Country Music

Started by Caleb, March 12, 2007, 08:27:43 PM

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Quote from: bearsville0 on March 21, 2007, 07:38:14 AM
Count me among those running from mainstream Nashville.


My favorite country star remains Lefty Frisell  "don't think it ain't been fun dear, cos it ain't"

asked a guy at work today what kind of music he listens to.
"Country."
"Country, like Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn country or new country?"
"New Country. it's the ONLY(yes caps were intended)thing i listen to now. New Country."
the conversation ended there.
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Quote from: little fingers on March 21, 2007, 02:14:02 PM
asked a guy at work today what kind of music he listens to.
"Country."
"Country, like Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn country or new country?"
"New Country. it's the ONLY(yes caps were inteded)thing i listen to now. New Country."
the conversation ended there.

I bet he's not a musician. It's just a prejudice guess, but I think mainstream Rap and Country are two genres that musicians generally do not listen to unless they are trying to get in that scene.

Quote from: jeremy3220 on March 21, 2007, 03:37:15 PM
I bet he's not a musician. It's just a prejudice guess, but I think mainstream Rap and Country are two genres that musicians generally do not listen to unless they are trying to get in that scene.
Mainstream country music and rap (though I will not refer to it as 'music', since IMO it is not) are made for the mindless masses who really do not know how to appreciate art.  These are the same folks who will likely never attend an opera/fine theater production or enter a museum.  I cannot believe how soulless most popular contemporary music has become.  Every blue moon I will dial into something on FM to see what it sounds like.  I do this about once a year.  Each time I am utterly disgusted at what I hear from rock and country.  The only rap I hear is usually by accident and its always the same old sludge about the same old lame topics of sex, money and violence.  It is easily the most brainless and unintelligent form of expression that I've ever been witness to. That there is an audience for it floors me. 

Country Pop doesn't get any less of my attention than soft rock, pop music or soft jazz - none.  I agree with jeremy however, that it can have its  pretty funny moments s.a. "Your the Reason Our Kids are Ugly" by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn.  Don't know what happened to the tape, but I still have the box which gives me a laugh whenever I see it on the shelf looking for something to take in the car that still has a tape player.

Love Hank Williams.  When I think of country I like and listen to, I tend to use a broader definition and include western swing, folk, bluegrass and old tyme music.  Anyone listen to Ron Thomason and Dry Branch Fire Squad?

jeff
Santa Cruz PJ
Martin om28v
Martin 0018vs
Bourgeois 'Alan Simpson' Slope Dread
Martin LXM (on loan)

"What are some country artists that you enjoy?"

JC
Willie
Waylon
Tom T.
Hank (both dad and Jr)
George
Conway (yeah, I know....but he was good)
Kris
Travis T.
Keith Urban (heck of a guitar player)
Loretta
Dolly

Well, that's just for starters

I  never liked that music till recently, I do like the poppy stuff.
Sara Evans has a great voice, so does Allison Krause .I love how the Wreckers sound together,great harmonies.
Kenny Chesney has some OK songs .
I dont know if it counts as CW but Nickel Creek is awsome.
So yeah iI guess I do like some, but I could do without the Steel guitar sometimes as well as the "fiddle"
David

I've always been partial to country/western music.  This goes back to my youth in the late forties and the early fifties - when I was growing up poor in southern Indiana.  Among today's artists I favor Alan Jackson, George Strait, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride and The Dixie Chicks.  Sometimes Willie Nelson, Travis Tritt, Terry Clark, Toby Keith or Marty Stuart will do something I like.  Vince Gill is not as active as he once was, but I admire his talent.  I was a big fan of The Judds when they were active (Wynonna on her own, not so much).  I miss many artists from my youth who are gone - the likes of Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, , Sons of the Pioneers, Tammy Wynette, Keith Whitley and others of their era. Like many other old timers, I have some difficulty with the current crop of stars.  Mostly I blame the music studios because they seem to have an insatiable appetite for new faces that they can (over)produce and market to a younger generation of country-rock fans.  I'm also disappointed about the way today's "modern" country radio stations work with music studios to promote the careers of some artists while other artists of equal talent languish outside the establishment.  I realize this has long been the way things work in the recording business, but the trend is in the wrong direction, it seems to me.  By it's very essence, country/western music should be close to the people and open to common folks.

Even with the reservations I've voiced here, I regard myself as first and foremost a country/western music fan. 

Thanks for asking.   
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To me I identify and enjoy music I can play on the guitar and sing. Much of the modern music just is not suitable for that purpose.
Since I started playing guitar many years ago I noticed my taste in music changed. I am drawn to singer/guitar players, John Denver, Kristofferson, H. Williams (Sr. & Jr.), Woody & Arlo Guthrie, Dylan, Lyle (big hair & all), John Prine, etc. Guy Clark is one of the best ever.
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When I think about the term "country" first things that pop into mind are Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.  With Roy Acuff right behind.  Hank Sr. does also qualify

Funny, even though I'm in my mid-40's (am I already that old?) stuff like Willie, Waylon, Cash and the like I think more of "country & western".  Although there isn't much western swing in most of it.

But most folks probably think all the stuff I listen to is all "old-time" or "geezer" music  :winkin:

I listen to very little mainstream stuff these days.  Of any genre.  Even the modern artists I like are outside the norm.
Eric P.
------------------------
Larrivee L-01
Lind 00-21S
'30s Biltmore
a few others

Alison Krause is a bluegrass artist. Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett etc are alternative/folkies. Notman Blake is a treasure and a folkie.
And for the record, there is no such thing as Country Western Music. That was a classification added to combine the two genres for the Grammies a long time ago....so Rex Allen and others doing Silver Screen Western music could compete alongside Hank Williams and others doing Country music, because there were not enough of either to warrant separate awards .
And I am a Western singer/songwriter/entertainer, and a folkie.  :nana_guitar   and for the record, I detest being accidentally called a Country Western singer. :donut2

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Quote from: Cowgirlie on May 03, 2007, 06:23:59 PM
Alison Krause is a bluegrass artist. Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett etc are alternative/folkies. Notman Blake is a treasure and a folkie.
And for the record, there is no such thing as Country Western Music. That was a classification added to combine the two genres for the Grammies a long time ago....so Rex Allen and others doing Silver Screen Western music could compete alongside Hank Williams and others doing Country music, because there were not enough of either to warrant separate awards .
And I am a Western singer/songwriter/entertainer, and a folkie.  :nana_guitar   and for the record, I detest being accidentally called a Country Western singer. :donut2



Thanks for the info.  Didn't realize that about merging the country and western aspects.  And sorry, did not mean any disrespect with reference to the country and western genre.

From where I stand, Alison Krauss is now much more country than bluegrass.  Now that she doesn't play her fiddle as much.  But considering what the band is asking for performances, she can call it anything she wants.

But again, that's where I come from on the musical spectrum. 

Eric P.
------------------------
Larrivee L-01
Lind 00-21S
'30s Biltmore
a few others

I like old country, folk, bluegrass and many of the people already mentioned. I don't split hairs that much about what is called country but I do think western swing is in a class of it's own. If I could snap my fingers and play like anybody, it would be along the lines of Ray Benson. As it is I fake it some. The jazzy flavors along with the down home feel are perfect for me.
While Allison Krouse and band are great and I respect them, sometimes stuff is just too perfect for my likes or maybe just not loose enough. Same for Tony Rice. I perfer Clarence White on all those live albums with ky colonels. The syncopation and freedom with rythm and not afraid to drive the crap out of the music, turn me on.
10-1614 more than a number, it's body and soul.

I think I've found the meaning of alt-country music; courtesy of Kinky Friedman:

"I'd rather be a dead Gram Parsons than a live Garth Brooks."

Quote from: BlastersFan55 on May 05, 2007, 10:17:27 PM
I think I've found the meaning of alt-country music; courtesy of Kinky Friedman:

"I'd rather be a dead Gram Parsons than a live Garth Brooks."
right on. I love the early country rock and have since I was a Little kid. Byrds, new riders, flying burritos,commander cody, jerry jeff walker. x-country on xm sat radio has  good stuff. A lot of people are making a lot of good stuff in alt country.
10-1614 more than a number, it's body and soul.

Quote from: Big Eric on May 03, 2007, 07:31:32 PM
Thanks for the info.  Didn't realize that about merging the country and western aspects.  And sorry, did not mean any disrespect with reference to the country and western genre.

From where I stand, Alison Krauss is now much more country than bluegrass.  Now that she doesn't play her fiddle as much.  But considering what the band is asking for performances, she can call it anything she wants.

But again, that's where I come from on the musical spectrum. 




No offense taken at all...and you're right, Alison can call what she does whatever she wants to...she's great...good music is good music.
So many great artists "bleed" all over the lines that try to keep them in a certain category. Many of us who do Western music are proud that we do not do Country music, even though some of us have had careers in Country music in the past....Now that I really think about it, some of the classifications are so goofy.
The late Chris LeDoux, a bronc rider whe had a good career in rodeo-driven Country AND Western music, and later a BIG jump in his career by being mentioned in a Garth Brooks song  "A worn out tape of Chris LeDoux, loney women and bad news", written by Larry Bastioan and (Dewayne Blackwell I think ) once said: the difference between Country and Western is, Country is about "what happened to me", Western is about being accountable for my OWN actions.  :wink:
Larrivee LS-10 Custom "Jesse"
Larrivee 000-50 "Emma"
Larrivee 00-50 "Dublin"
Larrivee 00-60 "Rose"
Larrivee L-03 Koa "Hula"
Martin 5-18 ('57) "Tink"
Banjitar  "Plinky"
Baby Taylor "Lichious"
Taylor GC-5 E
Oscar Schmidt OU-5 concert uke "Abalone & Cheese"
Makai MT-70 tenor uke "Kimme"
Martin M3 Soprano Uke "LJ"
A couple non descript cl

My hat is off to anyone who can make a nickel in any aspect of the music business wheather it be selling strings and picks in the local store or filling a 30,000 seat auditorium. Some of it just does not appeal to me personally. I'm not willing to say it isn't valid just because I don't relate to it. I heard a lot of critisim of rock & roll growing up by the older generation growing up in the 60s and swore I would try to not become judgemental about anyone elses preference in music. A good song is a good song. A good performer is just that too. I find many genre crossing artist pretty interesting.   What I think is good can be a lot different than what someone else thinks.  Just like our taste in instruments. Alison Krauss & Union Station are a pretty remarkable group in my book. Lot of people seem to criticize Tony Rice. I wonder if they have listened to much of his work. It spans decades and includes influences from bluegrass to jazz to folk and is a lot more than precision bluegrass speed picking.  My personal favorites are his arrangements of folk ballads like Early Morning Rain.  Modern flatpickers stand on the shoulders of Tony Rice, Clarence White, Norman Blake, and Doc Watson. These guys blazed the trail for todays crop of pickers.

Some of my current favorites. I call it "American roots music" for lack of a better definition
Jimmie Rodgers
Doc
Tony Rice
Tim O'Brien
Gillian Welch
Norman Blake
John Prine
Bela Fleck
Merle Haggard

Cowgirlie,

Thanks.  I guess part of it is I often confuse western and cowboy music.  Now, for cowboy, I think of Glenn Ohrlin, and younger folks like Pop Wagner and Bob Bovee.  Mainly because the latter two live in Minnesota and I see them on a regular basis.

Western, when I think of it as a different group always conjurs up western swing.  That's my mistake.  And again, I'm sorry for it. Because I know western is an entirely different form of music than western swing.


Eric P.
------------------------
Larrivee L-01
Lind 00-21S
'30s Biltmore
a few others

In my view, Alison Krauss transcends genres since she possesses an unusual talent.  Her voice is simply amazing -- one of the best around when it comes to female vocalists.   And her band is top-notch.  I have noticed that she's been looking....umm...shall we say...more "glamorous" as of late though, too.  I hope they're not trying to turn her into a "diva". 
:yak:
I cannot and will not take anyone serious who bears that moniker. 

Quote from: Big Eric on May 06, 2007, 08:28:10 PM
Cowgirlie,

Thanks.  I guess part of it is I often confuse western and cowboy music.  Now, for cowboy, I think of Glenn Ohrlin, and younger folks like Pop Wagner and Bob Bovee.  Mainly because the latter two live in Minnesota and I see them on a regular basis.

Western, when I think of it as a different group always conjurs up western swing.  That's my mistake.  And again, I'm sorry for it. Because I know western is an entirely different form of music than western swing.

Eric,
    The folks who do "cowboy" music are covered under the Western umbrella, as is Western Swing...but hey, it's all music, and some if it is great
I chuckled out loud , and will let Pop know you called him on eof the younger folks. He is a good pal, we have shared quite a few stages recently. His un-western stuff is wildly fun and imaginative!
Larrivee LS-10 Custom "Jesse"
Larrivee 000-50 "Emma"
Larrivee 00-50 "Dublin"
Larrivee 00-60 "Rose"
Larrivee L-03 Koa "Hula"
Martin 5-18 ('57) "Tink"
Banjitar  "Plinky"
Baby Taylor "Lichious"
Taylor GC-5 E
Oscar Schmidt OU-5 concert uke "Abalone & Cheese"
Makai MT-70 tenor uke "Kimme"
Martin M3 Soprano Uke "LJ"
A couple non descript cl

Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS). All of the members are excellent in their own right.

I discovered Alison Krauss and Union Station this year (March 2007) because I wanted to investigate Bluegrass/American Roots music. I purchased the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" trilogy (highly recommended). On the 3rd volume was Alison Krauss singing "Catfish John" with Jerry Douglas on dobro along with the dirt band. That song was great which led me to:

1. Purchase all of the AKUS recordings (group and individual) along with the CMT and Live DVDs.
2. Purchase the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack along with "Down From the Mountain" performance (CD and DVD).
3. Purchase the Cox Family CDs who Alison sings along with and produces.
4. Attend an AKUS concert a couple of weeks ago. Excellent.  They don't need staging/pyrotechnics etc. to make up for musical deficiencies/shallowness.

AKUS blows away any "country" act I've ever heard (and most other acts as well). I've never been much of a "country" fan - I liked a few songs here and there. I've never owned any CDs of female singers except for one Fleetwood Mac CD. AKUS changed all that.

I also like Michael Martin Murphey (especially Cowboy Songs and after). My family saw him in concert this year. My teenage daughters who are into "todays music" were very impressed. They even want to hear his songs (same for AKUS).

Cheers,

Will

Acoustic, Electric & Air guitars

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