Uh oh…John’s venturing back into Country territory again.
One of the most talked-about songs at Country radio right now is John Rich’s “Shuttin’ Down Detroit”, which tells a tale of the fat cats in the Motor City driving off with the livelihood of the folks who work in their factories. You know, noble idea to document a real-life situation in real time. However, Rich decides to wrap himself in some pretty lame cliches, and the result is an overblown, lowest common denominator track that misses any sense of balance whatsoever. But if you think that sounds lame, try watching the video.
Did you watch it? If you didn’t, good for you. It’s crap. On the same day that the guy with 32 years seniority at an auto plant gets laid off (like that’s gonna happen with unions), he also gets a foreclosure notice. Sorry…sledgehammers have slightly more subtle delivery methods than this self-important video. So the guy who wrote an ode to John McCain and compared gay marriage to incest gets a buzz track. Good for him. But karma’s a bitch…his “hit” stalled at #12 for a few weeks, and is now losing airplay. Songs that get that high on the country chart almost ALWAYS make the Top 10.
Good – The Ting Tings appear to be getting that long-promised breakthrough, as “That’s Not My Name” breaks into the pop radio Top 40 (#39 at the moment). “Shut Up and Let Me Go” also made the Top 40, although just barely. Let’s hope “Name” has a little more momentum to make it happen. If all goes well, I will be seeing them live at the beginning of April here in Denver.
Good – I’m looking forward to upcoming new releases from the Pet Shop Boys (just pre-ordered the double disc at 
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