The Demise of Country Music

I stopped listening to country music on the radio a few years ago, right as “bro country” was beginning to become mainstream. I wouldn’t be able to tell you any of the new songs or new artists, but every time I happen to come across a country radio station it always seems to be the same thing: dudes like Florida Georgia Line bro-ing it up and singing songs about their trucks or how country they are. I know that doesn’t describe all country music on the radio these days, but it’s apparent that bro country is what the industry thinks will sell the best. Maybe it’s just my West Texas roots, but to me that isn’t even close to what country music is supposed to be.

Yesterday as I was scrolling through Facebook, through the dozens of stories and articles being “shared” by my friends, I saw one video that really caught my eye and seemed to prove my belief today’s country music. If you haven’t already seen the video I encourage you to watch. It’s kind of eye-opening about the state of country music today.

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

Pretty crazy, right? That seems like pretty solid proof that Nashville is just pumping out the same song with different words, and people are buying it. That video reminded me of a different video that came out at the end of 2013 with the same concept, but it was a review of more than just six songs:

Whether you like that type of music or not you have to say that video is pretty funny. To me, it is kind of depressing to see country music deteriorate to this state. I guess if that’s what the people want then so be it. I just think that bro country is meaningless and repetitive, and these videos seem to back me.

They say there’s a George Strait song for everything, and the topic of bro country is no exception. In 2001, a full decade before bro country burst onto the scene, George Strait released a song called “Stars on the Water” as part of his The Road Less Traveled album. The song is most likely the first use of auto-tune in a country song, except it is Strait’s way of mocking “stars” who use voice enhancers and other things of that nature. “Stars on the Water” makes George Strait seem almost psychic, giving a subtle dig at the future artists who dominate the world of country music today.

Strait also collaborated with Alan Jackson on “Murder on Music Row”, in which they claim “someone killed country music” in the chase for “the almighty dollar and lust for worldwide fame”. The lyrics to this song perfectly describe bro country music, and they are probably right when they sing “Ol’ Hank wouldn’t have a chance on today’s radio”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny3K9irFC5k

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Filed under Bro Country, Classic Country, Country Pop, New Country, Uncategorized

Taylor Swift’s tour isn’t messing with Texas

3371681062_7769c27704During past tours, Taylor Swift has spent the most time in Texas. With concerts sold out in 4-5 Texas cities for each tour, you could say her Texan fans there are very loyal. But is she loyal to them? With the release of the 1989 world tour dates, Texas “swifties” were dismayed to find only one date for one venue in one Texas city. I was extremely disappointed to find she wouldn’t be stopping in Austin this year since I am a huge fan of her new album. Texas girls and guys have been her fans from the start, it just seems wrong to cut us out of her tour.

Austin, San Antonio and Houston have been replaced by places like Seattle, Tokyo and Toronto. Could this be a result of her genre shift from country to pop? I believe it is. Once she was singing about Georgia stars, in her new album she’s welcoming her listeners to New York. I didn’t realize the her transition from country also meant her absence from southern states.

Taylor’s country sound was accompanied by cowboy boots and an acoustic guitar. Her dresses were always modest and her long curly hair was her trademark. She was known for her relatable and meaningful lyrics. I will admit that her songs pulled me through a break up or two. Her lyrics were rooted in typical country topics like pick up trucks, her love for her mom, Tim McGraw and her guitar. Taylor played many of her first shows at Texas rodeos, her music videos were on CMT, and she always could be seen performing at the CMAs.

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show London 2014 **STRICTLY NO WEB UNTIL 9:15PM GMT DECEMBER 2, 2014**With her new pop genre her hair and skirts got shorter. Her music videos got edgier, and she began performing at events like the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which doesn’t traditionally involve any country music. Taylor has traded cowboy boots for her high heels and electronic instruments have taken place of the acoustic guitar. Her lyrics are centered around big cities, bad boys and repetitive catchy phrasing. This change has revolutionized Taylor’s career and taken her music around the world. I love her new sound and look just as I loved the old Taylor. Her old songs went well with a pint of blue bell ice cream and tissues, but her new songs make every dance floor across the world come alive.

I am sad to say this shift away from country has also created a limited amount of tour time in Texas. All us swifties need to come together and reach out to Taylor through social media and let her know Texans love her sound even if its not country.  #TexaswantsTaylor

For other articles about Taylor’s transition click here.

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Filed under News, Texas, Women

Let the Music Play

There are probably not a whole lot of places better than Fort Worth, Texas to experience some good country music. Growing up just outside of Fort Worth, I have been surrounded by country music basically my entire life. It was the only thing played in my house growing up and I can always remember my mom playing some of her old Willie Nelson records and my grandparents dancing around their house to George Strait and Alan Jackson songs.

I had always loved listening to country music when I was young, but I never really developed the appreciation I have for it today. Until one day, just after my 16th birthday, my mom came home with some tickets to see Robert Earl Keen at a local music and arts festival.

For those of you that may not know who Robert Earl Keen is, here are a few of my favorite songs that he has written.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMjWV2lqlqQ&feature=youtu.be

I remember being excited to experience my first country concert. I had been to some concerts before then, but they were all rock concerts, so I was really looking forward to seeing one of my favorite country artists perform.
I remember walking through the entrance to the festival that day, and I immediately noticed that every single person had on either boots or a cowboy hat. The opening band was already playing, yet there were more people interested in going to the outdoor bar than watching them, so my brother and I managed to get right up to the front row just as the opening band was finishing up their set. You could feel the crowd start to pack in towards the stage, and you would hear the occasional “yee-haw” from the crowd, as they grew anxious to see the headlining artist.

When Robert Earl Keen stepped out onstage, the crowd went wild. I had never experienced anything like it, and as the show went on I felt myself get lost in the music, and I really enjoyed watching the older people dance around. The crowd sang every word to every song, and their intensity didn’t die down until the last note was played on the second encore song “The Road Goes on Forever”.

That concert really opened my eyes to the world of live country music, which I never thought I would enjoy so much. Ever since that concert, I have developed a new sense of appreciation for country music, and nowadays I find myself really looking forward to any chance I get to go see a country artist perform. Although I might spend most of my time these days listening to some rock band, I still have a soft spot for country artists, and if I hear it at a bar or on the radio, or even on my iPod, I always find myself letting the music play and singing along.

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Filed under Live Music, Texas

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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Filed under Reflection

Dancing on the Grave of Country Music

Florida_Georgia_Line_Nicholas_ZaludNever before had someone expressed my feelings better than I could myself, but Jaime-Paul Falcon did just this in his review of the Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean concert at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas on October 25th. I do not like bro-country because it is not real country. If I showed you a picture of two guys dressed in jeans with chains hanging from their belts and cut-off shirts (that had their own band’s logo on it..) that show their tattoo-covered arms, I doubt you would guess that they are considered to be country artists. I doubt this because country artists are typically considered to be classy, all American boys/girls. Bro-country artists include rap in their songs, which makes no sense to me, wear outfits like the ones I just described, and have no real musical talent (in my opinion). I know I sound harsh, but I just can’t help how much I dislike bro country.

jason-aldeanAnd neither can Jaime-Paul Falcon. He explained my feelings about bro-country better than I ever could. He stated that he would “gladly endure [ebola] so long as I never again have to suffer the experience of sitting seven rows back from the stage while Florida-George Line and Jason Aldean gleefully danced on the grave of one of the most purely American forms of art”. Harsh, but true. So many country artists in the past (George Strait, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn – the list goes on and on) have made great songs that had meaningful lyrics, beautiful instrumentation, and are genuinely good quality songs and bands like Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean are most likely making some of these artists roll over in their graves.

These great artists didn’t make songs about drinking booze and picking up girls in their jacked up pickup trucks – they sang about love, heartbreak, and the country lives they actually lived. Tyler Hubbard and Scott Stapp of Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean did not grow up on farms or live the lives they describe in their songs. And neither did their audience. As Falcon described it, “I swear it’s like the people who love these songs don’t realize that none of them are actually farmers”. Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line also constantly sing about partying and drinking beer and getting girls. That’s not what I want to listen to – I want to hear about love and living the best life possible.

I definitely recommend reading this review for any country fan, especially those who do not think bro-country is real country music. It is humorous, witty, and in my opinion, true. Bro-country is not country music. I’ll admit, I often catch myself bobbing my head to songs like “When She Says Baby” and I know every word to “Cruise”, but I do not think these are good quality songs or are real country.

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Filed under Bro Country, Country Pop