We started watching the CMA awards show.....

We made a few interesting comments and observations.

1. I'll bet there's no one in that room named "George". *wife

2. I never heard of them..... (all 5 of the people or songs nominated for song of the year) *wife

3. What is it with these "sleeve" tattooed baseball cap wearing nose singers? Doesn't anyone sing from the heart anymore? *me

4. That ain't country music ( referring to the guy with the highschool marching band *both

5. Where's the remote? *wife

That was funny Herb.

At least you attempted to watch it. That's WAY more than we did or have done for quite a few years. I guess hope springs eternal

J&B

The closest to country they came was Chris Stapleton.

I had to take the dog out and when I came back in I think it was a group called Midland doing a pretty hot and faithful cover of EastBound and Down in a tribute to Burt Reynolds.

The channel was changed shortly thereafter.

They should change the name from CMA (Country Music Awards) to PMA (Pop Music Awards)! There was no country there. Paisley and Urban can sing and play country but they don't on these award shows.

My wife is a big fan of this new "country". Our rule is whomever is driving the car controls the radio. It can be painful as a passenger! I play jazz, blues or classical when I drive. She tolerates blues and likes classical but not so much for jazz.

I used to get my evening entertainment watching the Facebook die hard country music critics dissing that show..... but knowing me.... I always had to make some smart alack comment.... one guy in particular one year was really ticking me off with his inane commentary. I knew him and at one time he had tried to hire me to play in his band. I begged off, too busy with studio stuff, etc..... He was a likeable fellow. However. He fashioned himself to be one of the "old traditionalists" and best buds with the Nashville and Bakersfield legends. He even painted his guitar red white and blue....to play the hole in the wall gigs where 20 people might show up. He even had multiple sequined suits that he wore and a big white cowboy hat..... everyone else in the band had to wear the same matching clothes...... anyway, he was babbling on...diarrhea of the mouth on the computer keyboard about how bad the music was that night. Nothing was country.... but at that time, yeah, it was pretty nice country music.... they still hadn't even hit the bro country phase yet. Anyway, I forget what I said to him but it included "if it's really that bad, why the heck* are you even watching it?"..... I clicked back in a few minutes only to get a pop up message that the post was unavailable..... hummmmm.... not only did he unfriend me, but the guy blocked me. Oh well.... some folks can't take a joke.

Watching the CMAs since just hasn't been the same since.

Midland is a great group I believe from Texas. They are one of the few more traditionally based acts out there right now.

Yep... I caught the tail end of their cover. The guitar twin lead solos were hot.

God, I knew it! I was just waiting!!

I KNEW Caaron Hear to Learn was going to play the voice of the Group Conscience and stand up for the onward evolution of the human species and our Divine right to produce...I don't what, exactly...but something!

And I am on Hear to Learn's side after seeing Bohemian Rhapsody.

What I am Here to Learn is to see if we call all pull together so that next year Chris Stapleton is in drag, and there are a lot of nose rings, and guys in baseball caps in drag kissing one another, and a lot of girl on girl, boy on girl on girl on boy or girl on boy on boy, and some Lady Gaga country, and as much lipstick and glitter as we can get on those baseball caps, with lots of Hip Hop.

Come on you old fuddy duddies!! This is new country! This is America! This is Disney, and it is all about family friendly multi-sexual, gender neutral frolic and fun!

Get with it Herb!

You go Hear to Learn!

You tell 'em man! The kids are all right!

Oooops...

make sure to insert smiley so people don't think I am being sarcastic..



Or will that make them think I am being sarcastic? Mmmmmmmm. Maybe two smileys??



Three to be on the safe side? Don't want to get moderated...

I don’t recognize a single name mentioned here. But I can emphasize. Most of the music at “jazz festivals” isn’t jazz.

Same deal with blues, much of the music at blues festivals isn't blues. The headlining act at the Ottawa blues fest a couple of years ago was Kiss

Ok. But at least when they do that, you get something to sing the blues about.

“Woke up this mornin’
Hopin’ to hear some blues.

Woke up this mornin’
Hopin’ to hear some blues.

But the promoters of the festival hired these weird rock groups and it made no sense

So we heard no blues. “

Jazz musicians? We got nothin’.

Likewise, an awful lot of the music at Merlefest isn't bluegrass.

Music is a language, and all language evolves. Otherwise, we'd all be speaking Latin.

I see music festivals as being like fashion shows. They focus on what's coming in fashion, and its never what's currently on the racks at the mall. They're flinging spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, and consumers resist change so very little sticks. I find it interesting that you can still buy bell bottoms. Who'd have guessed?

Good point. I think the Telluride BG Festival discovered that before Merlefest.

Bud

Well....

I think the MC made some sort of statement about No one is "straight" in Nashville anymore...... My wife and I caught that little tidbit.... it was said in one context, but so true in another context. Some of the most innovative and fresh writers in Nashville are not straight. Do I care? Nope.... not one bit. I care about how they look at the world through song. Brandy Clark being one of my favorite newer writers from Nashville town..... if you're not familiar with her writing.... hit Youtube for an education. A local writer... Mark Bunn, David Snyder also knows him, gave me a cd with some bro country and the last half dozen tunes were Brandy Clark.... I wore that thing out. Take a little Pill, That's How illegitimate children are born, What'll keep me out of heaven, and......


Hold my hand. Do yourself a favor.... use headphones. Set back, close your eyes, and listen.





https://www.afterellen.com/people/206805-brandy-clark-is-country-musics-great-lesbian-hope

As far as sleeved tats..... hey, whatever pulls your trigger. I served in the Marine corps for a while. Not much surprises me after seeing the things I saw while on active duty in the places we were sent.

I'm with it.... I think.

And really.... aside from the "purists"..... every single genre of music has evolved and changed. Look at what has happened to rock, country, bluegrass, and more. Regarding the purists.... they tend to be stuck in a certain timeframe of that genre's music.

As is often the case, I agree with Herb

Music is music, period. Genres are thought up by people, mere classifications based on what a certain song that started the genre sounded like. If purists had their way, there'd only be one song, played with exactly the same holy technique every time, and those who deviate from the holy technique would be excommunicated.

She reminds me of Trisha Yearwood. Beautiful voice.

Trax

Regarding Country being Pop today; I've watched the new show Real Country and I had to laugh when Travis Tritt, Shania Twain and Jake Owens all stated that today's CM is blah and sounds like Pop. THEY are part of the problem that began with Garth, IMO.

Trax

I think that started with Waylon.. Lord it's the same old tune fiddle and guitar, where do we take it from here, Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars it's been the same way for years, people need a change...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3_CWyPtLQ

Was there ever ‘real’ C&W? Seems it has ALWAYS favored flashy suits and flashy hair with a couple of outlaws that didn’t fit the mold.

This coming from a guy who has only a dozen or so country CDs out of a collection of a thousand or so.
Here’s my list:

Johnny Cash
George Strait
Lyle Lovett
Emmylou Harris
Allison Krauss
Junior Brown
Randy Travis
Nickel Creek
Alan Jackson (honeymoon thing)

I guess one might count my Chet Atkins albums but I don’t.

I’ve never understood the appeal of Garth Brooks and later for the most part.

Everyone raves about Chris Stapleton but I hear more blues than country music with him.

This probably sounds like an old man rant, but my distaste goes back to before I was born with all the fake cowboy clothes and hee haw trappings.

50 years ago Minnie Pearl would have been a presenter with a fake price tag on her hat.

I may be wrong, but if I remember correctly, I once heard an interview (forgot the artist) who stated Country Music needed a broader fanbase and THAT was the reason artists incorporated more of the Pop sound/lyrics into the genre.

Trax