General Music Chat

COUNTRY IS KILLING EVERYWHERE!
Smoking the charts up, driving music sales! While many artists in other genres are struggling with making money and selling albums.... Country music has GROWN and is achieving record sales numbers. With artists like Taylor Swift, young girls are discovering Country Music, sometimes for the first time, whether their parents are Country Music fans or not!

I suspect that a few things have helped make COUNTRY KING!

1) The continuing modernization of Country, has created MANY styles and offshoots of the genre, that are appealing to modern ears as well as those faithful to it's roots.... Some Country sounds like Southern Rock, Taylor Swifts songs sound like pop, but with a country twist and a southern accent... They have artists that work the stage like ROCK STARS in Country Music more than ever before... They have "out-there" Country Stars that could almost be a country version of Lady GaGa or Rick James.... with outlandish sparkly showy costumes and elaborate stage productions. So CHOICES and DIVERSITY I think are part of it... something for everyone!

2) The saturation of Rap and a few other genres over the last few decades, to me at least, has become mundane and BORING and begins to sound the same, as identical hooks get repeated, same effects, nothing that new and exciting. Has the saturation of "sameness" also contributed, to people looking for something more "earthy" and "real" again? A genre that actually TELLS STORIES about NORMAL PEOPLE'S lives, and not gangsta ballin' songs?


What are your thoughts?

1) WHAT HAS MADE COUNTRY KING? (I now hear more country stations than rock in many places)

2) WHY HAVE OTHERS RESISTED IT? (mock it - don't give it a chance)

Hi Craig. Hmm that's interesting. I know people go on about how its all about a woman and losing her man sometimes but there are other really cool tunes out there too.

My take would probably be that people are listening to more meaningful stuff these days or perhaps its a blast from the past over here?
Interesting....

In answer to your questions, Craig,

"1) WHAT HAS MADE COUNTRY KING? (I now hear more country stations than rock in many places)"

Country music continues to cater to the lowest common denominator.

"2) WHY HAVE OTHERS RESISTED IT? (mock it - don't give it a chance)"

Country music continues to cater to the lowest common denominator.



That is true for much of country music, but glittering generalities never do really work perfectly in an imperfect world, do they?

In much of the genre, there's the sloganizing that just plain disgusts me, but you find that in rock, as well. There are particular artists that offend me to the core (Tim McGraw, are you listening? eh, why should he, he's making millions from the baser folk!!). But there are also bits of genius here & there, & actual quality music.

I just wish the entire genre would move away from stuff like that damned Charlie Daniels Geiko commercial, which promotes bravado, rudeness, & ineptitude. I really hate that sh*t, & country music is rife with that attitude.

Pitiful Comentary Phil. You imbarass yourself. I will not joust with you.

Same reason two sluts arguing about who was the last person to sleep with old whats his name is popular TV.
The peasants are revolting.
And they stink too.

It's just an opinion, Klugmo.

When someone finds it necessary to dump material into a song just to tweak ppl's sense of "patriotism," when it has nothing whatsoever to do with the song, it just irks me. TG does that kinda crap. "Live Like You Were Dying" is a good example of that.

The commercial I'm talking about shows Charlie Daniels, after evidently grabbing a violin from a legitimate musician. He proceeds to saw away at the fiddle until the bow looks like a frikken mop, while he's stompin' his boot in that fancy restaurant like he's at a hoe-down. Next, he hands the instrument back, saying "THAT's how it's done, son," & he grabs a bread stick or something off some guy's table & walks off. He couldn't play 1/2 what the violinist plays, no doubt in my mind, yet he's gonna "show the guy how to do it." He ruined the bow hair. Then he brags about how it's done. Not what I'd call showing any respect for the violinist or his instrument, but you make of it what you will. I never liked a wise ass.

It's that Hulk Hogan bragging mentality that bugs the living hell out of me with the country "artist." I see it more often in this genre than any other, & that's exactly what I'm talking about when I say that country music caters to the lowest common denominator. It irritates me that ppl would find that type of behavior endearing in any damned way, but it seems very popular with the regular folks who listen to the stuff.

I'm sure there are country artists that don't bluff & bluster all the time. Willie Nelson comes to mind. But the majority of what I see there is the less than impressive ppl who celebrate having no manners & lots of "crass." Yes, I said "crass" instead of "class." And I meant it.

Having said that, I'll add that there are lots of good songs, great guitar solos, & legitimate musicians in the country genre. It's just a shame that the loud mouths get all the attention.

Its a comercial phil not a documentary on life. Your low opinion of the people that listen to Country music is pretty shocking I'm sure to everyone. Might it of occurred to you that they wanted to focus the add toward Southerners and Country fans. Maybe they need to pick up the revenue in those areas. Anyway Daniels was used obviously because of his popularity (with the exception of you of course) with many music lovers yes Country Music Lovers. Among those Country music lovers are roofers and plumbers and hunters alike. Also many of these Country Music Lovers like Rock and Roll go figure. I wish you luck with your narrow view of music and music fans in general.

Actually, I know quite a few ppl who listen to country music that DO have manners, Klugmo.

I saw a special on PBS, years ago, that showed 3 violinists. Itsac Perlman (dunno how to spell his name!), Jean-Luc Ponty, & Doug Kershaw. They each did a section of thier own music, wuith Perlman doing his classical, Ponty playing his jazz, & Kershaw doing the bluegrass/country style. Then, they all returned to the stage to play a little piece they had worked out together. It was really entertaining to see. At the end of that single song, Perlman had a single strand of hair waving at the end of his bow. Ponty had maybe 5 hairs waving loosely in the breeze. Kershaw's bow looked like a mop.

I'm not saying that any one of these ppl is not a quality musician, but there ARE levels, wouldn't you say? It was clear who the better musicians were just by seeing how they handled thier instruments.

As far as country music is concerned, I believe I've said many times that there are good, high quality acts out there. There are also a lot of ppl that have little to no talent. Just like any other genre. I will continue to appreciate those who can handle themselves with class, & laugh at the banal.

Country music fans cover a much wider range than the blue collar, btw. And I doubt that there's very much I could say in here that would shock anyone...I've been pretty well established as a pompous butthole of sorts concerning these kinds of topics for a cpl years, Klugmo. Still, my opinions are my own, & I wil stand by them.

To a large extent, I have to agree with Phil. I think a lot of country music is plastic and pre-packaged. I think it's been stretched far beyond any recognizable genre. Shania Twain was basic doing Dance music 10 years ago, and much of what Jason Aldean does today is heavier than anything considered hard rock (i.e., Nickleback, etc.) All this is done to appeal to...the lowest common denominator. Country just isn't country anymore.
I also have to agree with the sloganizing-it's unbearable! And yes, other genres have done it, but rarely to such a low brow degree...I realize this is comedy and not music, but the social effects are the same: Larry the F'n Cable guy-"GET 'ER DONE!". With one phrase that moron has managed to enslave a population and get rich in the process. Now, those people we shall refer to as the LCD believe this to be their mantra.
"I need to fix my car."
"GIT ER DONE!"
"I need to see my mom in the hospital."
"GIT ER DONE!"
"I'm sleeping with your wife."
"GIT ER DONE!"

C'mon...it's the same audience, just different types of "entertainment".

OK, you are the one standing in those shoes. As long as you understand that I wear boots. Maybe the mop is due to passion and style in playing. You think? Some fault the others for not making a mop.

See, I can be a pompous butthole, too.

I thought it said looser on your forehead. I think you guys are talking to the mirror.

Good night all, I have to get up at 4am to do some low life Country plumbin, roofin, well pump pulin, huntin and mop makin. AW what a life.

What's a looser?


That pic was from a poker game, not a prison scene.

Seriously, Klugmo, there's nothing wrong with country. I just don't like ANYTHING that is overproduced and artificial-simply for the fact that they want to make money. Love my music or hate it, either way, I make it because I love it and I feel I have something to say. A SERIOUS lack of income on my part should tell you that I don't do it for the money.
Unfortunately, country music has become defined by songs like "Queen of my doublewide Trailer" and crap like that. There is good music being produced, but it's buried beneath a ton of schlock. It's just my opinion, though.

Oh Goodie.

I hat the crap they pass off as country music today.

Jump in a time machine and go back to the beginning of rock and roll. It was called rockabilly back then, and it was NOT country music. The suits at Crest ended country music. 90% of the country music stations were owned by one conglomerate. Crest was their #1 advertiser. They said country music wasn't drawing their target audience, teen age girls between the ages of 13-18. They said they would drop their adds if the stations did not draw that group. So the stations cowered.

They dumped all the big time country stars and started getting these garage band R&R wannabes. Then they tacked cheesy surpy cutesy make me wanna puke lyrics onto Rockabilly rhythms, and called it NEW country music. It is the very same sound that attracted the same teenaged girls to Elvis.

You can find the whole ugly story in the Time Magazine archives on line and read it for yourselves.

There are a few guys who do play country music. But their saving grace is cute butts in tight jeans, or pretty faces and cute butts.

A good many of them couldn't carry a tune in a barrel. They use vocal pitch correction devices almost always.
At one big time country award show, the leading cowboy came from the curtains to center stage singing flat, then sharp, and almost everywhere other than on pitch. Then all of a sudden he was in perfect pitch.

Someone had forgotten to turn on the vocal pitch correction processor.

You can check that out with anyone in the recording business. Some genuine talent in there for sure. And way more cute hacks. But the talent is getting a bit better. So when peeps say they really like Country Music, I always have the temptation to ask them if they ever really heard Country music. Most of todays country music fans are totally clueless as to what they are really listening to.

But before you flame away, check it out.