Thursday, April 9, 2020 — 5
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MCA NASHVILLE
MUSIC REVIEW
If you were a country music fan in 2014,
you either loved, or loved to hate, Sam Hunt.
His unabashed devotion to mashing R&B
into country music and his clean cut, city-boy
image made for scathing fan debate fodder.
Whether you sang along to his clever twists
of phrasing out loud or under your breath,
Hunt’s music was unavoidable. Nearly every
track on his debut album Montevallo became
a hit. Then, for the most part, he disappeared.
Hunt’s
return
with
his sophomore effort
Southside
finds
him
with some explaining
to do and with the
potential
to
become
even more divisive.
Despite
having
nearly six years to put
it together, Southside
is
incredibly
messy.
Following up a massive
success
is
tricky
enough, and Hunt’s lack
of commitment to any
particular
direction
only exacerbates the
problem. The result is a Frankenstein’s
monster of an album. Not only are there
chunks of country, pop and R&B, but songs
released in years past have been haphazardly
sewn onto the body of work as well. The
project is falling apart at the seams; Southside
feels like it’s trying to separate into two
different albums.
The album opener “2016” is promisingly
subdued. Hunt retraces the choices he made
that year, now wishing he could “put the
whiskey back in the bottle / put the smoke
back in the joint” and devote all of 2016 to his
longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend (now
wife), Hannah. It’s refreshing. Hunt swaps
his cool guy persona and heavy reliance
on hip-hop beats for an honest, apologetic
country sound. Logistically, “2016” is a
useful explanation for why Southside took so
long. Hunt has struggled a lot with fame and
preserving his relationship — experiences
that should amount to a substantive album.
That’s why the next track and current
single “Hard to Forget”
is such a let down. It’s
irritatingly
catchy
radio candy. Listening
through
the
album,
one
can’t
help
but
feel duped. For every
glimmer of hope that a
mature and grounded
Sam Hunt will emerge,
there’s a song like the
patronizing “That Ain’t
Beautiful” that dashes
it. The potential for a
self-aware,
growth-
centered album peeks
through in Southside,
but so does an album that’s merely trying to
replicate his earlier Montevallo — and Hunt’s
indecision leaves him with neither.
One throughline in Southside is that
country fans’ genre quarrels have clearly
gotten
under
Hunt’s
skin.
Traditional
country instrumentation has been lathered
over top of this R&B-driven record a bit
unevenly. On the tail end of the otherwise
pop heavy “Young Once,” the listener catches
a fiddle solo. “Hard to Forget” samples the
1953 country song “There Stands the Glass”
by Webb Pierce. “Let It Down” pulls off
the country R&B combination best. Hunt
talk-raps until the chorus bursts into a
recognizably country riff complete with
pedal steel, dobro and banjo.
For all of Southside’s identity crises, the
album’s biggest head-scratcher is its inclusion
of the track “Body Like a Back Road,”
which was a hit two years ago. Alongside
“Downtown’s Dead,” another single from
2018, these tracks feel like zombies on a
project that’s supposed to breathe new life
into Hunt’s artistry. That’s why “Breaking
Up Was Easy in the 90’s” elicits a sigh of
relief. The social media savvy break up
anthem confirms that Hunt still has it. “It”
being the ability to smooth-talk his way into
an infectious just-barely-country song.
The only forgivable inclusion of an old
Hunt song is the album closer “Drinkin’
Too Much.” Like “2016,” this song has
shock-value. “I’m sorry I named the album
Montevallo,” Hunt confesses, Montevallo
being the name of his wife’s hometown. He
goes on to detail their rocky relationship,
then calls her out by name, even though he
acknowledges that she wants her privacy. It’s
painful and raw and unfair. Still, “Drinkin’
Too Much” holds the key to why Hunt’s
country rap experiment worked in the first
place — the genres intersect in brutally
honest storytelling.
With Southside, Hunt holds onto his
titles: the first mainstream country rapper,
the most controversial artist in Nashville
and, yes, the “Drake of country music.” But
he’s sloppy about it. Hopefully it won’t take
another six years for him to get a little more
vulnerable.
Sam Hunt’s ‘Southside’ is a monster of an album
KATIE BEEKMAN
Daily Arts Writer
FILM NOTEBOOK
Revisiting Hollywood and Bollywood, side by side
SABRIYA IMAMI
Daily Arts Writer
I grew up watching Bollywood movies. I sang the
songs even though I didn’t know what I was saying,
I did the dances despite the fact that I couldn’t (and
still can’t) dance and I watched the stories unfold
onscreen, enthralled by the colors, the music and the
beauty. It wasn’t until I was older, maybe a teenager,
when my mom burst my naive childhood perception
of Bollywood by saying: “You know these are all
copies of American movies, right?” No. I did not
know that. However, once I came to that realization
and began watching some of those American movies,
I was shocked by how similar they were. I decided
to rewatch some of these Hollywood and Bollywood
pairings to compare them and see just how similar
they were once placed side by side.
“Hitch” (2005) and “Partner” (2007)
“Partner” is by far the most obvious remake of
its Hollywood counterpart, “Hitch.” Both feature
a “cool guy” who fixes up a “not-so-cool guy” with
the girl of his dreams even though she’s way out
of his league, while simultaneously falling in love
himself. I mean, there are some scenes that are
exact recreations of the original: the boardroom
scene, the whistling scene, even the scene where
Albert (Kevin James, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”) sprays
water on his pants is exactly copied in “Partner”
when the same thing happens to Bhaskar (Govinda,
“Happy Ending”). The two films are so similar that
the creators of “Hitch” may have threatened suit
against the creators of “Partner.”
There are some differences though, I’ll admit.
For example, I don’t recall a five-minute segment of
a missile chasing Alex (Will Smith, “Men in Black”)
on a jet ski in “Hitch,” do you? Well, that did happen
to Prem (Salman Khan, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”) in
“Partner.” There also isn’t a mob boss who’s after
Sara (Eva Mendes, “The Other Guys”) in “Hitch,”
though there is one after Naina (Lara Dutta, “Don
2”). Despite the shocking similarities — and some
glaring differences — “Partner” is much less refined
than “Hitch.” Salman Khan cringily swaggers
as a “love guru,” whereas Will Smith confidently
strides in his role of the “date doctor.” Kevin James
thoughtfully pauses in his character’s attempt to
win over Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta, “Gamer”),
but Govinda thoughtlessly obsesses in his pursuit of
Priya Jaisingh (Katrina Kaif, “Dhoom 3”).
The characters in “Partner” feel like caricatures
compared to their more mature and believable
Hollywood counterparts. The whole film is a little
ridiculous, complete with awful special effects and
scenes that leave you in jaw-dropped horror due
to the sheer awkwardness unfolding on screen.
However, I’ll admit: It’s hilarious.
“When Harry Met Sally” (1989) and “Hum
Tum” (“Me and You,” 2004)
I know that there’s a Bollywood movie called
“When Harry Met Sejal” that is a more obvious
remake of the classic rom-com “When Harry Met
Sally,” but “Hum Tum” is definitely the original
remake. Similar to “When Harry Met Sally,” “Hum
Tum” follows two characters who run into each
other many times over the course of their lives
until they fall in love. Not surprising in Bollywood,
though, “Hum Tum” is much more unnecessarily
dramatic than “When Harry Met Sally.” There
were even parts of “Hum Tum” that my mom used
to skip because she thought it would be too sad for
us to watch. Another difference between the two
films is that “Hum Tum” has a cartoon aspect in
it; Karan’s (Saif Ali Khan, “Kal Ho Naa Ho”) comic
book characters Hum and Tum fight and debate
often on whether or not girls and boys can be just
friends, which is of course, a common topic for
debate in “When Harry Met Sally.”
The relationship between Rhea (Rani Mukerji,
“Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”) and Karan is a little more
chaotic than Harry (Billy Crystal, “Forget Paris”)
and Sally’s (Meg Ryan, “Sleepless in Seattle”), too.
They “meet” more times and face more difficulties
than their Hollywood versions because they don’t
become friends for a while. And when they do
become friends, Karan tries to set Rhea up with one
of his friends, not realizing that she likes him. All in
all, it is very dramatic. I won’t lie, though: Maybe it’s
because I watched “Hum Tum” before I watched
“When Harry Met Sally,” or maybe it’s because
“Hum Tum” has some really great songs, but I like
“Hum Tum” more. That might be blasphemous to
Hollywood traditionalists, but I honestly don’t care.
“John Tucker Must Die” (2006) and “Ladies
vs. Ricky Bahl” (2011)
“John Tucker Must Die” is probably one of
the best examples of a cliche high school rom-
com. There’s a basketball star, a cheerleader, a shy
nobody … basically all the essentials. “Ladies vs.
Ricky Bahl” isn’t quite like that, I’ll admit, but there
are some huge similarities, the most prominent
being that there are three girls who team up and
recruit a fourth girl to get revenge on a guy. The
biggest difference, though? In “John Tucker Must
Die,” the male protagonist is a high school playboy,
and in “Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl” the guy is a high-
stakes conman. So in “John Tucker,” the girls
want revenge on John (Jesse Metcalfe, “Christmas
Under the Stars”) because he was cheating on all
three of them at the same time, but in “Ricky Bahl”
the girls want to con Ricky to get their money back
from him.
These movies aren’t the exact same — that’s
clear. But the endings of the films are probably
what set them apart the most. “John Tucker” ends
with Kate (Brittany Snow, “Pitch Perfect”) parting
somewhat amicably with John Tucker and moving
on to a different love interest, whereas “Ricky Bahl”
closes with Ishika (Anushka Sharma, “Band Baja
Baaraat”) and Ricky (Ranveer Singh, “Band Baja
Baaraat”) beginning a genuine, con-free romantic
relationship. These movies may be pretty different,
but they’re similar enough that it’s hard not to draw
comparisons between them. However, I’ll admit:
“John Tucker Must Die” has that iconic rom com
appeal which makes it a little more enjoyable and
lighthearted than “Ricky Bahl.”
“Dead
Poets
Society”
(1989)
and
“Mohabbatein” (“Love Stories,” 2000)
When I found out that people compared “Dead
Poets Society” and “Mohabbatein,” I wasn’t sure
that I agreed. After watching the films, I’m still
not totally sure that I do. However, there are some
obvious similarities that you can’t ignore. In both
films, there is a teacher who has unconventional
ideas and changes the lives of his students by
teaching them to defy conformity. In “Dead
Poets Society,” Mr. Keating (Robin Williams,
“Mrs. Doubtfire”) teaches his students about
individuality through literature and poetry … but
in true Bollywood fashion, Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh
Khan, “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”) teaches his
students about individuality through music and
love. That isn’t entirely surprising, given the fact
that the title “Mohabbatein” literally means “love
stories.” “Dead Poets Society” is an incredible,
meaningful film that has you sobbing by the end,
but “Mohabbatein” is not even close to that. It’s
three and a half hours of cheesy, forced love stories
and very few good songs, which is what really
makes it a Bollywood disappointment to me.
‘Southside’
Sam Hunt
MCA Nashville Records
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