Category Archives: Reflection

by | January 30, 2015 · 8:00 am

Tequila Cowboy

Over break I went to visit one of my best friends who happens to live in South Florida. Even though technically Florida is considered the South, we were in one of the least southern places, Miami. One night we were out shopping and looking around when we stumbled upon this restaurant called Tequila Cowboy. Obviously from living in Texas, tex-mex is one of our favorite foods so we thought that we would try it out. We walked into to the restaurant and it was one of the most stereotypical “country” places I have ever been to. There was a man and a guitar singing at the entrance, the décor was rustic with cowboy boots and trucks as decorations, and the waiters and waitresses were dressed to a tee in theme. However, the best part about the restaurant was that they had an electric bull and a karaoke bar attached. They were playing older country music over the speaker system, although it seemed like me and my friends were the only ones that knew the songs.

We ordered our margaritas (because who doesn’t get tequila at Tequila Cowboy) and started looking over the menu. The first thing noticed is that almost everything on the menu contains some form of barbeque. Whether it was pulled pork tacos to barbeque chicken enchiladas. They took the two main staples of Texas cuisine and tried to combine them. Don’t get me wrong, I know pulled pork tacos are a very normal dish but on their menu it seemed like they were trying too hard.

After dinner, we went to the next room to the karaoke bar. We were the only ones in there, when a man walks up to us and asks us if we “want to ride his bull”. We explained to him that we live in Texas and have ridden or have the opportunity to ride a bull on almost any night a week. Finally, the place started to fill up, meaning two more people walked in. The karaoke begins by the “dj” singing a George Strait song. Next up is the two other people in the bar, who happen to be this old man and a woman clearly half his age, watching them sing a love song had to be one of the most uncomfortable experiences out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422411861&v=0e_HtjZS8SQ&feature=player_detailpage&x-yt-cl=84924572

We were up next and chose to sing “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks. We weren’t serious about our singing or anything we just got up there to have fun, which we did, but no one knew the song. More people began to trickle in at this point and we had a street audience since the stage was at a window. Yet there wasn’t an ounce of recognition of the song on anyone’s faces. We got up there, sang, got down, and left.

We had a blast in this cheesy stereotypical country restaurant. Granted the food wasn’t very good, their margaritas sucked, and no one knew the music. But I was with my two best friends and we had a great time.

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Filed under Dancing, Honky Tonk, Live Music, Reflection, Texas, USA

by | December 4, 2014 · 12:57 am

Songwriting Is No Easy Task

I’ve written songs on and off from a pretty young age. Or I should say I’ve partially written songs. I almost never finish them, because halfway through or so I become hypercritical and decide I hate everything. There will usually be one part of the song that feels right, that actually says what I want to say and how I want to say it, while the rest doesn’t seem to measure up. When I do finish a song, that’s sort of the end of the road. I almost never share what I’ve written with anyone else.

For these reasons I was immediately hesitant when our final project was assigned that included the option to write an original song. I knew I could compile a playlist easily enough, but for me that felt like taking the easy way out. I’m pretty fond of expressing my opinion, and writing a song about a current social issue seemed like a great way to do that. If I could get it done. I was suddenly determined to finish a damn song, one I knew other people would get to see.

And so it began. The complete and total lack of any creative inspiration. I had no idea where to start, or even what I wanted my topic to be! Luckily, I remembered that on my phone I’d kept a few recordings of lines to songs that had popped into my head, but never been developed beyond that. I decided to listen back through them and see if anything sparked. There very first one I listened to was the lines, “Danger, Danger/I look it in the eye/ sometimes I get to wonderin’ why I’m not afraid to die.” I had forgotten all about them, but suddenly I could clearly see the direction I wanted to go.

Those lines became the basis for my chorus, which I was able to finish not long after. Then once again I was stumped. By now I knew that I wanted to tackle the issue of alcoholism, but I still wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to address it from. After thinking about it for probably too long, I decided I wanted the song to be written from the female perspective of someone who acknowledges she has a problem, if only vaguely, but at this point doesn’t believe she can change. While I didn’t want the song to be a cry into your Ben & Jerry’s type, I still wanted to convey some sense of sadness behind the wildness of the narrator’s life. I wanted to show that even though she tries to make it seem like she wouldn’t want things any other way, it’s more that she’s resigned herself to the pain.

Once that decision was made the song flowed pretty easily. Faster than any song I’ve written before. Even so, once it was done I still questioned/am questioning every line. The thought of other people reading what I have written, something that I care about, well it’s kind of terrifying. It’s a very vulnerable position to be in having others be able to judge something that comes from a personal place. I have such respect for the artists who do it all the time. Ultimately, I think it’s that vulnerability that can make music so unifying and beautiful.

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by | December 3, 2014 · 8:00 am

The Cowboy Rides Away

houston lsrThroughout my life, I never really had a preference of what kind of music I listened to. I mostly listened to pop music, but that’s really only because that’s what was on the radio every time I got in the car. On a Sunday afternoon in March of 2013, I was driving around, when I got a call from my friend. She told me that she had gotten two free tickets to the George Strait concert at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her. I, of course, was in shock. This was THE concert that everyone wanted to go to that year.

It was the king of country music in his final show at the rodeo, and I was given an opportunity to go, for free. People paid hundreds of dollars for their tickets, and I was going for free. I didn’t really know what to expect as I entered Reliant Stadium that evening for the concert. I had never really been into country music, but I think that’s because I lived in Ohio for most of my childhood and it really isn’t popular at all there. When George Strait entered onto the stage riding a horse, I knew I was in for a wild ride.

GS 2013He played his set, with everyone going crazy every time he came to a popular song such as “Amarillo by Morning” or “How ‘bout them Cowgirls.” As the concert drew to a close and Strait left the stadium, my friend and I started to do the same. Luckily we hadn’t gotten too far when he turned around and came right back out on to the stage for what would be his first of two encore performances. At this point we were completely star struck; I had never experienced anything like that show. It was the most reserved of the shows I have seen at the rodeo, however it was also the most powerful. He didn’t try and amplify his performance with flashy lights and sound effects; all he needed was his horse and his guitar to make this one of the greatest performances I will ever see in my life.

Although I wasn’t the biggest fan before, I can now say that country music is definitely my music of choice. I never really thought I would stray from the comfort of pop music, what I knew and loved, but George Strait showed me what real music is like that night, and I now know that country music is really the only music for me.

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Filed under Live Music, New Traditionalism, Reflection, Texas

by | December 1, 2014 · 8:00 am

My Dad and Willie Nelson

IMG_0859My dad is a huge country music fan and I think he has passed that down to me. Whenever my dad and I talk about country music he always talk about his favorite artist, Willie Nelson. I learned so much about Willie Nelson from my dad. Even though my dad was born and raised in Bosnia, Willie Nelson was no stranger to him. My dad grew up in many foster homes so music was really the only thing he had. He told me a story of how someone one day dropped off a box at his foster home, filled with different cassettes and records. My dad never really had anything so when people brought in freebies, he was always the first one to go and look in the box. That day he came across a Willie Nelson record. Still to this day he has this Willie Nelson record.

FullSizeRenderI made the mistake one day and asked my dad where he got this record from because what I thought was going to be a simple answer turned into a two hour story. My dad told me that from the day he laid hands on this record, he knew that country music would be an important thing in his life. When I was little my dad would always play Willie Nelson songs and we would talk about what these songs meant to him. I would always ask my dad what his favorite Willie Nelson songs was and he would always tell me, “I don’t have one.” It was hard for him to pick a favorite because he said Willie Nelson had so many great hits. I learned so much from my dad while growing up but learning to share his love for country music was one of the greatest. Even though I may not be a little girl anymore, my dad and I still sit around some days and listen to country music together. Country music is one of the many things that we have in common. I love my dad and I am so glad we can experience our love for country music together.

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Filed under Classic Country, Outlaw, Reflection

by | November 27, 2014 · 8:00 am

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