Does anyone still listen to "real" country?

The_Owl · #1 07-19-2006, 03:07 PM

This is mostly directed to americans.

I was just wondering if anyone here still listens to the classics like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Buck Owens, Dwight Yoakam, Willy Nelson, Johnny Cash, The Killer, Kristofferson, Hank Williams the first, etc.

I was watching the Country Awards show you have in the U.S.A., and it was filled with performances from the likes of Gretchen Wilson, Big and Rich, and music that has more in common with MTV than with country. I mean, a country song where a guy comes in with a superman shirt and raps is just wrong, IMO. And it's not country for me.

Here in Sweden, country music is pigeon-holed as hillbilly music by most of the population, and I guess a lot of that is just because of the afore mentioned bands.

The only light in the darkness was when Willy sang Crazy, backed up by Norah Jones.

Discuss!

**Adam Barkley** · #2 07-19-2006, 03:19 PM

Tampabass · #3 07-19-2006, 03:26 PM

Honestly, most of the stuff that passes for "country" these days is generally shlocky, middle-of-the-road pop/rock, with hat, boots, big belt, Southern accent and maybe even a fiddle or violin added to it so that it can be marketed as "country."

The music that, to me, most reflects the spirit of country (even if some roots rock and jam edges are added in) generally falls into the category of Americana or altcountry. No Depression magazine is sort of the Bible for the genre, and artists would include Ryan Adams (ex-Whiskeytown), Gillian Welch, Nickel Creek, Steve Earle, EmmyLou Harris, Willie Nelson, Yonder Mountain String Band, Cracker, Uncle Tupelo spawn bands Son Volt and Wilco, and dozens more. Latter-day Johnny Cash has been embraced by the altcountry crowd, too, along with Merle Haggard and other older artists.

That's my two cents.

mike phillips · #4 07-19-2006, 03:45 PM

this is what i like, hank williams, ernest tubb, faron young, lefty frizzell, merle haggard, early george jones. true honest to god country music. not the pop crossover crap.

superbassman2000 · #5 07-19-2006, 04:43 PM

i like the old country, like patsy cline, but that new stuff just sounds like soft rock with a cowboy hat...or rap, which is weird...

Cantstandsya · #6 07-19-2006, 04:55 PM

My cousin plays guitar,lap steel,banjo and keys in a pretty cool country band. They just opened for Pat Green in Vegas a couple weeks ago and opened for Tim McGraw in Nashville a while back. I think the one thing holding them back is that they don't fit the current pre-packaged pretty boy country image.They're just regular guys playing good honest music.......Check em out here and see what you think-HANKFLOYD

Loel · #7 07-19-2006, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cantstandsya

My cousin plays guitar,lap steel,banjo and keys in a pretty cool country band. They just opened for Pat Green in Vegas a couple weeks ago and opened for Tim McGraw in Nashville a while back. I think the one thing holding them back is that they don't fit the current pre-packaged pretty boy country image.They're just regular guys playing good honest music.......Check em out here and see what you think-HANKFLOYD

+1
i like them,as is typical in country the opening
act out weights the headliners!!

cheers

Supernova67 · #8 07-19-2006, 05:34 PM

good to know theres still some people left who appreciate real country music...too bad theres not many left in my age group...i must of scared some of em away from the genre when I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die If you really look theres still some up and coming country stars that auctially sing/play....country. Well, i'll be off...I hear a train ah comin.

jrthebassguy · #9 07-19-2006, 05:38 PM

Since I live in Texas, I'm constantly bombarded with country music...I'd say 99% of it is crap.

That said, I do like some country.

Townes Van Zandt
Hank III (if he counts...it's like country punk/metal)
Johnny Cash

...that's about it.

LarryM317 · #10 07-19-2006, 05:59 PM

I listen to everything. In fact I was just listening to Rascal Flatts, and now I'm listening to George Jones. I think country is a generic term, much like the term rock. There are so many variations and differences.

Just for the record I don't think pop-country (MTV country) is a new term. There has been pop-country for years and years. There have always been artist to push the line. I do think it is more now then ever thought.

jumbosilverette · #11 07-19-2006, 06:38 PM

Country to me is Faron Young, Jim Reeves, Loretta Lynn, post-Sun years Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner, Buck Owens, Grand Ol' Opry crowd. etc. Today's stuff is way different.

steamthief · #12 07-19-2006, 06:59 PM

Was it Shooter Jennings who put out the record "Put the 'o' back in ****ry?" That about sums up my feelings on 21st so-called country product.

Tampabass · #13 07-19-2006, 08:09 PM

also worth while (or, at least, worth my while): BR-549, Lyle Lovett, Junior Brown, The Mavericks

Tampabass · #14 07-19-2006, 08:17 PM

hey, Junior:

No offense, but if you live in Texas and you like only one living country artist (2 of the ones on your list are dead), then ... maybe you're not getting out enough?

And there are lots of terrific bassists playing country- or country-rooted music, including great (and, gotta say, cute) young bassist Bryn Bright, who does a lot of work with Tony Rice and Peter Rowan. Bryn lived in Austin for a while before relocating to Nashville. And don't forget Edgar Meyer and Mark Shatz.

seanm · #15 07-19-2006, 09:16 PM

Yup, almost every time I practice

By the way, I didn't vote since I have never watched the Nashville Country Music Awards. I was replying to the subject, not the poll.

TL5 · #16 07-19-2006, 09:29 PM

There's some good, some bad, a few greats, quite a few awfuls - pretty much the same ratio as every other genre of music really.

I'm not much of the whiney, nasally, stuff of any time period.

The_Owl · #17 07-20-2006, 01:12 AM

Oh, forgot to mention Townes van Zandt. And while I'm at it, Guy Clark is a wonderful songwriter too. And still active.

And Gene Clark isn't all that bad either, if you could classify that as country.

pklima · #18 07-20-2006, 03:59 AM

I like a lot of the classic stuff and alt-country, especially from Texas. I lived in Texas most of my life. Even my black metal band plays covers of country music - many of Townes Van Zandt's songs work especially well. I don't care for the recent commercial Nashville stuff, though, so I know nothing about these award shows.

MysticMichael · #19 07-20-2006, 09:34 AM

Don't listen to country at all. It's just not my thing...

MM

Rick_no7 · #20 07-20-2006, 09:53 AM

I was raised on the old stuff.

Never forget that CMT is owned by the folks that own MTV and VH1. It is also funny that I rarely see any music videos on CMT when I flip past it lol. They follow the same formula.

1. Talk alot about the past to keep old viewers

2. Keep 2 or 3 artists on screen at all time, because any more than that costs money

3. Expand to stuff that has to do with country, but isn't country, such as Smokey and the Bandit.

4. Make sure that everyone that watches the channels only knows the artists on that channel, and if they aren't on the channel, it means they suck

After all the Kid Rock crap, I'm surprised they havn't thrown the dude from Papa Roach or some other falling rock star with some country guys and see if they can reproduce the phenominon.