Darius Rucker performing at a concert.
I’ve now listened to the Darius Rucker album, Charleston, SC 1966 at least 20 times, according to iTunes. Most people know Darius Rucker as “Hootie” from Hootie and the Blowfish, who’s been accused of singing like a white man. Maybe he does sing like a white man, and maybe he doesn’t, but I sure enjoy his country music, especially this particular album. (And you can probably guess something about my age from my use of the phrase “album,” but hell, what else are you going to call it?)
Darius Rucker is no Charley Pride, but he does mention Charley Pride in the lyrics of one of the songs on the album, which I also thought was pretty cool. A friend of mine who is at least twenty years older than I am once told me the story of how excited his grandmother was about the prospect of seeing Charley Pride on television one night. When he came on and started singing, she called him a racial slur, and asked my friend when Charley Pride would be on. When my friend explained that this WAS Charley Pride, she didn’t believe him. What a difference two generations make, eh?
At any rate, I got turned on to Darius Rucker’s new career as a country western musician because I saw him on the Labor Day telethon last year. It was the first telethon in my lifetime that wasn’t hosted by Jerry Lewis, which made it a bittersweet affair. But Rucker came on and sang a song called “I Got Nothin'”, which just blew me away.
“I Got Nothin'” is the best song on Charleston, SC 1966. It’s the story of a man having another argument with his wife, and presumably, this argument is going to be the final one. He mentions how many times he’s apologized, he mentions how much coffee he’s had to drink, and he mentions all the things he knows he SHOULD do to get her to stay. But inside, he feels nothing for her anymore. Things between them have clearly gotten beyond repair.
“I Got Nothin'” also refers to what he’s going to have left in his life after she leaves him, which would make you think he could think of SOMETHING to say. But think about it. If he can’t find anything inside him to express, how messed up has that relationship gotta be by now?
As far as I’m concerned, it’s probably pretty messed up.
Being with another person for several years can flat out wear some people down.
My second favorite song on the album is a lot more cheerful, and it’s a duet that Darius Rucker sings with Brad Paisley called “I Don’t Care.” It’s a beach music kinda song, something you’d expect to hear from someone like Jimmy Buffett. It’s about two guys who have been drinking for a long time and they’re going to be drinking for a long time to come, and they’re asking each other questions about various subjects, like whether or not it’s impolite to stare at a girl in a two-piece, and similar deep subjects. Their answer is consistent: “I don’t know, and I don’t care.” It’s catchy, upbeat, and fun in a cheesy kind of way that Buffett fans and country music fans will appreciate.
My third favorite song on Charleston SC, 1966 is “Might Get Lucky,” which I thought was really cheesy at first, but the more I listened to it, the more I enjoyed it. This song is the opposite of “I Got Nothin'”. It’s about a man who knows exactly what to say and do to please his wife, and he knows it instinctually, because he still loves her.
I don’t like every track, though. “This” is the title of the first track on the album, and it’s one of those songs about how everything happens for a reason. It’s a theme that’s been repeated so many times now that it’s become trite. It’s so trite now that you don’t even need me to tell you how trite it is. The song is catchy, but they lyrics just get on my nerves. You might like it though–who knows.
