Most '90s babies grew up listening to NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys or Brittany Spears; I grew up listening to country music. Don’t get me wrong; I listened to Brittany, (to be honest there was a time when I thought I was Brittany), and the boy bands too, but country music was the most dominate in my music library.
My parents raised me on good, honest country music. Back then the majority of country music had an honest message behind it. Take for example the five-year-old version of me’s favorite song, “Only In America” by Brooks & Dunn. The song highlights the endless possibilities America offers - the American Dream. As a young child, I didn’t quite understand just how privileged American citizens are, (especially when compared to other countries). I did understand that I could become anything I wanted when I grew up – that the sky was my limit. "Only In America" inspired the little five-year-old me, I can't say that NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" made a lasting impact on my life.
As I'm now 20-years-old, I have realized how much country music has changed since I was younger. Country music has become about trucks, beer, girls and dirt roads. Don’t get me wrong, these songs are good when you want a soundtrack for a night out with friends, but is that really all country music has to say anymore?
There was a time when country music addressed real life issues. After September 11th Darryl Worley released “Have You Forgotten?” and Alan Jackson released "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?" both songs addressing the most dominate issue America faced in the early 2000s. The year 2016 has seen acts of terror yet country music is still singing about trucks. Listeners can use current country music’s upbeat happy-go-lucky tone as an escape from their problems, though there was a time when country music would address problems - it seems like that ship has sailed.
"A girl in a country song, how in the world did it go so wrong?" Finally, someone said it. Maddie & Tae address the stereotype country music has put on “country" women. Girls are often described as wearing painted on jeans and “shak’n their moneymaker” in modern country music. Maddie & Tae’s music video “Girl In A Country Song” speaks volumes on how modern country music perceives women. Allow me to repeat the country duo, “Conway and George Straight, never did it this way, back in the old days.”
Is it just me or is country music sounding more like pop music? Autotune and rap? I mean it's cool, some of the songs are even saved on my Spotify playlist, but can those songs really be called country? I'll let you decide.
While the majority of modern country songs are a happy-go-lucky repetition of the last five songs on your country radio, there are some modern songs that are reminiscent of the old country. With the help from country music artists, (Scotty is my favorite), country music can go back to saying something that means something more.
