I think what makes it country is the boots, the hat, and the acoustic guitar hidden under the rock music.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Modern Country Lyrics
- Thread starter LiquidMidnight
- Start date
Take that all away and add some spandex, makeup and hairspray....and what do you have?
Glam rock!!!
sure... the hat & boots, but it just needs a touch of pedal steel and/or banjo
I'm actually digging the recent turn of New Country. The whole rocked up, in your face redneck stuff. It reminds me of blasting Skynyrd, ABB, etc at field / woods parties in the 80s.
... doesn't it figure too, I've been shopping for an old truck lately
But is that really so much worse than singing about girls that done you wrong and dead cows?
I like some of it. I realize what it is and don't expect too much from some artists. Regardless, people buy it and the bottom line is what counts, right?
That said, I do have George Strait and Martina McBride tickets for Feb 16 here in town. I've seen them both before. They sing (mostly) good songs and sing them pretty well. George is getting a little long in the tooth but still sounds pretty good. Heck, he's George and that's probably enough. I've always felt Martina McBride has been under-rated for most of her career. I think she has one of if not the best female voice in country music and probably in general.
They both have great bands as well. I know the Ace in the Hole band has been together for most of his career and I think Martina has had a fairly steady band for a while as well.
Should be a good show - without all the show.
That said, I do have George Strait and Martina McBride tickets for Feb 16 here in town. I've seen them both before. They sing (mostly) good songs and sing them pretty well. George is getting a little long in the tooth but still sounds pretty good. Heck, he's George and that's probably enough. I've always felt Martina McBride has been under-rated for most of her career. I think she has one of if not the best female voice in country music and probably in general.
They both have great bands as well. I know the Ace in the Hole band has been together for most of his career and I think Martina has had a fairly steady band for a while as well.
Should be a good show - without all the show.
i don't listen to country... on purpose very often... and when i do.. it's not new.
heck usually if i pick something to listen to... more often than not Classical
...
then there's a random mix of Jazz, Rock, Metal ... but usually classical.
heck usually if i pick something to listen to... more often than not Classical
... then there's a random mix of Jazz, Rock, Metal ... but usually classical.
I don't understand where the market comes from. I'm from rural Nebraska which is as rural as you can get and even there almost none of the people live on farms, have ever ridden a tractor, or have gone to a party out at some barn.
Now that I've moved further south where I had assumed more of the spirit was directed, I see FAR fewer cowboy hats or pickup trucks than I ever saw in the midwest.
The percentage of folks in the US that can even remotely apply their own lives and relate to the lyrical content of modern country music has to be well under 5% (probably a fair bit less). The whole culture they seem to be embracing isn't even real to begin with.
Now that I've moved further south where I had assumed more of the spirit was directed, I see FAR fewer cowboy hats or pickup trucks than I ever saw in the midwest.
The percentage of folks in the US that can even remotely apply their own lives and relate to the lyrical content of modern country music has to be well under 5% (probably a fair bit less). The whole culture they seem to be embracing isn't even real to begin with.
At least they're not musicians bashing other musicians. That would be kind of ridiculous.
There's lots of music out there to enjoy. If you don't like modern country, don't listen to it. There's some good stuff and some bad stuff - same as every genre. Based on the sales of country music, it seems there are plenty of people who think a lot of it is just fine.
Personally, I think Brad Paisley is one of the most talented guitar players in ANY genre. I also find his songs well-written, relevent to my life, and (very often) funny as hell.
There's plenty of music that I think is unlistenable, but I also respect that it might be valuable and moving to someone else. As the father of two young girls, I get to hear a fair amount of current teen-pop. Most of it I find mind-numbing, but it gets them excited about music, and I'm not about to get in the way of that.
I have to agree with the "what happened to country" sentiment here. Big fan of that music from as old as it gets to losing interest somewhere in the '90's.
To me, what they're pushing as country now, is either glorified rap, brittany spears with a fiddle player, or '80's hairband stuff with a fake southern drawl. And yeah, the lyrics are braindead.
Like many things, it's over-the-top commercialized. There's some formula that sells, so they push 1000 more songs just like that one and ignore the rest.
Maybe someday it'll come back around.
Going to listen to some Don Williams now......aahh.....that's better.
To me, what they're pushing as country now, is either glorified rap, brittany spears with a fiddle player, or '80's hairband stuff with a fake southern drawl. And yeah, the lyrics are braindead.
Like many things, it's over-the-top commercialized. There's some formula that sells, so they push 1000 more songs just like that one and ignore the rest.
Maybe someday it'll come back around.
Going to listen to some Don Williams now......aahh.....that's better.
you think country music is bad? listen to some of the casualties and see what some of those guys have done to punk, it seems pretty popular in most genres to just bash on the stereotypes associated with the general subculture belonging to it. It's bound to happen - our cultures are being commodified, the pabst brewing company is pushing PBR through underground "indie" shows and the like going for a "counterculture" image, people are being sold images of big men in cowboy boots driving big trucks to hawk country CDs, and plenty of punk bands are making a living by selling their image of being extreme anti-establishment rebels with combat boots, 40 oz bottles of malt liquor and liberty spikes that take 2 hours to do up. What I really want to know is, when the so-called "prophets" of our time are driven by profit, who do we turn to?
Big fan of Lydia Loveless, and Ben is a good player and very nice guy. I have caught them a few times over the last couple years. If anyone gets the opportunity to see them, while they are still playing small clubs, I would highly recommend it.
As to the topic at hand, I can't say that I am a fan of, or know much, modern country. What I have heard in the media the last few years has not been my cup of tea. However, it seems that there are so many sub-genres these days, I wonder if the same thing is true in the country space? I haven't paid too close attention to popular music for a long while. The stuff I listen to that is new, I find online or younger musicians I meet turn me on to it. I know what I like, but am never too convinced as to what is 'good' - I listen to plenty of music that my wife, and others, consider utter crap : )
^^^Definitely not bad.
Alright, I'm gonna express my somewhat "Country" understanding. I grew up in the 90s in South Texas, and both of my older sisters (who controlled the TV during the summer, and generally the radio as well) were big into country music at a time when I...didn't care about music in general (I was 5 years old in 1990. Gimme a break). Unfortunately both sisters are still digging "Country" radio.
Most of the stuff on the radio is crap. That's every genre. Heck I lost faith in my local classic rock station when I tuned in one day and they were playing Creed
. So it's pretty much NPR for me when I listen to the radio. But I visit Austin at least once a year and I am generally forced to go to at least one Country bar with a band playing. Not all of it's bad...some of it's even pretty old school and not shabby. But even the local Hawaiian music station when I lived on Oahu had it's share of crappy over-produced "music", and that's a pretty specific genre. It happens, something gets hot because of one person/band and a buncha people rip it off
. Peace,
Greg
Country definitely has it's sub-genres, too. There is a lot of good country music still being made, but you have to go looking for it in places other than mass-market commercial radio (Lydia Lovless is a great example). Sirrius/XM Radio's "Outlaw Country" station dives deeply into a very different kinds of country music than you'll hear on the average modern country stations across the country. Some my favorites (some more country than others) include Old 97's, The Mother Truckers, Lucero, Chris Knight, Lucinda Williams, and Reckless Kelly.
If you play a country song backwards, does his wife come back, he gets his job back, his dog comes back to life, and his truck starts?
