"Kick My Ass" by Big and Rich from the album Horse of a Different Color. 2004.
Country music itself gets to sparking two camps of thought: the haters and the revelers. Wind the topic down to that certain inspired typecast, and the battle intensifies. You know which exact typecast I mean. The kind of country song that would be called an internet troll if magically personified into a forum. The artist seems to purposely pull out all the cheesy tricks of the "backwoods" style to either satire him/herself and the standards, fulfill the diehards' fantasy, or send the nonbelievers running (usually with flaming pitchforks). A few examples that everyone seems to know and make fun of, lovingly or otherwise, include "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy", and "All My Ex's Live in Texas". And of course who could forget "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by the featured Big and Rich? (Let's not get into that terrible music video's parade master, the county rap- or rather, uh.. "hick-hop" disciple Cowboy Troy, okay?) The way I see it: these songs are fun, so long as they they don't take themselves seriously. Just jokey sing-alongs lacking depth. Songs for the sake of songs. Not every tune in the music collection has to have personal meaning, or inspire internal dialogues on the human condition. Which is why you shouldn't kick my ass for picking "Kick My Ass" this week (har-dee-har-dee-har).
