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JASON ALDEAN Dirt Road Anthem WTF???!!!

sdh483 said:
WPPCProductions said:
Holstead said:
I noticed nobody has thrown stones at "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels. -a song that would be considered "rap" by many today. I like the Aldean single-and am happy somebody had the guts to release it. He is the real deal.

Wow .I never even thought of that song.I do like "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" it's a classic.Also I probably mention Tammy Wynnette's outing with KLF's "Justified and Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)" in 1991.I like that tune too_Ok Let me go back on a comment on a earlier post saying Tammy was the Queen of country music.I should of said.In the 1970's My generation. she was the lead with Loretta Lynn and Dottie West.I do like Kitty Wells.I did not dethroned her.
http://youtu.be/RPjggN-KByI
Don't hear her rapping. Plus KLF was on a whole other level from traditional hip hop at the time. I was rap mixed with soul, dance and world music. Plus, Tammy is not rapping in this song.

Charlie Daniels' spoken song in no ways represents or sounds anything like rap with the inflections and syllabic emphasis on words and, of course, the twangy sense of the verses.

Jason Aldean's rap, however, does fit the rhyme scheme, inflections and a less twangy sound of hip hop today. I think that is why this is upsetting most die hard country fans. Brace yourself, however, for a possible surge of other artists trying this and just be patient as this storm will blow over. IMO, I don't see hip hop and country joining forces as it sounds more like a novelty joke. It will be like watching Larry The Cable Guy trying to rap with 50 Cent.
I did not say that Tammy was rapping away.The tune was similar to rap music.
 
The "Swerving like I'm George Jones" lyrics seem to be more of a refrence to his drunk driving than a salute to his music.

One difference between this song and "The Devil Went To Georgia" to me is that Johnny in the Charlie Daniels song was a likeable character, although the song was a fairy tale. The friends Jason Aldean remembers in "Dirt Road Anthem" sound crude and uncivil. The way Aldean raps in a low voice devoid of emotion is kind of scary sounding, it gives me the impression that this dirt road he and his friends hung out on was surrounded by a lower frequency vibration, what some might call demonic forces.

One thing this song has in common with genuine hip hop (not the type you hear on CHR or Urban radio I might add) is its violent lyrics such as "Shut your mouth before I have to knock that loud mouth out". This is the rural version of violent street thugs found in urban settings.

These are just my personal feelings about the song. I can appreciate that it's a hit and that it can draw younger listeners to the format. Also, although I don't personally care for it, it's one that I listen to when it comes on. It still captures my attention, it's not boring and it doesn't sound like anything else.
 
Jay F said:
The "Swerving like I'm George Jones" lyrics seem to be more of a refrence to his drunk driving than a salute to his music.

I never said it was a "salute to his music." But ask anyone outside the format, like a rap fan, who George Jones is.

Jay F said:
The friends Jason Aldean remembers in "Dirt Road Anthem" sound crude and uncivil.

Hmmm...does he call anyone an SOB? That's pretty crude and uncivil. So much so that radio stations bleeped it.
 
TheBigA said:
Jay F said:
The "Swerving like I'm George Jones" lyrics seem to be more of a refrence to his drunk driving than a salute to his music.

I never said it was a "salute to his music." But ask anyone outside the format, like a rap fan, who George Jones is.

Jay F said:
The friends Jason Aldean remembers in "Dirt Road Anthem" sound crude and uncivil.

Hmmm...does he call anyone an SOB? That's pretty crude and uncivil. So much so that radio stations bleeped it.

But he wasn't calling anyone at random a SOB, it was the Devil who wanted to steal his soul! In that context SOB seems appropriate. But I can understand why stations at the time bleeped it or played the "Son of a gun" version. Although I remember AOR stations played the SOB unedited.
 
Jay F said:
But he wasn't calling anyone at random a SOB, it was the Devil who wanted to steal his soul!

What is civil about carrying on a conversation with the devil? The only line in Dirt Road Anthem that sounds threatening is "You better mind your business, watch your mouth/Before I have to knock that loud mouth out." But how is that differnent from what Hank Williams said in "Mind Your Own Business?" That's all pretty common lyrics in a country song, unless you're Taylor Swift.

Also pretty uncivil for Johnny Cash to say he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Some classic country songs aren't much different from gangsta rap, especially in the way they treat women or the police.

Here's the situation: Traditionalists don't like pop country because it's too mild and bland. So Jason comes along with something on the rougher side, and it's not country because it's uncivil? So you think country should be just happy love songs?
 
What kills me is that these youngcomber artist that idol the legends like George Jones and other artists of that time.And come up with this not so called country music and they call it country music.What in the hell happen to the roots of country music.it looks like they got lost with this new generation.I have the same attitude with mainstream pop music when the rap crap came to life in the late 1980's and ruined it.
 
Roy Acuff felt the same way. When John Anderson came along, he told him to get a haircut.

Acuff didn't like a lot of the stuff that passed for country in the 70s and 80s. Then he started to lose his hearing. That helped a lot. That's why when he finally heard something he liked, such as Vince Gill's "When I Call Your Name," he had to come out on the Opry stage, a few feet away, so he could hear it better.

Twenty-five years ago, George Jones came out with "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes." Then along came Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, and George Strait. Then Jones couldn't get airplay, because all the new kids filled his shoes. Don't wish for something you're not willing to accept.

Bottom line is that old folks always think the young folks don't know what they're doing.
 
i'll give you this big A. you always come up with a good articulate comment. and thank God country music progressed beyond the roy acuff sound/style/production. but, perhaps your a victim of incrementalism. where if you regularly tune to pop country radio, you dont notice the downward spiral in country production.

the only reason george jones couldnt get as much airplay after travis, jackson, and strait came along, is because of the few elite(music consultants, record promoters, major market programmers) who control/sway the limited amount of slots on radio for new rotations, which in turn set the chart trends, and sales. there is always an effort to force market the young, and new. it is the young hip new, who sell records, to the young who spend money more freely on artists they can relate to age wise. its not that hard to figure out. if you mass rotate even something mediocre, it will sell records and gain chart positions, thanks to the AQH'rs out there in large markets.

but, lets be real....... at some point, weve crossed the line as to what this great American artform we call country music is, and should be. mr big A, where do you draw the line for country music right now? perhaps, if 2 1/2 minutes of fart sounds were released as a country radio single? or would you welcome the fart sounds as country music, if it appeared gradually/incrementally over the decade, as not to instantly shock you, right quick?
 
scott salvatori said:
the only reason george jones couldnt get as much airplay after travis, jackson, and strait came along, is because of the few elite(music consultants, record promoters, major market programmers) who control/sway the limited amount of slots on radio for new rotations, which in turn set the chart trends, and sales. there is always an effort to force market the young, and new. it is the young hip new, who sell records,

Consultants and radio programmers don't make any money from record sales. The fact is that radio hangs on to big artists well beyond their peak because it's better for radio to play known names than newcomers. The battle record companies have is to get new music played on the radio. Getting big stars played is gravy. The problem with Jones is that by the 80s he had become undependable at shows. I spoke with a lot of people who, at the time, brought their dates or wives to his concerts, only to find out he hadn't shown up. That killed his career, not consultants or programmers. The same behavior ruined Hank Williams Jr. and many more. So don't blame radio or anyone else for the bad behavior of an unpredictable artist. The truth is that his career was over by 1985. He just couldn't accept it, even though his song from that year asked "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes."

The point here though is that traditional country music continued on the radio after Jones was done. The revival actually began with Ricky Skaggs, and continued with Randy Travis and Alan Jackson. And it continued through the 90s and up to today, with authentic traditional country music being made now by Josh Turner, Chris Young, Billy Currington, and Justin Moore.
 
NOTHING could be worse than another song by RASCAL FATS! If they are considered country, then so is Michael Jackson.
 
TheBigA said:
Also pretty uncivil for Johnny Cash to say he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Some classic country songs aren't much different from gangsta rap, especially in the way they treat women or the police.

Here's the situation: Traditionalists don't like pop country because it's too mild and bland. So Jason comes along with something on the rougher side, and it's not country because it's uncivil? So you think country should be just happy love songs?
I don't like either. I don't like the pop-sounding songs not beacuase they are bland but because they aren't. And the rock-sounding songs are even worse.

Regarding lyrics, I was surprised when the other day I heard Roy Clark's "I Never Picked Cotton". I always liked the chorus on that song but never paid much attention to the lyrics.

Marty Robbins' "El Paso" seems kind of violent for adult standards radio, which is where I mostly hear it. I suppose the violence sounds fine on classic country, though.
 
"it was saturday night in memphis, when a redneck grabbed my shirt, we said go back to your cotton sack, and left him dyin in the dirt"

"...........there aint hell of a lot that i can look back on in pride , but i never picked cotton......."


back in the 90's, played it dozens of times on AM and FM ! one of my fav's
 
Another violent classic country song is Johnny Paycheck-Colorado Cool Aid where a mean drunk get's his ear sliced off and cries as he sees it on the floor. I guess that makes "Dirt Road Anthem" seem tame in comparison. Although the Paycheck song had a sense of humor about it.
 
gimlet said:
NOTHING could be worse than another song by RASCAL FATS! If they are considered country, then so is Michael Jackson.

And if I had a nickel for every time in the 1980's that someone told me on a request line that
Alabama was "the death of country music because they're a rock group"...I could already be retired!
 
The bottom line is country music is evolving and changing. If it didn't, it would die away all together and be a memory. The country format, and its listeners, are some of the most hard headed (with all due respect of course) folks out there. They don't like change nor do they embrace anything that is termed "edgy". What we are seeing is the handing of the reigns of country music/radio over to a younger generation and letting them decide what they like (for the most part). We all have a choice whether to ride the wave or take a seat on the sideline here. Working in country radio has shown me the heyday of Garth to watching Ludacris on the CMA's. I love it and think it's great because it opens the format up to a whole NEW audience. An audience that is desperatly needed right now in country.
 
Here's a hot one! You want to out Jason, Jason Aldean? Then listen to the CD by Gangstagrass. The key members are a guy who plays fiddle and Rapper T.O.N.E-z . They are joined by other Country musicians an one or two other Hip-Hop people. The music is traditional Bluegrass Country, often with a mild Hip Hop beat. The Rapper either does his thing over this music or the song goes between being Country or Rap. It's incongruity is fun, but what's most important is that it all works and works well! My favorites are the very old-timey songs with the girl singers... "Trouble Everywhere I Go" and "In My Aching Heart Shadows Linger". Oh, and as with many Hip-Hop albums, this one has its share of cursing on some tracks. I got it from the CD Baby website. For further investigation, the groups website is www.gangstagrass.com .
 
johnbasalla said:
Here's a hot one! You want to out Jason, Jason Aldean? Then listen to the CD by Gangstagrass. The key members are a guy who plays fiddle and Rapper T.O.N.E-z . They are joined by other Country musicians an one or two other Hip-Hop people. The music is traditional Bluegrass Country, often with a mild Hip Hop beat. The Rapper either does his thing over this music or the song goes between being Country or Rap. It's incongruity is fun, but what's most important is that it all works and works well! My favorites are the very old-timey songs with the girl singers... "Trouble Everywhere I Go" and "In My Aching Heart Shadows Linger". Oh, and as with many Hip-Hop albums, this one has its share of cursing on some tracks. I got it from the CD Baby website. For further investigation, the groups website is www.gangstagrass.com .

Is it on the order of Mikel Knight and others?
 
QUOTE: "Is it on the order of Mikel Knight".

Definitely not. Knights stuff often only has a hint of Country in it, and when it does, it's modern based. Gangstagrass is deeply routed in traditional Country music - particularly Bluegrass, hence the groups name. The Rap music and the Country music are on equal footing in Gangstagrass, and that's what makes it unique. Some of Mikel Knight's stuff sounds like a typical Hip Hop record with some acoustic guitar thrown in or a lyrical theme that comes from Country, even if the music does not.
 
DJOnAStick said:
The bottom line is country music is evolving and changing. If it didn't, it would die away all together and be a memory. The country format, and its listeners, are some of the most hard headed (with all due respect of course) folks out there. They don't like change nor do they embrace anything that is termed "edgy". What we are seeing is the handing of the reigns of country music/radio over to a younger generation and letting them decide what they like (for the most part). We all have a choice whether to ride the wave or take a seat on the sideline here. Working in country radio has shown me the heyday of Garth to watching Ludacris on the CMA's. I love it and think it's great because it opens the format up to a whole NEW audience. An audience that is desperatly needed right now in country.

One of many reasons why I turn off my radio to country music and seek out better country music such as Texas and alt-country. Remember, most fans of country music want to stay away from hard rock and rap. It's like putting curry sauce on chicken fried steak: it just don't work.
 
sdh483 said:
Remember, most fans of country music want to stay away from hard rock and rap. It's like putting curry sauce on chicken fried steak: it just don't work.

I wouldn't use the "most" word, if I were you. Maybe the older ones would agree, but there's a generation of people who don't see rap that way. And Hank Jr. was the one who probably first brought hard rock to country. The harder country artists usually outsell the traditional ones. The top two sellers in country now are Aldean and Swift. Which is why they get so much airplay.
 
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