These types of discussions always wind up making the same point. Modern music sucks and it's true to this group of old farts on this forum it does suck. But that's completely normal. What did our parents think of what was modern country in the 60's? The answer to that is why are there no Gene Autry or Roy Rogers "singing cowboy" with barbershop harmony styles in Biab? Because that was our parents music and WE think that music sucks and so it goes generation after generation.
IMHO, there is nothing wrong with modern music country or otherwise because it wasn't made for us, as Snoop Dogg famously said. Children are genetically programmed to do whatever they can to create music their parents can't stand. When you country pickers were in high school were you all hot to learn Roy Rogers songs? I doubt it. It was about the same as me wanting to listen to Chattanooga Choo Choo when I had Wolfman Jack playing Elvis and Chuck Berry. Did my parents like the Wolfman? Hell no.
Each generation has their own tastes in music and everything else and it's locked in at an early age age.
Haha, actually now that I think about it there probably are some styles that would fit Gene Autry. Anybody want to try this one?
It really seems to me to be in the mind of the listener. In the late 70’s early 80’s we were doing a show. Mostly Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Credence and the like covers. A chap came up and asked is there a chance we could play something other than Country Music.
What we saw as Rock someone else saw as Country.
To take that even further a few years later I was playing in a “Country Band” and we were playing almost the same stuff.
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Well, in reference to 'real country', it appears I may have been ahead of the curve. Recently a rap artist recorded a song titled "old town road". It charted on three different genres including country but after a few weeks, it was pulled from the country charts and it was stated there were not enough elements of country. A remix has been released using Billy Ray Cyrus for some of the vocals.
What does that have to do with me being ahead of the curve? Of course it's much better produced and higher quality and such, but a few may recall a song I posted back in 2017 titled "Passing Through" - the two songs use very similar instrumentation, tempo and other similarities. I posted my song on SoundCloud and listed the genre as ---- Country...
I removed the song from SoundCloud sometime back but looking through the comments, it's noted my use of a banjo, sparse instrumentation and unusual and sparse lyrics. Just sayin' …
Here's a link to the comments from the post. Passing Through
Hey Charlie, I read your post and the comments at the linked post. What are the chances I could hear the song? I would really love to hear it!
Here you go. Enjoy. I look forward to your comments...
There are only 2 types of music: 1. Serious aka classics and jazz.Trained schooled players that played only for the King and Queen 2. Folk aka music of the people. No formal training, no technique but lots of lyrics.
Call it what you want but if it ain't #1 it's folk music.
Pretty general but in the park. And a lot of Rock and Country artists are secretly or non-so-secretly into classics and/or jazz.
Back before the Internet and Satellite radio, Nashville had two great jazz radio stations.
I read an article from a session player who wrote, "If you want to keep working, don't let 'the suits' know you are secretly into jazz".
I had the good fortune to meet Chet Atkins a couple of years before he died, and he said that he always wanted to be a jazz player but he knew which side of the bread was buttered.
And yes, "Nashville" music today isn't what country used to be in the 50s, but then neither is Rock music. It's a huge evolution from Buddy Holly to Beatles to Moody Blues to GnR, to Greta Van Fleet.
When I was young, Rhythm & Blues was what Bobby 'Blue' Bland, BB King, and others played, mostly 3 chords with minor 3rds played over major chords and a lot of dominant 7 chords. Absolutely nothing like what they call R&B today.
I've seen Funk evolve from light and bouncy, to down and out 12/8 blues, to various forms of 16beat rhythms, everything about it slowly changing but the name "Funk".
Music evolves.
I have played classical, jazz, country, rock, blues, disco, salsa, soca, reggae, and quite a few other forms of music. For most pro musicians, playing music is what we do, and it doesn't matter what type of music we play; when you do it for a living you play what the audience wants to hear.
For me there are only two kinds of music.
1) good music
2) music written for people other than me
And Nashville isn't the country music of my youth, there are often more than 3 chords, the bass isn't always playing 1's and 5's, and the arrangements are often more complex.
I'm sure some welcome the change and others do not.
<<< I had the good fortune to meet Chet Atkins a couple of years before he died, and he said that he always wanted to be a jazz player but he knew which side of the bread was buttered.>>>
Carol Kaye of the Wrecking Crew out on the west coast said the same.
Back in the day, all of us wannabe players thought we were pretty good because we could cover all of the mostly simple guitar and keyboard licks in all those 60's tunes. I know when I was 21 or so I thought I was pretty good because I could do the intro to Light My Fire, play the solo on Runaway on organ, do some Floyd Cramer and Pink Panther on piano and it was the same for lots of guitar buddies who could do Satisfaction, Chuck Berry, some decent country picking, etc. What took me years to find out was producers in the big studios could care less about us guys being "good enough" to do that stuff. Why take a chance on hiring someone like that for a studio session when they had Glen Campbell on call? A monster player who can do anything, do it perfectly, add a little genius to his part and do it all in one take.
That's the real music biz for a wannabe session player and is the reason I decided to give it up as a full time career in 1976.
[quote=silvertones] For me there are only two kinds of music.
1) good music
2) music written for people other than me
I really agree with this, and love how simple it is! We can try all we want to dissect different music - but at the end of the day, if you were born and raised on Hank Williams, chances are you aren't going to get into Metallica or vice versa. Sometimes, music really is just subjective and we have to leave it at that.
Mathematically, it takes 4 banjos to turn hip-hop into country. Substitutions can be made with pedal steel, mando, and/or choppy fiddle, but at least one banjo must remain.
Well one is real country and good and the other is fake something or other and sort of awful. But that's just my opinion. Tongue planted firmly in cheek of course.
Charlie-Lil Nas X got nothin' on you. I see what you mean about the music. I listened to yours 2 times to really get the feel, THEN listened to Old Town Road. No lie, I like yours A LOT more. I get it's just personal preference; and I'm not going to try to say my opinion is fact by a long shot. However, for me; what you need was very cool.
So, I know you mentioned some of the comments; and I got the impression that you maybe pulled the song because of the comments? I hope that wasn't the case; and I do wish you had left it up. I guess I shouldn't say much. lol
Anyway, I really like the song. I state often how I like the atmosphere that a song creates. Yours definitely creates that. It's like the kick drum is the heartbeat of the song. Balanced against the pad and banjo...just cool! Thank you VERY much for sharing it. I'll keep it short not to derail the thread; but really great job!
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
Hear to Learn: If you should see this post, you remarked there is a lot going on in music, today. I'd like to hear your summary on that, and where you might think it is going. By the way, one factor that has not been mentioned much is the digital revolution.
Hey Ed, sorry it took a bit to respond. It's not because my response is something profound and earth shattering. I've just been busy as heck. When business is good; my hobbies suffer.
Anyway, I'm not even going to pretend I know where it's all going; or what's coming. I know I haven't officially been with a band in probably 10 years. It was a country band. When I left the band; they were talking about how "country is going a lot more old school. It's going to be a lot less rock." That couldn't have been more wrong. It grew in a huge way because of the demand for it. More pop, rock, rap, blues, AND even a little more traditional country has been added in.
For me, country has always been a mixed bag. I grew up on all sorts of music; with more of a family focus on country. I love pop and rock; but listened to a lot of The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, Ronnie Milsap, then eventually Alabama just to name a few. I heard more complaining from my Grand Parents generation about how awful Alabama was. The drums were too loud and it was not country. It was that damn rock music with a fiddle. As everyone has pointed out; it's been going on for a while.
I can't help but laugh when people point to a current artist who is making it and sounds more like "how country should sound." You can say that every single year. But, the bottom line is; country is really, really big right now. When something gets that big; there is usually people that push back eventually. So, we'll see. What gets made in mass is what the masses want to consume.
Something I've observed; that I feel is has a lot to do with country being as big as it is is people that grew up in the 70's and 80's heard a fair amount of country music that seemed slow, "tear in my beer" kind of music. Simultaneously, they had a lot of rock bands, like Kiss, that had a lot of upbeat party music, and of course, track #4 was typically the power ballad. That lasted for a while; but also got a bit old as time when on. It had a pretty good run though. Parents didn't care for it; but the kids ate it up.
Flash forward to the 90's country to now. We had a strange series of events happen. Rock started to become darker and a lot less fun. Country started to be a lot less "tear in my beer" and more more fun. Paraphrase Garth "I could sing like the rock bands; but I could sing country. So I wanted to bring a rock show like Kiss has to country music."
To me, that all set up a unique opportunity. You had kids who are hearing upbeat music with more of a party feel and ballads that mean something to where they are in life. Simultaneously you had their parents hearing enough of what they loved in their youth BUT in a way that was different enough that it was "new." Talk about a recipe for A LOT of fans! It's pretty crazy when you think of how you have kids AND their parents loving the same music. Of course, Grandmas and Grandpas still didn't care much for it, which was fine with the fan base. It's not like when older people complain about the music kids like these days the kids think "oh! Ok! I'll stop liking it then. Since yours is so much better; that is what I will listen to instead." It just doesn't happen.
So for where it's going. I think today's current country COULD be a bridge to what came before. It depends a lot on a generation that really couldn't give a #%^$ what kids like. To me there is nothing cooler than when you see someone full of knowledge and experience try to understand what kids like, RELATE TO THEM FIRST, then expose them to what came before. I've seen enough times and can't help but respect a person of that character. There are a number of members on this site that have brought me to some amazing music that I would not have known of but for their influence on me. I take that and have conversations with my kids and have them hear it as well. What a great connecting point if you take advantage of what's right there.
Country is going to continue to evolve without a doubt. There are so many influences coming from so many angles that I can't wait to see where it goes. For me it's exciting. Old, new, modern, traditional...to me there's room for all AND the crossing over that happens.
That was a really long answer that really didn't answer anything. lol. Thanks again for starting the thread. I'm seeing a bit of a change on the forums and I think it's pretty cool myself. I'm HearToLearn, and have been hearing a lot of great resources right from the forum. (Didn't have time to spell check. Forgive me.)
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
Rural country folks used to have horses doing the work and drove to town in tiny pickup trucks with no AC and a stick shift.
Now tractors have AC with GPS, pickup trucks look like rural tanks and have features grandpa couldn't have imagined, ranchers often drive livestock with helicopters, and everybody has a cell phone at their side.
Of course the music has evolved, the people changed too.
Rural country folks used to have horses doing the work and drove to town in tiny pickup trucks with no AC and a stick shift.
Now tractors have AC with GPS, pickup trucks look like rural tanks and have features grandpa couldn't have imagined, ranchers often drive livestock with helicopters, and everybody has a cell phone at their side.
Of course the music has evolved, the people changed too.
Insights and incites by Notes
Right on! For a lot of people, tinkering with technology is fun. For them, it has become necessity. A good portion of the people I talk with about drones are farmers.
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
There is a lot of good music being made in these "modern" times.
Here is a song released Yesterday! That makes it "modern". And there's a banjo! I guess that makes it Country! I like it. There's so much out there to choose from. Don't listen to stuff you don't like....
There is a lot of good music being made in these "modern" times.
Here is a song released Yesterday! That makes it "modern". And there's a banjo! I guess that makes it Country! I like it.
Agreed. And I can't tell you how many times I hear you they pick looks of talent now days. I can't think of plenty that are making it, and it's not off their looks.
Quote:
There's so much out there to choose from. Don't listen to stuff you don't like....
Perfectly said.
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
There has been some really interesting debate and sharing of opinions in this thread that has been fascinating to read. It's really neat to see how opinions vary when it comes to music.
It's often difficult for me to distinguish between genres of music. There is so much cross pollination that a country song can sound more like a rock song, or vice versa. Same goes for jazz, folk, blues, R&B, alternative and so on.
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Norton Music
I see what you mean about the music. I listened to yours 2 times to really get the feel, THEN listened to Old Town Road. No lie, I like yours A LOT more. I get it's just personal preference; and I'm not going to try to say my opinion is fact by a long shot. However, for me; what you need was very cool.
It's really neat to see how opinions vary when it comes to music.
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