Kellie Pickler – “Best Days of Your Life”
There’s a particular theme that runs through the core of Kellie Pickler’s music–it is often, when directed at members of the opposite sex, rather mean. “Best Days of Your Life,” co-written with BFF Taylor Swift, follows suit, and is, in fact, really quite vindictive; the song seems to exist for no other reason than to inflict emotional torment on the ex she’s singing to.
Pickler comes off sounding angry, spiteful, and jealous. And to what end? “Best Days of Your Life” is essentially four minutes of Pickler venting, unbridled and unartful. And whether that vent is or is not justified, the song is both topical and reactionary in that it shows not an ounce of creative exploration or ingenuity, nor an ounce of emotional depth or maturity. It isn’t funny, nor poignant, nor empowering. It is solely, and wholly, and unapologetically concerned only with expressing its fury.
When Pickler proclaims “You’ve already had the best days of your life,” she means it. But it’s not true. If this guy is really going to get married and start a family, as the song says, the best days of his life are clearly ahead of him.
And so, if it’s not meant literally, we have to ask the question: Is the singer wishing him ill? Is she hoping that he’s never happy? If we think about what this song really means, that’s it. At best it’s inaccurate and shortsighted. At worst, it’s downright nasty.
Or it means that the singer is completely delusional and honestly thinks she’s so profoundly special that this guy is never going to get over her.
Songs are powerful things, and I get the impression that Pickler and Swift took this idea and ran with it, never stopping to consider the broader emotional implications of what they were writing. And I have a feeling that most of their audience will not think about those things either.
That, after all, is the biggest problem with country music in 2008—very few people, be they songwriters or radio listeners, are doing any thinking. The music is all guttural, off-the-cuff, concerned only with immediacy.
Let’s hope “Best Days of Your Life,” which is all of the above, is not one of the best songs of Pickler’s career.
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November 18, 2008 at 8:24 am Permalink
call me crazy, but it sounds like the two girls were listening to some old-school bryan adams during the slumber party that they wrote this at…
November 18, 2008 at 9:45 am Permalink
Kelly, I think it’s more likely they were listening to Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” whose main hook they copied in making this song. Just transpose “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart” with “I’ll be there in the back of your mind.”
November 18, 2008 at 9:47 am Permalink
Dead-on review! That’s the problem with society as a whole nowadays, nobody thinks. It’s too much effort.
November 18, 2008 at 10:00 am Permalink
Dudley, you ar eon to somehting, but man, I couldnt help but hear “Summer of ‘69″ in there too…”those were the best days of my life…”
November 18, 2008 at 10:31 am Permalink
Dudley–that’s exactly what I thought when I listened to the song. Well, the first ten seconds, anyway, before I turned it off and put it in the “NO” pile.
November 18, 2008 at 11:09 am Permalink
Kellie has obviously decided that she wants to tap into Taylor Swift’s fan base and score some big album sales numbers off the screamin’ teenies demographic. Thus it is not surprising that the emotional maturity level of this song fits in perfectly with Taylor’s army of tween followers. To really score bonus points the name of Joe Jonas should have been included in the song title in parentheses.
Kellie does not have a very strong voice but when properly applied it can be serviceable, such as on “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind”. Kellie will always be a second tier artist, and if not for American Idol I don’t think she ever would have wound up signed to a major Nashville label.
“T”, I wish you were the program director at KKGO “GO Country” FM out here in LA that seems to specifically target the Disney Channel audience. Because of the Taylor Swift connection I expect this single to be this week’s “add” song as they typically only add one new song per week to the playlist.
November 18, 2008 at 1:35 pm Permalink
“That, after all, is the biggest problem with country music in 2008—very few people, be they songwriters or radio listeners, are doing any thinking. The music is all guttural, off-the-cuff, concerned only with immediacy.”
I agree. But this question came mind after reading that statement: In reality isn’t the generation who would listen to Pickler just “guttural, off-the-cuff, concerned only with immediacy”? I find that a great many county listeners( not all) lack a finer sense of manners, depth, or discovery. How else would can one explain the fan base of Rascal ” Bob That Head” Flatts or Kenny ” Let’s Get Drunk in Sand” Chesney. So it would seem that these types of songs are really showing us an aspect of the culture at hand. Just as music always does. Maybe regret is wrong. Maybe country music is the way it is because the listeners want it that way; because it speaks to who they really are. If Pickler’s song is “nasty” maybe her fan base is nasty too. Maybe Luke Bryan’s fans really believe that driving in trucks makes them better men.
I too miss the simple poetry of Dolly and Hank. I miss the raw rough ride of George Jones, and the warm truth of Miss Lynn. I wish that Willie, Waylon, and Cash were still chart toppers. I miss the look of real people singing real songs. I hate the video look: too much makeup, muscle trucks, and cross- wearing in just the right place( as a Christian I am offended that anyone would wear a cross in such a blatant way as to think that I would connect with them by just having that look). Meanwhile Picker’s song may be more a reflection of the times we live in than just a cheap, crude way to get a hit.( sorry I was so long winded)
November 18, 2008 at 2:08 pm Permalink
Maybe Kellie’s boyfriend wouldn’t let her drive his truck. You know how that angers these blonde bimbos…
November 18, 2008 at 2:21 pm Permalink
Obviously she thinks this song will be her “Before He Cheats.” Unfortunately for her, it won’t.
November 18, 2008 at 2:22 pm Permalink
BTW, does anyone else think that Pickler resembles Mindy McCready in her younger days?
November 18, 2008 at 4:39 pm Permalink
Alternative interpretation: Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler really do believe that no man could be happier with any other woman than with one of them. I do think that this arrogance is manifest in especially Taylor’s music. And frankly, if Kellie agreed never to change out of her leather one-piece, I think there’s a lot of truth to this lyric.
November 18, 2008 at 5:50 pm Permalink
Well, I listened without reading the review or the comments, and in a nutshell I’d say the chorus melody was catchy and the vocals were ok on the chorus. The rest of the song varied between bland and just downright boring.
November 18, 2008 at 7:46 pm Permalink
This song was pretty much intolerable at the CMAs, when I at least had the distraction of Kellie Pickler wearing about 6 square inches of leather. There’s no way I could stomach this song on the radio with no visual aids.
November 18, 2008 at 8:04 pm Permalink
Am I the only one who doesn’t find Pickler particularly hot?
November 18, 2008 at 8:06 pm Permalink
Yes.
November 18, 2008 at 8:06 pm Permalink
Steve Harvey: Yes, you must be.
November 19, 2008 at 12:36 pm Permalink
I don’t think she’s that hot either. She’s easy on the eyes, but I think one of the only things blander than her is Phil Stacey’s voice.
November 19, 2008 at 12:49 pm Permalink
I think Slant Magazine’s album review hit the nail on the head–Kelli came along 30 years too late and missed her calling on the show Hee Haw.
http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1530
November 19, 2008 at 2:23 pm Permalink
This reminds me of a Dolly Parton song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVvNYauabL0
November 26, 2008 at 6:06 pm Permalink
Unlike most of you, I like this song. Jim Malec, I think you are looking too in depth to this song. It’s about a break up…she isn’t wishing a disease on any guy!
November 26, 2008 at 6:21 pm Permalink
@Holly: I love this song too :)
March 7, 2009 at 8:50 am Permalink
I couldn’t agree more with this review.
March 7, 2009 at 9:13 am Permalink
This song SUCKS!!!
March 14, 2009 at 4:21 pm Permalink
I love this song..
March 18, 2009 at 4:11 pm Permalink
umm i agree with holly(kay and nicolas too) this is a great song that you’re taking way too out of context and its just about breakup and girl power. gosh way to try to ruin her
March 23, 2009 at 10:54 pm Permalink
Kellie herself said this is a true song. She calls the guy a pig and even in a recent interview an asshole. Unlike Before He Cheats, Kellie is all over the place saying this is based on a true story, but from what I am told living in albemarle,Kellie and the boy broke up in Nov.2006 and he did not start dating the new girl until Feb.2007. It is even documented on several interviews and on one of Kellies bios that they broke up in Nov.2006. Plus the guy and his fiance did not have their baby until 2008. So how true is the story??? And like stated earlier I am sure the best days are ahead with the birth of a child.
March 27, 2009 at 10:12 pm Permalink
The same guy she calls a pig defended her in star magazine when everyone was calling her fake on AI. Look how she repays him. I believe the story behind the song is only “TRUE” in Kellies made-up to sell songs world. Because,omg, how could anyone fall in love with another girl thats not famous.
March 28, 2009 at 8:37 pm Permalink
Actually, to be truthful, the song is not really a bad song, it’s just not a great song. It’s too pop for me. Kellie needs to get back to her country roots, and let go of that pop stuff.
March 28, 2009 at 8:46 pm Permalink
Kellie has country roots???
May 11, 2009 at 7:21 pm Permalink
In the sense that she was born in a country.
May 24, 2009 at 10:56 pm Permalink
i love the song
August 4, 2009 at 3:53 pm Permalink
omg I love this song I am singing it for a talent show I just need the music of it
August 17, 2009 at 3:46 am Permalink
Kellie Pickler scored another BIG FAT hit with a song that resonates with everyone.
August 17, 2009 at 7:53 am Permalink
Not everyone. It didn’t resonate with me.
August 17, 2009 at 9:27 am Permalink
The only thing this song resonates for me is how bad it is.
September 13, 2009 at 12:41 pm Permalink
It’s terrible. One of the worst on country radio.
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