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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 4:09 am Post subject: Middle America's soul |
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This weeks Economist mag is incredibly good. One of the best articles is about "Middle America's Soul" and country music, which I love.
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But for some Americans, still, there is something risible about country. �I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means �put down�,� quipped Bob Newhart, a comedian. When George Bush senior wrote an article about how much he liked country music for Country America magazine, the Washington Post reprinted it under the snooty headline: �George and the Oval Office Do-Si-Do: Heck, a President Ain't Nothin' but Just Folks�.
Outside America, the sneering is unrestrained. When Garth Brooks, who has sold more than 115m albums, appeared on British television in 1994, one interviewer chortled: �I thought you'd come in here and twiddle your pistol around.� Another shrugged: �He's selling more records than anyone in the world, but none of us have ever heard of him.�
�Cool� people think country is hopelessly square. Country singers neither cuss like rappers nor grapple so boldly with �edgy� subjects. �Some messages are clearly not allowable [in country music], like �*beep* tha police� or �I got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one�,� writes Chris Willman in his excellent book �Rednecks and Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music�. �But then there are messages that aren't allowable in any other popular-music genre that flourish here, such as: I wish I'd been there when my mama died. I miss my husband in Iraq. Babies and old people rule. If I die, take care of my kids for me.�
Of course there are also country artists who paddle rightwards out of the mainstream. The Right Brothers, for example, have a song called �I Want to Live�, narrated by a fetus. Another singer, Royal Wade Kimes, rouses National Rifle Association conventions with �In My Land: The Second-Amendment Anthem�. And, going back a few years, Ray Stevens, a comedy country singer, encapsulated the concerns of God-loving, tax-hating conservatives with �If 10% is Good Enough for Jesus, It Oughta be Enough for Uncle Sam.�
But angry political songs are not really what country is about. Most of all, it is about realism, says John Rumble, a historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. And reality, for Middle America, is mostly quite pleasant. Consider Craig Morgan's song �That's what I love about Sunday�: �Sing along as the choir sways;/ Every verse of Amazin' Grace,/ An' then we shake the preacher's hand/ Go home, into your blue jeans/ Have some chicken an' some baked beans/ Pick a back yard football team/ Nothin' much of anything/ That's what I love about Sunday.� |
So, yes, I know all you sophisticated Euros and Canucks think it quite horrible, and as such it isn't necessary for you to mention. But the article does attempt to put the music in a cultural context, and it is that context that baffles the world.
Though the article is long, ya'll should read it all.
http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8345548 |
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jaganath69
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 4:56 am Post subject: Re: Middle America's soul |
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| BJWD wrote: |
This weeks Economist mag is incredibly good. One of the best articles is about "Middle America's Soul" and country music, which I love.
| Quote: |
But for some Americans, still, there is something risible about country. �I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means �put down�,� quipped Bob Newhart, a comedian. When George Bush senior wrote an article about how much he liked country music for Country America magazine, the Washington Post reprinted it under the snooty headline: �George and the Oval Office Do-Si-Do: Heck, a President Ain't Nothin' but Just Folks�.
Outside America, the sneering is unrestrained. When Garth Brooks, who has sold more than 115m albums, appeared on British television in 1994, one interviewer chortled: �I thought you'd come in here and twiddle your pistol around.� Another shrugged: �He's selling more records than anyone in the world, but none of us have ever heard of him.�
�Cool� people think country is hopelessly square. Country singers neither cuss like rappers nor grapple so boldly with �edgy� subjects. �Some messages are clearly not allowable [in country music], like �*beep* tha police� or �I got 99 problems and a *beep* ain't one�,� writes Chris Willman in his excellent book �Rednecks and Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music�. �But then there are messages that aren't allowable in any other popular-music genre that flourish here, such as: I wish I'd been there when my mama died. I miss my husband in Iraq. Babies and old people rule. If I die, take care of my kids for me.�
Of course there are also country artists who paddle rightwards out of the mainstream. The Right Brothers, for example, have a song called �I Want to Live�, narrated by a fetus. Another singer, Royal Wade Kimes, rouses National Rifle Association conventions with �In My Land: The Second-Amendment Anthem�. And, going back a few years, Ray Stevens, a comedy country singer, encapsulated the concerns of God-loving, tax-hating conservatives with �If 10% is Good Enough for Jesus, It Oughta be Enough for Uncle Sam.�
But angry political songs are not really what country is about. Most of all, it is about realism, says John Rumble, a historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. And reality, for Middle America, is mostly quite pleasant. Consider Craig Morgan's song �That's what I love about Sunday�: �Sing along as the choir sways;/ Every verse of Amazin' Grace,/ An' then we shake the preacher's hand/ Go home, into your blue jeans/ Have some chicken an' some baked beans/ Pick a back yard football team/ Nothin' much of anything/ That's what I love about Sunday.� |
So, yes, I know all you sophisticated Euros and Canucks think it quite horrible, and as such it isn't necessary for you to mention. But the article does attempt to put the music in a cultural context, and it is that context that baffles the world.
Though the article is long, ya'll should read it all.
http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8345548 |
Heck, I like country music. My father worked out west for most of his young life and growing up in the city, I got an earful of it and it stuck. I think its as valid as any other form of folk music, but suffers a maligned reputation through its association with the South. However, when you step back from the politics, its a great narrative form. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:02 am Post subject: |
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Willie Nelson
Kris Kristofferson
Johnny Cash
Springsteen
Bob Dylan
JOHN PRINE
Steve Earle
Dwight Yoakam ( just to name a few )
... writers, artists & talents who, all in their own right, have through their work contributed a lot
in reflecting a certain key set of values, attitude, ethos & identity  |
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huffdaddy
Joined: 25 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:11 am Post subject: Re: Middle America's soul |
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| BJWD wrote: |
| This weeks Economist mag is incredibly good. One of the best articles is about "Middle America's Soul" and country music, which I love. |
Country music is the white people's blues. |
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Moldy Rutabaga
Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Location: Ansan, Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:26 am Post subject: |
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I like the Economist, but its patronizing tone can be galling sometimes. "Wondering which holiday villa to invest in with your stock dividend? Doesn't everyone?"
Without country music there would have been no rock music. No Cliff Richards, no Beatles, no Rolling Stones, no new wave, no punk. It would never have developed the way it did.
Ken:> |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:55 am Post subject: |
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I've always been a fan of country music. I do wish they didn't get politically preachy though.
I like the old stuff where they were traveling around, drinking in bars, getting in fights, driving trucks, and the like.
These days they are all crying over their kids or the wife they love so much. Hmmm.
Still some good songwriting. I've always had a slight leaning towards country music myself. I just wish some of them didnt dress so damny hokey in their music videos! The songs themselves are great though. |
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aka Dave
Joined: 02 May 2008
Location: Down by the river
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:33 am Post subject: |
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Older country music, which had an influence on folk music and rock, produced some great artists. Patsy Kline, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr. all were good. Willie Nelson as well. Hell, I went to high school in Bakersfield, Ca. (home to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, and a truly, truly awful place. I actually went out with a French exchange student. Here's what she said about it: "C'est vraiment un trou!" All I could say was yeah.) so I've heard my fair share of country.
However, contemporary country generally sucks. I don't follow country, but everything I hear is just awful. I think the turning point was that "Achy Breaky Heart" song, but most of it's just pseudo-slick, pre-packaged, nationalistic crap. Oh, wait. The Dixie Chicks are good. They're the exception. |
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Manner of Speaking
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:42 am Post subject: Re: Middle America's soul |
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| thepeel wrote: |
| So, yes, I know all you sophisticated Euros and Canucks think it quite horrible, and as such it isn't necessary for you to mention. But the article does attempt to put the music in a cultural context, and it is that context that baffles the world. |
thepeel,
Actually Country music has always been just as popular in Canada as it is in the US, and there is a a long and storied history of Canadian Country music. Before he passed away, my father was considered one of the best steel guitar players in Canada, so I grew up listening to the stuff. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:44 am Post subject: |
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| aka Dave wrote: |
| Older country music, which had an influence on folk music and rock, produced some great artists. Patsy Kline, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr. all were good. Willie Nelson as well. Hell, I went to high school in Bakersfield, Ca. (home to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, and a truly, truly awful place. I actually went out with a French exchange student. Here's what she said about it: "C'est vraiment un trou!" All I could say was yeah.) so I've heard my fair share of country. |
I've always heard bad things about Bakersfield, but wonder if its just relative to where its at - sandwiched between San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
I've driven the highway between San Francisco and Vegas a number of times, and while I definetely do NOT like Fresno or Modesto at all, I did think Bakersfield was quite alright from the little I saw.
The music history there certainly is impressive, country music in particular. Those are the songwriters that really made that genre. |
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