What do you think about country music?

[DChambers]

The Op's artist is good. I picked up that album a few months back. I particularly liked the songs "Flying Over Water," and "Live Oak" off of it.

Good country/Americana can be really good, but the bad stuff tends to be very very bad.

Jason Isbell was also on another Americana band called the Drive-By Truckers. He left to purse his solo career, however they are still decent. I liked their album "The Dirty South," quite a bit.

 

[rebelofbabyloin]

No Jason Aldean? Strange.

 

[RockHard]

Point of order: shouldn't this be in the arts section?

I am a fan of roots country, rockabilly, bluegrass and Old-time music. I've felt for some time that Country music suffers from a similar image problem as Rap; Many of its most popular and visible examples are also among its worst. Someone who is not already a fan who hears a Country song while scanning a radio dial or coming out of a window is likely to have their prejudice confirmed by the rural-themed Pop music they hear.

That's the joke on OK Cupid, white girls saying in their preferences "I like everything except Country and Hip-Hop".

Fender Bender above alludes to this in his comment. American Country, Folk and other types of roots music all have their own genera specific song structures, rhythms, instrumentation, key signatures and lyrical themes that have been largely abandoned in modern music in favor of the same Pop music song structure you here on top 40s songs. Only token instrumentation and lyrical content is retained to give this new Pop-Country a garnish of rural white American culture. If you asked Brittany Spears to play up her southern accent and tossed a fiddle and a slide guitar on one of her albums, it would probably make the Country top 40. Speaking of which, Country actually stills sells a good amount of physical music, mostly CDs. Much more then other popular genera.

Sheryl Crow did a career revival last year with a country album, and Darius Rucker also had huge crossover success with his album. Country is basically pop music for white people, which is why Rucker's success was such big news. But it's a safe avenue for new white artists - Miley Cyrus (whose dad was big in the 90s country scene) & Taylor Swift both got started as Country and crossed over to pop.

The whole roots music thing I saw happening in the 90's with bands like the Old 97s who had a C&W background but were reacting against the "popification" of those styles. Roots / Folk revival music is huge where I live. Avett Brothers, Elephant Revival, Lumineers, that kind of thing is really huge here. There are several really huge annual folk & bluegrass festivals around the state.

 

[Velebit]

While I'm not a big country fan myself, I am definitely a fan of country-infused classic rock (The Band, CCR, Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, Allman Brothers, Eagles).

This is by far my favorite country rock cover song:

 

[roberto]

I love country music. Particularly old-time Appalachian style roots and bluegrass.

We are more folk-based over in the UK countryside, but you won't get kicked out of a folk jam for cracking out the banjo and playing some Old Crow Medicine show.

This is a great little country song. If I'm feeling blue I stick this on and pick up my fiddle. Yeah, I know it's blue pill country feel. Works for some folk. Just because I don't live like that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. In the absolute back of beyond with no internet, a farm life with a pretty little Southern thing would do me just fine.

 

[Dr. Howard]

I love country music. Particularly old-time Appalachian style roots and bluegrass.

We are more folk-based over in the UK countryside, but you won't get kicked out of a folk jam for cracking out the banjo and playing some Old Crow Medicine show.

This is a great little country song. If I'm feeling blue I stick this on and pick up my fiddle. Yeah, I know it's blue pill country feel. Works for some folk. Just because I don't live like that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. In the absolute back of beyond with no internet, a farm life with a pretty little Southern thing would do me just fine.

John Denver is really interesting that he lived in everywhere in America but Appalachia but he wrote 'authentic' songs about it.

I live in the Appalachians in Tennessee. I love it, and you can cross a couple of ridges back from the interstate highway and really isolate yourself without the complete desolation of northern canada or alaska.

For example, google burke's garden Virginia. Its a collapsed mountain crater that created a valley in the middle of a mountain ridge. The vanderbilt family tried to buy the whole thing up at the turn of the century...but that is certainly the kind of place that you could farm and play a banjo on your front porch.

Oh and as for music, this is the local anthem around here:

 

[Rutting Elephant]

The visuals are more condescension than celebration, but there's something about the woman's warbly voice. A good dive-bar jukebox track.

 

[Saweeep]

I love country music.

It makes me feel like the America I want to exist, really does.

 

[Brian Shima]

If you need any proof of how much Country pop music sucks nowadays, look no further than this video which dissects and mashes-up six Country songs. All of them sound alike. There ain’t nothin’ “original” added to the mix. “Original” never got anywhere close to the these songs to begin with!

In fact, the evidence so damning, YouTuber Sir Mashalot created his own Top 40 Country pop song.

I created this mashup as an experiment to see if I was crazy, or if I really was hearing the same hit country song over and over again, just sung by different artists. Turns out I wasn’t crazy…

The offending songs put under the microscope for evaluation are:

“Sure Be Cool If You Did”- Blake Shelton
“Drunk on You”- Luke Bryan
“Chillin’ It”- Cole Swindell
“Close Your Eyes”- Parmalee
“This is How We Roll”- Florida Georgia Line
“Ready, Set, Roll”- Chase Rice

 

[DChambers]

Holy fuck. I actually kind of like that.....I need to stop drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.

I will say though. Chicks around my rural ass Southern town love country music. Give them a few drinks and throw the radio on to the local country station and their panties melt right off.

 

[blacknwhitespade]

Top 40 country has been horrid for the past 20 years, but I looove alt country and California honkytonk.

A few of my favorites:

Dwight Yoakam


Lindi Ortega

 

[Gorgiass]

One of the great things about country is it's such an expansive genre. Once you get away from the top 40 trucks n' beer shit it's hard to tell where country becomes rockabilly, bluegrass, Americana, etc. I'm more into the bluegrass, especially instrumental improv, but there is a great deal of collaboration with country in songs like this non-beta C&W classic redone by some bluegrass heavyweights -



Bluegrass has some great road and wanderlust songs which might hit home with more than a few here. And they're not even all about travelling by train



Rounding out the set with some improvisational Americana by the guy who revised the book on it



One of the dwindling number of genres where actual musical chops still matter. Guys like Chris Thile can hold their own with the best classically trained musicians in the world.

 

[Blobert]

I really love a lot of older American country music (maybe surprisingly for a Finn). Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, George Jones, DAC, Steve Young... The artist in the OP is definitely better than modern pop country, but to me his sound is a bit too smooth and clean.

But to bring something to the table that most of you certainly haven't heard, some Finnish country music:






And some American favorites

 

[viajero]

George Strait is the man.

I like Jason Isbell a lot.

Good country is really just a great form of folk music. Bad country is horseshit that makes me want to punch someone. I agree with a lot of this thread, glad I found it.

Relevant:

 

[Dallas Winston]

Just gonna leave this here.

WySgNm8qH-I

Damn. That was awful. Is that what they call "The Nashville Sound"?

One of my good friends would always listen to this kind of "music" ( and I use the term lightly)

He would be all obnoxious when we drove around doing his hand up and down like the douchbags in these videos too. He couldn't understand why I didn't like it. I started making fun of this shit in front of him and other friends who would laugh at my pithy devastations of this music and he wouldn't laugh along.

When he asked my I didn't like it, I tried to explain to him why this music wasn't good and why he was wrong to like it. It fell on deaf ears.

 

[komatiite]

Great Finnish songs Blobert! I have no idea what he is singing about but I can imagine Jarno touches on key country themes like his woman, dog, truck and the Finnish Troops?

A little Alberta Prairie classic...


Another gem from the Great White North... Reminds me of those long, lonely drives I used to take across the prairies in Saskatchewan.


But now, living down in the American Heartland, I have come to love the classic American sound...

 

[SheetTheBed]

Mike Skinner of 'The Streets' (lyrical pioneer of the 2000s, at least in the UK) did a full 3 hour radio show for BBC Radio 6 on the brilliance of Country lyrics this weekend. For those in the UK or who can access BBC links, here it is.

 

[rdvirus]

Love country.. Used to listen to it a lot at work. Can be real uplifting, I like to listen to it when I'm cooking as well. Long drives with no destination in mind and a country playlist is a great way to clear your mind. My dad used to play Johnny Cash all the time growing up.. definitely one of my favourite artists. I live in the 'country' capital of Canada, it's huge here in Alberta.. The country station in Calgary is the most listened to station.

Anyway, here's a couple favourites.









And the all time favourite..





Way to send me down a 5 hour rabbit hole Roosh.

 

[Medic42]

I love it although, I prefer Texas and Outlaw country to most of the mainstream stuff. I also have a serious weakness for country girls.

Some country that I like...






This should be the theme song of the county where I reside here in Florida...


P4P anthem

 

[komatiite]

BUMP!

I got the Sirius XM in my car and in my place, I keep it locked to Channel 60, OUTLAW COUNTRY. Here are some good songs that I have heard on that station in the last little bit.

In the words of Mojo Nixon, "I LOOOOOOOOVE COUNTRY!"

I like this guy from Oklahoma, John Moreland. He has quite the physique:

Can't find any studio versions on Youtube so here is a Band Camp link to a sweet song.
https://johnmoreland.bandcamp.com/track/sad-baptist-rain

Here is a good song by one guy who broke off from that alternative country band Uncle Tulepo. Good jam here


Speaking of Midwestern alt-country here is a more recent tune by The Jayhawks out of Minnesota. This is hipster as hell and the ghost of Waylon Jennings would kick my ass for listening to this shit. Its awesome though!


HALFTIME: Obligatory Jason Isbell tune


Here is a band called Shinyribs from Austin I believe, grab a plate of good BBQ before tucking into this tune

Again nothing good on Youtube but I enjoy the heck out of this one via Bandcamp:
https://shinyribs.bandcamp.com/track/take-me-lake-charles

Say "PLAY SUMMER OF 69!" to Ryan Adams if you ever see him


Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle. Truly a great talent, I like him better than his dad!


Anyone got some good tunes going these days?