As you have probably read and seen in some of my other articles, country music is very important to me. I feel that it is the music that captures what I am, and displays the same kinds of pride that I do. Most of my favorite moments have been sung by a six-string cowboy on a stage somewhere with three chords from a banged up acoustic guitar. By no means do I consider myself as country as they come, as I'm most certainly not. There are thousands that would fill the shoes of Johnny Cash better than myself, but also a fair amount that would do it worse. The "pop-country" leaders also do a fair job of giving people like me somethig to identify with. We aren't necessarily backwoods dwellers nor corn farmers, although those people have been apart of my life. We stil have our country roots and rural connections but also live lives beyond this, especially with the rise of higher education in my genertion. Not just one artist is enough to paint a piture of me.
One of the biggest debates in country music is whether or not an artist or song is country enough. I see the comments on music videos of men like Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Cole Swindell and so many more saying, "This is good, but isn't country." Not all of the comments are this nice. They're more like, "Get that pretty boy off the stage and get someone more country up there!" I really don't understand all of this hate and rejection of people and songs that might otherwise be superstars and mega hits. The wonderful things baout music is that is captures the feelings of a generation. It captures the feelings of the demographic groups that represent the genre. Becuae of the "shrinking" of our world with various forms of communications via different technologies the groups that represent country music are diverse, but still share the small town and rural values while mixing in various cultural elements. This has accompanied the rise of stars like Sam Hunt, Ryan Hurd, Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett; all artists that do not fit the "traditional country" title.
This is getting old to me. I'l try to shoot straight so this is how I see it now: I see older guys like Aaron Lewis that are trying so hard to preserve what country used to be that they are taking glory away from some of the best artist that make country what it is now. His newest release "That Ain't Country" is an ode to the guys like Luke Bryan that he called out in this rant at one of his shows:
On the opposite end, I see (without naming names) some sell-outs. I see country artists trying to piggy back songs that are so similar to the ones that started this pop-country trend that it almost seems like they are making fun of country music. The following is a great example:
For goodness sake this isn't country, nor is it very good. I get it, I get it. It seems like I just don;t like women in country and that is just not true. Also, how can I possibly like Sam Hunt songs and call them country while throwing this under the bus? Bailey Bryan is from Sequim, Washington, not exactly the 'Small Town USA' that Justin Moore describes. Hunt is from Cedartown, Georgia where a much heavier country influence exists. Hunt is just like the majority of middle class guys that come from rura towns now. We grow up in our respective places, ship off to college in bigger cities to find different ideas and influences and end up as a combo of the two.
Well then, Mr. Know-It-All what exactly is country?
The origins of country music are the folk music of working-class Americans, who blended popular songs, Irish and Celtic fiddle tunes, traditional ballads, and cowboy songs, and various musical traditions from European immigrant communities.
That is one website's definiton. I don't think that we can nail down what country is, was, or will be. A few things have to exist for music to be country, I would argue.
1. Coming from a place where the common jobs are very hard and blue collar.
This would include all of the Southeast and Midwestern parts of the US with a handful of outliers of course.
2. Singing songs that speak to the men and women that listen to it.
This is where the idea of educational and occupational transition come in. As I mentioned before, college is much more common among people my age than it was for my parents. As we have became more educated and have gravitated towards urban areas, we tend to hand onto some of the cultural values, especially music. This is how guys like Chase Rice and ladies like Lauren Alaina can add R&B and Hip Hop elements and still be representative of the whole.
That's it. You don't have to be tough and rugged. You don't have to be a country version of Usher either. You have to have felt what people like me feel and sing about it. If that wasn't how you were raised, that is okay but please leave it to those who have. If you are set in your old school ways, please try to let in some young guns. Let's all embrace how far country music has come and not be afraid to play Luke Bryan, Johnny Cash, Luke Combs, Sam Hunt, Dan + Shay, Carrie Underwood and Dolly Parton on the same playlist.
