Country

@Meta Four: thanks for the tip

As for Sturgill Simpson, I don't think its impenetrable at all. His song "Turtles All the Way Down" is about the futility of worring about the nature of the universe or the existence of god(s), as well as the pointless conflict that stems from disagreements about religion and/or philosophy.

Yes, he threw in bits about hallucinogens and drug legislations, but there isn't anything in his music that requires a genius to understand it.

Music should be intellectually challenging sometimes; all country songs don't need to be about daily life or cheating spouses. What I love about Simpson is that his music has strong traditional roots but stays fresh, which is very rare these days.

People, if you're complaining so much about mainstream country sucks, why don't you just cheerfully ignore it and focus on good indie/alt-country (whoever they are)?

(I'm personally not a big fan of country but that's probably because I spent my middle and late childhood in a small semi-rural town where everyone hated country probably because it reminded them of where they were living, so... yeah)

There are two reasons why "ignoring" popular country is very difficult.

First, people like to bitch about things. How many people do you really know that can focus %100 on what they like and not at all discuss the things they find annoying or offensive? You may as well ask them to stop being human. It's therapeutic and self-affirming.

Second, it's hard to ignore the existence of something so ubiquitous. Country Radio gets more listeners than any genre other than top 40 pop (and in some cities in the Southern US, even more.) Pop-Country has come to represent the entire genre in the eyes of most laymen, and it is what breeds so much backlash. It's an embarrassment.

I live in the South, and even here I often receive cringes and raised eyebrows when I tell someone I listen to country music, as the imagery that immediately comes to their mind consists of misogynist rednecks singing about trucks, short skirts and cheap beer.

Is it really so hard to believe that some Country fans might begin to feel a little resentful?

edited 27th Jan '15 10:06:48 AM by Gozer

Punks, Metalheads, Hipsters, and Hip-hop people have been doing it for years.

Shouldn't take long for country fans to start doing it too.

#25: I like some Ricky Skaggs, but that's in part because he at least has some electric instruments and drums. I guess I'm just not big on acoustic music of any stripe, and I'm not big on solos that emphasize speed over melody. That's why I'm not a big fan of Brad Paisley's guitar playing, because he just does rapid fire noodling that has no discernible melody. Technically impressive, yes, but completely unmemorable melodically, and I'm a melody man.

Ironically, I'm not a big bluegrass fan yet I play mandolin. I can't play fast though. I can't even play piano fast.

I just thought it was a meandering word salad that was completely inaccessible because it was discussing things I don't know the first thing about. I couldn't understand a second of it. What's this about Jesus and a lake of fire, the Devil in Seattle, gateways in our mind, nursery rhymes, etc.? The song doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me, and I wouldn't have extrapolated that meaning in a million years.

Well, it certainly requires a hell of a lot more brainpower than I have. I'm very Book Dumb and have never given so much as a single second of thought to philosophy or religion. I believe in the Christian God because that's what I grew up on and had no reason to doubt His existence, and that's it. Nature of the universe? That's a thing? Disagreements about religion or philosophy? Never encountered them.

It's not so much that Sturgill is trying to discuss philosophy or argue about religion, moreso that he simply finds the entire debate pointless. Even if you believe in God, as you apparently do, you must admit that is both impossible to prove and impossible to disprove.

He, in essence, is simply singing about coming together, despite differences in ideals and personal beliefs. Why come into conflict? Why can't we just all get along?

I mean, really, is that so impenetrable?

So? I've never had to attempt to prove or disprove him, so the "pointlessness" of the debate is meaningless to me when I've never really even realized there was a debate there to begin with. No one I know is atheist or agnostic, and even if they were, I'd never feel a need to debate it because I don't know jack squat about what points could be debated.

I still find the convoluted language of that song such a mess to wade through. Again, what's this about lakes of fire, gateways in our mind, and alien lizards? How hard is it to just speak in something that actually resembles English?

In short, it's a topic I've never had feelings on in either direction, wrapped up in such obscure, meandering text that I can't even begin to follow it. That's why I find that song so ridiculously impenetrable.

What it seems to come down to is that you just don't have any shared experience with Sturgill Simpson. He's singing about things that are important and meaningful to him; philosophy, metaphysics, mind-altering drugs, Simpson is interested in these things. They may not be a part of your life, but they are a part of his.

I understand your point of view, but personally I really enjoy surreal, stream-of-consciousness lyrics like that. He's got a unique style and at the very least you should give him credit for that. His songwriting can be bogged down too much in the abstract and esoteric sometimes, but it's never obnoxious.

Anyway, I've lost interest in discussing Sturgill, let's just chalk it up to YMMV.

What do you think of Cory Branan, James McMurtry or Corb Lund? They're more down-to-earth and they all have amazing musicality. I think you'd dig them.

Links to some songs here[1] here[2] and here[3]

edited 31st Jan '15 12:05:53 PM by Gozer

Yeah, that's part of it too. I'm not fond of contrived lyrics like that. I like it more straightforward. I also don't like songs that describe hyper-specific experiences. I can get behind a breakup song, a song about happiness, etc., but when you start singing about a super-ultra-specific thought or experience like that, then you lose me. I had that same problem with a lot of alt-country and Americana I've heard previously — it just seemed too personal or specified for anyone other than the singer to get anything out of it, and to me it came across as navel-gazing.

The three songs you linked me were more my speed. I'm not fond of Corb Lund's voice, but other than that, those worked pretty well for me.

edited 31st Jan '15 12:31:01 PM by Twentington

So since there's this, as well as this, is it safe to call the subdominant version of the Four Chords a central facet of pop country?

"Hey Girl" is in Dorian (minor with the sixth tone raised a half-step). Can't fault anything that's modal. (Except "Country Boy" by Alan Jackson. That's just a squicky piece of shit that makes AJ sound like a dirty old man.)

But chord patterns are not a bad thing. This song (speaking of Billy Currington) uses the Doo-Wop Progression, and I bet you'll be unable to get it out of your head for days.

Move over David Allen Coe, but I think I've heard the perfect country song:

I thought "Follow Your Arrow" was her best (in part because she had the balls to put a Gay Aesop in it), but I've loved all her singles so far except "Keep It to Yourself" which I found a total snooze.

I'm a bit of an outsider to country, but I've an artist for the consideration of anyone who may be interested: Daniel Romano. I found out about him through listening to City and Colour, and I decided that it would be a good occasion to expand my musical horizons.

Some samples of Mr. Romano's works:

• "She Was The World To Me
• "There Are Lines In My Face"
• "She Lets Her Memory Go (Wild)"
• "A New Love (Can Be Found)"

(For full disclosure, I started the Daniel Romano page on this wiki just earlier today. This post doubles as a call for interested readers to check it out and add more material to it if possible.)

I heard that country is one of the most popular genres in America, however it seems regional for me. In the Northern states, no one seems to like country.

I don't actively listen to country but there are some mainstream country and country-pop artists I've fond of, like Rucker.

Country is still pretty popular in the rural parts of the North.

Midland is freakin' awesome:

Also really like Chris Stapleton:

I'm a huge fan of Midland too! "Make A Little" is one of my favorites by them

Necro: Rascal Flatts have announced their farewell tour as apart of their 20th anniversary.

Just made a page for Maddie & Tae and would appreciate some Wiki Magic!

My favorite Country Music acts of all time are Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire and Shania Twain. What are your favorites?

Zac Brown Band, Kacey Musgraves, and Maddie & Tae are probably my top 3.

Edited by somerandomdude on Feb 5th 2021 at 9:00:27 PM

From Taylor Swift:

I’m thrilled to tell you that my new version of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is done and will be with you soon. It has 26 songs including 6 never before released songs from the vault. Love Story (Taylor’s Version) will be out tonight. Pre-order now at https://taylor.lnk.to/fearlesstaylorsversion

I actually want to hear the rerecorded version of the song Fearless.

Based on the info from her site, it seems to be coming out April 9th.

Here's the rerecorded "Love Story."

Edited by tclittle on Feb 11th 2021 at 12:11:39 PM

Wake up babe! New Red release, just dropped:

I just started a TLP for Outlaw Country; input is welcome.