Why does everyone hate Country music?

[Lady Whistledown]

There's more to country than the cheesy spangly nonsense associated with the worst excesses of Nashville

How can you say that about Dolly and Kenny?

Islands in the stream, that is what they are.

 

[Icy Gull]

stetson-tastic music there icy

LOL

Stetsons, Levis, Cowboy boots etc are great around Nashville, Texas and New Mexico. Unfortunately wearing any combination in the UK make you look a right ****

 

[JJ McClure]

Glenn: You know, you should write a song about this. You could call it "I got punched in the nose for sticking my face in other people's business".

Old man in bar: Sounds like a country song!

 

[Wozza]

Carrie Underwood get it.

(Can you say that about a Christian?)

 

[Vicar!]

I think the thing that puts most people off is the tat! that comes out of the Nashville mainstream. Dig underneath, as clearly a lot of contributors to this posting already have, and you have some wonderful imaginative musicianship within the Alt Country definition, as loose as it is.

We are blessed living in Brighton where Handsome Family, Willard Grant, Kevin Montgomery, and my friend Cathryn Craig regularly play, add some of the contributions from local bands say Salter Cane and Brighton has a thriving alt country scene.

If anyone hasn't listened to Calexico please check them out.

 

[Row Z Creased Shirt]

How can you say that about Dolly and Kenny?

Islands in the stream, that is what they are.

Dolly Parton is a much maligned and underrated singer. Her bluegrass stuff is brilliant, and she was one of the first women in the music industry to actually take control of her own career in an environment dominated by men.

I still don't like Islands in the Stream though

 

[NMH]

It is never a good idea to just completely shut your ears off from any one style of music, just because it has a genre name and you decided that the whole genre is not for you.

The Eagles are country, for instance, and many people have said they hate country ....but like The Eagles.
If there's a chance to enjoy something, who cares what it's called, and that you don't normally like that name? It's all music.

The people who represent the music have been a bit sad though, wearing friggin cowboy hats as a mark of their allegiances. Why doesn't a jazz player wear a cowboy hat, and a country hick wear dreads...or a shell suit?


Anyways, personally I like some of Lyle Lovett, and Junior Brown plays a mean steel / telecaster - and Richard Thompson of British trad folk roots illustrates where the twain (of Celtic/Olde English folk) do meet.

 

[bhaexpress]

Point of order there, The Eagles are Country Rock and not Country per se, The Byds are quite country and a lot of their best stuff was covers of Bob Dylan who certainly never was Country.

You have to understand that to many Americans a cowboy hat is as traditional as a bowler or flat cap is to many British. You need to remember that American is a very patriotic country with little history or tradition to back it up hence the need to look like a cowboy to have some sense of their own identity. Traditionally no other country had cowboys although I would bet many Australians and SOuth AMericans might not agree.

 

[Icy Gull]

The Byds are quite country and a lot of their best stuff was covers of Bob Dylan who certainly never was Country.
.

Never heard Nashville Skyline then BHA, don't come much more country than that!!

I went to the Grand Ole Oprey in Nashville this year and saw about 8 acts who had about 15 mins each. Should have been good but each and everyone was complete shite and all that is bad about country music..

 

[aftershavedave]

We are blessed living in Brighton where Handsome Family, Willard Grant, Kevin Montgomery, and my friend Cathryn Craig regularly play, add some of the contributions from local bands say Salter Cane and Brighton has a thriving alt country scene.

kev played at my house a couple of years ago, he was brilliant

 

[aftershavedave]

Never heard Nashville Skyline then BHA, don't come much more country than that!!

nashville skyline is one of THE definitive country rock lp's

 

[Hornblower]

There's more to country than the cheesy spangly nonsense associated with the worst excesses of Nashville. I also must be outed as a fan of country, particularly bluegrass and the more modern alt-country stuff.

If you do like this sort of music then there are worst place to be than Brighton, thanks to people like the Gilded Palace of Sin who manage to get acts as diverse as the honky tonk legend James 'Slim' Hand, bluegrass boys The Chatham County Line, and the Steve Earle meets Johnny Cash tortured soul that is Stephen Simmons.

And there are fair few Brighton bands too including The Mountain Firework Company, Jamestown Union and The Blue Hearts. And on the darker side of noir-country there are the excellent Salter Cane and She Said.

Thanks for the tips I may even check these out.

 

[NMH]

Point of order there, The Eagles are Country Rock and not Country per se, The Byds are quite country and a lot of their best stuff was covers of Bob Dylan who certainly never was Country.

You have to understand that to many Americans a cowboy hat is as traditional as a bowler or flat cap is to many British. You need to remember that American is a very patriotic country with little history or tradition to back it up hence the need to look like a cowboy to have some sense of their own identity. Traditionally no other country had cowboys although I would bet many Australians and SOuth AMericans might not agree.

How many Brits do YOU see wearing bowler hats, and what would you think of their appearance??

I just knew someone would go further into genre pigeonholing. Defining The Eagles, they are modern country, and MUCH more so than the Byrds! Eight Miles High, Feel a Whole Lot Better, So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star, Bells of Rhymney....and all those Dylan covers?? What by them actually IS 'country'?
Poco are another country band who are called 'country rock' because they play electric instruments, Dwight Yoakim, Chris Isaak, The Outlaws, New Riders of Purple Sage, etc.
If you look hard enough, you will find country in many places. 'Not A Second Time' by the Beatles? Imagine it sung by The Mavericks, and then maybe The Beatles singing 'Oh What a Thrill' with their moptops jumping to the MerseyBeats.

Well, whaddayaknow pardners, I done found a vid of tham Mavricks pickin some Merseybeat; (it's awful, be warned)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsK0hz2ABbk

 

[The Large One]

It's also the nature of appreciation we all have for their indigenous music roots. No more would an Tennessee man get ska than an Andalucian get Scottish folk or an Englishman get deep south country. It's all about the level to which we all appreciate other people's culture.

To that end, I don't really like country because I haven't been divorced seven times, nor do I have a gal waiting at the other end of the railroad track, nor do I have a problem with my mule...

 

[Parson Henry]

It's also the nature of appreciation we all have for their indigenous music roots. No more would an Tennessee man get ska than an Andalucian get Scottish folk or an Englishman get deep south country. It's all about the level to which we all appreciate other people's culture.

To that end, I don't really like country because I haven't been divorced seven times, nor do I have a gal waiting at the other end of the railroad track, nor do I have a problem with my mule...

But you have clearly stated that you have experienced the 'Wild Side of Life' and can you categorically state that you do not own a picnic mat henceforth known as a 'Blanket on the Ground'?

 

[Boroseagull]

and no ones mentioned the great Willie Nelson yet!

 

[Parson Henry]

wasn't as good as Gary Nelson...

 

[bhaexpress]

Never heard Nashville Skyline then BHA, don't come much more country than that!!

I went to the Grand Ole Oprey in Nashville this year and saw about 8 acts who had about 15 mins each. Should have been good but each and everyone was complete shite and all that is bad about country music..

Christ I'm not THAT old

 

[Fran Hagarty]

It's not so much the music - it's what goes with it.

The haircuts, the boots, the shirts, the DANCING...

I love them all and I do line-dancing! I went to the Deep South of America a couple of years ago and the music scene there was great, especially in Nashville where I went to the Grand Old Opry. I'd love to return for the Country Musuc Festival which is held there annually.

Maybe some of the words of the songs are corny, but I love the music. I struggle to find others who do too.

 

[Cian]

*waits for Frutos to arrive in thread*