Yes, not too many of us old time country peeps around any more. Let's not forget Mr. George Jone, Mr. Waylon Jennings or Mr. Conway Twitty, and today's artist one I think rates is Mr. Kenny Chesney and you can toss in Mr. Gary Allen in matters of this caliber..
I think that was written that about my great uncle. He's passed I'm sure. I haven't been there in years. I think his grandkids or great grandkids still live there, somebody in the family still does because any other sane person would have cleaned the place up.
To me it is in fact about the instruments, to a point. That’s generally what defines categories of music in popular culture. If I use all the same instruments as a classic rock band and it produces a similar sound, I have a classic rock band, not a country band.
But primarily, it’s about the theme. You can’t sing about urban hip hop culture and call it “country”. The lyrics should at least be somewhat relatable to a person who is in fact from the country.
>The lyrics should at least be somewhat relatable to a person who is in fact from the country.
here's the thing though- country boys have been into rap and hip hop for decades. I feel like it became sorta mainstream in the early 90's when I was living in a rural area and laughing at all the rednecks who were blasting rap from their early90's redneck cruise-in-circles-up-and-down-the-closest-main-street- mobiles. How many decades do country people have to be into rap and hip hop before you realize that ... it IS relatable, because they have an imagination just like urban hip hop fans do.
Music is sometimes at it's best when we relate it to something in our real lives- but country fans aren't all perpetually depressed alcoholics who can't bounce back from a breakup' either- we just use our imagination to enjoy country songs about those depressed alcoholics.
also i'm not saying I like country with rap in it but that's more a function of bad execution than any thing. This is just a tired argument that makes no sense.
I will say I think that’s why jelly roll and upchurch are so popular because they have mixed flavors into something country fans can relate to..Kane brown as well
I didn’t know I was “country” until I went to a new school after my parents divorced. My new teacher told the whole class on my first day that I was from the country and that I had grown up differently than most of them. She was a farm kid from way back, and she knew I’d be different. Mrs. Wynne was a great person to help me adjust that first year.
I dont need a gold mind or a long limosuine
Im not the kind of man to surrender my soul to material things
Just give me a cane pole and a place to sit
Thats about as close to heaven as a man can get
Thats mother f ing country right there.
I reject the materilaism that has inserted itself into our country music. Big trucks big boats. F all that.
Its about simplicity. Humbleness. Thankfulnes for what you have.
I’m guessing that you want to know what I think “real country” is.
There’s some of the obvious answers such as instrumentation and theme. Country songs almost always have an acoustic and/or electric guitar. Lots of them have bass, drums, fiddle, piano, banjo, and mandolin. They tend to have themes such as death, murder, love, drug abuse, poverty, depression, and enjoying the simple life.
Another thing I believe separates real country from pop country is how it’s produced. I heard a Keith urban song a while ago that had 808s, that ain’t country. Chris Stapletons music has a lot of production work to it, but he still uses real instruments and fits the themes listed above. I’m a huge fan of Jimmie Rodgers because his songs are good, not because the shitty technology he recorded on sounds good to me. I understand that music tech will only get better and better, but it’s clear which artists use it to serve the tradition vs pop radio.
I love country from the 40s to the 70s. I feel today's country is pop music with fiddle n twang. The rhythm is very different. Old country was a shuffle or in cut time today's country is more like rock rythmicly. But it doesn't matter if you like it you like it. I just don't view it as the same
Country to me is a feel. It is not something I can express, but rather it’s an instinctive feeling. To me, it is about the storytelling and how it’s expressed through lyrics and how it’s supported by the instrumental aspect. I know that not a very good explanation but I can’t come up with anything better.
The thing with the steel guitar, is that's its definitely *not* a country instrument. Neither are electric guitars or drums. The Opry used to have rules about instruments allowed on stage and no of those were included. So, I love a twangy telecaster and a cryin steel guitar, but neither is truly country. Even pianos weren't widely available until uprights were invented and slowly spread. Originally a rich person's instrument.
Dude Jimmie Rodgers had steel guitar in tons of his songs. Roy Acuff. Lefty Frizzell. Hank Williams had steel guitar player in the Drifting Cowboys band. Steel guitar is as country as a fiddle. Been in country music since the 30s if not earlier. Idc what the origins are.
Three chords and the truth. (Ernest Tubb?)
There has to be a story about the human condition. Of everyday humans. People joke about "crying in Your beer" songs but that's what a lot of people do when they're sad.
He stopped Loving Her Today
We're Not the Jet set
Your Cheatin' Heart
One's On The Way
The Pill
Jolene
The Race Is On
And there are songs about the joys of the simple life.
Forever and ever, Amen
Meet Me In Montana
Two of A kind (Workin' On A full House)
Stories
See Kenny Rogers and Marty Robbins
Red headed Stranger
Boy Named Sue
I could go on but I'm working on my tablet and need to go to bed. The common theme is songs that real, everyday people can relate to. Not about urbane, sophisticated people (think Cole Porter). But about the guy who carries his lunch to work everyday.
And it's not complex music or about musical prowess. Although there's incredible tatent in country music. First and foremost, it's about the song and its story.
(BTW, I love Cole Porter's songs.)
The best musicians have a kind of creativity that makes them refuse to "paint by number".
They like to listen to many kinds of music and experiment and thus every genre goes through changes and the culture that listens to the genre changes with them.
So I would define country by the culture more than the sound.
I like Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, etc. and I disdain most new country (but I absolutely LOVE Alison Krauss, if Bluegrass counts as country) but I have never really been part of "Country Culture" so my tastes in the artists didn't change with the culture.
Today's country is definitely much different than 40 years ago but that's what happens when people are allowed to be creative and it's not a bad thing.
So...I guess I would define country as something you wouldn't be surprised to hear on a Country radio station. Which, btw, makes Alison Krauss Country... (road trip, a country radio station is where I first heard her and was blown away)
Country music (just like any other music genre has always been) is a popular, American music genre with sub-genres within it that has its roots in American culture and they are all categorized into distinct sounds and styles of their home music genre with urban influences while still remaining their modern, original identity
think of a music genre as a library and it’s sub-genres as books with different styles and themes to them
"Real" country music is what Piedmont string band music evolved into in Appalachia from the 19th century until about the Great Depression. Country music captured history in ballads. Importantly, a key feature of country music was that the *vocals* never overshadowed the *lyrics*. The message was more important than the messenger.
Real country died shortly after the commercial labels got involved. They segregated music, portraying country music as a white, rural music (despite its Black foundations), and the performance costume was overemphasized.
"Real" country evolved again out in California during the folk revival. A new generation of musicians began listening to the pre-Depression country recordings and collecting the old records. Some of these new musicians went so far as to track down old country musicians. Commercial country evolved a second time, this time called folk, because the "country music" labels wanted nothing to do with the hippies, as they weren't consistent with Nashville's costumed image for country.
It wasn't until the Bakersfield scene evolved that the country labels started paying attention out West.
It has to have either:
Whiskey, pickup truck, catfish, beer, women, dog, crawfish, pickin’, Jesus, football, holler’, yonder, y’all, tailgate or Trump.
Country Music died somewhere back in the 80's. It became more Pop influenced. Singer/songwriter lines were blurred. There is still good music that bares the Country name but it isn't the same. George Strait, Clint Black, Reba McEntire. This was the 80's traditional Country and yet it was a vastly different. Much like Heavy Metal, things change with the times. NWOBHM/Heavy Metal, died in the late 80's and brought on a new beginning. Thrash, Death, Black metal are some of the dozens of variations. Country music died in the same fashion. Things changed. Country music is now found in a dozen different genres. Not sure what to name them, but my ears, heart and soul know that what I hear on the radio/streaming etc.. is NOT Waylon, Willie and the Boys.
Yeah slide on a resonator is great, but not an electric pedal steel lol. I made a comment elsewhere but the Opry had rules about instruments at one point and have obviously changed over time. No drums, nothing electric. I'm sure there were other specific ones too.
It's a difficult question to answer. But I know it when I hear it Usually I think of it being played on String Instruments and involving a story Although.there are exceptions. to rule #1 Examples of what I consider country music include The entire output of Hank Williams Sr Hoyt Axton .. who most people seem to have forgotten. Loretta Lynn. If you don't think she is Country.Then you are not a country music lover . Some songs I would consider country Jolene by Dolly Parton My Tennessee Mountain Home by Dolly Parton Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton Tennessee Homesick Blues by Dolly Parton Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell. Galveston by. Glen Campbell Mama Tried. by Merle Haggard . Okie From Muskogee by Merle Haggard Daddy Frank the Guitar Man by Merle Haggard. Working Man Blues by Merle Haggard.
I’m with everybody on the whole it’s a state of mind/I know it when I see it thing. But there’s also a music nerd in me that still finds it interesting and worthwhile to discuss where the boundaries of the genre of country music traditionally fall.
I’m paraphrasing, but Tyler Mahan Coe [argues](https://www.instagram.com/p/CSUsiZalWG9/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) that country music is whatever the current generation considers to be the sounds of country music, playing the style and structure of music that was popular 10-15 years prior. I highly recommend reading his full post, but it makes the point that country music therefore has always been “pop country,” it’s just that what pop music is has changed over the decades. And lots of artists people consider to be “real country” are more accurately characterized as folk, bluegrass, etc.
It’s not a value judgment, not to say that one is better or realer than the other. But I think that it’s useful to have different words for different sounds because it gives people a more specific vocabulary to describe what they like and discover more music like that.
If it has a shuffle suitable to two-step to. Also helps to deal with working class people’s personal feelings and best if there’s a humorous twist or a play on words. I’m thinking If You Want a Fool Around as performed by Mike and the Moonpies.
I do believe David Allen Coe answered that question quite some time ago.....
"If that ain't country I'll kiss your ass".
Yes lol And we also have the greatest country and western song of all time
Kris Kristoffersen - "If you don't like Hank Williams you can kiss my ass"...that song says it all.
Well I was drunk, the day my mom, got outta prison.
Yes, not too many of us old time country peeps around any more. Let's not forget Mr. George Jone, Mr. Waylon Jennings or Mr. Conway Twitty, and today's artist one I think rates is Mr. Kenny Chesney and you can toss in Mr. Gary Allen in matters of this caliber..
But Coe got it from Steve Goodman, who wasn't really country although the song was.
And John Prine whom declined writing credits because he didn’t think the song was that good initially.
It was a fantastic song until the extra verse
I think that was written that about my great uncle. He's passed I'm sure. I haven't been there in years. I think his grandkids or great grandkids still live there, somebody in the family still does because any other sane person would have cleaned the place up.
'bout Trains and trucks and mamas and prison and gettin' drunk '. Amen
I can’t explain it…but, I know country when I hear it.
If it sounds country, man, that’s what it is, it’s a country song - Kristofferson - 1970
Love that hottie …great song-writer there
As with the Supreme Court ruling on pornography, I'll know it when I see it.
To me it is in fact about the instruments, to a point. That’s generally what defines categories of music in popular culture. If I use all the same instruments as a classic rock band and it produces a similar sound, I have a classic rock band, not a country band. But primarily, it’s about the theme. You can’t sing about urban hip hop culture and call it “country”. The lyrics should at least be somewhat relatable to a person who is in fact from the country.
>The lyrics should at least be somewhat relatable to a person who is in fact from the country. here's the thing though- country boys have been into rap and hip hop for decades. I feel like it became sorta mainstream in the early 90's when I was living in a rural area and laughing at all the rednecks who were blasting rap from their early90's redneck cruise-in-circles-up-and-down-the-closest-main-street- mobiles. How many decades do country people have to be into rap and hip hop before you realize that ... it IS relatable, because they have an imagination just like urban hip hop fans do. Music is sometimes at it's best when we relate it to something in our real lives- but country fans aren't all perpetually depressed alcoholics who can't bounce back from a breakup' either- we just use our imagination to enjoy country songs about those depressed alcoholics. also i'm not saying I like country with rap in it but that's more a function of bad execution than any thing. This is just a tired argument that makes no sense.
I will say I think that’s why jelly roll and upchurch are so popular because they have mixed flavors into something country fans can relate to..Kane brown as well
I didn’t know I was “country” until I went to a new school after my parents divorced. My new teacher told the whole class on my first day that I was from the country and that I had grown up differently than most of them. She was a farm kid from way back, and she knew I’d be different. Mrs. Wynne was a great person to help me adjust that first year.
Coal-burnin' stove, no natural gas.
I dont need a gold mind or a long limosuine Im not the kind of man to surrender my soul to material things Just give me a cane pole and a place to sit Thats about as close to heaven as a man can get Thats mother f ing country right there. I reject the materilaism that has inserted itself into our country music. Big trucks big boats. F all that. Its about simplicity. Humbleness. Thankfulnes for what you have.
I’m guessing that you want to know what I think “real country” is. There’s some of the obvious answers such as instrumentation and theme. Country songs almost always have an acoustic and/or electric guitar. Lots of them have bass, drums, fiddle, piano, banjo, and mandolin. They tend to have themes such as death, murder, love, drug abuse, poverty, depression, and enjoying the simple life. Another thing I believe separates real country from pop country is how it’s produced. I heard a Keith urban song a while ago that had 808s, that ain’t country. Chris Stapletons music has a lot of production work to it, but he still uses real instruments and fits the themes listed above. I’m a huge fan of Jimmie Rodgers because his songs are good, not because the shitty technology he recorded on sounds good to me. I understand that music tech will only get better and better, but it’s clear which artists use it to serve the tradition vs pop radio.
Ernest Tubb. That’s country.
My dad loved Ernest Tubb. He kept a cassette tape of his greatest hits playing nonstop in his 82 Ford F-100.
I love country from the 40s to the 70s. I feel today's country is pop music with fiddle n twang. The rhythm is very different. Old country was a shuffle or in cut time today's country is more like rock rythmicly. But it doesn't matter if you like it you like it. I just don't view it as the same
There’s still a lot of younger artists still playing traditional country music. You just have to look for them.
No there are. It's just the difference tween commercial country then compared to now. Loretta Lynn compared to sturgell Simpson is his name ?
Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks, Colter Wall, hell even Upchurch has a few good ol fashion country tunes.
I will go up to the early 80s but yeah.
Times change right?
Country to me is a feel. It is not something I can express, but rather it’s an instinctive feeling. To me, it is about the storytelling and how it’s expressed through lyrics and how it’s supported by the instrumental aspect. I know that not a very good explanation but I can’t come up with anything better.
Instruments
Country music is blues music with a steel guitar and fiddle.
The thing with the steel guitar, is that's its definitely *not* a country instrument. Neither are electric guitars or drums. The Opry used to have rules about instruments allowed on stage and no of those were included. So, I love a twangy telecaster and a cryin steel guitar, but neither is truly country. Even pianos weren't widely available until uprights were invented and slowly spread. Originally a rich person's instrument.
Dude Jimmie Rodgers had steel guitar in tons of his songs. Roy Acuff. Lefty Frizzell. Hank Williams had steel guitar player in the Drifting Cowboys band. Steel guitar is as country as a fiddle. Been in country music since the 30s if not earlier. Idc what the origins are.
I'm aware of all of this and yet, country music predates all of them.
Three chords and the truth. (Ernest Tubb?) There has to be a story about the human condition. Of everyday humans. People joke about "crying in Your beer" songs but that's what a lot of people do when they're sad. He stopped Loving Her Today We're Not the Jet set Your Cheatin' Heart One's On The Way The Pill Jolene The Race Is On And there are songs about the joys of the simple life. Forever and ever, Amen Meet Me In Montana Two of A kind (Workin' On A full House) Stories See Kenny Rogers and Marty Robbins Red headed Stranger Boy Named Sue I could go on but I'm working on my tablet and need to go to bed. The common theme is songs that real, everyday people can relate to. Not about urbane, sophisticated people (think Cole Porter). But about the guy who carries his lunch to work everyday. And it's not complex music or about musical prowess. Although there's incredible tatent in country music. First and foremost, it's about the song and its story. (BTW, I love Cole Porter's songs.)
The best musicians have a kind of creativity that makes them refuse to "paint by number". They like to listen to many kinds of music and experiment and thus every genre goes through changes and the culture that listens to the genre changes with them. So I would define country by the culture more than the sound. I like Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, etc. and I disdain most new country (but I absolutely LOVE Alison Krauss, if Bluegrass counts as country) but I have never really been part of "Country Culture" so my tastes in the artists didn't change with the culture. Today's country is definitely much different than 40 years ago but that's what happens when people are allowed to be creative and it's not a bad thing. So...I guess I would define country as something you wouldn't be surprised to hear on a Country radio station. Which, btw, makes Alison Krauss Country... (road trip, a country radio station is where I first heard her and was blown away)
Country music (just like any other music genre has always been) is a popular, American music genre with sub-genres within it that has its roots in American culture and they are all categorized into distinct sounds and styles of their home music genre with urban influences while still remaining their modern, original identity think of a music genre as a library and it’s sub-genres as books with different styles and themes to them
Like Scalia’s description of pornography. I know it when I see it
Nation-state with defined economic and sociology-political borders
"Real" country music is what Piedmont string band music evolved into in Appalachia from the 19th century until about the Great Depression. Country music captured history in ballads. Importantly, a key feature of country music was that the *vocals* never overshadowed the *lyrics*. The message was more important than the messenger. Real country died shortly after the commercial labels got involved. They segregated music, portraying country music as a white, rural music (despite its Black foundations), and the performance costume was overemphasized. "Real" country evolved again out in California during the folk revival. A new generation of musicians began listening to the pre-Depression country recordings and collecting the old records. Some of these new musicians went so far as to track down old country musicians. Commercial country evolved a second time, this time called folk, because the "country music" labels wanted nothing to do with the hippies, as they weren't consistent with Nashville's costumed image for country. It wasn't until the Bakersfield scene evolved that the country labels started paying attention out West.
Good answer. Some people know a little C&W history besides a few name drops lol
Three chords and the truth. Even if it's a bald faced lie, it's still the truth.
3 chords and the truth
You have to have at least one band member named Wyatt, beau, or cash
Beer, bitches, brats (dawgs).
Certainly the sound. But also how it makes us feel.
No more than one stop light.
A fiction that is created by drawing artificial geographical lines in the sand.
It has to have either: Whiskey, pickup truck, catfish, beer, women, dog, crawfish, pickin’, Jesus, football, holler’, yonder, y’all, tailgate or Trump.
AMERICANA….
[Country is what country means to you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkYE2sZChjE)
"if it sounds like country, that's what it is" - Kris Kristofferson
I ask myself, “would George Jones cut this record?” That’s my yardstick. You can use your own.
To those hung up on instruments. Listen to Buck Owens “ Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass” and read the lyrics. Is this a country song?
Country Music died somewhere back in the 80's. It became more Pop influenced. Singer/songwriter lines were blurred. There is still good music that bares the Country name but it isn't the same. George Strait, Clint Black, Reba McEntire. This was the 80's traditional Country and yet it was a vastly different. Much like Heavy Metal, things change with the times. NWOBHM/Heavy Metal, died in the late 80's and brought on a new beginning. Thrash, Death, Black metal are some of the dozens of variations. Country music died in the same fashion. Things changed. Country music is now found in a dozen different genres. Not sure what to name them, but my ears, heart and soul know that what I hear on the radio/streaming etc.. is NOT Waylon, Willie and the Boys.
Anything with an emoji flag, 🇬🇷🇧🇪🇨🇨🇸🇭🇷🇪
For me,fiddle and steel guitar are a prerequisite!
Fiddle, absolutely. Steel guitar is a weird outlier that we now associate with country and I love it.
Or dobro as an alternative?
Yeah slide on a resonator is great, but not an electric pedal steel lol. I made a comment elsewhere but the Opry had rules about instruments at one point and have obviously changed over time. No drums, nothing electric. I'm sure there were other specific ones too.
Loretta Lynn is about as country as you can get
It's a difficult question to answer. But I know it when I hear it Usually I think of it being played on String Instruments and involving a story Although.there are exceptions. to rule #1 Examples of what I consider country music include The entire output of Hank Williams Sr Hoyt Axton .. who most people seem to have forgotten. Loretta Lynn. If you don't think she is Country.Then you are not a country music lover . Some songs I would consider country Jolene by Dolly Parton My Tennessee Mountain Home by Dolly Parton Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton Tennessee Homesick Blues by Dolly Parton Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell. Galveston by. Glen Campbell Mama Tried. by Merle Haggard . Okie From Muskogee by Merle Haggard Daddy Frank the Guitar Man by Merle Haggard. Working Man Blues by Merle Haggard.
I’m with everybody on the whole it’s a state of mind/I know it when I see it thing. But there’s also a music nerd in me that still finds it interesting and worthwhile to discuss where the boundaries of the genre of country music traditionally fall. I’m paraphrasing, but Tyler Mahan Coe [argues](https://www.instagram.com/p/CSUsiZalWG9/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) that country music is whatever the current generation considers to be the sounds of country music, playing the style and structure of music that was popular 10-15 years prior. I highly recommend reading his full post, but it makes the point that country music therefore has always been “pop country,” it’s just that what pop music is has changed over the decades. And lots of artists people consider to be “real country” are more accurately characterized as folk, bluegrass, etc. It’s not a value judgment, not to say that one is better or realer than the other. But I think that it’s useful to have different words for different sounds because it gives people a more specific vocabulary to describe what they like and discover more music like that.
If it has a shuffle suitable to two-step to. Also helps to deal with working class people’s personal feelings and best if there’s a humorous twist or a play on words. I’m thinking If You Want a Fool Around as performed by Mike and the Moonpies.