Honestly, I'm not that familiar with country music, but from the idea of it being a "lamentation for people who feel adrift" and focussing on "the identity of the self," it sounds incredibly similar to Blues, right down to commercialisation and exploitation of a genre and its people. I guess they grow out of the same period of history, just different skin colours.
***** Really? Wow, I didn't know that cross-fertilisation went on. Lyrical impact makes absolute sense, along with instrumental cross-over. When I was studying African-American music at uni, there was a lot of talk about Black artists and Country artists crossing over to the mainstream in their various genres, but not much about Black and Country artists crossing into each others' fields per say, even just as influences. I guess there are bound to be similarities though, since they've always been the two non-mainstream sales fields in American music.
Dima Vasilev They also evolved out of similar regions. Growing up in South-East Texas there was very little noticeable difference between country, blues, and even rock. Artists like Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, and David Allan Coe were often played on the same radio station, and it wasn't until I was older that I realized they were from separate "genres."
Dima Vasilev Lots to unpack here. Black audiences went to R&B and left Blues because Blues was the music of the poor and powerless past, much like Country brought in strings and became "countrypolitan". There's lots of influence of country in black music -- listen to Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country Music -- but few tried to engage the genre head-on, because racism? On the other side, it's clear white musicians of the 50s and 60s were influenced by blues -- many surf instruments are fundamentally 12-bar blues -- but it took the Stones and Clapton before white American musicians felt they could go all-in on it.
Dave Jacoby The evolution of American music is a beautiful thing, isn't it? I would think it's safe to say that country music has been the most influential style in all of American music We probably wouldn't even have rock and roll if it weren't for country music. Country was a huge influence on Chuck Berry's work, after all, and he help codify what rock and roll was in the 50s.
Dima Vasilev Lots of good responses. But yes, lots of country was influenced by the blues. Bluegrass music seemed to flow naturally with it when it came down out of hillbilly Appalachia into the Cumberland plateau. But folk music also played a large role in the evolution of the genre. And just as Country influenced the early days of Rock (which in turned led to Southern Rock like Charlie Daniels, Kentucky Headhunters, and Lynyrd Skynyrd) Pop, the child of Rock, now heavily influences Country. Even as Blues turned to R&B and then Rap, you find artist like Colt Ford and Cowboy Troy using "Rural Rap". It is great to watch it all blend.
I'm disappointed and curious about why you didn't talk about modern country music's lyrics. That's my main problem with it, and is often addressed by some popular "poke-fun" RUclips videos. For example, it seems like every song is about girls in tight jeans, beer, trucks, dirt roads, lost love, or new love. That is, the stuff that gets played on popular radio. The chords tend to be the same, and I actually enjoy the beat, but I try to shy away from country music as it tends to over glorify some hedonistic desires. What do you think about the lyrics?
Daniel Dyck I didn't discuss it because the indictment is so clear and clearly repeated across the internet! Those videos which show the lyrical norms of modern popular country music are so spot on and perfect we would never do a better job providing word-for-word readings than they do by just straight up SHOWING it. What I hope this video does it explain some of the reasons WHY those lyrical conventions have developed and are supported, tolerated and probably ENCOURAGED (e.g. they sell, they're comfortable, familiar, feel authentic/edgy even if they're trite commercialized nonsense, etc).
Daniel Dyck I personally listen to country music just for the laughs. All the country songs on the radio are so cliche that it's practically comedic. I think a lot of other people feel the same way, unlike Pop, Rap, or Hip-hop the actual music part of the song (what's not the lyrics) actually isn't annoying and ear hurting, the lyrics become a sort of comedy to some music that actually sounds listenable, not necessarily good but listenable.
PBS Idea Channel Hi, thanks for your reply. It always makes me happy when I get to talk with the creators of such great masterpiece :) I understand the point of your video, and really appreciate it. Almost 100% of it was stuff I haven't really thought about, and I really appreciate the new perspective. I feel though that the lyrics are such a big part of the issue, I don't see how you CAN'T address them. What I was asking for is a philosophical look on it. For example: Does having these repetitve themes actually degrade the music? Can we find some deeper meaning in the lyrics, something it symbolizes, or some form of expression? Or is it literally as it is, and for that fact, we have every right to hate on it. I'm just curious what you actually think about the lyrics. Good , bad , or ugly.
I love country music, but happen to quite dislike the 'country music' people think of when I say that, people think Florida Georgia line or Toby Keith, when in reality I mean, Johnny Cash, The Statler Brothers, people like that.
I'm surprised the issue of "bro-country" never came up in this video, as there's a pretty large segment of country music these days that seems to be focused on the "ignorant Southern frat boy crowd" by singing about girls, pickup trucks, having sex with girls in said pickup trucks, drinking, partying, being generally misogynist, etc. I think it's part of the reason why a lot of people detest country, and it's even sparked controversy within the country music scene itself.
Especially with older country, such as Johnny Cash or C.W.McCall, there were very detailed stories in these songs. just look at the song Convoy. or A Boy Named Sue. the stories made in these songs show different uses of characters, morals to teach, and even the opinions of the song writer. The songs had a purpose behind it to show. And we see this in other genres as well. and it seems as these genres become more industrialized it seems there are less stories with thought out characters and morals and more just the stereotypical image of a country life of beer, trucks, mud, and girls by the river side.
SKfilming This, I love songs that tell a story. This image of nothing but trunks and beer really bothers me because it lacks the substance of what made to older songs connectable.
I found both this and the last episode to be a breath of fresh air for the show, the decreased number of gifs flashing across the screen made it much more easy to really focus on the ideas put across which were still well illustrated in clever ways that were fleshed out visually but the lack of visual bombardment made viewing much more fulfilling and I really appreciated it. Something to consider.
I love country I started because someone I was carpooling with asked and I've been a fan ever since. I feel Country and Hip Hop are the same pride in where you are from, how you have fun and the person you love. They're two different ways of telling the same story.
I feel like you've glossed over something that seems pretty obvious to me -- that, rather than a specifically political association, there's a cultural association with a specific set of values that differentiates country from pop. Certainly, country has a pre-commercial prehistory that is meaningful when analysing the accidents of its current sound, just as rap does. I feel like country and rap are two variations of the same phenomenon -- the commercialization of a genuine local music-of-the-economic-underclass commercialized and sold back to exactly that same underclass (in a way that american punk is not, but british punk largely is) -- and that furthermore, the distinction between them is the value complex related to urban or rural bias. To make a broad generalization: if you're poor and think trees are better than fire hydrants, you like country; if you're poor and you think the woods are scary, then you like rap; if you're poor but you live in the suburbs, you prefer pop (or maybe some particular variant, like pop-punk or nu-metal, that has more of an edge). This is not to say that the music is musically deficient, or to associate taste with income, but instead to point out that pop music is populist by virtue of appealing to a fantasy of success -- which is often culture-bound. (The most crass in each of these genres will represent their wealth and success with bigger, shinier versions of things strongly associated with their audience. There isn't a real difference between a solid gold cowboy hat, a solid gold set of dentures, and a gold chain-mail dress, but someone who identifies strongly with one segment of the culture will generally find one desirable and the other two absurd.) Both essentially fall under the aegis of pop, insomuch as they are populist, and insomuch as to the extent that they appear on top 40 radio they are mostly produced by the same record industry complex (if not indeed the same people -- many hits in all three genres today are made by a small group of 80s one-hit wonders, former rappers, former swedish music school teachers, and sound engineers, which is arguably a good thing insomuch as it definitely creates consistently competent stuff in the same way that similar systems in place for 50s crooner acts and modern j-pop acts produce consistently competent stuff; once big money comes into the picture, relying upon tortured artists no longer makes sense and you start needing to bring in skilled professional musicians working for the money). To the extent that people (like your uber driver) dismiss country, I think it's because they fail to strongly identify with the particular memeplex surrounding modern country music, which is partly characterized by this rural bias but is also strongly characterized with other ideas that have essentially accidentally been associated with it by virtue of sharing an audience. Country music is strongly associated, politically, with the religious right, not because country artists are necessarily associated with the religious right (while performers occasionally come from the same background as their audience, this is definitely not universally true, and even if they came from the same background, their concerns often change drastically when they become successful), but instead because country music and the particular brand of politically neoconservative evangelical christianity associated with the religious right movement both explicitly target working-class americans in land-locked states and non-coastal rural areas. Other associations, likewise, are essentially coincidental, even to the extent that they are now baked-in as genre tropes -- twangy guitars have nothing to do with country music but everything to do with distinguishing country music from other forms of pop, and likewise cowboy hats have nothing to do with country music but everything to do with advertising to people that the otherwise unclassifiable pop song they're listening to is actually a country song.
I like that you brought up Hip Hop, because I think the way of Country being described as a personal expression of injustice and hardship is very similar to a lot of early hip hip. Country and Hip Hop used to be about oppression, whether it be by companies or cops, and the capitalistic market has twisted them into being about drinking, partying and picking up women. I don't think all country and hip hop is like this nowadays, but it just seems like we don't have nearly as many artists who are angry about injustice
I think the main problem with country music is its failure to resonate with the young. Country music often reflects on nostalgia for the simpler times, a nostalgia not felt by most younger people who find their lives made easier by new technologies rather than more confusing. Even though not all country is strictly about this, a lot of country songs are about the concepts of simple country living, which is generally something young people are neither interested in nor appreciate. It's hard for someone who's grown up with email and cellphones to look fondly back on life with letters and payphones. This might be why Taylor Swift found success after she started writing about breakups- it was easy for young people to relate to and she was easy for young people to relate to. Country is dying as a genre, and that is happening regardless of how many people listen to it, as country isn't getting the same airtime anymore and country singers are becoming more niche than they are mega stars.
MultiMagniGladii I agree that Country may have a particular appeal to adults than younger people, but I think you underestimate how many young people today live rural lives, and some who are too poor to afford some of modern day technology. I've lived in the rural "backcountry" and have met younger people, even those with iphones and what not, who were crazy country fans. For them, it's kind of a cultural pride thing more than a "I relate to this" thing. Sort of like "we live in the backwoods and so this is OUR music."
MultiMagniGladii I live in the country, I promise you that this is not the case. While maybe youth living in urban and suburban settings don't strike a chord with it, the ones here won't shut up about it.
Braden Chittick It's the same here in a southern, medium-sized town. In fact it seems like a lot of lower to middle class people who live lives that are not really "country" still identify with country music because they're being sold an "outsider/underdog" pride thing. Which I can tolerate as long as it's accompanied by some actually interesting music. I like some country music, particularly classic country, but nothing turns me off faster than the "we're just a bunch of good 'ol boys" circlejerk, because that's not about the music anymore, JUST about an identity. It doesn't really ring true to me.
Hannah Woodard "nothing turns me off faster than the "we're just a bunch of good 'ol boys" circlejerk" THIS! So much this! The contrast between the lyrical content in classic vs. modern is like night and day.
I enjoy these differently styled Idea Channel episodes with Mike's road trip being continued. In addition, the topic of things that are "uniquely American" are continued with Country music, conveniently shot in Nashville. This was an enjoyable video not just with the unique topic but also the filming location fitting in so well just like the previous road trip video. It seems the road trip is over now but great job on putting a twist on the episode formula by filming outside in a relevant location.
It's an interesting parallel you drew between country music and rap music, both being sort of a music of the underclass that was later co-opted and turned into this big flashy spectacle, often still sold as being down to earth. I think that underclass association is what keeps people away from both genres so much - if I had a nickel for every person I saw online who said they liked "all music except rap and country" I'd have enough money to shoot a modern country video.
s0nnyburnett On the contrary, Nashville's population is growing way too fast for its infrastructure. I'm not sure why that area was so empty during Mike's walk, though.
This is the first time I've felt like I actually had something to add to an Idea Channel video! This video made me think about the history of Jazz. (My fiance and I are watching the Ken Burns Jazz documentary--I highly recommend it) Duke Ellington, one of the absolute best jazz musician, once commented on why he didn't follow into the swing craze after Goodman. He said something like "Jazz is music. Swing is business." Jazz developed from the blues--it was a way to express both the pain and soul of the black Americans in that time. Swing took the styles jazz introduced and made dance music for the masses. I don't think it discounted jazz, but I think it tied jazz (at least some styles of it) to a time period. That's why we have the Jazz Age and the Swing Era. One came from the other, but the emotions were, for the most part, left with the jazz.
first off, the fact that mike likes sturgil simpson fills my heart with joy. do you like kacey musgraves??? secondly, some comments: i've lived in the rural south my whole life, so i've always been surrounded by country music whether i like it or not. around 13 or 14 i got into classic country: hank williams, johnny cash, tammy wynette, dolly parton. i still love that stuff. and honestly, i think it's worth considering why people -- both at the time this music was being made, and now -- dislike the very idea of it so much. i get that the sound itself isn't for everyone, but disdain for the lyrical content raises questions about classism. many of the artists who made that music were quite literally dirt-floor poor before they made it in the industry, and much of that music was about the experiences of people living in poverty and the working class. "coal miner's daughter" and "coat of many colors" come instantly to mind. radio country today -- the nashville sound -- could not be farther from that. you've probably heard the phrase "bro country" tossed around. see: www.npr.org/2015/01/09/376145745/you-know-exactly-what-these-six-country-songs-have-in-common. content-wise, it is easy, simple, so watered-down and diluted that it's more or less void of any substance. beer, women, trucks, etc. it's not about the experiences of the worker, or the alcoholic, or anyone who is disenfranchised in the least. if you can't tell, i am not a fan. but this bro country phenomenon is, i think, a relatively new thing. it comes along with the disappearance of women from country radio. in the late 90s to the mid 00s, there were plenty of very, very popular female aritsts. off the top of my head: martina mcbride, shania twain, reba mcentire, carrie underwood, taylor swift (really just her first album but you know), deanna carter... the list goes on. now, turn on your radio and you'll be waiting half an hour before you hear a woman's voice. because women don't belong in bro country. women are the object of that music, so the mainstream industry has more or less ousted women from its ranks. obviously you can't talk about country -- or any genre, or anything -- as a monolith, but as far as this specific subset goes, i feel like what i've said and what mike said is fair. there's still good music being made, it's just not being played on the radio. finally, here is some stuff: a book (rednecks, queers, and country music -- talks about classism as a tool used by middle- and upper-class white liberals to remove themselves from their own racism): www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520280663 and an artist i want people to pay attention to, sam gleaves, who makes music about his identity as a rural person and a queer person: ruclips.net/video/_4SwB-bZxxw/видео.html
I live in Kansas. I had a Ugandan girl who literally just moved to the country from Africa and applied for a job at my work. Listened to country all the time. No one likes country, not even us Kansans. One day I says to her: "Do you really like country? Or are you just trying to fit in? Cos we don't care what you like, we just want you to be yourself. And we all don't really like country here, anyway!" She says: "Everyone in Uganda listens to this. We LOVE American country music." So whatever floats you boat, or whatever tickles your pickle. Turns out Texans and Africans have something in common. And that's just great. I love humanity! ^_^
I tried listening to Christian music for a while and it seems like a cool form, but there is only 1 story told in the lyrics. It goes: "Something was not right in my life, then I found Jesus, now things are better." Surely there is more to the Christian experience than this. There must be something meaningful in your faith worth singing about that isn't this same thing over rand over. I'm not a Christian, but but I like to experience their life sometimes. But the music... just not enough variety.
Roscoe Kane It's unfortunate that most of the good "Christian" music doesn't call itself that and will never end up on Christian Radio because it's not so explicit. One of my favorites is The Grey Havens... they write a lot of really metaphorical lyrics inspired by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Or the Oh Hellos - even more subtle, but there are DEFINITELY Christian themes in their lyrics. That stuff will never make it on the radio because it's too subtle, but it's a far more interesting exploration of the Christian life than most of the popular 'christian rock', in my opinion.
Roscoe Kane growing up, a friend of mine was a pretty devout christian and a musician that played with his church's music section. he said the same thing. but the way he said it stuck with me: "well, it would be like _only_ writing songs about a Ham Sandwich. you can write some pretty good Ham Sandwich songs, but there's only so many of those you can write. i don't want to be a washed up Ham Sandwich Musician."
Roscoe Kane I think it was in the Simpsons where they said that all you need to do is replace "Jesus" with "Baby" to make a christian song into a (tween) pop song and vice-versa. In these types of genres it feels like the music is secondary, that it's a commodity, a tool, which they use to sell a specific product. I thinks that's why they're less respected. Same with popular modern country; the music is all about selling a specific (conservative, nostalgic) ideology that fights against more progressive ideas (at least in my opinion).
poshzombie primarily using the pop formula that manipulates the lizard/bird brain embedded in our heads, they are training people to be nostalgic for a "simpler time" that never really existed. it is brilliant, but it's also Evil in that sort of capital E Evil way where the individuals doing it think it's just clever marketing to sell a product, when in fact it is socially and politically divisive.
I think modern country musicians writing songs about "being country" is just completely phony because although they may have grown up that way they sure as hell don't live that way now and probably wouldn't go back to it if they had the option. They're posers. Like Larry the Cable Guy, they're putting on a facade that portrays a down-home regular blue collar guy but the whole thing is a charade. I find it dishonest and insulting. Also when the people at my work listen to country on the radio I find it nearly impossible to distinguish between artists. One time I asked my mom if there were any country musicians she didn't like and she said there weren't, which in my opinion is because THEY'RE ALL THE SAME.
As someone who recently has fallen in love with playing the mandolin and the folk/bluegrass songs that go with it, what modern pop country lacks is authenticity. The immigrants, farmers and hillbillies who forged timeless tunes like Arkansas Traveller or Irish Washerwoman wrote those songs out of deep and sometimes pain filled experience. They sang about what they lived, everyday. Backbreaking work. Their sweetheart drowning. Enjoying simple pleasures. Country as it is now is a slight to the common working person, since it is about what rich farm kids do on the weekend. The genre has no understanding of what real life is actually like for regular people . Which was what gave it it's soul in the first place. This is why I love The Punch Brothers, they understand the need for music to have grit and sweat. Yet, they still manage to make American Folk instruments the center of songs that sometimes border on poppy. But, unlike pop country it doesn't feel detached from real life. The Punch Brothers ,I think,have laid the foundations for the new working man's music.
I find country music on modern pop radio to be the most cringe worthy unlistenable stuff I've ever heard. I think Cruise by Florida Georgia Line takes the cake on the most cringe worthy song. Yes even more cringy than Down With The Sickness, In The End, and Bring Me To Life.
I can't even give an honest reply since I don't even know who the hell they are or what songs those are. I'm 48 and have listened to country music my whole life but I know nothing of post 1998 top 40 country music.
I was born and raised in Appalachia, my granddaddy plays the banjo, and we tend to stick to our ways. Country music was an outcry of these destitute people not for something else or more, but understanding. When Loretta Lynn sang about growing up poor in a company coal town, she had a sense of pride, not any bitterness or complaining. It was about making the best out of what you had. Praising God, and working the land. The values are seldom found in modern consumer culture. Money became more important than the message. Drinking beer, and driving pick up trucks was the last thing on those old country singers minds. If you look at the history of bluegrass and country, it goes back to the ballads of the Scotch-Irish who first settled that land. First white folks I mean. The country music of today isn't the same genre of olden days. I guess that's true with all genres. Banjos are more prevalent in indie folk type than in Country. Authentic music can't be bad, you may not like it but it can't be bad. Music that's written for money and without heart can be bad, sometimes good though. Well peace yall. Love the channel by the way!
Justin Turullols It's because they don't appeal to the shitty Nashville vision of country. Sure, it may be seen as the country music capitol by the rest of the world, but really, most good country music isn't played there. Sometimes a good band gets on the Grand Ol Opry, but that's about it.
***** From what I've heard, there is still a thriving underground scene there. I read that in an article talking about Nashville's gentrification, and it's parallels to the same phenomenon that happened to New York's East Village.
Maybe there's anoter unseen factor. I am Mexican and here, "everyone" dislikes "Corridos" (which sound nothing like country but is asociated to the agricultural socioeconomic lifestyle aswell), it is like no one want to be asociated to the agricultural and humble worker lifestyle? maybe?
Ricardo Rodriguez I feel it's sort of similar. At least in the North, people who like country are sometimes written off as "hicks" or lowbrow/blue collar(in a bad way)
Ricardo Rodriguez It is a bit like that. I do love going out doors and working on my garden, but I can't relate to the culture that country sings about. I can't really relate to Corridos either, but it's way more catchy to me.
Ricardo Rodriguez I feel that not wanting to be associated with humble agricultural life might be part of it. I know a recent country hate meme on tumblr is calling country lovers "tractor fuckers" and there are very few people I know on there who live in rural areas. Probably some underlying and unaddressed classism in there. Honestly, the only valid concern I hear about country music from tumblr is how overly white a genre it is (literally, the only poc country artist I can think of is Cowboy Troy so).
I think it is important to know that in Texas there is a strong divide between country music fans. It is almost as if there are two genres of country music. Nashville country and Texas country is how I have always delineated the two groups. Nashville country is more inline with the commercialized pop/rock sound. Texas country stays closer to the "original" sound of country. For example, there is a radio station in Lubbock, TX that is exclusively Texas country. They won't even play artists with a pop sound. Often times, fans of Texas country will mock with extreme disgust the Nashville sound (myself included) because of how separated the sound, lyrics, and overall style is from the original sound of country music. In a way, you could say that Texas country is an effort to preserve the original sound of country. (Admittedly, even the sound of Texas country has changed dramatically.)
I think a road trip is about experiencing a combination of the greatest possible changes in magnitude of location along with the greatest possible increase in concentration of new experiences. The concentration of experience can change if you're with a companion but isn't dependent on one. Certainly being in a new place is new, and it's is amplified when there's someone else there to share their perspectives about the newness, it creates a feedback loop of discovery. But one of my favorite road trips was travelling from AZ to WA in a hurry by myself. The geography/geology and environment change so significantly that experiencing something new doesn't require the commentary of a companion, it's visually self-evident. I describe Utah as kind of like neopolitan ice cream, 3 distinct layers. Red to the south, kind of purple/blue in the middle, and green to the north. Seeing those changes in environment over the course of one day's travel is an experience in itself.
I think maybe Country music (and perhaps all music) can be divided into two categories: 1. That which people listen to to connect with the artist's struggles, triumphs, and ideas or otherwise to feel emotion or appreciate beauty of the music. 2. That which people listen to in order to confirm or masquerade an identity as "country" or "southern". I'm a Georgian college student and I would call myself "southern" and maybe "country" (I actually lived on my family farm; how many Country artists can say that?), but I only enjoy some music that falls under the genre of Country. The kind I enjoy is in category 1. It's generally my impression that those who listen to category 2 Country music are somehow overcompensating in trying to appear "country". I listen to Country music (among other music) because it's what I've grown up with and find connection with, but when I hear Toby Keith or the like play it just seems so laughably constructed that it's not possible anyone could like it for any other reason than to make themselves feel like something they aren't. This thought applies equally well in reverse to people irrationally hating on "type 2" Country music. I think many people have very negative associations with that ridiculous image of "southern" culture and want to distance themselves from it as much as possible. Openly hating on Country music is one way to signal that disposition, both to the world and to themselves. Perhaps that's why Country music seems to be so divisive ("love it or hate it"), because it's so closely tied to an "us vs. them" community dynamic. Category 1 Country music, on the other hand, plays much less into the stereotypes and tends to tell it like it *really* is. Sorry for the rambling comment - I've got a lot to say about this one!
A proposition: Country music is the adaptation of Celtic music by the Americanization of Irish immigrants in the hills of Appalachia. The lute became the banjo, the melodeon or concertina became the accordion, and the harp became the steel harp. There was also the introduction of percussive and wind instruments made from the belongings of these immigrants in the form of jaw harps, washboard and jug. The gradual incorporation of this music into mainstream culture introduced more modern instruments like the keyboard, drums, and guitar. The music was originally old folk songs from the home country, but new songs about the problems of naturalization into American society could have proven fertile ground for newer themes. These new songs would naturally have become more popular because they spoke to a generation of people who were considered outcasts in a country where they were expecting inclusion.
As some one whom listened to country music my whole life and being in my 30's now I have experienced the slow change to a Pop sound. Personally I prefer blue grass and folk music as they resemble what I found appealing about country music back when I was younger. Great episode.
I listen to country music and I hear a lot of people say that country music is sad but I only don't disagree to avoid having the conversation personally country music is probably one of the happiest music that I listen to and that's why because of how upbeat country music is is why I listen to it I just don't argue with people who say it's sad
I've been saying this to my friends for a while now. Alternative is getting more "rocky"/ punk rock like you said and country is definitely getting more pop esque
Have you ever heard of the Transatlantic Sessions? It's a live music show the BBC does which blends together American country music with traditional British folk music. It's pretty cool.
Hey Mike, I'm from Texas, where everyone thinks that we all have trackers and where we ride horses to school, work and variety of places. As I watched this episode of country music, I could not help but be more interested in because I love my country music but what is really happening now so more than ever is how artist are goin about the independent route of making music. And how it is becoming apparent that these artist are being successful at it without going through Nashville. So much so was shown back in February by two different artist one being Aaron Watson and how there album was number one in pre sales and how it stayed number one after its release. What we hear on the radio is more pop country and what we find on some of the oldest dance halls is a lot better then what you hear on the radio. It is how you said what country use to be and it is shown in the amount of fans as well as records sells per album. If ever you want to try some new artists out for your ears to listen to just type in Aaron Watson, Randy Rogers Band, Robert Earl Keen, Cody Johnson, Josh Abbott Band, Bart Crow, Stony LaRue, Sam Riggs and the night people and countless others to the difference between both Nashville and Texas. Maybe next road trip you take would be here in Texas to get some great BBQ and listen to some great artist at some old dance halls
This doesn't have anything to do with this video, but I was out walking my dogs and one of my friends called across the street at me saying "Dude, I didn't think you were the kinda guy to wear joggers" and that got me thinking about the clothes I was wearing, like I only go to college wearing a pair of jeans when I never wear them if I'm just staying at home, preferring shorts or lounge wear. I took a look at the books I have written and found that the clothing I had given the characters in them were stereotyped to the type I was trying to portray them as. For the main antagonist I did nothing to describe his authority other then the way he dressed the first time he is seen in the book giving him an old Generals uniform as well as a baseball cap to keep his face in the dark and the Tomboy character never dressed in girls clothes preferring a pair of men's jeans and t-shirt for examples. I work at a clothes store and looking back on it with this idea of clothing affecting our identity, I couldn't see a correlation between the clothes people bought and the way they behaved and the language they used or anything else for that matter. To me at least, it seemed that people of all walks of life bought the same items of clothing regardless of that life they walked. So do the clothes we wear effect the way people see us? Or is society's perception of clothes nowadays affecting which clothes we wear out in public? Because in all fairness a pair of jeans does the same job as a pair of joggers when I'm at college, just I prefer to be seen there in jeans. I thought that it could be a good idea for a video at some point. PS: Still can't get my head around jeggings
I really enjoy this episode. When talking about musical tastes with co-workers I always explain that although I'm sure country music has gobs of great artists, its hard to dissect them from the commercial conglomerate that is country as a whole. Basically, I just don't know where to start looking for the artists I would enjoy in the genre, so I've never tried.
Rackdar I love every musical style from edm, hip-hop, rock, blue and especially country. But the unfortunate thing is most people like to pigeonhole country to what they only hear on the radio--country music is so much more! Here are a few songs and band I think you might like: -Escondido: Black Roses -Turnpike Troubadours: 1968 -First Aid Kit: My Silver Lining -HoneyHoney: Turn that Finger Around -Lindi Ortega: Tin Star -Old Crow Medicine Show: Sweet Amarillo Listen to these and I'm sure you will love the genre :)
2xDeuce Thanks for the suggestions. "Most people like to pigeonhole country to what they only hear on the radio" is a very accurate description of my plight and I will listen to your suggestions. Thanks again.
You're welcome, hopefully I can open peoples eyes to great music. And if you liked those bands another artist I think you might like is -Jason Isbell: Elephant Have a great day!
My thoughts on country music, being from a pop punk background, have generally been negative. That is until recently when I needed to reconcile my love for Johnny Cash, and early country blues with how I still fell disdain for Nashville country. I think with Nashville country, as you pointed out veering away from songs on heart ache and sadness, it has become the music of the content. Almost every song churned out by the Country machine tells a story of the "American Dream" how everything is ok as long as you got a beer and your friends. They sell contention so hard in each lyric of each song, that Country tends to be a big hit with people who are happy and content with their lives. But for those, such as myself, that might feel unhappy and even malcontent in their situations Country is just overly happy twangy noise. I identify with the heartache and longing for the world to get better in "Man in Black" as well as "Crazy Train". I crave for artists to show authenticity about the troubles that they face, and what they witness of the world. That is what today's country has lost, their Authenticity, and I think for most people, who dislike country they are longing for that, an authentic voice that resonates with people, not mass produced contention.
DAMMIT! I had no idea you were gonna be in Phoenix QQ I would of actually gone to this Comicon if I had. Hope you had a good time. Thanks for all the great videos.
I like all types of music. Country included. I don't get into all of the heated debates involving music because music, like everything else involving entertainment, is subjective. If you love it, great. If you hate it, that's fine.
My father was a long haul trucker and every summer I would ride with him cross country, all he would listen to was country music, when I was younger I loved it. As i got older I tried country music and to me it sounded like country had lost its soul. What had made it great was the emotional content, nashville country is a watered down form of music designed to sell to lowest common denominator. Time was not kind to country.
The present or future redefining the past is a reeeeally interesting topic, and a complex one too. On the one hand, it's pretty much inevitable: memory is always a reconstruction and attribution of meaning is always dynamic, so whatever we hear today will receive meaning in the way(s) we attribute meaning today, however well informed we are of meanings past. Ok, but that's not much above the obvious. On the other hand, how much of this "past" are we really experiencing again, or even calling back to, in the modern/renewed/commercialized versions of country, punk, hip-hop, tonal symphonies ? You ask if these musics lose claim to their intended meaning, but I'm not so sure the intention has remained the same through the transformations. In some cases, it seems pretty clear that only the most superficial _appearance_ of having such intentions is left, and then only because it sells (it's "authentic", "roots", "like grandma used to bake'em", and so on). So this is why we need good ethnomusicology, and good + accessible archives. The cultural industry can indeed digest anything and make a profit from it, from Che Guevara's politics to Lachenmann's music, so it's crucial to maintain access to whatever is outside that digestive tract. Easier said than done, granted. Your last question could then almost go in the opposite direction from the others: knowing the history of a particular genre might not change the meaning of an old song, but perhaps change it _back_, allowing us to reach for its original intentions, possibly lost or hidden today. It might also make us see such differences between different practices commonly put under the same label, that we perhaps can no longer reasonably call them all by that one name - calling both Greenday and Bikini Kill "punk" is quite the stretch on whatever specificity the word "punk" may have. And this is probably a good thing too, at the very least from an epistemological point of view: it's usually best to have a better, more precise vocabulary when talking about how things work, evolve and acquire meaning.
You bring up a good point when you talk about where the transition between pop and country is. I find it very hard to argue my point as to why I like country music to other people, especially those who grew up in city's. I grew up l prairie town up here in Manitoba, Canada with about 3000 people and country music was always a very big part of our towns community. I think hating country music has become a fad like being vegan or paleo diets, some people may truly dislike country but most people just hop on the hate train since that is what "everyone else is doing" and I think this is one of the things that has caused country music to take a drastic change in the past 5 years. The industry follows consumers closely and with all the hate country was getting I think it caused the major shift into more country/pop music like Luke Bryan. I'm not saying all modern country music is bad but it is definitely changing. My favorite way to let people know why I like country is to point them in the direction of Trace Adkins, "Songs About Me". Like I said, growing up in a small country town, country music couldn't describe my favorite parts of my hometown better. Honestly, nothing beats cranking the country music while driving down an empty dirt road, with a full moon and sitting in the box of your truck by the lake with a bunch of friends. And perhaps that is another part of the problem, less families are growing up in small towns and so maybe it is making country music harder to relate to for the general public. Which after reading through a bunch of the comments only confirms this theory more for myself. I hope country music doesn't continue to make drastic changes to its genre but I will always appreciate the path country music has gone down.
I grew up listening to country classics as a kid but didn't return to the country genre until Taylor Swift. I was surprised and delighted to find an untapped plethora of songs and styles that I hadn't realized I was missing out on. For me, country music covers a lot of the emotions and moments of life, often sad or humbling, that pop ignores.
My only note is that in the section showing an animated Johnny Cash to depict how the songwriting of past country music reflects authenticity and hardship, Ring of Fire is playing. This song was actually not written by Johnny Cash, but by June Carter, and made popular by Cash. An asinine point, I know, but I'm just excited to be able to contribute. The Idea Channel Team is awesome keep it up!
There are a FEW good songs in the country genre made nowadays, but to me, almost every single modern music song is about getting drunk, partying, breaking up, getting together with someone with without even asking their name based on looks randomly, or (and this is the most common one) ALL OF THOSE AT ONCE
I'll say that I had a pleasant chat with a man I worked with to what kind of music he likes. And to even my surprise he said he likes country. This was to my surprise because he was born and raised in Nigeria, and when he came to america, he could have chosen any genre of music he wanted to listen to, or find in great tastes. I asked him why it is he likes country music with scoff in my voice, and he told me that he enjoys country music because it feels more like a story is being told. That it has a narrative element where other songs from other genres don't tell as much of a story. Which is what I imagine is the origination of music came from. After all music was always made from a bard who would come up with clever rhyme and verse in his stories as well as his songs.
I used to despise country music and though I am not sold on it I have found myself singing to some songs that fit in the genre called country. I find what the taxi driver interesting and now I think about it isn't that any genre are necessarily bad. It is the tropes, stereotypes, and culture; good or bad that comes with. I have enjoyed some music from every genre from rap to dubstep to country to classical. It is the ideals that go through the artistic medium that alienates people most. Yet ironically it is also the easiest way to grow to understand and accept if you have an open enough mind to try and listen.
As an Asian living in Asia, I can't relate to country music, this episode didn't increase my understanding of it much as well, not that it isn't interesting. I've never listened to the genre before, not even Taylor Swift, so I don't know what's the essence and appeal.
GuyWithAnAmazingHat It's like the Blues but with banjos and sometimes a guy blowing in a jug or something. Twangy. Though modern country music is pretty much generic garbage. It's sort of like gangster rap in that the topics almost never change nor do the sounds that come with it. Also if you want to listen to Country you should probably just stick to Johnny Cash. Most people tend to like it.
GuyWithAnAmazingHat I'm not sure which part of Asia you are from, but try to think of it kind of like Enka or traditional music using the koto - there are definitely some people who love this genre of music, and lots who have either never listened to or would never listen to it. Country music is sort of like that. I for one dislike most country music because of the sad bits etc, but love Enka and koto music (and not just because I love Japanese things)...
GuyWithAnAmazingHat _"As an Asian living in Asia"_ ........Which part? There's like a whole continent and some islands lol but in your case it'd kind of be like whatever is considered folk songs in your country. They're usually songs about sadness, loss, love, hardship, the working class, etc. This is only one side of Country though as there is a commercial side that was talked about here. This modern/mainstream country is more Pop like but with Southern accents and guitars. So this kind talks more about drinking, partying, trucks, women/men, having fun, etc than the plight of simple living like the genre's origins. In your case modern/mainstream Country would be like whatever is mainstream/shallow Pop in your country using whatever you guys consider traditional instruments/arrangements/accents. Its really hard to use a reference as I don't know where you're from :[ Edit: Or you could just read Souji Monaru comment that I just now noticed *sigh*
Listen to Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. They have so many amazing songs. Country inspired some of rocks greatest artists like Rory Gallagher, Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynrd, etc. Marshall Tucker Band is probably the best example of a bunch of country in rock form. Seriously listen to "heard it in a love song" and "fire on the mountain".
I feel like one of the big things people nowadays dislike about country music isn't about how sad it is. I mean, sure, some people still associate it with the old-time twangy blues sound, the plight of the average man, of the farmer and the likes. But in all honesty, no modern country music sounds that way, and if you were to ask me if I liked country, I'd think you were talking about the more modern, big-band, high-energy, almost-pop stuff. I feel like my biggest problem with that isn't that it's sad. In fact, I can appreciate a lot of the sadder, more contemplative country songs. Live Like You Were Dyin' is absolutely amazing, and worthy of SO much praise. It's the songs about drinking, and sex and hot women and "good times" that are so similar to one another, so formulaic and receives SO much more airtime on the radio that it feels like no one even realizes the sadder stuff exists sometime. As someone not 100% on-board with mainstream pop music, it's the same phenomenon that drives me away; It's all about the same stuff and is so predictable and asinine that I don't have the patience to listen to it. And that's not to mention the seeming homogeneity of the actual music behind the lyrics as well. I imagine that if one were to remove the vocals from two songs by two different artists and transpose them, no one would notice. And on top of that, there's the homogeneity of the vocalists themselves! You have deep male voice, gruff male voice and slightly-less-deep-and-less-gruff-younger male voice, and those are your only options. Its the lack of variety that does it in for me, such that when I listen to any kind of country music, it really does feel like I'm listening to the same songs over and over again with only incredibly minor changes.
I always thought that Country represents the idea of how America assimilates other cultures and grows from that. Example, Country has been adding in Rap, of course Pop, Techno, and other forms of music.
I had my opinions about country music completely changed when I watched the Foo Fighters series about their latest album. In Sonic Highways they traveled around the states to different "music capitols" recording a song in each city. For country music, they went to Nashville. They covered the history of country music from origin to present, going over how Nashville became this creation and marketing behemoth which could crank out a hit song in record time (See what I did there). They had interviews with producers who lamented the passing of country music having a story and that nowadays it was all about parties, drinking and "sugar-shakers" (Booty, for lack of a better term). In my viewing I had a thought that perhaps country music suffered from the disease that is "This is what the kids are into nowadays" - preferably said by some old white guy in a faded checkered suit. But anyway, I found that episode particularly informative and very enjoyable. My favourite song on that album came from the Nashville episode. =)
I'll take my country without pop or hip-hop in it, thank you. Of late I've found watching Transatlantic Sessions (thank you, PBS and the BBC) quite refreshing, as it's where folk musicians from both sides of the Atlantic get together and play their hearts out. If you want to hear the real soul of what country music used to be, you might want to give it a watch. Likewise, a lot of indie country bands have stuck with the idea that if it isn't broke, don't fix it, and are releasing some great music (what can I say, I'm a sucker for a good fiddle and a wailing steel guitar). Seek and ye shall find!
I think for many country fan they aren't oblivious to the shift in country music to almost comical representation of rural life in mainstream Country. Seeing as how you brought up politics, similarly they've seen the shift of the Republican party from a party that represented their interests to a mainstream parody of itself. The middle-America culture sees these as the vestiges of the familiar that they once supported as these things acted as the voice for them. We often have the tendency to group "whites" as a monolithic culture but it has many cultures and "subcultures" within it if you will. They still support the country industry as a nostalgic feeling of the America we grew up in when it was simpler times and not as diverse. The cultural pressures also play a large role because a farm kid's first memories of being in a Case IH with your father listening to Randy Travis play a large role in tastes and preferences.
I am a huuuuuge beach bum. I only recently began actively listening to country music because many country artists such as Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown band, and (maybe) Jimmy Buffet sing about loning to be on the beach and how much they love the ocean. This is something I don't see in hip hop, pop, rap, etc. Being able to strongly identify with the lyrics is the main reason I listen to it. However, as a black woman, you definitely see the revulsion among African Americans when it comes to country due to the white southern connection and its racially charged past. I hate southern accents, confederate flags, and huge trucks myself, but just being able to say hey I also wish I was lying on a sandy beach right now lets you relate to the singer/band and not the history.
I grew up listening to country music and I loved it when I was a child. Once I was old enough to understand that these people weren't living on a farm, working 90 hours hard labor a week and could buy private jets I started to have questions. My biggest question is with holding so tightly and selling this blue collar,near poverty, life style while having the money and fame to start national campaigns. When Toby Keith can get everyone to hate another artist because he says so, I don't by it that he's just your regular average Joe. I think that is were the line of country that I don't like and country that I'm fine with listening to is. Do the artists spend most of their time trying to convince me they lead the life of a blue collar worker? Then I will have a hard time taking that music seriously. Do the artists use the sounds and rhythms that are associated with country music to enhance their message or tell a story that I can connect with? (By that I mean a story that doesn't sound like they are trying to own someone else experience.) Then usually I fine those songs engaging and interesting.
My mom likes the modernized "nashville" style you spoke of,where I like the soul-searching bango style. I used to always nag her about how what she's listening to isn't "real" country music, but after comparing the modern country and classic country it made me think of the Anime episode. And now it's alright with me.
I enjoy a bit of country music every now and again, because it's like the only genre of music that'll play a song about straight up murdering a dood on the radio. I'm looking at you "Blown Away" and "Two Black Cadillacs," Country music is fucking metal.
Coming from a Black family, really the only reason my family needs to dislike country music is the South's underlying history of racism. Country music just kinda symbolizes that for them. That, and the accent and/or twang of certain instruments comes off grating to my family. Personally, I do like some mainstream country artists but black people look at other black people funny for liking that kind of music despite Black Country artists like Dobie Gray. Basically, at least for my family, Country music can be loosely interpreted as "white pride" music and liking it is somewhat detrimental to your "blackness".
hausofpancakes I think it is interesting that American country music has those connotations. Australian country music by comparison does not seem to have the same history. Bearing in mind that I am white fella from four sides, seems Australian country touched base with many aboriginal people across the country. As such there are old country stars like Lionel Rose (Who was also a great boxer) through to today's modern stars like Troy Cassar-Daley. In addition many white singers seem to have a good relationship with the traditional owners of this old land.
+hausofpancakes One of my best friends in HS was a black girl that listened to country music; she loved Reba McEntire. I assume many people have the same thought process you mentioned, because she was bullied and called "Oreo" or "not really black" a lot. They didn't seem to consider that her parents were Panamanian immigrants and her family (to my knowledge) never experienced any of the situations that are generally associated with being "black in America."
There's plenty of instrumental stuff for those willing to look for it. The Seatbelts have produced quite a bit of it. With songs like 'Spokey Dokey', 'Waltz for Zizi' and 'Go Go Cactus Man'. Then there's the blended genre stuff like 'Spike in a Rail' by Darren Korb. Which mixes in rock and electronica with a bit of blues. My point is what's played on the radio so often only just scratches the surface of many genres. And that tends to color most people's perceptions of things. Especially when mixed with general cultural attitudes. Country music has been the butt of many jokes for the last 25 years.
This video focuses mainly on Nashville or Pop country. Texas Country or Red Dirt music is the more independent and less commercialized of the two. Texas Country applies to a broader range of music, and is a better representation of southern American music. The biggest difference of the two is that there is so many more musical influences and styles in Texas Country. While some bands and artists really push the Nashville sound, many of the bands have musical styles that come from rock, folk, bluegrass, soul, as well as more traditional country music. The freedom of Texas Country music gives rise to songs that are stylistically different even from the same band. Within one album, there can be everything from southern rock to bluegrass to jazz to calypso. There is a real fission between the two styles, and is often called out by Texas Country music. Despite this, there are some bands that have transitioned from Texas to Nashville Country, with quite noticeable changes to their sounds to appeal to a larger audience. Another evident difference between the two, Texas Country has more narrative and storyteller music than Nashville Country, a further reflection of the effect of commercialization.
I think it's quite interesting how music genres that seem to be absolutely ok to like in a "foreign" country (country music is not that much of a deal in Germany), are absolutely hated by the people of the country it originated in. I, and many, many people I know, hate Volksmusik (you know, the humptahumpta-bavarian style music) with a flaming passion, as we had to endure it a lot when we visited our grandparents. I know that there are people younger than 60 loving it, but it is seen as a stigma to like it. Country music on the other hand is kind of exotic, so it's not as weird to listen to it. Maybe, it's also not as hated because US-american culture has a chic to it in foreign countries.
I'm writing this as a foreigner. I don't know much about country music or heard that many country songs. But this is the first time I heard country music being referred to as "sad". Probably has to do with the image of classic country music. And I don't know if I would like country music, I know I don't like country pop. But then again, I'm not a fan of pop. Does new music change the older music? does knowing the history of music change the music? well, that depends on how you define "different". The music obviously stays the same, but your perception of the music changes all the time. Every time you hear a song it's different from your perspective; you have had a better or worse day than the last time you listened to it, the subject matter may appeal to you more or less with age, this time around you're really listening to that bass line. And yes, this time you may be listening to a song after knowing more about the history of the genre or the artist or any number of things that can make your perspective different.
Honestly, I'm not that familiar with country music, but from the idea of it being a "lamentation for people who feel adrift" and focussing on "the identity of the self," it sounds incredibly similar to Blues, right down to commercialisation and exploitation of a genre and its people. I guess they grow out of the same period of history, just different skin colours.
***** Really? Wow, I didn't know that cross-fertilisation went on. Lyrical impact makes absolute sense, along with instrumental cross-over. When I was studying African-American music at uni, there was a lot of talk about Black artists and Country artists crossing over to the mainstream in their various genres, but not much about Black and Country artists crossing into each others' fields per say, even just as influences. I guess there are bound to be similarities though, since they've always been the two non-mainstream sales fields in American music.
Dima Vasilev They also evolved out of similar regions. Growing up in South-East Texas there was very little noticeable difference between country, blues, and even rock. Artists like Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, and David Allan Coe were often played on the same radio station, and it wasn't until I was older that I realized they were from separate "genres."
Dima Vasilev Lots to unpack here. Black audiences went to R&B and left Blues because Blues was the music of the poor and powerless past, much like Country brought in strings and became "countrypolitan". There's lots of influence of country in black music -- listen to Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country Music -- but few tried to engage the genre head-on, because racism? On the other side, it's clear white musicians of the 50s and 60s were influenced by blues -- many surf instruments are fundamentally 12-bar blues -- but it took the Stones and Clapton before white American musicians felt they could go all-in on it.
Dave Jacoby The evolution of American music is a beautiful thing, isn't it? I would think it's safe to say that country music has been the most influential style in all of American music We probably wouldn't even have rock and roll if it weren't for country music. Country was a huge influence on Chuck Berry's work, after all, and he help codify what rock and roll was in the 50s.
Dima Vasilev Lots of good responses. But yes, lots of country was influenced by the blues. Bluegrass music seemed to flow naturally with it when it came down out of hillbilly Appalachia into the Cumberland plateau. But folk music also played a large role in the evolution of the genre. And just as Country influenced the early days of Rock (which in turned led to Southern Rock like Charlie Daniels, Kentucky Headhunters, and Lynyrd Skynyrd) Pop, the child of Rock, now heavily influences Country. Even as Blues turned to R&B and then Rap, you find artist like Colt Ford and Cowboy Troy using "Rural Rap". It is great to watch it all blend.
I'm disappointed and curious about why you didn't talk about modern country music's lyrics. That's my main problem with it, and is often addressed by some popular "poke-fun" RUclips videos. For example, it seems like every song is about girls in tight jeans, beer, trucks, dirt roads, lost love, or new love. That is, the stuff that gets played on popular radio. The chords tend to be the same, and I actually enjoy the beat, but I try to shy away from country music as it tends to over glorify some hedonistic desires. What do you think about the lyrics?
Daniel Dyck I didn't discuss it because the indictment is so clear and clearly repeated across the internet! Those videos which show the lyrical norms of modern popular country music are so spot on and perfect we would never do a better job providing word-for-word readings than they do by just straight up SHOWING it.
What I hope this video does it explain some of the reasons WHY those lyrical conventions have developed and are supported, tolerated and probably ENCOURAGED (e.g. they sell, they're comfortable, familiar, feel authentic/edgy even if they're trite commercialized nonsense, etc).
Daniel Dyck I personally listen to country music just for the laughs. All the country songs on the radio are so cliche that it's practically comedic. I think a lot of other people feel the same way, unlike Pop, Rap, or Hip-hop the actual music part of the song (what's not the lyrics) actually isn't annoying and ear hurting, the lyrics become a sort of comedy to some music that actually sounds listenable, not necessarily good but listenable.
Daniel Dyck Have you heard every country song sung backwards... the guy found his truck, found his dog, found his job, and found his wife.
PBS Idea Channel Hi, thanks for your reply. It always makes me happy when I get to talk with the creators of such great masterpiece :)
I understand the point of your video, and really appreciate it. Almost 100% of it was stuff I haven't really thought about, and I really appreciate the new perspective.
I feel though that the lyrics are such a big part of the issue, I don't see how you CAN'T address them. What I was asking for is a philosophical look on it. For example:
Does having these repetitve themes actually degrade the music?
Can we find some deeper meaning in the lyrics, something it symbolizes, or some form of expression?
Or is it literally as it is, and for that fact, we have every right to hate on it.
I'm just curious what you actually think about the lyrics. Good , bad , or ugly.
Daniel Dyck You forgot these parts: mama, prison, and trains.
there's country music and then there's the country music you think of when somebody says "country music"
Lastprogramer True!
Lastprogramer this. absolutely this.
Absolutely. You're absolutely right.
I love country music, but happen to quite dislike the 'country music' people think of when I say that, people think Florida Georgia line or Toby Keith, when in reality I mean, Johnny Cash, The Statler Brothers, people like that.
@@Kevin-vr9np yup i like 70s early 80s country. people like ronnie mishap roy clark etc
I'm surprised the issue of "bro-country" never came up in this video, as there's a pretty large segment of country music these days that seems to be focused on the "ignorant Southern frat boy crowd" by singing about girls, pickup trucks, having sex with girls in said pickup trucks, drinking, partying, being generally misogynist, etc. I think it's part of the reason why a lot of people detest country, and it's even sparked controversy within the country music scene itself.
I just don't like how most country music is just pop music with a southern accent
J158n agreed
J158n And at least one hat + boots outfit combo, I think, is maybe also required for it to be canonically country?
I love country music. This crap isn't country. It has been terrible for 4 or 5 years.
Real country was anything before 1970-80 but that’s about when country died and was replaced with pop
I think that's why people are starting to like it more recently. I like the evolution
Especially with older country, such as Johnny Cash or C.W.McCall, there were very detailed stories in these songs. just look at the song Convoy. or A Boy Named Sue. the stories made in these songs show different uses of characters, morals to teach, and even the opinions of the song writer. The songs had a purpose behind it to show. And we see this in other genres as well.
and it seems as these genres become more industrialized it seems there are less stories with thought out characters and morals and more just the stereotypical image of a country life of beer, trucks, mud, and girls by the river side.
Like I said, it's seen in so many different genres.
SKfilming This, I love songs that tell a story. This image of nothing but trunks and beer really bothers me because it lacks the substance of what made to older songs connectable.
Cats in the cradle is a good story song
I found both this and the last episode to be a breath of fresh air for the show, the decreased number of gifs flashing across the screen made it much more easy to really focus on the ideas put across which were still well illustrated in clever ways that were fleshed out visually but the lack of visual bombardment made viewing much more fulfilling and I really appreciated it. Something to consider.
I love country I started because someone I was carpooling with asked and I've been a fan ever since. I feel Country and Hip Hop are the same pride in where you are from, how you have fun and the person you love. They're two different ways of telling the same story.
I really liked the slower pace in this episodes. You are tackling large idea, and the slower pace gives us a little more time to digest each bit.
I feel like you've glossed over something that seems pretty obvious to me -- that, rather than a specifically political association, there's a cultural association with a specific set of values that differentiates country from pop. Certainly, country has a pre-commercial prehistory that is meaningful when analysing the accidents of its current sound, just as rap does. I feel like country and rap are two variations of the same phenomenon -- the commercialization of a genuine local music-of-the-economic-underclass commercialized and sold back to exactly that same underclass (in a way that american punk is not, but british punk largely is) -- and that furthermore, the distinction between them is the value complex related to urban or rural bias.
To make a broad generalization: if you're poor and think trees are better than fire hydrants, you like country; if you're poor and you think the woods are scary, then you like rap; if you're poor but you live in the suburbs, you prefer pop (or maybe some particular variant, like pop-punk or nu-metal, that has more of an edge). This is not to say that the music is musically deficient, or to associate taste with income, but instead to point out that pop music is populist by virtue of appealing to a fantasy of success -- which is often culture-bound. (The most crass in each of these genres will represent their wealth and success with bigger, shinier versions of things strongly associated with their audience. There isn't a real difference between a solid gold cowboy hat, a solid gold set of dentures, and a gold chain-mail dress, but someone who identifies strongly with one segment of the culture will generally find one desirable and the other two absurd.)
Both essentially fall under the aegis of pop, insomuch as they are populist, and insomuch as to the extent that they appear on top 40 radio they are mostly produced by the same record industry complex (if not indeed the same people -- many hits in all three genres today are made by a small group of 80s one-hit wonders, former rappers, former swedish music school teachers, and sound engineers, which is arguably a good thing insomuch as it definitely creates consistently competent stuff in the same way that similar systems in place for 50s crooner acts and modern j-pop acts produce consistently competent stuff; once big money comes into the picture, relying upon tortured artists no longer makes sense and you start needing to bring in skilled professional musicians working for the money).
To the extent that people (like your uber driver) dismiss country, I think it's because they fail to strongly identify with the particular memeplex surrounding modern country music, which is partly characterized by this rural bias but is also strongly characterized with other ideas that have essentially accidentally been associated with it by virtue of sharing an audience. Country music is strongly associated, politically, with the religious right, not because country artists are necessarily associated with the religious right (while performers occasionally come from the same background as their audience, this is definitely not universally true, and even if they came from the same background, their concerns often change drastically when they become successful), but instead because country music and the particular brand of politically neoconservative evangelical christianity associated with the religious right movement both explicitly target working-class americans in land-locked states and non-coastal rural areas. Other associations, likewise, are essentially coincidental, even to the extent that they are now baked-in as genre tropes -- twangy guitars have nothing to do with country music but everything to do with distinguishing country music from other forms of pop, and likewise cowboy hats have nothing to do with country music but everything to do with advertising to people that the otherwise unclassifiable pop song they're listening to is actually a country song.
You said Appalachia all weird. I know there's like no one in Appalachia with a computer to call you out on it, but still.
hentropy This literally made me laugh out loud at work.
I like that you brought up Hip Hop, because I think the way of Country being described as a personal expression of injustice and hardship is very similar to a lot of early hip hip. Country and Hip Hop used to be about oppression, whether it be by companies or cops, and the capitalistic market has twisted them into being about drinking, partying and picking up women. I don't think all country and hip hop is like this nowadays, but it just seems like we don't have nearly as many artists who are angry about injustice
00:21 THAT PHONELINE SQUIRREL THOUGH.
What were you talking about again?
Wow, that was a really good episode of Reasonably Sound! But wait, where did the pictures come from?
Arnesh Nagavalli 🔥
Arnesh Nagavalli My thoughts exactly
I'm so glad you made this video, I've been stuck on this research paper talking about the same topic for so long, thank you so much
I think the main problem with country music is its failure to resonate with the young. Country music often reflects on nostalgia for the simpler times, a nostalgia not felt by most younger people who find their lives made easier by new technologies rather than more confusing. Even though not all country is strictly about this, a lot of country songs are about the concepts of simple country living, which is generally something young people are neither interested in nor appreciate. It's hard for someone who's grown up with email and cellphones to look fondly back on life with letters and payphones. This might be why Taylor Swift found success after she started writing about breakups- it was easy for young people to relate to and she was easy for young people to relate to. Country is dying as a genre, and that is happening regardless of how many people listen to it, as country isn't getting the same airtime anymore and country singers are becoming more niche than they are mega stars.
MultiMagniGladii I agree that Country may have a particular appeal to adults than younger people, but I think you underestimate how many young people today live rural lives, and some who are too poor to afford some of modern day technology. I've lived in the rural "backcountry" and have met younger people, even those with iphones and what not, who were crazy country fans. For them, it's kind of a cultural pride thing more than a "I relate to this" thing. Sort of like "we live in the backwoods and so this is OUR music."
MultiMagniGladii I live in the country, I promise you that this is not the case. While maybe youth living in urban and suburban settings don't strike a chord with it, the ones here won't shut up about it.
Braden Chittick It's the same here in a southern, medium-sized town. In fact it seems like a lot of lower to middle class people who live lives that are not really "country" still identify with country music because they're being sold an "outsider/underdog" pride thing. Which I can tolerate as long as it's accompanied by some actually interesting music. I like some country music, particularly classic country, but nothing turns me off faster than the "we're just a bunch of good 'ol boys" circlejerk, because that's not about the music anymore, JUST about an identity. It doesn't really ring true to me.
Hannah Woodard "nothing turns me off faster than the "we're just a bunch of good 'ol boys" circlejerk"
THIS! So much this! The contrast between the lyrical content in classic vs. modern is like night and day.
I enjoy these differently styled Idea Channel episodes with Mike's road trip being continued. In addition, the topic of things that are "uniquely American" are continued with Country music, conveniently shot in Nashville. This was an enjoyable video not just with the unique topic but also the filming location fitting in so well just like the previous road trip video. It seems the road trip is over now but great job on putting a twist on the episode formula by filming outside in a relevant location.
The passenger you are spending quality time with when you are alone is... yourself. Introspection is a beautiful thing.
It's an eerie feeling seeing personally familiar sites in videos by people I'm subscribed to.
It's an interesting parallel you drew between country music and rap music, both being sort of a music of the underclass that was later co-opted and turned into this big flashy spectacle, often still sold as being down to earth. I think that underclass association is what keeps people away from both genres so much - if I had a nickel for every person I saw online who said they liked "all music except rap and country" I'd have enough money to shoot a modern country video.
Are there no people in Nashville?
s0nnyburnett On the contrary, Nashville's population is growing way too fast for its infrastructure. I'm not sure why that area was so empty during Mike's walk, though.
s0nnyburnett Right??
John Harvey That's what happens when you spend all week driving and forget to bathe. Mike probably smells like a dead opossum.
s0nnyburnett No... no one lives here
This is the first time I've felt like I actually had something to add to an Idea Channel video!
This video made me think about the history of Jazz. (My fiance and I are watching the Ken Burns Jazz documentary--I highly recommend it)
Duke Ellington, one of the absolute best jazz musician, once commented on why he didn't follow into the swing craze after Goodman. He said something like "Jazz is music. Swing is business." Jazz developed from the blues--it was a way to express both the pain and soul of the black Americans in that time. Swing took the styles jazz introduced and made dance music for the masses. I don't think it discounted jazz, but I think it tied jazz (at least some styles of it) to a time period. That's why we have the Jazz Age and the Swing Era. One came from the other, but the emotions were, for the most part, left with the jazz.
first off, the fact that mike likes sturgil simpson fills my heart with joy. do you like kacey musgraves???
secondly, some comments: i've lived in the rural south my whole life, so i've always been surrounded by country music whether i like it or not. around 13 or 14 i got into classic country: hank williams, johnny cash, tammy wynette, dolly parton. i still love that stuff. and honestly, i think it's worth considering why people -- both at the time this music was being made, and now -- dislike the very idea of it so much. i get that the sound itself isn't for everyone, but disdain for the lyrical content raises questions about classism. many of the artists who made that music were quite literally dirt-floor poor before they made it in the industry, and much of that music was about the experiences of people living in poverty and the working class. "coal miner's daughter" and "coat of many colors" come instantly to mind.
radio country today -- the nashville sound -- could not be farther from that. you've probably heard the phrase "bro country" tossed around. see: www.npr.org/2015/01/09/376145745/you-know-exactly-what-these-six-country-songs-have-in-common. content-wise, it is easy, simple, so watered-down and diluted that it's more or less void of any substance. beer, women, trucks, etc. it's not about the experiences of the worker, or the alcoholic, or anyone who is disenfranchised in the least. if you can't tell, i am not a fan.
but this bro country phenomenon is, i think, a relatively new thing. it comes along with the disappearance of women from country radio. in the late 90s to the mid 00s, there were plenty of very, very popular female aritsts. off the top of my head: martina mcbride, shania twain, reba mcentire, carrie underwood, taylor swift (really just her first album but you know), deanna carter... the list goes on. now, turn on your radio and you'll be waiting half an hour before you hear a woman's voice.
because women don't belong in bro country. women are the object of that music, so the mainstream industry has more or less ousted women from its ranks.
obviously you can't talk about country -- or any genre, or anything -- as a monolith, but as far as this specific subset goes, i feel like what i've said and what mike said is fair. there's still good music being made, it's just not being played on the radio.
finally, here is some stuff: a book (rednecks, queers, and country music -- talks about classism as a tool used by middle- and upper-class white liberals to remove themselves from their own racism): www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520280663
and an artist i want people to pay attention to, sam gleaves, who makes music about his identity as a rural person and a queer person: ruclips.net/video/_4SwB-bZxxw/видео.html
I live in Kansas. I had a Ugandan girl who literally just moved to the country from Africa and applied for a job at my work. Listened to country all the time. No one likes country, not even us Kansans. One day I says to her: "Do you really like country? Or are you just trying to fit in? Cos we don't care what you like, we just want you to be yourself. And we all don't really like country here, anyway!"
She says: "Everyone in Uganda listens to this. We LOVE American country music." So whatever floats you boat, or whatever tickles your pickle. Turns out Texans and Africans have something in common. And that's just great. I love humanity! ^_^
Laquisha Adams The fuck are you talking about i been to most of africa and they like pop music and hip hop.
Well, apparently not HER community.
I tried listening to Christian music for a while and it seems like a cool form, but there is only 1 story told in the lyrics. It goes: "Something was not right in my life, then I found Jesus, now things are better." Surely there is more to the Christian experience than this. There must be something meaningful in your faith worth singing about that isn't this same thing over rand over. I'm not a Christian, but but I like to experience their life sometimes. But the music... just not enough variety.
Roscoe Kane It's unfortunate that most of the good "Christian" music doesn't call itself that and will never end up on Christian Radio because it's not so explicit. One of my favorites is The Grey Havens... they write a lot of really metaphorical lyrics inspired by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Or the Oh Hellos - even more subtle, but there are DEFINITELY Christian themes in their lyrics. That stuff will never make it on the radio because it's too subtle, but it's a far more interesting exploration of the Christian life than most of the popular 'christian rock', in my opinion.
Hannah Woodard thank you for those recommendations. The only "sophisticated" christian music I knew about until now was switchfoot
Roscoe Kane growing up, a friend of mine was a pretty devout christian and a musician that played with his church's music section. he said the same thing. but the way he said it stuck with me: "well, it would be like _only_ writing songs about a Ham Sandwich. you can write some pretty good Ham Sandwich songs, but there's only so many of those you can write. i don't want to be a washed up Ham Sandwich Musician."
Roscoe Kane I think it was in the Simpsons where they said that all you need to do is replace "Jesus" with "Baby" to make a christian song into a (tween) pop song and vice-versa. In these types of genres it feels like the music is secondary, that it's a commodity, a tool, which they use to sell a specific product. I thinks that's why they're less respected. Same with popular modern country; the music is all about selling a specific (conservative, nostalgic) ideology that fights against more progressive ideas (at least in my opinion).
poshzombie primarily using the pop formula that manipulates the lizard/bird brain embedded in our heads, they are training people to be nostalgic for a "simpler time" that never really existed. it is brilliant, but it's also Evil in that sort of capital E Evil way where the individuals doing it think it's just clever marketing to sell a product, when in fact it is socially and politically divisive.
I think modern country musicians writing songs about "being country" is just completely phony because although they may have grown up that way they sure as hell don't live that way now and probably wouldn't go back to it if they had the option. They're posers. Like Larry the Cable Guy, they're putting on a facade that portrays a down-home regular blue collar guy but the whole thing is a charade. I find it dishonest and insulting. Also when the people at my work listen to country on the radio I find it nearly impossible to distinguish between artists. One time I asked my mom if there were any country musicians she didn't like and she said there weren't, which in my opinion is because THEY'RE ALL THE SAME.
As someone who recently has fallen in love with playing the mandolin and the folk/bluegrass songs that go with it, what modern pop country lacks is authenticity. The immigrants, farmers and hillbillies who forged timeless tunes like Arkansas Traveller or Irish Washerwoman wrote those songs out of deep and sometimes pain filled experience. They sang about what they lived, everyday. Backbreaking work. Their sweetheart drowning. Enjoying simple pleasures. Country as it is now is a slight to the common working person, since it is about what rich farm kids do on the weekend. The genre has no understanding of what real life is actually like for regular people . Which was what gave it it's soul in the first place. This is why I love The Punch Brothers, they understand the need for music to have grit and sweat. Yet, they still manage to make American Folk instruments the center of songs that sometimes border on poppy. But, unlike pop country it doesn't feel detached from real life. The Punch Brothers ,I think,have laid the foundations for the new working man's music.
really liked this episode, toning down the hyper-editing was nice :)
thank you
I just drove in from Nashville and boy are my wheels tires.
I find country music on modern pop radio to be the most cringe worthy unlistenable stuff I've ever heard. I think Cruise by Florida Georgia Line takes the cake on the most cringe worthy song. Yes even more cringy than Down With The Sickness, In The End, and Bring Me To Life.
All of the songs you've listed aren't bad at all...they're just very overplayed to the point where people get sick of hearing them.
Jacuzzi Splot I cringe when people use the word 'cringe'.
MelodicDragon97 Yeah they're good if you're an angsty 14 year old.
Jacuzzi Splot
You will have portable light and hair.
I can't even give an honest reply since I don't even know who the hell they are or what songs those are. I'm 48 and have listened to country music my whole life but I know nothing of post 1998 top 40 country music.
Hank 3 is closer to real country music than anything played on "country radio".
Why was there not anybody in the background?
I was born and raised in Appalachia, my granddaddy plays the banjo, and we tend to stick to our ways. Country music was an outcry of these destitute people not for something else or more, but understanding. When Loretta Lynn sang about growing up poor in a company coal town, she had a sense of pride, not any bitterness or complaining. It was about making the best out of what you had. Praising God, and working the land. The values are seldom found in modern consumer culture. Money became more important than the message. Drinking beer, and driving pick up trucks was the last thing on those old country singers minds. If you look at the history of bluegrass and country, it goes back to the ballads of the Scotch-Irish who first settled that land. First white folks I mean. The country music of today isn't the same genre of olden days. I guess that's true with all genres.
Banjos are more prevalent in indie folk type than in Country. Authentic music can't be bad, you may not like it but it can't be bad. Music that's written for money and without heart can be bad, sometimes good though. Well peace yall. Love the channel by the way!
I like the slow pace of this video.
Bluegrass, folk, Elvis, Johnny Cash, all that sort of stuff? No problem.
That wannabe pop rock on the country music station? Torch it!
Is it just me, or the best country artists/bands are *often* the least known?
Justin Turullols It's because they don't appeal to the shitty Nashville vision of country. Sure, it may be seen as the country music capitol by the rest of the world, but really, most good country music isn't played there. Sometimes a good band gets on the Grand Ol Opry, but that's about it.
***** I did say "often".
Justin Turullols Same could be said for many other mainstream genres as well.
***** From what I've heard, there is still a thriving underground scene there. I read that in an article talking about Nashville's gentrification, and it's parallels to the same phenomenon that happened to New York's East Village.
Says "Roy Orbison"... shows Bruce Springsteen
***** Glad I'm not the only one who spotted that...
***** Probably cause it's from his "Black and White Night" concert, where Bruce sang together with him, most famously in "Dream Baby" RUclips it! ;D
Davisx3m I know what video it's from. It doesn't change the fact that the clip shows the boss and not the big o.
Davisx3m Tom Waits is on that one too, right?
***** Yep.. that hurt me.
Country music is sad? As someone who's never listened to it actively and only knows it from a distance as a cultural artifact, this is new to me.
Maybe there's anoter unseen factor. I am Mexican and here, "everyone" dislikes "Corridos" (which sound nothing like country but is asociated to the agricultural socioeconomic lifestyle aswell), it is like no one want to be asociated to the agricultural and humble worker lifestyle? maybe?
Ricardo Rodriguez I feel it's sort of similar. At least in the North, people who like country are sometimes written off as "hicks" or lowbrow/blue collar(in a bad way)
Ricardo Rodriguez It is a bit like that. I do love going out doors and working on my garden, but I can't relate to the culture that country sings about. I can't really relate to Corridos either, but it's way more catchy to me.
Ricardo Rodriguez I feel that not wanting to be associated with humble agricultural life might be part of it. I know a recent country hate meme on tumblr is calling country lovers "tractor fuckers" and there are very few people I know on there who live in rural areas. Probably some underlying and unaddressed classism in there.
Honestly, the only valid concern I hear about country music from tumblr is how overly white a genre it is (literally, the only poc country artist I can think of is Cowboy Troy so).
Aw man! I was really hoping you would mention my comment about your Chevy Colorado! Best truck ever!
I think it is important to know that in Texas there is a strong divide between country music fans. It is almost as if there are two genres of country music. Nashville country and Texas country is how I have always delineated the two groups. Nashville country is more inline with the commercialized pop/rock sound. Texas country stays closer to the "original" sound of country. For example, there is a radio station in Lubbock, TX that is exclusively Texas country. They won't even play artists with a pop sound. Often times, fans of Texas country will mock with extreme disgust the Nashville sound (myself included) because of how separated the sound, lyrics, and overall style is from the original sound of country music. In a way, you could say that Texas country is an effort to preserve the original sound of country. (Admittedly, even the sound of Texas country has changed dramatically.)
I think a road trip is about experiencing a combination of the greatest possible changes in magnitude of location along with the greatest possible increase in concentration of new experiences.
The concentration of experience can change if you're with a companion but isn't dependent on one. Certainly being in a new place is new, and it's is amplified when there's someone else there to share their perspectives about the newness, it creates a feedback loop of discovery.
But one of my favorite road trips was travelling from AZ to WA in a hurry by myself. The geography/geology and environment change so significantly that experiencing something new doesn't require the commentary of a companion, it's visually self-evident. I describe Utah as kind of like neopolitan ice cream, 3 distinct layers. Red to the south, kind of purple/blue in the middle, and green to the north. Seeing those changes in environment over the course of one day's travel is an experience in itself.
If you have not seen it, you need to watch the Sonic Highway's episode on Nashville. It really explains the process and the appeal of country music.
PBS Idea Channel Every video of yours I watch, really makes me think and gives me some interesting ideas. Keep it up! You. Are. Awesome.
I think maybe Country music (and perhaps all music) can be divided into two categories:
1. That which people listen to to connect with the artist's struggles, triumphs, and ideas or otherwise to feel emotion or appreciate beauty of the music.
2. That which people listen to in order to confirm or masquerade an identity as "country" or "southern".
I'm a Georgian college student and I would call myself "southern" and maybe "country" (I actually lived on my family farm; how many Country artists can say that?), but I only enjoy some music that falls under the genre of Country. The kind I enjoy is in category 1. It's generally my impression that those who listen to category 2 Country music are somehow overcompensating in trying to appear "country".
I listen to Country music (among other music) because it's what I've grown up with and find connection with, but when I hear Toby Keith or the like play it just seems so laughably constructed that it's not possible anyone could like it for any other reason than to make themselves feel like something they aren't.
This thought applies equally well in reverse to people irrationally hating on "type 2" Country music. I think many people have very negative associations with that ridiculous image of "southern" culture and want to distance themselves from it as much as possible. Openly hating on Country music is one way to signal that disposition, both to the world and to themselves. Perhaps that's why Country music seems to be so divisive ("love it or hate it"), because it's so closely tied to an "us vs. them" community dynamic. Category 1 Country music, on the other hand, plays much less into the stereotypes and tends to tell it like it *really* is.
Sorry for the rambling comment - I've got a lot to say about this one!
A proposition: Country music is the adaptation of Celtic music by the Americanization of Irish immigrants in the hills of Appalachia. The lute became the banjo, the melodeon or concertina became the accordion, and the harp became the steel harp. There was also the introduction of percussive and wind instruments made from the belongings of these immigrants in the form of jaw harps, washboard and jug. The gradual incorporation of this music into mainstream culture introduced more modern instruments like the keyboard, drums, and guitar.
The music was originally old folk songs from the home country, but new songs about the problems of naturalization into American society could have proven fertile ground for newer themes. These new songs would naturally have become more popular because they spoke to a generation of people who were considered outcasts in a country where they were expecting inclusion.
As some one whom listened to country music my whole life and being in my 30's now I have experienced the slow change to a Pop sound. Personally I prefer blue grass and folk music as they resemble what I found appealing about country music back when I was younger.
Great episode.
I listen to country music and I hear a lot of people say that country music is sad but I only don't disagree to avoid having the conversation personally country music is probably one of the happiest music that I listen to and that's why because of how upbeat country music is is why I listen to it I just don't argue with people who say it's sad
Thank you for using a gimbal on your blog shots. That makes me happy.
I've been saying this to my friends for a while now. Alternative is getting more "rocky"/ punk rock like you said and country is definitely getting more pop esque
0:26 "Instrumental" - I see what you did there. Well played, well played indeed.
This channel, together with lots of others, represents the modern commercialization of youtube videos.
Have you ever heard of the Transatlantic Sessions? It's a live music show the BBC does which blends together American country music with traditional British folk music. It's pretty cool.
Hey Mike, I'm from Texas, where everyone thinks that we all have trackers and where we ride horses to school, work and variety of places. As I watched this episode of country music, I could not help but be more interested in because I love my country music but what is really happening now so more than ever is how artist are goin about the independent route of making music. And how it is becoming apparent that these artist are being successful at it without going through Nashville.
So much so was shown back in February by two different artist one being Aaron Watson and how there album was number one in pre sales and how it stayed number one after its release.
What we hear on the radio is more pop country and what we find on some of the oldest dance halls is a lot better then what you hear on the radio. It is how you said what country use to be and it is shown in the amount of fans as well as records sells per album. If ever you want to try some new artists out for your ears to listen to just type in Aaron Watson, Randy Rogers Band, Robert Earl Keen, Cody Johnson, Josh Abbott Band, Bart Crow, Stony LaRue, Sam Riggs and the night people and countless others to the difference between both Nashville and Texas.
Maybe next road trip you take would be here in Texas to get some great BBQ and listen to some great artist at some old dance halls
This doesn't have anything to do with this video, but I was out walking my dogs and one of my friends called across the street at me saying "Dude, I didn't think you were the kinda guy to wear joggers" and that got me thinking about the clothes I was wearing, like I only go to college wearing a pair of jeans when I never wear them if I'm just staying at home, preferring shorts or lounge wear. I took a look at the books I have written and found that the clothing I had given the characters in them were stereotyped to the type I was trying to portray them as. For the main antagonist I did nothing to describe his authority other then the way he dressed the first time he is seen in the book giving him an old Generals uniform as well as a baseball cap to keep his face in the dark and the Tomboy character never dressed in girls clothes preferring a pair of men's jeans and t-shirt for examples.
I work at a clothes store and looking back on it with this idea of clothing affecting our identity, I couldn't see a correlation between the clothes people bought and the way they behaved and the language they used or anything else for that matter. To me at least, it seemed that people of all walks of life bought the same items of clothing regardless of that life they walked. So do the clothes we wear effect the way people see us? Or is society's perception of clothes nowadays affecting which clothes we wear out in public? Because in all fairness a pair of jeans does the same job as a pair of joggers when I'm at college, just I prefer to be seen there in jeans.
I thought that it could be a good idea for a video at some point.
PS: Still can't get my head around jeggings
I really enjoy this episode. When talking about musical tastes with co-workers I always explain that although I'm sure country music has gobs of great artists, its hard to dissect them from the commercial conglomerate that is country as a whole. Basically, I just don't know where to start looking for the artists I would enjoy in the genre, so I've never tried.
Rackdar I love every musical style from edm, hip-hop, rock, blue and especially country. But the unfortunate thing is most people like to pigeonhole country to what they only hear on the radio--country music is so much more! Here are a few songs and band I think you might like:
-Escondido: Black Roses
-Turnpike Troubadours: 1968
-First Aid Kit: My Silver Lining
-HoneyHoney: Turn that Finger Around
-Lindi Ortega: Tin Star
-Old Crow Medicine Show: Sweet Amarillo
Listen to these and I'm sure you will love the genre :)
2xDeuce Thanks for the suggestions. "Most people like to pigeonhole country to what they only hear on the radio" is a very accurate description of my plight and I will listen to your suggestions. Thanks again.
You're welcome, hopefully I can open peoples eyes to great music. And if you liked those bands another artist I think you might like is
-Jason Isbell: Elephant
Have a great day!
My thoughts on country music, being from a pop punk background, have generally been negative. That is until recently when I needed to reconcile my love for Johnny Cash, and early country blues with how I still fell disdain for Nashville country. I think with Nashville country, as you pointed out veering away from songs on heart ache and sadness, it has become the music of the content. Almost every song churned out by the Country machine tells a story of the "American Dream" how everything is ok as long as you got a beer and your friends. They sell contention so hard in each lyric of each song, that Country tends to be a big hit with people who are happy and content with their lives. But for those, such as myself, that might feel unhappy and even malcontent in their situations Country is just overly happy twangy noise. I identify with the heartache and longing for the world to get better in "Man in Black" as well as "Crazy Train". I crave for artists to show authenticity about the troubles that they face, and what they witness of the world. That is what today's country has lost, their Authenticity, and I think for most people, who dislike country they are longing for that, an authentic voice that resonates with people, not mass produced contention.
DAMMIT! I had no idea you were gonna be in Phoenix QQ I would of actually gone to this Comicon if I had. Hope you had a good time. Thanks for all the great videos.
I like all types of music. Country included. I don't get into all of the heated debates involving music because music, like everything else involving entertainment, is subjective. If you love it, great. If you hate it, that's fine.
My father was a long haul trucker and every summer I would ride with him cross country, all he would listen to was country music, when I was younger I loved it. As i got older I tried country music and to me it sounded like country had lost its soul. What had made it great was the emotional content, nashville country is a watered down form of music designed to sell to lowest common denominator. Time was not kind to country.
Sometimes the sadness can uplift
Country music is the best
The present or future redefining the past is a reeeeally interesting topic, and a complex one too.
On the one hand, it's pretty much inevitable: memory is always a reconstruction and attribution of meaning is always dynamic, so whatever we hear today will receive meaning in the way(s) we attribute meaning today, however well informed we are of meanings past. Ok, but that's not much above the obvious.
On the other hand, how much of this "past" are we really experiencing again, or even calling back to, in the modern/renewed/commercialized versions of country, punk, hip-hop, tonal symphonies ? You ask if these musics lose claim to their intended meaning, but I'm not so sure the intention has remained the same through the transformations. In some cases, it seems pretty clear that only the most superficial _appearance_ of having such intentions is left, and then only because it sells (it's "authentic", "roots", "like grandma used to bake'em", and so on).
So this is why we need good ethnomusicology, and good + accessible archives. The cultural industry can indeed digest anything and make a profit from it, from Che Guevara's politics to Lachenmann's music, so it's crucial to maintain access to whatever is outside that digestive tract. Easier said than done, granted.
Your last question could then almost go in the opposite direction from the others: knowing the history of a particular genre might not change the meaning of an old song, but perhaps change it _back_, allowing us to reach for its original intentions, possibly lost or hidden today.
It might also make us see such differences between different practices commonly put under the same label, that we perhaps can no longer reasonably call them all by that one name - calling both Greenday and Bikini Kill "punk" is quite the stretch on whatever specificity the word "punk" may have. And this is probably a good thing too, at the very least from an epistemological point of view: it's usually best to have a better, more precise vocabulary when talking about how things work, evolve and acquire meaning.
You bring up a good point when you talk about where the transition between pop and country is. I find it very hard to argue my point as to why I like country music to other people, especially those who grew up in city's. I grew up l prairie town up here in Manitoba, Canada with about 3000 people and country music was always a very big part of our towns community.
I think hating country music has become a fad like being vegan or paleo diets, some people may truly dislike country but most people just hop on the hate train since that is what "everyone else is doing" and I think this is one of the things that has caused country music to take a drastic change in the past 5 years. The industry follows consumers closely and with all the hate country was getting I think it caused the major shift into more country/pop music like Luke Bryan. I'm not saying all modern country music is bad but it is definitely changing.
My favorite way to let people know why I like country is to point them in the direction of Trace Adkins, "Songs About Me". Like I said, growing up in a small country town, country music couldn't describe my favorite parts of my hometown better. Honestly, nothing beats cranking the country music while driving down an empty dirt road, with a full moon and sitting in the box of your truck by the lake with a bunch of friends.
And perhaps that is another part of the problem, less families are growing up in small towns and so maybe it is making country music harder to relate to for the general public. Which after reading through a bunch of the comments only confirms this theory more for myself.
I hope country music doesn't continue to make drastic changes to its genre but I will always appreciate the path country music has gone down.
I grew up listening to country classics as a kid but didn't return to the country genre until Taylor Swift. I was surprised and delighted to find an untapped plethora of songs and styles that I hadn't realized I was missing out on. For me, country music covers a lot of the emotions and moments of life, often sad or humbling, that pop ignores.
My only note is that in the section showing an animated Johnny Cash to depict how the songwriting of past country music reflects authenticity and hardship, Ring of Fire is playing. This song was actually not written by Johnny Cash, but by June Carter, and made popular by Cash. An asinine point, I know, but I'm just excited to be able to contribute. The Idea Channel Team is awesome keep it up!
Whenever I've heard someone asked about what music they like, they always say, "I like all music, except country."
There are a FEW good songs in the country genre made nowadays, but to me, almost every single modern music song is about getting drunk, partying, breaking up, getting together with someone with without even asking their name based on looks randomly, or (and this is the most common one) ALL OF THOSE AT ONCE
I've recently become a fan of country music, the messages in it are similar to many other popular genres
I'll say that I had a pleasant chat with a man I worked with to what kind of music he likes. And to even my surprise he said he likes country. This was to my surprise because he was born and raised in Nigeria, and when he came to america, he could have chosen any genre of music he wanted to listen to, or find in great tastes. I asked him why it is he likes country music with scoff in my voice, and he told me that he enjoys country music because it feels more like a story is being told. That it has a narrative element where other songs from other genres don't tell as much of a story. Which is what I imagine is the origination of music came from. After all music was always made from a bard who would come up with clever rhyme and verse in his stories as well as his songs.
Squirrel on the telephone wires in the background at 0:21
Would love more videos like this!
I used to despise country music and though I am not sold on it I have found myself singing to some songs that fit in the genre called country. I find what the taxi driver interesting and now I think about it isn't that any genre are necessarily bad. It is the tropes, stereotypes, and culture; good or bad that comes with. I have enjoyed some music from every genre from rap to dubstep to country to classical. It is the ideals that go through the artistic medium that alienates people most. Yet ironically it is also the easiest way to grow to understand and accept if you have an open enough mind to try and listen.
As an Asian living in Asia, I can't relate to country music, this episode didn't increase my understanding of it much as well, not that it isn't interesting.
I've never listened to the genre before, not even Taylor Swift, so I don't know what's the essence and appeal.
GuyWithAnAmazingHat It's like the Blues but with banjos and sometimes a guy blowing in a jug or something. Twangy. Though modern country music is pretty much generic garbage. It's sort of like gangster rap in that the topics almost never change nor do the sounds that come with it.
Also if you want to listen to Country you should probably just stick to Johnny Cash. Most people tend to like it.
GuyWithAnAmazingHat I'm not sure which part of Asia you are from, but try to think of it kind of like Enka or traditional music using the koto - there are definitely some people who love this genre of music, and lots who have either never listened to or would never listen to it. Country music is sort of like that. I for one dislike most country music because of the sad bits etc, but love Enka and koto music (and not just because I love Japanese things)...
GuyWithAnAmazingHat
_"As an Asian living in Asia"_
........Which part? There's like a whole continent and some islands lol but in your case it'd kind of be like whatever is considered folk songs in your country. They're usually songs about sadness, loss, love, hardship, the working class, etc. This is only one side of Country though as there is a commercial side that was talked about here. This modern/mainstream country is more Pop like but with Southern accents and guitars. So this kind talks more about drinking, partying, trucks, women/men, having fun, etc than the plight of simple living like the genre's origins.
In your case modern/mainstream Country would be like whatever is mainstream/shallow Pop in your country using whatever you guys consider traditional instruments/arrangements/accents. Its really hard to use a reference as I don't know where you're from :[
Edit: Or you could just read Souji Monaru comment that I just now noticed *sigh*
GuyWithAnAmazingHat: As a German living in Germany, I play bass guitar in a Country Band.
Listen to Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. They have so many amazing songs. Country inspired some of rocks greatest artists like Rory Gallagher, Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynrd, etc. Marshall Tucker Band is probably the best example of a bunch of country in rock form. Seriously listen to "heard it in a love song" and "fire on the mountain".
This a great video, and it seems that this topic can go for hours since its a very old and succesful industry. Thankyou . Subbed
I feel like one of the big things people nowadays dislike about country music isn't about how sad it is. I mean, sure, some people still associate it with the old-time twangy blues sound, the plight of the average man, of the farmer and the likes. But in all honesty, no modern country music sounds that way, and if you were to ask me if I liked country, I'd think you were talking about the more modern, big-band, high-energy, almost-pop stuff.
I feel like my biggest problem with that isn't that it's sad. In fact, I can appreciate a lot of the sadder, more contemplative country songs. Live Like You Were Dyin' is absolutely amazing, and worthy of SO much praise. It's the songs about drinking, and sex and hot women and "good times" that are so similar to one another, so formulaic and receives SO much more airtime on the radio that it feels like no one even realizes the sadder stuff exists sometime. As someone not 100% on-board with mainstream pop music, it's the same phenomenon that drives me away; It's all about the same stuff and is so predictable and asinine that I don't have the patience to listen to it.
And that's not to mention the seeming homogeneity of the actual music behind the lyrics as well. I imagine that if one were to remove the vocals from two songs by two different artists and transpose them, no one would notice. And on top of that, there's the homogeneity of the vocalists themselves! You have deep male voice, gruff male voice and slightly-less-deep-and-less-gruff-younger male voice, and those are your only options. Its the lack of variety that does it in for me, such that when I listen to any kind of country music, it really does feel like I'm listening to the same songs over and over again with only incredibly minor changes.
I always thought that Country represents the idea of how America assimilates other cultures and grows from that. Example, Country has been adding in Rap, of course Pop, Techno, and other forms of music.
I'd love to see a few more episodes on the variety of music like you've just done with country.
I'd love to see something about the weird history of Disco and the Death to Disco music.
Your arms would have been tired from holding the camera out. Get a selfie stick man! The future of journalism!
I had my opinions about country music completely changed when I watched the Foo Fighters series about their latest album. In Sonic Highways they traveled around the states to different "music capitols" recording a song in each city. For country music, they went to Nashville. They covered the history of country music from origin to present, going over how Nashville became this creation and marketing behemoth which could crank out a hit song in record time (See what I did there). They had interviews with producers who lamented the passing of country music having a story and that nowadays it was all about parties, drinking and "sugar-shakers" (Booty, for lack of a better term).
In my viewing I had a thought that perhaps country music suffered from the disease that is "This is what the kids are into nowadays" - preferably said by some old white guy in a faded checkered suit.
But anyway, I found that episode particularly informative and very enjoyable. My favourite song on that album came from the Nashville episode. =)
In Sweden, we got "Dansband", which is a compromize of Traditional Folk, Rock'n'roll, Motown and in later years, Synthpop.
I defend country music. there's a lot of great country and southern rock out there. most people I encounter don't agree
I loved Nashville, went there and Memphis when I did my trip to America.
I'll take my country without pop or hip-hop in it, thank you. Of late I've found watching Transatlantic Sessions (thank you, PBS and the BBC) quite refreshing, as it's where folk musicians from both sides of the Atlantic get together and play their hearts out. If you want to hear the real soul of what country music used to be, you might want to give it a watch.
Likewise, a lot of indie country bands have stuck with the idea that if it isn't broke, don't fix it, and are releasing some great music (what can I say, I'm a sucker for a good fiddle and a wailing steel guitar). Seek and ye shall find!
I think for many country fan they aren't oblivious to the shift in country music to almost comical representation of rural life in mainstream Country. Seeing as how you brought up politics, similarly they've seen the shift of the Republican party from a party that represented their interests to a mainstream parody of itself. The middle-America culture sees these as the vestiges of the familiar that they once supported as these things acted as the voice for them. We often have the tendency to group "whites" as a monolithic culture but it has many cultures and "subcultures" within it if you will. They still support the country industry as a nostalgic feeling of the America we grew up in when it was simpler times and not as diverse. The cultural pressures also play a large role because a farm kid's first memories of being in a Case IH with your father listening to Randy Travis play a large role in tastes and preferences.
I am a huuuuuge beach bum. I only recently began actively listening to country music because many country artists such as Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown band, and (maybe) Jimmy Buffet sing about loning to be on the beach and how much they love the ocean. This is something I don't see in hip hop, pop, rap, etc. Being able to strongly identify with the lyrics is the main reason I listen to it. However, as a black woman, you definitely see the revulsion among African Americans when it comes to country due to the white southern connection and its racially charged past. I hate southern accents, confederate flags, and huge trucks myself, but just being able to say hey I also wish I was lying on a sandy beach right now lets you relate to the singer/band and not the history.
It was nice having a break form the constant stream of gifs next to Mike's head. I gets a little distracting sometimes.
I grew up listening to country music and I loved it when I was a child. Once I was old enough to understand that these people weren't living on a farm, working 90 hours hard labor a week and could buy private jets I started to have questions.
My biggest question is with holding so tightly and selling this blue collar,near poverty, life style while having the money and fame to start national campaigns. When Toby Keith can get everyone to hate another artist because he says so, I don't by it that he's just your regular average Joe.
I think that is were the line of country that I don't like and country that I'm fine with listening to is.
Do the artists spend most of their time trying to convince me they lead the life of a blue collar worker? Then I will have a hard time taking that music seriously.
Do the artists use the sounds and rhythms that are associated with country music to enhance their message or tell a story that I can connect with? (By that I mean a story that doesn't sound like they are trying to own someone else experience.) Then usually I fine those songs engaging and interesting.
OMG! You were in Nashville!! Would have freaked if I had run into you!
My mom likes the modernized "nashville" style you spoke of,where I like the soul-searching bango style. I used to always nag her about how what she's listening to isn't "real" country music,
but after comparing the modern country and classic country it made me think of the Anime episode. And now it's alright with me.
I didn't realise just how close "Man of constant sorrow" began as Sean nós and roots deep in a mix of culture including the archives of ceoltas
Is it bad that I was hoping this episode would be partially a commentary on women's portrayal in country music?
Future Idea Channel video?
I enjoy a bit of country music every now and again, because it's like the only genre of music that'll play a song about straight up murdering a dood on the radio. I'm looking at you "Blown Away" and "Two Black Cadillacs," Country music is fucking metal.
Coming from a Black family, really the only reason my family needs to dislike country music is the South's underlying history of racism. Country music just kinda symbolizes that for them. That, and the accent and/or twang of certain instruments comes off grating to my family. Personally, I do like some mainstream country artists but black people look at other black people funny for liking that kind of music despite Black Country artists like Dobie Gray. Basically, at least for my family, Country music can be loosely interpreted as "white pride" music and liking it is somewhat detrimental to your "blackness".
hausofpancakes I think it is interesting that American country music has those connotations. Australian country music by comparison does not seem to have the same history. Bearing in mind that I am white fella from four sides, seems Australian country touched base with many aboriginal people across the country. As such there are old country stars like Lionel Rose (Who was also a great boxer) through to today's modern stars like Troy Cassar-Daley. In addition many white singers seem to have a good relationship with the traditional owners of this old land.
hausofpancakes This is ridiculous, and a great example of prejudice in and of itself.
+hausofpancakes One of my best friends in HS was a black girl that listened to country music; she loved Reba McEntire. I assume many people have the same thought process you mentioned, because she was bullied and called "Oreo" or "not really black" a lot. They didn't seem to consider that her parents were Panamanian immigrants and her family (to my knowledge) never experienced any of the situations that are generally associated with being "black in America."
That was very thoughtful. And kudos on the correct pronunciation of Appalachia (at least for the area that you were in at time)
There's plenty of instrumental stuff for those willing to look for it. The Seatbelts have produced quite a bit of it. With songs like 'Spokey Dokey', 'Waltz for Zizi' and 'Go Go Cactus Man'. Then there's the blended genre stuff like 'Spike in a Rail' by Darren Korb. Which mixes in rock and electronica with a bit of blues.
My point is what's played on the radio so often only just scratches the surface of many genres. And that tends to color most people's perceptions of things. Especially when mixed with general cultural attitudes. Country music has been the butt of many jokes for the last 25 years.
This video focuses mainly on Nashville or Pop country. Texas Country or Red Dirt music is the more independent and less commercialized of the two. Texas Country applies to a broader range of music, and is a better representation of southern American music. The biggest difference of the two is that there is so many more musical influences and styles in Texas Country. While some bands and artists really push the Nashville sound, many of the bands have musical styles that come from rock, folk, bluegrass, soul, as well as more traditional country music. The freedom of Texas Country music gives rise to songs that are stylistically different even from the same band. Within one album, there can be everything from southern rock to bluegrass to jazz to calypso. There is a real fission between the two styles, and is often called out by Texas Country music. Despite this, there are some bands that have transitioned from Texas to Nashville Country, with quite noticeable changes to their sounds to appeal to a larger audience. Another evident difference between the two, Texas Country has more narrative and storyteller music than Nashville Country, a further reflection of the effect of commercialization.
I think it's quite interesting how music genres that seem to be absolutely ok to like in a "foreign" country (country music is not that much of a deal in Germany), are absolutely hated by the people of the country it originated in. I, and many, many people I know, hate Volksmusik (you know, the humptahumpta-bavarian style music) with a flaming passion, as we had to endure it a lot when we visited our grandparents. I know that there are people younger than 60 loving it, but it is seen as a stigma to like it. Country music on the other hand is kind of exotic, so it's not as weird to listen to it. Maybe, it's also not as hated because US-american culture has a chic to it in foreign countries.
I'm writing this as a foreigner. I don't know much about country music or heard that many country songs. But this is the first time I heard country music being referred to as "sad". Probably has to do with the image of classic country music.
And I don't know if I would like country music, I know I don't like country pop. But then again, I'm not a fan of pop.
Does new music change the older music? does knowing the history of music change the music?
well, that depends on how you define "different". The music obviously stays the same, but your perception of the music changes all the time.
Every time you hear a song it's different from your perspective; you have had a better or worse day than the last time you listened to it, the subject matter may appeal to you more or less with age, this time around you're really listening to that bass line.
And yes, this time you may be listening to a song after knowing more about the history of the genre or the artist or any number of things that can make your perspective different.
You always have a passenger with you. Whose to say you can't be your own passenger, and you can definitely have quality time with your self.