Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
I’ve watched the movie Pearl Harbor starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and my celebrity crush Kate Beckinsale. Soundtrack, amazing. Cinematography, incredible. Japan was pretty annoying in that movie with the whole inconvenient bombing thing, but you know what, I’m still picking them as my favorite to win the women’s World Cup this year. I just can’t hold World War II against these ladies, I’m sorry!
Now that the U.S. women’s team is out (thanks to Sweden, and seriously… thanks), I will be rooting FOR Japan, instead of AGAINST the United States. Oh, don’t judge me! Half of America was hoping they lost, not because we dislike our own country but because one or a few of the players soured everything. No joy. No excitement. Just blue hair.
Let’s go, Japan! Also, if you’re reading this Kate, I’m still available. 😉
I didn’t know how much I’d enjoy watching the women’s World Cup but there are literally no other sports on that I could care about right now. I’m looking at you “baseball America’s past time” and you too, NASCAR. It was fun, though, to turn on the TV Thursday and totally by accident catch the first kickoff of the NFL season. It was only the Hall of Fame game (so kind of like the Pro Bowl… who cares) but it’s always a good feeling when football’s back, even if it’s just the start of preseason games and I’m not in a fantasy league yet.
That’s neither here nor there because I want to talk about fútbol. Soccer. There are two teams I’ve kind of latched on to during the women’s World Cup: Japan and any team playing against the United States.
#1 – Japan. They’re just fun to watch. Lots of talent, lots of scoring, lots of defense. They won their first game in the elimination rounds this morning with a score of 3-1. They play the winner of U.S. vs. Sweden which airs in about half a day, Sunday 5am Eastern. The women are smiling, happy, joyful. It’s so refreshing to watch a team in sync with each other and besides that, they’re very good.
#2 – Any team playing against United States. Yeah, I said it. I’ve come to terms with what seems to be such a conflict of interest. I live in the United States. I love my country. I love the diverse people here. But kind of like a tight-nit family who fights sometimes, the international stage of the World Cup isn’t the place to air our dirty laundry. Like stories you hear of brothers. They fight like mad at home but if someone outside the family starts a fight with one of the brothers, the other is there to stick up for him Hell or high water. How we present our country through the lens of the women’s soccer team matters and the women (seems like it’s mostly led by Megan Rapinoe, to be perfectly honest) give off an air of disdain for the country they’re representing. Entitlement. Arrogance. Like I said in this post, I wouldn’t hate for the team to be humbled.
Dang it! I didn’t mean to go on and on about that particular aspect of the World Cup. Moving right allllooooooong… some of the games are in the wee hours of the morning. I’ve watched a few at 3 or 4am. It feels weird. My body isn’t used to it and feels all squirmy as if we should be eating breakfast or sleeping; but I do neither. I kind of like it, though. Waking up when everyone else is asleep. Stars overhead. Quiet. Just the light of a TV illuminating my camper.
There’s a late game tonight (Saturday), 10pm, then the next game is the United States game against Sweden, Sunday 5am Eastern. The U.S. is favored, at least according to betting odds. But if you troll around the internet, you’ll probably encounter the opposite among soccer watchers. Sweden has a lot of people rooting for them… Swedes and Americans alike.
I didn’t expect to spend the day wondering, once again, what’s going on with country music but I watched HARDY’s music video for “TRUCK BED” and all I can do is wonder what’s going on with country music.
Whether you agree with the accompanying music videos or not, it’s encouraging that songs about small town justice (Jason Aldean) and forbidden love (Tyler Childers) were headlining country music news in the last few weeks. Traditional values juxtaposed with homosexual relationships, all within country music. Talk about a range of lyrics! You might have thought the era of ‘bro country’ was finally over but then Luke Bryan said, “Wait, hold my Two Lane.” Yep, Luke Bryan debuted a video for his song “But I Got A Beer In My Hand.” Catchy. Playful. Fun. Even if it’s a predictable country cliché. Check out the video and more of my thoughts about it here.
But it’s HARDY’s song and video that most reminds me of a hangnail that just won’t go away. Or when you have a thorn in your sock and can’t quite find it so every time you take a step it jabs your foot or your toe or your heel. The video shows a party with the guy who was so drunk his wife or girlfriend locked him out of the house all night. Is that really something to be celebrated? It’s a relic of ‘bro country’ that was played out years ago and, anyway, who thinks it’s cool to be so drunk you pass out in your front yard and wake up threatening birds in a nearby tree? That’s just embarrassing. As the video played I found myself annoyed, bored, and embarrassed for country music… yet again.
I rather hear those birds chirping their melodies than listen to this song ever again.
I did some searching to find out if I’m just being crabby. Has anyone else spoken up about NOT liking this song (all I could find in the YouTube comments were HARDY fans praising the song)? Thankfully, yes. This link below from Kyle’s Korner calls out the song in such clarity.
Is “Truck Bed” the dumbest song in country music? HARDY gets a pass on that because Brad Paisley released this song first. And I wouldn’t call the song dumb necessarily. It’s more like a “been there, done that” type of thing, to borrow an overused phrase from the 90s. Country music has got to get past the idea that it’s fun to sing about being so drunk that the person you care about the most (besides your narcissistic self, I guess) is so fed up that you’re no longer welcome in their presence. On top of that, you act like you don’t care? That’s the stuff alcoholics are made of, and that’s not fun or funny.
By now you might’ve heard the news about famous entertainer Lizzo. Her inner circle of dancers might (if they’re telling the whole truth) be peeling back layers of Lizzo we hadn’t seen before. You can Google it to find out more, I won’t be sharing the lewd details but I’ll say this, and this is the point of today’s post: What will companies that endorse her do? Will they drop her quietly, or not drop her at all? Will they make a public statement? Will they pretend everything is fine and keep their contract with her? The accusation is big enough to cause a major ripple effect in partnerships Lizzo has with national brands. The first one that comes to my mind is Instacart. Remember that commercial with Lizzo in a bathtub ordering way too much food for one person?
Honesty is the best policy. Is it socially acceptable now to say I don’t like Lizzo? I might be bananas, but current controversy aside, I’m not really onboard with idea that being fat is beautiful. That’s Rizzo’s biggest platform. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of bigger people who can be very attractive. It’s not the weight that bothers me, it’s the lifestyle and attitude. Fatness in itself isn’t beautiful but if a woman (or man) is eating healthy, working out, caring about their appearance, I love it. An overweight person can be beautiful inside and out but Lizzo hasn’t ever come across to me as someone who genuinely cares about her health or anyone else’s.
It’s similar to why I’m bothered by the old Meghan Trainor song, “All About That Base.” The lyrics claim every inch of a fat person’s body is perfect. Umm, no. Being overweight is called that for a reason. You’re bigger than you should be. it’s not good for your heart, your joints, your lungs. Meghan’s being encouraging, and I like that… but she’s not really encouraging the right thing. Why would we support someone who’s eating or lifestyle habits are slowly killing them? That’s just bananas.
Gaga Ooo La La. Totally unrelated… I’ve recently seen Lady Gaga in a commercial I wouldn’t have expected her in. She endorses headache medicine called Nurtec. Since when did someone who I generally think of as young and vibrant become the spokesperson for an industry usually aimed at older folks? Is she getting old? AM I GETTING OLD!?!?!
For all her oddness and crazy costumes over the years (has she ever dressed in a banana costume?), Lady Gaga appears to have a maturity that is respectable. Can’t say the same for Lizzo, especially if what she’s being accused of is true. This world is… bananas. 😉
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It’s kind of nice that a new country music video is out that *shouldn’t* cause any controversy. In the last few weeks there was Jason Aldean’s racist video and then the gay video from Tyler Childers. At worst, Luke Bryan’s song “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” might be called predictable or shallow (it opens with lyrics about how it’s not a stereotypical country song: a breakup, rearview mirrors, feeling blue, but then it goes on to be a stereotypical country song: beer, hollering at ladies, parties). That’s just a bit of irony, I guess. What’s not ironic is that in the video, the beer Luke holds in his hand is is own brand, Two Lane. Integrated marketing at its finest, folks. Here’s the video, the scroll down for more…
Fuss in Boots. My first question after hearing the song was what the heck is a Lucchese? Luke sings a line about deer stands and Lucchese so I looked it up. If you’re a diehard Luke fan or just love country music, don’t put up a fuss about me not knowing that Lucchese is a premium boot brand. I don’t wear boots. I have big feet and the few times I’ve tried them on made my feet look like they need their own zip code!
One Take Wonder. Luke takes advantage of a very skilled film crew to pull off a 3-minute long shot in this video. Very impressive with so much coordination from cast and crew. Other artists have done this before. Check out a few that came to mind in the videos below.
Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Anna Kendrick “Cup Song”
Randy Houser “Note To Self”
Country On. Although there’s a party going on, this is technically still a break-up song. Here are a few more playful break-up country songs along with the accompanying videos.
Brad Paisley “I’m Gonna Miss Her”
Dierks Bentley “Drunk On A Plane”
Eric Church “Cold One”
Miranda Lambert “White Liar”
Idol. Luke performed his song back a few months ago on American Idol…
Do you like the video from Luke? I think it is probably perfect timing for country fans who might want, or need, a break from the heavy subject matter in those other videos that came out recently.
Out of the Wilderness 