On July 4th (a fairly innocuous day here in fair Blighty!), the twitterverse exploded with excitement over the new song from country singer, Steve Grand. His love is love styled rocking anthem, All American Boy seemed to capture and encapsulate the mood of a nation that is moving forward with marriage equality & was perfectly timed to coincide with patriotic, Independence Day celebrations. Such fervor around the music can sometimes overwhelm opinion of a song, so I wanted to wait before weighing in on the ditty that grabbed me with it's very first play. Just over a week later, I'm pleased to report that All American Boy is an enduring song for the ages, beautifully delivered by (the beautiful) Steve Grand - and here's why... the song is crafted around classic elements that eschew trends & focus on the timeless rather than the timely. A strong melody and powerful unfiltered vocals will never go out of style - and are presented here in a way that still feels contemporary but will age gracefully, ensuring that our grandchildren are still singing along to this the same way we do now to Elton John or Rod Stewart. Powerful, resonant piano chords that couple with a dreamy melody drive the song forward, ably accompanied by strumming guitar and a persistent bass give the song a glorious textured, vintage feel that play nicely against the very modern day lyrics; these lyrics tap into that desire in everybody (gay or straight) to be noticed & wanted by the object of their affections, what that feels like and culminates with that soaring chorus of "be your all-American boy" (which has that nice feel of tying into Independence Day and America being a nation where all can achieve their dreams, no matter what their background or who they fall in love with). There are of course plenty of songs like this, but it's nice to hear one so steeped in Americana (the Killers will be most jealous) that is celebrating boy-on-boy love. And much like Eli Lieb's Young Love (which I wrote about yesterday), there is a rather lovely visual piece to accompany the rousing, heartwarming, hope fuelled song. Here are some of the key points I am smitten with...
- "You look like the morning after the night before" is something my mum would always say to me whenever I looked a bit worse for wear. The video starts with Steve sitting by the remains of a party bonfire - frankly, I never looked that good after a night partying. His hair is amazing (and so is his stomach :D)
- There are some shots of the party where the ladeez are flirting with Steve as well as the object of his affections, not realising that perhaps they are not going to get as far as they'd like :) Perhaps they are just very friendly girls who like to say hello. With their hips and swishing of hair...
- Steve is having a ciggie. I do not approve. I will mail him some patches and maybe one of those new fangled electric cigarettes. He also swigs some whiskey without even pulling a face. Quite an achievement - I grimace just at the thought of it...
- Flirty Gerty moves away from Hot Hoody Guy, who then comes over to Steve and gives him some shoulder action body contact. Already I'm oddly aroused!
- Steve and Hot Hoody Guy share some smokes, some whiskey and some laughs. I love a bit of campside flirtation. I often do a mini version of it round the BBQ with my other half, Darren :D He loves it :P
- There are some lovely interspersed (brilliant word!) shots of Steve in a plain white t-shirt with the sleeves turned up a little. Very James Dean. Loving that classic look on him :)
- The two lads go on a bit of a drive with one of the flirty gerty ladies :) They all stand up and do a "whoo hoo" type stance in the car. Including the driver :) Do not try this at home kids (mainly because you would be at home and driving the car in the house is a very bad idea indeedio)...
- (I think it is to symbolise the care free nature you feel when you are in the new throes of young love. Also that frisson of excitement, the element of the unknown. I love a bit of symbolism I do. I'm quite deep sometimes :D)
- 1m43s - Steve is standing up, waving his stars and stripes (not a euphemism) and most importantly, showing off his fine fine stomach. American pride! Gay pride! love is love pride! Six pack pride!
- Hot Hoody Guy is now Hot Checked Shirt Guy and he is a bit tuckered out from the night before, so has a bit of a snooze on Steve's shoulder. This is all very romantic in principal as long as he is not a drooler!
- Steve and Hot Checked Shirt Guy play catch. Flirty Gerty is feeling a bit excluded so drives off in a strop, leaving them stranded in her dust. What a little minx!
- All this serves to do is increase the flirting between the two as they stroll all boozed up and gorgeous down a shady lane (shady as in the trees are covering them, not shady as in the drag queen dictionary definition!)
- 2m53 - Steve on the piano! As a piano player myself, I can confirm that there is nothing sexier than a man playing the piano :D
- HURRAH! At 3m onwards, the boys are quite hot and luckily find a lake. They take off their tops and dive in. This is most visually pleasing for oh so many reasons :)
- There is a quick bottom shot at 3m25 (feel free to pause and come back when you are done :D) - followed by some smooching. Love it :)
- Hot Shirtless Guy is not too impressed with the kiss. Boo him. He goes back to the bonfire and gets his gyrating groove on with the ladeez. What a cad :( Sadness (especially as the devastation on Steve's face at just past the four minute mark is all too tangible)...
- They work it all out with manly shoulder pats, but Hot Shirtless Guy's final "we're cool dude" speaks volumes as his bro-hug pushes Steve away. Sadness part two... Unrequited love is the cruelest love of all :S
- The scene with the fireworks at 4m38s shows that even when you are in a crowd full of people, the world can be a very lonely place. What a downbeat ending this is turning out to be. Teddy bears! Puppy dogs! Candy floss!!
- 1.5million views can't be wrong and this remains a stunning piece of work. Kudos, by the way to Nick Alan for being the irresistable foil of the piece :)
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