I was listening to the radio the other day when Brad Paisley’s 2003 #3 hit “Celebrity” came on. Listening to the lyrics discussing month long marriages, crying on Barbara Walter’s couch, and unlimited stents in rehab got me thinking.
In the 9 years since this song charted, not only hasn’t it aged, but it’s become even more culturally prominant than it was back then. And that has little to do with the mere fact The Bachelor just began cycle 16.
It boils down to the fact we’re even more celebrity obsessed than we were in 2003 and reality television has grown even more outragrous than Paisley could’ve ever imagined. He actually created a document ahead of it’s time written for a Kardashian obsessed world that didn’t yet exist. His forward thinking served him exceptionally well and this tome celebrating our desire to “hitch up the wagons and head out west, to a land of fun in the sun” has far surpassed the novelty Paisley was after and become a scarily honest look at our culture.
So, for everyone who shutters when “Camouflage” comes on the radio and changes the station at the opening licks of “Old Alabama,” let’s take a moment and celebrate when all was good with Paisley’s artistic credibility:
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Tags: Brad Paisley
January 7, 2012 at 3:15 am |
You’re absolutely right. “Celebrity” was brilliant and it’s still relevant today. And it was all Brad – no co-writers.
January 10, 2012 at 1:34 am |
Thanks, Bob. It’s so refreshing to hear a song that hasn’t grown stale over time. Glad Brad can claim all the credit for this one.