Mitch, you couldn't be more wrong. Today's country is crap, just like rap and hip-hop are crap. People, including my wonderful wife, are always telling me, "I know you don't like country, but you need to listen to..." And I am disappointed every time. They all sound the same. And I take issue with you saying rock came from country - rock is the offspring of the blues.
CJ took the words right out of my mouth - country died with Waylon, Glenn and Johnny.
"We sure don't..." need Jamey Johnson, or any other packaged country music in our lives. Here's my cliche - Life it too short to listen to bad music. There are only so many guitar riffs for my ears to hear and I don't want to waste any.
I feel like that evil emperor guy from the Star Wars reveling in the hate as it washes over him! If you like Waylon you'll probably like Jamey. Give it a spin!!
I'm not sure I understand the pov that rock fans who claim to like Cash, Willie etc. but 'not that corporate, Music Row country' is a load of horseshit. I'm WAY past caring about about what people think about my musical tastes (rather than being honest about what music really moves me). I like a ton of 'Country' music - across all the variations. And it's a huge range spanning decades and sub-genres: Beyond Johnny, Willie, Waylon, etc.. there's Gram Parsons, Steve Earle, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, The Jayhawks, The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Whiskeytown, Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Escovedo, Kathleen Edwards, Ryan Bingham, Flying Burrito Brothers, Tyler Childers, Ronnie Fauss, Todd Snider, Shooter Jennings, The Old 97's, Lilly Hyatt, Hailey Whitters, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, The Dixie Chicks, Whitney Rose, Margo Price, Waylon Payne, Lydia Loveless, Kacey Musgraves, John Moreland, Turnpike Trubadours, Country Westerns, Ashley McBryde....I could go on and on. Like all of them. All have some level of Country that comes through - from country-tinged rock to straight up Country. Whether its the sound (the twang), the mood, the storytelling etc..'Country' is not one thing.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT...I absolutely loathe almost every song I hear on Country Music radio. Not ALL, but 90% - at least. Take that for what it's worth. And I've tried to give it a chance - many times. The lyrics are often embarrassing, the sound is some mashup between Country, Hip-hop, and crappy pop songs. It's cookie cutter music spit out by the Nashville machine with a formula that seems to work. But isn't this the same with all popular music today? When was the last time the most talented, most original, most compelling artists also sat atop the charts - in any genre?
A lot of classic country that's acceptable to rock fans isn't even called country music anymore. Willie Nelson and all the other Highwaymen are now labelled as "Americana". There are a few younger artists that sound ok next to the old legends.
A few years ago Steve Earle told an interviewer that "country coming out of Nashville today is just hip-hop for people who are afraid of black people". There's a lot to unpack there. I think of country like that other most dreaded of genres: pop music. At any given time about 95% of country or pop music just isn't very good. But if you can find that other 5% or so, it will be good enough to become part of the soundtrack of your life. Who cares what it's called as long as it makes you feel something?
Making me feel something has always been my litmus test, Paul Hackett. It's why I like artists as diverse as Megadeth and Ambrosia with equal fervor. It's also why I take country music on a song-by-song basis. I love Kasey Chambers' "Barricades and Brick Walls" and JC's "Folsom Prison Blues" and even Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats". (Holy sh*t with that song! The first time I heard it I felt so guilty it was like I had cheated on her.) Nothing on this album made me feel like any of the examples I just gave. And, in general, most country music doesn't give me that feeling either.
My default setting used to be "I like anything but country." It was a total cop-out in a world full of pretentious scenesters, and frankly not intellectually honest. The truth was I /did/ like some of it; it was just easier to say that and maintain a Potemkin village of cool, rather than admit I loved Dolly Parton. God forbid I ever reveal that I knew the words to a LOT of Oakridge Boys songs.
One might not like country music as a genre, but it's hard to deny that much of it is objectively good music. Not all, mind you, but a statement like that doesn't allow carve-outs for the Johnnys, Lorettas, and Waylon's of the world (or Kasey Musgraves for that matter).
P.S. "Street Thrown Alabama" is some next-level wordsmithing.
Mitch, you couldn't be more wrong. Today's country is crap, just like rap and hip-hop are crap. People, including my wonderful wife, are always telling me, "I know you don't like country, but you need to listen to..." And I am disappointed every time. They all sound the same. And I take issue with you saying rock came from country - rock is the offspring of the blues.
CJ took the words right out of my mouth - country died with Waylon, Glenn and Johnny.
"We sure don't..." need Jamey Johnson, or any other packaged country music in our lives. Here's my cliche - Life it too short to listen to bad music. There are only so many guitar riffs for my ears to hear and I don't want to waste any.
I feel like that evil emperor guy from the Star Wars reveling in the hate as it washes over him! If you like Waylon you'll probably like Jamey. Give it a spin!!
Thanks, Mitch. Looking forward to Fogarty.
I'm not sure I understand the pov that rock fans who claim to like Cash, Willie etc. but 'not that corporate, Music Row country' is a load of horseshit. I'm WAY past caring about about what people think about my musical tastes (rather than being honest about what music really moves me). I like a ton of 'Country' music - across all the variations. And it's a huge range spanning decades and sub-genres: Beyond Johnny, Willie, Waylon, etc.. there's Gram Parsons, Steve Earle, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, The Jayhawks, The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Whiskeytown, Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Escovedo, Kathleen Edwards, Ryan Bingham, Flying Burrito Brothers, Tyler Childers, Ronnie Fauss, Todd Snider, Shooter Jennings, The Old 97's, Lilly Hyatt, Hailey Whitters, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, The Dixie Chicks, Whitney Rose, Margo Price, Waylon Payne, Lydia Loveless, Kacey Musgraves, John Moreland, Turnpike Trubadours, Country Westerns, Ashley McBryde....I could go on and on. Like all of them. All have some level of Country that comes through - from country-tinged rock to straight up Country. Whether its the sound (the twang), the mood, the storytelling etc..'Country' is not one thing.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT...I absolutely loathe almost every song I hear on Country Music radio. Not ALL, but 90% - at least. Take that for what it's worth. And I've tried to give it a chance - many times. The lyrics are often embarrassing, the sound is some mashup between Country, Hip-hop, and crappy pop songs. It's cookie cutter music spit out by the Nashville machine with a formula that seems to work. But isn't this the same with all popular music today? When was the last time the most talented, most original, most compelling artists also sat atop the charts - in any genre?
A lot of classic country that's acceptable to rock fans isn't even called country music anymore. Willie Nelson and all the other Highwaymen are now labelled as "Americana". There are a few younger artists that sound ok next to the old legends.
A few years ago Steve Earle told an interviewer that "country coming out of Nashville today is just hip-hop for people who are afraid of black people". There's a lot to unpack there. I think of country like that other most dreaded of genres: pop music. At any given time about 95% of country or pop music just isn't very good. But if you can find that other 5% or so, it will be good enough to become part of the soundtrack of your life. Who cares what it's called as long as it makes you feel something?
👆this!
Making me feel something has always been my litmus test, Paul Hackett. It's why I like artists as diverse as Megadeth and Ambrosia with equal fervor. It's also why I take country music on a song-by-song basis. I love Kasey Chambers' "Barricades and Brick Walls" and JC's "Folsom Prison Blues" and even Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats". (Holy sh*t with that song! The first time I heard it I felt so guilty it was like I had cheated on her.) Nothing on this album made me feel like any of the examples I just gave. And, in general, most country music doesn't give me that feeling either.
If this album doesn't make you feel anything you might need a return trip to the Clermont Lounge to get your priorities in order, son.
I love Iron Maiden and I love Alan Jackson. They make me feel something different.
Actually, they both make me feel a little silly...
My default setting used to be "I like anything but country." It was a total cop-out in a world full of pretentious scenesters, and frankly not intellectually honest. The truth was I /did/ like some of it; it was just easier to say that and maintain a Potemkin village of cool, rather than admit I loved Dolly Parton. God forbid I ever reveal that I knew the words to a LOT of Oakridge Boys songs.
One might not like country music as a genre, but it's hard to deny that much of it is objectively good music. Not all, mind you, but a statement like that doesn't allow carve-outs for the Johnnys, Lorettas, and Waylon's of the world (or Kasey Musgraves for that matter).
P.S. "Street Thrown Alabama" is some next-level wordsmithing.