Why Luke Combs' "Fast Car" Is one of the best songs of 2023.

 

Luke Combs - Fast Car: SONG REVIEW

Look, I'm not a big fan of Country Music. I'm not a big fan of covers. I'm not a big fan of country songs on pop radio. (sound familiar??) And that's why Luke Combs made one of the best songs of 2023. For me (and my mom, who also doesn't like country) to really like Luke Combs' "Fast Car" cover, and call it better than the original, especially based on the fact that we don't like Country Music, means that "Fast Car" did something different and unique for me to actually like it. However, It didn't, and that's what makes it so good.

Remember, this is 2023, we're in the world of 10-seconds TikTok Clips and musicians are caving in. David Guetta covers 5 minute songs and makes them half as long, while changing merely nothing else except adding edgy vocals nobody needed. Morgan Wallen releases the same-old Bro Country, and it makes #1 because... It's Morgan Wallen.

When you combine David Guetta's lazy sample-covers and Morgan Wallen's Bro-Country, you get the worst thing imaginable. Right? Riiight...? Wrong. 

This is where we get to Luke Combs. You know, I never really knew much about Luke Combs, he always seemed overshadowed by other country artists. I can't even name a mainstream song he had before "Fast Car". I knew he was there, but i never could name a song of his since i don't listen to country. 

I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm sure I'm not the only person who hasn't heard of Luke Combs before the song I'm about to talk about, "Fast Car". About a week before "Fast Car" blew up, i heard a song of his on a SiriusXM show where he did a duet with Ed Sheeran on his song "Life Goes On" from his subtract album. That was beautiful, but it never really dawned on me much before I heard his big hit "Fast Car".

In the age of butchering songs to the point where you can't recognize what songs originally sound like, I was pleasantly surprised when Luke Combs didn't cut anything out. Spotify says His version is 20 seconds shorter than Tracy Chapman's, but, having heard both, I can't identify where he cut 20 seconds out. And, honestly, "Fast Car" is still almost 4 and a half minutes long even when he shortened it slightly. That's not much and i expected much worse in this day and age. 

Aside from shortening it by 20 seconds, He really doesn't change anything from Tracy's version. Sure, it's slightly more polished-sounding, and some guy with a southern accent is now singing it, but other than that, It's very faithful, and that's a good thing. Does anyone remember that Jonas Blue cover of "Fast Car"? Before someone says "Fast Car was already an amazing song, there's no way you can make it bad" go check out that EDM cover with Jonas Blue. That's how you butcher a song and make it horrible.

Luke Combs could have butchered it, but he's chosen to keep roughly the same length which i applaud. After all, he literally made a song about loving music, so it would be somewhat hypocritical to butcher a song after making a different song about loving music. At this point though, who would be surprised if someone was actually that much of a hypocrite. Anyway...

Although Luke isn't big in the pop scene, He is big in the country scene. And considering how well Country songs do on the Hot 100, "Fast Car", of course, debuted the Hot 100 pretty instantly. Except, Did we really need an almost note-for-note remake of Tracy Chapman's original? Yes. Yes, we did.

I was always a big fan of the original. And although the original was already a big hit, I'm glad it got revived into a new era with new listeners who otherwise might have never even known it had existed. Sure, it doesn't change much, but does it have to? In fact, at this point, I'm glad it didn't change much. 

Luke Combs may not know the meaning of the song (i'll share with you in comments/discord) but he covered it because he wanted to give the song a new life, and I applaud that. Thank you, Luke, Thank you.

Another reason i love it so much is almost in a test-like way. I listen to the radio a lot. So i hear this song a lot. Yet, I still love it! I can only name like one or two other overplayed songs i still love. This being one of them. Even if this was Tracy Chapman's version, There's a chance i would have gotten tired of it, but who knows.

Initial Rating: 9.5/10 [A]

Updated Rating: 13/10 [A++]

My initial opinion of Fall Out Boy's "We Didn't Start The Fire" WAS WRONG.

 Hello, I'm here to discuss my opinions on Fall Out Boy's biggest pop hit since their 2015 "Irresistible" remix with Demi Lovato. Let's get into it.

I really wasn't feeling this song ever since it came out. It just seemed like a cheap cash in cover of the original "We Didn't Start The Fire", which already seemed stupid as the original itself seemed like a cash in off of how America was feeling in 1988. It's the song that says "Look at us teach you history!" in all reality, History can't be explained it a 4 and a half minute song. Even Bill Wurtz' "History Of The Earth" YouTube Video is 20 minutes and that's heavily abbreviated.

No one needed Fall Out Boy's cover. No one did. No one asked for it, either. That doesn't mean it wasn't a nice surprise. There's no reason for it to be a thing. That doesn't mean we don't appreciate it now. Sure, the song is stupid. Sure, the song is a cheap cash in. But it's still enjoyable, and it still resonates with a ton of people despite my initial opinion, which, even that is changing. Even if i didn't enjoy at first (which i do now) doesn't mean i can't at least appreciate it.

After listening to the original many times, i could say Fall Out Boy did a better job, even if they did butcher it slightly. They make the song more lively, and it got a nice update with newer events which, although needed, is still nice. Much like Luke Combs' "Fast Car", i can appreciate older songs getting revived by newer acts, if the older songs were good. The song itself, is cute. Although it still seems like a cheap cash in, it finally gained some livelihood on me. 

I also want to talk about how this is Fall Out Boy's biggest hit since 2015. Even i think it should be. This song, by covering a popular song from the 80s, could launch Fall Out Boy back into the mainstream, and as a fan of the band, I'd appreciate. I do like "Hold Me Like A Grudge" and "Love From The Other Side" better, but "We Didn't Start The Fire" could be much more influential for their future, and I'm here for it.

It may be nowhere near their best, but if "We Didn't Start The Fire" has impact on helping them become a popular mainstream band again, okay! Sure, it's a cheap cash-in, but in 2023, who cares. At least it sounds nice, and it's better than Doja Cat bragging about being naked.