Billy Currington – “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer”

I remember being bored rigid by this at CMA Fest, especially coming straight after ‘People Are Crazy’. Yeah, you like beer. We get it.

It’s pretty lightweight, but it’s the first song in awhile that I’ve liked of his.

Can someone refresh my memories as to songs written by Hemingway or Longfellow?

I actually like this song in spite of myself. Instead of the usual happy-crappy, where the singer saves all his beer-drinking for Saturday night and spends the rest of the week proudly pumping out septic tanks, driving the kids around, doing housework for his wife, and going to church, it’s refreshing to have a lazy tune about being a shiftless drunk.

Did anybody else think Karlie was referring to actual songs written by Hemingway and Longfellow? Hey, Jon, both those guys were prolific songwriters–they just didn’t have the label backing to make it up the charts. Dope!

Hey, as long as The9513′s reviewers keep confusing song lyrics with poems and short stories and novels and songwriters with poets and short story writers and novelists, I’m going to keep pointing it out. At least Kelly’s got the right kind of comparand in mind!

Trish, an obvious Billy Currington crazed fangurl, wrote:
“Country Radio seems to love this song a lot more than people on this site. The song is absolutely flying up the charts (top 20) in a couple weeks. I’ve also heard several DJ’s talking how much they love this song.”

Trish, that’s because you’re talking about “Top 40 Airhead Country Radio” staffed by airheads playing music for airheads. Billy’s new song is about as airheaded as it can get, so its a perfect match! The contributors to The 9513 are definitely not airheads and can thereby be more objective about the sonic tripe that dominates the Top 40 country airwaves. This isn’t rocket science after all…

“…there’s no rule that states a worthwhile country song must follow in the footsteps of Hemingway or Longfellow…”

QED, Brady, QED. If one were to write that there’s no rule that states a worthwhile country song must follow in the footsteps of Palestrina or Ravi Shankar, the inappropriateness of the comparison would be obvious.

People who write about music are pretty much writers (d’oh), and have a natural tendency to focus more on what they know and can relate to (writing words), and less on what they don’t know and can’t relate to (writing music); nevertheless, since songs – especially country songs – are almost always written as words and music together, at the same time, it’s a tendency that ought to be resisted,. Refraining from misleading and inappropriate comparisons – and since, as Kelly grasps, there are other songs available, unnecessary ones at that – is a good place to start.

…simple theme, simple production, simple delivery – difficult to come up with an ecstatic review. never mind, i quite enjoy it for what it is.

LMAO@Stephanie!!

OK, Karlie, but FWIW, I totally did not get a particular emphasis on narrative in the comparison – maybe because so many country songs really don’t have much of one (which is why the term “story song” has any kind of utility at all).

If nothing else, this song is great for a beer commercial.

Anyway, I think it’s best to look past the personality of the artist as a person in this song, and find the message the person as an artist is trying to convey. He’ basically saying that guys are usually only good at one thing…and he’s good at drinking beer and doing nothing. As for me and what I’m good at…I’m still trying to figure that out. Writing long winded comments that nobody understands but myself comes to mind though. Perhaps I should start drinking beer instead. LOL

I actually do relate to this song Michelle. And I don’t even drink beer. It’s all in the way my thought process works, and how I listen to music. I’d love to explain it, but I already have tried that. LOL

I do not. I’ve been saying the same things for the past two years. But you have to remember, I go from the objective to the subjective with my thinking. Not the subjective to the the objective.

How do I relate to this song?…I do so by not focusing on who Billy Currington is as a person and his personality and focusing on what the overall meaning of the song is and the message he is trying to convey as an artist. Most of the time that is impossible in today’s music because the personality of the artist as a person is defining the music rather than the music is defining the personality of the person as an artist. So any feelings I receive from those songs feel like they are somebody else’s and not my own.

Michelle: This song is sung by a boy.

@Stormy…I do believe that I related to Kristy Lee Cook’s song “15 Minutes Of Shame” just fine…and you did not. It all has to do with objective vs. subjective thinking and the tangible vs. intangible. I relate to many songs sung by women…but not most of today’s female artists for reasons I’ve already mentioned.

And Michelle, I explained it in my first post. Don’t focus on the fact that the artist as a person is pretty good at drinkin’ beer. Focus on the fact that the person as an artist is not built for doing other things…because most guys are only really pretty good at doing one thing. That’s what he’s trying to say in the song. And that is the message the song is trying to convey. So of course I can relate to it, because I’m a guy I suppose…but I’m sure a lot of women would say the same thing.

Phil, then how can I like this song(which I do)? If you was me, then there’s no way you could like this song, right? Like I’ve said before, it sounds more like a personal problem.

I think that you HAVE to relate to a song to like it. Am I right? Please tell me I’m right, because I think I’ve figured you out. I don’t have to relate to a song to like it.

So now you have to relate to the singer? That makes no sense when that’s been your biggest complaint. “I shouldn’t have to relate to the singer, but the song.” I give up!!

Fave artist. What’s your point, Phil?

I’d give this a 5.5 on a 10 point scale – meaning it’s mediocre fluff but not gruesome listening. I can see where some people would like the song

“Radio won’t give a song this much play unless it’s liked by fans …” Which brings up something i’ve noticed about people who listen mainly to “hot country” radio: I never hear them say they like a song until it’s getting played every hour. Isn’t it supposed to work the other way around/ People like a song and push it up the charts, rather than a song being jammed down their throats until they decide, “Oh … I like that! It’s on the radio all the time, it MUST be good!”

I can agree with that, but I don’t mind talking to people about what we both like and don’t like. What gets me is when people like something … but don’t really have a reason why. “I like this song!” “Yeah, why? What’d you like about it?” “I dunno, I just like it.” Or, “Because it’s [insert name of artist], he rocks!”

As for “It’s in the top 15!” people use those kinds of numbers when it suits them. If the song didn’t get played outside of overnights in Butt-Lint Oklahoma, Trish would just say, “Well, radio play/record sales don’t mean anything, it just shows how dumb the masses are.” That’s IF she still liked the song without the Nashville machine telling her to.

So, Phil, you would rather listen to songs by some unknown artist covering your favorite artists songs than to listen to songs by your favorite artist that you’ve never heard(think 70s, Phil). This crap that I expect others to like what I do is bs! Like I’ve told you before, paranoia will destroy ya!

No Michelle…I’d rather listen to my favorite artist sing songs I’ve never heard before. I might like to hear the songs by my favorite artist covered by another artist, but then I’ll remember why I liked the original by my favorite artist to begin with and go back to listening to them.

And I’m sorry if you took offense to what I wrote…but you seemed to be saying that I should like something just because I relate to a song based off of your subjective thoughts. And I was trying to show why that is not necessarily the case…it’s all about whether or not I connect with the person as an artist on a personal level to get to my subjective feelings…not whether I connect with the artist as a person on a personal level to get to my objective thoughts (which seems to be what today’s music is all about, because as you can see those thoughts and feelings I receive from the song would seem like somebody else’s and not my own). And again, that is my own interpretation of how I hear much of today’s music. The feeling is defining the thought rather than the thought is defining the feeling.

Can’t really argue with the review, but I also can’t help but like this song. Simple works for me here… very catchy production/riff, fun vibe, no chest-pounding, and a drinking song hook that’s at least halfway funny/clever (vs. Backwoods, She’s Country, etc).

Plus I like the chorus melody, you don’t hear a lot of same-chord major to minor progressions in our artist-writer era…

Sorry, that is align in the second to last paragraph in case I get called on spelling.

Billy’s song is now up to #11 and is a huge smash hit!

Really Billy you um like beer, hell I couldnt tell. This song is a good redneck chill song has an awesome country feel to it of course just plain and simple good on ya Billy I like it.