39:41.710 --> 00:39:45.329
year for change for you. And this year was very

00:39:45.329 --> 00:39:50.019
much a year for change for me personally. And

00:39:50.019 --> 00:39:52.159
I'm probably going to get a little serious here

00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:54.659
for a moment, so bear with me. But this is something

00:39:54.659 --> 00:39:57.800
I haven't actually talked about on the show as

00:39:57.800 --> 00:40:01.139
of yet. I've talked about it on social media,

00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:03.619
but I don't know who that listens to the show,

00:40:03.719 --> 00:40:07.920
follows on social media. But there was several

00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:12.539
weeks or close to two months where I was actually

00:40:12.539 --> 00:40:17.920
not running the show over this summer and through

00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:20.539
the beginning of the fall. And on my social media

00:40:20.539 --> 00:40:24.719
accounts, that was all thanks to my amazing family

00:40:24.719 --> 00:40:27.260
and some podcasting friends who helped me keep

00:40:27.260 --> 00:40:31.059
the show afloat. I had pre -taped some of my

00:40:31.059 --> 00:40:33.000
summer shows so I could take a couple of weeks

00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:35.820
off to spend with my family. And about a week

00:40:35.820 --> 00:40:38.780
before I was going to take that time off, I started

00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:43.239
feeling pains in my chest and ended up not chalking

00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:45.980
it up to heartburn and just making a call to

00:40:45.980 --> 00:40:49.230
a cardiologist just to check. Because I had no

00:40:49.230 --> 00:40:51.690
idea. It was a feeling I had never felt before.

00:40:52.429 --> 00:40:55.969
And a couple of days, a few blood tests and some

00:40:55.969 --> 00:40:59.010
failed tests later, I was going in for double

00:40:59.010 --> 00:41:02.690
bypass heart surgery. And I was told by several

00:41:02.690 --> 00:41:05.909
doctors that had I not done this, I would not

00:41:05.909 --> 00:41:08.210
have made it through the summer without either

00:41:08.210 --> 00:41:13.190
a major heart attack or even worse. So to take

00:41:13.190 --> 00:41:15.730
that into the song I picked, while I was laying

00:41:15.730 --> 00:41:18.860
in the hospital at night, I was Using music as

00:41:18.860 --> 00:41:22.940
my way to kind of keep me occupied, keep my mind

00:41:22.940 --> 00:41:27.980
at ease, keep me relaxed, keep me grounded. My

00:41:27.980 --> 00:41:30.599
family was there all day and all afternoon with

00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:32.880
me, but at night they would go home and I would

00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:36.320
just be laying there on my own in this room connected

00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:40.820
to all these tubes and struggling to wrap my

00:41:40.820 --> 00:41:43.099
mind around the fact that I'm in my 40s going

00:41:43.099 --> 00:41:46.210
through something. that kind of early in life

00:41:46.210 --> 00:41:49.269
to be struggling with mortality. And the lead

00:41:49.269 --> 00:41:51.690
single from Jelly Rolls, Beautifully Broken,

00:41:51.829 --> 00:41:55.369
is called I Am Not Okay. And this song could

00:41:55.369 --> 00:41:58.570
be interpreted in many, many, many different

00:41:58.570 --> 00:42:00.670
ways. It could be about being sober. It could

00:42:00.670 --> 00:42:03.730
be about a relationship. But the lyrics, I am

00:42:03.730 --> 00:42:06.710
not okay, but it's going to be all right, it

00:42:06.710 --> 00:42:11.269
really, really hit me this summer. It helped

00:42:11.269 --> 00:42:14.059
me get through. One of the hardest things and

00:42:14.059 --> 00:42:16.179
probably the hardest thing I'll ever have to

00:42:16.179 --> 00:42:18.679
go through. And damn it if I never have to go

00:42:18.679 --> 00:42:20.039
through it again. I'm doing everything I can

00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:22.119
right now to ensure I never have to go through

00:42:22.119 --> 00:42:24.639
that again. But before I pivot back into the

00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:27.699
song, I will say this much. If you're ever feeling

00:42:27.699 --> 00:42:30.739
like something's off, don't hesitate to reach

00:42:30.739 --> 00:42:33.699
out to your doctor. Because had I not done that,

00:42:33.860 --> 00:42:36.519
this episode might not be happening right now.

00:42:36.619 --> 00:42:38.880
So I really want to stress that to those listening.

00:42:39.579 --> 00:42:42.280
It's not this is not a health program. I am not

00:42:42.280 --> 00:42:46.159
a doctor, but something just told me that I needed

00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:48.460
to make that phone call. And thank God I did.

00:42:48.539 --> 00:42:52.340
So moving on into the actual song here. This

00:42:52.340 --> 00:42:54.760
song was massive. It reached number 18 on the

00:42:54.760 --> 00:42:57.179
Billboard US Hot 100, number five on the country

00:42:57.179 --> 00:43:00.039
airplay chart and hot country songs chart, as

00:43:00.039 --> 00:43:03.239
well as number 44 on the Canadian Hot 100 and

00:43:03.239 --> 00:43:07.059
number 18 on the Canada country chart. It also

00:43:07.059 --> 00:43:10.159
hit number 98 on the Billboard Global 200. But

00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:13.019
for me, this song was so much more than that

00:43:13.019 --> 00:43:16.599
because it really, I needed somebody to tell

00:43:16.599 --> 00:43:19.239
me things were going to be okay. I had nurses

00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:22.969
saying it. And I know that's their job. I had

00:43:22.969 --> 00:43:26.230
family telling me that. And I know that that's

00:43:26.230 --> 00:43:29.250
what family's there to tell you, family and friends.

00:43:29.849 --> 00:43:33.590
But hearing it in a song from some stranger,

00:43:33.710 --> 00:43:35.750
I don't know. I don't know why it just hit me

00:43:35.750 --> 00:43:38.769
on a different level. And this song is hard for

00:43:38.769 --> 00:43:41.559
me to listen to. But I couldn't do an episode

00:43:41.559 --> 00:43:45.639
on country music in 2024 and not talk about this

00:43:45.639 --> 00:43:49.320
song because it really truly resonates with me

00:43:49.320 --> 00:43:51.920
on an entirely different level than probably

00:43:51.920 --> 00:43:53.719
any of the songs we're going to be talking about

00:43:53.719 --> 00:43:56.119
tonight. Well, I'm glad that you went when you

00:43:56.119 --> 00:43:58.940
did and that you're still, now you're okay. to

00:43:58.940 --> 00:44:01.760
come back to doing what you love to do. Thank

00:44:01.760 --> 00:44:05.840
you. Me too. I don't have a good follow -up or

00:44:05.840 --> 00:44:08.480
segue after that. So I guess I'll just jump into

00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:11.159
my next one. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the

00:44:11.159 --> 00:44:13.619
show down. I really didn't. No, we kind of had

00:44:13.619 --> 00:44:16.599
like a couplet of songs that were like the theme

00:44:16.599 --> 00:44:19.539
songs of the year. And I'm going to keep things

00:44:19.539 --> 00:44:23.039
sad because like I said, I love a country ballad.

00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:25.960
I love a country duet and a sad country duet.

00:44:27.210 --> 00:44:31.469
So I'm going to pick yet another collab of Orville

00:44:31.469 --> 00:44:35.230
Peck featuring Noah Cyrus, How Far Will We Take

00:44:35.230 --> 00:44:40.829
It, off of his 2024 album Stampede, which is

00:44:40.829 --> 00:44:43.429
his duets album, which is such a fun album. You

00:44:43.429 --> 00:44:45.989
guys should all go check it out. One of the highlights

00:44:45.989 --> 00:44:48.329
is Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting with

00:44:48.329 --> 00:44:51.889
Elton John, like kind of reimagined. It's a phenomenal

00:44:51.889 --> 00:44:54.590
collaboration, but this song was one of the singles

00:44:54.590 --> 00:44:58.139
that came out before the album. And Orville already

00:44:58.139 --> 00:45:01.840
has this really kind of sultry, croonery voice

00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:04.780
to begin with. You pair that with Noah's voice

00:45:04.780 --> 00:45:08.619
and the two of them just sound incredible together.

00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:11.219
The song is really sad. It's about being alone

00:45:11.219 --> 00:45:12.659
after breaking up with the love of your life.

00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:17.960
But it sounds incredible. That it does. The whole

00:45:17.960 --> 00:45:21.360
album's great. I mean, Orville has this. You

00:45:21.360 --> 00:45:23.579
had said, I think the word you used was sultry

00:45:23.579 --> 00:45:26.300
voice. Was that? Yeah, sultry, croonery voice.

00:45:26.420 --> 00:45:29.719
Croonery voice. To me, it was like a Roy Orbison

00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:35.099
-esque 50s delivery. blends so perfectly with

00:45:35.099 --> 00:45:38.559
that modern sound of Noah's voice. The whole

00:45:38.559 --> 00:45:40.519
album's excellent. He teamed up with everybody

00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:42.820
from Willie Nelson, who I mentioned, Patreon

00:45:42.820 --> 00:45:45.360
mixtape, or Brandon from Virginia chimed in with,

00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:48.159
with the song Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly

00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:51.300
Fond of Each Other, all the way to Midland. You

00:45:51.300 --> 00:45:53.929
had mentioned Elton John. And then there's guys

00:45:53.929 --> 00:45:56.289
like Teddy Swims and Nathaniel Rateliff, which

00:45:56.289 --> 00:45:58.869
the two of those guys have that Joe Cockery kind

00:45:58.869 --> 00:46:01.289
of gravel to their voice. And then you pair it

00:46:01.289 --> 00:46:05.389
with him. It's an incredibly fantastic collaboration

00:46:05.389 --> 00:46:11.409
album. And I think, yeah, I know it's the year

00:46:11.409 --> 00:46:14.309
of collaborations. I'm sticking with it. I've

00:46:14.309 --> 00:46:17.489
mentioned the name before, and I'm going to go

00:46:17.489 --> 00:46:20.369
with another collaboration. And look, if you

00:46:20.369 --> 00:46:22.909
put out a tribute album to my favorite artist

00:46:22.909 --> 00:46:26.130
ever, and it's all country music, yes, it's going

00:46:26.130 --> 00:46:28.690
to be towards the top of my list. Now, you scooped

00:46:28.690 --> 00:46:32.010
me on Laney Wilson on Side A. However, there's

00:46:32.010 --> 00:46:34.869
no rules in my weekly mixtape that if Laney Wilson's

00:46:34.869 --> 00:46:37.389
a feature on a track, I can't bring it up as

00:46:37.389 --> 00:46:40.530
well. So I am going to go with Winona Judd featuring

00:46:40.530 --> 00:46:44.309
Laney Wilson's cover of Tom Petty's Refugee.

00:46:44.789 --> 00:46:47.909
This whole album is fantastic. I loved hearing.

00:46:48.670 --> 00:46:52.170
country artists take on Tom Petty songs. If you

00:46:52.170 --> 00:46:54.510
listen to the Wildflowers album and a lot of

00:46:54.510 --> 00:46:57.050
Tom Petty's music, there is some country woven

00:46:57.050 --> 00:47:00.610
into the fabric of what he makes musically. So

00:47:00.610 --> 00:47:03.550
this album was not a huge swing to me. I know

00:47:03.550 --> 00:47:07.309
it catches some flack online from Tom Petty purists

00:47:07.309 --> 00:47:09.949
who don't want to hear modern country artists

00:47:09.949 --> 00:47:14.900
do his music, but I'm sorry, I love it. I love

00:47:14.900 --> 00:47:16.900
it, love it, love it. I love this version so

00:47:16.900 --> 00:47:19.739
much. I had actually created at the early part

00:47:19.739 --> 00:47:23.820
of the summer, a bonus episode of the show called

00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:26.519
Under the Cover, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

00:47:26.519 --> 00:47:29.280
Refugee. And I break down seven different versions

00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:32.519
of Refugee. And this is one of them. So I'm not

00:47:32.519 --> 00:47:34.300
going to say anything else about this one other

00:47:34.300 --> 00:47:38.400
than it's Tom Petty, it's country, it's 2024.

00:47:39.239 --> 00:47:42.659
There's no way I wasn't including it. And Laney.

00:47:42.969 --> 00:47:46.650
and Wynonna together, Chef's Kiss. It is a great

00:47:46.650 --> 00:47:50.409
cover. It is so fun. I listened to it and was

00:47:50.409 --> 00:47:53.590
jamming in my car. I know I keep saying song

00:47:53.590 --> 00:47:55.789
of the summer. This also really makes me think

00:47:55.789 --> 00:47:57.750
of summer and just driving with the windows down

00:47:57.750 --> 00:48:01.150
and just screaming at the top of your lugs. It's

00:48:01.150 --> 00:48:04.760
such a fun song. The haters can just deal with

00:48:04.760 --> 00:48:07.400
it because I love when they take an artist and

00:48:07.400 --> 00:48:11.179
do like a cover album. They've done like an Elton

00:48:11.179 --> 00:48:13.460
John one in the country vein and they always

00:48:13.460 --> 00:48:15.780
turn out so fun. Like, sorry, you don't like

00:48:15.780 --> 00:48:19.239
fun. You want to hate on this album. I'm a cover

00:48:19.239 --> 00:48:22.039
song fanatic and I know some people are like,

00:48:22.139 --> 00:48:24.719
why? Just listen to the original. I just love

00:48:24.719 --> 00:48:29.099
hearing artists put their stamp. on another artist's

00:48:29.099 --> 00:48:31.659
song because I love the original. So if I love

00:48:31.659 --> 00:48:34.019
the original and I love the artist covering it,

00:48:34.119 --> 00:48:37.059
I really want to hear how they interpret what

00:48:37.059 --> 00:48:40.960
their vision of that song is. And this is a perfect

00:48:40.960 --> 00:48:43.500
example of that. Especially when they've been

00:48:43.500 --> 00:48:46.260
inspired by the artist they're covering and you

00:48:46.260 --> 00:48:48.780
can hear the influence in their music. Just a

00:48:48.780 --> 00:48:52.320
cool full circle moment. Amen. All right, we

00:48:52.320 --> 00:48:54.860
got a couple songs left. So what do you have

00:48:54.860 --> 00:48:57.489
next? We're bringing the vibe back up, and I

00:48:57.489 --> 00:49:00.210
think it's time for me to pull out my deep cut

00:49:00.210 --> 00:49:02.909
from maybe an artist that people have not heard

00:49:02.909 --> 00:49:05.809
before. I don't even know how I found them, but

00:49:05.809 --> 00:49:07.789
there is a pair of sisters out of Connecticut

00:49:07.789 --> 00:49:10.570
who perform under the name Presley and Taylor.

00:49:10.809 --> 00:49:14.010
That's their names. And they have a song called

00:49:14.010 --> 00:49:17.849
Never Not a Good Time that is, again, such a

00:49:17.849 --> 00:49:21.699
fun song. It's just talking about how... They're

00:49:21.699 --> 00:49:23.699
never not having a good time when they go out

00:49:23.699 --> 00:49:25.840
and hang out with their friends. And it just

00:49:25.840 --> 00:49:29.039
brings up memories of hanging out with friends.

00:49:29.119 --> 00:49:31.099
And there's certain people you hang out with

00:49:31.099 --> 00:49:33.940
that you never don't have a good time when you're

00:49:33.940 --> 00:49:37.599
together. And their voices, you know how siblings

00:49:37.599 --> 00:49:40.380
have that special kind of harmony that you can't

00:49:40.380 --> 00:49:42.800
achieve with other people? They have that throughout

00:49:42.800 --> 00:49:44.920
all of their songs. And they actually have a

00:49:44.920 --> 00:49:47.619
feature on this. Her name is Hayley Mae Campbell.

00:49:47.980 --> 00:49:50.989
And she adds this whole extra level too. their

00:49:50.989 --> 00:49:53.389
little harmonies that they do. Yeah, this sister

00:49:53.389 --> 00:49:56.829
duo could be a piece of the future of country

00:49:56.829 --> 00:50:00.250
music for 2025 and beyond. Hearing this song,

00:50:00.329 --> 00:50:05.389
I hear a 90s country pop fusing with modern sound.

00:50:05.489 --> 00:50:10.449
So if you took Shania Twain in the 90s, now when

00:50:10.449 --> 00:50:12.650
you add Hayley Mae Campbell into the mix, the

00:50:12.650 --> 00:50:17.869
Dixie Chicks of the 2000s and modern pop country.

00:50:18.440 --> 00:50:21.460
I think you get never not a good time. So I'm

00:50:21.460 --> 00:50:23.559
actually shocked this song didn't get bigger

00:50:23.559 --> 00:50:26.719
because it's a ridiculous earworm. It's really

00:50:26.719 --> 00:50:30.380
catchy. It's catchy as hell. And I'm going to

00:50:30.380 --> 00:50:33.519
keep this party vibe going and go with probably

00:50:33.519 --> 00:50:37.820
what I feel might be the most catchiest earworm

00:50:37.820 --> 00:50:41.480
of a song. Maybe it's because I was a fan of

00:50:41.480 --> 00:50:45.860
Jaquan's Tipsy in 2004. But we can't not talk

00:50:45.860 --> 00:50:48.380
about the fourth single from where I've been

00:50:48.380 --> 00:50:51.440
isn't where I'm going. It took four singles to

00:50:51.440 --> 00:50:56.019
get to a bar song, Tipsy by Shaboosie, a worldwide

00:50:56.019 --> 00:50:59.079
smash reaching number three on the Billboard

00:50:59.079 --> 00:51:02.679
Global 200. And it topped the charts number one

00:51:02.679 --> 00:51:07.340
in the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Norway,

00:51:07.800 --> 00:51:11.659
Belgium and Sweden. It was also a top 10 hit

00:51:11.659 --> 00:51:16.150
in six. other countries. It was also the longest

00:51:16.150 --> 00:51:19.730
running number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100

00:51:19.730 --> 00:51:25.030
in 2024. So regardless of if you like this song

00:51:25.030 --> 00:51:27.730
or not, if you're mad at the fact that they interpolated

00:51:27.730 --> 00:51:31.250
tipsy from hip hop to country, whatever your

00:51:31.250 --> 00:51:35.989
reasoning is, this song is unescapable on any

00:51:35.989 --> 00:51:39.650
chart this year. This song is everywhere. And

00:51:39.650 --> 00:51:42.230
there's a reason it's everywhere. 10 years from

00:51:42.230 --> 00:51:44.809
now, when I hear this song, it's going to remind

00:51:44.809 --> 00:51:49.630
me of 2024. So it has to make the list. I know

00:51:49.630 --> 00:51:52.429
it's an on -the -nose pick for my last song of

00:51:52.429 --> 00:51:54.909
the night, but you can't not acknowledge the

00:51:54.909 --> 00:51:57.690
biggest songs of the year. No, I think it's a

00:51:57.690 --> 00:52:02.289
great pick. It is such also an earworm, also

00:52:02.289 --> 00:52:04.050
really fun. I keep saying that for all these

00:52:04.050 --> 00:52:06.449
songs, but it was a good year for really fun

00:52:06.449 --> 00:52:10.670
songs. Okay. This one, I don't know if it's because

00:52:10.670 --> 00:52:12.929
I'm just in the South, but it plays on our local

00:52:12.929 --> 00:52:16.230
pop station and our country station and the hip

00:52:16.230 --> 00:52:19.590
hop station. So we don't have a lot of circulation

00:52:19.590 --> 00:52:22.530
going on, apparently, among stations. But it's

00:52:22.530 --> 00:52:24.309
another song that when it plays on the radio,

00:52:24.630 --> 00:52:27.090
I'm not trying to skip past it and find something

00:52:27.090 --> 00:52:28.889
else. I'm like, OK, we can listen to this. We

00:52:28.889 --> 00:52:30.710
can jam to this for a couple of minutes. It's

00:52:30.710 --> 00:52:34.170
everywhere. And it's a song of the year. Certainly

00:52:34.170 --> 00:52:37.510
is. And now you get to close us out. with the

00:52:37.510 --> 00:52:40.630
final song of the night that i cannot believe

00:52:40.630 --> 00:52:42.469
i've been holding out for this the entire time

00:52:42.469 --> 00:52:44.869
waiting for you to steal it from me so i'm glad

00:52:44.869 --> 00:52:48.030
that it made it to the final because i will see

00:52:48.030 --> 00:52:51.710
tipsy and raise you what i think is the biggest

00:52:51.710 --> 00:52:55.690
song of the year by an artist who has never released

00:52:55.690 --> 00:52:58.489
a country album until this year that's not post

00:52:58.489 --> 00:53:02.909
malone that is beyonce's texas hold 'em so you

00:53:02.909 --> 00:53:05.599
want to talk about a song That was everywhere.

00:53:05.800 --> 00:53:09.280
This was truly everywhere. Going back to TikTok,

00:53:09.579 --> 00:53:13.699
there were days that every other video was using

00:53:13.699 --> 00:53:16.199
this song. And it was for random stuff. It had

00:53:16.199 --> 00:53:18.460
nothing to do with Texas or Beyonce, or it wasn't

00:53:18.460 --> 00:53:21.260
even a dance like Dasha's song was. It was just

00:53:21.260 --> 00:53:25.340
that catchy. And Beyonce's album better get the

00:53:25.340 --> 00:53:28.820
awards that it deserves come award season because

00:53:28.820 --> 00:53:33.179
it is such a... Interesting take back of country

00:53:33.179 --> 00:53:35.780
music and the stuff that she does on it with

00:53:35.780 --> 00:53:39.780
her collaborations, with her interpolations,

00:53:39.780 --> 00:53:45.300
with her artwork. The album is phenomenal. It

00:53:45.300 --> 00:53:47.940
deserves the world. Beyonce knocked out of the

00:53:47.940 --> 00:53:50.840
park. Reach number one on the Billboard Global

00:53:50.840 --> 00:53:55.079
200, the Billboard US Hot 100 and Hot Country

00:53:55.079 --> 00:53:59.699
Songs chart, the Canadian Hot 100, the UK Singles

00:53:59.699 --> 00:54:02.699
chart, as well as topping the charts in Belgium,

00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:07.539
Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

00:54:07.760 --> 00:54:11.380
And a historical thing happened with both Tipsy

00:54:11.380 --> 00:54:14.940
by Shaboozy and Beyonce's Texas Hold 'em. It

00:54:14.940 --> 00:54:19.070
was the first time. In Billboard Hot Country

00:54:19.070 --> 00:54:23.030
Songs chart history, that two consecutive black

00:54:23.030 --> 00:54:26.150
artists held the number one position on that

00:54:26.150 --> 00:54:30.150
chart. So we get to close out tonight with two

00:54:30.150 --> 00:54:33.670
history making songs, as well as two amazing.

00:54:34.500 --> 00:54:36.860
songs that I'm sure are going to be talked about

00:54:36.860 --> 00:54:40.320
for years to come. And that, Mixtapers, concludes

00:54:40.320 --> 00:54:45.139
Side B of the Ultimate 2024 Country Music Mixtape,

00:54:45.159 --> 00:54:48.420
which consists of Nate Smith's Bulletproof featuring

00:54:48.420 --> 00:54:51.719
Avril Lavigne, Brothers Osbourne's Break Mine,

00:54:52.139 --> 00:54:54.860
Cameron Marlowe's High Hopes featuring Marcus

00:54:54.860 --> 00:54:58.920
King, Kacey Musgraves' Deeper Well, Jelly Roll's

00:54:58.920 --> 00:55:02.420
I Am Not Okay, Orville Peck, How Far Can We Take

00:55:02.420 --> 00:55:05.940
It featuring Noah Cyrus, Winona Judd's Refugee

00:55:05.940 --> 00:55:08.840
featuring Lainey Wilson, Presley and Taylor's

00:55:08.840 --> 00:55:11.320
Never Not a Good Time featuring Hayley Mae Campbell,

00:55:11.760 --> 00:55:15.820
Shaboosie's A Bar Song Tipsy, and Beyonce's Texas

00:55:15.820 --> 00:55:19.000
Hold 'em. Head over to myweeklymixtape .com to

00:55:19.000 --> 00:55:21.139
hear all the songs we've discussed in this mix

00:55:21.139 --> 00:55:24.000
through the playlist embedded on the episode

00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:26.960
page. Now, Leah, I know we've been talking a

00:55:26.960 --> 00:55:29.280
lot about country music tonight, but you have

00:55:29.280 --> 00:55:31.940
brought up the Struts. So why don't you let everybody

00:55:31.940 --> 00:55:34.800
know about the Struts Life podcast and where

00:55:34.800 --> 00:55:37.699
they could find the show? Yeah, the Struts Life

00:55:37.699 --> 00:55:41.099
podcast is an oral history of the band featuring

00:55:41.099 --> 00:55:44.639
me as your co -host and my other four co -hosts

00:55:44.639 --> 00:55:46.679
are the band themselves. And so at least one

00:55:46.679 --> 00:55:49.719
member joins us every week of the show to talk

00:55:49.719 --> 00:55:53.349
about. Past, present, future, likes, dislikes,

00:55:53.369 --> 00:55:55.710
hopes, dreams. We've got some cool stuff coming

00:55:55.710 --> 00:55:57.889
down the pipeline. There's a bunch of episodes

00:55:57.889 --> 00:56:00.630
out already. You can find it on thestruts .com.

00:56:00.889 --> 00:56:03.190
There's a link to all of your listening sites,

00:56:03.389 --> 00:56:05.829
wherever you listen to podcasts. Well, thank

00:56:05.829 --> 00:56:08.150
you so much for joining me tonight on My Weekly

00:56:08.150 --> 00:56:10.170
Mixtape. It's been a great time talking country

00:56:10.170 --> 00:56:12.530
music with you tonight. Thanks for having me.

00:56:12.840 --> 00:56:15.280
And remember, you can find my weekly mixtape

00:56:15.280 --> 00:56:18.400
on almost all the social media haunts at my weekly

00:56:18.400 --> 00:56:21.039
mixtape. You can also head to my weekly mixtape

00:56:21.039 --> 00:56:24.019
dot com to check out the full catalog of my weekly

00:56:24.019 --> 00:56:26.539
mixtape episodes. And finally, if you like what

00:56:26.539 --> 00:56:28.539
you're hearing on the show, you can help me out

00:56:28.539 --> 00:56:30.719
by either telling a friend, leaving the show

00:56:30.719 --> 00:56:32.599
a five star review wherever you're tuning in

00:56:32.599 --> 00:56:36.000
or becoming a Patreon mixtape or a Patreon dot

00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:39.639
com forward slash my weekly mixtape. There you

00:56:39.639 --> 00:56:42.239
can enjoy ad free episodes of the show. gain

00:56:42.239 --> 00:56:45.179
early access to upcoming episodes, chime in on

00:56:45.179 --> 00:56:48.199
future topics, become a guest curator, and so

00:56:48.199 --> 00:56:51.000
much more. That's all for this week. Thanks again

00:56:51.000 --> 00:56:53.539
for listening. And until next time, enjoy the

00:56:53.539 --> 00:56:53.800
tunes.