Friday, September 29, 2006

Country Music

I grew up on Country music and would aggressively fight anyone who dared try to change the dial from my local country station (BX93). Straight through high school and university nothing but country music would do. However, when I met my wife I started to appreciate other kinds of music so that I started listening to classical, pop, soft rock, oldies, etc. In the last couple years I've discovered some talented Christian artists, talk shows and radio drama (my current favourite).

In the last five years or so Country music has apparently become more popular. There are a lot of radio stations offering it, but so much of the new stuff was artificial, patronizing and loud. When a Toronto country station started playing Jan Arden, I just tuned out. I couldn't listen to a "New Country" station for more than 2 - 3 songs before something incredibly annoying like the Dixie Chicks or Toby Keith (who was fun at first, but is just a jerk) would force me to turn the dial.

I was travelling a lot for work this week, and I tuned in to a few country stations. There are two songs that really stick out. The Truck Got Stuck, and I'd Rather be Lucky are both great new traditional sounding country songs. Last Wednesday I tuned into a country station about a half hour away from home, and I never changed the dial. I hope this is a sign of things to come.

2 comments:

Tweak your brain said...

You have a very nice blog.

I also like country. It is interesting how the genre has changed, from people like Emmilou Harris, Tim McGraw, and Charlie Daniel's Band, to Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Kieth Urban. While I agree with you that the older sound should be preserved on the radio, as it has serious historical and aestetic value, the new country should also be on the radio. New Country rekindles the genre and the subculture with new many more young people than the genre attracted prior to the country revolution.

Recently, I have been listening to Lyle Lovett's, "Step Inside This House," and Sugarland's "Gotta Be Somthing More," along with "When the Stars Go Blue," by Tim McGraw. All these songs have a softer, more folk/accoustic sound to them.

Patrick O'Neil said...

Simple Oldies,

I meant to say, thanks for stopping by. I agree it takes all kinds. My point is simply that it sometimes it seems like radio is pushing us to the point that no matter what station you listen to it still sounds the same. With some authentic sounding new country artists, I'm optimistic.