Tim McGraw And Friday Night Lights Team Up Again

Yes, we can agree that RF is so not country! The journalist used terms like “twang” to describe vaious aspects of their performance. Is there any chance that the author has ever listened to a Derailers or 1100 Springs CD??

You mean, “my baby goes all the way” w/Jamie Foxx isnt your idea of “pure country”???? I guess next you will start telling me that Taylor Swift is your BFF and so better than, like Hank Sr….

Brody – As someone who grew up on arena rock – RF is no arena rocker. If they are, then maybe their arena rock equivalent might be REO Speedwagon.

>>Can we all agree that there really isn’t anything country about Rascal Flatts?

Completely agreed. Now can we all agree there’s nothing GOOD about Rascal Flatts? Thought not…

Thanks, as always for the shout out, ya’ll.

Coming from the land of RF – their hometown Columbus, I could not be more sick of them being harped as the next best thing in country music to sliced bread – I admit that they fill the soccer stadium when they play there but I have no interest in them

You mean we will get another attack like Tyler and Philatics (sp?) – heaven help us –

I dare say that the combination of “Teardrops” getting traction at pop radio and “Picture to Burn” still waiting in the wings as a potential smash, Taylor Swift may have herself a quadruple platinum debut album this time next year. Trying to get my head around the fact that both her and Hannah Montana are in the top ten at country radio (along with Billy Ray Cyrus!) just makes my head spin. Sigh. I feel old.

Really old songs:
“How Do I Live”?!
“I Could Not Ask for More”?!
“You’re Still the One”?
“Breathe”?
“Making Memories of Us”?!?!
“WHAT HURTS THE MOST”?!?!

Did country music start in 1998 or something?

Why do some people who enjoy country music hate so much? There is a pretty wide range of tastes that have been in country music for a long time and not all of it good taste. I could name names, and many of them are from long before 1998, but what’s the point? Some part of the audience likes them and that fact doesn’t hurt me in any way at all.

So why is it necessary to diss certain performers who appeal to an audience different than your and your significant other?

I’ve never really gotten that and it seems a lot more common in country music circles than in others. It’s all about a good time isn’t it?

Peter – I’m not familiar with arena rock at all, it’s just the term I find most commonly associated with Rascal Flatts’ live performances. Good call on the REO reference, too.

Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, etc. are all reasons I have officially given up on Country radio. It all seems so pointless now, at least to me, as a fan of singers/bands like Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley and The Randy Rogers Band, I just go out and support those artists through legal downloads or buying albums.

With things like Ipods, MP3 Players and CD Players, I see no point to bother with the mindless, pop-country crap that has taken over Country radio. If I wanted to listen to a bunch of ads, a uninteresting DJ who likes to hear him/herself talk and a bunch of songs by artists who proclaim their Country “roots”, but cover songs by Rappers and have duets with actors turned R&B singers, well then I would listen to Country radio. As it stands, I dont really want to listen to those things, so I try to avoid it.

I could see, back before the internet the need to listen to Country radio to find new artists, hear new songs, etc. but now with the internet it all seems so pointless and a huge waste of time for me to flip the FM dial to Country stations.

FUNK: There are as many variations of country as there are hip hop and rock. That leads to the same amount of “dissing” and nay-saying in those circles as well. This type of discourse has been around for ages. Back in the late 70’s, fans of Led Zepplin or Pink Floyd loathed disco. In the late 80’s fans of Gangster rap despised Fresh Prince and Kid n Play. While all forms of a genre might share the blanket name of “country” or “rock”, that doesnt mean folks cant come on here and suggest that the lighter, more poppy and frivolous forms of a beloved genre aren’t as true and authentic as various other forms in that same genre. It isnt hate as you suggest, it is simple preference. Do you like EVERYTHING you hear on the radio? If you hear something you do not enjoy, do you still go and buy it and tell your friends how awesome it is, even though it isnt for you??

I would play Devil’s Advocate here–some of RF’s earlier stuff is solidly contemporary country. “These Days” is a very, very good song, for example. Yeah, it’s a little poppy, but I think we’re doing them a dis-service to write off their entire catalog with one stroke of the quill.

Jim- You MAY have a point, however, that song in particular showcases their amazingly generic taste in lyircs. You call it a “very, very good song”, yet I think it foreshadows the generic path they would later hot-rod down as they become more popular. Sunday Church, front porches, fond small town memories, we have heard that a time or two before, havent we??

Jim: My bad, I got my RF songs confused. I was thinking of the “mayberry” song, whatever it may be called. Having said that, their sound may have been “countrier” in the past, but I still think even their earlier cuts are sadly formulaic from every perspective.

Baron – I’d list Neal Schon as a much superior guitarist to Gary Richrath – my personal opinion.

It wasn’t a perfect analogy, but REO did help really bring the power ballad to the fore in rock and roll. I like REO – even saw them live back in the day.

I guess I always have trouble when people listen to songs like “Still Feels Good” by RF and think “Oh man! This song ROCKS!”

Maybe a better rock band analogy might be… Survivor.

Not to stray from this always riveting RF discussion, I just want to comment that I too love “Friday Night Lights.” An underrated show indeed.