At the end of the “Deadman’s Blues” video (spoiler alert), it shows Matt passed out, and being resuscitated unsuccessfully by paramedics. The downward spiral the video portrays very much mirrors the real life stories of many musicians, and almost mirrored that of Matt Woods. “Apparently, blood pressure isn’t like pinball. High scores are frowned upon,”
“Deadman’s Blues” went on to be named Saving Country Music’s Song of the Year in 2013, and received similar praise from other attentive periodicals. Matt Woods did what every songwriter yearns to do whenever they put pen to paper: make a deep, emotional connection with the rest of the world. But “Deadman’s Blues” was just one song. Would he, could he match it in a full album?
What any authentic music artist wishes to accomplish when they sit down to write a song is to convey the true emotion, story, and inspiration behind that song without any loss of detail or dilution of feeling. But of course this is easier said than done. Interpreting complex human emotions into words is a difficult enough task in itself…
When you sit down to assemble a list of candidates for Song of the Year, you almost start to tremble in the face of so much creativity, inspiration, and insight, and grow humbled by how fortunate we are to live in such a bountiful time for music. Candidates for Song of the Year can’t just be songs we enjoy, they are songs that make you change the way you see the world, or change the way you see yourself.
We ask a lot of our independent country and roots artists. We want them to release new music early and often, even though it stings them in the pocketbook to record. We want them to play our stupid town, even though it is way out of their way and the turnout will be light. We want them to perform in small, intimate venues, even though it’s not financially feasible for trying to take care of themselves, or God forbid, raise a family.