by | April 27, 2015 · 5:04 pm

Follow Your Arrow

Country music has always featured controversial topics, but the most popular seems to be about alcohol and drugs. While other genres like rap talk about it literally, country music seems to put a comical twist on these bad habits. The artist that I believe to do the best job of tackling this subject is female country artist Kacey Musgraves. Some of my favorite songs of hers include “Follow Your Arrow,” “Blowing Smoke,” and “Merry Go ‘Round. “ Rolling Stones states “25-year-old Kacey Musgraves has become one of the loudest symbols of young country musicians embracing progressive values.”

Kacey is not only a wonderful singer, but also an incredible songwriter. She has co-written “Mama’s Broken Heart” for Miranda Lambert and “Undermine” for the ABC series Nashville. The Guardian explains that Kacey “has a way of making people feel special not by telling them that they’re special, but by reminding them that no one really is.” This is easily seen in her new songs “Biscuits” and “Cup of Tea.”

My coworker is friends with Kacey’s sister Kelly and tells me that Kacey is a little crazy, but she is as real as her songs. She loves to smoke and do drugs and doesn’t care what people think. She isn’t being fake, or trying to portray herself as someone she isn’t. I am proud that she comes from Texas and I love that her songs aren’t written for everyone. Her songs are written for the people who want to listen and can relate. She hasn’t commercialized herself in the way Nashville does to so many female country artists. Kacey is probably my favorite country female out right now and I really can’t wait to see her in concert again.

The first time I saw Kacey Musgraves in concert was when she was opening for another act. I unfortunately don’t remember who she opened for, I only remember sitting there with my mother when we heard “Follow Your Arrow” for the first time. We both looked at each other and said that she is going to be big some day. My mother still listens to Kacey today and has stated to me on several occasions that she want to see her in concert again

I have posted some of the songs I have mentioned in this post below. I really hope you enjoy them and I am curious to hear what you all think about this newer female country artist.

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Filed under Politics, Texas, Women

by | · 3:00 pm

Daniella’s Experiences

Coming into this course I really had no idea what to expect except for the fact that we would be covering country music in one way or another. As a part of this course I was able to experience and discover things that I probably would not have done on my own.

Coming into this course I really had no idea what to expect except for the fact that we would be covering country music in one way or another. As a part of this course I was able to experience and discover things that I probably would not have done on my own.

Coming into this course I really had no idea what to expect except for the fact that we would be covering country music in one way or another. As a part of this course I was able to experience and discover things that I probably would not have done on my own.

https://storify.com/dgt347/expanding-my-horizons-daniellas-country-music-expe

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Filed under Austin, Class work, Storify

by | · 2:28 pm

Shannon’s Country Music Experience

I have loved getting to know the city of Austin and all it has to offer. For my country music experience project I am reflecting on:

Dancing at Midnight Rodeo
San Antonio Rodeo with Brad Paisley
Watching the CMA Awards with my mom
Watching the movie Cars with my friends.

I hope you enjoy!

https://storify.com/shannonsmithtx/shannon-s-country-music-experience

 

This has been a wonderful semester because I have had the opportunity to learn more about country music. Country music has always been my favorite type of music. My mom would constantly have a country music CD playing in our house. I was not originally familiar with older country music sub-genres, or how country music has changed over the years, but after taking this class I feel more knowledgeable and cultured on the subject.

My first country music experience happened last November with my mother. Each and every year we take the time to sit down and watch the Country Music Awards. We both love country music and enjoy watching Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley host. We don’t typically have time to watch the ACM awards together only because it comes on during the middle of all of my school projects. This year Brad Paisley leaked out the sex of Carrie Underwood’s baby. My mother absolutely loves Blake Shelton and I am a big Miranda Lambert fan, so it was great seeing them take home Male and Female Vocalist of the Year. This is a tradition we will continue to honor in the future and I always look forward to my mother’s candid reactions.

The second country music experience occurred in San Antonio with my ex-boyfriend. For our anniversary we decided to take a trip the San Antonio Rodeo to see one of our favorite artists, Brad Paisley. We always love watching all of the rodeo events, but we mainly go for the concert. Unlike most concerts, the rodeo demand that the artists stay on schedule and limits the interaction with the audience. Our seats were almost are far back as you can get in section 224, but we still had a blast.

The next thing I did was have a fun movie night with my friends. We all love the movie Cars, so it was perfect that we choose a movie that was on the country music list. I love Rascal Flatt’s song “Life is a Highway” so the fact that this movie features that song makes it a great movie in my book. This movie also includes Brad Paisley’s “Behinf the Clouds,” Sheryl Crows “Real Gone,” and James Taylor’s “Our Town.” Say that this movie has an amazing soundtrack is an understatement. The playful storyline was just icing on the cake.

The last thing I did was go to Midnight Rodeo with my some of my friends. We drank and danced all night long. I really enjoy dancing with different people and learning different styles of two-stepping. We went on a night where there was a performer, so we got to see John Wolfe. This artist reminded me of George Straight because the song style and the tone in his voice was almost exactly the same.

This class had taught me a lot about country music and the city of Austin. Now, I find myself listening to the older country music songs by Loretta Lynn and even Bob Wills. This project was a lot of fun and really opened my eyes to everything Austin has to offer.

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by | · 2:27 pm

Lynden’s Country Music Adventure 2015

Some fun expiriences with Country music so far this year

Some fun expiriences with Country music so far this year

Some fun expiriences with Country music so far this year

https://storify.com/lyndenorr/lynden-s-country-music-adventure-2015

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Filed under Class work, Reflection, Storify

by | · 2:04 pm

Joshua Fleming life with Country Music

Written by Joshua Fleming

Written by Joshua Fleming

https://storify.com/joshuafleming_1/joshua-fleming-s-life-with-country-music

Looking back on this semester I have Experienced a lot of new things like two stepping and watching Nashville. Although I thought I knew a lot about country music coming in to this class, I now know there is a lot more to learn and I am up for the challenge. I have enjoyed going to concerts and doing similar things of that nature in this class and will continue to attend these types of event.

I have learned a lot about how space between a country artists and their crowd can affect how enjoyable a performance is. I experienced this through two concerts one with Eric Church and one with Dierks Bentley. they were both in two different venues which did affect my experience  with the concerts because i didn’t enjoy the Dierks Bentley Concert as much as I did Eric Church due to the fact I couldn’t connect to him that well because the venue was too big and your not close enough to interact with him like the crowd did with Eric Church. Which i think with country music concert i think there has to be that connection with the crowd because thats what country music thrives off of it that interaction.

Another thing i have Enjoyed this semester was getting close to country music through dancing and it has helped me to understand the reasoning for the certain tempos and rhythms that go along with a country song. If it wasn’t for me taking this class i probably would have never found one of my all time favorite past-time nor would I have found out that i was so good at Two Stepping so thank you class for that.Really though I have gained more of respect for the backing of the song rather than just the lyrics.

Though there are so many things  I could say about this class i will say this i have deeply enjoy learning where country music came from what is and what to look for in the future to know what it is. This class has open my eyes to a more variety of country music and has made me fall in love country music all over again and i hope one day i can show someone what country music is and what it can do for them. in conclusion you could say that i am now a more well rounded student of country music and will continue to become more knowledgeable of the subject at hand.

Thank you Dusty for a Wonderful Semester and teaching so much more about country music it truly has been great

 

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Filed under Austin, Class work, Live Music, Reflection, Storify