Week 1: Parker Millsap

I spent way longer than I probably should have hemming and hawing over how exactly to start this whole project. What was going to be the best stepping stone into country music for people? I considered going classic with Dolly Parton, contemporary and familiar with Carrie Underwood, or hitting up a more well-known “country outsider” like Orville Peck. But none of those seemed right.

But I think the best way to get people passionate about country music is to read the words of someone passionate about country music. Since I’m the schmuck on the other side of the screen writing this blog, that falls to me. So who would I be able to get the most insanely passionate about in country music right now, today, as I write this?

Well, how about the artist who came up tops in my Spotify Wrapped? I’m in the 0.05% of his listeners. And between you and me, he’s cute as hell, which is not exactly hurting his appeal, let me tell you what.

Parker Millsap is my opening salvo. And maybe some of you have had a toe in country at some point, and are saying “Any relation to Ronnie Milsap?” I had the exact same question, and the answer is no. No relation whatsoever, but good on you for that little bit of country trivia knowledge up in your noggin.

So why Parker Millsap? Why have I been obsessed with him for a year and a half? And why do I think he’s a strong enough representation of country to bring to the forefront like this?

Let’s get into what appeals to me about country music, just for a second. Country, at it’s best, is real. In the same way that people often say that rock is “real,” country does that, but with a steel guitar and a banjo. Country musicians have been in the mix of all variety of issues and movements over the years. Anti-war protests, feminism, prison reform. Like, I’m not here to pretend that country hasn’t also stood up for toxic patriotism and Christian fundamentalism, because it definitely has. But we can pick at any genre like that. This isn’t about the problems with the country music industry.

This is about the music, and when I hear Parker Millsap, I know that I’m listening to something real. It’s powerful and raw and warbly, and it’s carried by a shockingly strong tenor (Country certainly relies on tenors much like other contemporary popular genres do, but country music doesn’t tend to make as much room as, say, rock and pop for a really high tenor. We’re talking Ted Neeley levels of vocal range, here.). Parker Millsap sounds like someone who has lived life in the sorts of places that mainstream country likes to sing about. Considering he comes from an Oklahoma town of about 6,000 people, that tracks.

See, Millsap’s music doesn’t put on pretenses or veneers, and I think the best place to jump off from there is straight into a pretty damn heavy song: Heaven Sent. The song serves as a vehicle to deliver not only Parker Millsap’s unique vocal sound, with long, languid notes, but also to give you a taste of his perspective. Heaven Sent is told from the point of view of a gay man talking to his father.

 

A story like that could easily go in a less-than-stellar direction, but Heaven Sent cleanly avoids that. I’m going to recommend you listen to it before I go into detail about it (In fact, I always recommend that), but next paragraph, I’m going to be talking about it. Okay? Okay.

This isn’t the story of a gay man pleading or trying to change. It’s a gay man saying “Look, I tried not being this, that didn’t work. I’m in love. You taught me that Jesus loves everyone, so why can’t you be like that?” He’s not once backing down, but is always firm in his convictions. The gay man is not once the problem in this song. It’s always the reaction to him that needs to change. It is coming from a religious standpoint, because that’s just sort of a thing in country (Unpopular opinion: country music is the only genre that can actually handle Christian themes well. I’m sure we’ll talk more about that when it comes time to get into more classic singers like Randy Travis.), but I think it needs to. The story of the song works because it’s got that Christian perspective backing it.

And yes, I’m talking about this song like it’s a story…because it is. One of the defining features of country music is the presence of “story songs.” They’re absolutely everywhere, compared to other genres that tend to be more or less from the point of view of the singer or songwriter (Obviously that’s not universal, grain of salt, etc, etc.). In fact, two of the first songs I heard from Parker Millsap fall into this category as well: Truck Stop Gospel and Old Time Religion.

The first tells the story of this man who drives a semi-truck around the United States to deliver Jesus. It’s, frankly, an urban fantasy. And I would know, I write urban fantasy. Magical realism at a minimum. The main character sometimes gets help from ACTUAL JESUS to drive his truck, and his radiator runs on holy water, and he drives a demon out of someone. Like, it’s legit. It’s also probably Millsap’s biggest step into “commercial country” out of all his songs. But it still has this undeniable rawness to it, this off-kilter sensibility and mashing of old and new styles that makes it something wholly unique.

Old Time Religion, on the other hand, is considerably less favorable about Christianity than either of the two songs mentioned here, and is also a deep cut when it comes to style. This is old-timey style country. From a purely acoustic point of view, Old Time Religion would not be out of place among the likes of Tennessee Ernie Ford and The Appalachian Pickers. It’s stripped down, a voice, a guitar, a bass, and a fiddle, and tells the tale of a serial killer.

Yeah. We’ll get into it at a later date, but country music loves a crime or two. Always has. I’m telling you, the sanitized beer and pickup truck stuff isn’t what country is. It’s killing someone because they deserve it, consequences be damned. However, at least in the case of Old Time Religion, it’s very much so that the people being killed don’t deserve it. Instead, the song tells a tale of generational religious abuse. Father didn’t want to “spare the rod and spoil the son,” and the son grew up to lure people into his shed where he would kill them for their sins.

A far cry “Country Girl (Shake it For Me)” and “Honytonk Badonkadonk,” right?

Now, while I love all these songs, they aren’t my favorite from Parker Millsap. They’re all very good, but I think Millsap’s voice shines the strongest when he’s singing love songs. Country’s chockfull of love songs, and Parker Millsap’s catalog is no exception. For a lighter love song, I’d go for Disappear, which is a wonderful expression of Millsap’s particular warble. But if I could only give you one Parker Millsap love song, it would have to be A Little Fire.

A Little Fire is heavy and lustful and dark in that Southern Gothic sort of way. Country music has…honestly kind of a weird thing with burning down your house and leaving. There are multiple songs off the top of my head that express that desire. But none of them are quite so lovely and romantic about it as A Little Fire. This is a man telling his lover “We could just burn the whole house down, because all we need is each other.” A similar message to Disappear (Let’s just get in the car and drive away because all we need is each other.), but the heavier tone and the sheer destructiveness of the act lend itself beautifully to a slower meditation on Parker Millsap’s unique vocal qualities.

I say this in the best possible way: you get the distinct impression that Parker Millsap has smoked weed, and probably still does. Like, I don’t want to make assumptions and say that’s for sure correct, but that’s the best way I can think to describe his voice. Hopefully by now, you’ve listened to it and you can tell me whether I’m talking out my ass or not, but when he slows down and you can really sink into his tone quality, that’s always the impression I’m left with. He’s real, he’s raw, he’s gotten high in his small town.

Now, I could continue to gush about Parker Millsap a lot longer than this. We could talk about his slightly folksier songs like Hades Pleads or Quite Contrary, which are both fantastic. We could talk about his stuff that is distinctly not country, like Tell Me. I lump those in as a part of the whole, because as someone with eclectic tastes, being able to also hear those slightly askew songs from a country artist I really enjoy is amazing (Tell Me is also the best showcase of his tenor, if you’re interested.). I can seriously go on and on about him.

But I think I’ve given you enough to work with. Take a listen through Parker Millsap. Check out the songs I recommended. See what you think. Maybe he’s not the right vibe of country for you, maybe he is. But you’ll never know until you try, right? And I promise his music sounds better than mushy canned asparagus tastes, so it’s even easier than eating your vegetables.

As for me, I’ll see you next week.