Comments on: Your Take: What Is Country Music?

By: Dave Wollenberg

Dave Wollenberg — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:14:53 +0000

Actually, I’m sick of any country act who drops their ‘r’s’ when they sing. The upshot is, they don’t do it when they talk! They’re disrespectin’ the English language! Let’s hear those r’s enunciated well! Peace.

By: Chuck C.

Chuck C. — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:46:49 +0000

I was a teenager in the ’50s and ’60s, drinking beer to Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and dancing to Ray Price, Hank Thompson, etc. I miss that music, and today’s “country” stations don’t fill the bill. They label themselves as “new country”, and that’s fine. But they should realize there wouldn’t be any “new country” without the folks who laid the foundation — George Jones, Ernest Tubbs, the Carter Family, Porter and Dolly, Hank Snow, Buck Owens, Leroy Van Dyke and all the rest. Country music to me tells a story. It’s true to life and makes you want to laugh, cry, love your wife/girlfriend, pet your dog, drink a beer or salute the flag. Few of today’s “country” songs do that, and I believe we’re the worse for it.

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:21:09 +0000

Hello, Taylor Swift, goodbye Johnny Cash.

By: Dave Wollenberg

Dave Wollenberg — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:26:46 +0000

Country’ music isn’t country without pedal steel, banjo, dobro, or mandolin. Bells, are definitely NOT country! See Gary Allan’s ‘Best I ever had,’ or, ‘Watchin’ airplanes.’ Even Josh Turner sold out with a bell on, ‘Another try.’ Some folks really HAVE committed ‘Murder on Music Row.’ Peace.

By: merlefan46

merlefan46 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:42:29 +0000

I often use these two songs as an example of country music. I tell them to listen to Vern Gosdin’s Chiseled In Stone then listen to Kenny Chesney’s The Good Stuff.

By: Corbin

Corbin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:03:10 +0000

My girlfriend hates country music but loves Taylor Swift. To quote Ray Scott, “she thinks country music’s hokey and all the songs are sad.” I love the sad songs because they are often more lyrically powerful. I cannot stand a song with no lyrical substance (Anything Keith Urban, most Kenny Chesney).
It’s not that I don’t like upbeat songs, I recognize Brad Paisley’s novelty songs are at least semi-clever. But songs like “Sweet Thing” and the sort make me throw up in my mouth a bit.

The point I was getting at with this was to agree with the comment above me that even non-country fans will be impacted if they stop to actually listen to the lyrics of a good country song.

But the majority of music listeners don’t want music to stimulate their mind to think about things. They want bubble gum pop that makes them feel happy or, in country music, oversimplified anthems such as “Shutting Detroit Down.”

By: Caleb Stempel

Caleb Stempel — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:39:05 +0000

Country music isn’t Taylor Swift. A true country singer doesn’t remix her singles so they’ll be successful on pop radio like she does. Likewise, country music isn’t Rascal Flatts. I feel that Rascal Flatts is a boy band that failed as pop and thus has become labeled as country. Today, the real country doesn’t get a lot of radio play. If Randy Travis ever gets a top 40 hit, I’ll be surprised because country radio is destroying the genre. Most of what we hear on the radio isn’t country, its country pop. I love Keith Urban, but his music isn’t country. Some, focus on some, of Brad Paisley’s music is county, but not all the radio singles. Just because the lyrics dance on the theme of country music doesn’t make it country.

By: Sound Off « FOR THE RECORD

Sound Off « FOR THE RECORD — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:48:27 +0000

[...] What is country music? [...]

By: Your Take: What Do Your Musical Tastes Say About You? | The 9513

Your Take: What Do Your Musical Tastes Say About You? | The 9513 — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:53:03 +0000

[...] weeks ago you came up with some great definitions for the genre of country music, which she echoes here. Do you agree with O’Brien’s observation? Does being a country [...]

By: rich

rich — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:50:21 +0000

Country music is where the “artist” lists the names of their hairdresser, make-up artist and clothing supplier on their CD. It is the music where the “artist” shows up at the studio and their manager gives them lyric sheets and a band of musicians they have never even met before start plaing the songs. Country music is all business and an extreme few musicians who actually play an instrument proficiently or write their own songs ever have success. Country music is big money and big hair and cowboy hats. It is absolutely the same as rap music… all show and no substinence. Bluegrass and folk have remained pretty pure but country music is now an embarrasement.

Look back to the 1960’s and 1970’s and no one was having success in country music due to their looks – only their tallent. But now not a single person can have a break out or success without first being good looking. Image is king, not tallent.

Now since “alt-country” never really took hold to the extent that some folks became real wealthy from it, there is a movement invented just by producers, Clear Channel and record labels to invent the “Americana” identity. This is ONLY an advertising and marketing ploy. What a joke. It is just another way for the Nashville power base to try to invent a new cash flow machine.

And then their is the manditory right wing only politics of country music which is discusting.