Yearly Archives: 2014

by | November 9, 2014 · 8:00 am

Texas vs Pop Country

Growing up in Texas, country music is what  I have listened to just about my whole life. Now by all means, I do not consider myself a complete connoisseur of country music, but, I have been around it enough to distinguish the difference between a Texas country and a Pop country artist.

nutty brownTo begin, in my opinion, country music has evolved over the years into what now could be considered pop country.  This includes upbeat tunes with a band in the background, with a strong emphasis on the instruments and not so much the vocals. To me, artists that fall under this category would be: Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Eric Church, Lee Brice, Keith Urban, Carry Underwood, Lady Antebellum, and many more. These are the faces of what the country would consider country music nowadays. In no way, shape, or form am I trying to take anything away from them. I listen to all of them and love all their music. I am actually currently listening to Florida Georgia Line as I write this. But, these artists have a completely different sound then that of Texas Country music. Pop country has taken away the traditional country music and has made it more hip. Which is understandable due to how our culture has attracted to this pop country and taken it as “Country”.  But in my opinion, Texas Country is what keeps the traditional country music and sound alive.

To help you with some Texas country artists heres a few: Aaron Watson, Randy Rogers Band, Josh Abbott, Zane Williams, Turnpike Troubadours, Eli Young Band, Josh Gridder, Wade Bowen, and many others. Although most of these names sound very familiar to those of you from Texas, I could guarantee most country fans outside of Texas have never heard of most of them. One of the main differences between the two types of country is the sound and voices.  Texas country artists, for the most part, have a more rough  and raspy sounding voice. Their music is usually slower paced with less instruments. In Texas country, it usually consists of a drummer, guitar, violin, and banjo. Some songs Texas country songs will just consist of the artist and guitar, as it was in older country. Pop country will have these as well as electric and steel guitars which give it a more upbeat and rock sound.

One main difference between the two types of country is the venue in which they perform.  Texas country artists most of the time perform at outdoor venues in front of a crowd no larger then about 2,000 people. Some venues such as Floore’s Country Store, Nutty Brown Cafe, Gruene Hall, and Midnight Rodeo are popular places for these artists to perform. On the other hand, pop country artists perform at bigger venues such as sports arenas in much bigger crowds. KEITH-URBAN-IN-CONCERT

In retrospect, Pop and Texas country are both great to listen too. Pop country has just taken a little of the traditional sound out of country music but is still pleasant to listen too. Texas country keeps things more simple with lyrics and sound as the country music used to be.

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Filed under Country Pop, New Traditionalism, Texas

by | November 8, 2014 · 8:00 am

Remember the Old “Country” Taylor Swift?

I understand that a lot of people have their own opinions, either good or bad, about how Taylor Swift officially went from country to pop as she just released the new album, 1989. For me personally, I have always loved Taylor Swift and will always love her because I think she’s a real prodigy. Instead of talking about the more recent version of Taylor, I just wanted to remind everyone of how she used to be a big country star in her earlier career, and point out some great songs in her country albums. So here we go:

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This was the cover of Taylor Swift’s very first album, Taylor Swift. She had signed her first contract with Big Machine Records as a singer-songwriter when she was 14 years old. Taylor for sure made a big impression to country fans from the beginning, as she became the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number one song on the Hot Country Songs Chart. I was in high school when this album first came out and I remember every single girl at my school obsessing over Taylor Swift, and even some boys, reluctantly. Taylor was 16 years old at the time, and she was already writing narrative love songs about her own experiences. (Yes, because she’s a genius and again, a real prodigy.) My favorite song on this album was “Teardrops on My Guitar.” I liked the song a lot more in my high school days, and now I don’t know how I feel about it. The lyrics are a bit cheesy, but I still like the melody, the guitar sound and her voice.

A few single albums were released right after, including Tim McGraw and Our Song. Both songs are true to the “country-ness” of Taylor Swift, since they have more country-sounding instruments and lyrics. (Listen to those songs and listen to her newer songs. They’re completely different sounding.) Taylor toured all over the country in support of Taylor Swift, and the single albums kept the teenage girls fans excited while she prepared for her second album, Fearless.

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Just like the first album, Taylor continued to write at least a few of her songs by herself, with some help of others, to keep up with the title “country singer-songwriter.” This album was a huge commercial success for Taylor, as it became the best-selling album of the year, and stayed number one on Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. 5 singles spawned from Fearless, and my favorites are, just like many others, “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.” I can still remember Taylor singing those songs on TV with her guitar and having a baby face.

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Speak Now was released in 2010, and this is the album where I think Taylor Swift started showing signs of being “Pop” instead of country. The instruments sound relatively modern, beats are faster, and she was rarely performing with a guitar and boots on anymore at this point. Some songs had definitely more country feels than others, depends on what the listeners would decide what defines “country.” Her lyrics were still her narratives about boy-centric themes and breakups, but I felt that she was more of a grown up than a young teenage girl. It may have been because I was about to be out of high school myself, or because Taylor was then in her 20s and started talking about college boys. I don’t really know. (If you want to know more about this album, click here.)

As she released her next album, Red, her fans admitted that she wasn’t so country anymore, and I don’t really see any true country songs on it, so we will skip it for now. Here is a list of songs (some of them were mentions above) that I selected in reminiscence of the old “country” Taylor Swift:

  1. “Teardrops on My Guitar” – Taylor Swift
  2. “Our Song” – Taylor Swift
  3. “Fearless” – Taylor Swift
  4. “You Belong with Me” – Taylor Swift
  5. “Love Story” – Taylor Swift
  6. “Speak Now” – Taylor Swift
  7. “Mine” – Taylor Swift
  8. “Back to December” – Taylor Swift

Even after Taylor went pop, her lyrics stayed pretty much the same as before, and she still writes her own songs. Hope everyone enjoyed reading this post and loves Taylor Swift as much as I do!

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Filed under Country Pop, Women

by | November 7, 2014 · 8:00 am

Country Dance Halls

I hardly think anyone refers to country dance clubs as “dance halls”anymore, but in case anyone was wondering where some of the fun places are, I thought I would give a list of some of my favorite places to go two-stepping.

  1. Midnight Rodeo – Okay, okay I know I mentioned this in my last post, but this place is my absolute favorite place to go country dancing. Thursdays here are college night and those are the nights that I usually go. To be more accurate I pretty much go to Midnight Rodeo 3 out of 4 Thursdays of the month. I also abbreviate the name of the place to just “Midnight” when I talk to people about it. I will usually ask someone “Hey, are you going to Midnight tonight?” and they usually know 381496_318099158210573_137971699556654_1172474_441156811_nwhat I am referring to. If you get there before 10 there is way more room to dance, but there is less people to dance with. It all depends on what you would rather enjoy. The entire night consists of some slow songs, a waltz song thrown in, then faster tempo songs, then 3 or 4 top 40 hits and then the cycle continues until 2 am. There are also pool tables for those who are dragged along and do not really want to dance. The live bands that play on Thursdays sometimes ruin the fun, but the bands on Friday are pretty awesome.
  2. Dallas Nightclub – Betcha did not think to throw that in there. I have only been on Wednesdays, but there is so much room to dance. This is considering that not a lot of people go to Dallas Nightclub as much as Midnight Rodeo. People usually have classes on Thursday so that may be a reason. They also play a lot more older hits and classic country than the newer country. They hardly play any waltz songs which disappoints me. However, they also throw in some top 40 hits like they do at Midnight. I also abbreviate the name of this place to just “Dallas”. I do not go as often as Midnight, but if there is a large group of friends that go then sure why not. One of my friends actually teaches country dance lessons on Saturdays in case anyone wanted to brush up on their skills.
  3. Rebels Honky Tonk (Rowdy’s) – So this place I have only been to a few times, but I enjoy it when I go with a group of friends. Yes, the floor is smaller than Midnight Rodeo, but there is a mechanical bull. I have not ridden it, but some of my guy friends have. The music they play is almost the same variety as Dallas Nightclub. There is something interesting about the “Footloose” line dance. They dance it different at Rebels than Midnight Rodeo. The song came and I got on the dance floor, but it looked as if I was doing it wrong. Technically there are no right or wrong versions of “Footloose”, some people just prefer to do it different ways than others. One of the downsides about Rebels is that most nights it is only 21 and over.
  4. Cowboys – The best thing about this country dance spot is that the dance floor is huge. College night is on Wednesdays because I mean no one would want it to conflict with Midnight Rodeo’s college night (especially me). I have only been a couple times, but from my experiences there are a few reasons why it is not my first or second choice. Yes, there is a huge dance floor. When the top 40 songs start to play, you either stay on the dance floor the whole time, or you watch from afar. That floor fills up super quickly. No way in, no way out. And you are actually allowed to take your drink on the dance floor (Midnight Rodeo strictly prohibits such a thing) for a good reason. Towards the end of the night there are so many bottles on the floor along with the substance that came from the bottles. I would suggest going on a Friday when they have live bands play because there are some pretty good ones that play there. 10361038_677764722260371_1040815024595110074_n

Of course there are others such as the Broken Spoke (more of an older crowd), Wild West (in cedar park), and Gruene Hall (in Gruene, TX). Those are a few places that I have not been to yet, but I do plan on going to very soon. I have been to Billy Bob’s in Arlington which was pretty cool. Country dance halls are some of my favorite places to go. I just love country music and dancing. I usually go dancing once a week because if not, my heart becomes sad.

Have any places you think I missed? Comment about them!

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Filed under Austin, Dancing, Lists, Texas

by | November 6, 2014 · 8:00 am

Give Hank a Listen

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If I were to recommend only one country musician for somebody to listen to, I would have to go with Hank Williams, an artist whose songs originally piqued my interest in country music.  Hank Williams is considered one of the most influential figures in country music history, and was the first artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside Jimmy Rodgers and Fred Rose.  Although he died at the young age of 29 in 1953, he left behind timeless songs that keep him relevant to country musicians and fans to this day.

One of the things that I like the most about Hank Williams is that I feel as if I can relate to him as a person.  For anybody who has ever lost a true love, you know that it is an incredibly painful and scarring experience.  Many, if not most, of Hank Williams’ songs deal with his experience with heartbreak and loss.  His music has definitely helped me work through some of my own feelings of loss, or at least helped distract me from it.  The first song I heard from Williams, “Alone and Forsaken“, is an old favorite of mine.

Another one of my favorite Hank Williams tracks is one of his more uncharacteristically positive songs, “I Saw the Light“.  It is an upbeat song that incorporates both folk and gospel elements, something that Williams was often known to do.   It is also refreshing to hear a different side to Williams than the pain-stricken one that we hear in most of his songs.  “Settin’ the Woods on Fire” is another song that focuses more on rhythm and rhyming than storytelling and sorrow.

Although Hank Williams didn’t live a long life, he certainly seemed old beyond his years.  It would be hard enough to live your entire life with spinal issues, never mind with the amount of personal and romantic trouble he found himself wound up in.  Nevertheless, he still found a way to share his experiences through songwriting.  His song “Lost Highway” paints a vivid picture of Hank’s lonely life, and offers advice for any listeners who can still be saved.  Although his songs are relatively simple, the emotion that Hank conveys makes listening to him a personal experience.

I recommend that you at least give Hank Williams a listen.  His songs are not very long, but they convey powerful messages that let you relate to Hank.

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Filed under Classic Country, Honky Tonk

by | November 5, 2014 · 8:00 am

10 Fantastic Years!

The date was May 25, 2005. My family was glued to the TV while dramatic music played and lights shone around a well-known stage. We watched intently with the rest of America and awaited the results of season 4 of American Idol. Carrie Underwood was our long-time favorite to win, although Bo Bice posed a threat. On that night, we held our breath as Ryan Seacrest finally announced, “The winner of Season 4 of American Idol is… Carrie Underwood!”

Carrie Underwood wins American Idol!

Carrie Underwood wins American Idol!

I’m proud to say that I picked Carrie to win from the moment she first auditioned for the show. For some reason, it was obvious that she just had something that no one else had, and apparently America saw that too! Since she won, Carrie has flown to superstardom and is now one of the biggest and most influential stars in the country music business. She has released four albums with 11 #1 singles and many singles hitting in the top 5 of the country music charts, and has toured six times in the US and around the world.

It is hard to believe that the moment that is so engrained in my mind took place almost 10 years ago! But believe it or not, the time has come to celebrate the success of Carrie Underwood during the past 10 years, and what better way to do that than with a Greatest Hits album? That’s right, Carrie is releasing a new album titled Greatest Hits: Decade #1, comprised of her most popular and well-known songs from the last decade. It is fun to go back and listen to the songs that really staged her career and shot her to fame, because the album truly shows how much she has grown. Some of my personal favorites are “Before He Cheats,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Undo It,” “Good Girl,” and “All-American Girl.” I’d definitely advise you to listen to her duet with Vince Gill, called “How Great Thou Art”; it is guaranteed to give you chills! Honestly though, it would be hard to go wrong with any of the songs on this album; it truly encompasses all of her greatest achievements.

Carrie Underwood Greatest Hits: Decade #1

Although the album does not actually hit stores until December 9, 2014, you can pre-order it here on Amazon!

Disc 1:

  1. “Something in the Water”
  2. “Little Toy Guns”
  3. “Inside Your Heaven”
  4. “Jesus, Take the Wheel”
  5. “Don’t Forget to Remember Me”
  6. “Before He Cheats”
  7. “Wasted”
  8. “So Small”
  9. “All-American Girl”
  10. “Last Name”
  11. “Just a Dream”
  12. “I Told You So” (feat. Randy Travis)

Disc 2:

  1. “Cowboy Casanova”
  2. “Temporary Home”
  3. “Undo It”
  4. “Mama’s Song”
  5. “Remind Me” (with Brad Paisley)
  6. “Good Girl”
  7. “Blown Away”
  8. “Two Black Cadillacs”
  9. “See You Again”
  10. “How Great Thou Art” (with Vince Gill)
  11. “So Small”
  12. “Last Name”
  13. “Mama’s Song”

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Filed under Movies and TV, New Country, Reflection, Women