Good afternoon FB’ers - its barreling towards the end of January (ALREADY??) and its been awhile since we’ve talked. (Except for me soliciting advice on cruises) Being a DJ, I enjoy many types of music. Unabashedly, I still claim Country as my favorite, with R&B/Hip Hop running a close second. At my age, I find myself in the huge minority: I LOVE NEW MUSIC. I can appreciate a good beat, and a catchy hook. I like watching people’s eyes light up as they run to the dance floor, be-bop in their car, or turn up the radio. In that respect, we are all the same. Look around, and you’ll see that music is the one language we all speak. Just in varying dialects. One thing I often hear, and don’t quite understand is: “Oh, I like all kinds of music. Except Country.” Its a bit bothersome, as a Country Music enthusiast, to hear the same tired old clichés: (too twangy, all sounds the same, etc.) I guess it irks me, because I have given most popular music genres at least an earnest effort to appreciate. Yet, I find that somehow Country is the butt of every joke, even though it outsells most other popular categories over the course of the last century by.. well.. a country mile. So SOMEBODY must like it. Like most cultures, there is a subculture. That’s how bands/artists get noticed. Underground local band gains local following. So you pick one that you can identify with. Its cool to follow something/one that no one else knows about, right? Said band gets some notoriety. Gets signed. Goes on regional, then national tour. All the sudden, they’re considered a SELLOUT. The worst thing ever! Because, in our oh-so sophisticated musical tastes’ eyes, there is nothing worse than being a sellout. So, you go back to that familiar well. Go find another unknown to help rise to superstardom, and then hate them for helping them achieve their dreams. So, back to the country issue. Lately, I’ve been amused, entertained, and slightly enamored with the “Bro-Country” movement. Yes, I’ve seen the Sir Mashalot video. So don’t even. The thing is? I can’t decide which side of the fence (or tailgate) I’m sitting on regarding it. After listening to various bro-country songs, apparently there are requirements: The “girl” has to wear a skirt, cut off shorts, a tank top, pony tail and a ball cap, and of course boots with no socks. There must be liquor of some kind (homemade or store bought) in the back seat, iced down in the tailgate, or in a sack under the drivers seat (i.e. feelgood). You must be down at the lake headed to the creek, by a bonfire, sitting on a tailgate. A truck is the only acceptable vehicle. Preferred time for said activities is way after midnight, underneath the stars, in the middle of nowhere (sounds safe, huh girls?) Dancing by the bonfire, in the bed of a pickup truck, in the dirt, by the lake Lately, its Bro-ness has had its fair share of critics. But its primary acts sell out STADIUMS, sells millions of records and doing just fine despite its most fervent critics. Like I said, I’m not here to defend, nor condemn its deep meaning, or lack thereof. The people who claim they only listen to “Real Country” (read: Country music recorded before 1981, save for the two Georges, of course) usually don’t have much of an argument: “That Bro-Country SUCKS! It only appeals to girls and kids! They need to listen to Haggard and Waylon and this obscure 78 speed record my grandaddy used to darn his socks to.” Somehow claiming that only “the classics” are worth listening to, lends them “street cred” (dirt cred?) with their peers. (“Dang rot! Crank som’ Hank, and gimme a Beer”) And then some might point the tip of their longneck Shiner to Texas Music, the red-dirted cousin of Nashville. “That Nashville stuff is just too polished. Too commercial. I lok me som’ Stoney, CCR, 1100 Sprangs, and Cooder Graw… oh and Pat Green, before he made it Big.. that sellout. Oh, you like Texas Country? You mean the music that is all about: Shiner (The Beer and the City Every small town in Texas Going down the Guadalupe River Playing the Texas College Circuit Making sure to remind you of all the things you need to experience before we can call you a Texan Including all the same topics of “bro-country” (trucks, dancing on the tailgate, drinking, and girls in short-shorts) Yeah, when you step back, its really not that much different. There have been Texas acts that have gotten big, and some of them have been labeled as “Bros”. It really goes to show “there isn’t much new under the sun”. The important thing to note is who Texas and “Bro” music is really geared to: Teenagers. They are the bulk of the music-buying public, folks. And the thing is, its an appealing “gateway” to introduce someone to Country music. There is nothing wrong with any of those artists. Even if they do sound alike. There is a reason for its formulaic success. It gets the kids excited about a genre of music they might otherwise not even give a second listen. It creates a “halo” effect, of sorts, opening their ears to the possibility of listening to more artists, finding ones that dig a little deeper in the red dirt than it takes to light that bonfire.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 23:07:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015