{"id":5079,"date":"2015-09-13T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-13T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=5079"},"modified":"2015-09-09T16:28:49","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T21:28:49","slug":"marijuana-in-colorado-may-be-legal-but-rocky-mountain-high-has-a-completely-different-meaning-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/09\/13\/marijuana-in-colorado-may-be-legal-but-rocky-mountain-high-has-a-completely-different-meaning-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana in Colorado may be legal, but \u201cRocky Mountain High\u201d has a completely different meaning."},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite Aspen\u2019s infamous reputation as the playground for the rich and famous, the Aspen that I grew up in was a tight knit community of friendly, hardworking people. Throughout my eighteen years growing up in the little mountain town, I became very close with a small group of my peers who helped shape both my childhood and my adolescence. There were no private jets or hillside mansions with ski slope access. It was simply a bunch of kids who loved the little town and the mountains that surrounded it. In my community, we were constantly outside, always doing things like skiing, hiking or spending our nights camping at one of our favorite spots. I have many fond memories sitting around the campfire with my friends, gazing up at the stars and listening to \u201cRocky Mountain High\u201d by John Denver.<\/a> Rocky Mountain High, written by a local legend in Aspen, embodies the experience of growing up in a small mountain town. In the song, he touches on subjects like climbing \u201ccathedral mountains\u201d and \u201cthe serenity of a clear blue mountain lake,\u201d something all Aspen residents can relate to. Country music and the subjects contained in its songs are ideas and experiences that all people can relate to, and that is the beauty of the genre. The ideas behind the songs are relatable for Americans across the nation, no matter what part of the country they are from. Rocky Mountain High is a great example of this. Growing up in a mountain community is a niche subject, but John Denver makes it relatable for listeners from all different backgrounds. Country music is music created for the common man. No matter your community, you can still relate the experiences of the writer who almost surely has been in the same position or felt the same way. I grew up with John Denver\u2019s music, and while his style does not exactly fit with the current direction of country music today, his relatability and the subjects he addresses have helped define what country music is to me. Country music is not about stereotypical moonshine and daisy dukes. It\u2019s about where you come from, the ideals you were raised with, and the experiences you had while growing up in America. I will never forget sitting around the campfire with my close friends watching it \u201craining fire in the sky\u201d as the sun set, or swimming in a \u201cclear blue mountain lake,\u201d and John Denver\u2019s songs reflect those memories and brings me right back to the place and the people who helped make me who I am. I truly would be a poorer man if I \u201cnever saw an eagle fly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite Aspen\u2019s infamous reputation as the playground for the rich and famous, the Aspen that I grew up in was a tight knit community of friendly, hardworking people. Throughout my eighteen years growing up in the little mountain town, I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5079"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5082,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5079\/revisions\/5082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}