But I don't see what you mean by "shallow." You want Ferlin Husky? Ray Pillow? They don't go back that far.
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New Poll: What Is Country?
- Thread starter TheBigA
- Start date
But I don't see what you mean by "shallow." You want Ferlin Husky? Ray Pillow? They don't go back that far.
You're right. I must have just picked a bad couple of hours to look at. The last few do indeed have an impressive collection of songs. And no, I wasn't thinking of '60s country, just more titles from the artists than the obvious ones I was seeing.
A quick look at the playlist shows a wide range but very limited selection in that range which is unfortunately all too common these days.
Keep in mind that the playlist changes every week. So check back next week, and you'll see some different songs. There is a core of songs, and then some variables that change every week.
This is as close as I will probably get without starting a new topic.
One oldies station was playing "Jesse's Girl". I tried another one and heard "Livin' on a Prayer". I remembered I have a button for a station that calls itself Real Country, which I thought had gone off the air. It came back when its oldies simulcast partner (didn't know it had one, or that the station was back with any format) was sold to EMF.
"Boys Round Here" by Blake Shelton? How is that "real" country? The first few motes were pretty bad but there was something almost country about it when the vocals began. Almost.
One oldies station was playing "Jesse's Girl". I tried another one and heard "Livin' on a Prayer". I remembered I have a button for a station that calls itself Real Country, which I thought had gone off the air. It came back when its oldies simulcast partner (didn't know it had one, or that the station was back with any format) was sold to EMF.
"Boys Round Here" by Blake Shelton? How is that "real" country? The first few motes were pretty bad but there was something almost country about it when the vocals began. Almost.
They're singing about rednecks and chewing tobacco. Nothing more country than 'chew tobacco, spit.' They still do it at the Opry.
There's also the line that 'The boys round here don't listen to the Beatles,' but listen to Hank Jr.
So my problem was with the instrumentals.
I didn't stay around, but I forget what other station I turned to.
Every format and music "category" has fuzzy ill-defined edges, where songs may be seen to be "in" by some and "out" by others. You are trying to define black and white criteria to music styles and sounds in several posts today when this is an area where things are totally technicolor.
Your problem nearly always comes down to the instrumentation of the songs. Nothing wrong with that; you're very sensitive to harsh sounds. I have a similar hang-up about food texture that has resulted in my having a quite limited, bizarre diet for as long as I can recall. But I don't go around proclaiming that peas are real vegetables and asparagus is not just because I love peas but there's something about the texture of asparagus that gives me the willies.
When it comes to country music, you're dealing with a genre that has reinvented itself a half-dozen times (at least) since Hank Williams breathed his last. When you hear processed electric guitars and a hip-hop beat backing Blake Shelton's lyrics about tobacco, trucks, rednecks and "the man upstairs," you're hearing country music in a style that peaked in popularity around 10 years ago. Shelton doesn't record songs like that anymore, and the country music pendulum has swung back toward traditional, which is not to say rock or hip-hop elements don't persist in some songs. They do, but the overall sound is different because popular tastes in country music have moved on.
It's not just instruments. I watched a few minutes of performances on the CMT Awards last night. Auto-tune is a big problem.
I can't remember where I saw the controversy about drag queens when Kelsea Ballerini sang, but I was quite surprised that in every way that song was as country as it gets.
So you'd rather hear off-key singing? That would be OK for you?
Auto-Tune is accepted by fans of other younger-skewing formats. That acceptance has extended to country fans on the increasingly younger end of country radio's core demographic. I'm in my 60s, so I'm not a huge fan of it, but I accept it in a song if the melody and lyrics are interesting enough. Sam Hunt's voice is obviously processed most of the time, as far as I can tell, but I still like his "Breaking Up Was Easy in the '90s" and "Hard to Forget" quite a bit. Carrie Underwood's voice is natural and powerful, yet most of her songs get me punching my presets.
The Ballerini song is very good. Most of the album it's on is. It's a shame that it's been slow to catch on at radio, likely due to blowback from listeners and programmers in the deep red states. These, of course, are the same people who made the nostalgic, philosophical "Half of My Hometown" a No. 1 hit not that long ago.
Also on the CMT Awards, Cody Johnson won for his performance of "'Til You Can't" last year on the show. I agree!
He did another good performance this year, whatever song it was.
I was kind of disappointed he was involved with the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute. I like knowing performers of real country are staying true to that music. They're not my style, but it was great.
And I agree about Carrie Underwood. Great voice if she's doing my kind of music, but she generally doesn't.
He did another good performance this year, whatever song it was.
I was kind of disappointed he was involved with the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute. I like knowing performers of real country are staying true to that music. They're not my style, but it was great.
And I agree about Carrie Underwood. Great voice if she's doing my kind of music, but she generally doesn't.
I'd rather not hear metallic sounding vocals. I've heard Michael Buble uses auto-tune, but I've never had a problem with how he sings standards. It's his AC songs that i have a problem with.
"Human," his current radio single. The interesting thing about Johnson is that he's been a favorite of the alt/red dirt country crowd for quite a few years, and is a good songwriter. But his two breakthrough hits were both written by other people.
Yeah, that's the one. Good song.
I think that traditional Country has been well represented in recent years. Many of the biggest contemporary Country stars have that sound. Examples include Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Jon Pardi. And they have been getting extensive radio airplay on mainstream Country radio.
Good to hear that Chris Stapleton was chosen as Entertainer of the Year, at the ACM Awards,
Good to hear that Chris Stapleton was chosen as Entertainer of the Year, at the ACM Awards,
And that show was certainly well done, with a quick pace, lots of past and present stars and many good songs.
Yet another example of how the best events and show will be on subscription channels. My concern is that this makes so much entertainment inaccessible to a significant percentage of Americans due to the cost..
Even though I like a lot of Country, when I first heard Chris Stapleton my opinion was that his music is some of the best Rock/Blues that I have heard in years! I think his music fits both genres perfectly...
Not to mention Americana, and Alt Country.
It is interesting that Morgan Wallen's very Country sounding current, Last Night, has crossed over to pop radio.
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