Why is Country Music SO Annoying

[Parche]

I was getting my hair cut the other day,
and the store office radio was stuck on
a Country Music station, I almost hurled
it was very annoying to listen to that
crap, its like the same song played
over and over and over, and about the
same thing.......they finally got the radio
to work and changed the channel.........

[Left Is Write]

1. There is a difference between real roots country and

the prepackaged, cookie-cutter, hat act, slick record company crapola on the radio today.

I left country radio in 1995, and these days I'm pretty glad about that.

[WCGreen]

22. That shit is just Britney Spears with a hat and a twang

[Lubernaut]

2. Was it

Hank Williams era country or contemorary crap? Big difference.

[leftofthedial]

3. Did they play either one of these country songs?

(And it's hip hop, not country, in which every song sounds the same.)

Home to Houston

When I pulled out of Basra they all wished me luck
Just like they always did before
With a bulletproof screen on the hood of my truck
And a Bradley on my back door
And I wound her up and shifted her down
And I offered this prayer to my lord
I said “God get me back home to Houston alive
and I won’t drive a truck anymore”

Early in the mornin’ and I’m rollin’ fast
Haulin’ nine thousand gallons of high test gas
Sergeant on the radio hollerin’ at me
Look out up ahead here come a R.P.G.
If I ever get home to Houston alive
Then I won’t drive a truck anymore

I’ve driven the big rigs for all of my life
And my radio handle’s “Train”
Down steep mountain roads on the darkest of nights
I had ice water in my veins
And I come over here ‘cause I just didn’t care
Now I’m older and wiser by far
If I ever get home to Houston alive
Then I won’t drive a truck anymore

Great God A’mighty what was wrong with me
I know the money’s good but buddy can’t you see
You can’t take it with you and that ain’t no lie
I don’t wanna let ‘em get me I’m too young to die
If I ever get home to Houston alive
Then I won’t drive a truck anymore


Rich Man’s War

Jimmy joined the army ‘cause he had no place to go
There ain’t nobody hirin’
‘round here since all the jobs went
down to Mexico
Reckoned that he’d learn himself a trade maybe see the world
Move to the city someday and marry a black haired girl
Somebody somewhere had another plan
Now he’s got a rifle in his hand
Rollin’ into Baghdad wonderin’ how he got this far
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war

Bobby had an eagle and a flag tattooed on his arm
Red white and blue to the bone when he landed in Kandahar
Left behind a pretty young wife and a baby girl
A stack of overdue bills and went off to save the world
Been a year now and he’s still there
Chasin’ ghosts in the thin dry air
Meanwhile back at home the finance company took his car
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war

When will we ever learn
When will we ever see
We stand up and take our turn
And keep tellin’ ourselves we’re free

Ali was the second son of a second son
Grew up in Gaza throwing bottles and rocks when the tanks would come
Ain’t nothin’ else to do around here just a game children play
Somethin’ ‘bout livin’ in fear all your life makes you hard that way

He answered when he got the call
Wrapped himself in death and praised Allah
A fat man in a new Mercedes drove him to the door
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war

[Telly Savalas]

10. Steve Earle kicks ass, but so does quality hiphop.

There's a lot of quality hip hop, and just as much a diversity of sound in that music as there is in country. In the same way that folks shouldn't dismiss all country after listening to Toby Keith on a commercial country station, one shouldn't turn one's nose to hip hop after seeing a 50 Cent video on MTV. There's a lot of good hiphop out there, but just like the good country not much makes it on the radio.



Our diversity is our strength. It's what makes America great. :patriot:

[leftofthedial]

18. okay, so if some country and some hip hop are okay,

what genre are we allowed to hate?

[Squeech]

33. Why do we have to?

There is no genre of music that's inherently awful. There's good country, there's good hip-hop, there's good polka music, there's even (strangely enough) good disco.

The trick is, to find the best examples of the music, you can't rely on the mass media, you have to find the specialists. If you remember the Saturday Night Fever era, you remember that disco was largely represented in the mass market by the Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, and various Giorgio Moroder projects, all of which had the most mechanical grooves (and sucked for other reasons too). But the true aficionados were getting down to artists that actually played their own instruments, and concocted really supple and sexy grooves. I remember a particularly bootylicious Trammps album that I'd never have heard if I didn't have a roommate in the dance community.

So don't hate a genre. If you have to hate something, I suggest hating a medium-- mass market radio (and maybe MTV too).

[leftofthedial]

41. because this is the Lounge

and too much love would be cloying

[Telly Savalas]

34. Barbershop quartets perhaps?

[ghostsofgiants]

40. Screw that, The Be Sharps kick ass

[leftofthedial]

42. Standing in the forum

Watching all the posts go by

[xmas74]

25. Steve Earle, right?

They are calling him "alt-country" now. There is a whole segment of the market for it. It's not too bad.


(this coming from a girl that normally hates country).

[RagingInMiami]

28. Those are great lyrics

I really like the second one. Who sings that?

[democracyindanger]

4. Know what happens when you play country music backwards?

You get your truck back, your wife back, your dog back...

Ah, an oldie but a goodie.

[JohnnyBoots]

6. Hahhaha..I'm a country fan, but that is funny

[Raster]

20. ...and it's not raining any more

[skygazer]

5. I like the old, traditional country music

I grew up on that stuff and still enjoy it. But this slick, packaged, pop-country crap sucks - it has no idea what it really wants to be.

[Left Is Write]

7. You and me both.

I was raised on traditional country music.

I still love listening to the soothing voice of Don Williams.

[Xithras]

37. YES! Folk country and Bluegrass are good, but the new stuff sucks.

One of our local radio stations used to play bluegrass and folk every Sunday, and I'd always tune into it. These types of music are really the foundation of country music, but are derived from a mix of the old Gaelic and Germanic folk music traditions. It's part of our history, and it preserves the musical storytelling traditions that are largely lost in modern music.

The stuff that passes for "country" today is really just Britney Spears with a twang and a lump of chew.

[Orsino]

8. "Them twangy guitars gets up my nose."

From Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander.

[pink-o]

9. It's the jingoism that makes me puke

God Bless the USA, I-raq and Roll. Disgusting propaganda music.

First country song I ever heard was this wingnut blather by Merle Haggard called "Okie from Meskogie." And this Gretchen Wilson all happy to be a "Redneck Woman" Is she high? Rednecks when I was a kid were the worst of the worst.

I guess it's not totally fair, because Willie Nelson is a total progressive, as are the Dixie Chicks. But they're exceptions rather than rules.

[GOPisEvil]

11. Real country music isn't on commercial radio.

It's bad pop music sung by people in cowboy hats and boots.

[Maestro]

12. You're listening to the wrong kind.

Listen to Willie, Hank Williams III and his grandfather Hank Williams, Shooter Jennings, Dale Watson, Wayne "The Train" Hancock, The Flatlanders, Johnny Cash, David Allen Coe, Steve Earle, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Old 97's, BR5-49, Robert Earl Keen, Radney Foster, Dwight Yoakam, and Pat Green just to name a few.

[enigmatic]

14. Thank you

The shit they play on corporate radio IS NOT COUNTRY MUSIC. It's pop music dressed w/ fiddles and some redal steel. It's about as mh country as Motorhead.

[antigone382]

13. The same reason ALL mainstream music sucks...$$$$$$$

It's not about creating quality music, it's about making a product that will appeal to the masses--creating a brand. It's 100% image over substance. I can't stand the vast majority of the stuff on the radio--whether it be country, rap, pop, or rock. And whenever something intriguing and groundbreaking DOES make it to the radio, you can guarantee that within six months to a year, everything else is going to sound just like it.

The only station I can really stand anymore is NPR Music 88, out of Chattanooga. It plays a mix of stuff that includes country, folk, lighter rock, and occasionally R&B--and even some of what THEY play is crap. Now, the truth is that my musical tastes are geared more towards really heavy stuff, but since most of the musicians on NPR are at least decent and creative, I'll give them a listen, whatever their musical style is.

[HughBeaumont]

35. I'm in the mindset that 70% of ALL music made since 1993 sucks ASS.

That was the year where everything that used to be fringe (i.e. tattoos, piercings, shavings, hair color, long hair, Docs, etc) got completely commoditized. Pretty soon, mainstream rap forever became about 40s, weed and bitches, with the beats taking a back seat; with the exception of Tool and Radiohead, most rock music was all about imitating/bastardizing anything that was already popular; country became "citi-fied" (not that I ever liked Country to begin with) and pop just got worse and worse. Corporatization was the mantra, and substance was considered a hinderance to profit.

I started to venture further underground and in history than ever - I was all about anything old, because everything new (there were a few gems - Disco Volante, for one) freaking ate buffalo ass. Prog, classic rock, Metal (the old reliable - never IN style, so it can never go OUT of style), world music, film soundtracks, the fledgling "stoner" scene, drone, doom, ambient, post-rock (i.e. Neurosis, gybe!), etc. These scenes saved music for me, as I was starting to lose all hope.

[brentspeak]

15. 1960's country was really interesting

That was when the Nashville sound dominated. But it got so dominant that it spawned a lot of rebellious country musicians to come up with their own styles. So you had the Bakersfield sound gain in popularity, and the "outlaw" country musician types like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were able to make their mark. Plus, beginning around 1967, rock musicians saw a lot in country music to tap into (hence, the beginnings of 'country rock').

[tedoll78]

16. The older stuff is tolerable. But most of the new stuff is vomituitous.

If I wanted mood music for romancing my sister or the neighbor's barnyard animal, it might come in handy. But other than that, no thanks.

[mvd]

17. I disagree here

Just like I disagree with some DUers about all mainstream music, and will continue to. I'm certainly not changing.

It depends on the new country. I love the Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless (one of the best ever,) Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Gretchen Wilson, Brooks & Dunn, Lee Ann Womack, and more.

I'm not crazy about Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Keith Anderson (can't stand,) and all the jingoistic stuff.

[Redstone]

29. I'll agree with you, except for these:

Gretchen Wilson (panders to trailer trash), Brooks & Dunn (were good, but now too full of themselves).

Sugarland I've never heard of.

Does Patty Loveless still get airtime on commercial radio since she went back to doing bluegrass?

And I DO agree about those jingoistic jerks. Amd isn't Rascal Flatts the one with the guy who wears the dorkishly large hat?

Redstone

[mvd]

36. About the two you mentioned

Gretchen does many songs besides "Redneck Woman" that are good - just listen. I think her "redneck" songs really are pretty autobiographical anyway, from what I've heard. :-)

Brooks And Dunn are always reliable IMO, though Hillbilly Deluxe isn't their strongest. Some great songs.

I think you're right about the Rascal Flatts singer.

[Deja Q]

19. Songs about loneliness, divorce, your hound dog, or divorcing so you can

marry your hound dog WOULD make anybody feel annoyed.

[Redstone]

21. Because that CRAP you hear on the radio is NOT country music.

It's packaged,pandering, pabulum.

There's still real country music out there, but you're damn sure nto going to hear in on any commercial "country" station.

Redstone

[mvd]

23. It's a matter of taste

Not all country music played on commercial stations is bad. Not all of ANY genre played on the radio is bad. I will agree to disagree.

If you can listen to the artists I mentioned and feel the same way, you just don't like the genre. I don't like rap, but I don't belittle all the performers.

[Jade Fox]

24. Most of what you hear on the radio.....

is really bland, watered down rock music. And, yes it all sounds the same.

[Wapsie B]

26. What I call Old Time Country is what's referred to

as White Man's Blues. Some of this modern stuff is just schlock.

[Aristus]

27. 'Cause Country is supposed to be macho man music, but all

the male singers sing like adenoidal eunuchs.

Plus the lyrics and accompaniment are shitty.

[Xithras]

39. Not traditionally

Country music evolved from the musical storytelling traditions of European folk music. The stories weren't about being macho, but about whatever floated the songwriters boat. One of the best bluegrass songs I've ever heard was about the joy to be found at the bottom of a "shot 'o 'shine". :)

Traditional bluegrass and country folk did have the occasional sad ballad, but the other difference between it and modern country is that MOST traditional country songs were upbeat. The songs weren't meant to depress people, but to get them dancing.

[MissMillie]

30. Only the new stuff is bad... I love the older stuff

like Patsy. I'll always love Patsy.

[terrya]

31. That's kind of a broad brush you're using, isn't it?

Not all country music is annoying. Every genre of music has annoying aspects. And annoying is in the ear of the beholder.

I don't like all of country music, but there are performers...such as Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton...whom I like and has created some memorable songs.

[Beausoir]

32. Because..

the women don't sing..they SHOUT at the top of their lungs.

And the men don't sing..they WHINE.

I used to work at a country radio station in the 80's. There used to be some fairly decent stuff coming out. Now it's just crap.

[underpants]

38. Bad pop music with steele guitars and funny hats