{"id":5048,"date":"2015-09-13T17:00:03","date_gmt":"2015-09-13T22:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=5048"},"modified":"2015-09-09T15:25:59","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T20:25:59","slug":"country-music-californias-forbidden-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/09\/13\/country-music-californias-forbidden-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Country Music: California’s Forbidden Fruit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where I grew up in southern California, country music is like a forbidden fruit. If you think about it, talk about it, or listen to it (God forbid), you\u2019re inevitably evil. No one in their right mind would find country music pleasant to listen to. If you ask your average civilian from my hometown what their favorite type of music is, it would likely go something like this: \u201cUhm I\u2019m in to rap, hip hop, indie\u2026I mean I love a little bit of everything\u2026oh, except country, of course\u201d.<\/p>\n

Of course<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Similarly, my dad always jokes that if it isn\u2019t about trucks, beer, breaking up with girls, or your dog dying, \u201cit ain\u2019t country\u201d. This is a reasonable observation, but it hurts my heart a little nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of country music enthusiasts within the area I grew up, I can\u2019t complain about much else. Surrounded by palm tress, in-n-out, and the beach, I feel very fortunate to consider myself a part of the southern California community. But living here for 18+ years has definitely had an impact on the way I view this genre of music.<\/p>\n

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For example, it\u2019s considered common courtesy to ask the passengers in your car if they like country music before tuning your radio to the one <\/strong>country station that\u2019s available. I cut people a little slack though, because up until the summer before my junior year of high school, I was the same way. The genre had no appeal to me whatsoever and I just didn\u2019t like the way it sounded. It took stumbling on the playlist \u201cCountry Favorites\u201d<\/a> on 8tracks<\/a> to get me hooked.<\/p>\n

The playlist features artists such as Luke Bryan, Chris Cagle, and Gary Allen. I found every song to be incredibly catchy and evoke this positive feeling of nostalgia that I had never experienced with other types of music. The collection of songs touched on everything I dreamt of about the perfect summer: having a boy fall hopelessly in love with me, driving down a long road and singing at the top of my lungs, staying up and watching the stars, making memories with lifelong friends, and whatever else I thought was cool when I was 16.<\/p>\n

Jake Owen\u2019s \u201cBarefoot Blue Jean Night\u201d was the epitome of this summer dream I had. He discusses the feeling of invincibility that many experience when they\u2019re a teenager. Many young people long to \u201cnever grow up\u201d and feel as if \u201c[they\u2019re] comin\u2019 alive\u201d as Owen sings.<\/p>\n