Totally weak man. Totally totally totally weak. Seriously, like, weak to the maximum. Country music is based in folk music, or music that heavily values tradition. And why 1962? Why not what Hank was doing in the late 40’s, or what Johnny Cash was doing in the 50’s, or what the outlaws were doing in the 70’s, or what Steve Earle or Dwight Yoakam or what Lyle Lovett was doing in the 80’s? Why is 1962 the arbitrary place that these “kitsch” acts are harkening back to.

More importantly the idea that a country music artist can “rip off” the music of yesteryear is totally false. Willie’s breakthrough hit “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” was a cover of a Fred Rose song that Hank sang. Now, it’s a free country so you can claim that Willie was a “kitsch” act who was just trying to appeal to people who still wished it was 1949, but you would lose pretty much all credibility.

Johnny Cash did a hell of a version of “Wreck of the Old 97″ and that was the FIRST country hit record for christssake. Waylon and Dwight both did cool versions of “T for Texas” which was a Jimmie Rodgers song.

Country music, though a form of popular or pop music, is also a form of folk music and so it values where it came from.

Seriously dude, little more than kitsch value? Is that how you view the history of country music? When you listen to George Jones and Hank Williams and Buck Owens is that all you hear? The kitschy sounds of yesterday that led the way to Sugarland and Kenny Chesney?

I suppose the proper answer is that the term country should belong to us old traditionalists who owned the term first, then when most of the generation passes from the scene, the newcomers take possession of the term. Sort of like the term liberal - the classic meaning of the term as used in the 19th century would describe a Reagan Republican but the 20th/21st century meaning is more likely to apply to a Jimmy Carter or Teddy Kennedy, individuals who would have been described as socialist or radicals during the 19th century. So shall the term “Country Music” evolve. To my generation (or older) Ernest Tubb and Merle Haggard are Country, the Eagles are rock, Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban are acoustic pop and Big and Rich are crap (at least that’s how the over 65 crowd views then - I’m 55 and view them simply as not very good pop).

Don’t ask me how to classify Garth Brooks - he is smart enough to include a couple of tracks on every CD that appeal to the most diehard traditional country fan, even if the singles usually strike us as arena rock.

I actually would like to see a new organization form to issue awards and honors to the alt-county (a/k/a Americana, roots rock, lite rock, southern rock lite) and then leave the ACMs and CMAs to deal with the traditional forms of the music.

That’s a debatable and problematic statement, because what is assumes is that roots only grow in one direction.

That’s not true, though. One root might grow towards the west and another towards the east, and one might end up quite a bit further away from the trunk than its siblings, but they are still connected to, dependent upon, and responsible for, the same tree.

This is probably the most insulting sentence I’ve seen yet in a country music forum.

I guess that you would lump classical composers who compose new orchestral music as “kitsch” for people who wish it was still 1814.

The fact that honky-tonk and swing are “mostly” generated by artists from Texas (with healthy contingents from California, Ohio, New York, Florida, Maine, Virginia and elsewhere) does not make it kitsch. The music continues to progress, tackling new issues and creating new musical combinations while remaining true to its roots.

When any musical form forgets its roots it is no longer a part of its original format; it has become something else entirely. Most alt-country isn’t country at all - I don’t object to its existance - some of it is even pretty good or excellent - but don’t ask me to regard it as country or have the various country awards be given to it. Let them form their own organizations and hold their own award shows. I loved Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington but they certainly were not country music

I have no problem with the CMAs choosing not to nominate rock or alt-country artists for awards. I would never expected Soul Train to nominate Porter Wagoner or Johnny Cash for its various awards.

Also, do you think Skaggs would be getting much Grammy respect if he was still getting mainstream airplay ?

I’ve never seen any award from the CMA, Soul Train or any other group as ludicrous as the Heavy Metal award given to Jethro Tull by NARAS. Any group that could make that sort of error really doesn’t deserve much respect.

Most of the folks I know didn’t see Alan Jackson’s latest album as either an artistic breakthrough or a disaster. Most have felt that it needed a couple of uptempo songs. Phrased in more academic terms: “the whole was less than the sum of the parts”.

As far as getting bored easily, I suffer from the same curse, which is why I can hardly listen to modern country radio - it’s simply too boring, like eating fat-free food or unsalted potato chips

I don’t know if the Association voters who support such albums would see a distinction between judging artistic merit and celebrating a stylistic approach that it is fond of. I don’t personally hold this view, but it is pretty common among country music lovers to believe that it is only the traditionalists who make “real” country music, and that only “real” country music is worthy of a country music honor.

I definitely agree that being on a major label and having Nashville connections were also needed for those three to receive Album nods. It hurts to not have a strong presence in town, which has left some very credible major label acts like Gary Allan and, back in the day, Dwight Yoakam, without any CMA awards.

I think the differences we have on the Sugarland album are just a matter of taste. One man’s refinement is another’s repetition, I suppose. One of my quirks is I get bored very easily, so I tend to prefer artists who make bigger stylistic swings between projects. Hence, I saw Alan’s latest as an artistic breakthrough, while many others saw it as a disaster.

Patty Loveless
Lee Ann Womack
Vince Gill

All three are major label artists with strong traditional “Nashville” roots.

I’m not sure that in these cases the Association is judging artistic merit so much as it is celebrating a certain stylistic approach that it (as a body) is fond of.

Also, I disagree with your comparison of the two Sugarland albums, although I do admit that there is a great deal of similarity between the two (which we might able to call derivative).

I would rate “Stay” as the third best song on Enjoy The Ride behind “Want To,” and “One Blue Sky,” which is think is as about as close to perfect as a country song can be.