The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks,
The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and
spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."
I have a guilty pleasure. It's vile, it's crude and occasionally it objectifies women. It is county music videos.
Up until this last summer, I would have nothing to do with country music. I hated it, cursed it, said things like "oh I listen to everything but country."
Then a strange thing happened late one night. I was sick of infomercials and eager to watch something. I flicked over to CMT. A simple channel click turned into a closet obsession with pick-up trucks, dogs, drinking, women who drink and like pick-up trucks and cowboy hats.
There are two different kinds of country music videos: the ones that beg to be sung out loud as you smile from ear to ear and the ones that can make you cry like a little girl.
These videos always find a way to teach a lesson and usually evoke laughter.
The fun videos are currently being lead by Gretchen Wilson who wants all of us to know she is 'Here for the party.' Every cowboy's dream girl struts around her live video like a cat in heat. Wilson wears standard issue cowgirl jeans and a black top.
The crowd is clapping hysterically, women climb atop men≠s shoulders to get a view of Wilson as she sings about how much she likes to shoot 8-ball and drink Jack on the rocks. Like many freshman at SIU that have come and gone, Gretchen Wilson is definitely here to party.
Fun boy, boot in your rear, Toby Keith lives by a motto of what happens in (insert city) stays in (city). Keith's video called 'Stays in Mexico' is an ode to tequila-induced adultery.
The video starts with a pan of Keith lounging in a pool surrounded by beautiful women in G-string bathing suits. Sometimes country music videos come a close second to hip-hop videos for the number of booties on screen. He then unfolds a tale about Steve and Gina; to vacationers who drunkenly forget they are married. Steve tries to remember his wife but ends up settling for drinking and fornication.
I've always been against the "what happens here stays here," or "it is a different zip code" trains of thought, but this video is fun to watch and Keith keeps it entertaining. Even Nelly would be proud of the number of scantly clad women Keith has gathered here.
Bust out the tissue because Joe Nichols has created one of the most depressing videos of all time. Properly titled 'If nobody believed in you,' Nichols tugs on the heartstrings as a little boy steps to the plate with a 0-2 count. He strikes out looking worse than the Yankees after the Red Sox sent them packing. To top things off, the little boy's father chews him a new one.
The next scene shows an old man whose son yells at him because he is too old and senile to drive. Grandpa climbs into the passenger seat and will never drive again.
The saving grace from an all out tear jerking experience is Nichol's good looks. If I were a cowgirl, Nichol's long hair blowing in the wind and sad puppy dog eyes would have me creaming in my Wranglers.
Next time an infomercial on a machine that can do 50 different things to a potato drives you bonkers, click on over to a country music channel. Don't say I didn't warn you. These things are addictive and might even lead to country music in your car or on your computer.
Maybe country music videos will become your guilty pleasure too! Just remember, what happens in your room, stays in your room.
