The Death of Country Music

How's your Friday? It is a little gray and dreary looking out at the moment. I'm just glad it's still hooded-sweatshirt weather. I'm going to wait a week or two, but I'm definitely looking forward to being able to bury the coat way back in the closet to await its need for next winter. I know it is almost spring because I'm preparing for my fantasy baseball draft.

Let's get moving shall we? We could sit here and exchange pleasantries all day but there is a blog that needs to be written and I'm much too poor to afford a ghost writer. Have you noticed the merging of country and pop music of late? When is the last time you have heard a new country song that didn't qualify to be listed on the pop charts? I am an unabashedly unashamed fan of country music. One country song states "I was country, when country wasn't cool." My dilemma lies in the fact that country music generally isn't country anymore.

I am a fan of what I like to refer to as the bad boys of country. Those traditional devil may care artists who sang their songs and did a good job of selling them to you. When Hank Jr. sang family tradition, you and I had no trouble believing that he was indeed a whiskey swilling rebel. Today when you hear Brad Paisley sing "alcohol" you wonder who wrote it and why is he singing it. We call today's artists "Tennis Shoe Country" in the circles that I run around in. One person in the industry that is a close (very close) personal friend of mine calls it homogenized commercial pop. This is the crux of the matter. Country music has sold out to the mainstream listener. Some of the biggest names in country music tend to put out an album every 12 months or so filled with indistinguishable music, that sounds much like every other song on the Radio. These big name artists seem to know that they can record three minutes of generic worthlessness and you the fan will buy this music because it is sung by someone famous. I was shocked when Toby Keith's song "American Ride" made it to the top of the country charts. It's a terrible song Toby.

The bad boys of country, where have you gone? Say it isn't so Waylon? Save us from ourselves Merle. For the love of Johnny can we get an edgy, twangy country star who is determined to do things his way, record labels be damned? Hank Sr. must be on that far aways shore wondering what happened to that twang he once helped to make so popular. We will come back and visit this later but I'm going to spill it now. Garth Brooks killed country music.

In the late 1960's and in the 1970's there existed a group of country singers called "the Outlaws." This group became tired of being force fed how their music should be recorded and basically rebelled against Nashville's big name record labels. Let me go on record here as stating that I'm almost certain that record labels in general are aligned with the anti-Christ. They are inherently evil, could care less what you like and appreciate and are all about gathering as much of our money as they possibly can. These so called "outlaws" consisted of some of the greatest musical artists of all time. These are the folks that are largely responsible for country music even being around. Guys like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and the like. One could argue (and I more than likely would) that without these singers country music might not still be around.

Which brings me back to Garth Brooks. When country once again became "cool" and mainstream it was largely on the back of Garth Brooks. He sang great songs, was a master of marketing and appealed to the mainstream like no other country artist really ever had. I will confess that I enjoy a lot of Garth's music. I also will confess that I pledged long ago to never again in my life buy a Garth album. I will never forgive Garth Brooks for destroying the music I so dearly love. Just a side note here Mr. Brooks, music legends do not ever retire. They play their music until they die. Because of Garth Brooks huge success (he is one of the top 3 selling artists of all time) record labels began to grind out commercially appealing pop stars and calling them country.

I am not ever going to tell you that the music you hear on country radio stations isn't enjoyable. There are several songs played that I enjoy and have found meaning for in my life. I am going to tell you that this music is not country music. Although Tim Mcgraw once wore real cowboy hats and sang a few good country tunes, he hasn't sang a country song in well over a decade my friends. I am blaming Faith Hill for this. Artists like Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum, while being largely successful at what they do are not country singers. These are cowboy hat and boot wearing, commercial pop musicians disguised as country stars. I will grant you the fact that there are few artists I think are just about as country as they come. George Strait will forever be one of my favorite singers and has stood the test of time as a true country artist. I fear that he may be the last. I would like to throw Alan Jackson and Montgomery Gentry and maybe even Brooks and Dunn into the mix of more traditional styled country musicians. I do really like the Zac Brown band and truly believe they carry enough country in their genes to take this music to a new generation. I wonder beyond these precious few where the country artists are? Who I wonder will be the next artist to come around with enough edge and moxy to make an impact of any relevance? If your out there please come forward. A whole music genre rides on your ability to save it from itself.

That's enough rambling for today. If I spend too much time debating this topic my blood pressure rises and I don't particularly enjoy emergency rooms. I'm off to listen to some "Cocaine Blues" by Johnny Cash and maybe a little "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard.