The Singles Jukebox

On today’s ballot: a hat!

[Video][Website]
[5.86]

Anthony Easton: I keep wondering why I like Paisley much less now than I did before “Accidental Racist.” I have even enjoyed his most sentimental work. His voice is as sonorous as ever, and the guitar ably does the heavy lifting. It might be that I have heard this song from him before: better, funnier, smarter, even more ambivalent. It feels like a museum piece.  
[3]

Katie Gill: I have gone on the TSJ record as being a Brad Paisley stan. So naturally I feel happy to continue that tradition because this is such a charming song. It’s a play by numbers first dance wedding song. But Brad Paisley has enough charisma that people have almost forgiven him for “Accidental Racist,” a fact which serves him well here. Because man, he sells the hell out of this. The tenderness and sweetness in his voice help mitigate the fact that this is a blatant first dance wedding song.
[7]

Alfred Soto: Quietly and inexorably his talent has ebbed; “Accidental Racist” was an example, not the start. He can’t write fast ones anymore without failing to limn an already strained conceit and leaping towards a guitar solo the way an alcoholic lunges for bourbon stashed behind a bookshelf. “Today” is pretty and vacant, dependent on its video and an audience that revels in the Brad Paisley of “Then” and “She’s Everything.” Well, “may” revel — his songs aren’t instant Hot Country Airplay #1s anymore. We’ll see.
[7]

Jonathan Bradley: There is a point in a Brad Paisley song in which a Brad Paisley guitar solo — homespun, intricate, surprisingly technical — is expected. Paisley has reached the point in his career at which a Brad Paisley song has become a recognizable form: it is earnest, scruffily sentimental, big-hearted, and, in the case of “Today,” it has a Brad Paisley guitar solo exactly where it’s supposed to. He’ll write more of these; like this one, they will be fine.
[5]

Edward Okulicz: It’s a feel-okay song for weddings, birthdays, graduations, anything really. I’ve always liked Paisley’s voice and this will do, but you’ve got better options.
[6]

Crystal Leww: Brad Paisley seems like he’s the Good Guy of country music, confirmed by her performance as host on the CMAs last week. I like that given country’s turn to a tradition narrative this year, Paisley chooses to keep himself in the present and look forward to tomorrow. “Today” is just straight up good vibes from the Good Guy.
[6]

Thomas Inskeep: Paisley’s a great guitarist and a great singer, but his songwriting tends to be hit-and-miss for me. His “inspirational” ones often don’t click with me, but this one does: Paisley co-wrote it with his regular collaborators Chris DuBois (who’s had a hand in 18 other Paisley hits) and Ashley Gorley (who’s written or co-written 27 country #1s, including a number for Paisley, too). “Today” initially read as too sticky-sweet, but repeated listens opened it up; this is sweet and meaningful because it’s sincere. And it’s not as sugary as I’d first thought. This is how you write a love song, folks.
[7]