I went through a few stages with country music.
Stage 1: I did not listen to country music. At all.
Stage 2: I listened to all of the country music all the time and loved it! Nothing but country all the time woo hoo yeah country!
Stage 3: I stopped listening to country music because, whoa, easy there.
Stage 4: I like country. But only certain country. And I define it a certain way, and I mix country in with all my other music.
The music I like now is not the country/pop crossover artists I used to listen to, because honestly, they’re not country. I still like some of them. I mean, who hasn’t had Taylor Swift Dance Night with their Scottish Terrier and a bottle of wine? Amiright?
No?
Well, either way...
Taylor Swift? Not Country Music.
I don’t have a technical definition that excludes her. I just know that she is mostly pop music, and while there may be a wee bit of country flavor in there, it’s not enough – she’s just pop. Because. Other things I just know?
Faith Hill? Not Country Anymore.
Rascal Flatts? I don’t know if you’re a person or a band or what, but you’re more of a girl than I am, and you’re not country.
Keith Urban? Ha. NOT Country. Also, from Australia.*
Real country music is Johnny Cash. Obviously. George Strait. Without question. And you don’t have to be old school to be real country - the Dixie Chicks are country. Heidi Newfield wailing out “Knocked up/ shame shame/ Imma gonna ruin my family name” is more country than Carrie Underwood has ever seen in her lifetime. Brooks & Dunn? Hell yes, they’re country. Julie Roberts is country, and she’s even MORE country because Taylor Swift shamelessly ripped her off. Ryan Bingham is country because my heart aches a little when he sings.
To paraphrase the distinguished Justice Potter Stewart, I may not be able to define country, but I know it when I see it. And it’s good stuff.
*This doesn’t disqualify him automatically, but it adds a little oomph to my disdain.
3 comments:
I went through the EXACT same stages in the same order. Awesome.
I'm so glad you're blogging again!
When my sister went to college in Maine, the stations were reversed up there -- here there's mostly pop stations and like one or two country stations; up there it's mostly country stations and like one or two pop stations. She became quite a fan of/expert on country music for a while. Once she successfully finagled a record store out of a life-size cardboard cutout of George Strait.
I considered it Stockholm Syndrome. Now she's pretty much back to liking her usual music, which is '80s cheese and AM Gold. She still likes a bit of country now and again though.
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