I don't like to categorize or define myself with music. I just listen to what I happen to think is good. I'll give any genre of music a shot, and if it's good, I'll listen to it again latter.
Country Music
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I'm glad you guys are having fun with this post. I simply cannot stand country music. Some is really a form of American folk music, others more akin to American pop music. I believe it is simple music for the simple minded masses. Regardless, I don't believe any of it has the depth and substance of classical music; Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc. Much of it simply insults my intelligence.
It does make money, and many of the country artists are most likely businessmen instead of artists. They sing songs which celebrate the common man, satisfying his need to have his questionable actions in life validated. To quote Machiavelli: "Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."
However, I could be wrong, but we will will never know. Beethoven's first "great" symphony, number 3 "Eroica", was first performed 7 April 1805 and is still widely performed and heard today. If the music of Johnny Cash, the Dixie Chicks, or any other country artist is still widely played and celebrated over 200 years from know, I will be proved wrong.
It does make money, and many of the country artists are most likely businessmen instead of artists. They sing songs which celebrate the common man, satisfying his need to have his questionable actions in life validated. To quote Machiavelli: "Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."
However, I could be wrong, but we will will never know. Beethoven's first "great" symphony, number 3 "Eroica", was first performed 7 April 1805 and is still widely performed and heard today. If the music of Johnny Cash, the Dixie Chicks, or any other country artist is still widely played and celebrated over 200 years from know, I will be proved wrong.
Before recording devices, music stayed popular for much longer. Sheet music was what made it possible for a song to be written in England, and then played on a parlor guitar or piano in Indiana a few years later, so a good song stayed with us for 100's of years. As we've seen with connecting the dots from Irish and old English music being buried in the depths of bluegrass of the Blue Ridge region. Lamar Lunsford brought these ancient tunes down from the mountains and gave them to Nashville at the Grand Ol' Opry, and some of these songs were older than 300 years. So, we have at the heart of all country music, tunes older than 200 years. Put that in yer pipe, ha ha!!
Now that we have recording devices, we went from albums staying on the charts for years, DVD's would stay on the charts for months, and now mp3's stay on the charts for hours. Music is disposable now. What is popular now, will be forgotten entirely in a few years, maybe months. This generation just doesn't care about hanging on to tunes like we did with albums. My kids listen to Pandora and don't even want to steal music or save it at all. They listen once or twice to whatever the flavor of the day is, and move on. Whereas I set on my porch and play some Al Jolson on the ukulele for my girl.
It just depends on what you want. Classical Beethoven you get orchestrated instrumental abstraction, country you get poetry of the human condition. Apples, oranges, IMO.
Now that we have recording devices, we went from albums staying on the charts for years, DVD's would stay on the charts for months, and now mp3's stay on the charts for hours. Music is disposable now. What is popular now, will be forgotten entirely in a few years, maybe months. This generation just doesn't care about hanging on to tunes like we did with albums. My kids listen to Pandora and don't even want to steal music or save it at all. They listen once or twice to whatever the flavor of the day is, and move on. Whereas I set on my porch and play some Al Jolson on the ukulele for my girl.
It just depends on what you want. Classical Beethoven you get orchestrated instrumental abstraction, country you get poetry of the human condition. Apples, oranges, IMO.
Three genres of music I can't stand to listen to are Country, Rap and Classical. Mainly because I can't stand the cultures they represent, respectively: rednecks, urban gangbangers, and pseudointellectual snobs. I enjoy every other kind of music from ragtime to swing to 50's, do-wop, 60's classic rock, blues, metal, punk, reggae; African, Chinese, Indian and any other country on the planet.
I listen to it all, from Shotgun Willie Nelson to Dying Fetus, Dean Martin to Wendy O WIlliams, Justin Timberlake to Kool Mo Dee. Good music is just that, good music. I have yet to find a genre I don't like.
My one question to folks that say how depressing country music is "So I take you never heard Blues have you?"
or for Death and Black Metal comments of "Can't understand what he's saying and its all satanic" Wait, I thought you just said you can't understand the words?!?
haha, keep he music spinning my friends!
My one question to folks that say how depressing country music is "So I take you never heard Blues have you?"
or for Death and Black Metal comments of "Can't understand what he's saying and its all satanic" Wait, I thought you just said you can't understand the words?!?
haha, keep he music spinning my friends!
This has become a very interesting thread. Wanted to respond to this, below. And please understand I do so in the spirit of friendly conversation and not antagonism.
"I'm glad you guys are having fun with this post. I simply cannot stand country music. Some is really a form of American folk music, others more akin to American pop music. I believe it is simple music for the simple minded masses. Regardless, I don't believe any of it has the depth and substance of classical music; Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc. Much of it simply insults my intelligence."
I'm somewhat strange in that I live on a working farm, drive a truck, hunt, fish, and live that general redneck lifestyle. And I'm a big country music fan (please note the distinction between country music and Nashville music that I made in a prior post). That's the redneck, or 'blue collar', side of my life.
But I'm also a huge classical music fan. I have a white collar job as well. And I have attended performances of symphonies, opera and chamber music from Boston to Berlin. I think it is inarguable that no other form of music matches the depth and substance of classical in its various forms. However, that doesn't mean other forms of music are without merit. In the case of country music, it's important to note that country carries forth much older traditions of northern European folk music as carried westward by those ethnic groups as they settled in North America. Clearly this is 'blue collar' music - it is simple, spectacularly simple when compared to classical music. And the themes are the trials and tribulations of everyday life for the majority of people: love and loss, good decisions and bad, honor and family, as well as crime and punishment.
I suppose all I'm saying is that music is like anything else -- appreciating its various forms can give one even greater appreciation of one's preferred form. I'm reminded of a quote by one of the Fuente brothers when talking about the difference between his favorite cigar and his everyday cigar: "I like Lobster Diablo, but I cannot eat it at every meal." That's how I see being a lover of both country and classical music.
"I'm glad you guys are having fun with this post. I simply cannot stand country music. Some is really a form of American folk music, others more akin to American pop music. I believe it is simple music for the simple minded masses. Regardless, I don't believe any of it has the depth and substance of classical music; Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc. Much of it simply insults my intelligence."
I'm somewhat strange in that I live on a working farm, drive a truck, hunt, fish, and live that general redneck lifestyle. And I'm a big country music fan (please note the distinction between country music and Nashville music that I made in a prior post). That's the redneck, or 'blue collar', side of my life.
But I'm also a huge classical music fan. I have a white collar job as well. And I have attended performances of symphonies, opera and chamber music from Boston to Berlin. I think it is inarguable that no other form of music matches the depth and substance of classical in its various forms. However, that doesn't mean other forms of music are without merit. In the case of country music, it's important to note that country carries forth much older traditions of northern European folk music as carried westward by those ethnic groups as they settled in North America. Clearly this is 'blue collar' music - it is simple, spectacularly simple when compared to classical music. And the themes are the trials and tribulations of everyday life for the majority of people: love and loss, good decisions and bad, honor and family, as well as crime and punishment.
I suppose all I'm saying is that music is like anything else -- appreciating its various forms can give one even greater appreciation of one's preferred form. I'm reminded of a quote by one of the Fuente brothers when talking about the difference between his favorite cigar and his everyday cigar: "I like Lobster Diablo, but I cannot eat it at every meal." That's how I see being a lover of both country and classical music.
I'm okay with modern pop/rock country. Not while I'm working out though. Nooo!!! The only music that should ever be played when working out is rock/metal/grunge.
lots of generalizations here. When the OP doesn't acknowledge any difference between Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks and Nashville pop there is not much use in discussing this issue. Like Perique and a few others stated most of us enjoy a little diversity in music and all pleasures. If you only enjoy one genre of music good for you. My tastes are as varied as my tobacco cellar. Sure I've tried a few blends that i don't like, doesn't make me want to insult the people who do.
My two cents: In every genre of music you can find authentic, intelligent, literate, inspired artistic expression, as well as contrived, dumb, poorly written, uninspired crap...and everything in between. And that all applies to the music, the lyrics and the performances.
EDIT: I would just add that the big difference these days is that the music industry does not promote the genuine artists the way they did years ago. This is partly due to corporatization and partly due to the general decline in the quality of the public consciousness...which are reflections of each other.
EDIT: I would just add that the big difference these days is that the music industry does not promote the genuine artists the way they did years ago. This is partly due to corporatization and partly due to the general decline in the quality of the public consciousness...which are reflections of each other.
Bite your tongue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7GyLr7Cz2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bplt6CQ3MyE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeZFPcoQr0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7GyLr7Cz2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bplt6CQ3MyE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeZFPcoQr0k
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