Brad Paisley has been putting out new music this year for the first time in a long time, and it’s an ongoing project called Tacklebox. Rather than dropping a traditional album all at once, he is putting out unreleased tracks from the vault that are either from his ’90s catalog, or were written more recently and were inspired by that sound.
The last time we had a real project from Brad was over nine years ago, when he released Love and War in 2017. He had announced an album called Son of the Mountains set for release in 2023, though that never came to fruition, so it’s easy to imagine some of these songs might have been meant for that album.
Brad explained that he wants Tacklebox to feel like his fans have a “direct link” to his Dropbox, or a “playlist that never ends”:
“I see this ‘project’ as never-ending. It’s almost like the fans have a direct link to my Dropbox or to a playlist that never ends. We are calling it ‘Tacklebox; because it’s a box full of hooks, country lyric hooks.
In this digital age, I have every song I’ve ever written at my fingertips. This project gave us a license to dig back into the catalog of songs that were never released, that feel like a time period, a style of writing, a sound, and nostalgia. We went back into the studio to record or re-record at The Castle in Franklin, TN, the same place where several of my first few albums were recorded.
When I first started writing and recording music, I couldn’t have dreamed of the ability to put something out instantly for the fans.”
But he’s not stopping at putting out music for that project.
He has a new song out today called “South America,” which was written for an episode of the animated TV series South Park, which was included in the Season 29 premiere last night. The show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have temporarily retitled the show to South America as a satirical poke at President Trump’s executive orders renaming geographical landmarks like the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and Lake Ontario to Lake America.
With Brad being one of the more outspoken left-leaning artists in country music… doing songs with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pushing Covid jabs with then-First Lady Jill Biden… it’s not entirely unexpected to see him participate in the South Park spoof.
Brad’s song, titled “We Are South America,” was a solo-write from Brad:
“We are South America
Where the cold north wind blows
If you’re driving through our town
I just think you should know
That we are South South America
And that northern mountain sun
Always keeps South America
We won’t change for anyone
Two words that bring a smile to my mouth
America and south
We are South America”
The caption gives a brief synopsis of what’s going on:
“Stan tells his parents the truth about getting an e-bike and the death of his friend. Meanwhile, South America stands united, but with heavy hearts, after tragic accident.”
Brad built a career on putting out funny songs like “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song),” “Online,” “Ticks,” “Celebrity,” and “I’m Still a Guy,” just to name a few, so I think he was certainly the right man for the job, and you can watch the scene and listen to the song here:
If you haven’t listened to some of his new stuff, it’s really good, classic Paisley:
“Home Sweet Hotel”
“Treading Whiskey”
“Someone Else’s Arm’s”
