country music in need of a revival? - or genre clarity?

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funsongs
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Re: country music in need of a revival? - or genre clarity?

Post by funsongs » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:27 pm

Len911 wrote:
2lane wrote: Let's quit this trucking talk
Okay... will put this to rest with this little pun:
A truck driver on Social Security = Semi-retired. :? :lol:
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Re: country music in need of a revival? - or genre clarity?

Post by Len911 » Wed Jun 11, 2014 5:19 pm

funsongs wrote:
Len911 wrote:
2lane wrote: Let's quit this trucking talk
Okay... will put this to rest with this little pun:
A truck driver on Social Security = Semi-retired. :? :lol:

:lol: And semi re-tired either means new tires for the whole semi, or only replaced 9 tires! :P
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Re: country music in need of a revival?

Post by mojobone » Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:04 pm


Yeah, according to that article, Jerrod Nieman has done nothing all that terrible, but LA Weekly obviously hasn't heard this piece of country + rap = crap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17oIgn_ZYqw
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Re: country music in need of a revival?

Post by mojobone » Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:23 pm

rdance wrote:late to the conversation...i have enjoyed reading everyone's insights and pov's. my take is that the traditional country music funsongs is referring to, qualifies as an authentic american art form...that rare occasion when musical and lyrical elements come together from a few cultural sources, to create a sound/energy/communique that is unique and outstanding to such a degree that it affects large groups of people on an archetypal level (not just a popular level). my opinion on authentic american art forms and my guess on about when they coalesced:

folk mid 1800's
blues early 1900's
jazz mid-1920's
r&b late 1940's
country early 1950's
rock & roll late 1950's
funk late 1960's
rap late 1980's

i think much of the discussion on this thread revolves around the complexities of how art forms evolve and change and cross-pollinate over time, creating derivatives. sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not. but it seems they always will, and the good news is, this can sometimes generate a new art form. but since we live in such a hyper-connected world via technology, there is a lot of chaos and noise present at once, as musical genres bump into each other.

we all got to grow up when one or more of the above art forms were being created. some are better at using the art forms as a foundation to create new music. it all depends on what you listen to in developing your craft, how you play, how you hear the other players in a live situation, and so on.

my experience has been, if you lean first towards the original art forms and secondly towards commercial viability--something we all face every day as composers and players--the music will sound better, and i believe, will ultimately find a more longstanding 'home'...whether that is in a commercial, a show, a film, or a performing career.

got a little off track, thanks for the indulgence :mrgreen:
Excellent post. I tend to agree; Nashvile (not a typo) has always had crossover artists and crossover music, because country is derived from folk music and and from the perspective of coastal America, (read that as, 'in NYC & LA') country music has generally been seen as a kind of cultural ghetto. I recall the resistance of the Grand Ole Opry to Buck Owens' insistence on bringing his drummer, or the uproar that Chet Atkins' 'mainstreaming' of Patsy Cline's (formerly jukebox-oriented) sound caused: (strings? HORRORS!) If country stopped changing and growing, if we codified and freeze-dried the music and said, "This is what country music definitively is or is not.", it would die out, as a living art form and be like....Jazz; taught in universities, but nobody but teachers ever makes a decent living from it, anymore.

The problem we all face as writers of country music is that the more 'of the moment' your songs/sound are, the less 'country' they're likely to be, and if you wanna be fondly remembered and/or reap maximum royalties by writing a future 'classic', the less likely it is that you'll get a cut. It's all about threading that needle.
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