If I can get excited about the country group Lady Antebellum crossing over to pop with "Need You Now"--with its catchy chorus, "I'm a little drunk and I need you now"-- maybe I'm just wishing things were a little more harsh and real in contemporary music.
Perhaps "Need You Now" is a really fine record, not fabulous.
Let's face it: In this era of The Fray (with Isaac Slade's mush-mouthed vocals) or Rascal Flatts' wimpy cover of Tom Cochran's "Life Is a Highway," or do-gooder media like "The John Tesh Radio Show," there's a real vacuum when it comes to popular culture that should be authentic and thought-provoking. Bring back The Roar!
The "Roar" these days is pretty much the indiscretions of famous people as retold in the pathetic press. It might be a kind of silly for a little punk like me, who hasn't had too much to drink since 1982, to be cheering for Lady Antebellum, but I'm desperately searching for something more honest than what we've been getting lately.
Radio edits for "Need You Now" may have already started--maybe The Man has
stepped in and ordered radio to play a version that says, "I'm a little lost and I need you now." I hope not. While I don't advocate getting messed up, even if you're not behind the wheel, popular music should deal with everyday life and stop reaching for the
"censor" button.
For any of you with roots in the Detroit/Windsor area, don't forget the edit that CKLW did of Alice Cooper's "Caught In a Dream" back in 1971: "What I thought was heaven turned out to be well." I kid you not.