Why I Love Country

This is an opinion, formed after many years of listening to music. So don’t get all upset if you disagree.

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It’s easy to dismiss country music. People have for years. The stereotypes abound, partially in fact, because no one bothers to correct them.  When most people think of country music, they envision songs about trucks, dogs, ex-wives, drinking, trains, prison and guns. And in a small way, some of country music can be described as that, but that’s a far cry from most of country that is being produced in Nashville today.

Let me start by saying what I hate about typical pop music. Its fake. Its a front. It exists for one of two reasons: to make alot of money or to make the artist look really good. That’s the goal. The heart in it is mostly gone. People sellout their music to anyone and everyone to make money or to further their name. Most artists are in it for the wrong reasons. There was once a time when an artist was an artist because they believed so strongly that what they had to say NEEDED to be said. True artists never get into the game because there’s so much money to be made, or because they are so insecure that they need fans to make them feel better. A true artist is in it because they love what they are doing. They can’t picture themselves doing anything else. They aren’t God’s gift to the world. Their burden of music is so heavy that the only relief is offering it to their fans.

SONGS

I can hardly listen to mainstream pop music anymore. Its soul-less. The lyrics exist to glorify the singer, the melodies are written on a computer, and most of them are played by a computer. The song doesn’t live to relay a deeper meaning, to improve one’s life, or even to stir up a feeling. It exists to make people move. Because that is what we’ve narrowed music down to – does it make me dance or not? There’s no in between? There’s no simply enjoying music, relating to lyrics? With the exception of out-of-mainstream indie music, when was the last time you sat and RELATED to everything a song said? Probably been a while. The songs aren’t written for you. They’re not written to make you feel the way the artist feels. They’re written because thats what will sell records and get airplay. How far we’ve fallen.

Country songs have depth. They have heart. They tell stories and drive home feelings. They relay messages – positive, negative, warnings, truths – something. They grab you emotionally. They pull you back into a time in your life, or give you hope for a future time. They make you long for something, or miss something. They connect.  Sure, some of them make you want to dance, but some make you want to cry. Very few are written solely for airplay – which is why their are so many popular country acts that DON’T get alot of airplay. Sure, there’s some poppy cross-over acts on country radio – but they won’t go far in the business because they lack the heart of true country. Country music connects with its fans.

CONCERTS

People who have never been to a country concert probably don’t realize what they’re like. They probably get the picture of a bunch of southerners wearing big hats, fancy shirts and boots bouncing back and forth to the music. Not so. Country concerts are as much of a party as any other kind of concert – but they lack the sheer ridiculous behavior that has become the norm in so many mainstream concerts today. Country concerts are all about a bunch of people coming together to listen to music they love. To drink, and dance, and have fun. They’re not all about how you look when you show up, or how many people you can beat down in a mosh pit. They’re not about how close you can grind up on someone you’ve never met, or how much weed you can smoke before security shows up (although some avid country fans and artists regularly exercise their right to “go green”). Country fans SING at concerts – they sing every word. Not that this doesn’t ever occur at other concerts, but it ALWAYS happens at country shows. Country shows are an excellent example of FANS loving MUSIC. And all the partying that happens happens because of the music.

ARTISTS

Pop artists are full of drama. You read about their lives in the tabloids, you watch their issues on TMZ and E!. They even get in the news on a regular basis. Someone is always beating their boyfriend/girlfriend, getting caught with cocaine, drunk driving, overdosing at a concert, carrying an illegal weapon, or suing an ex. It seems that mainstream media’s only way of marketing their artists is to create drama – because apparently their fans live and thrive on drama. They need reality TV shows, clothing lines, accessory lines and the like to truly enjoy their artist of choice. Its all about materialism. So many mainstream pop artists carry a superiority complex. They have to be wearing the most expensive clothing out there. They drive the biggest and best car, have the most glamorous rings, sunglasses etc, and live in mansions high in the Hollywood Hills. They are above their fans, and they’ve trained their fans that the only way to achieve greatness is to strive to be just like the artist. This has inspired a whole generation (or two) of teenagers to dress like, talk like, walk like and live like their favorite artist. That’s where the whole gangster rap scene started – a bunch of  street kids who decided that rapping about hoes, cars, booze, drugs and sex was the ultimate in achievement. The clothing style came next – then the love of Escalades with huge spinners, giant chains, etc. What does it all accomplish? Nothing.  In my opinion, you all look like complete IDIOTS. Get a job.

Country artists are down to earth. They appreciate their fans. They don’t show up at award shows drunk, jumping up on stage, cussing and yelling how great their albums are. They cry when they’re nominated by fans – blown away that people would love their music that much. They’re humble. They’re proud of their music, but they maintain a level head, knowing that they might not always be on top. They constantly strive to give their fans more. A bigger show, a better album, more exposure as an incentive for being a fan. They drive around in golf carts before concerts and meet the people tailgating in the parking lots. They share a beer with them. They do work for charities – and not just for the recognition. They focus on their own families and make them priorities. Very seldom do you ever hear of scandals erupting with country artists. Seldom are they arrested, or caught with drugs, parading drunk or fighting in public. They don’t talk trash on each other, but instead appreciate each other’s music. When one wins an award, they are genuinely happy for them – not pissed, or faking a smile, but overjoyed and proud that they can be part of this type of industry. When a record label tries to push them around, they push back, knowing that their fans will back their decision to keep doing what they do. Country artists are real people, who, for the most part, have their priorities straight, and are striving everyday to improve the product they give their fans. It’s not hype – its who they are, famous or not. Country artist embrace their fellow laborers. They allow new artists into their fold. When certain artist in the pop scene are no longer “hip” enough to stay on top, and they want to keep making real music, many times they migrate to country. Not because “anyone can do country,” but because they know that they won’t be judged as long as they keep making real music. Darius Rucker is a great example. I don’t even care for his music, nor do I think he’s very country, but the pop scene passed him up, so he went back to his roots and jump started his career again where he knew people would appreciate him. Country accepts people for who they are.

MUSICIANS

A common misconception is that anyone can play country music. People believe its 4 chords, a cheesy melody and a shallow subject. What people who don’t give it a chance don’t understand is that country artists are constantly ranked as some of the most skilled musicians in the world. Stereotypes abound, but if you actually sit down with a few records you’ll quickly realize that all of these stereotypes are wrong.

Much of pop music today is written electronically. It can be sang to a backing track of electric drums, keyboards and a synth bass. Auto-tune is applied to coverup weak vocals, and then piled on to add “effects”. Much of pop focuses on the lead singer or artist, and no emphasis is given to the band (indie rock, brit rock, and others take exception of course). No one cares the caliber of musicians that play because they are pre-recorded anyway. Musicians are the sideshow that no one really pays much mind too. Not so with country.

Country music is FOR musicians. It has some of the hottest guitar players, the tightest drummers, the most solid bass players and the fastest fiddle players. Country musicians are versatile. They can play all styles, but choose country because it allows them to live and expand as a musician. The focus is on the music as a whole, and all the parts that go into it. They aren’t hidden so that the main act can be shown off. (With the exception of Kid Rock who takes 20 minutes out of his show to somehow prove that he’s a better musician than every one of his band members. Still don’t get why he’s considered country….but I digress). Country musicians, LOVE playing country, because its NOT simple. It’s creative and difficult and fun. It gives musicians a chance to showoff. The can’t hide behind the persona of a band, allowing the whole to cover their shottily-played parts (ok, now I am singling out indie and brit rock). They always stand out, and as such, they HAVE to play perfectly. I challenge you to find musicians better than country players. I’ll put any one of them up against mainstream musicians – guaranteed.

STYLE

Many people find it hard to relate to country music because of its style. People in big cities or suburban areas like Orange County probably were not raised on country music, nor were they raised where there are dirt roads, small town football games, drinking on the river, etc. Its completely understandable why the “lifestyle” of country music might be slightly off-putting. You can’t relate – I get it. They wear funny hats. Well, at least you know that they have ALWAYS worn that hat, and that its not some costume for a special event. That’s their style thru and thru.

As someone who was raised in California, but has strong family ties to the mid-west and south, I’ve been torn my whole life between the supposedly country lifestyle that I love and the style that all my friends subscribe to. The difference is, I’ve chosen to dive into this style because I see tremendous value in it. Would I rather my kids (or myself for that reason) walk around singing about “that bitch’s ass” or singing about being proud of our troops? Would I rather spend my money on a record glorifying partying and promiscuous nightlife, or a record that talks about working hard, earning a living and loving my family. The country style to me stems from the values inherent in it. Country music is a lifestyle just as much as its a genre. I’m not talking about clothes or trucks, but where you place value, how you spend your time and what you strive for. Name me one song in mainstream music (pop, rock, rap or otherwise) that talk about being a good man and honoring your word. How about loving your wife? Heck, even drinking with your buddies after work? (and I don’t mean sipping cognac hoping to get drunk enough so that the girl will let you “slap dat ass”). The lifestyle that a love of country music creates is genuine, fair, even wholesome in some aspects. Sure, there’s some rocking country out there that talks about pounding Jack and dancing on the roof of trucks with the cops pulling up. Or beating someone’s ass who talks bad about my Country.  But I would 10 to 1 rather rock that then 3/4 of the crap I hear on the radio these days. I make a conscious effort to subscribe to a simpler lifestyle, which is why I listen to country music. Because it encourages me in the values that I already hold dear. Now, I know that might even sound prudish, so I’ll add this – alot of the country music I listen to just plain rocks. Screaming guitars, killer vocals, and subjects that make me excited. Its not that its prude in any way, its just the base of the music is down-home values. Some of my favorite artists have hit tunes that talk about hot women, drinking whiskey, big trucks and fighting. And sure,  rocking that music makes me feel badass every now and then. But I can just as easily kick on a Brad Paisley song that talks about walking with my Grandad in Heaven, and start I’ll tearing up. Why? Because I relate to both. The style of country is defined by the people who write the music, and its as broad as it is deep. I like honkey-tonk outlaw music – Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Merle Haggard, which is very much classic country. Other people I know only like poppier country – Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift. Two COMPLETELY different styles of country, but still country music.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There really is something for everyone in country. The dangers of the country music stereotype is that people don’t give it a chance because they assume its all the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. There’s country out there that rocks harder than some of todays hardest pop artists, and there’s country that’s so pretty and powerful it could almost be used in a church service. The differences are why I’m addicted to it. Because I never have to change genres to change moods. It’s quality music, by quality musicians singing on topics that I love, can relate to, or can strive to. Country music may not be for everyone, but I would venture that if you honestly give it a try, you’d find something out there that you could enjoy.

Try some of these out:

Little Big Town – Boondocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTSJAUul7I8

 

 

Too much to decide

I’ve made this blog a million things. I’ve never been happy with it. Its been a personal journal, a communication tool for the outside world, recently a musicians review of music. Now I’m back to scratch. Wish I blogged more. Wish people read it more. Maybe its just therapeutic for me. That’s probably it. Think I need to do it more frequently and shorter. Might be a motivation to actually do it.

Emotion of the day: Displacement. Wish I loved where I lived.

Today’s gonna be rough. Got a big decision to make. Scratch that – made the decision. Have a big decision to follow through on. Life change is never easy.

desire

I have an insatiable desire to move to a place where I can breathe. Just ate lunch in costa mesa and for the first time in my life, I felt claustrophobic in public. I saw a thousand cars on harbor blvd, 100 people in the restaurant and 500 conversations over loud music. Had to retreat to my truck…it was too much. I need something smaller. Something more personal. A place to breathe and live in quiet. I can’t think here. I need this place…

new leaf…

Going on a healthy eating/exercising insane amounts kick….let’s see how long this lasts….

destruction

Leave it to America to destroy everything it loves.

Was just reading up on memorial day. Did you know that it was originally a day to honor the fallen dead of the Civil War? Shortly after the Civil War’s end, a group of freed black slaves snuck into an area that was a Confederate prison camp where countless Union soldier’s bodies were buried in a mass grave. These freed slaves dug up the massive grave and re-dug individual graves for the Union soldiers who had one them their freedom. They then went out, picked flowers from the countryside and returned, decorating the graves and  building a fence around the area with an entrance arch. What an amazing example of how to honor our fallen heroes.

Then commercialism came along and said, “lets make it a three day weekend,” which the government went along with in the late ’60’s. Then commercialism said, “lets have sales and donate money to the fallen soldier’s families.” That slowly turned into “let’s just have sales” which is where we stand today. We sell clothes, cars, shoes, and power tools, but in no way to do we honor the fallen. In no way to we memorialize what they’ve done, how they died. Most people don’t think of memorial day as anything more than a day off of work. We wave the flag on July 4th but do nothing to pay respect to the people that allowed that flag to be waved. We speak against an unjust war but fail even look at the names of the men who’ve lost their lives in this war that we hate. 20 seconds, that’s all it takes (http://tinyurl.com/oubo5q), to say thanks. Make it a weekly tradition, and instead of thinking of memorial day as a day off, think of it as a day of gratitude, of mourning, a day to remember the heroes who didn’t need to know us to fight for us.

looking up

I’ve always looked up to those in military service. They’re the best of the best and amazing at what they do. It’s easy to pass liberals, libertarians, anything other than republicans really, off as anti-military, which isn’t the case at all. I have the deepest respect for those that have signed up to do the job of protecting us. No matter what issues I take with the government that sends them, the military have my sincerest gratitude.

I’ve known quite a few people that have gone in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. Most of them come back different. Not bad, sometimes slightly bitter at the conflict, but different. Yesterday was something else though. One of our mechanics at work is a Reserve. He was called up about 9 months ago, served in Iraq and has recently come home. While still on active duty, he dropped by yesterday to say hi to all of us. I was never close to him before, just an occasional “hi”, or “thanks for your help”, but when he got back yesterday I didn’t get that bitter soldier feeling from him that I’ve gotten from others. Don’t get me wrong, a solider has right to be bitter, but he wasn’t. He was gladly serving out his time and seemed genuinely gratiful for the ability to serve. He didn’t talk much of his time there (we had gotten updates all along), but the way he carried himself was so professional, so refreshing, I couldn’t help but to look up to him. He had seen the worst, and now he’s back, fulfilling his other job without a second thought.

Seems to me like that is the mentality that we want in our soldiers. People who have other lives, who when called on to serve, will serve without hesitation, and when they’re done, return to business as usual gratiful for the opportunity to serve their country. That is what makes America great.

Thank you to all of our men and women who serve, for risking it all to protect us and our future. Happy Memorial Day.

-n

deadness

Was reading CNN today, and one overwhelming thought took hold. The GOP is dead. They can try all they want to give themselves a shot in the arm, but it won’t work. They’ve already proved to the rest of the country, and themselves, that they don’t know what America wants. Their solutions are the same things they’ve been offering for 60 years, and none of them have or will work. The leaders are old and don’t understand the new world. Their policies are staunch; too staunch to be appreciated by a generation who actually bothers to ask questions. That’s right. The GOP won’t questions themselves, and thus have become a casualty in the war for people’s minds. They depend on tradition rather than people thinking things through, and when people bring up arguments that they HAVE thought thru, the GOP doesn’t have an answer…instead they have a slap in the face to anyone with the cajones to actually think.

Now, I’m not saying that the Democrats have one. They haven’t and they won’t. No one will “win” – but the GOP will form into another party – a different party. The name will be the same. The premise will be the same. But in order to survive, they will need to revamp what they’ve always held as true. And it kills them. How dare a country force its leaders to progress? Well, we do. Because our leaders represent us. And that is why McCain/Palin lost. Because no body wanted them to represent. No body had enough faith in them.

Being a constitutional libertarian, I have the luxury of being able to step outside the box and see views from both sides. I’m fiscally conservative, socially liberal, believe in a free market economy and hold a strictly constitutional view of foreign policy – relations with all, allies with none. This is why its easy for me to laugh at both sides, and yet defend both sides. But I’ll be the first to admit, the GOP will fail miserably in every attempt until they are willing to progress to the level its new followers demand. And the Dems will fail miserably until they are humble enough to admit that while their ideas my be good in theory, their practice can destroy them.

One can only hope that enough Constituonalists stand up to guide our country where it needs to be – with a eye to the past and a goal of progress. To lose sight of either will get us lost.

over and over…

It’s happening again. This is not good. I’m itching to get out of CA. I’m seeing housing prices 1/8 of what they are here. I’m seeing property with land and jobs closeby. The more I’m here, the more I can’t stand it. People are fake. Everything a show. I want basic. I want a good house, my family, the essentials, maybe a few toys…but I want to downgrade. I find it hard to do here in CA. I find myself falling into materialism and then wishing I could ween myself off of it. How much better off would America be if we could just live on the essentials?

Found my dream house today. In Quinlan, TX. On a lake. 3200 sq.ft. with 3 acres. 1 hr outside of DFW. For $280k. Thats the price of a 1 bd. condo in OC. In the middle of Costa Mexico even. I could settle for even less…just get me out of the hussle. I need to hear myself think.

coming up

Can’t wait for this summer. I don’t know what it is about summer but I love it. It’s not like we get a school break anymore, but there’s something about the season that is a little more lax. Work picks up for me because we’re in full swing for Fair setup, but I know that there’s sporatic weekends in there where we can get away. Plus we always do our yearly camping trip in august. Last year we did Yosemite, and it was great, but alot of the Falls were dried up. So this year we’re gonna head back up to Courtright Reservoir in the High Sierras. Here’s some pics of it:

We’re gonna try to bring Travis and Pilar (his fiance), our friends Court and Dave, and Court’s sister and her boyfriend. The lake is perfect for swimming and fishing and the weather up there is amazing.

So that is what I’m looking forward to. It’s what gets me thru Fair every year.

In other news, Stagecoach rocked. Tom and I drank way too much beer and partied way too late, and Court gracious dealt with us and actually joined in quite a bit. Good stuff.

Stay tuned. Shalom.

-n

ramble on

I’m coming to terms with my status. Not sure what that means anymore, but I feel like I have a little better handle on life. Things aren’t as complicated to figure out anymore. I don’t know if its because I’ve stopped caring, or just stopped wanting to care, but either way, I feel slightly relieved. Not sure what I’ll do with this new found feeling – maybe go out and save the world…..maybe drink a Newcastle on my couch. Probably the latter.