Comments on: Q&A With Randy Houser, Singer of “Anything Goes”

By: sandie cassidy

sandie cassidy — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:44:46 +0000

Randy Houser is a very talented songwriter as well as a great country singer. My question to anyone is, Why does every song that a artist sings or writes has to have a reason? Why can’t it just be what it is, a good song ? The man has talent and personally I feel like ya’ll were making a mockery out of him. So why don’t ya’ll just sit back and relax with a Randy Houser cd or better yet go to one of his concerts like I did when he came to Mississippi and enjoy him for what he is—a true Ms. country artist—-Gulfport Mississippi Girl

By: Your Take: What Is Country Music? | The 9513

Your Take: What Is Country Music? | The 9513 — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:01:11 +0000

[...] artists on the spot during his interviews for The 9513 with a similar inquiry. Randy Houser had an interesting response: Country music is truth. Of all genres of music, country music is the one that’s not so much [...]

By: Nate

Nate — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:27:08 +0000

You should’ve asked him about that hat he’s wearing in the picture. Makes him look like he’s a brooding golfer.

By: Tristan

Tristan — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:02:49 +0000

I love this guy! I saw him on CMT last week. This song is depressing, but i agree, this is a great interview!

By: Patty

Patty — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:37:22 +0000

I love Randy Houser. His video for Anything Goes will be on CMT Power Picks tomorrow at 10 EST. Go vote for him so he can win. http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/cmt_power_picks/series.jhtml. Let’s hope he wins.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:54:47 +0000

Bottom line for me: the last question about what country music is…purely stated and a golden opportunity for other artists to follow that train of thinking. :) I am actually surprised by this artist since I never heard of him then, *bam* I instantly like him for Anything Goes. But Badonkadonk and Back that Thing Up makes me cringe as well…Guess he was just surviving on bad songs, while showcasing the great ones for himself. Probably a smart move after all: survival and appreciation.

By: Steve Harvey

Steve Harvey — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:01:58 +0000

Just to clarify: This ain’t the Cole Porter song, right?

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:59:59 +0000

I like both interviews and think they reveal different aspects about Randy and his music. Jim Malec seems to able to pull off more of a commando approach where Matt is more the gentleman, so its not surprising Jim digs deeper and gets more dirt!

Matt, that being said when does my crappy “guest review” of “Anything Goes” hit Roughstock along with the other 4 “volunteers”. I guess I should have condensed it to “Randy’s debut album left me disappointed…”. (lol)

Its time to get ready to go see Emily West perform live tonight at The Mint! WooHoo!

By: Matt B.

Matt B. — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:28:05 +0000

Well, I certainly didn’t want to make it a ‘war’ or any craziness like that. I just wanted some clarification on your first post and I got it. So, thank you for that.

However, I still do feel as if I got a similar answer about the polarizing aspect of the song, even if he added the thing about him possibly not having recorded the song. I wasn’t trying to get something like that out of him and to be honest, I don’t see how that’s really relevant to his artistry as all successful singer/songwriters write stuff they don’t see fitting their own personal musical tastes. Even Dylan is like that.

By: Matt C.

Matt C. — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:14:25 +0000

I don’t want this to turn into a “why Jim Malec is the best country music journalist on the internet” thread, especially if it comes at the expense of a head to head comparison with another talented blogger, but since you asked, I’ll respond.

No, I don’t think that you asked the same question, because in this case, the question is in how you ask it. You asked:

: Take me back to the day you heard that Trace had cut “Badonkadonk.” How did you feel about that one? And Randy talked about the thrill of hearing one of his songs on the radio.

So it was a watershed moment for you? Randy talks about how cool it is to buy a record with his song on it.

That song seems to have a polarizing effect on people, why do you think that is? Randy makes conjecture about what people think about his song and why they think it, without saying anything about what he thinks about the song.

And now you have “Back That Thing Up” out (a single for Justin Moore)… Randy says that it’s “a sort of theme.”

So really, I didn’t learn anything from that exchange.

Jim, conversely, asked two pointed questions in which I actually learned something about what Randy thinks about those two songs and how they relate to his view of artistry. I haven’t read any interviews with Randy other than those by The 9513, Roughstock, and Country Universe, but, I’d wager that of all the interviews that have been and will be published, Jim’s is the only one in which Randy says that “Badonkadonk” is not the kind of song he’d put out as an artist. That, and the answer to the follow-up question of “Are you proud of those songs?” are revealing statements, even if, as Razor suggested, they only muddle the situation even more.