When asked, people will more often than not claim that they dislike country music. I used to be one of those people until recently. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but suddenly Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line were consistently higher up on my most recently played list on Spotify than the Hamilton soundtrack (but Hamilton will always be my favorite). Country music is both a widely liked and disliked genre of music and I wanted to discover exactly what made it this way.
I stalked Yahoo Answers to research why people hate country music. It seems to me that many find it to promote some anti-intellectual pride. Modern country artists sing about loose women, drinking, farms, love, the country itself, and pickup trucks, which leaves listeners dissatisfied. Interestingly, most modern pop artists sing about similar topics (omitting farms, pickup trucks, and the country life. Replace it with partying, expensive cars, and money). Hearing a song about how someone broke the singer's heart is no rarity, but that is a topic for another article. The lyrics tell a bland story and aren't mentally stimulating. Nothing about it is unique and it's just generally not a zesty genre of music. Chord progressions are repetitive from one song to the next, and you can skip through dozens of songs and hear the same instruments and song structure. For these reasons and many more, many people strongly dislike country music.
People came to the genre's defense and retaliated against the hate. For one, many people grew up listening to country music. Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Kenny Rogers, and many others were staples in households. Country music is also known for being storytelling music. These days, most music you hear on the radio won't tell much of a story, but modern country still retains some of that tradition. In regards to the similar chord progressions and instruments, I personally find it to be relaxing to listen to similar sounds. The simple harmonies make each song easy to sing to. While I do love my classic rock and 1960s-90s jams, I feel like I don't need to be constantly mentally energized by my music. The consistency calms me and allows me to zone out a bit. Also, I love listening to music that tells a story about a man loving and respecting a woman (yes, there are plenty of MODERN country songs that discuss women in a decently respectable manner). Some may frown upon the trendy love songs, but music is all about personal preference. Additionally, a huge make-or-break factor in country music is the southern twang in the singers' voices. Some people absolutely detest it, some people love it, and some people feel indifferent about it. Once again, it's all about personal preference and is very subjective.
All in all, any debate regarding music or any other art form will be actively argued. Everyone has their own personal preference in music and you may have a vastly different "desert island" playlist than the person next to you. That is okay. The beauty of being a human is that one is never going to be the same as any other. Whether it's music, food, fashion, books, or any other thing, everyone will have their own likes and dislikes. Country music happens to be one thing that is popularly disliked, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
