As they say, there's no accounting for taste:
(Jason) Aldean's encouraging, steady success can be partly attributed to his sound, which he describes as "kind of like Guns N' Roses meets Hank Jr. And George Strait's hangin' around at the party, too." (Aldean's own iPod currently hold tunes from Alabama, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Paramore, Jay-Z and Rihanna.)Fresh alternative? If you say so, Sparky. What I hear is little more than the other side of the worthless Nashville coin -- call it pretty-boy posturing, with "Johnny Cash" and "She's Country" being perfect examples of that. "Amarillo Sky" was comparatively decent, but anyone with more than just a rudimentary knowledge of American music knows that theme has been covered before.
It's a fitting phrase, and much of Aldean's catalog (Amarillo Sky, Johnny Cash, She's Country) is a fresh alternative to the pretty-boy sap and vague contemporary-Christian ideals that fill most country radio playlists. It's made him a bright spot in a slumping industry, and one of the few new-ish male country acts to keep pace with Swift, Underwood and Lady Antebellum.
Speaking of pretty-boy sap, though, as I was telling Sabra the other night, I don't know how the Grand Ole Opry hasn't disappeared in a ball of fire yet considering some of the "country" "artists" who have appeared on its stage. Jimmy Wayne? Man, what a joke. And not a very funny one.
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