Little Big Town – Tornado

It takes somewhere around 30 seconds with the Billboard Hot 100 to recognize that ‘Murica currently loves exactly three types of music: Absurd, raunchy, hip-hop party tracks, tacky dance music, and country. Sure, there are a few defiant outliers but if you wanna party with the masses this is your sweet spot.

You invite this music into your life at your own risk, particularly if you have a habit of using shuffle. Aside from a kind of morbid fascination with the cultural implications of say, for example, Britney Spears’ contribution to the Smurfs 2 soundtrack being a huge hit, there’s precious little on the top of the charts to really think about. These are songs to get your ass movin’, not the grey matter between your ears.

There are great, maybe unsung, benefits, though. Speaking as someone who is more or less burnt out on clever, ironic music, there is a refreshing directness to, essentially, everything featured on Billboard’s list. More than that, there are some treats for anyone interested in music production—these are songs that are meticulously crafted and meet their stated goals almost without fail.

It’s that combination that first lead me to Little Big Town. They’ve been a mainstay on the Hot 100 since last summer and I couldn’t help but be sucked in to the first and only song I know that celebrates the time-honored tradition of getting drunk on a boat. “Pontoon” is direct, well-crafted, and perfect companion to said nautical recreation. In other words, it’s a good song!

“Tornado” is the band’s contribution to the Hot 100 this summer and it finds them in similar form. And it’s a bit smarter, too. Underneath its cheeky swagger, there’s even a bit to consider. The central analogy of a woman scorned being an unhinged force of nature is nothing new, but the focus on the house is particularly interesting:

Yeah, I’m gonna lift this house, spin it all around
Toss it in the air and put it in the ground
Make sure you’re never found

The house is supposed to be a place of safety and refuge. Scary to think that a wandering eye is enough to enough to bring on nature’s wrath in the form of a jilted lover and, quite literally, destroy everything. Not bad for the Hot 100.

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