Because of the numerous school delay and cancellation news reports on local radio during the past 2 weeks, I've probably listened to more country music than I normally do in a year. I'm no stranger to country music and I had these thoughts before but now, thanks to "Talk To Me Daddy V" I have a forum for my opinions. Now before I start to rant and rave, let me give you an idea of my music history. First, don't forget, I was raised in New Jersey - not exactly the cradle of country music. Secondly, I had a father who, although he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, was a fan of operetta, especially Gilbert and Sullivan and raised all 3 of his kids to love operettas. I was introduced to other classical music by my association with drum and bugle corps. To this day, I feel I learned more classical music repetoire from d and b corps shows than from all my years of under-grad and master's degree study. But I digress! My point is, I don't have a whole lot of experience with country music but I've been struck, over the years, by how depressing the lyrics are! I listened to 3 songs in a row yesterday that dealt with some guy crying because his girl was leaving him, somebody who wanted a dime for half the times he screwed up, and some girl who got pregnant after a "date" with her boyfriend. These are just three examples, but I checked the top 10 country songs on the internet and they all seem to deal with some tragic circumstance, love gone bad, a screwed up life, etc., etc. Now I know life is not all sunshine and roses (hey - I've been married for 25 years), but doesn't listening to music such as this tend to depress even the perkiest among us? At least Rock and Roll songs are musically complex enough that even if the lyrics are depressing you probably can't hear them! Now, to be fair, a lot of classical opera is tragic in nature, and even broadway musicals have tended to be a little heavy in subject matter in the last several years but even operas and musicals have there lighter moments and if nothing else, they nomally have some musically redeeming qualities. I guess, for the most part, I've always sought out music and entertainment in general, that is a little lighter, up-lifting or more humerous than "She Stopped Loving Me Today" - something more like "A Boy Named Sue". I feel the same way about my taste in books and movies also. Yes, my favorite movies of all time are the LOTR trilogy, but there a certain heroic quality to these movies which attracts me - the "against all odds" kind of appeal!
So tell me - what is the appeal of country music? What are you listening to? Are there any "classical" music fans out there" How about jazz? Talk to me.....I'm
Daddy "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" V
Proudly serving the Jay County community since 1975! 1995 and 2001 Indiana State Fair champions! Here you will find contest information, scores, and much more...
I like country music, but its just because its what I was raised with.
ReplyDeleteI personaly am not a big fan of country music. I love to listen to rock music. In my opinion rock music has much more substance to it than say rap or country music. The lyrics actually mean something. Now, I don't realyy have a problem with country music, but I totally DESPISE rap music. I feel that rock is so much better because all rap songs talk about are getting drunk and getting with girls. I think that is a total waste of music. I'm sure some rock songs are like that, but the stuff I listen to such as Breaking Benjamin (my all time favorite band) has real meaning to thier songs and lyrics. So enough of my preaching, I am personaly just glad we have music at all.
ReplyDeleteI want to start out with, I DON'T LIKE CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY MUSIC!!
ReplyDeleteWith that said I tend to like songs, any song, with lots of harmony and I've got a soft spot in my heart for some good banjo playing. So that tends to kill any contemporary country song because they tend to be solitary crooners and the banjo doesn't get used much any more and definitely not well. There's a band thats called "Little Big Town" that comes the closest. They have a song called Boondocks that they go into a little round thing with harmony at the end that is pretty cool. Though it should be noted that it's a redo of an older country song. They also make the best use of the banjo (as far as I know) of any current country artist.
Overall, jazz is the way too go. They don't have random people putting crappy lyrics about trucks on fire and liking their dogs and trucks more than their women. It's just good old, unspoiled, honest to goodness, lots of spirit, lots of soul, sweet, sweet music. The same could be said for classical but I think 14 years of cello lessons made it so that classical falls behind a little