REVIEW: Corinne Cook — Blah Blah Blah (SINGLE)
At first glance, Corinne Cook’s latest single “Blah Blah Blah” might not feel like a typical country song but that’s arguably what makes it so great. Impeccably written while blending flawlessly between country and a mesh of pop, the contrast between Cook’s country vocals and the pop production mixed with the baritone saxophone raises things considerably. The playful lyrics initially give a touch of homage to Toby Keith’s iconic country hit “I Wanna Talk About Me” with a neat gender swap in the key roles, but the overall arc the song takes feels unique thanks to Cook’s approach.
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The overall humorous jabs at small talk seem to reinvigorate the supposedly tired narrative structure, offering up a fresh perspective on the entire concept of basic bar conversations. Starting as a song focused on a woman feeling neglected by her significant other when his buddy runs into them at the bar while they’re out during date night, she sarcastically lists their points of focus: football, cars, stupid Cuban cigars (her words, not mine), trades, scores, and a bunch of “dude stuff” that’s leaving her bored. The attention to prioritizing humor in the lyrics gives “Blah Blah Blah” a refreshing sense of levity as the bored “anger” shifts to gleeful joy when the boys invite her to give her opinions on their conversation in the song’s finale. Cook never punches down, and the song is all the better for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BppuocP0uUQ
The general musical production owes a great debt to the typical musical flourishes used in the country genre but Cook never lets the song’s overall quality sag as a result of using otherwise familiar musical tropes. The backing vocals during the chorus that echoes the titular “blah blah blah” add a nice early-00s pop star-esque quality to the track, delivering a chorus that feels like a throwback to a song you never knew was missing from your daily routine.
The universal message behind the song is something anyone can relate to, as anyone that’s ever been to a bar with friends or a significant other has had a moment of complete and total boredom or misplaced apathy; the song’s ending makes the message that much more poignant, as Cook’s narrator stops internalizing how uncomfortable and lost she feels and instead just jumps into the conversation. The knack Corinne Cook has for painting a vivid picture of her song’s subjects is rare to see in most modern music but the use of dialogue as the song plays into a fade-out helps accomplish a “real” setting for this fun and simple single.
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Coming off of her past singles, which all featured far more somber or anthemic approaches to songwriting, this change of pace feels necessary and like a breath of fresh air for the promising future on the horizon of Cook’s career. The singer has more to say than just “blah blah blah,” but she isn’t afraid to cater to a more simplistic approach in regards to songwriting when putting out a single and the fun being had by Corrine Cook is more than enough to go around.
Colin Jordan
