Before enrolling in Rhetoric 309K, I thought I knew country music. I had grown up listening to it, I had an AMAZING playlist on my iTunes, and I even knew the lyrics to nearly all of Randy Travis’ songs, and I’m not a fan of today’s country radio. So I believed myself to be an expert… until second question into class when we were asked, “What makes a song ‘country’?” It was really hard for me to come up with an answer other than, “you just know when it’s not!” I had a great time learning about the origins and evolution of country music, and what factors go into making a song popular at the time, but I had the most fun getting to explore the extent of country music influences around Austin!
First stop: Threadgill’s!!
I had always wanted to try Threadgill’s since freshmen year, when a professor suggested it to me when I told him I was a total Foodie! For some reason I never had gotten around to doing it until I found out it was the list of things to do for this class. And I’m so glad I had a reason to go, because it is some of the best southern-style, home cooking you can eat (other than your grandma’s house of course!). A group of friends and I went after church for their Sunday Brunch Buffet and while we were enjoying our food we also got to appreciate live bluegrass gospel music from a local band. It was delectable food served in a brilliant atmosphere, filled with country music memorabilia. I have already been there five times this semester! (This may be a slight problem, but it’s too good to pass up!) I suggest you give it a shot if you haven’t visited already.
Read all about it!
Usually I’m one of those girls who just reads a magazine while waiting in the checkout line, but I decided to go ahead an
d subscribe to a one-year digital subscription of “Texas Music” for this class. I actually enjoy the magazine, because it highlights musical artists and bands from Texas only and also covers different musical events in the state. I didn’t know Texas had so much hidden talent. I actually starting YouTubing (yes that’s a verb!) some of the artists that were featured and now I can say I’m a fan to some. It’s an entertaining magazine that covers all genres of music, so it’s really nice to just pick up and find out what’s happening in the Texas music world. I’m cheap though, so once this year is up I will be unsubscribing. (It’s still a great magazine though!)
A night out… actually several nights out!
This class has given me an excuse to go out dancing almost every other weekend. I was able to take some of friends who had never been before and guess what… My other blog post, “We’re Going Boot Scootin’,” was actually a great guide for them. (These things really do help!) Broken Spoke was the go-to place for us on Friday nights. Even though it was an older crowd, we still had a lot of fun and it was just nice to have a night of carefree dancing to some of the greatest country hits. I had the honor, and yes I will say honor, to dance with the best two-stepper I have ever seen. HE was so smooth I literally didn’t have to put much effort into anything, he spun me so much I was confused. It was so much fun!
Thanks for the Memories!
While exploring Austin’s country scene I was pleasantly surprised to find the rich history that this city holds. It was nice to have the opportunity to experience a lot of the atmosphere’s I wouldn’t have normally went to on my own . Now, I just have to binge watch “Nashville” on Netflix, and life will be complete! I’m thankful for the opportunities to made this semester oh so memorable.
I like reading all of these blog post 5s because I really need ideas for mine. I think it is really interesting what you did. I think that you picked a really interesting list of things. I think this was a really cool way to kind of say thank you to Dusty, and let everyone know that you had a great time in the class. I think that you really take the embodied the entire class. I didn’t even know what Threadgills was, but now I am tempted to give it a try. I like the idea of a Texas Music subscription, even though it may not be for me, that is something I never would have thought of doing. great job with the class and great job on the post.
I enjoyed the article Brittney. Threadgill’s is also one of my favorite places to eat in Austin. I feel like it is one of the only places to get “comfort food” in town, I am constantly looking for other places like it. Subscribing to the Texas Music magazine for this class was a great idea, I wish I had of thought to do that. I have only flipped through one a couple of times and plan to look at them more often now. It’s a great way to find talented people before they are well known. I love to discover small artists before all my friends do.
Brittany,
so happy to hear about your successful adventures? We definitely came into this class in different places–I didn’t know much about country music at all, didn’t listen to it very much, and had never seen any country music awards on tv. Two-stepping is one of my favorite pastimes, and although i haven’t written my 5th blog post yet, I will definitely be writing about the multiple times I’ve been this semester! I’ve never heard of Threadgill’s, but now I HAVE to go!
This was a really fun post to read brittany. I have not yet done my 5th blog post so this also gave me some really good extra ideas on what to do for it. I really liked how you integrated your previous post about going line-dancing (a post I also really enjoyed). I am really excited to learn about threadgill’s, I had never heard of it but I am definitely excited to try it now. I really enjoyed this blog post and was happy to learn about everything you did this semester.
I really enjoyed reading your post! I think you have a great variety of country related things listed here. I have yet to come across any of the experiences you have named but am glad that I now have some new things to check out. I have never heard of the restaurant Threadgill’s, but the way you described it makes me really really want to try it out! Sounds like the perfect place to eat good food and listen to good music. I have to agree with you that I too don’t usually read magazines outside of a waiting room, but this one seems super interesting, so I may just have to check it out. And as for the western dancing, like I commented in your last post, I NEED to go! Sounds too fun.
Threadgill’s is really cool but I haven’t been there since the summer before freshman year. I actually might need to go soon because I feel like it’s hard to find good Southern restaurants in Austin compared to the rest of the state. I’ve also only been to the Broken Spoke once but it was a couple of months ago. I really want to watch that documentary that was just made about it. I’m glad that its still around even though there’s a ton of development encroaching on it. I think that as our city grows at this alarming rate its more and more important for us to save the places that have been around forever and not just what’s trendy.
Thanks for this post! Funny thing is that I actually passed Threadgill’s a few nights ago, but I didn’t bother eating there for dinner because I remember having a mediocre experience there years ago. Anyway, your post changed my mind and made me hunger for some of that Southern cooking, so I’ll just have to get over myself and go there soon! I also think it’s really neat that you not only had the opportunity to do a lot of two-stepping this semester, but that other people were able to use your guide! That’s gotta be a good feeling knowing that you helped them have a good time! Thanks again for the great read, and I’m so glad you learned a lot.
I really enjoyed reading this blog post, Brittney! I feel like you had a great time doing all those things. I love food so I’ll definitely try Threadgill’s one day. I can’t dance to save my life and I’ve heard so many great things about two-stepping. I think some of the guys are trying to do that so I might tag along for the experience. Hopefully there’ll be a good two-stepper there to show me the ropes like you had done to you. I’ve never heard of the Texas music magazine but if I see it laying around somewhere I’ll definitely pick it up and give it a read. Thanks for sharing and good job this year!
Awesome post! I thought I knew country music before this class, too, so I’m right there with you. You knew a whole lot more than me, though! I also tried Threadgill’s for the first time this year, and loved it – the appetizers were my favorite part! I think it’s really cool that you actually subscribed to Texas Music after starting this class. I’ve read a few articles here and there, and there really is a lot to learn about the people behind the music. Dancing is definitely one of my favorite things that Austin has given the opportunity to do so often, and that’s so cool that you started going on a regular basis. The regulars at places like Broken Spoke are the real deal!
Honestly, I enrolled in this class because my friends were in it last semester, and I had JUST become a country music fan. I didn’t know much, I didn’t know all of the names, the famous songs, the backgrounds, nothing…so this class definitely widened my horizon on the topic! I love that this class made you explore Austin more, something that many of us don’t do enough. Though I’ve never been to Threadgill’s, I don’t read that magazine, I rarely go country dancing, but I agree that now I’m inclined to do so! I think Austin’s country scene, however, is almost taken for granted. Thanks for bringing these ideas to my attention!