Modern Country Music
So a couple of the young guys I work with at Borders like music as much as I do.
And we tend to have long, in-depth discussions about music.
We like different styles, but we all love music more than most people.
This confirms a theory I previously had about the freedom that men of my generation have when it comes to things like music, video games, and comics.
But the reason for this post is the following.
We have a 5 disc changer at work and very quickly, you tire of the discs that play on repeat. Well, for probably a month, I've heard the Across the Universe soundtrack easily 4 to 5 times per week. And I'm sick of it.
It doesn't help that it's shitty covers of Beatles songs.
Anyway, I mentioned to a co-worker that I was tired of it.
His response was that I should keep my mouth shut because the CD we're replacing it with is Carrie Underwood's new one.
And we had a discussion about why we hate country music.
Chiefly among the complaints given was that it sucks.
But that's not why I hate it.
I love traditional country music. I hate modern country.
And today, I was grooming myself in the mirror, thinking about this subject.
This sentence stuck in my head.
"The only difference between pop music and country these days is the amount of vocal talent."
I hate modern country music because there's simply nothing country about it.
It's slick and soulless.
And as we all know, I love soul.
But Johnny Cash had soul. He wrote songs he felt.
He didn't write singles. He wrote songs.
Willie, Waylon, Gram Parsons.
The list is long.
How is it that country music has so lost the point.
For the record, I feel the same way about soul music.
Very few modern soul singers have any soul at all.
They only seem to sing about how awesome they are or getting it on (Marvin gets a pass because even when he sang about getting it on, he had soul).
Every one of you that read this blog dislike country music for one reason or another.
Out of curiosity, what do you dislike about it?
If you like it, what do you like about it?
Sub-question: For the music you like, what is it that makes you like one song and not another?
Sound off!!
And we tend to have long, in-depth discussions about music.
We like different styles, but we all love music more than most people.
This confirms a theory I previously had about the freedom that men of my generation have when it comes to things like music, video games, and comics.
But the reason for this post is the following.
We have a 5 disc changer at work and very quickly, you tire of the discs that play on repeat. Well, for probably a month, I've heard the Across the Universe soundtrack easily 4 to 5 times per week. And I'm sick of it.
It doesn't help that it's shitty covers of Beatles songs.
Anyway, I mentioned to a co-worker that I was tired of it.
His response was that I should keep my mouth shut because the CD we're replacing it with is Carrie Underwood's new one.
And we had a discussion about why we hate country music.
Chiefly among the complaints given was that it sucks.
But that's not why I hate it.
I love traditional country music. I hate modern country.
And today, I was grooming myself in the mirror, thinking about this subject.
This sentence stuck in my head.
"The only difference between pop music and country these days is the amount of vocal talent."
I hate modern country music because there's simply nothing country about it.
It's slick and soulless.
And as we all know, I love soul.
But Johnny Cash had soul. He wrote songs he felt.
He didn't write singles. He wrote songs.
Willie, Waylon, Gram Parsons.
The list is long.
How is it that country music has so lost the point.
For the record, I feel the same way about soul music.
Very few modern soul singers have any soul at all.
They only seem to sing about how awesome they are or getting it on (Marvin gets a pass because even when he sang about getting it on, he had soul).
Every one of you that read this blog dislike country music for one reason or another.
Out of curiosity, what do you dislike about it?
If you like it, what do you like about it?
Sub-question: For the music you like, what is it that makes you like one song and not another?
Sound off!!
posted by Grant Alter at 12:57 AM
2 Comments:
Most modern country is over-produced and only out there to use the single to sell the album. The all around talent sucks ass. I like some Willie and Cash, but I think the alt-country movement is sort of a throwback to that good old stuff. The Old 97's are one of my favorite bands of all time, and look up 2 local Phoenix bands when you get a chance, THE REVENANTS (Suicide Kings) are a little twangy, a little soul and some rock, you'd like them, and FLATHEAD is flat out, kick-ass bluegrass flavored country. They both have myspace pages and both have been kicking around the valley for the last decade or so. I've seen each one probably 20 times, never a let-down.
Modern country and mainstream pop are variations on the same theme. I love a good hook but pop for profit never sits well with me. Real music has to come from a place that doesn't recognize dollar signs and doesn't rely on glossy production values which, I think, are a big part of the problem. For example Usher's song "Burn" annoys the hell out of me, it's drowning in over production but when alt-country singer Pink Nasty recorded a stripped down cover it was actually a really soulful song.
So I think we're turned off by the glossy surface of the mainstream which can overshadow a song's merit. Or more often than not disguise the fact that there is no merit to the song at all.
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