Modern "Country"

[DaZombieWoof]

Well, there is a track off Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Live Art double CD where Chick Corea does play and solo on a very country song.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Well, I was drunk the day my momma got out of prison,
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But before I could get to the station in the pick-up truck,
She got runned over by a damned old train.

It's all there, thank you Steve Goodman and John Prine.

Country is where rock and roll went to hide after it was hijacked by punk and metal.

Some modern country is very good, some is overproduced pop.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Devil Went Down to Georgia, while a big hit, got CD labeled as a gimmic player/band. Too bad, because he is extremely talented.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

It's just weird you hear distorted humbucker guitars through marshals over hip hop beats and samples on the "country" stations.

And nothing but four on the floor bass drum, banjo, mandolin, and acoustic guitar on the "alternative rock" stations (Mumford and sons, the lumineers, etc.)

Music is just in a strange place now.

Actually, music is where it has always been. It is we humans with our OCD drive to put everything in the right box. It really drives us crazy when we find an object that doesn't belong in an existing box.
How many remember the big argument in the mid 60s about Mods and Rockers?

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

It is mostly rock, but I wouldn't go that far. 80s hair metal was much heavier, distorted, and focused more on the music than modern country. I'd say modern country sounds more like late 70s arena or mid-west rock, Like Kansas, Skynard, Boston, Foreigner, that kind of stuff. Only with dumb hats and really dumb lyrics.

Saying cowboy hats are dumb could get you some serious unwanted attention in some places.

 

[denton57]

 

[denton57]

 

[denton57]

Check out that stuff. Charlie Hayward is a GREAT bass player.. That sax solo is sweet too!

 

[socialleper]

Saying cowboy hats are dumb could get you some serious unwanted attention in some places.

I'm totally cool with that. The is key is to not give two $#@&s about the places where that would be a problem.

It's 2000 and #$%ing 14. We don't wear tunics, frock coats, powered wigs, or stiff celluloid collars anymore either. Its an anachronism. You know who else loves cowboy hats? Bret Michaels from Poison. Square that circle.

 

[Bassamatic]

We have been adding some country songs for a new crowd we are playing for, and in general, I enjoy playing it. We try to select songs that are more interesting, like "Why don't we just dance" and "Put another drink in my hand", and I have started listening to the modern Country XM channel for songs ideas. However, when I start hearing the lyrics over and over again about "drinking 6-packs in my jacked up pickup truck" and tight jeans I'm outta there. The music is fun but the modern lyrics? SUCK! It's like they have run out of ideas so they just put beer, trucks, fried chicken and the American flag together in as many ways as possible. (shudder).

 

[denton57]

I have been in a band recently that snuck in some new country on me. Some of it is pretty good, most is garbage to me. I went to a Blake Shelton show a couple weeks ago (I only knew one song) with my wife, and it was really good - he is a great entertainer.

This Luke Bryan guy however.. and all the songs about getting drunk, cheap beer, etc... Songs with no value at all lyrically or musically. There will be a revolt from this excess crap that is being pumped out of Nashville. Someone will pop out and end this era, like Nirvana did to the hair bands, and bring country back to life.

 

[klejst]

I agree a lot of today's country stays relatively true to it's country roots however is heavily influenced by pop and reoccurring themes. It's catchy but really you can only make so many good songs about tractors, trucks, lift kits, cows, hay and of course girls before it starts to become redundantly boring. It's all in the execution of how it's done though and can actually be a really fun genre of music to play plus at least around where I live women go nuts for it. Something about a country woman's long brown/brunette hair, short tied shirt, short jean shorts, tan skin and a smile seems to get me every time.

 

[RoadRanger]

I'm having a hard time finding a guitarist willing to play country - all them guitards just wanna shred old moldy classic rock leads .

 

[AuBassMan]

Several years ago when I was getting back into playing in bands again...used to play rock in the 80s but quit to raise kids.....I wanted to play country. This is before "bro country". I went to the local music store to talk to a friend that worked there about country bands needing a bass player.

This guy, a customer, asks me if I mean real country or Nashville country. Naively, I ask what's the difference...pi$$es the guy off....he says real country is bluegrass not the crap out of Nashville, and he was including "old" country in that statement as well...really wanted to argue with me about it...like I was part of "the problem".

Point is, I agree with those that say things change...evolve...and some people don't like that and some do. I used to really not like country back in the day...now I'm older and my tastes have grown with me. I like a wide range of music including new country, and I enjoy playing it...but I do agree that the lyrics seem to all include the same catch phrases, that is getting tiresome and needs to change.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I'm totally cool with that. The is key is to not give two $#@&s about the places where that would be a problem.

It's 2000 and #$%ing 14. We don't wear tunics, frock coats, powered wigs, or stiff celluloid collars anymore either. Its an anachronism. You know who else loves cowboy hats? Bret Michaels from Poison. Square that circle.

Great, stay where you are. We don't want A@#$T#s like you here anyway. You sound like Archie Bunker.

 

[Hopkins]

And

Coltrane wasn't playing real jazz. Or Miles.
Sinatra (and Elvis) was just mugging for the ladies.
The Beatles were just a bunch of talentless long hairs.
The Dead was just a bunch of dope smoking hippies.
The Eagles were called sellouts by both rock and country critics.
Garth Brooks was accused of defiling country when he first became popular.
And on. And on.

Rock and pop haven't changed? Most of the guitar solos are gone.

Not saying the new country is the same as what we call classic (or even that I listen to it much).

Music changes, or we would still be listening to C-Am-F-G7 rock, country would be I-IV-V, and jazz would be quarter note swing.

I think you missed my point. You can still listen to rock without the vocal and tell it is rock. I never said it didn't change, I just said it still easily identifies as rock music. If you take the vocal tracks out of a country song you would have a hard time figuring out it was country and not rock or pop. The country style of song writing is gone, it has turned into rock/pop with a southern drawl

 

[buldog5151bass]

What you said about country was said for Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, and others (remember, Rock and roll evolved from country).

As to rock, can you say that Yes, Zep, Sabbath, the Bee Gees and The Cars sound the same (and that is just part of one decade), or that you could even say they were the same kind of music - but it is all now "classic rock". Go back to Chuck Berry, go ahead to Lady Gaga - the gap keeps widening.

ALL music changes/evolves. When it is not what we listened to before, we say it has changed. We are all getting to be our fathers.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

The problem I have with Modern Country is that most songs that get popular get one to three months of airplay, then they move on to the next "hit". If you learn a "new" country tune you have to be certain that it has staying power, or you are constantly learning the next "new" hit. It is trying.

Yes sir, you certainly do have to choose wisely. We usually learn three or four new songs a month. Some fall out of the rotation quickly while others we are still playing after a year. It does seem to be a waste of time but I look at it like an exercise to keep my chops up, both mental and physical. As long as I keep leaning new songs quickly, I can keep learning new songs quickly. I have a full time day job and a family too so time is precious to me. But I make it work somehow.

Best of luck to you Mr. City.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[socialleper]

Great, stay where you are. We don't want A@#$T#s like you here anyway. You sound like Archie Bunker.

I'm pretty sure Archie Bunker never used the word anachronism, or said anything about Brett Michaels. I don't think he ever said anything about cowboy hats either. That's actually a terrible comeback; you should work on that.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

It's all in the execution of how it's done though and can actually be a really fun genre of music to play plus at least around where I live women go nuts for it. Something about a country woman's long brown/brunette hair, short tied shirt, short jean shorts, tan skin and a smile seems to get me every time.

Case in point. Here are some of the audience members I play for.

And there's more where that came from. I'm not in the market, been married for 20 years, but it's fun to play for the lovely ladies.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff