What happened to Country Music?

joey48442 wrote: When it got this huge streak of patriotic bullE36 M3 running through it, that's when country died. Nothing wrong with being patriotic, but come on... And this whole "simple man" thing...

Add on the religious theme. I don't want to be preached at. My personal favorite older country band is Alabama. Also +1 on folk and bluegrass.

joey48442 wrote: In reply to mtn: Robert Earl keen, and Justins daddy, Steve, and even The guy Justin got his middle name from, Townes van Zant, I think if I heard any of them on the local pop fluff country crap station I would poop my self. Or Hank the third. Joey

The local classic rock station has an HD affiliat called roots that apparenty plays all of that. They have a 1 hour how every night by the same name on the normal FM station and it's good stuff.

I saw Steve Earle over the summer doing his Tribute to Townes tour. It was like a VH1 storytellers, but live. It was pretty awesome. Joe Pug opened, and he was good. Worth googling if you haven't heard him.

joey48442 wrote: In reply to mtn: Robert Earl keen, and Justins daddy, Steve, and even The guy Justin got his middle name from, Townes van Zant, I think if I heard any of them on the local pop fluff country crap station I would poop my self. Or Hank the third. Joey

Just got a Townes Van Zant album a few weeks ago, haven't listened to it yet. I've never actually heard him, but I like all of his songs that I've heard from Willie, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, etc.

I listen to Country once in a while only because, like old AM radio, they run the same 10 song play list over and over. I know these artists put out albums, I know there's usually 12 or so songs on an album, hocumzit they pick ONE and beat it to death?

Dan

Going and seeing George Strait later this month with the girl friend. Zac Brown Band is great and sounds completely different from most of the other main stream country music. Brad Paisley is good for a humorous song and is great with a guitar but is getting a bit into the main stream.

Even though I have quite a bit of stuff from the 90's and modern stuff (not much whiney stuff unless its something my girl friend likes) I still have Cash and Reed on my MP3 player.

rebelgtp wrote: Going and seeing George Strait later this month with the girl friend. Zac Brown Band is great and sounds completely different from most of the other main stream country music. Brad Paisley is good for a humorous song and is great with a guitar but is getting a bit into the main stream. Even though I have quite a bit of stuff from the 90's and modern stuff (not much whiney stuff unless its something my girl friend likes) I still have Cash and Reed on my MP3 player.

I like ZBB. Bonus that they are some local boys.

Yeah ZBB is playing here in Oregon in 2 weeks I think it is sadly right when I have finals so I can't take the trip to see them.

mtn wrote:

alex wrote: I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't include the link. Trigger 5

Great versions of "If we make through December". But I can't click on the Angel Flying too Close to the ground, it takes me straight back to December.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have my people look at that - and by 'my people,' I mean the fiddle player and the steel player, since they're the guys in charge of the YouTube account. Grassroots!

Oh, and the tracks from our album can be heard on our Reverbnation page, which, for any musicians out there, is actually a pretty cool site - better than Facebook and MySpace, from my perspective.

The new "overly wholesome" and disneyfied country thing makes me physically ill. "The good stuff" and other garbage like that is as if Hallmark wrote music. It is not written to be good music but to ellicit an emotional response.

Then there is the "honky tonk bedonkadonk" and what ever that "I got a friend in new york city, hes never heard of conway twitty" crap is. Who is that supposed to appeal to? The cover of "Walking in Memphis" that came out a few years back that was identical in every way to the original except this time it was a country song?.....Really?

That sound of a jet turbine you hear in the distance. That is Hank Williams and Buck Owens spinning in their graves at 30 thousand RPM

Traditional country is still alive but now it is called alternative country and it is all on independant labels like Bloodshot records.

I really need to get some alternative country. I had never really heard of it. My iPod just has a bunch of Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and Willy Nelson on it.

I liked country when you could play it backwards and you would get everything back.

Country died with Johnny Cash.

The real problem is, country took an apparently irreversible turn for the worse with the incorporation of the so-called Nashville sound, at the hands of none other than Chet Atkins. He was the one responsible for removing the steel guitar and fiddle from country and replacing them with a string section, like RCA and Columbia were doing almost across their entire lineup in '57/'58. Sorry to blame it on a guy who's a idol-worthy guitarist*, but that really signalled the beginning of the end of authentic country's success in the mainstream.

*I always liked Jerry Reed better, anyway.

96DXCivic wrote: I really need to get some alternative country. I had never really heard of it. My iPod just has a bunch of Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and Willy Nelson on it.

My personal favorites of "alternative country"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlylarCRayI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpUXrDrUfDM&feature=related

VanillaSky wrote: IMO, country music died in the 90's. I can't stand what they're currently passing off as country music these days. It's either rock music or pop music.

IMO it actually died all the way back when Alabama became the face of country music... where are the Ernest Tubb's the Faron Young's the Hank William's ...??? about all that's left is George and Merle and the stations won't play anyone that long in the tooth...

It died when they forgot the "Western" part.

In fairness, it comes and goes, like all music. Have you listened to what passes for rock on the radio lately?

Now this thread has me listening to a Johnny Cash station on pandora

joey48442 wrote: When it got this huge streak of patriotic bullE36 M3 running through it, that's when country died. Nothing wrong with being patriotic, but come on... And this whole "simple man" thing and songs about drinking wine out of Dixie cups and and riding around on mortorcycles with 'me and my gang' and beleiving that someone loves you when the say they do when your 15, and maybe you will meet a rich old dude at the bar who will leave you all his cash when he kicks the bucket much to th chagrin of all his kids, and leaving your Christmas lights up all year long and not even knowing your own last name and digging your key unto the aide if some dudes four wheel drive cause he cheated on you (cause your the kind of beahtch who would key someones car) and hey! Sounds like life to me! Aarrrrgggghjh! Sorry bout that, I got a little carried away. I have to listen to that crap all the time at work. I listen to outlaw country on satelite radio alot. PS, real men don't sit around on a Friday night, and sing about a pair of jeans that fit just right. Joey

That pretty much says it all. My best friend loves the stuff, the more overproduced crappier the better. Occasionally something like the Zac Brown Band will come along for a little redemption but most of it is plastic drivel. I was just spinning Hank Williams on vinyl yesterday, I think country will come back but right now it is in a very bad spot.

I tell people I listen to alt-country and they get all strange. Then I mention it's country that comes from outside of Nashville. Then, most of them get it.

Bands I like:

Ryan Adams - his upbeat stuff not his whiney woe-is-me stuff.

The Gourds

Slobberbone - before they broke up

Wilco - more something than alt-country now.

Hayes Carll

Guy Clark

John Prine

Brandi Carlile

Drive-by Truckers

Jason Isbell

Lucero

Jayhawks

Raconteurs

Will Hoge

Guys I like who play Bluegrass.

Avett Brothers

Old Crow Medicine Show

Also Chuck Ragan, Austin Lucan, and Tim Barry. Chuck puts on the Revival Tour every year with lots of guest musicians, best show I have ever been to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PG2Nwag5II

96DXCivic wrote: Can some one explain what happened to Country music?

I think you're trying to say "The grand ole opry ain't so grand anymore"

Xceler8x wrote: Raconteurs

I love "Steady as she goes", but that doesn't sound country to me

+1 for Steve Earle.

96DXCivic wrote: Can some one explain what happened to Country music? Modern mainstream country music is berkeleying Disney and it is sung by a bunch of Bob Costas. Is there any good country left?

Nashville Country Machine music is just like any other pop crap in a slightly different flavor. It's just like LA Pop Machine music or whatever. There are some antidotes, even if they are not necessarily still in the saddle, they are recent.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the gentleman in my signature, Junior Brown, leap instantly to mind. There are plenty of others. Bluegrass in partiular has had a huge underground renaissance in the last 10 years or so.

How do you make it so you watch a topic?

96DXCivic wrote: How do you make it so you watch a topic?

Little heart right below the add-post button.

Some other good bands to check out.. HankIII http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-qdQ2AI2H0&feature=related

Unknown Hinson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7_YNTQmtGg&feature=related

The Sh*tkickers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPWts9kJq2o&feature=related