A few guys I really like are The Mavericks, Dwight Yokum and K.D. Lang (early). Quite good. Unfortunately, much of the rest makes me violently ill. Esp that sick sap whats-his-face king of texas coke/swing. That George Straight guy. Ugh. Just a horrible energy mutating in the speakers. Pure evil. Pure pride and uglyliness. Vomit. Unlike, say, Rick James, who has a more positively charged self-destruction .
I'm mainly thinking of mainstream country/rock like Keith, Buddy Jewel, etc. I can handle some things but it needs to be interesting. I just can't handle the twangy, beer-and-pickup-truck songs that seem to be so popular with country artists now. I didn't really even care for it when Garth Brooks did it and I can just tolerate Hank Williams Jr., though he seems more like a characture of himself now.
Man there are some really great song writers in Country music. "Live like you were dying" "Letters from home" "Meant to" "Hate to break down here" Lots, I just like the lyrics, and story telling. If you have not listened in a while, it is quite different than when I used to listen in the 80s. DD
I listen to Pete Yorn. Even though its rock music, my friends swear I'm listening to country. If it was labeled country, I probably would never have listened in the first place. I guess I'm an elitist. Damn good stuff though.
one of the greatest verses in music history: "when i was just a baby my mama told me son 'always be a good boy, dont ever play with guns.' but i shot a man in reno.... just to watch him die. when i hear that whistle blowing i hang my head and cry." - Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison Blues" talk about a hard-ass.... "Boy Named Sue" is another hard-ass Cash song. Cash rocks.
Isn't some of Dylan's stuff country? All these labels that are put on artists so they can appeal to a certain demographic, is killing music. well that and crappy music. I try listening to country with an open mind,more so than rap,but it's still too much of the same.
I love the not so new country, as in almost everything from the early to mid 90's. It was the only radio I was allowed to listen to (that wasn't oldies or 88.7FM) until I was 14. I also love Patsy Cline - but that's about it for the older country. And I like a few songs here and there from the new guys. Kenny Chesney is freaking GORGEOUS. That's what I have to say about that.
"Nashville Skyline" for sure, probably "John Wesley Harding" although there are far more knowledgeable Dylan fans here who might disagree with me on that album. Those are the only ones that come to my mind right away, but guys like Batman Jones and Bob Finn* (just to name a few) could probably tell you more.
The first concert I ever went to was Ozzy with Motley Crue opening. Hell, I saw Iron Maiden with W.A.S.P. opening and then drove over to Cardi's and saw Armored Saint and Metallica all in one night back in the eighties. I've seen so many Heavy Metal, hard rock, and grunge concerts in my life that its ridiculous. Still, I think the best concert I've ever been to was Lyle Lovett at the 1894 Opera house in Galveston. Some country is really good....most of it is mass produced like Jeff mentioned. I also really like Allison Krauss......good stuff.
I love country music, but not the mass produced stuff of today. I like the music from the 70's and 80's. It reminds me of riding with my dad going on a fishing or hunting trip. Most of all I like the alt country scene. Guys like Jack Ingram, Mike McClure and Steve Earle. I don't like Pat Green, too many of his songs have been played at too many frat parties and by wannabe redneck kids. Todd Snider is absolutly my favorite artist, but I would consider him folk-country.
Just Alt-country. Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle, Dale Watson, Johnny Cash...that's my kinda Country Music.
Saw a band last night called the Dead End Angels. They feature a couple of former Groobees and I guess they would be considered alt-country. I think they're pretty good and I was expecially impressed by the songwriting and by their guitarist Rick Poss.
kenny chesney and tim mcgraw are awesome........i used to hate country but now that ive started listening i love it
"Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" might be horrific, but I hear their next songs - "Keep Honking, I'm Reloading" and "My Other Car is a Bass Boat" will be musical tour de forces.
I believe I've stated this before, but I was a country singer after I graduated college. My largest crap was The Houston Livestock show (sidestage) Pasadena fairgrounds, 93Q magazine. I was slated to go to South Africa for six months, gratis, to introduce the genre in '98. bThen the psycho future ex-wife got pregnant, so it was time to get a real job. Anyways, and all apologies to Jeff, (we're not getting along, are we), but anyone who is a musician and says "I don't like the NEW stuff, but the old stuff is good", is about as redundant as the music they purport to not listen to. The fact is there is good country music and bad country music. New AND old. There is good pop music and bad pop music. Jeff and Myself and RocketmanTex have written good songs AND bad songs. To say otherwise is a bit superficial.
And for those who say they don't like the new stuff, try listening to LoneStar and Tim McGraw. LoneStar:Let's be us again Tim McGraw:Live like you were dying Awesome stuff there.
I can't stand chick country (performed by or for women, i.e., Tim McGraw's whiny crap, Gretchen Wilson [although I give her credit for her success]). George Strait. Always great. And thankfully, over 50 but not ignored by radio. Alan Jackson. Never made an album less than very good (and most have been great). Brooks & Dunn. God invented Ronnie Dunn's voice as a gift to country music fans. Dixie Chicks. Go ahead and stone me, but they were right anyway (just should have kept their yaps shut, though; freedom of speech or no, their audience is [was?] probably 80% Republican.) How can you not enjoy such classics as "White Trash Wedding"? (You can't afford no ring/You can't afford no ring/I shouldn't [? mangling the lyric sheet here] wear white and you can't afford no ring.")
The best country has always been on the outside of Trashville looking in, but I think today's Trashville is worse than ever. George Strait is ok, but I am often left disappointed by much of his material. The only Brooks and Dunn song I like is My Maria, though it's inferior to the original. Tim McGraw is just bad. The bottom line is that the Nashville suits and their hit factories have feminized country music to the point of losing my interest by producing songs devoid of any true soul.
Excellent points. I don't disagree with anything you've said. I can only speak for myself, but yes I have written a few clunkers and stinkbombs. Over the years I have learned to conveniently forget them and erase the practice tapes rather than "testing them out" in front of a live audience.
