I will admit it, I'm a little bit of a hypocrite. I like one of the most popular football teams in America, yet I don't like the Warriors just because everybody else does. I sometimes get critical of those who wear the same things as everyone else, yet I myself fall victim to some of these trends. Perhaps the biggest of my hypocritical traits is that I like modern country music.
Yes, I know it's very shocking. I'm very opinionated about music, particularly when it comes to things being too fabricated to get a hit. However, modern country music is one of the genres that I feel is most guilty for doing this, from '90's when Faith Hill and Shania Twain were some of the biggest stars on the planet to today when Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean dominate the scene. Country music is by and large written by outside songwriters for singers to sing, differing from genres such as rock music where the bands write a lot of their own songs. Further, the songs and artists can, and often do, sound the same to people not familiar with the genre.
In light of these facts, country music is still a fantastic genre. Is the songwriting at the caliber of Bob Dylan? No, I'll admit that it's not even that close. However, country music is such a fun genre. Since the '80's and '90's country has evolved by incorporating more elements of pop and rock music which has made the genre more multifaceted and incorporated a lot of fun into the genre. Until the '80's, nobody in the country music business would have ever thought to write or perform a song like "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain. Lone behold Shania graces the airwaves with that song and everybody goes crazy. No, Shania wasn't your traditional country artist and she received some criticism for being one of the pioneer artists of "pop country." Yet one cannot help to admit that pop country such as Shania Twain is fun to listen to due to its upbeat style.
Perhaps even more interesting is the country music trend of using more of a rock sound in their instrumentation. Artists such as Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean are the most recognizable of these artists, as they have been awarded with many CMA awards for their work. What artists such as Bryan and Aldean have done is they've made country music the new rock music. Ever since the turn of the millennium, rock music has been steadily dying out and becoming part of the ever-massive alternative genre. This has left rock music to cling onto bands from the '90's such as the Foo Fighters without many new bands to champion. Country music has taken a lot of the sound from rock bands and added it to their music, making a whole sub-genre of country music that is essentially rock music with country lyrics. In turn, this has made a country genre for rock fans and made the country music world all the more interesting by incorporating another new popular style of music.
I understand why people can't stomach listening to modern country. If you used to listen to Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, it isn't the same genre anymore. It's incorporated more elements of other genres in it, and to some that means that it isn't country anymore, which I completely understand. However, it's also important to note that every genre of music has had its share of evolutions. In the '50's, Elvis Presley was the star of rock n roll music and back then was pretty heavy for some people. Today, Elvis hardly appears on rock music stations because rock music got harder and louder over the years.
Every genre of music has to evolve in order to remain interesting for the public, and with almost every evolution of a genre comes backlash from those who want to keep it as is. It makes sense that people would want to keep what they like around, but also people must remember that it won't last forever. Is it the same? No. Genres cannot stay the same forever, but the best thing to think about is that in the end, genres always know and respect elements of their roots. Therefore, even if it isn't the exact same genre, you can still find the elements that are and appreciate them.
