Category Archives: Country Subgenres

Country Music in Video Games

Before I took this class, most of the country music I had encountered had been at rodeos or the radio.   These mediums traditionally play a specific type of country music, so I never really considered myself a fan based off of what I heard. This changed, however, once I was introduced to Hank Williams’ music. His music was simple, somewhat folk-sounding, and placed a lot of importance on story telling. His music was completely refreshing for me and I was instantly hooked on country music. Ironically, I was introduced to Hank Williams through a video game, something that did not even exist during Hank Williams’ time.

TheLastOfUsThe aforementioned game was my brother’s (seriously) copy of The Last of Us, a 2013 game about the zombie apocalypse. It is a beautiful, cinematic game that follows two characters, a hardened survivor and a little girl, as they struggle to survive the end of society. It definitely picked up on the zombie trend of the last couple years and appeals to a younger gamer audience. In fact, The Last of Us has sold over 7 million copies since its release a year ago.

I have included a video of one of the scenes that features Hank Williams. In this scene, protagonists Ellie and Joel playfully banter during one of their few peaceful moments. After a few moments they pop a Hank Williams tape into the cassette player and Hank Williams’ song “I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” begins to play. Joel comments that the tape is a “good one” and Ellie hopelessly remarks that it is better than nothing. Joel (the older survivor) appreciates the tape, while Ellie says that it is better than nothing.

Note:  this video has some colorful language and themes, only watch if you can handle such material.

To me, this was a very telling moment for both characters, as well as Hank Williams’ music. His music is instantly recognizable to the older survivor, while sounding obnoxious and revolting to the younger girl. I believe the same goes for real life, as mature audiences will appreciate the timelessness of old country music while younger audiences will instantly dismiss the music as sounding hillbilly. In a heart-warming change of taste, however, Ellie declares that “this isn’t that bad”.

I feel like Ellie and Joel’s exchange has some relevance to country music. Younger audiences (like Ellie) usually haven’t been exposed to very much country music, at least not classics like Hank Williams. After listening to the tape for just a few moments, she has already developed a taste for country music. I feel like this is true for most people: they say that they don’t like country music, but once you show them the “right” artist or song, their taste dramatically changes. The Last of Us did this to me by simply including Hank Williams’ music in the game. Although I didn’t know of him beforehand, I liked his music once I heard it and it opened me up to more country music.

In a world dominated by technology, there are nearly an infinite number artists and songs available to listen to. Many younger audiences tend to gravitate towards music that they are familiar with, such as hip-hop or pop or even electronic. The Last of Us managed to alter my own musical preferences simply by showing me some old Hank Williams songs and letting me know of their existence. It is sort of like a gifted basketball player who has never picked up a basketball; the second he does, it will just feel right to him. Similarly, when I first heard Hank Williams I knew that I had to learn more about this type of music. In a world dominated by technology, I can at least appreciate that some forms of modern media still pay homage to old country music legends.

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Filed under Honky Tonk, Movies and TV, Reflection

Alabama

If I were to ask you to identify this group of menalabmaI would assume most of you would not know who it is. Don’t worry I did not either until entering the Rhetoric of Country Music class. However, although you do not recognize them I guarantee you have heard their songs.  This group of men came together to form one of the most successful country bands of all time, Alabama.  They originated out of, yes you guessed it, Alabama. The band began with three cousins, Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook. They later added their drummer Mark Herndon who was not blood related, just a talented musician. They began their success in the 1980’s with over 27 number 1 hits and seven multiplatinum awards. When you think about that in today’s music industry, that is A LOT of success. Their most popular songs consist of “Song of the South,” “Mountain Music,” “If You’re Gonna Play In Texas,” and “Tennessee River”. Now I am almost positive you know who I am talking about now. If you are any type of country music fan, or just a fan of music in general, I am fairly certain you have heard a few, if not all of those songs.

This band is a perfect example of a simple group of men coming together, playing instruments, and singing.  This is something I think is missing in todays country. Of course it exists in Texas Country, but the more popular/modern country does not have this type of music anywhere. I realize that society has changed since then of course, but it just goes to show that you do not need to add special affects to a singers voice or any other enhancements to be successful. This band is considered of the most successful country bands of all time and if you listen to their songs compared to todays country, you can see how simple and pure it is.  Their songs were relied more on the lyrics rather than the beat of rhythm of the song. I think that is something that modern country has turned away from. It is more about appealing to the listeners ear rather then the audience connecting to the lyrics.

Alabama was considered a country/rock group during their time. To put that into perspective, in today’s society, Florida Georgia Line is what the music industry considers country/rock now. I know I am not alone in saying these two are in no comparison. Not taking anything away from Florida Georgia Line of course, but this is just an example of how much country music has changed in society. Our expectations as an audience is not near the same as it was 30 years ago and to me, I wish it were not that way.

 

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Filed under New Traditionalism, Reflection

Where did all the Country bands go?

Alabama’s Randy Owen was recently quoted saying, “I Want to Hear More Bands.” This message comes from lead singer of the band Alabama, which was one of the main reasons bands were so popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Owen takes a look around and realizes that Country music is growing away from the appeal of bands.

Today in Country music, most artists are individual performers known only by their own name. The shift from bands to individual artists was gradual over time, but was very clear by the early 2000s. The reason for this may be the appeal of fame and being the center of attention. For the most part, famous country artists receive more attention than country bands, because of the focus only being on one single person. Now, there aren’t many country bands that I can currently think of, because of this shift.

In a different interview with Randy Owen, he tells of how he is saddened by the low number of “self contained bands” nowadays. A “self contained band” is one where the band members actually play their own instruments and write their own songs (which is almost unheard of today). Owen tells of how it shouldn’t be this way, and I agree with him. When there is a band (or even an individual artist) playing and you know that they play their own instruments and write their own songs, it feels much more genuine.

Random (but authentic) Country band

Most artists have songwriters that will write the majority of their music, and this has become the standard (at least for big name artists). Many Country artists still play their own instruments though, especially the guitar, which is great. Music has seemed to drift away from bands and pushed the focus onto the individual. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But, there is something about seeing a real band on stage and seeing how they interact with each other and the crowd is just incredible, and it feels authentic. It shows that they care more about the group as a whole than the individual, and I feel that it gives the audience a sense of togetherness and gets them more involved in the performance.

There will probably not be a shift back to the era of bands, like it was in the 80s and 90s. This is because times are changing and most fans have come to like the idea of individual artists more and more, which is also completely fine. It’s all about the audience and giving them what they want, and the shift from bands to individuals (and vice versa) isn’t a bad thing by any means. It is just something different, and it is what we come to expect now in these changing times.

Rascal Flatts

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Filed under New Traditionalism, News

The Queen of Country Music

loretta-lynn-real-ageSince I’ve been researching Loretta Lynn a lot lately, I started thinking about how the only reason I was interested in her was because my Grandma told me that Loretta is her favorite country singer. This made me realize that I really didn’t know much about her beforehand, because she is not someone that people of my generation will go out of their way to listen to. As someone who considers herself an avid listener of country music, this was very hard to process. I was starting to wonder if she had just been completely forgotten about, as I had not heard her name in a while.

Imagine my excitement when I received a message from my mother about Loretta Lynn on the CMAs. Kacey Musgraves was performing “You’re Looking at Country” for the award show audience, and in the middle of the song stopped and introduced Loretta Lynn as the “Queen of country music.” Loretta walked out in a sparkly long dress and finished off the song as a duet with Musgraves.

lorettaThe best part of the performance, in my opinion, is looking at the audience’s reaction. The second Lynn came on stage, everyone in the building was on their feet with a round of applause that could bring any performer to tears. The duo finished out the sound, harmonizing perfectly and standing side by side with their arms around each other. The audience was going crazy, and I think this could be attributed to the possibility that seeing Loretta Lynn on stage was very unexpected.

Aside from the research I have been doing on her the past few weeks, I have not really heard her name thrown around much. I feel like people are so focused on who the next up and coming country stars are, that they forget to take a step back and look at some of the most influential performers of the country music history. Loretta Lynn made waves across the country, topping charts year after year; so how could someone so big just fall off the grid? Back in the day, Lynn was all over the country world, and this just shows that she is not ready to be forgotten.

The Queen is has put herself back on the throne, and this can only mean good things for her, especially in the midst of her Coal Miner’s Daughter tour, which is continuing next weekend. From everything I’ve learned about her recently, I know that Loretta is a pretty amazing lady, so I cannot wait to see what she is going to do with the rest of the tour, as she never ceases to amaze and inspire those around her, and this is clearly seen in the adoration that fans showed her last week.

Take a look for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNsHhwSnvY

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Filed under Classic Country, Reflection, Women

Garth Against the Machine

garth brooks black hat reuters
From a young age I listened to Garth Brooks around the house. My mother is a huge fan of Garth Brooks. My mother was actually in the Primetime documentary about Garth Brooks in the front of the crowd at one of his concerts in July of 1992 in what used to be called the Coors Amphitheater in Southern California. She was at the concert with a big group of friends and just happened to be filmed. This is her claim to fame and I will never forget this story.

Unknown-1This is why I took great joy in informing my mother that after 13 years of retirement Garth Brooks is making a comeback with his new album called Man Against Machine under the label RCA Nashville. This album will be quite different than most of the music circulating around other male Country Music singers. Brooks looks past partying and rural life to music that better speaks to the common man. In his album Brooks is representing the middle class that works day in and day out without time for excessive partying and celebration. I am very interested in seeing how listeners will react to this divergent theme. This album shows influence from Jason Aldean and Eric Church with its heavy guitars and dark-hued themes. He doesn’t include auto-tuned vocals, rhythm loops or rapping unlike most modern male country stars. His tracks are weighty and wordy, just like his previous albums “Scarecrow” and “In the Life of Chris Gaines” left off.

Due to this type of construction of the album I get a new traditionalist subgenre vibe from Brooks new album. He reals country music back in to a more traditional standpoint unlike the modern country music that is currently popular. Although his album strays from the current modern country themes produced by male country stars, in my opinion, his desire to address life’s important themes should be more successful than the more superficial themes currently popular in Country music. The themes in Man Against Machiene, show that Garth still nods to his Oklahoma roots, patriotism, parenthood, and there are trademark dashes of feistiness. Mostly, though, there are well-constructed songs with catchy melodies and a sturdy voice that show that a decade of rest has served Brooks well. This album brings together a new and old Garth Brooks. I urge all of you to check the new album out, and hopefully you will connect to it and enjoy it as much as I did.

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Filed under New Country, News