What happened to country?

[Badfish740]

I posted this over at MyTractorForum.com - Tractor Forum & information, Discussion Board and Heavy Equipment Information but I figured you guys would enjoy it too. I have Sirius satellite radio and I decided to get it for a few different reasons, one of which was the fact that they have five stations devoted to country and bluegrass. I gotta say that I'm continually dissapointed by the "New Country" station. I mean, there's been "Pop" country here and there for a long time, but now it seems like its just gotten out of hand. Let me start out by saying that I'm only 26 by the way!

-Rascal Flatts- Are these guys a boy band, a pop group, or what? You can't take New Kids on the Block, give them a fiddle and call it country!

-Keith Urban- This guy should go be a pretty face on a TV show or something.

-Sarah Buxton- No one wants to hear about your bad day.

-Toby Keith and Brad Paisley- Now Toby's always been a little corny, but he really needs to quit it with the sappy stuff. He's asking me to "love him if I can?" No offense Toby but I liked it better when you were singing about how much you loved that bar. Same thing with Brad Paisely. How does a guy go from writing a beautiful pain filled song with Alison Krauss (Whiskey Lullabye) to singing about checking people for ticks and being cooler online!?

-Garth Brooks- What happened to him!? The guy who wrote "Friends in Low Places," "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," and bunch of other great songs about love, pain, and bullriding has now lowered himself to poppy garbage.

-Jason Aldean- Please don't use Johnny Cash's name as a song title unless it's actually about him. On second thought, just don't use it. Oh and by the way, someone from a "Hicktown" ought to know that no one takes a Bronco to a truck pull (You bring a Powerstroke ) and you certainly wouldn't jack it up if you did!

-Tim McGraw and Faith Hill- Are you two in love? Gee I hadn't heard.

-Craig Morgan- Haphazardly throwing the words "tractor" and "barn" into a song (Little Bit of Life) don't make it country. I really wanted to like "International Harvester" when I heard the title for obvious reasons, but I gotta say it was a b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-big letdown.

I hope I don't sound like too much of a smarta** here, but I just feel like country has no soul anymore and has been hijacked by the record companies. Luckily Sirius has Prime Country, which is older stuff, The Roadhouse, which is REALLY old stuff, Outlaw Country (my personal favorite), and Sirius Bluegrass.

I feel like the other channels are just a little more raw with much more feeling. I like to hear the bitterness and vengence in Hank Jr.'s voice when he sings about "spittin beech nut in that dude's eye" and shootin him with his 'ol .45 (Country Boy Can Survive), and getting chills when I hear Johnny Cash sing about how sooner or later "God's Gonna Cut You Down." You can't argue that Steve Earle doesn't sound like his heart is in it when he "smelled the whiskey burnin down Copperhead Road." Likewise, you can't beat the weathered sound of David Allen Coe lamenting the fact that country DJs ignore him because he plays in joints "Where bikers stare at cowboys, who are laugin at the hippies, who are prayin they'll get out of here alive." Finally, Billy Joe Shaver actually means what he says when he sings "If You Don't Love Jesus Go To Hell."

That's just a short list of folks who I think are true to their roots. I also think the following people are (hopefully) going to keep country from going totally into the toilet.

George Strait
Hank Jr./III
Charlie Daniels
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Alan Jackson
Sugarland (Ok, a little poppy at times, but Jennifer Nettles' voice is amazing)
Willie Nelson
David Allen Coe
Steve Earle
Lynyrd Skynyrd/Van Zandt
Drive By Truckers
Uncle Tupelo
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Little Big Town
Gillian Welch
Wayne Han****

Here's to more pain, cheatin, drinkin, and cryin songs. Enough with all this poppy garbage!

[Clay Henry]

Yeah these new stars are trying to cater to a larger group of people i think. I hear ya.

[ABOBB]

I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I like the older country as much as anyone. Hank Jr, Willy, Waylon, CDB, and lots of others.

I also like a lot of the new stuff as well.

Toby Keith's new song may not be hard hitting and rough like some things he's done, but it's real, and true to his personality. Lines like "I'm a man of my convictions, call me wrong, call me right." and "You might not know where I'm going, but you sure know where I stand" are straight up inline with who and how Toby is.

Garth's new song... I like it. I think part of that is cause it strikes a chord with me. When you've lived it, or something like it.. it means more.

I like Rascal Flatts as well. They aren't traditional country, but I like their music.

Jason Aldean, and Hicktown... I'll agree with ya... you don't jack up a Bronco... and you don't "lay a little rubber" at a truck pull.

Craig Morgan... I also wanted to like International Harvester, but there's just some lines that kill it. Don't rememeber exactly, but something about going down the road in "my plower"??? WTF??

Don't know the Sara Buxton song.. and don't have a strong feeling either way about the others.

[99Smokin73Stroker]

Originally Posted by Badfish740

I posted this over at MyTractorForum.com - Tractor Forum & information, Discussion Board and Heavy Equipment Information but I figured you guys would enjoy it too. I have Sirius satellite radio and I decided to get it for a few different reasons, one of which was the fact that they have five stations devoted to country and bluegrass. I gotta say that I'm continually dissapointed by the "New Country" station. I mean, there's been "Pop" country here and there for a long time, but now it seems like its just gotten out of hand. Let me start out by saying that I'm only 26 by the way!

-Rascal Flatts- Are these guys a boy band, a pop group, or what? You can't take New Kids on the Block, give them a fiddle and call it country!

-Keith Urban- This guy should go be a pretty face on a TV show or something.

-Sarah Buxton- No one wants to hear about your bad day.

-Toby Keith and Brad Paisley- Now Toby's always been a little corny, but he really needs to quit it with the sappy stuff. He's asking me to "love him if I can?" No offense Toby but I liked it better when you were singing about how much you loved that bar. Same thing with Brad Paisely. How does a guy go from writing a beautiful pain filled song with Alison Krauss (Whiskey Lullabye) to singing about checking people for ticks and being cooler online!?

-Garth Brooks- What happened to him!? The guy who wrote "Friends in Low Places," "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," and bunch of other great songs about love, pain, and bullriding has now lowered himself to poppy garbage.

-Jason Aldean- Please don't use Johnny Cash's name as a song title unless it's actually about him. On second thought, just don't use it. Oh and by the way, someone from a "Hicktown" ought to know that no one takes a Bronco to a truck pull (You bring a Powerstroke ) and you certainly wouldn't jack it up if you did!

-Tim McGraw and Faith Hill- Are you two in love? Gee I hadn't heard.

-Craig Morgan- Haphazardly throwing the words "tractor" and "barn" into a song (Little Bit of Life) don't make it country. I really wanted to like "International Harvester" when I heard the title for obvious reasons, but I gotta say it was a b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-big letdown.

I hope I don't sound like too much of a smarta** here, but I just feel like country has no soul anymore and has been hijacked by the record companies. Luckily Sirius has Prime Country, which is older stuff, The Roadhouse, which is REALLY old stuff, Outlaw Country (my personal favorite), and Sirius Bluegrass.

I feel like the other channels are just a little more raw with much more feeling. I like to hear the bitterness and vengence in Hank Jr.'s voice when he sings about "spittin beech nut in that dude's eye" and shootin him with his 'ol .45 (Country Boy Can Survive), and getting chills when I hear Johnny Cash sing about how sooner or later "God's Gonna Cut You Down." You can't argue that Steve Earle doesn't sound like his heart is in it when he "smelled the whiskey burnin down Copperhead Road." Likewise, you can't beat the weathered sound of David Allen Coe lamenting the fact that country DJs ignore him because he plays in joints "Where bikers stare at cowboys, who are laugin at the hippies, who are prayin they'll get out of here alive." Finally, Billy Joe Shaver actually means what he says when he sings "If You Don't Love Jesus Go To Hell."

That's just a short list of folks who I think are true to their roots. I also think the following people are (hopefully) going to keep country from going totally into the toilet.

George Strait
Hank Jr./III
Charlie Daniels
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Alan Jackson
Sugarland (Ok, a little poppy at times, but Jennifer Nettles' voice is amazing)
Willie Nelson
David Allen Coe
Steve Earle
Lynyrd Skynyrd/Van Zandt
Drive By Truckers
Uncle Tupelo
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Little Big Town
Gillian Welch
Wayne Han****

Here's to more pain, cheatin, drinkin, and cryin songs. Enough with all this poppy garbage!

I like the Garth song More than a Memory, but I really think someone else should have sang it. Some parts of the song he sings well, others seem like he is just teetering the line of being off-key....right when he's like "moooooore than a memoryyyyyy...." Ya know....just think it could have been sung so much better.
Toby's song isn't bad, I like it, but I see your point.
Brad Paisley can sing whatever he wants, he's always sung songs similar to ticks, and online.....think of Mud on the Tires, I'm Gonna Miss Her, Alcohol.......older songs that were big hits, just like his newest ones.
I sure do love country music though, all of it....which is funny considering years ago I hated it......

[lilredpowerstroke]

I listen to all kinds of music. Mostly rap and R&B though but when I do tune into country it is usually the roadhouse, prime or outlaw. I don't care for most of the new "Pop" country either so that why I don't listen to that station. If you don't like it, do like me and not listen to it. Imagine if everybody liked the same thing, this would be a damm boring world. As far as Hicktown my truck is in that video but its during the night shot so all you see are the headlights.

[2005F250]

I have Sirius and love it. I listen to ch. 19, 20, 27, 24 most of the time. Country musicians seem to complain in the songs they write. I think thats annoying. You know "I lost my hat, dog, wife, house or ranch, horse, ect..."

[mrnecsteve]

I made a trip to Georgia last week. I dont normally listen to country music. In my hotel room,someone had set the alarm clock to a country music station. On the fourth day, I swear I heard someone singing Country/RAP !!!
Who or what the he** was that ?????
I passed it off as a bad dream..until now.