What happened to

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Permalink Reply by Connie Jo on November 12, 2009 at 6:01pm

IMO...many Female Country singers have been wearing more poppish and trendy outfits for a while now when performing.

IMO...Country Music isn't Country Music anymore 'FOR THE MOST PART'...there are some, like Alan Jackson who still are and keep it traditional country...but this new stuff just isn't Country if truth be told. It's more like teeny bopper pop crap...that's why I stopped listening to it back in the mid to late 90's, when it all began to change...be about profit and image over 'good traditional Country music'. I think most of it these days is lame and sucks, but that's just my opinion and 'ear'.

Heck, most don't even have a steel or fiddle in their bands full time, and the steel especially is an important aspect to Country music 'sound'.

I know my opinion is joined by many legendary Country Music Artists too...Willie, Waylon (RIP), Alan Jackson, George Strait. In fact, the song "Murder on Music Row"...a duet written (??) and sang a few yrs back by Strait and Jackson...pretty much sums up our mutual opinion on todays so called Country Music. :(

Permalink Reply by Connie Jo on November 12, 2009 at 6:18pm

Wiki facts...it's nice to know I'm not alone in my opinion. :)

"Murder on Music Row" is a song made popular as a 2000 duet between country music artists Alan Jackson and George Strait. Although not released officially as a single, it gained attention for its criticism of mainstream country music trends at the time, and received enough unsolicited airplay to chart at #38 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

The song is a criticism of the recent trend of country pop crossover acts. Its lyrics tell of how "The steel guitar no longer cries and you can't hear fiddles play / But drums and rock and roll guitars are mixed up in your face".[1] In addition, the song states that older and more established traditional country artists, such as Hank Williams, George Jones, and Merle Haggard, "wouldn't stand a chance on today's radio".

Permalink Reply by Connie Jo on November 12, 2009 at 6:23pm

Alan Jackson gives Nashville the finger...by Eric Boehlert

On the eve of country music's biggest night, the superstar bites the hand that feeds him -- again.
For a shy, humble fellow from Newnan, Ga., Alan Jackson just can't stop flipping Nashville the bird. The bashful superstar has recently -- unthinkably -- become the music's most outspoken outlaw.

He'd make Merle Haggard proud.

Jackson is up for song of the year honors Wednesday night at the annual Country Music Awards show, broadcast on CBS. That's nothing new -- Jackson's arguably the most influential country singer of the '90s, having astonishingly scored nearly 30 No. 1 singles ("Don't Rock the Jukebox," "Chattahoochee" and "Livin' On Love" among others) and sold 30 million albums in the last decade.

What's odd this year is the song he's nominated for: "Murder on Music Row," an unsubtle blast at the mushy heart of Nashville.

"Music Row" refers to the row of record labels clustered on Nashville's famed 16th Avenue. Performed as a collaboration with fellow superstar George Strait, the song was never officially released as a single. It wasn't promoted by either of the stars' labels.

Yet "Murder on Music Row" was embraced by some radio programmers and fans as a renegade anthem. And now, amazingly, it may win the music's top honor.

The song bluntly bemoans the state of today's pop-soaked country music, increasingly dominated by crossover stars like Shania Twain:

For the steel guitar no longer cries and fiddles barely play
But drums and rock and roll guitars are mixed up in your face
Old Hank wouldn't have a chance on today's radio
Since they've committed murder down on Music Row

Says Jackson in a statement from his upcoming press kit: "You know, the [music] publishing companies or record labels or radio, they put all these boundaries on songwriters or artists and I think they really hold them back. And I know that's just the commercial part of it all. But these are my thoughts on it."

Country is a business that prides itself on politeness, respect and at least the fagade of family unity -- and now Jackson has delivered his third sharp blow across the bridge of Nashville's nose, each one more bruising than the previous.

The public taunts began exactly one year ago, at the 1999 CMA awards broadcast. Country legend George Jones -- a Jackson hero -- scored a comeback hit that year with the single "Choices."

He was invited to perform the song on the prime time network telecast -- but only in an abbreviated version. The headstrong singer stayed home instead.

Jackson took the CMA stage that night to sing his latest single. Halfway through it, he signaled to his band, which abruptly segued into Jones' "Choices," delivering the performance the Hall of Famer Jones was denied.

The very next month Jackson went into the studio to record "Murder on Music Row" with fellow traditionalist Strait. The single was as stinging an indictment as had ever been recorded about the music industry, let alone by multiplatinum singers at the peak of their popularity.

Imagine Eddie Vedder and Bono teaming up on a track about how formulaic modern rock radio has become. "Murder on Music Row" chronicles what some suggest has gone so wrong in Nashville.

Nervous about falling sales numbers and weak radio ratings, country labels are increasingly looking to land crossover pop and adult-contemporary fans, and are more than willing to mask country music as pop.

A good example: Listen to country star Faith Hill's recent No. 1, the Celine Dion-esque "Breathe," with its grand wall of drums and strings, and try to detect a single country or western note.

Co-written by Larry Cordle and Larry Shell, "Murder on Music Row" debuted last year as the title track to an album Cordle released. Americana radio, that small but vocal home to alternative country and bluegrass, turned that version into a minor hit.

Then Jackson and Strait recorded it. The song appeared simply as an album track on Strait's most recent greatest-hits collection. The record reached radio, where it received a love/hate reaction. "There was immediate polarization," says Wade Jessen, who oversees Billboard's country music chart.

Roughly half the nation's country stations refused to touch it -- but the others turned it into an event. Amazingly, the song, without the benefit of all-important label promotion, charted for 20 weeks on Billboard's country chart, peaking at No. 38, the highest mark to date for a non-single.

If "Murder" scores the upset and actually wins the CMA's song of the year award, look for some uncomfortable faces among the industry crowd.

If it loses, there's still the soon-to-be-released "Three Minute Positive Not Too Country Uptempo Love Song" to remind them how Jackson feels.

Permalink Reply by Mz J on November 12, 2009 at 6:55pm

When I listen to country music, I like to hear country. If I want rock, classic or opera, I will put on the music I want to hear. I miss the old style country. This made me think of some of the stuff I listened to as a kid and pulled out some old records. Yes..I still have records. Sometimes I like to really go old school, lol!

Permalink Reply by Dylan on November 12, 2009 at 7:33pm

"Wiki facts" is completely contradictory, but I agree for the most part about it not being country music anymore. I don't see the steel guitar as necessary full time by any means. It gets quite annoying after a while.

Permalink Reply by Dylan on November 12, 2009 at 7:33pm

That's not old school, you're on the cutting edge. Vinyl is making a huge return.

Permalink Reply by KidRockAngel on November 12, 2009 at 8:08pm

I disagree........
As usual......

There are many different kinds of country. There are many different kinds of rock. They are still country and rock. lol

Picture is modern country, Half your age is Honkytonk.

There is southern Rock and Outlaw country. there are labels for labels lol

Its a good thing there isnt just old school steel guitar country cause then alot of peeps wouldnt listen. The more the merrier. We all like different things and thats cool.

I love Willie Nelson and merle haggard but some of their songs make me wanna poke my eardrums with a sharp stick.

Almost everything that June Carter and Tanya Tucker sing makes me wanna stuff a diaper in my ear.

Permalink Reply by Connie Jo on November 12, 2009 at 9:04pm

Agree to disagree Angel, haha. That's what most of today's country does to me...makes me wanna poke my eardrums with a stick, hahaha. There are a few songs the legendary artists sang that I don't care for, but by comparison to the artists out there today...most of their crap I can't stand, and the voices are horribly off key, mediocre to no talent, covered up by superior background studio vocalists & musicians...and their music sells mostly due to a created & molded public image.

A majority of what they're calling Country isn't country at all, under any 'label'...not even close. It's about as teeny bopper pop as it gets. I consider 'Southern Rock' a genre on it's own, not inclusive of Country Music at all. I consider 'Rockabilly' a genre all it's own, and so on. I agree there are a variety of Country 'sounds', but not labels so to speak. "Outlaw Country" originated not from a particular 'sound'...rather legendary Country Artists whom didn't conform to Nashville Industry Politics....they were labeled 'Outlaws' for their personalities & lifestyles, not their sound or music.

I guarantee all those getting record contracts in Nashville today, are not only conforming...they're kissing ass along the way, doing whatever they're told...they're molded into an image. Hag, Cash, Waylon, Hank, etc....I see it as an insult to those legendary artists of which 'Outlaw' originates...for groups such as Big n Rich, Wretchen Gretchen, to self proclaim themselves as 'Outlaws'...they don't even begin to hold a candle to the legendary 'Outlaw' artists, and IMO it's disrespectful and arrogant for them to put themselves in the same category as such legends.

Industry Execs took a look at what was successful in the past, noted the success of those labeled 'Outlaws'...created propaganda spin, and image for "Outlaw Country"...within acts such as Wilson and others to sell records. It worked because the listening public for the most part is easily brainwashed. They're brainwashed by Nashville Industry and radio through hype and spin...that this group or act is on fire, hott...and the majority of humans react wanting to be a part of what they are 'conditioned' into believing is popular...jumping on the band wagon easily.

Shit...look at all the humans who run out and buy the latest 'trends' in clothing worn by celebs, hahaha...or cut their hair the same. Whatever happened to being original and unique, lol...guess it went out back in the day of Jackie O, and it became trendy to 'copy'...seriously! NOT ME! I was born an original, and I certainly will not die a copy, hahaha. :)

That's what drew me to Kid Rock initially...he was different, unique in music and stage presence, not another out there like him...he was original to the core. Yes, he's mellowed, conformed some so as not to become a 'has been' in the industry. By no means do I consider Kid Rocks music overall inclusive of Country, with exception of a couple songs...but rather Southern Rock, a genre standing on it's own IMO. His great voice and unique personality and stage presence, etc...still remains. His music is still original sounding lyrics too, and some good ones, he still sings with heart & soul, again exception of a few songs...but I can still 'feel it'. The only thing I feel when someone has a Country Radio station blasting...is my head pounding, my ears aching, and voices the equivelant to fingers scratching on a chalk board. Some of those country lyrics are so fricken stupid & lame...bet they didn't take 10 minutes to pencil out.

Nashville is as fake as it comes, the Country Music Industry is as fake as it comes...and the music for the most part being put out is lame, rushed, sung with no heart and soul by a majortiy of artists who don't write their own music based upon life experiences, rather record songs paid staff songwriters write. There won't be many 'classics' that stand the test of time coming out of the new Nashville and so called today's Country Music...no "Family Tradition"..."Orange Blossom Special"..."Mama's Hungry Eyes"..."He Stopped Loving Her Today"..."Crazy"..."The Chair"..."Don't Rock The Jukebox"....those days are gone, they vanished in the 90's...sadly. :(

As far as June Carter...I don't consider her a "Country" act, rather Bluegrass and/or Gospel, which IMO are genre on their own as well. Tanya had some good music in her younger day...IE: "Delta Dawn"..."What's Your Mama's Name Child". I don't like the Country Music of Hank Sr's era at all either...much more a fan of classic country 60's through late 80's. I don't care for June Carters voice either, not even inclusive of the Bluegrass genre.

Permalink Reply by KidRockAngel on November 12, 2009 at 9:36pm

some of my fav newer country music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIyxkZod2cM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc9i-EzwY3g
My theme song....

Permalink Reply by Connie Jo on November 12, 2009 at 10:09pm

I'm just sentimental about the steel Dylan. My maternal grandpa was a great steel player in a Country band he founded in the 50's. He spent most his life chasing that Neon Rainbow, but never made it. Closest he came to true fame was being able to play for Hank Sr a couple times, and his band opened for some legendary acts such as Hank Sr....but they never obtained a major record contract.

Permalink Reply by Mz J on November 13, 2009 at 5:21pm

Whoa. Cutting edge? That's a first for me, lol!
P.S. Is it really coming back?

Permalink Reply by Mz J on November 13, 2009 at 5:25pm

Some of the stuff gets to twangy (or whinny) for me. I think that's true for just about any venue. There's the great, the good, the take it or leave it, the bad and the OMFG someone just shoot me!

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