The curious case of Kid Rock

You know, I've been confused by this guy for years. I can still remember listening to his first album (Devil without a Cause) back in 1998 while I was a sophomore in High School. I think we all enjoyed the Bawitaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said up jump the boogy. I mean who didn't, right? We liked it when he spoke of packing up his game and heading out west where real women come equipped with scripts and fake breasts. You'd be an idiot if you didn't get into it! But in my eyes, Kid Rock has led us up and down a winding road of uncertainty that has developed into a confusing legacy for both himself and his fans.

I mean lets face it. Love him or hate him, the dude has gotten his share of airplay through out the years. So there must be something there that makes the people respond. And I'm only talking about his music. Who could forget his short lived marriage to Pamela Anderson?

Kid Rock is self-taught on the guitar and over the years has developed into a pretty formidable musician in his own right. He's sold millions of records, *sold-out every basketball arena in the country. Been on stage with music's biggest legends, all while sporting long 80's hair and a scruggly goatee/mustache/thing on his face that would make a 13 year old boy envious. I don't even want to get into the pimp hat he often frequents.

*Total Toby Keith reference there, sorry.

For this post I wanted to focus in on one of his songs, that happens to by my favorite of his. And I think this one song will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Kid Rock, as person, and a musician...This song is called "I am"

In the song, he starts by getting nostalgic and reflective towards geographical features. Theres talk of rocky mountains, southern Florida beaches and how he has become Georgia, Memphis, Tennessee, and everything Hollywood wants to be...Clearly he was a fan of geography in 9th grade.

Then he gets into: "I am love and I am hate. I'm your late night drunk debate. They will never put a finger on me."....now this is just downright egotistical. But not illogical by any means. Sure, he's famous. And I'm sure many people have had many drunken arguments about him, I mean he is a confusing guy. But to say that he is both LOVE and HATE. Come on man. Get over yourself. We're not singing about the duality of man here.

"Have you seen a grown man cry, or a child that's slowly dying"....Yes and no. And I care to not discuss any further. Neither should you...thats probably why you moved right on past that and went back to what you know, and that's another geography lesson:

"I am North and South Dakota. And New York City....And I am Boston and D.C. And all of *DETROIT CITY. Everything Hollywood wants to be, blah blah blah

*Killer echo reverb on Detroit City, I might add. It sounds epic, even if it is only in your head. I mean sure, who doesn't like a shoutout to their own city. I'd kill if we could get some more music love for KC. We've been riding "Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come" for like 60 years. Its all we got.

Ok, now, this is where the song takes shape. This is where it all comes together. This is where he ties up all his loose ends and joins every musical genre known to man.

"I am southern rock and roll. Country, hip-hop, and soul!"....Beautifully done sir. You've now earned your license to be played on every radio station on the radio dial. It's genius. It's kind of like the guy when asked what kind of toppings he likes on his pizza, and he tels them he likes supreme. Come on dude! Nobody likes supreme, and furthermore, there's always going to be people in that room that thinks you're an ass-hole for even mentioning it. It's the poor bastards that you are causing to pick off the black olives and mushrooms that you're hurting the most.

Kid Rock ends the ballad in epic fashion: "I am only God knows why. I'll be a cowboy, *til I DIIIIIIEEEEEE! No you'll never put your finger on me!!!

* I gotta mention here the "til I die" part. It's tough to explain, but I'll try my best. It's at that exact moment that he reverts back to some sort of 80's quasi-metal era screaming that is so outrageous that it's perfect. It's the sort of thing that makes you say, Yes- Yes...This guy came to rock. And he will stop at no end to do so. And it is brilliant, and it is right, and it is everything that is both right and wrong with the music industry today. It really does say it all to me.

So there you have it, we've broke down a brilliant song. I must say here, that I really do like Kid Rock. (Although, its tough to admit in mixed company) But you really do have to respect a guy that can play with Hank Jr., Sheryl Crow, Run DMC, *Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, and Eminem.

*Hopefully we'll get a nice long post on him real soon.

But really, he is a guy that does spread across many different genres and styles of music, and there's a good chance that there's something out there of his that you really like. He truly is the type of musician that you will mercifully defend, or relentlessly slam, either way, he's still making money, and quite possibly in the end, the jokes really on you. Like he says, "I am love and I am hate. And the critics can all debate, but you'll never put a finger on me!"....So in the end- What did we learn from this? ....Damn- It beats me.