Country Music

My whole life, whenever anyone asked me what kind of music I like, I always replied, "I like pretty much every kind of music. Except country." I always though this was true. Have you heard what they play on country stations on the radio? I find it unlistenable. It’s bland and it all sounds the same. I know that there are many people who feel differently, as country music stations are usually pretty big ratings winners (or at least they used to be - I may be out of date). I also saw how the crowd reacted at Farm Aid in 2003 when Big and Rich performed. You would have thought that the Beatles AND the Stones were performing on the same stage together. However, I can't stand it.

The second statement about my musical tastes regarding country music that I always used was, "The only country music I like is Johnny Cash." I mean, who doesn't like Johnny Cash? I have had his Folsom and San Quentin CD's in my collection for years (and later added his American Recordings discs as well). I never felt the need to explore older country beyond him for some reason, even though I have some recollection of liking other country artists' hits when I was a kid, like Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys or The Gambler by Kenny Rogers.

I am really not sure what prompted it, but within the last year or so I decided to start looking into some of the older country artists’ catalogs to see if maybe I would find something that I would like as well as I like The Man In Black. I really wish that I had decided upon this path a lot sooner. Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty and Gram Parsons have all been tested out and added to my music collection. I found out that not only could I no longer say that I do not like country; I was surprised how much I LOVED the songs from these singers. The one thing that really stood out to me was how each of the singers mentioned above had their own distinct styles and how that is sorely lacking from contemporary country. Would any of those guys made it onto the airwaves of country stations today if they were just starting out?

I am pretty sure that the answer to that question would be no, and here is the proof: there ARE artists out there today making country music that doesn't conform to what people think modern country music SHOULD be, and most people have never heard of them. If these artists had started out in the 60's or 70's, I have no doubt that they would have found airtime on country stations. Today, however, they are all pretty much lumped together under the "alternative country" (or alt. country) category, and unfortunately don't even get airtime on most alternative stations. Artists like Calexico, Neko Case, Ryan Adams, Drive-By Truckers, and Lucero put out music influenced by the country greats I previously mentioned (and many others like Patsy Cline) that is really fantastic, but unfortunately goes unnoticed by the millions of country music fans, a lot of who would probably like their music if they just got a chance to hear it. Some suggestions if anyone is interested in checking these artists out:

Calexico - Garden Ruin
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (although you cannot go wrong with any of her CD's)
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark


P.S. If anyone has any interest in reading about the "classic" artists in country music, you should really be following "Nashville or Bust" every week on The AV Club, which you can find here: http://www.avclub.com/features/nashville-or-bust/