I have always enjoyed some good cowboy and Western-esque media. And for the past few months, there’s been somewhat of a Western revisionist movement happening, especially on TikTok. Some may say we are being oversaturated with cowboy media, but they can hightail it off my goddamn ranch. 

“Eyes Like The Sky” – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Starting off this heavy, modern and narrative beauty of a song by a band that I still don’t really understand. This song kicks off the album “Eyes Like The Sky,” and it’s a crazy combustion of Western instrumentals and heavy guitar riffs, narrated by the keyboardist’s father. The album is one long story that follows cowboys, Native Americans and the state of America post Civil War. It’s fantastic. 

“(Ghost) Riders In The Sky” – The Ventures 

There are many versions of this song, but in my opinion this version gets a Lone Gold Star. Whenever I listen to this song I can’t help but think about traversing through the Great Plains with my mount. The mix of light vocals, stringy guitars and whatever makes that clackity noise, is amazing. For us urban dwellers, it’s a great song for zooming down Lake Shore Drive. 

“Big Iron” – Colter Wall

Colter Wall has quickly become one of my top artists in the past few months. His covers and originals are fantastic. On this particular album, “Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs,” his cover of “Big Iron,” goes very hard. It’s hard to top the original by Marty Robbins but he has a song down the list. Wall brings his own punchy take on this Texas classic, which feels less melodic than the original, but it’s okay because this one has so much groove. 

“Cowpoke” – Colter Wall

I wanna throw this song in here as well. Whenever I listen to it, I’m taken back to rising with the sun and feeding the cattle. That is all. 

“The Master’s Call” – Marty Robbins

This song is so well written that sometimes when I listen to it, I almost believe in God. It’s hard to write a good song about Jesus, but this is how you do it. It follows the story of a bandit who left home for the life of crime, but God sends a message and saves the bandit from a terrible life. It doesn’t sound cool, but it’s beautiful, I promise. 

“Rhinestone Cowboy” – Glen Cambell 

Trust me when I say I’m about that Glen Cambell life. He is incapable of releasing a bad song. This song hits very hard whether you’re wandering through Chicago, giving someone a tattoo, or chorin’. It is truly a song for the cowboys, cowgirls, and cowtheys, because it speaks on living in both a rural setting and an urban one. It’s a song about the journey, not the destination.