Songs That Move You

Songs that move you are few and far between. You hear them one time and you are struck.

Not everyone that hits makes you feel that way. Sometimes you hate them at first listen, and those are songs you really have to check! The ones you hate strike an emotion or negative energy, but they do get to you. Most of Toby Keith's songs fall into this category. I think I have really liked everyone of his songs but rarely if ever at first listen.

The point of all this: I was with Neil McCoy this week at the state fair in Alabama. He played me the new Darryl Worley song, "I Just Came Back from a War." Now, before I go on, this is not a call to arms to join the service or take a position on the wildly unpopular war in the Middle East. It is not a "Have You Forgotten.," although I do respect that song and believe its message is an important one. With that said ...

Listen and read clearly: THIS SONG IS ABOUT THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SURVIVE AND COME HOME!

Surely no one, not even the Dixie Chicks, seem to have issue with the actual soldiers, the people who put on the uniform and actually protect the country regardless of the commander in chief, regardless of where they are called on to go.

The new Worley song should be huge. You can't help but think of those airport scenes at Christmas, when the soldiers run into the arms of their loved ones and maybe even see and hold that new baby for the first time. Heroes! In the truest since of the word.

This song is about that.

If you are some kind of geek music director and have not matured to the point where you can understand songs like this, trust me, it's ok. It will maybe even cause the station to gain listeners and keep your sorry ass in a job a few more weeks. People might actually tune in to hear a song that strikes a real emotion. No offense to "I've Got a New Girl Friend" (are real listeners not tired of that yet?), but it's corporate think. Let's see what the Gods of Radio say about this Worley song. It is strong and will elicit phones and response. God forbid the audience be actually moved to have an emotion that is not caller number 3 to win a tank of gas.

I hate being so cynical, but when you see things week in and out that make no sense, how can you help but not be?!? Every one of you reading this who love radio know what I am talking about. The pinheads not reading this are the ones I am talking about. I apologize to you real radio people who would surely make changes if you could.

We have come so far and backward at the same time. As we head into to the CMA awards and the hoopla around that, you wonder how this all works. It's like hot dogs. I have NEVER been to a hot dog factory and never will. I had a corndog just last night. I'm sure I would puke if I knew what it was really all about. Isn't radio pretty much the same way these days?