Driving home this evening
Could’ve sworn we had it all worked out

How does that cut?  LIKE A KNIFE!

I heard on Highway 16 that Kenny Chesney had his own XM radio station, up on channel 18.  I dialed in, and I heard Dave Matthews’ "Where Are You Going", Little River Band’s "Cool Change" and "Cuts Like A Knife".

Kenny’s got a new album coming out.  The old one is done, it’s been put to rest, the tour’s almost over, time to start the cycle once again.  Kenny’s not worried about reaching the rap fans, those with no cash in third world countries, just his fans.  Fans want more music.  He’s delivering that, year after year.

And that’s what featured mostly on No Shoes Radio.  Kenny Chesney tracks.  Deep cuts, stuff I’ve never heard, like "There’s Something Sexy About The Rain", from his 2005 album "Be As You Are (Songs From An Old Blue Chair)", from back when I thought country music was for hicks, from before I was a fan.

But country music is today’s rock and roll.  If you can’t understand what’s on Top Forty radio, just nudge the dial up a bit to country, if you can find a station!

But there’s a plethora of stations on satellite radio.  Both hip and  mainstream.  Sans commercials.  You can push the buttons and delve, and get hooked.

I got hooked on Kenny’s "Never Wanted Nothing More".  There’s a big rock change at the end that’s only a fraction of the song but I have to listen to the cut all the way through to hear it, again and again.

And then I heard my favorite Kenny Chesney cut, "I Go Back".

‘Jack and Diane’ painted a picture of my life and my dreams
Suddenly this crazy world made more sense to me
Well I heard it today and I couldn’t help but sing along
Cause every time I hear that song…

I GO BACK!

I don’t hate John Cougar Mellencamp.  Loved "I Need A Lover", but what truly enamored me of his work was "Jack and Diane".  Remember that video with the posterization, back in the heyday of MTV?  I do!  And whenever I hear "Jack and Diane", I GO BACK!  Just like Kenny Chesney.

I go back when I hear so many songs.  To summer camp.  To high school.  To the mountains.  The songs play and the movies start unspooling in my brain.  I loved that Kenny Chesney made this reference, I felt this was a guy who felt PART OF IT as opposed to ABOVE IT!

Furthermore, "I Go Back" ROCKS!

I became a fan.  I downloaded a shitload of stuff.  Start with the live album, great renditions of his best material.

But that’s not all he’s done.  He’s got a whole body of work.  Unlike the flavor of the minute purveyed by the major labels and the big time media, a country artist has a plethora of songs.  You’ve got to see this tour or maybe NEVER hear your favorite deep cuts!  It’s like 1969 all over again.  Especially when the acts are good, and Kenny Chesney is good.

And it’s just not wall to wall music on No Shoes Radio.  Kenny tells some stories too.  Like the very first concert he ever went to, a doubleheader, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams.

Funny to think of him being that young.  Still, this illustrates Kenny’s roots.

And we get a glimpse of his adult life, which is why he played "Cool Change", it reminds him of the islands, where he gets away.

And I can’t listen to anything else.  I can’t change the channel.  I don’t care if you tune in, it just roots me.  Gives me something to believe in, somewhere to belong.  It’s hard to belong when there’s  only a single, and it’s jammed down your throat everywhere.  We all want a clubhouse, where we can hang out and relax.  Where everybody knows our name.  That’s what No Shoes Radio is like.

But it’s the tracks abandoned by mainstream media, that live on in our brains, that cement the deal.   They were ubiquitous once, but the oldies stations only play the gargantuan numbers, they don’t seem to realize we played those albums over and over again, we know every groove.  I was wowed to hear Bryan Adams’ duet with Tina Turner on "It’s Only Love".  And even though I know every note, own multiple iterations, I had to listen to "Cuts Like A Knife" through and through.

Well I heard it on the street
I heard you might have found somebody new
Yeah
Well who is he baby
Who is he
And tell me what he means to you

How can they love somebody else?  We didn’t know they’d be letting go.  WE’VE ALL BEEN HERE!  Even Kenny!  I’m sure he didn’t foresee Renee Zellweger dumping him.  IT HURTS!  You put on a brave face, but you don’t recover, not that fast.

So what do you do, YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC!

At first the weepies.  But when you gain your gumption, when you start to feel your inner strength will get you through, that you’ll survive, you want something that ROCKS OUT!

Na na na na na a na na na na
Na na na na na a na na na na
NA NA NA NA NA A NA NA NA NA!

IT FEELS SO RIGHT!

You’re singing along to the radio in the car, tapping your fingers in time on the steering wheel, getting so involved that you start BANGING THE DASHBOARD!

That’s the experience I want.  That’s the experience I’m getting on No Shoes Radio.