Modern Country vs Traditional Country

[straitouttanashville]

Questions about the country format and the direction this genre is headed.


I didnt start this thread to get into some heated debate about Country Music and its general state or where its headed. I am more curious if there is a "Modern Country" that is acceptable to a "Traditional Country Fan". I ask because all music has to evolve to some degree, but what is that line? I for the most part fall into the catagory that I love most of the songs to some degree that "Country Radio" spins, but I know 90% isnt even close to what a Country song should sound like. I like Sam Hunt and his music, I have to be honesnt. I also know Hunt belongs no where near Nashville of a "Country Radio" station. Hunt, Rhett & FGL are probably the furthest thing from Country Music that "Country Radio" plays. I do understand a lot of it has to do with money, but that doesnt mean its right. So the biggest question I would have is what is Modern Traditional Country Music, and is it a sub-genre that radio can and maybe will embrace? Also, does Modern Traditional Country satisfy Tradionalists?

[zaclord 🌈]

[Kentucky25]

Honestly, as someone who loves most of the Country music output, I don't have a major problem with the pop and rock influences lately. I always love a traditional sound most, but I feel like I've been able to enjoy the pop music scene as well with country-ish lyrics. Sure, bro-country got overplayed (as all these trends do), but I don't have a major disdain for the music. Now, I do regret that artists like Greg Bates, Trent Tomlinson, and Bradley Gaskin were casualties of the trends and have mainly lost the spotlight (Trent being the only one actively releasing music now that I'm aware of).

In general though, I think a lot of modern country is good, those who do neo-traditional country have made some of the best music of the era (early Easton Corbin and Chris Young in particular are some of my favorite country albums). I enjoy the music in general. While it's sometimes goofy, I even like Colt Ford's rap (noting that rap just doesn't work for me, I appreciate the talents, but just not really a fan of it), because his lyrics are something I can visualize or reconcile with my life.
I think Country has become a self-contained genre, where if you like artists such as: Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, Eminem, or .38 Special you can find music that will correlate here in the genre...which as a whole I think is good. Country is supposed to tell stories and represent people, and the world has gotten more diverse and I think it is showing.

All that to say, I think Country radio has become too enamored with the trends for the charts, but it's moving back to a happy balance. I think a song like "Country Girl (Shake it For Me)" goes over better if the genre is balanced. No one had a problem with the pop tendencies of Luke Bryan on the Tailgates and Tanlines album until it became what everyone was doing. Don't get me wrong, I love songs about heartache and "tears in my beer", but if I had that and a then a Sam Hunt song came on afterward, it wouldn't be such a big deal to me. Either way, I've moved to playing my music through my iPod in my car rather than the radio, so I don't get the same treatment others who regularly listen to the radio do.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

There were bad trends in country music even back in the day. The 60s and 70s had a lot of dreadful novelty songs and sappy feelgood "peace, love, and harmony" ballads that have aged atrociously, and I'm sure were derided even then in spite of their hit status. I'm sure a lot of people in the 80s hated the slick AC crossovers Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap were doing. 90s country had a lot of hokey line dance novelties that barely get brought up anymore. The noughties had a lot of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type material that barely gets touched anymore either. Radio has always ridden trends.

I think what makes the 2010s different is that unlike in previous decades, it's now trivially easy to find something else. Pandora, iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Sirius XM, etc. are all right at your fingertips if terrestrial radio isn't satisfying you. Terrestrial radio is largely corrupted by the conglomerates like IHeartMedia, which didn't even exist until the turn of the millennium. And the conglomerates only care about the bottom dollar, so they just spin the same 20 songs ad nauseam. I am at least fortunate enough to live in a market where all the country stations are still locally owned and therefore more willing to think outside the box with their playlists.

At the same time, I feel like I've spent too long keeping myself in the country bubble out of complacency and comfort. Country is what I grew up on, so I don't want to leave it entirely. But I have friends who are flabbergasted at my lack of musical knowledge outside the genre, so I've been trying to add more artists to my playlist. It's been a bit difficult since many other genres tend to be more driven by the music than the words -- whereas in country, the reverse is usually true. Therefore, I'm left with a non-country song that sounds great, but hell if I can tell you what it's about even though I've heard it 400 times. And that's been the biggest challenge in fully assimilating more non-country material into my life. But on the other hand, at least it's far easier for me to access things outside my comfort zone.

Just some random ramblings on this.

[Kentucky25]

Jun 19, 2017 13:44:10 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

At the same time, I feel like I've spent too long keeping myself in the country bubble out of complacency and comfort. Country is what I grew up on, so I don't want to leave it entirely. But I have friends who are flabbergasted at my lack of musical knowledge outside the genre, so I've been trying to add more artists to my playlist. It's been a bit difficult since many other genres tend to be more driven by the music than the words -- whereas in country, the reverse is usually true. Therefore, I'm left with a non-country song that sounds great, but hell if I can tell you what it's about even though I've heard it 400 times. And that's been the biggest challenge in fully assimilating more non-country material into my life. But on the other hand, at least it's far easier for me to access things outside my comfort zone.

Just some random ramblings on this.

A lot of my friends love these harder rock bands or the 70s and 80s prog-rock and I've tried (honestly I have), but lyrics are where music begins and ends with me.  So while I certainly appreciate the music talent and the impact the songs had, I always am drawn to a lyric before music.  This is why a lot of Sam Hunt's material doesn't bother me...I like the lyrics, the production is just the side dressing...if it was a fiddle I'd love it even more, but I don't just hate it because it's a dance beat kinda thing.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

^ Agreed on Sam Hunt. I've rarely seen anyone complain about his lyrics (other than BlaBR).

And there are songs that I absolutely love despite not being sure what the lyrics are even about.